Buyer Beware on Panama Construction!

When we first went to Panama, over seven years ago now, our goal was to explore and analyze Panama and investigate the possibility to eventually have a home for retirement later on. Boy have we come a one way since then! As many of you already know we learned much from our ventures in Panama.

Because we were experienced in the construction industry ourselves, we were of course analytical in our endeavours to explore new developments. In other words we wanted to make sure that what we may be interested in investing in would live up to our expectations in the area of construction. We therefore checked up on several developers and went to various worksites to view the projects under construction. We actually would sneak on construction sites after hours to get a view of the quality of construction.

We all know that once the finished product is complete it can look pretty good! We wanted to see the raw product before all the finishes were done so we could evaluate for ourselves what kind of quality went into the finished product. We were horrified. People were actually purchasing these homes and condos and the construction was terrible. We found the block work was inferior, to say the least. Sometimes we found that the workers would start to lay the blocks right on the ground without even pouring a foundation. The ground was not even levelled off first and the blocks would be all helter skelter. Once the walls were all installed the floor would be poured inside and the walls would be parged and no one would know the difference. We could not believe it!

One site that we were on we noticed that they built the four walls independently of each other. They were not tied in at the corners and at the end they just stuffed the corners with garbage and newspapers and then parged over it. As you can see in the picture, the blocks are helter skelter with large holes and garbage in the gaps. Notice the corner as I mentioned. This particular picture was taken on a site that is actually a popular destination for many vacationers and North Americans who have purchased in here. Once we saw this quality of construction we decided to oversee developments ourselves to make sure other North Americans , such as yourself, were not getting ripped off.

You really need to be careful about what you are purchasing in Panama. If you want a home that is going to last and one where you are not going to have constant problems because of the initial quality of the construction please do your homework. We have done the legwork for you on this and so if you are looking for something to purchase in Panama feel free to email us to find out the background on the builder you are working with. We know many of the construction companies that are good and who to stay away from. The old adage stays true you usually get what you pay for so if it sounds to good to be true it probably is!

Check out our website and send us an email at http://www.connectiontopanama.com If you are looking to book your next vacation check out our rentals at http://www.panama-vacation-rentals.com

Transport of Workers in Panama

I have gotten used to the way that the Panamanians pack their workers into the back of a truck on their way to and from work, I have seen it so often. As North Americans we are not used to this sight. Sometimes they are perched on the side rails in the box of the truck. Sometimes they are packed in with tools and equipment or supplies.

It always amazes me that no one seems to think about the impact that the movement of a large refrigerator would make, should the truck sway in the wrong direction, on the poor Panamanian that has been solicited to hold it up on the trip.  Or how about being impaled by some of the tools or materials being transported via the same containment.

This particular day we were behind a Panamanian carrying his bicycle off the back of the truck. It was not one of the most exciting transports we have seen, but at least I had my camera ready for this one.

Woman in Trouble on Beach at High Tide

On one particular day while we were staying at the Playa Serena in 2011, there was a large wind blowing. The water was very rough. I had actually never seen the swells so high in Gorgona before. They must have been about 10 feet high and the tide was on its way in.

As I stood on my balcony I watched a fairly large woman come down to the beach to lay in the sun. She put her large purse on the sand down by the foot of her lounge chair. She lay face up on the lounge chair. I watched her because I know the tide was coming in and I knew that she would lose her purse if she left it there.

I should mention that in Gorgona when the swells get high and the tide is coming in there are a series of riptides that run along the length of the beach about every 60 ft.

As I watched a large wave came in very close to her purse and she noticed this and moved her purse from the bottom of her lounge chair to the head of her lounge chair, again on the sand. At this time she turned over face down onto her lounger.

I continued to watch for about the next ten minutes as the tide continued to aggressively advance toward this woman. She was positioned about at the crest of where the high tide line normally would come to, and so I was not concerned for her safety but was sure that her purse would become a victim of the swells.

Sure enough a huge waves came in and engulfed her purse and proceeds to sweep it back out to sea. It moved along more slowly then i had anticipated but to be sure it was being carried out to sea. The woman must have noticed out of the corner of her eye the purse being taken, and was actually for the size of her, quite quick in responding. She jumped out of her charge and went running after her purse, reaching down on several occasions as she got, what she though was close enough to grab it, as it got caught in wave after wave approaching the beach and advancing forward. Of course it was making it's way out to the sea. All this was happening as i watched her get closer and closer the waters edge. My heart was caught in my throat as I watched what happened next.

This woman was not watching the waves and the ocean at all, she was so intent on retrieving her disappearing purse. As she approached the waters edge a large wave, twice her height came right over her and engulfed her. She was soon swept out to sea and caught in one of the riptides. I would see her bob and then she would disappear. Arms would flail and then nothing until a few seconds later when I would see her bob again. This went on for quite some time.

The security guard who was on duty at the Playa Serena saw what had happened and ran down the beach to try to rescue her. Also there where construction workers working on the tower next door, The Bijao, and about six of them ran down from the building to help. The security guard tried to jump in after her a couple of times but was caught in the riptide himself. Everyone on the beach watched in horror at what was unfolding in front of them. The problem was that the current was much too strong for any rescue attempts to be made safely.

The security guard managed to get thrown free of the riptide and made his way back to shore and stood there helpless to assist any further with the recovery of the woman. We watched the woman continually bob up, flail her arms and then disappear beneath surface once again only to resurface somewhere else a few seconds later. Eventually there was no more movement from the woman and then she bounced up face down and disappeared from view again. I knew she was done.

She bobbed up a couple of more times but by now we knew there was no response. She had drowned. Miraculous is what happened next.

The next wave came up and landed the woman on the beach on her back. The six construction workers and the security guard ran down and grabbed her before the next wave came in. She must have been about three hundred pounds and so they dragged her up the beach by her arms and upper body. as they dragged her she was bounced up and down because they were running to get her out of harms way when the next wave would come.

I am trained in CPR and so I ran down the stairs to assist in resuscitation. When I arrived at the scene the woman was already coughing and sputtering. It seems that the act of dragging her up the beach and with all of the bouncing the water had been forced out of her lungs and she was now breathing on her own. She was of course still concerned about her purse which was long gone and never was recovered. At that time I do not think she even realized the severity of what had happened and how she had actually drowned and been revived.

We learned later that this was her first day upon arriving in Panama. The U.S. Consulate was helpful in getting her paperwork that she needed to get her passport etc. There were several people in the building that helped her out with a place to stay until she could get another set of keys for the apartment she was staying in and with transportation and medical that she needed.

I will always remember the brave efforts of the security guard that day as he braved the strong currents to try and rescue her and the construction workers who valiantly pulled her from the brink of death and brought her back through their rough efforts of pulling her out of harms way.

The Celebration of Quinceañera

One of the things we noticed in Panama is how they love their "Fiestas"! They seem to have an occasion for everything. As we were travelling down the road we noticed what appeared to be a small parade. There were a number of teenagers hooting and hollering. I took some pictures. 

It wasn't until later when we learned that this was the celebration called Quinceañera or Quince años. It is the celebration of a young girl at the age of 15 being welcomed into young womanhood. The tradition is to wear pink and she is given gifts of jewelry. There is usually a church celebration followed by a dance at which time the Señorita will have her first dance with the Chambelan who is her date for the night. The dance is a traditional ballroom waltz called the Vals.


The Chambelan initiates the dance by requesting the Quinceañera to join him in the Vals. This dance is usually followed by dances with her father and godfather and other close male relatives. During this time other guests join them on the floor to dance as well. 


The godparents are usually responsible for the arrangement of the ceremonies and are also responsible for the religious upbringing of the girl in the Catholic religion.


This cultural aspect of Panama is quite common in other Latino countries although the celebrations may differ slightly, the common element is that the family is welcoming the young daughter into womanhood.