Cover Design Complete
Things are moving along for the release of THE NEW ESCAPE TO PARADISE in February. The cover design is complete. I’m doing a few tweaks on the content and then folks in Europe and North America can huddle by the fireplace, wrapped up in blankets while a blizzard howls outside, and dream of Panama!
The original ESCAPE TO PARADISE, released in 2010, has done very well, but now, after living in Panama ten years, and all the changes in Panama and in the world’s financial situation, I felt it was time for a total rewrite. THE NEW ESCAPE TO PARADISE contains a lot of new material and many new chapters. Originally the book will be published only in a print edition. Eventually I will release a Kindle edition, but my preference is for the print edition because it contains pictures and maps which, so far at least, I haven’t seen reproduce well on Kindle. I understand the Kindle concept, and Nikki uses her Kindle, but, personally I like to hold, fondle, mark up, and turn down pages in a real book. Besides, I do most of my reading in the spa.
“2014 will be a game changer for Panama
In spite of the current struggles with completion of the Canal expansion, which some believe are being exploited as an opportunity to bring completion of the project “in-house” to Panamanian companies [hmmmm ...], Panama City is booming.
Panama real estate agent Kent Davis, of Panama Equity, says 2014 WILL BE a game changer for Panama following a six months rise in property values, especially along waterfront districts like Balboa Avenue, Punta Pacifica, and Costa del Este.
Strong demand from the US and Canada, Venezuela and Colombia, along with an uptick in the economy of European countries like Spain and the UK in 2013, and a decreased supply of new apartments for sale have driven up prices by as much as 10% in certain areas.
Because developers were not building new high rises between 2009 and 2012, the next 12-24 months’ supply of brand new apartments will be limited to a handful of projects; as opposed to the roughly 4,000 new apartments that hit the market over the last three years.
The slackening of new inventory, combined with steady/rising demand will continue to drive prices up he says.
“2014 is going to be a game changer for Panama. The Metro will open and the road reorganization projects throughout the city will be completed, plus the historic renovations in old town and the Cinta Costera 3 will also all be completed, breathing new life into a city that’s felt like it has been under construction for the last five years.”
What does $7 million in cash look like?
Panama, like much of Latin America, struggles under the fallout of the United States’ failed drug policies. As a neighbor to countries producing drugs for US consumption, and a major link in the pipeline, Panama’s national police and customs are always finding and burning large quantities of illegal drugs. And drug money!
Over seven million dollars in cash, the proceeds of drug smuggling, was seized at Tocumen International Airport on the weekend.
Panamanian authorities reported the seizure of $ 7,186,695, the largest snatch made in the country in the past 15 years, said police chief in July Molto, at a press conference .
The money was distributed in eight suitcases with false bottoms.
Three Honduran – 41, 39, and 32 years old – have been arrested,said Moltó .
The Directorate of Judicial Investigation and the Drug Prosecutor received information about an important movement of money on an unscheduled flight from Honduras to Panama, which would be using Tocumen.
The three detainees had previously arrived in Panama, and are now under interrogation. [NEWSROOM PANAMA]