Decent all you can eat food, nice setting, great resident beach dog, and large rooms with GREAT showers are part of the Playa Blaca located about an hour outside of Panama City (about 1.5 hours from PTY Airport. Click here for more details

Great pools at the right temperature. Entire place was very clean and comfortable.

Nice open air restaurants dot the property with all you eat bufets. Food was OK – not great but the weekday all inclusive price of $65 is unbeatable. Worth your time, money and relaxation time.

TIP: Call GIGGI TRAVEL (MARTY or GEORGE) on toll free number for special rates. Best gringos to get you hooked up with all your Panama Read more

Continuing to move forward with expansion plans, Panama Canal executives presented the Canal’s Expansion Program to international financial institutions yesterday. Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta provided a snapshot of the Republic of Panama, the Canal’s operational achievements and increase in capacity through continuous improvements and modernization work. He also outlined the progress made on expansion, highlighting the excellent financials of a Canal that is debt-free with revenues reaching $1.7 billion in 2007.

More than 100 people representing financial institutions from the United States, Asia, Europe and the Americas participated in the presentation, consisting of investment and commercial banks, multilateral institutions and credit rating agencies. Banks with branches in Panama were also present during the event.

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Former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega will be extradited to France to serve a 10-year sentence for money laundering upon his release from prison in Florida this fall, according to Justice Department papers filed in court Tuesday.

A French court convicted and sentenced Noriega in absentia in 1999. He was charged with unlawfully depositing millions in drug money in several French bank accounts and laundering the cash partly by purchasing three Paris apartments. In the decision to send Noriega, 69, to France, the United States turned down Panama’s request that he be returned to face murder charges in connection with his alleged oppression of political opponents, said Foreign Minister Samuel Lewis Navarro. Some analysts have said that Noriega still enjoys some Read more

Across from the Veneto Casino (on via Veneto) lies one of the oldest Manolo’s restaurants in the city. I am not sure if they are part of the chain but I do know if you want great coffee and the best fruit and nicest waitresses in Panama City – Gringoes – come to this special little joint. Like going back to the 1950’s it is just a great place for people watching and enjoying a nice meal.

If you are looking for a nice day trip and some cheap shopping, consider going to Colon – just do it in style on the train and avoid the horrible road conditions. The Panama Canal Railway operates one time a day – leaving Panama City near Albrook Mall at 7:15 am and returns from colon at 5:15 pm

Cost are as follows:
PRICES (in US$)
Ticket Price

Valid for one-way travel

Panama – Colon or Colon – Panama
Adults
$22.00
Children (ages 2 -12 years old)
$11.00
* Retired / Senior Citizens
$15.00

As of July 2007, the train is in excellent condition. It is air-conditioned, has cars with glass overhead view and offers a solid supply Read more

Carlos Aleman is your “Mr Everything” in Panama and is the personal choice of yours truly “The Panama Gringo”.

A little history will help set the stage:

I have been coming to Panama for almost four years now (before the rapid real estate development, before the Veneto and before it became the hot place to be). My Spanish is limited so I searched out a driver/confidant/helper/translater with whom I could partner to make my experience more pleasant. I was going to be setting up a business, buying a condo and figuring out the lay of the land and I needed someone to help me work the system. You know how we “gringos” are so inpatient.

My first attempts were Read more

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Some people in Panama believe a new free trade agreement with the United States will help the country’s poor, according to a poll by Dichter & Neira published in La Prensa. 38.6 per cent of respondents think poverty will decrease once the deal is implemented, while 31.6 per cent believe it will stay the same.

Martín Torrijos – the son of Omar Torrijos, an army general who ruled Panama from 1968 to 1981 – won the May 2004 presidential election as a candidate for the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) with 47.44 per cent of the vote.

On Jun. 28, the U.S. and Panama signed a free trade deal that will, among other things, eliminate tariffs Read more

Location Ricardo Arias at Calle 52, near the Marriott Hotel
City Panama City
Phone 214-3815
Cuisine Middle Eastern
Price Main courses $6.50-$15

The Panama Gringos Review
This is our must stop for lunch every time we are in PC. Great Kabobs, a few English speaking waiters, a owner/chef who takes a lot of pride in his delivery of food and service and great ambience and hookahs.

Get the greek salad – very tasty. The hummus is also very good as are the chicken and steak kabobs. This place serves Pepsi instead of Coke (one of the few in Panama) which makes them A-OK in my book..

Give it a try – you can’t go wrong.

Frommer’s Review
This is an Read more

Carlos Aleman is your “Mr Everything” in Panama and is the personal choice of yours truly “The Panama Gringo”.

A little history will help set the stage:

I have been coming to Panama for almost four years now (before the rapid real estate development, before the Veneto and before it became the hot place to be). My Spanish is limited so I searched out a driver/confidant/helper/translater with whom I could partner to make my experience more pleasant. I was going to be setting up a business, buying a condo and figuring out the lay of the land and I needed someone to help me work the system. You know how we “gringos” are so inpatient.

My first attempts were Read more