Shop Talk

The following are the brief commentaries and reflections of our CEO, Bob Adams, discussing matters related to Panama, its development, and its investment climate. They're not meant to be academic or profound, but you may find some of them interesting, perhaps even instructive. We hope so.

Whether it was Horace Greeley or John Soule who first said it in the 1850's, the phrase, "Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country" was good advice. In those days, few could imagine the western US being anything more than dangerous territory with little potential for "civilization" as many defined it. They were wrong. Those who went west were those who profited hugely in the years to come. By the time their slower cousins finally accepted that the west had potential, they arrived only to find that land prices had sky-rocketed and others already had the advantage of being well-established in business and commerce.

At Panama Wave S.A., we share the same attitude here in Panama, but in the opposite direction.

For more than two years, we have been visiting Panama East to understand the local situation and the potential for future development. We have chosen to focus primarily on the western end of Lake Bayano and the District of Chepo. It takes from one hour to an hour and a half to reach this area from Panama City, depending on your final destination. That time is shrinking now that the expansion of the Pan American highway to four lanes to Pacora is finished and will continue to shrink as the next extension to Tanara is constructed in the near couple years. Eventually, the expansion will pass Chepo and reach Lake Bayano.

The benefits to residential and vacation development at the Lake are numerous.

Panama Wave S.A. has made a strategic decision to focus its efforts in this region, starting with Lake Bayano, but also including other areas in Chepo District, including the beautiful little island of Isla Chepillo, the inland ocean fishing port at Coquira, and the ruins of old Fort San Miguel near the city of Chepo. From Chepo, we will expand our efforts to include other nearby districts in the province of Panama and eventually the province of the Darien.

As first steps, we have launched two simple websites highlighting the lake at LakeBayano.com (in English) and its sister site at LagoBayano.com (in Spanish). We have also advised a Panamanian family in its successful establishment of the first tourist facility at the lake, Bayano Adventure, offering lake tours by pontoon boat or traditional dugout canoe, mountain biking, camping, and horseback riding, as well as featuring an operating dairy farm where visitors can even milk the cows! We plan to open two additional websites that will focus more broadly on the east at PanamaEast.com (in English) and PanamaEste.com (in Spanish). We hope to have those sites up and running by September of 2010.

Finally, we represent the only titled land currently available on the Lake with waterfront, access to the only paved road at the lake other than the Pan American, and access to both electricity and municipal water at the property's edge. The 8.8+ hectares (21.8 acres) of land is being offered as a whole or as three smaller lots of roughly 1.5 to 2 hectares (4-5 acres), each with waterfront and excellent lake views, retaining the remainder for the current owner.

The lake is a jewel, the brightest of many in Panama East. If you are interested in investments in this area and would like more information, photos, and videos, let us know. We can help.