Country Article / Postcards

Tapas and Teak in Panama

Date: 11/19/2004

Dear International Living Reader,

Turns out, it's tapas.

The restaurant I mentioned to you last Sunday, the one that has just opened in Casco Viejo, Panama? We went there for dinner one night last week with a friend...to discover that they don't serve dinner--only tapas. The place is called Manzanas. The owners are Spanish, with a Gaudi flair. Their restaurant is painted sunflower yellow. She wore a plastic dress to match. The decor, the art, the table settings...all were funky and fun. We sat outdoors to enjoy the not-too-hot evening and watch the nightlife on the square.

After dinner, we decided to walk a few blocks to a jazz club our friend recommended. And the three of us realized together the significance of this small thing. We were walking. At night. After dark. Unescorted. Several blocks through Casco Viejo.

A few years ago, none of us would have done this. A few years, ago, there were streets I wouldn't walk alone at midday. And even today, there are a couple of spots I'd avoid at night. But the transformation, generally, is remarkable. You can feel this old barrio picking itself up by its bootstraps. The magnificent Spanish and French colonial buildings are being renovated (including our own Casa Ramon, which I told you about the other day). The parks are being planted with flowers. The squares are being cleaned daily. Not only we three gringos walked these streets unchaperoned and unafraid the other night...but families, too...children on bicycles and chasing soccer balls. The locals are enjoying the renaissance of their neighborhood as much as the tourists.

Still lots of tempting old buildings in tumble-down states begging for investors with a little vision. The developer we worked with to purchase then restore Casa Ramon has a couple of other similar projects on her books. She's asking if we're interested in another go. Maybe...but we haven't quite finished outfitting the one building yet.

The official opening for our new base in Panama will take place later this week, when the Lifetime Society, Roundtable, and Key Club members in attendance at this week's Offshore Opportunities Conference in Panama City will be invited to make their way across town to Casco Viejo for a private cocktail reception at Casa Ramon. We can't help but feel a little proud of the way this building has turned out, and we want these special VIP readers in attendance at the conference to be able to enjoy it with us.

You're invited to come by, too, of course. My husband, Lief Simon, will be in residence for the next week-and-a-half. And every weekday, 9 to 6, our local Panama staff is here, at your disposal. The building is just across from the Panama Canal Museum on Plaza Catedral. Look for the big green doors.

Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living

P.S. The friend we shared tapas with last week was Robert Kroesen, owner and manager, with a partner, of United Nature, a large teak plantation in the Darien region of Panama. We talked trees. And residency. A teak reforestation investment visa is one of the easiest ways to establish residency in Panama...with an eye toward second citizenship. It's a good investment, too. I can't give you the details, but I can tell you that Lief is beginning the investment process for us. United Nature isn't the only teak investment opportunity in Panama, of course, but we've known Robert several years, and trust him. He knows his trees, and he's worked with dozens of International Living readers to date to help them arrange quick, easy residency in this country. For more: Panama@InternationalLiving.com.

P.P.S. The fork is male, the spoon is female. On the bathroom doors at Manzanas. The ladies room is marked by a spoon...the men's room by a fork. I guessed wrong...

Editor's Note: This week, International Living and our sister organization the Sovereign Society are hosting one of our biggest events of the year: Our Offshore Opportunities Conference in Panama City, where 250 readers are converging as we write to spend three days in paradise…meeting personally with our All Star line-up of offshore investment experts from around the world. Readers lucky enough to participate in this special event (sold out for weeks) will learn firsthand how to make money and how to keep it safe in the world's top overseas havens. They'll also be introduced by our in-country team to the pleasures and benefits of life, retirement, and investment in Panama, the world's top retirement and offshore haven. The formal program begins tomorrow...but Lief Simon, manning our office in Casco Viejo, reports that many readers have arrived already and are getting in touch to arrange tours of the city and beyond. More tomorrow.