A country for the photo buff

While Panama delights the eye from Ocean to Ocean it is also a paradise for the camera buff who can find things to fill the lens at every corner. Here are a few taken by our wandering cameraman.

When the "crane" looks like the national emblem

By Steven Rich

So many construction cranes nest on top of the condominium buildings being erected in Panama City that Panamanians wonder if the national bird is a crane instead of the harpy eagle.

Buying a condo in Panama looks easy, but mistakes and problems can arise if you do not take specific steps to protect your purchase.

First, you need to find an honest, reliable, English speaking real estate agent who will look after your interests. There are real estate agents more concerned about getting a bigger commission than finding the type of condo you desire.

Others are there to help the seller rather than the buyer. Many people showing properties are not licensed real estate agents and not citizens or permanent residents of Panama; and may not know Panama real estate laws.

I am not telling you not to work with a foreigner who wants to show you real properties. Nevertheless, don't expect them to know all of the laws that affect your purchase rights.

Secondly, you need an honest, reliable, competent, English speaking real estate lawyer. Once you are ready to make an offer on any type of real estate, either have a real estate lawyer write it up or review it before you sign. Once your offer is accepted, the lawyer can assist you with a formal Purchase Contract, title search, and escrow process.

Confused? Finding the right condo can be perplexing since no Multiple Listing Service (MLS) exists in Panama. The same condos list with 100 plus real estate offices at different selling prices because the listing commissions differ. The majority of condos are Pre-Construction not even built yet.

Once you find the right condo, you need to decide on what to offer. Forget about the listed price. Most condo sellers will negotiate the price, amenities and fixtures included in the unit.

Developers Rule
The project developer’s office sells most condos in Panama. You may see some architectural renderings, diagrams of typical floor units, sometimes-even drawings or a model of the building.

All of these can change prior to completion. This is where the formal purchase contract becomes critical. If it’s not in writing, it just isn’t. Verbal agreements are not enforceable in Panama.

Purchase Contracts must be in writing, specific, and signed by someone authorized by the seller. Real estate agents or the developer’s sales staff may tell you that the 25th floor is the Penthouse. If it’s not in the written contract, the developer may change plans and build five floors on top of yours.

They may tell you that the planned tower in the vacant lot next door will not obstruct your ocean view. Get every oral promise in writing.

Condominium documents prepared by the developer include drawings, plans, and the condo articles of incorporation and bylaws filed with the Panama Ministry of Housing (Ministerio de Vivienda) otherwise known as MIVI. You can obtain copies of these documents from MIVI. The documents are in Spanish. Translating legal and construction terms into English requires a competent translator. Read these documents several times because they are always loaded with loopholes in the developer’s favor. The condo bylaws are different from the condo regulations and operating procedures. You need to have copies of both of them.

Steven Rich is Marketing Manager for Panama Offshore Legal Services

Expat Profile

The long flight path from schoolboy pilot to rescue missions

By David Young

What to do when the single engine of your plane fails while you are flying over a forest of cashew trees in East Africa … or when landing in Somalia carrying $25,000 in cash from Zimbabwe, you discover it is counterfeit … or again when flying at night at 50 feet spraying tsetse flies, and scores of white flashes below, turn out to be not dragon flies but rifle shots?

New Zealand expat Philip (Phil) Cooper has the answer to them all. In a flying career that has spanned a large part of the world and involved him in missions from ferrying tourists to the side of glaciers, to rescuing kidnapped children in the Sudan, adventure has piled on adventure, like a modern version of a Rider Haggard story.

Phil got into flying while still in high school. Encouraged by his mother, who had earned a commercial flying license. he took his first lessons and was hooked for life.

A Red cross rescue plane.

After 700 hours flying time, he visited South Africa with a group of young professionals. In Johannesburg he heard that a local airline that also operated a Flying Doctors service Basutoland (Lesotho)was looking for pilots. His experience flying over and around mountains in New Zealand, helped him land a job, in the mountainous and largely arid land, completely surrounded by South Africa.

It was a time when the winds of change were sweeping across the continent and political stability was fragile. But for Phil it was the beginning of a lasting love affair with Africa. The early courtship lasted two years, before he returned to his home base and a stint with a commercial airline, and then a new type of hazardous landing; putting adventure seeking tourists on glaciers.

The compass next pointed him to the Solomon Islands while he continued to upgrade his qualifications before responding to the siren call from Africa and another contract with a small commercial airline in Lesotho. Encouragement from his mother continued, and at one stage she flew to Lesotho and at 73 accompanied him to remote villages as his co-pilot.

His flights led him to Mozambique, in turmoil with the departure of the Portuguese and Russia’s attempts to gain influence in the region, and in the dying months of apartheid in South Africa, he flew planes loaded with policy makers.

From flying people he moved to fighting the tsetse fly, a bloodsucker that can destroy herds of domestic and wild animals, and bring sleeping sickness to humans. Spraying of infected areas had to be done at night, 50 feet above the ground, with special techniques needed to ensure that the pesticide got under the leaves where the flies shelter.

A period of freelance flying covered everything from charter flights for mining companies to game drives. During these his love for Africa deepened as he gained an affinity with wild life, particularly elephants and black rhino, and he learned to pass his feelings on to nervous passengers when he moved from plane cockpit to road vehicles on extended safaris.

Back on the tsetse fly trail, and with flights in and out of Mogadishu, he experienced engine failure when flying over a desert road. He landed safely near an anti-aircraft base and was quickly surrounded by soldiers wielding AK 47s. When their leader approached and heard Phil speaking English, he held out his hand and proudly explained his command of the language, and provided help to repair the plane.

During the conversation Phil mentioned the "fireflies" he noticed when flying at night. The flies were from rifles wielded by nomadic tribesmen, suspicious of low flying planes, particularly at night.

When the word was passed on that he was killing the hated tsetse, he became a local hero and was named "bringer of milk". The elimination of the fly meant that the camels could continue to lactate. The drawback to his new hero status, was the desire of the tribes to keep him permanently in the country.

Phil Cooper.

During his time in Somalia, his employers needed to pay bills in Mogadishu, and he flew from their headquarters in Zimbabwe with $25,000 in cash, as banks were not trusted. The skepticism was not misplaced, as the cash from the Zimbabwe National Bank was found to be counterfeit. The company sent another flight from Zimbabwe to correct the "oversight".

His next engine failure came when flying from Mozambique over Kenya. He spotted a small village in a forest of cashew trees, cleared the thatched roofs but tore the wings off the plane as he crash landed.. An army helicopter rescued him, but the plane was written off.

More adventures followed, and he flew missions with politicians and policy makers, establishing personal relationships with leaders like Buthelez,i the Zulu king who went on to become a minister in the first post-apartheid South African government.

He made one more attempt at flying in New Zealand when he joined a commuter airline. The venture was short lived as a Government backed major airline forced the company out of business.

He changed continents, worked in Canada training pilots and as chief pilot for an Alberta Flying Ambulance service. The service was undermanned and led to seven-days a week flying and sometime shifts of 40 hours or more.

It was time to return to Africa, flying for the Red Cross and then the United Nations in Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan. He formed a partnership and chartered out three planes for humanitarian and supply missions.

A UN "Buffalo" rescue plane.

The civil war in the Sudan led to the capture of thousands of children who had been captured by rebels and force marched hundreds of miles across the country to be sold as slaves. The Sudanese government sent in the rescue planes, and the children were handed over to UNICEF for repatriation.

Phil was piloting Canadian built twin-engined Buffalos, the only planes that could continue to operate in the rainy season when landings sometimes took place on six inches of water, and often in places where no runways existed.

The cargo planes could carry 8.6 tonnes, including two vehicles, and sometimes ferried 120 refugees at a time.

When Rwanda and Uganda invaded the Congo, it was impossible to tell the difference between rebel groups and invaders, but rescue missions to evacuate expats, NGOs and refugees continued into Bukavu. Often the cargo was war-wounded on makeshift stretchers, 50 at a time. They were carried to an International Red Cross Hospital in Northern Kenya, which had the unenviable title of the second biggest amputation center in the world.

When he sold out his partnership, he moved to Uganda as a consultant and supplier of spare parts for planes. During his stay in Kampala, he helped run the biggest social event in East Africa, "The Royal Ascot International Goat Race", a fund raiser for children’s charities, He was also part time manager for the Entebbe Sailing Club, on Lake Victoria.

The long flight path finally led to Panama two years ago, where he joined a partnership to introduce Canadian materials and techniques to refurbish roads and "airstrips".

Is Africa more than a wing and a prayer away?

All great business needs an office

The center offers other services like secretarial and administrative clerks.

All businessmen relocating to Panama can save themselves time and money, and move into a fully equipped and manned office with one phone call.

If you still haven't found an ideal place to work, you can take advantage of the facilities of Ocean Office Business Center, and turn them into the ideal headquarters for your business in Panama.

The center, a Bern Enterprises (a real estate and construction company) initiative, rents 77 ready to use furnished offices between 19 square ft. and 60 square ft. (prices vary from $1,200) with a panoramic view, and multiple options, for either a short or long term stay.

As an additional service, the center offers a specially equipped training room, meeting rooms and a conference hall equipped with its own state of the art video conferencing system. It also offers a dedicated phone number for your company, management of correspondence, receptionist service, security system with cameras in common areas and a free parking space per office.

Other optional services are secretarial and administrative clerks, messenger services, catering, and office supplies.

They also have virtual offices designed for executives who need a presence in the marketplace without having an actual physical office. This service allows your company to have their own private telephone number in Panama and a corporate image with the attention of a receptionist answering calls.

The headquarters of the Ocean Business Center is located between Aquilino de la Guardia Ave. and 47th Street, in the Ocean Business Plaza Building, near the banking and business district and close by hotels, restaurants and shops.

For more details call 340-0200 or visit www.oceanbusinesscenter.com

Hometown Visitor

Go Fly a (Surf) Kite

By Vito Cortese

Our plans for the rest of Retz’s visit included kite surfing, and flying to San Blas. How would we get it all in?

A search on a web based surfing news group led us to Itzick Lalo who has the the pulse of the kite surfing scene and is also an instructor.

The next day we were driving to Punta Chame, the place for kiting in Panama in spite of the pot holes on the dirt road leading to the beach.

Itzick Lalo — Kite surfer extraordinaire & instructor.

The facilities are limited to a storage house where kiters pay a nominal rent to leave their gear and where rental equipment is available.

While Retz inflated his kite and and spent a challenging three hours on the water, I relaxed with my son on the beach, in a family friendly environment.

Camping is allowed on the grassy area near the storage house. To learn more about this sport, call Izick at 6674-7772.

Kites flying high at Punta Chame.

Before signing off, here is some extra information following requests from readers. The restaurant in Pedasi where our fish was cooked after a tuna fishing day, was Café Isla Iguana. Ask for Aracelys, who speaks English, and you will be guided to the door.

The Tuna boat belonged to Pedasí Fishing Tours. Call Jose at 6673-1112 or www.pedasifishing.com

Your insurance needs in Panama (Part II)

A pleasant surprise – rates are lower

By Jorge Del Río

Structure, fire, and content insurance is normally requested by banks when applying for a mortgage for a house or apartment.

It provides protection against risks to property, such as fire, lightning, earthquakes, hurricanes, explosions, flood and other damages caused by water, and vehicle impacts.

This policy is quite economical since Panama is considered a low risk country. For instance, a property worth $250,000 only pays a premium of $300 yearly, plus five percent of taxes. For any expat, this figure is very low compared to what he or she is used to paying back home.

A house is more than just a place to live. It is a space where you put your dreams and efforts together. For this, it is also recommended to protect all goods like furniture, electronic devices, art collections, and clothing with a contents insurance. With this, your belongings will be protected against risks by fire or any natural phenomenon. You can also request additional coverage against robbery and damage to electronic equipment.

The policy also gives you benefits like a private ambulance in case of a medical emergency and, in case of damage, repairs services provided by plumbers, locksmiths, electricians and window repairers.

Automobile insurance
Auto insurance is now mandatory for every motor vehicle in Panama. It covers both legal liability claims against the driver and loss or damage to the insured's vehicle.

New arrivals will be pleasantly surprised at how low insurance rates are,compared with those they paid in their home countries.

Any owner of a vehicle can acquire different policy options, starting from $150 yearly. The policy can provide other benefits like private ambulance in case of injury, and tow truck services in case of mechanical damage or collision. To apply for this plan all you need is a copy of your car registration.

A comprehensive policy gives you complete coverage which includes any damage your vehicle sustains. With this, the policyholder receives compensation in any of the following circumstances: damages due to collision with another car or fixed object, paint scratches, rear view mirror breakage, robbery, flood, and even vandalism or mishap in popular demonstrations.

An intriguing benefit with most policies is a service that provides free assistance in case you need a locksmith or assistance with a flat tire. In other domains this is usually provided through associations like the RAC or AA in Britain, AAA, in the United and CAA in Canada. Good services all, but they call for an additional fee. In Panama, it's part of the package.

Insurances should be considered very seriously . Getting the right one will save you lots of money and unnecessary headaches.

Jorge Del Río is a director of Ducruet Insurance, insurance brokers, and can be reached at 322-1005.

From operating table to creative artist

Dr. Moscoso at her worktable.

It seems a far cry from hospital anesthetist to a producer of fine works of mosaic art, but the connection is there. Both call for extensive training, patience, and talent. Throw in creativity and you can see how Dr Sara Moscoso made the cross over.

In 1993 she was diagnosed with toxic hepatitis from inhalation of anesthetic agents, and was advised to change professions. She went back to university to study administration and also took up the making of stained glass windows, some of which still decorate her home in Bethania. She found the creative work more appealing than administration, but working with glass, lead and acids led to further toxic problems.

Still wanting to follow her creative instincts, she became interested in the 5,500 years old art of creating mosaics, first used in Summaria, the area we now call Iraq. She first studied the art in Panama and followed up by traveling to Minas Gerais in Brazil where she had studied medicine and took an intensive course.

When she returned to Panama, after long hours of practice, she modified her techniques, began to import hand painted tiles from Europe, Venezuela and Brazil, and started her own business with a workshop in her home.

Sara makes a variety of objets d’art
from vases to garden paving stones.

Now she produces works from vases and trays, to coffee table tops and garden stepping stones.

When she returns to Brazil for a graduation anniversary she will be searching for new tiles to use in her creations. While she gets inspiration from catalogues and illustrations of mosaic works through the centuries, each of her own products is an original creation

Prices range from as low as $20 for a vase requiring days of work. to $75 for a large piece that will serve as an ornamental stepping stone. Paid by the hour, it would be an unrewarding business, but as a labor of love it is fulfilling, and like her former medical work, a daily challenge.

Dr. Moscoso can be reached at 261-5712 or mailto:sara_moscoso@hotmail.com

An export "factory" on the Causeway

The Causeway sounds an unlikely place for a factory, but if you walk from the parking lot at the rear of Brisas de Amador you’ll find one, operating seven days a week.

It’s open to the public and its products are sold on the spot, or packed ready for shipping to overseas customers around the world.

The "Tobacco Factory" is a cleverly designed cigar outlet, where cigars are hand rolled in front of customers six days a week.

If you are just a curious onlooker, you can watch from the outside.

Each employee is able to roll up to 50 cigars an hour using cured tobacco leaves from Chiriquí.

Sizes range from Churchill at $5 to the appropriately named "Amador" Sandwich cigar at $3.50, and are available singly or boxed.

For those with smaller cigar appetites there are packets of cigarillos. If you want to order by phone, call 314- 3399, but a trip to Unit 499, at the Brisas will be more rewarding.

It’s not the printer, It’$ the ink

Printers for your computer are getting cheaper by the day. Perhaps soon they will come free with a box of cornflakes. However, its not the initial purchase that’s a drain on your purse, it’s the ink. A few replacements of the manufacturer’s ink cartridge and you may soon find that you have spent more than you paid for the machine.

There are refill units that can reduce the price, if you have the patience and, if you are not ultra cautious; you don’t mind scrubbing spilt ink off your hands.

I recently discovered a cheap and effective source of compatible cartridges, tucked away in local 112 Plaza Concordia, near the government car license office. That’s the home of La Casa de la Tinta where they sell black and white compatible ink jet cartridges for as little as $2.95, tax included, and color cartridges for a few cents more. Cartridges for laser printers are similarly low priced and all come with a 100 percent guarantee.

Check if they have a compatible cartridge for your machine by calling 264-6030, or drop by Monday- Friday from 9.00 a.m. to 5. 00 p.m., Saturday 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

Cathedral Plaza flea market

A flea market organized by The Old Quarter Office, El Gazebo and Pulgas en Acción. Will be held on Sunday June 3, at the Cathedral Plaza in the Old Quarter of the city.

Starting from 9:00 a.m., you can enjoy yourself shopping at the patio sale or visiting stands themed with cultural information, puppet shows and story telling. The event also includes historical tours through the Old Quarter.

Visitors are welcome to sell books and art pieces. To confirm your participation write to elrastro.cascoantiguo@gmail.com

For additional information call 209-6300 ó 317-1551.

Panama’s best kept secret

Talking to an expat who has lived in Panama since before the 1989 Invasion, I was surprised to discover that he was unaware of a special discount for retirees.

No not the one you are entitled to in restaurants, at the movies or on air tickets, but for hotel stays. I checked a few more residents and discovered it was the best kept secret in town.

During the week the discount is 50 percent. Yes 50. Weekends it drops to 30 percent. So if you are planning a trip and have a residence permit, don't be shy about asking. It’s the Law.

Look for these special features in future editions

The Karaoke challenge
Even if you don't speak Spanish, you can have fun in the Panama karaoke world. The Visitor enters the land of the would be songsters and comes out hoarse, but with ego intact.

Where to worship
Panama has places of worship covering many religions from Catholic and Protestant to Jewish, Hindu, Muslin, Budist, Bahia. The Visitor provides a guide to help you fulfill your spiritual needs.

Animal Care
For those accustomed to cooler climes, the adjustment to the tropics sometimes takes a little time, but with care sun tan lotion and air conditioning the transition can be a pleasurable experience. But what about your pets? A look at some ways to ensure "mans" best friend" and other pets adjust to their new world.

Shopping with Lourdes
There are offers galore, sales, bargains - everything for the shopper on the move, from malls to boutiques. Lourdes will bring you details of the continuing Panamanian shopping paradise.

Fashion alive and well
While stores and boutiques in Panama offer a wide variety of the latest fashions from across the world, Panama has its own body of designers caterig for the fashion of all age groups.

New in Panama
It seems that not a day goes by without the opening of a new restaurant, or tourist facility, and our roving reporters are out there to guide you to new places to explore.