Cover Story
Westin rising
Last week Empresas Bern and Starwood Hotels & Resorts officially announced their agreement to build a new 200 room Westin Hotel in the Costa del Este (CDE) neighborhood of Panama City. This will be the third hotel that Bern is co-developing with the Starwood, following the 2010 opening of Le Méridien on Balboa Avenue in Panama City and the 611 room Westin Playa Bonita that is currently under construction on the shores just beyond Panama Pacifico, the London & Regional “new city” development across the Canal from Panama City.
There will be access between Panama Pacifico and the new Westin Hotel through the southern gate at Panama Pacifico, which provides access to the highway leading between the Inter American Highway at the Bridge of the Americas, past the hotel and to Veracruz Beach. More [+]
Features
Whales on the cover of the new “Focus on Panama”
A new edition of the Focus on Panama guidebook is currently being distributed at tourist locations throughout the country. Look for your free copy today – Focus is Panama’s highest circulation publication, with between 80,000 and 100,000 copies in English and Spanish.
On the cover, a striking photograph courtesy of the MarViva Foundation shows a humpback whale jumping in Panama Bay. The cover story, “Whales, watching them in Panama” informs readers on the yearly convergence of whales from both the northern and southern hemispheres in Panama’s Pacific, where they mate and breed. There is also information on how to get involved in the conservation of these giants of the deep and how to be part of a whale watching trip. More [+]
The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway’s 1952 classic story, The Old Man and the Sea, recounts an epic battle of wills between an old, experienced fisherman and a giant Marlin said to be the largest catch of his life.
I thought of the story as I watched Don Pablo, an 89 year old native of Belen in the Colón province as he sat for hours staring at a Blue Marlin we caught. Don Pablo has fished Panama’s Caribbean coast near Belen his whole life, but never caught or even seen a Blue Marlin. As he sat, staring, it was almost like the two were having a private conversation. I just kept wondering what was going on in his mind. More [+]
ExpoFlora International: Sept 16 – 18
A big flower event is happening next weekend. ExpoFlora opens its doors to the public at the Vasco Nuñez de Balboa Convention Center at the Hotel El Panama. Panama’s green thumbs will have big, bright and beautiful plants on display for the public to enjoy. The event is organized by Panama’s Gardener’s Club and this year’s theme is “We blossom between two oceans” (Florecemos entre dos mares). More [+]
The Summit Park near Panama City
Summit Park offers quite a lot and at a short distance from Panama City. Located in the former Canal Zone near the Highway Gaillard in Ancón, it offers just as much in history as it does in biodiversity.
It has among its forests a rich history of research and conservation of tropical flora. It is easy and economical to spend a day’s outing with a picnic or find something to eat at the small restaurant on the grounds. A dormitory and a camp site is available for overnighters. More [+]
