March 2012
Music Starts Soft & Simple - Then Builds As Night DescendsIt also unexpectedly and unusually rained that night.
We actually went back the next day so my older daughter could go on some rides.
We had only made it to the bumper cars when the sky opened on us.
It only costs 75 cents to come on Sunday, so it was an easy decision.
Plus on our yearly trip to the Fair we like to make it relaxing by staying in a hotel.
By leaving earlier, we got some more relaxing hotel time.
When we first started going to the fair, we would drive to David.
(It is an hour to an hour and a half drive from Puerto Armuelles to David Panama.)
Do our errands and then go to Fair in the cooler part of the day.
That scenario involved us driving home late and in the dark - and all of us very weary.
Now we rent a hotel room.
We get into David, do errands in a leisurely manner, enjoy the hotel amenities. Then go to the fair in the cool of the evening.
But instead of driving the hour home exhausted. We go to our hotel room. Get a good night sleep and then a relaxing morning before heading home to Puerto Armuelles.
This is the first time we stayed in the Gran National Hotel. It was very enjoyable.
I was a bit dubious because of the mixed reviews of the Gran National in Trip Advisor.
Turns out it was perfect for us.
The Gran National had a variety of places to hang out. The kids enjoyed the pool, the exercise room, and the fish aquarium in the lobby. There were a number of places to eat in the hotel.
The breakfast buffet (included in the price) was a big hit with all of us.
I had wanted to stay at the Ciudad de David Hotel. But it was full.
We visited it the next day. I am glad we stayed at the Gran National.
The Ciudad de David Hotel looked alittle too stiff and "perfect" for us.
The Gran National is more of an old school sprawling hotel. Lots of people rave about the Ciudad de David Hotel though. At least according to Trip Advisor.
Update: We have since stayed at the Ciudad de David Hotel. We liked it alot. Not only is the customer service refreshingly attentive, but they had an excellent breakfast as well. I do still like the more relaxed hang out aspect (esp. by the pool) of Gran National better, but the Ciudad de David is a provides a superior hotel experience.
Oh, the Fair. The Fair was fun as well.
The David Fair is very much an Agricultural/Cowboy event. We always start by seeing the animals. Lots and Lots of cows! Big, Small and HUGE!
Horses are a focal point. Horses are judged, there are rodeos, pony rides, and lots of cowboy hats.
Then we see the plants.There are displays of produce and plants. Some are for sale and some are planted in displays.
It is a great place to buy plants for your garden.
Actually it is a great place to buy handcrafted furniture, toys, and more.
They sell items at the fair I have not seen for anywhere else.
There is alittle "zoo" of a variety of local animals and birds on display. You can see them for 50 cents more. It is interesting to see the animals and the birds. If you have strong feelings about the caging of animals, you may want to skip it.
Then of course there are the rides, cotton candy, and food venders. There is lot of music too. Loud music. But we are usually gone by time the music starts.
In short, the fair is fun.
Maybe if I didn't have children, I wouldn't go. But I am always happy I went.
According to the US News and World Report article:
When choosing a place to spend your retirement years, the cost of living is important. But it is only one consideration. The ideal retirement spot is a place where you can live a rich life filled with friends, travel, discovery, physical and intellectual distractions, and opportunities for growth. A super-low cost of living is great, but more important is the quality of life your retirement budget is buying you.
Many of the best options for enjoying an enormously enriched retirement lifestyle on even a very modest budget can be found overseas. Here are the world’s 18 top retirement havens, where an interesting, adventure-filled lifestyle is available for a better-than-reasonable cost.
1. Panama. Panama is the world's top retirement haven. Panama City no longer qualifies as cheap, but other spots in this country certainly do. Panama continues to offer the world's gold standard program of special benefits for retirees. The currency is the U.S. dollar, so there is no exchange rate risk if your retirement savings and income is in dollars. The climate in Panama City and on the coasts is tropical, hot, and humid. However, the climate in the highlands can be temperate and tempting. Panama is the hub of the Americas, meaning it's easily accessible from anywhere in North and South America and Europe.
Yes, most of the country is cheaper than in Panama City.
Where we live in Puerto Armuelles it is definitely less expensive.
One must be careful when choosing a restaurant in Panama City.
We went to a great Indian restaurant in Panama City. We enjoyed a very tasty and relaxing meal. We didn't even look at the prices when we ordered.
Everything was always so affordable in Panama.
We had got out of the habit of checking the price of things.
When the bill came we wished we had glanced at the prices.
The cost was more than we would have paid in Seattle for a similar restaurant.
Without a doubt it is cooler in the hills than on the coast.
It is not as humid as you would think it would be though.
I grew up in New York and my husband in Washington DC.
It is definately more humid in those places than in Panama.
Summers in DC are hotter, more humid, and MUCH more buggy than they are in Panama.
Okay I have not been everywhere in Panama. But where we live in Puerto Armuelles certainly less humid and buggy.
I agree with everything else the magazine says about Panama.
Hello all,
Actually, reviewing it I realized we didn't list everything.
Mostly we covered sport or outdoor-oriented things to do in or near Puerto Armeulles.
Did we miss something?
I know there is also the non-outdoor activities to write about.
For instance, the art and music classes at Bellas Artes.
March 20, 2012 - plus more recent updates
This park is right on the waterfront in downtown Puerto ArmuellesTwelve years after Chiquita Banana closed its operations in Puerto Armuelles, the former Chiquita company town is once again showing signs of life.
Puerto Armuelles is slowly reemerging as the second most vital city in Chiriqui Province, after David.
David Panama, a little over an hour away, holds the honor of being the regional capital, shopping mecca, and largest town in Chiriqui.
Puerto Armuelles is the second largest town in Chiriqui, with a steadily improving economy and real estate activity.
Investors who bought land for pennies on the dollar while Puerto Armuelles was in its post-Chiquita Banana doldrums, are now looking like investment sages.
Real estate prices in Puerto Armuelles continue to rise.
Although, they are still far below land prices elsewhere in Panama, Costa Rica, or many other places in Central America.
Beach front lots are going for as little as $60/square meter.
The signs of economic recovery in Puerto Armuelles are various and gaining momentum.
The past two years, or so, has seen a notable increase in the number of expat residents.
At present, you can drive through most neighborhoods and see at least one expat construction project underway.
There are two beach areas with multiple house/condominium projects being built.
Two guys from Costa Rica are building a house on the beach in Coronado (located just past Corazon de Jesus), ten minutes north of downtown.
An expat is building his new home in the Porvenir neighborhood
A couple recently bought a house one block back from the beach in the Corazon de Jesus neighborhood.
A woman from Maryland just purchased a beachfront lot in the Cucuy area. She already has an architect drawing up her house plans.
The San Vicente neighborhood of Puerto is experiencing tremendous activity - especially the beachfront in the southern end of San Vicente.
There are actually too many recent purchases in or near Puerto Armuelles to list here. In fact, there is certainly more real estate activity that we have not heard about. There is no clearinghouse of real estate activity in Panama. This lack of full information is both a boon and a bane to Panama real estate investors.
One of the obstacles for people to visit Puerto Armuelles in the past was lack of information about it.
The one downtown hotel of Puerto Armuelles.Then even if you did hear about Puerto, there were very few options for staying overnight.
(FYI: Right now there are only 2 hotel options in Puerto. One is a dive and the other is marginally okay. There is one excellent B&B, but it is often full. But one new hotel and a B&B are on their way!))
In the past, most of Puerto Armuelles’ new foreign residents were friends of current residents.
These folks usually discovered the town while staying at a friend’s house.
Often these people also fell in love with Puerto Armuelles’ laid-back, beach town atmosphere.
However, if you didn’t have a friend in Puerto, it was very unlikely you'd visit Puerto.
Now, with the steady arrival of more expats, there are more chances for “friends of friends” to get a chance to visit.
Even better, the options for staying in Puerto Armuelles is finally increasing.
An expat and San Vicente resident is starting a new hotel, Tsunami Inn.
Tsuami Inn is located at the very south end of the San Vicente neighborhood.
It is a small hotel of cabanas, a rancho where breakfast and drinks will be service, and a swimming pool.
The cabananas will include bed, bath, and kitchen facilities.
Fishing and horse back riding tours will be offered.
According to the owner, Tsunami Inn will open in June.
Soon there will be a B & B in the Las Palmas Neighborhood
There is currently a B&B, called Finca de Oso.
Also there are additional longer-term rentals on the market.
You may also want to stay out on Punta Burica. Click here for lodging options on Punta Burica.
A couple of hundred meters down the beach road from the new hotel project, an expat couple has opened a beautiful new bar/restaurant on the beach.
It is called“El Ojo de Agua” (The Watering Hole) and is brand new.
When I visited, they still didn’t have gas connected to their range.
However, the sea breeze, the view, and the excellent quality of the construction and design of the place were a real treat.
The drinks are outstanding and reasonably priced.
A little further down the beach, heading back to town are several nice bars and restaurants.
Another beachfront restaurant is now under expat management and looks very inviting.
A little further down the road, a Panamanian-owned beach front restaurant has recently put on a second story addition to handle its expanding business.
All this says to visitors that Puerto Armuelles is no longer just a beans and rice place to eat lunch or dinner.
Other signs of growth for Puerto Armuelles are subtle, yet convincing.
You know the old saying, “nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd” ?
As recently as four years ago, a quarter of the store fronts were boarded up;
Unemployment was reportedly over seventy percent. The town was in desperate straights.
Now new businesses are popping up all over the place. The economy has noticeably improved.
At that time, retirees looking at Puerto Armuelles, often decided to move to David, or even Boquete.
This was the case even though one reason they moved to Panama was to live near the beach.
Now these “disappointed” folks who had really wanted to live on the beach, are jumping on the bandwagon and coming to give Puerto Armuelles a second look.
Puerto Armuelless is Attracting Alot More AttentionLocal Puerto expats are bumping into more and more retirees, especially expats from Boquete, who are tired of the cold, and the horizontally blown afternoon rainstorms, and are looking for a place to live in the tropics that is actually warm, and by the ocean.
I ran into one guy from Boquete who came to Puerto to fish for the day.
He said he had had no idea that Puerto Armuelles even existed before.
He had thought Puerto was just a boat launch, rather than a town of over 20,000 inhabitants.
Probably the predominant group checking out Puerto Armuelles are expat transplants from Costa Rica.
If you have ever visited Costa Rica, you know that it truly is a spectacular tropical paradise.
Plus Costa Rica has a longer history of tourists and expat residents and consequently more amenities to serve them.
The big down side to Costa Rica is that along with all its successful development, has come a corresponding rise in living costs.
The cost of everything in Costa Rica, especially when compared to living costs in Panama, is sky high.
Puerto Armuelles is just thirty minutes south of the Costa Rica border crossing at Paso Canoas.
So it makes sense that expats from Costa Rica are stopping by to have a look.
It appears, they like what they see in Puerto.
Housing is a fraction of the cost of comparable properties in Costa Rica.
Plus, lunch here still costs under two dollars, instead of the ten that you might spend in Costa Rica.
Find out for yourself why some people consider Puerto Armuelles to be the only true beach town in Panama.
Drive for 30 minutes on the road going south from Pasa Canoas and you will arrive at Puerto Armuelles.
Or if you are browsing the internet, it seems like every week there is something new being advertised in Puerto.
Who knows? You, too, might just find yourself calling Puerto Armuelles “home”.
But it cannot be denied that Panama has some great real estate investment opportunities as well.
Right now, we have a doozy of an investment opportunity for you!
(Click to See A Solid Puerto Armuelles Investment)
All of our properties are located in the Puerto Armuelles area.
The reason is that Puerto Armuelles is Booming.
The economic climate in Puerto Armuelles has noticeably changed on many fronts.
The Panama government has recently joined the ranks of players that are revitalizing Puerto Armuelles.
Puerto Armuelles is positioned to be the future strategic shipping port and free trade zone for western Panama.
Right now Puerto Armuelles is the 2nd largest city in the very popular Chiriqui province.
It will continue to grow.
Investors are increasingly seen in Puerto Armuelles, looking at both commercial and residential properties.
Photo by Mark Strozier.
Edited: May 22, 2019
Puerto isn' San Francisco and it isn't really gay-friendly, but there is evidence of a surprising level of gay tolerance. Regardless, I would avoid all PDAs.It appears that Puerto has a thriving, albeit small, transvestite scene.
I have lived in Puerto Armuelles Panama for five years now. (This article was originally written in 2012)
Of all the places I've been in Central America, the Panamanian beach town of Puerto Armuelles exhibits a higher level of gay-friendliness or at least gay acceptance than any other place of similar size I've been.
(Note: I've never visited Puerto Vallarta for Spring Break)
Granted, this is Panama. There are still no openly gay politicians.
The long, dark shadow cast by the Catholic Church is just beginning to fade.
However, despite the superficially tough “macho” culture which exists in all of Latin America, Puerto Armuelles seems to have a softer side for its own gays. Gay men, at least.
And, while a person might be described by locals as “the queer guy who works at the market”, or “the gay man who cuts my hair” with no hint of scorn or judgment, you are still not likely to see a gay couple holding hands while walking down the street in Puerto Armuelles (as of early 2012).
I have heard of no similar "gay-friendly" tolerance for lesbians. Although, it isn't completely absent.
For instance, we know a local female doctor who has been living with her "best friend" for about 20 years. It is quite obvious to most people that they are a couple. The situation is not discussed, but it is tacitly acknowledged and tolerated. The same is true of a lawyer we know, although she is based in David.
You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to sleuth out the fact that Puerto Armuelles is somewhat of a magnet for Panama's gays.
Ask any local, and they will tell you, that yes, for some reason Panama's gays are attracted to Puerto Armuelles.
Currently, Puerto Armuelles would not make it onto any list of top gay-friendly places to live. But, if you are gay, and looking for a place to live in Panama, Puerto Armuelles is definitely worth a look.
Mono Feliz is a wonderful, rustic eco-non-resort.
It is located at the very tip of the Punta Burica peninsula, in Panama's Chiriqui Province.
Staying at Mono Feliz is an amazing way to get back to your basic practice of “being”.
You are in a spectacular tropical jungle and at the apparent end of the known world.
Also there is a secret surf spot - actually, more than one.
A Relaxing & Rustic Place To StaySurfing on Punta Burica is very much worth the effort required to get there.
(Mono Feliz is nearly hour and a half drive from Puerto Armuelles, over some pretty rustic dirt roads. Or alternatively, a smoother and pleasant hour long drive on the beach - for most of the drive, but only during low tide.)
I had decided not to bring my surf board to Mono Feliz.
It was the off-season (early March), and the ocean in Puerto Armuelles was about as flat and calm as it is possible for the ocean to be.
Ideal for barefoot waterskiing, I'll bet.
I figured the surf conditions would be the same on Punta Burica as in Puerto Armuelles.
I was wrong.
When we arrived, I was surprised to find quite a bit of wave energy.
Albeit the surf was blown out by the wind.
I spoke to Michael, one of the sons of John (known better as Juancho) and Luzmila, the owners of Mono Feliz.
Michael told me that he and his brothers had been catching good waves lately.
I was surprised to learn that the boys claimed to be able to surf all year long out on the Island (Isla Burica).
Isla Burica is located a few thousand meters off-shore.
Isla Burica is reachable by kayak, surfboard, or in super low tides (-2), one can walk to the island.
At breakfast the first morning, Michael mentioned that they had surfboards for rent.
He invited me to join him for a trip over to the island to surf.
However, this was a family trip for me, not a surf trip.
Also, I seriously doubted that there could be a decent wave on the island, since the rest of the ocean around Punta Burica was as flat as a lake.
(According to the scientists at Magic Seaweed the swell was 1-1/2 feet)
I said no, I wasn't interested in paddling over to the island.
Michael, however did talk me into the lesser adventure of walking down the path five minutes to the nighbor Sean's “surf camp” .
There was reportedly a pretty decent wave at the surf camp as well.
I decided to join him for a short surf session there.
Though the surf was tiny, I was quite impressed with the form of the mini bay/inlet in the rocks in front of the neighbor's house.
It was obvious, from the clean mini lefts and rights peeling over the rocks at either side of the inlet, that this place must absolutely rock during the big wave months from May to December.
Despite the fact that the waves were small, and the thruster I had rented (a 6-2 with not much foam) made it tough to keep up any board speed, I had a fun time riding the small lefts (we were on the left side of the inlet).
I marveled at this ideal surf spot.
Michael, who is only fifteen or sixteen was also a super amiable surf partner.
As we walked back to Mono Feliz, I kept thinking to myself, “If only I had brought my Von Sol Shadow (my favorite fish) along."
Anyway, I reminded myself, this was a family vacation, and not a surf trip.
The following morning at breakfast, we met a couple of Juancho's and Luzmila's older sons.
Myron, who is about twenty five, and Edgar, twenty three.
Aside from really enjoying the good nature of the guys, I was beginning to be intrigued by tales about the surf on the island.
Myron had been away for a couple of days, and he was really eager to surf the island.
Edgar and Myron were enthusiastic to share the Island surfing experience with me.
So I grabbed my rented board, my sunscreen and followed them to the beach where we jumped into a huge, inflatable kayak.
With the three of us paddling, it took ten minutes or so to get to the island.
We beached the boat, and I followed the guys up a steep trail a short distance, before it flattened out, and quickly descended to the other side of the island, probably no more than two or three hundred meters.
As we climbed down through the trees, you could hear, then see the main peak, rising up, a perfect point, breaking left and right.
We got down to the beach, waded out into the water, and paddled out.
I was barefoot.
(I would recommend surf booties, since the rocks are slick and occasionally sharp.)
Myron and Edgar are natives and have super tough feet.
The paddle out was easy, as we were paddling around beside the main peak, and the surf was small.
However, the guys assured me that when the waves are big, they break further out, and there is a great tide rip to whisk one out to the break.
Myron was the first out, and he had already taken off on a couple of waves.
Just as it looked from shore, the wave consisted of a big, almost hollow drop, and then it quickly faded to nothing.
Still, Myron who was on a 5'-8” thruster was able to get down the line pretty well, including a couple of decent slashbacks.
In fact, Myron, who has been surfing the same peak for five years now, continued to take the drop, as far back as possible on the wave, and rode mostly rights for the next couple of hours.
Edgar also got some nice waves.
I hadn't surfed in months, and was on a borrowed board, but still I managed to make the drop and get a way down the line.
At the time I was only thinking about how much fun I was having.
But now I've decided to leave the Von Sol at home and bring my thruster to surf the island next visit.
If this is what the conditions are like when the Pacific Ocean is flat as a pancake, I could only imagine what the surf would be like when Magic Seaweed's buoy reading was say 6 feet, 7 feet, 8ft....
On the paddle back in the inflatable, Myron explained to me that there were a couple of other breaks that the brothers liked to surf, also reachable in the kayak.
You can also rent a fisherman's boat and go about fifteen minutes “around the corner” to the Costa Rican side of Punta Burica.
A place that is rarely surfed.
A place that always has a breaking giant of a wave, just offshore.
Reportedly, during the big wave months, this monster breaks for nearly a kilometer.
I can't remember which way it breaks.
Probably left, since it's on the Pavones side of the point, and the prevailing wave angle is for lefts.
As you can probably tell, I will definitely be going back to Mono Feliz during the swell season (May-December).
But, frankly, since Mono Feliz is so laid back, and there is so much for the kids to do there, I think we will make it a combined surf vacation/family vacation.
Surf in Panama is great.
It is particularly great to have such a wonderful place to surf so close to our home in Puerto Armuelles Panama.
It evolved into a lunch for a small group of ex-pat and Panamanian women (including myself).
We were lucky that Puerto Armuelles newest restaurant, The Watering Hole, opened just the week before.
Just in time for Carnival - and for us.
Unfortunately, the gas line in their kitchen was being installed at the same time as our gathering.
This delayed service and the full menu was not available.
Puerto Armuelles' Gathering of Expat & Panamanian WomenRegardless, it is great to have a new place to eat in Puerto Armuelles.
Amy, formerly a US Marine, owns and operates the restaurant.
Mauro is the chef. Mauro has a great energy and is an excellent cook. (Mauro is also Amy's boyfriend.)
It was wonderful to have an excuse to gather and catch up with folks.
The weather was glorious.
The views of the beach were stellar.
Beach View from The Watering HoleThe fisherman we could see fishing seemed to find it a profitable day as well.
Thank you Liz for making the event happen.
Puerto Armuelles is blessed by Liz's kind-hearted energy and love of people.
January 19, 2012
Economic Freedom Feels GoodPuerto Armuelles has been in economic shackles for years because of the enormous debt owed by Coosemupar.
Coosemupar is a worker cooperative that owns and operates the many banana plantations in the Puerto Armuelles area of Panama.
President Martinelli and members of Coosemupar, signed an agreement that states that the government will:
This is great news for those of us living in Panama, especially in Puerto Armuelles.
Until the early 2000s, Puerto Armuelles was a prosperous and beautiful beach town.
Then Chiquita Banana left.
Chiquita Banana has had a tremendous impact on the physical look and the economy of Puerto Armuelles; for good and for bad.
Chiquita came to town in 1927. It was called United Fruit Company back then.
Chiquita transformed Puerto Armuelles into a unique jewel of a town.
Chiquita built whole neighborhoods of great classic wooden tropical houses on stills, a club house, golf course, and an airport.
Most importantly, Chiquita Banana provided a steady supply of relatively high paid work.
Starting in 2003, when Chiquita Banana left Puerto Armuelles, the town's economy has diminished steadily.
At that time, Chiquita's banana plantations were taken over by a workers' cooperative named COOSEMUPAR.
1) A self-serving (now former) union leadership that treated the cooperative as its own personal property. It was the antics of this same union that prompted Chiquita to leave Puerto Armuelles. It wasn't the only reason, but the union's penchant for debilitating worker strikes was a significant reason for Chiquita's departure from Puerto.
2) Chiquita Banana imposed the biggest obstacle to Coosemupar's success.
As part of the terms for the transfer of operations to Coosemupar, Chiquita required that the bananas from its former plantations be sold exclusively to Chiquita. Not only that, but Chiquita got to decide what to pay for those bananas. Perhaps in revenge for forcing them to leave Puerto, Chiquita set the price they would pay for Coosemupar's bananas way below the market price.
These 2 factors guaranteed the ultimate failure of the cooperative.
The only reason that Coosemupar survived was due to government subsidies.
Unfortunately, given Coosemupar's self-serving leadership, those subsidies were not always used appropriately.
After years of these subsidies, the Panamanian government finally insisted that Chiquita renounce its exclusive banana contract with Coosemupar. Chiquita eventually complied.
Unfortunately, by that time, Coosemupar was a crippled company with massive debt.
No one would buy and take over operations from Coosempar because of its debt.
A new company would have to pay the almost 20 million dollar debt.
In addition the plantation workers were still living on the plantations. Those workers want to be compensated for all their time and efforts in keeping the banana trees alive - usually without pay.
In addition, most prospective buyers wanted the workers removed from the plantations. This was not popular with workers who had lived there for years, sometimes for generations.
Various companies started negotiations to buy the banana plantations from Coosemupar, but they always backed out.
However, soon that will be all behind Puerto Armuelles.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) will sell by public auction the 3,500 hectares of plantation land. MEF will award the land to those companies that will generate the greatest number of jobs.
Using the proceeds from the sale of the plantations, the government will pay the debt own to Social Security for the worker-employer portion of the retirement funds.
In addition, the workers will receive individual titled land upon which to live. This process of awarding land to plantation workers will take 6 months to a year to complete.
This agreement is a great relief to the people of Puerto Armuelles.
A vision for Puerto Armuelles's future is slowly and steadily being implemented.
A construction project to widen the 2 lane to a 4 lane road to Puerto Armuelles will begin soon.
The key reason for the road project is to service the deep container port outside of Puerto Armuelles. Construction of this pier is estimated to begin in conjunction with the road construction project . The future Puerto Armuelles' port will have 217 storage facilities, a deepwater container and future cruise ship port, and a marina.
The Puerto Armuelles road is envisioned as a 4 lane "dry canal" highway connecting Puerto Armulles to Chiriqui Grand on the Caribbean side of Panama. It is anticipated it will have a similar economic effect to the "wet canal" in Panama City
These 2 construction projects along with the government's agreement to cancel the debt of Coosemupar and the workers, shows that the Panama government is through ignoring the once-vibrant town of Puerto Armuelles. The Panama government is now activity promoting the economic revitalization of Puerto Armuelles.
