Mindchild:
I've read your threads on this project with considerable bemusement, particularly relating to the part about purchasing an island in the Archipielago de las Perlas (Pearl Islands) and developing it as a form of idyllic community.
Co-incidentally, Panama is on my travel list for the medium-term, so I started some basic research on the country a short while ago. I firmly believe in being as fully prepared as possible before travelling somewhere (let alone living there), and this involves taking a brutally realistic view of places, their shortcomings, and their hazards. Being in an unexpected and unsupported situation in a foreign place is not an adventure, it is a frightening crisis. Consequently, I hope that you are taking a more realistic view of this place than is implied in your threads, where the project participants use terms such as "paradise" etc. There is no such thing as paradise; there is no utopia. Invariably, no matter how wonderful a place appears, there is always a leper behind the palm tree.
Here are a few of the most basic thoughts, questions and observations which I personally feel need to be soberly considered.
Immigration matters
If you intend to live in Panamanian territory you will presumably be required to go through Panamanian immigration procedures. Have you researched these? What requirements does Panama have for accepting immigrants in terms of desirability in occupations, wealth etc? Will your project participants qualify? What requirements does Panama have for education and raising of children etc? Do any of you speak Spanish? Are you temperamentally suited to living in a foreign country and culture?
The Island
Have you, or any participants, visited these islands to carry out a preliminary survey? From your previous threads, it seems that the island you will purchase requires infrastructure development. Who will carry out these developments? How will you control the development, since this will need to be accomplished before you move to the island? Quality of life is substantially less in Panama than the U.S. Is it even possible to develop infrastructure to an acceptable level for people used to living in the U.S.? How much will all this cost? How will infrastructure be maintained?
Climate
The Pearl Islands are located approx. 8.5 degrees N of the equator (in comparison, Miama is 25 degrees N). To put it bluntly, the sun at those latitudes is brutal. For most of the year, the UV index is rated as extreme (10+), and unprotected skin (particularly light skin) will begin to burn in approximately 10-15 minutes of exposure. In fact, it's quite interesting to put on sunblock, and then watch as the red stripes and patches form on your skin where you've missed bits. Running around in a bikini is the last thing you want to be thinking of doing (your chest hair wouldn't suit a bikini anyway). Temperatures are generally in the 90 to 100 degree F range. The high humidity will make it "feel like" 5 to 10 degrees F hotter. Not pleasant, even for lying on the beach, let alone working and maintaining an island.
Health
Healthcare is not at the high level of the U.S. What facilities will you have on the island, for everything from minor fractures to serious injuries, or childbirth arrangements etc? How will you get quickly to medical help, if it is needed? According to the U.S. embassy in Panama:
Although Panama City has some very good hospitals and clinics, medical facilities outside of the capital are limited.
Realistically, while you live on the island, you will have to make trips to the mainland. Panama is a tropical developing country, with the expected diseases.
Malaria exists in some parts of Panama. Cases of dengue fever are increasing particularly but not only in rural areas. Visitors are advised to cover up and use insect repellent. There was a recent outbreak of a pulmonary viral infection (hantavirus, spread by rats) in the Central Provinces of Herrar and Los Santos, though it appears to have been successfully contained. - UK Foreign Office
Safety and the political situationCentral and Northern South America are not exactly stable areas politically. The situation in Panama has deteriorated since the departure of the U.S. military from the canal zone in 1999. In addition, Panama borders Colombia.
From the U.S. embassy in Panama:
Travel toward Colombia beyond a line drawn from Punta Carreto in the Comarca de San Blas Province on the Atlantic coast, through Yaviza in the eastern Darien Province, to Punta Pina on the Pacific coast, may be dangerous due to the activities of drug traffickers, Colombian guerrillas, and Colombian paramilitary groups. This area encompasses parts of the Darien National Park, as well as privately-owned nature reserves and tourist resorts. While no incidents have occurred at these resorts, Colombian groups in the Darien have perpetrated kidnappings of residents and tourists. The potential for violence against Americans exists.
From the UK Foreign Office:
Travel to the Darien province should be conducted only with an organised group and to recognised tourist destinations. The border area with Colombia is particularly dangerous and political and criminal violence in Colombia often spills over into Panama. There have been recent incursions by Colombian guerrillas and other armed groups. Two Europeans were kidnapped and killed on the border in March 1997 and two British nationals were held captive for 9 months before being released on the Colombian side of the border in December 2000.
Again, you are living on an island. But realistically, you will be dependent upon necessities from the mainland, including food and water. A check of the map (
http://www.latinsynergy.org/panamamap.htm) shows that the Pearl Islands are located approximately 75 miles from the destabilised zone of Darien Province and 100 miles from the Colombian border. This is
too close for comfort. What will you do if the adjacent mainland becomes unstable? Worst case scenario? An island of defenceless Americans makes for awfully good hostage material.
In addition, according to the US embassy:
With the 1999 departure of the U.S. military from Panama, local maritime search and rescue capabilities are greatly diminished.
Finally, Panamanian waters are a central highway for drugs shipments North.
These are basic but important considerations, even leaving aside completely the feasibility of conducting any business enterprises from the island.
I sincerely hope you are considering this enterprise realistically, and not allowing visions of mythical tropical paradises or utopian societies to cloud your judgement. Failure in an enterprise such as this will at the best be traumatic, at the the worst extremely dangerous. Please be careful!
Expatbrit
References:
Map of Panama: http://www.latinsynergy.org/panamamap.htm
UK Foreign Office advice for travellers: Panama: http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel/countryadvice.asp?PN
US Embassy, consular information sheet: http://travel.state.gov/panama.html
Expatbrit
