Places to Visit in Panama: Casco Viejo

Places to Visit in Panama: Casco Viejo

Taking a stroll through the Casco Viejo neighborhood of Panama City has the uncanny ability to erase pictures of traffic, glaring casinos, and smoggy busses from your mind. This once severely dilapidated neighborhood in Panama City has been quickly renovated and revived in recent years and has taken on a whole new feel. Among other places to visit, Casco Viejo is known for being the historical center of Panama City. This charming district is reminiscent of the French Quarter in New Orleans in that it is loaded with French Colonial style architecture and charm. The President’s mansion, French Embassy, Museum of Natural History, Canal Museum, cathedral and multiple art galleries, shops and restaurants inhabit Casco. One could easily make Read more

Living in Panama: Patience, Practice and Persistence

Living in Panama: Patience, Practice and Persistence

Many of those who decide to relocate to Panama are very surprised once they arrive and begin to settle in their new home. Panama is a different country than the U.S. and one should expect living in a different country to be just that. Different.

An element to consider when living in Panama is the major change of pace. Panamanians do not exhibit the constant sense of urgency in most tasks that Americans would. The phrase “manana” which means tomorrow has become a joke of sorts in that when someone in Panama tells you they will be there or do something “manana” it doesn’t necessarily mean tomorrow, but actually just means not today. This is where patience must come Read more

Places to Party in Panama City: Zona Viva

Places to Party in Panama City: Zona Viva

Panama is known for many things. The canal, wonderful climate, and beautiful beaches are just a few great aspects of this beautiful country. Panama City, however, is typically known for its own different sect of attributes. Casinos, beautiful girls, and the club scene are, in my opinion, the top three. When considering places to party in Panama you will never run out of clubs and bars to visit as it seems new ones are popping up every week.

A new hot spot among places to party in the city is Zona Viva. Zona Viva is not a single club, but a flood of bars, restaurants and dance clubs which always seem to be packed after 12 a.m. on any Read more

Balboa or U.S. Dollar: What Currency is Used in Panama?

Balboa or U.S. Dollar: What Currency is Used in Panama?

On a recent trip home to visit the states a few people asked me about what currency is used in Panama. The concept of Panamanian currency is simple yet a little confusing. The official currency in the Republic of Panama is actually the Balboa. But don’t start panicking yet. The Balboa and U.S. dollar are virtually the same thing and work equally in Panama. There are no Balboa paper notes as with the dollar (at least none that I have ever seen) and the coins or cents are known as “centavos”. If the price of something in Panama is listed with a B. before, such as B.25, then the price would be $25 U.S. dollars. Panamanian coinage is Read more

Places to Stay in Panama City: Veneto Hotel and Casino

Places to Stay in Panama City: Veneto Hotel and Casino

If you’re searching for a more luxurious and accommodated spot to crash in Panama City the Veneto Hotel & Casino located on Via Veneto in Panama City’s El Cangrejo neighborhood may be your best bet when deciding among places to stay. The hotel comes very well equipped with fine dining restaurants, sushi bar, several bars, a spa, world class casino, roof top pool and many customer service options such as airport shuttle, valet parking and 24 hour room service. Room rates range from about $115 to $200 per night depending on the number of occupants and length of stay; and many specials are offered for extended stays of four or more nights.

During my stay at the Read more

Novey Hardware – The Mini Home Depot of Panama

Novey Hardware in Panama – For Gringos in need for our next DIY project on your condo here — this place is just like a smaller Lowes or Home Depot in the States. Cheaper though.

If you’re like me at all, no doubt you’ve had a number of frustrating experiences with people working on your home or condo in Panama. I have had my fair share of “professionals” come through and try and fix things without really knowing what they were doing. Let me tell you, the experience is highly frustrating.

So much so, in fact, that despite not having all that much time to work on the place myself, I have found it easier to do many projects on Read more

Explore Panama – Take a Trip to Lake Gatun

Explore Panama - Take a Trip to Lake Gatun

Panama is full of little known wonders and in my time here I have had the opportunity to experience several. Even today there are many unchartered and fairly unknown areas of Panama to those outside of the country and many within. On a random week day I had the chance to visit one of the largest man-made lakes in the entire world. Lake Gatun, which forms a stretch of the Panama Canal and carries ships for about 20 miles of their journey through the Isthmus of Panama, was a strange and beautiful place like I had never before seen.

My venture began as we drove about forty five minutes outside of the city where we met a small Read more

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