Weekly Newsletter
April 18, 2005

So you want to retire to Panama.
Paradise Services
Newsletter #4 Volume #1

Traveling Around Panama

El Valle de Anton

From the top of the Bridge of the Americas, drive 91.5 kilometers (55.8 miles), paying careful attention to the roadside signs. We managed to miss the entrance to El Valle the first time, and had to turn around and try again. It is just past an elevated pedestrian crossover. Turn right onto a two lane blacktop road and drive 28 kilometers (17 miles). Take your time and enjoy the view. This is one of the more picturesque drives in Panama. Once you reach the rim of the extinct volcano whose crater holds the town of El Valle de Anton, you will descend a winding road to about 2000 feet elevation into the charming little town, which has changed little since I first visited more than 25 years ago. There are a few more tourist shops, and a lot more mola and other handicraft sellers, an open market selling the best vegetables the area has to offer, and a few more restaurants, but the town is basically unchanged. Once you leave the main street and explore the back streets, you will find many large estates with extravagant homes. Some of these were built more than 50 years ago and serve as weekend retreats for some of Panama's wealthier families. On the weekends, you will see and hear the occasional four wheeler, but mostly there is little to disturb the peace and tranquility of El Valle.

There are several interesting places to see, but a good place to start is the public market, which may be a bit sleepy on weekdays, but comes alive on Saturday and Sunday. Besides fresh fruits and vegetables, local handicraft is on sale, including stone carvings, hats, beadwork, and molas. Be careful buying molas, as they are usually less expensive in Panama City than El Valle.

If you arrive on a weekend or in the afternoon after school is out, you will be approached by schoolboys offering to show you the sights, and they are a bargain if you don't know your way around. They charge a dollar or two. They will take you to the Thermal Springs, El Chorro el Macho waterfall and Canopy Tour, and the square trees.

El Valle also has a beautiful nature garden and zoo, El Nisporo, which I consider a must-see. Entrance fee is $1.50 for adults. Check out the new webpage with pictures of El Valle under 'Panama Pictures' on the website.

OK, enough with the touristy stuff. Is El Valle de Anton a good place to live? I think so. It has a nice climate, low crime rate, a good road for access, and the basic necessities are available. Property values seem to have remained more stable than in some of the newly discovered retirement 'paradises', though it may take you a while to find a place for sale. Panama City is within reasonable driving distance, and there is a large, well-stocked Supermarket in Coronado, about a 45 minute drive. If you are seriously considering retiring to Panama, you could do a lot worse than El Valle de Anton.

About Our Name Change

If you've looked at the website lately, you will notice a slight change in our name from 'Paradise Service S.A.' to 'Paradise Services S.A.' When we met with our lawyer to form the company, we gave him a list of acceptable names, and told him to use the first one on the list that wasn't already taken. Even though we had written 'Services', not 'Service' in most of the names, the first document I saw after the corporation was formed said 'Paradise Service S.A.', so that's what we went with for the website and the first batch of business cards. When the actual documents were signed, stamped and the business license issued, our name was 'Paradise Services S.A.'. The main reason I'm explaining all this is to alert you that this is pretty much the way things usually go in Panama. I have a friend who was christened Olivia, but someone wrote it down wrong on the birth certificate some 70 years ago, and to this day, she is Oliva.

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If you find our newsletter interesting and/or helpful, please forward it to friends you think might like to receive it. If you received this from a friend and would like to subscribe, drop me a note at retire@panamaretire.net.

Our website at http://www.panamaretire.net is now on line but still unfinished. Hopefully, I will be able to fill in the blank pages this week. I invite all of you to visit the forum, and tell us about yourself, especially those of you who have lived in Panama.

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