Just minutes from downtown Panama City, there’s a place where people come to dine on seafood and watch the best sunsets in the city… exercise on a long, nicely paved road… and be surrounded by the beauty of the Pacific Ocean.

The Amador Causeway is one of my favorite places in Panama.

Stretching nearly 4 miles into the Pacific Ocean, this unique road connects the four small islands that lie just offshore from Panama City: Naos, Perico, Culebra, and Flamenco.

More than just a road, however, the Causeway has become one of the city’s most popular recreational areas. The wide, flat, over-water avenue is perfect for biking, jogging, walking, skating, or just enjoying the ocean breeze.

The Causeway is set up for enjoyment, with everything from bicycles and scooters to kayaks and paddleboards available for rent. And when you’re ready to slow down, it’s well-appointed with plenty of waterfront restaurants, cafés, and casual places to relax and take in the ambience.

Flamenco Marina is one of my favorite places to meet friends for lunch or grab dinner by the water, with Italian, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Panamanian, and other cuisines available.

The views are spectacular. It overlooks Panama City’s iconic skyline as well as the entrance to the Panama Canal, but it’s surrounded by ocean waters on almost all sides.

Further offshore, tropical islands dot the horizon. Amador is the jumping-off point for excursions to these islands—the place where you catch the fast boat to Isla Taboga, the Pearl Islands, and beyond.

If you love the ocean, this area is hard to beat. It has a relaxed, coastal feel… even though you’re still in Panama City. The marina makes it easy for residents to keep a boat close to home, a rarity in most major cities.

Amador has a fascinating history. It was built using rocks excavated during the construction of the Panama Canal in the early 1900s. These rocks connected the islands and created a protective breakwater for the canal.

For decades, this area served as a U.S. military base called Fort Grant. After being returned to Panama in 1999, many of the fortifications became restaurants, bars, cafés, shops, and clubs.

Today, Amador is enjoyed by tourists and residents alike. It’s the first taste of Panama for many of the 400,000 people per year who arrive here on a cruise ship. Amador Cruise Terminal is found on Isla Perico and accommodates mega-ships.

Amador is where two of Central America’s most important convention centers are located. It’s home to the Figali Convention Center, an indoor sports arena with a capacity of 25,000 that has hosted events and major concerts, including everyone from Metallica to Justin Bieber. It’s also where you can find the newer Panama Convention Center, the biggest and most technologically advanced venue of its kind in the region.

One of the most recognizable landmarks in Amador is the colorful Biomuseo, designed by architect Frank Gehry. The museum explores Panama’s unique biodiversity and the formation of the Isthmus of Panama, a must-visit for anyone interested in nature and science.

One Of The City’s Most Desirable Lifestyles

The Amador Causeway offers one of the most desirable lifestyles in Panama City… It’s close to the city center at only a 10- to 15-minute drive… but it feels much quieter and more relaxed.

It’s the closest thing Panama City has to urban island living, offering a peaceful, by-the-water lifestyle. You can walk most places, and it attracts an international community.

Life by Amador Causeway revolves around the outdoors, whether you make use of the walking and cycling paths, the marinas and boating, or simply take in the ocean views. It’s also close to green spaces and parks.

Perhaps what people love best about Amador are the exceptional views.

The Panama Canal entrance… the Bridge of the Americas… Panama City’s skyline, including after dark when city lights twinkle on the horizon…

And everywhere you look, the Pacific Ocean. Wide-open spaces are rare in Panama City. This is one place you can find them.

Sincerely,

The post Island Living In The Heart Of Panama City appeared first on Live and Invest Overseas.

In college, Ariel Weinmann-Rubino met his future wife—a Panamanian who urged him to visit her motherland. Ariel had no interest in the little isthmus but he had no idea what he was missing…

“Once I arrived, sight-unseen, with roundtrip ticket for a return home in six months… I fell in love,” says Ariel. After that trip, he flew home, sold his car, had a yard sale, and moved to Panama. “I’ve never looked back.”

That was back in 2017. In 2018, he was able to start his own business in Panama. “One thing I’ve noticed about Panama—it’s a small country, so if you have a skill, even if you’re retired, you will rise to the top,” he says.

Ariel had firefighter training, so he became a volunteer firefighter. He went to the San Miguelito station and helped with training.

Ariel got obsessed with fishing once he got to Panama—something he’d never done before is now a part of his daily life. He keeps his gear in the trunk of his car. He’s part of a hiking club, too. Some hikes are hard, but it’s fun to be a part of a community. Ariel has also adopted three Panamanian street dogs, who he loves very much.

“I decided that I was going to become the best immigrant I can be,” says Ariel. “I learned how to cook every Panamanian dish, I go to every local event, and people joke that I’m more Panamanian than a lot of locals.”

Ariel’s move influenced other important people in his life to take the leap…

“When my grandfather got old, my parents put him in a retirement home,” shares Ariel. “This wasn’t something out of the ordinary for us as Americans but when we visited him, we realized that it wasn’t a place that someone who didn’t need around the clock medical care was going to be happy in.”

Once Ariel’s parents started getting older—his mother is in her mid-sixties and his father in his mid-seventies—this was something they talked about. They knew they didn’t want to live their remaining years in a retirement home so they moved to Panama.

“My mother had a knee replacement in the United States, outpatient, my dad had to pick her up afterwards and she was on so many opioids. It caused so many problems for her and my father, who had to stay home and take time off work to care for her, and the physical therapist wouldn’t do home visits,” says Ariel about his parents experience with the U.S. health care system.

“In Panama, my mother had surgery for her other knee. She paid with her credit card, had five days of after care in the hospital, and they didn’t give her opioids. Every day they came in and checked her progress. Doctors in Panama told her that the knee movement from the U.S. knee replacement was awful, contrary to what U.S. doctors told her. She now has excellent mobility because a physical therapist came to her house every day for two months and used several different techniques for healing. Now she’s perfect.”

In Panama, the sense of community is strong and doesn’t fade with age. Moving here has given the whole family a new zest for life.

For Ariel, it’s simple: “Community is the reason I love this country and continue to live here.”

Sincerely,

The post A Multi-Generational Move To Panama appeared first on Live and Invest Overseas.

Few ingredients feel as naturally at home in Panama as coconut. It appears in everything from savory Caribbean dishes to sweets, and its history here goes back much further than you might imagine…

Researchers found evidence confirming the presence of coconut along Panama’s Pacific coast before European conquest, with genetic evidence suggesting the coconuts ultimately came from the Philippines. 

So, it’s no surprise that coconut found its way into one of the world’s most beloved desserts: flan. 

Flan itself has countless variations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In Panama, adding coconut gives the classic silky custard a distinctly tropical character—rich and creamy, with the subtle flavor of coconut contrasting beautifully with the caramel topping.  

It’s the kind of dessert that feels right on a Panamanian table… familiar, comforting, and just a little bit tropical. 

Try it for yourself with the recipe below.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of grated coconut

• 1/4 cup of water

• 2 cups of sugar

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• 1 can condensed milk

• 1 can evaporated milk

• 12 eggs

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 cup of sugar

Instructions

1. Place the grated coconut, water, lemon juice, and two cups of sugar in a small pan over low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon and cook until the mixture is smooth and the coconut is cooked. Turn off the flame and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

2. Meanwhile, mix the two cans of milk and the eggs, beating constantly. Then add the vanilla and the coconut mixture.

3. Melt the sugar over low heat in a frying pan until caramelized. Pour the caramel into an oven-proof dish. Then, pour the coconut mixture over and bake at 350°F (175°C) in a water bath for one hour.

4. Cool and unmold.

¡Buen provecho!,

The post A Tropical Delight appeared first on Live and Invest Overseas.