Thirdly I had to have a Panamanian health check... this includes a blood test and HIV test.  Many of the doctors here are trained in the States, as was my doctor.  As I was not part of the Panamanian health system I was charged full price for all my tests... US$38.50!

I am a far too impatient individual, to simply sit and let the good times roll, so my thought of a business to supplement my pension income was crucial. Apart from the idea of the Eco resort, th teak plantation offered a good long term investment.

Once you own a property, you do need a land management company which will organize everything, from planting the teak trees to the maintenance of the farm. This is also called reforestation, which the government looks at very favourably. It truly then becomes a simple matter of paying for the maintenance on a monthly basis and sitting back and letting the trees grow. Much of the maintenance is done by locals, hence the cost is low.

It is important to find a good management company that you can trust..particualraly in the beginning when you cannot be in Panama full time.  For this reason the teak farm became a reality quite quickly.  The Noni plantation did too, though the market for this fruit was nowhere near as buoyant as was initially thought.  One particular issue being, that the processing plants are all near Panama City and not in the vicinity of Bocas, hence transport  eats up much of a possible profit margin. Also it would appear that the market in Europe never reached the level of the USA and may already have peaked already.

Never mind all that, it does not matter to me if up to two of the safety valves on the investment do not work. So the Noni proposition may not be as great as we thought but the other two protections work well i.e. the appreciation and the hardwood farm. It needs some money to maintain the place but this is not really much, considering what you get.

We then went to work on the Eco resort plan with a top level architect in Panama City. Once the basic concept was developed we were confronted with the governmental requirements, of which the environmental impact study appeared one of the most important documents. It took all of one year to have it complete and submitted to the authorities. Then the  speed of work by the government becomes evident. Things simply take longer than in the Western World. It is an attitude one has to accept and live with. Again not a really big problem -  I do have the time to wait. You can accelerate the process if you are willing to grease the right palms, but I had made it clear from the very beginning that I was not going down that path.

We then went to work on the Eco resort plan with a top level architect in Panama City. Once the basic concept was developed we were confronted with the governmental requirements, of which the environmental impact study appeared one of the most important documents. It took all of one year to have it complete and submitted to the authorities. Then the  speed of work by the government becomes evident. Things simply take longer than in the Western World. It is an attitude one has to accept and live with. Again not a really big problem -  I do have the time to wait. You can accelerate the process if you are willing to grease the right palms, but I had made it clear from the very beginning that I was not going down that path.

A common thread in our endeavour is that we work with true professionals; they may not be the cheapest you can find but they sure get the job done. The exception to that rule was described above. Check the references! Nevertheless it is proving good practice to be in Panama about every three months. Things advance better if the involved professionals know you are coming to check on progress.

The ultimate question that remains: would we do it again if we knew what we know today? The answer is a simple, but resounding Yes!