On one of my many weekend shopping trips here in Panama, I found a wonderful little store in Multiplaza. Had I not sat down for a quick breather and a cup of great coffee, I would’ve missed it. Fashion Petzzz & Me is hidden down the hallway beside Sanborn’s in the new area of the mall. You can’t miss their big, pink sign when you know where to look.

My first thought walking in was that if I were an 8 year old girl; I’d be squealing, jumping up and down and clapping my hands. The store looks like a place that Barbie and the Bratz would hang out with their Chihuahuas and Poodles, feeling very posh and grown up at their very own store with their very own doggies.

Indiana Arce de Pages, one of the bi-lingual owners told me that they believe our dogs should be considered a part of the family and that many of her clients consider them to be their children. She thinks this is wonderful and encourages you to come and outfit your child with something gorgeous.

Whether your child has four legs and is precious or two legs and is glamorous, this is where you should be shopping for Christmas and Hanukah. Don’t forget to bring your furry friend with you as the ladies are always happy to meet a new pup and introduce them around.

Fashion Petz is below Life Plus in the high fashion section of Multiplaza, in Panama City, Panama. You can visit their website at http://www.fashionpetzzz.com, call them at 302-4839 or email them . They’re open from 10am to 10pm for the month of December and on the 7th and 23rd of December, they’ll be open until 11pm.

The Tucan Golf course in Panama is just outside Panama City. This 6,618 yard, par 72 championship course is bordered by tropical rain forest and has views of the skyscrapers of Panama City as well as the Bridge of the Americas crossing the Panama Canal.

Tucan was designed by American golf course architect Jeffrey Meyers and built by Gregori International and is one of the most challenging golf courses in Panama.

The front nine on Tucan is the part bordered by rainforest and frequented by birds you thought only existed in magazine photos while the back nine opens up to vistas of the city and the Panama Canal.

True its reputation as a championship course Tucan has its share of water hazards in the line of play as well as to the side of play. This course is playable and impeccably maintained year round, including during Panama’s rainy season.

As a country club Tucan has villas and apartment for living on site where you can play a championship level golf course every day of the year. Homes at Tucan range from 2,300 to 5,000 square feet and feature elegant designs for luxurious living.

Playing golf in Panama means two seasons, wet and dry. The summer in Panama runs from December to May and means Tucan needs to water its fairways and greens. Winter in Panama is the rainy season from May to December when Tucan turns off the tap. Despite the fact that rainfall in Panama is measured in feet instead of inches Tucan is designed so that the course is playable year round although you will probably want to sit out the hour-long afternoon shower in the clubhouse.

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Panama City enjoys the privilege of having one of the worlds most exquisite luxury brands of the world represented in its best shopping center. When you visit the Multiplaza Pacific mall, it will be impossible to avoid the Cartier boutique, as it is located in a prime spot at the entrance of the mall’s luxury wing.

The personalized attention of Cartier’s staff will allow you to find that special item you need to indulge yourself or to pamper that special someone. The boutique’s contemporary architecture serves as the scenery to feature the brand’s latest collections of jewelry, watches, perfumes and leather accessories.

Panama’s Cartier boutique joins a long list of notorious shops located in the great capitals of the world such as London, Paris and New York, along with Buenos Aires, Bogota and México in Latin America. The Panamanian store is managed by the successful Motta Internacional Group.

The beautiful showroom features the best of the brand’s latest collections. Jewelry lovers will be mesmerized by the royal luxury of the Inde Mysterieuse pieces and the dark seductive design of the Panthere collection. If you prefer to invest in a timepiece, take a look at the exquisite Ballon Bleu watches. Your shopping evening will end perfectly after you take in a breath impregnated with the aroma of a Cartier fragrance. For the ladies we especially recommend the sweet and luxurious Delices de Cartier.

As the gateway to the Americas, Panama has long been a great destination for world class shopping and super diverse dining adventures.

In recent years, Panama’s shopping, dining, and entertainment infrastructure have taken on a decidedly American flair. Three of the region’s largest malls have opened here and more are planned. Many of the stores populating these new Mecca’s of consumerism bear familiar names from back home as well as a dizzying array of local shops and handicrafts.

Just outside of Panama’s new malls, you’ll find hundreds of quaint shops waiting to be discovered. On the shelves of these local treasures you’ll find an impossible to describe mix of goods from every corner of the country and the planet.

Panama is one of the most diverse countries on earth. When you walk down the street you will see faces reflecting hundreds of nationalities. Each community is well represented in the culinary offerings of this unique country. It is not unusual to find middle eastern, Latin, European, and Pacific Rim, and local cuisine within a few blocks of each other. If you find yourself getting a little homesick, you can always stroll into one of the many McDonald’s, Burger Kings, Subways, Pizza Huts, Bennigans, Wendy’s and such that dot the Panamanian urban landscape.

World class convenience and breathtaking natural beauty are just a couple of the benefits that retirement friendly Panama offers in abundance. When you make the decision to spend your golden years here, you will find a long list of benefits and incentives designed just for you.

Did you know that when you buy your retirement home in Panama, you may qualify for as much as a 20 year property tax exemption? Did you know that when you become a Panamanian resident, all of the income you earn outside of the country comes to you tax free? When you move to Panama, you can bring your furnishings and other valuables with you tax free and Panamanian law also allows you to invest and bank in absolute secrecy.

Panama’s Pensionado program provides qualified retirees with a long list of discounts like 50% off entertainment options (movies, theaters, sporting events, etc.), 50% off of the price of mid-week hotel stays, 50% off of the costs of closing your home mortgage, 30% off public transport costs, 25% off of domestic air tickets, 25% off at restaurants, 20% off of professional and home repair fees, 20% discount on already low Doctor bills, 1. 5% off of hospital bills if you are not insured, 15% off of the cost of dental and eye exams, 10% off of the local prescription prices… and more!

by Doreen Hemlock: Add Panama to the list of nearby nations seeking buyers in South Florida for its real estate. Some half-dozen Panamanian exhibitors attended the recent International Real Estate Congress and Expo in Coral Gables, offering luxury condominiums in high-rise towers and other properties to buyers seeking lower-cost alternatives to South Florida. High on their target list: U.S. retirees and Baby Boomers soon to retire, who might enjoy a home 2 1/2 hours by jet from Miami in a country that uses the U.S. dollar and where English is widely spoken. The pitch comes amid a boom in construction and real estate in Panama, spurred partly by tax incentives the Central American nation now offers to foreign investors. For example, overseas buyers of new properties for $200,000 and up can obtain resident visas and tax exemptions, Panamanian executives said at the expo. Panama City now plans at least nine high-rise towers, each with at least 56 floors. Plus construction is to start soon on a 101-story tower billed as the tallest in Latin America, said Aracelli de Jaen, vice president of sales for Panama’s Tribaldos Real Estate Corp.

Prices pale next to South Florida — with a three-bedroom, waterfront apartment in a top Panama City neighborhood available for less than $160,000, Jaen said.

Panama’s outreach comes as more Americans choose to retire in nearby nations where their dollars can stretch farther, including Mexico and Costa Rica.

It also coincides with a push by fellow Florida neighbors, including the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, to sell vacation homes to U.S. Hispanics and boat owners.

A South Carolina-sized nation of about 3 million residents, Panama grappled with an economic slump early this decade following the withdrawal of U.S. military bases, rising competition to its Colón Free Zone and a drop in agricultural exports. The country began offering tax incentives for real estate to stoke growth.

Panama’s government also seeks to invest more than $5 billion to expand the nearly century-old Panama Canal to handle larger ships and boost its economic weight.

Companies

Coral Gables-based Regions International Banking has started offering programs to train staff at its correspondent banks in Latin America.

Working with the South Florida Center for Financial Training housed at Miami Dade College, the company recently offered a two-day course in Bolivia for 20 bankers at Banco Economico de Bolivia.

Regions International is part of Regions Financial Corp. of Birmingham, Ala., with nearly $85 billion in assets Dec. 31.

Coral Gables-based Beame Architectural Partnership said it is designing the expansion of Iguatemi São Paulo, an upscale enclosed mall in Brazil’s largest city.

The expanded, 14-story mall will be 800,000 square feet and include an eight-theater cinema, restaurants and more.

Updates

South Florida travelers have new options for flights.

Lan Argentina, the Argentine affiliate of Chile’s Lan airline group, is starting direct service Aug. 15 between Miami and Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital. Overnight flights leave Buenos Aires late and arrive in Miami the next morning to depart Miami at night.

The airline also flies to numerous cities within Argentina.

Panama’s Copa Airlines, which serves Miami, added two Embraer 190ARs and one Boeing 737-700 NG jet to bring the total aircraft in its fleet to 27.

Copa is adding service with the Embraer jets to Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic; Manaus, Brazil; Maracaibo, Venezuela; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; and Port of Spain, Trinidad. The Boeing will be used on its route to Montevideo, Uruguay.

Doreen Hemlock can be reached at dhemlock@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5009.

SOURCE: Don Winner @ Panama-guide.com

Panama Real Estate Shopping: How You Can Mix Business With Pleasure by Sandy McBride

Have you ever wanted to live in an area that is affordable, safe, popular, and beautiful? If so, you are urged to examine what Panama can do for you, if you haven’t already done so. After this examination, you may very well find yourself looking to purchase property in Panama, whether that property be a home, a condo, a piece of land, or a business.

Perhaps, one of the easiest ways that you can go about familiarizing yourself with Panama is by using the internet. Online, you will find a large amount of valuable information. This information may have a focus on Panama real estate, the economy, tourism, the employment outlook, as well as the local school systems. As nice as it is to research Panama online, there is only so much that you can learn and see from the comfort of your own home. For that reason, you may be interested in scheduling a visit.

When it comes to scheduling a visit to Panama, there are many individuals who make a mistake. There are some individuals who place too much of a focus on a vacation, instead of examining the Panama real estate market. However, there are also many individuals who place so much of a focus on the Panama real estate market that they forget to have fun. You are urged not to be one of those individuals. If properly done, you should not only be able to examine the real estate in Panama, but you should also be able to enjoy yourself as well. You can easily do this with professional assistance.

Professional assistance; if you are wondering what type of professional assistance you should be seeking, you are not alone. Many individuals automatically think of real estate agents while others think of travel agents. While they are both ideal for a trip to Panama, you shouldn’t have to choose one or the other; you should be able to choose both. Unfortunately, this may not be as easy as you would believe. Despite the fact that many companies could benefit from merging Panama travel agencies and Panama real estate companies together, very few do. That is except for New World Real Estate.

Although New World Real Estate is most well-known for being a top real estate company, that is not all that they are. The staff at New World Real Estate also has over three years experience in the travel industry, specifically the Panama travel industry. Although this may not seem important right away, it is extremely important once you think about. The travel industry and the real estate industry, in Panama are closely related. That is why a focus isn’t just placed on real estate in Panama, but it is also placed on the area as a whole. To do this, vacation tours, with a touch of real estate are offered.

With the vacation tours, offered in association with New World Real Estate, you will not be one of those people mentioned above; the people who focus either too much or too little on real estate or having a good time. With a Panama tour, you can enjoy the best of both worlds. This includes the close examination of real estate properties, as well as exciting adventures, which are commonly found on most family or adult vacations.

When on a Panama tour, one that mixes business with pleasure, you will get to examine the Panama real estate market, as mentioned above. This examination may include inside information from those who are familiar with the real estate market, as well as those who live in the area. In addition to examining Panama properties that are for sale, on paper, you will also likely receive tours of the area. These tours typically not only include tours of Panama City, but tours of the beach areas, as well as the mountain areas. These are areas where numerous Panama properties can be found for sale

As previously mentioned, it is important to examine the real estate market in Panama, especially if you are interested in residing there, but you will also want to enjoy yourself. That is why a Panama vacation tour, with a touch of real estate, is beneficial to you. In addition to examining Panama properties, you will also get the opportunity to enjoy numerous adventures. These adventures may include, but are in no way limited to, white water rafting, snorkeling, scuba diving, as well as boat tours. In addition to having a fun time, you will also be educating yourself on Panama and the adventures that you could partake in, should you decide to relocate to the area.

If you are interested in further examining the Panama real estate market, or if you would like more information on Panama tours, you are advised to contact New World Real Estate. A company representative would be more than willing to assist you by providing you with more information or by answering any questions that you may have.About the Author

Find detailed information on panama real estate on our website. Panama properties are becoming the hot commodity in the real estate market today. Own your piece of paradise!

SOURCE: panama-travel-bureau.com

This market is where restaurants and super markets purchase their fruits and vegetables. The trucks start arriving about 3 a.m. and the early bird gets the worm. The earlier you get there the better your selections. But even at 10 a.m. when we were there, there’s still plenty of good produce to choose from. Parking cost us $.25, here are some of the offerings and prices on this day when we did our weekly shopping:

Ginger root – .25/lb Sweet Potatoes – 3 lb/$1 Zucchini – .70/lb Plum Tomatoes – 3 lb/$1 Papaya (mine weighed about 6 lbs) $2 Pineapples .50/ea Bananas .10/lb For fresh and cheap you can’t beat this market.

Panamaexpertos.com Call us — 561-210-5832

SOURCE: panama-travel-bureau.com