IL Postcard

The Road to Ithaca

Date: 10/14/2006

International Living Postcards-- Sunday Edition

Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
And to anchor at the island when you are old,
Rich with all you have gained on the way,
Not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.
Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would never have set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

-- Constantine Cavafy, 1863-1933

We set out more than 26 years ago with perhaps the vaguest flight plan imaginable: Scour the globe in search of opportunities for fun and for profit. We started from a base in Baltimore…relocated eight years ago to Waterford, Ireland, where we've put down Euro-roots…then set out to cover Latino America, first from Granada, Nicaragua, then, as well, from Quito, Panama City, San Miguel de Allende, Cuenca, Roatan, Buenos Aires, Montevideo…

Meantime, back across the Pond, we expanded our Euro-presence to include, in addition to the Emerald Isle, France, Italy, Croatia…

And, most recently, we've pushed to establish a foothold in Asia, where, this month, we launch resources (at your service, dear reader) in Vietnam and Thailand.

Our journey to Ithaca (if I may speak metaphorically) continues. In fact, though, we don't intend ever to arrive. We imagine this search to stretch over our lifetime…and we invite you, as always, along for the ride.

Appropriate to extend the invitation again, formally, this fine October Sunday, as we prepare this week to debut our first-ever Ultimate Event at Panama City's Playa Bonita Resort.

As I write, more than 50 staff, contributors, colleagues, and friends are on their way to Panama…to prepare for the arrival, later in the month, of more than 250 readers…all, too, en route to Ithaca.

This event is being staged in Panama…but it could, as well, have been held in any other of the 15 or so current hot spots on our radar screen. Indeed, the Hub of the Americas may be the ultimate destination for readers gathering at Playa Bonita this week…or it may not. They may, as well, be journeying to another corner of the earth entirely…their flight plans (like ours) may include multiple destinations…or they may seek to relocate not themselves, but their assets, intent not on finding a new or a second home but an investment, a business opportunity, a private bank account, a second citizenship…

Our big promise to them, to you, and to ourselves as we make final adjustments to the week's program is to cover the world's best opportunities right now, both geographically and categorically…and to break new ground. Big emphasis this event on The Next Big Thing. Here's a small preview from Roving Latin America Editor Lee Harrison:

* "Great property in Uruau, with beachfront lots starting at $19,900 and lots back from the beach starting at $9,700. Also Paraíso da Canoa, with beachfront lots going for just $15,349 and properties back from the beach ranging from around $8,000 to $10,000, depending on how far back you go. Plus, here, the developer is offering five-year financing. I really had to look twice when I saw five-year financing on a $15,000 lot…"

* "Arequipa is called the White City because much of the colonial construction was from blocks of the white volcanic rock that's unique to the region. I'm not sure I'd call it pretty, but it's typical Spanish colonial. I'd say it's cleaner and more original than Granada, nicer than Quito, and maybe a little shy of Cuenca. Based on my experience in Cuenca, some people will fall in love with the city's colonial charm and architecture, while others will find it too Third Worldly…"

* "Parts of Colombia look really exciting. Julie and I couldn't resist going to see what's reported to be the country's most beautiful colonial city, Popayán, in the central Colombian Andes. To be honest, I liked it better than Cuenca…and that's a first. Plus, it's noticeably cheaper than Cuenca. I also think we should be looking at Colombia's Caribbean coast. Inexpensive…and there are no guerillas up there…"

Lee's but one of more than 50 speakers Ultimate Event attendees will hear from…and these are but three of his recommendations.

If you're on your way to join us at Playa Bonita, rest up. You'll need all your wits about you to keep up with the program we've got planned.

See you soon in sunny Panama,

Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living

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P.S. Can't make it to Panama City? Our man on the scene, Conference Insider Carter Clews, will be reporting live from the event…