Morning is the best time to visit Ancón Hill, the highest point in Panama City. Soaring skyscrapers overlook the glittering Pacific, while beneath you lies the appealing colonial quarter.
All around you is lush greenery, orchids, and birdsong. On the way up to your vantage point, you’ll have passed the old residences of U.S. military officers once tasked with controlling the Panama Canal.
I climbed Ancón Hill a few years back, when I spent three months embedded among the expat communities of Panama. (See a photo I took from the top here.) Making friends was easy. Getting around was easy. In fact, everything was pretty easy. That’s Panama.
I tried out city living and hung around with IL Panama Editor Jessica Ramesch, who wrote this month’s feature story on Panama’s best retirement havens.
I beach bummed in Coronado, Bocas del Toro, and the town of Pedasí—my personal favorite when it comes to the country’s beach destinations. Along with a rich Spanish heritage and near-deserted beaches, Pedasí offers some of the best sports fishing anywhere. Days trolling for tuna in a 20-foot panga were followed by beers in Smiley’s, where the welcoming expats hang out. (If fishing is your thing, check out my friend Scott Hed talking about bucket-list fishing in Latin America.)
Mountains run the length of Panama and the cooler spring-like temperatures make towns like Boquete and Volcán, in Chiriquí province, and the hamlet of Santa Fe, in Veraguas province, popular spots with expats. I liked the amenities Boquete offered, with lots of social activities, clubs, and groups. I found Santa Fe to be Eden-like, full of hummingbirds and tropical flora.
Beyond the laidback lifestyles and the best retirement program in the world, right now you’ll also find opportunities to invest wisely and profit well in real estate. Long before I visited Panama, another friend, real estate guru Ronan McMahon, was there as the real estate market was kicking up a gear. That was 2004, and now Ronan has again uncovered opportunity…as he reveals here.
Eoin Bassett, International Executive Editor
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