(Source: Panama America) The president of the Panameñista political party in Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, came out this morning with the official position of his party with regards to the proposal to expand the Panama Canal and the upcoming national referendum to decide the issue. "I want to make it perfectly clear that as the President of the Panameñista party and as a Panamanian I am completely against this referendum and manner in which the government has managed this issue, imposing it on the people, avoiding an open and constructive debate on the topic of the canal," he declared. Varela indicated that the government should not ask the people to approve the plan without a commitment to improve their quality of life, and without a plan for national development. He added that if the constitution had been reformed in 2004 then today we would have had a project that was "properly bid" and that we would have known what businesses would have been involved in the construction of the third set of locks, which account for 65% to 70% of the total cost of the expansion project, which have been presented based on a design concept and not reality.

The other day I did a walking tour of Casco Viejo with Clyde Jenkins. I took a whole bunch of other photos that I didn't use in the article and posted them to the photo albums:

• Casco Viejo Slideshow
• Photo Albums Homepage

Several new malls have opened up in Panama City in about the last four years. The first to open was the Multicentro in Paitilla. Shortly thereafter the Albrook Mall open next to the bus terminal and the Multi Plaza Mall in Punta Pacifica. I took some pictures at the Multi Plaza the other day and posted them to the photo albums in case you're interested. It's about like every mall in the United States and is currently going through an expansion. Here are links to:

• The Multi Plaza Slideshow
• The Photos Home Page

There are currently 765 photos posted and I'm working to expand that so check back often.

Jerry Wilson, the president of the National Assembly's Credentials Commission, said that the assembly will ask the government of the United States, through the Chancellery, for details regarding the cancellation of Supreme Court Magistrate Winston Spadafora's visa. Wilson made his statement as a follow-up to Victor Pitti's formal request on 15 September to open an investigation. The request has been in the General Secretariat of the Assembly and has not yet been forwarded to the Credentials Commission. (Editor's Comment: Cat and Mouse. Martin Torrijos can issue executive orders to his ministers and cabinet to clean out corruption but the National Assembly and Judicial branch are under his influence but not his control. The US has already said that Winston Spadafora has received the details of why his visa was pulled, and that it is not the policy of the government of the United States to share that information with anyone else. Considering the timing and that Spadafora's political party is going to announce their official position on the canal referendum tomorrow (Friday), this might be a shot across the bow of the Panamanistas to remind them that the PRD has the goods on Spadafora but have chosen not to use them. The Panamanistas might be able to mess up the perfect game but they can't win, and the PRD can break-dance on what's left of the Moscoso regime if they want to. So the message is - play nice or don't play at all.)

(Source) By MARTELLA MATHEWS, Business Desk - Offering the shortest distance geographically for the transshipment of goods from Asia to the Eastern Seaboard and the Caribbean, Panama presents a variety of opportunities for Bahamian businesses currently exploring economic prospects in China and the Far East. It is these potential business opportunities and others in Central and Latin America that are fueling the 30-member Bahamian contingent currently in Panama, on the first ever Bahamas/Panama Trade Mission. The Trade Mission was conceived by the Ministry of Tourism, who saw it as a perfect opportunity to find another market for potential visitors to The Bahamas, and to further diversify the Baham-ian economy. The contingent is comprised of Ministry of Tourism officials, the executive board of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and select members of the Chamber. According to Valery Brown-Alce, regional deputy director for the US in the Ministry of Tourism, this mission is expected to serve as an excellent launching pad for the development of a leisure travel market from Latin America to The Bahamas, while simultaneously opening up new opportunities for Bahamian entrepreneurs. "We're in the business of economics, we're not just in the business of tourism," she said. "And this (trade mission) provides a much greater platform for us to launch a path in terms of economic development, because when you look at the whole trade aspect, you must have a balance between what we do from a leisure side as well as what we do from the business side."

(Source) Giselle was born and grew up in a small neighbourhood on the outskirts of Panama City. Panama is a tropical paradise, squeezed in between two big oceans, and has one of the great wonders of the world ‘The Panama Canal’. Giselle is in her final year studying for her Bachelor degree in marketing and advertising. She has been accepted by the Instituto Marangoni in Milan, Italy, to do a master’s degree in fashion buying. It is her ambition to become a famous buyer for a prestigious designer or brand store. Hobbies and leisure interests are: Playing the piano, socialising, travelling, listening to all kinds of music and dancing to Latin music, going to the beach, playing flag football, physical training, and looking after her dog called Puca and her ferret called Territo. Personal motto is “Always be yourself and remember you can reach the stars if your feet are on the ground”.

Hello Folks, We've had two events that have had a major impact on our operation. First was the passing of my sister Lucie two weeks ago after a year loge struggle with Pancreatic cancer. Anyone who has been a guests at our lodge, most likely had some contact with Lucie in coordination their visit. Lucie and I were able to transition Lucie's daughter Stephanie to take over as our stateside agent. Stephanie's contact information is now posted on the website. Second, was an incident that resulted in substantial damage to the Magoo. In mid-June, the Magoo was moored overnight in our anchorage, ready for the next day of fishing. The following morning we found the Magoo capsized with the transom, t-top and console ripped off. We recovered the hull by emptying 4 scuba tanks of air inside the hull while many volunteers lifted and Alex pulled with the tractor. Fortunately, the hull was undamaged and lost the old engines. The 4-stroke engines were safely stored in our workshop. Turns out that in combination with a very large swell and a major squall, our safe anchorage turned into a high energy surf zone. WE also found out the `14 other boats were lost or badly damaged up and down the coast that evening. Starting on 1 August after my return from Florida, Alex, Bones and I started our Magoo overhaul project. (more)

(Source) DWIGHT Yorke will link up with Trinidad & Tobago next month but has agreed to sit out one of his country's friendly games. Yorke had a discussion with Roy Keane this week after the manager questioned the wisdom of his 34-year-old striker going away for the best part of two weeks. It ended with an agreement that Yorke would travel for the October 7 game against Nicaragua but come back to England and not be involved in the friendly with Panama four days later. Keane said today: "I spoke to Dwight on Tuesday. Clearly, he won't be involved in the next World Cup and he has come here and made a commitment for the next two years. "Trinidad & Tobago see Dwight as the main man – an ambassador for his country – and I would never begrudge anyone playing for their country. "After that conversation, we have agreed he will go over for the first game next weekend and come back here on the Sunday or the Monday. "It is a compromise that is fair to his country, to Dwight and to Sunderland. "Dwight is not getting any younger and these internationals are just friendlies. "We have tried to be fair to everyone." Yorke has previously admitted that he needs to improve his fitness after arriving from Australian A-League champions Sydney and playing two international friendlies ahead of three games in eight days for Sunderland would have been a tough task for any player, let alone the veteran.

(Source) By Hsin-Hsien Sheena Wong for The Washington Times: Latin American leaders should work together to fight social economic problems in the region and not get dragged into an ideological war against the United States, Vivian Fernandez de Torrijos, Panama's first lady, said this week. Venezuela's leftist president, Hugo Chavez, who called President Bush "the devil" during a U.N. General Assembly address last week, has been leading an anti-U.S. campaign in the region, supported by the leaders of Cuba and Bolivia. Mr. Chavez has also been campaigning for a seat on the U.N. Security Council, effectively forcing the countries of the region to choose between Caracas and Washington. "We are in different times," Mrs. Fernandez de Torrijos said in an interview Monday. "We are in a time where all the countries must have relationships -- political, economic and foreign relationships -- with other countries, especially when we are in the same continent." Mrs. Fernandez de Torrijos, 40, has been Panama's first lady since her husband, Martin Torrijos Espino, was elected president in 2004. She was in Washington this week to attend the annual meeting of the Pan American Health Organization. Mrs. Fernandez de Torrijos, who studied business management at Florida State University and served as a professional publicist for U.S. firms, works for the welfare of disabled people, women and children.

(Source) Roxanne Stapleton, rstapleton@trinidadexpress.com: PANAMA will hold a referendum in three weeks to decide whether the Panama Canal will be expanded. However, Enrique Sanchez, manager of the Contracting Division of the Panama Canal Authority said yesterday that polls conducted across the Central American country, have shown overwhelming support for its expansion. If the project gets the green-light, it will be self financed at an estimated cost of US$5.25 billion. Gross revenue generated by the Canal for fiscal 2005/6 (fiscal year ends September 30, 2006), reached US$1.4 billion, with the Panamanian Government netting approximately US$600 million of that figure. "The Panama Canal has turned out to be a very good business for the Panamanian people...it may not be as much as oil business, but it is very good business," he chuckled. "The plan is to raise tolls on the Canal between three and four per cent over the next 20 years gradually...in other words the customer pays for the expansion. "And then a small part of the expansion, will require borrowing about US$2 billion, from international financial institutions, to be repaid also by the tolls," Sanchez said.

(Source) From correspondents in Panama City: An ambitious $US5.25 billion ($6.99 billion) plan to expand Panama's famous canal is expected to win voter support in a referendum next month despite fears that costs could spiral and threaten the poor nation with bankruptcy. Polls show some two thirds of voters, hoping for a jobs bonanza, support the widening of the canal as opposition to the canal's first major overhaul since it opened in 1914 has lost steam. The canal, which initially cost $US375 million and 25,000 lives nearly a century ago, carries four per cent of world trade on a shortcut between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, saving ships a long haul around South America and the dangerous Cape Horn. But many modern ships are too bulky to fit into its narrow locks, meaning Panama has to expand them or lose business to competitors like the US intermodal system of ports and cross-country rail links. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), which runs the waterway, warns the route will become log-jammed in seven years if nothing is done. The current plan would double capacity. "The ability of the canal to compete with other routes and alternative methods of transport depends on its expansion," President Martin Torrijos said yesterday. "The canal is important not only for Panama but also for world trade."

(Source) By DAVE BREITENSTEIN, dbreitenstein@news-press.com: Lee County schools have agreed to train navy officers from Panama and the Dominican Republic through a federal program to improve maritime security. The school district’s role in Operation Enduring Friendship, a U.S. Department of Defense program, will be to train the Caribbean and Latin American crews how to operate and repair new high-speed interceptor boats that will shore up protection at sea. Naples Yacht and Nor-Tech Hi-Performance Boats of Cape Coral landed a government contract to build eight 43-foot interceptor vessels. Naples Yacht will contract with Lee schools for the training component, estimated to cost $237,600. Training sessions will start in January and primarily be held at High-Tech Center Central in Fort Myers, the U.S. Coast Guard station in Fort Myers Beach and at Nor-Tech’s manufacturing plant in North Fort Myers. The officers also will undergo CPR training through the American Red Cross and swimming lessons at Florida Gulf Coast University.

On Sunday, 22 October 2006, Panamanians will go to the polls to decide the fate of the Panama Canal Administration's proposal to expand the Panama Canal and add a third set of locks. The expansion would allow for much larger ships to use the canal. Much of the excavation is already done, started by the United States in 1939 but then halted at the outbreak of World War II. Almost every important political leader in Panama has announced their support for the plan. There have been several groups that have split over the proposal because their leadership is against the proposal for political reasons but the main body of the organization is not in agreement with the leadership, such as in the case of the SUNTRACS labor union. When these splits have occurred the break is about 3 to 1 in favor of the expansion. The election is in four weeks, and polling indicates that those who were undecided are tending to make up their minds in favor of the expansion. (more)

Last week the Banking Association of Panama hosted the International Forum on Private Banking and Finance (FIT), which was held at the Marriott Hotel in Panama City on 20 - 21 September 2006. More than one hundred economists from Puerto Rico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Mexico and the United States attended the two day forum, and they discussed a long list of topics that only an economist could love, such as "The Use of Derivatives in the Structure of Investment Bonds." (Nice job, Javier.) After two days of relatively boring dribble, one experienced headline-grabber floored the local press corps by predicting a crash in the Panamanian real estate market. Economist Walter Molano from BCP Securities in Connecticut made the only real headline that came out of this conference by doing exactly the same thing he has done all over the region for years, "sound the warning bell" on the Panamanian economy. So, I gave him a call to talk to him about his prediction (more...)

(Source: Latin Business Chronicle) Guest Commentary by Walter Molano: Panama is a speculative bubble waiting to burst, that is why the government is trying to keep all sharp objects out of the way. Panama is booming. The economy is growing more than 6 percent y/y, with the possibility of exceeding 7 percent this year. The construction sector is the main engine of growth. Glimmering office towers and glamorous apartment blocs are sprouting out the squalid shanty towns that sit along the Pacific coastline. Property speculators are snatching up scores of newly built apartments. Panama City's waterfront is starting to resemble the glittering skyline of Hong Kong-with a flair of South Beach. The new facilities are being built for the hundreds of new companies that are expected to arrive in Panama to participate in the mega construction project and the new trade opportunities that lie ahead. Indeed, many global companies are expressing interest in Panama. Dubai Drydocks, for example, is studying the possibility of building a new facility. DHL and Fedex are looking at Howard Airforce Base for their new regional hub. Evergreen is looking at several multi-modal projects. People are taking a closer look at Panama, but the construction sector may have run ahead. (more...)

REMINDER == Tonight's Get Together for Expats at The Greenhouse on Via Argentina near the Einstein Head in Panama City starts at 7:30. I have been asked by the nice woman who runs the Expats in Panama group not to use the name "Expat Social" because they have been promoting events for more than a year under that name. Since this idea originated with the Young Expats in Panama Yahoo Group which is not affiliated with the Expats in Panama group, I think it is a good idea to call these future events by another name. I will be introducing myself to everyone tonight in order to conduct a vote for where the next "event" will take place the following Wednesday. I will also be asking for suggestions for a new name. I will be the shaved head guy who sticks out in the crowd. Hope to see all of you there tonight.

If you don't have a MySpace account then you're probably over 30 years old and you've been overtaken by technology (again.) Myspace is a quick and easy way to throw up a basic webpage and share with your friends. The biggest advantage is ease of use and the ability for groups of friends to easily create interlinking networks. You can share photos, iPod broadcasts, links, etc.

I'm on a roll. September is working up to be a record-breaking month for web traffic and visitors to Panama Guide. The referendum to expand the canal is coming up next month, business is booming, the economy is growing at 8%, the strikes are over, and football has started. What more could you ask for? Well, I think I've found something. Please forgive the blatant attempt to sucker in a few more visitors at the end of the month to boost my web stats, but by now I'm starting to get a "feel" for what the expat community really wants to know about Panama. I also wanted to lighten things up a little bit around here. Too many damn stats about the economy, politics, and crime. This is what really matters... (more)

(Source: Panama America) Two years have passed since the government passed a law to crack down on youth gangs but the law had never been applied until now. National Police and PTJ units have captured seven subjects that are charged with being the heads of three gangs in the Panama City area. From the "Pentagon" gang the ringleaders "Orito", "Ochufo" and "Vladi", from the Patio Pinel gang "Loco Hugo" and "Franklin," and from the "Los Cofos" gang "Poroto" was captured, and from the "Bagdad" or "Killer Instinct" gang "Cholo Chorrillo" was captured. Under the anti-gang law just being a member can carry a sentence from 1 to 3 years in prison, and those who are proven to be leaders, gang boss, or for providing financial support or weapons can be jailed from 3 to 5 years.

ExPatsWest meets on the 4th Wednesday of each month. We have grown from less than 40 at our first social, to more than 140 in just a year. We will be gathering this coming Wednesday, the 27th of September 2006, starting at 5:00pm or whenever you get there. Our get-together will be in Coronado at El Rincon del Chef, as usual. Because our group is so large, Chef Fernando Paredes prepares a buffet for us. The cost is a special price of $10.00 per person for the buffet with no pensiondo visa discounts. It is a great buy featuring lots of choices plus desserts! Each month, the Chef tries something new for us. However, if you would like to order from the menu, you may, and pensionado discounts will be honored for meals on the menu. What follows is an update of an article I wrote for the Panama Guide. Remember, it is always the 4th Wednesday of the month! See you there.

(Source: La Prensa) Ex-Panamanian President Ernesto Perez Balladares has contracted the law firm of Tew Cardenas in Washington DC to try to regain his visa to enter the United States for a cost between $75,000 to $200,000. "More than to recover the visa, what I want to know is why it was revoked. I have never been known why it was cancelled," said Perez Balladares to La Prensa yesterday. When asked if his effort to recover his visa has been successful, the ex- president responded, "Not as far as I know." The contract Perez Balladares signed with Tew Cardenas on 12 November 2005 establishes that "the client" is committed to pay $75,000 dollars for the company to "intend to identify and rectify" the reasons for the visa cancellation. This payment is not reimbursable if the efforts are unfruitful. But the contract also contemplates that if Perez Balladares recovers the visa he will have to pay an additional $125,000 so that Tew Cardenas will "monitor and assure due admission" of Perez Balladares to the United States for the first three months after emitting the new visa. Roger Noriega, who until recently was the undersecretary of State for Inter-American Affairs of the United States, is on the team contracted by Perez Balladares. The United States decided to revoke his visa in 1999 and the Department of State explained that the decision had been based on American law which exclude from the country "smugglers" of undocumented people. At the same time there was a scandal about reports of supposed Panamanian official complicity in the trafficking of Chinese illegal aliens to the United States.

(Source: Latin Business Chronicle and The Bulletin Panama) The Bulletin Panama: The Panama Canal expansion will also benefit US ports, a new study says. Expansion of the Panama Canal and increases in all-water services to the US east coast will alleviate some of the pressure on the US west coast. This view is expressed in a new study that has forecast North American container port demand nearly double in 10 years with most pressure falling on Pacific Coast ports. UK-based Ocean Shipping Consultants predicts demand to increase by up to 85 per cent to 85.7m TEU over 2005-15, and by a further 31 percent to 112.3m TEU over 2015-20. Even an increased-risk/protectionist scenario, incorporating a significant downturn in GDP expansion over 2011-15, would yield a container port demand increase of 55 percent to 71.8m TEU over 2005-15, with 25 percent growth over 2015-20, to 89.7m TEU. In its report Containerport Markets in the Americas to 2020 OSC notes: "Growth in American containerport demand has accelerated in recent years. This has been driven by the globalisation of the world economy and the rise of China as the world's manufacturing centre. Booming imports from Asia and the above-average economic growth of western US states have put particular pressure on ports on North America's Pacific seaboard." But OSC says that there are concerns about the capacity of these ports and associated intermodal systems to handle continued long-term growth in demand although the expansion of Panama Canal capacity and increases in all-water services to the east coast will alleviate some of the pressure. The development of ports on Mexico's Pacific seaboard and new intermodal connections into the US heartland could offer a further option OSC observes. "However," says OSC, "future growth will continue to fall heavily on the US Pacific ports themselves. Both expansion and increased productivity will be needed to boost container handling capacity. Achieving these will depend on the resolution of environmental concerns and labour issues. Republished with permission from The Bulletin Panama.

CONSTRUCTION law experts at Denison Till, the York commercial lawyers firm, have been given an instruction to draw up contracts for the building of a new crane rail system in Panama. The firm at Stamford House, Piccadilly, one of relatively few to have a dedicated construction law department, has been appointed by Canadian lawyers Black Sutherland, Toronto, to act on its behalf in the major multi-million dollar construction project. Denison Till is now assisting Black Sutherland's client, engineering company Gantrex USA Inc, Pittsburgh, over the design, supply and installation of the new crane rail system for the Hong Kong Dredging Corporation being built at Balboa Docks, Panama, for the Balboa Docks Authority. The contract came to Denison Till through its membership of Geneva Group International, one of the world's top ten networks of independent lawyers, accountants, tax and management consultants, whose Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group is chaired by Andrew Lindsay, Denison Till's corporate department partner. Gareth Hevey, Denison Till's head of construction law, and Julian Still, a non-practising barrister in the firm's construction law department, are finalising negotiations on the contracts, which confirm completion deadlines and risk management connected with the supply of goods and services for the project. Mr Hevey said: "It is an accepted principle that English law is most appropriate for contracts of this kind because of its international context and widely-regarded arbitration process. Because of this, we do carry out international work from time to time, but this project is especially interesting because of the nature of the parties involved."

Cargo traffic through the Panama Canal will rise 42 percent in the next 20 years, the Panama Canal Authority (PCA) forecast in a report published on Monday. The PCA said it planned to raise the capacity to 520 million tons from 280 million tons to satisfy this demand, while warning that without such an increase canal traffic might reduce by 23 percent due to competitions from transpacific shipments, the U.S. intermodal system and Egypt's Suez Canal. According to the PCA, intermodal traffic would rise 65 percent while Suez traffic would surge 12 percent if the capacity increase of the Panama Canal is shelved. On Oct. 22, Panamanians are to vote in a referendum on the canal's capacity increase. The PCA, which took control of the canal on Dec. 12, 1999, estimates that the world fleet of Postpanamax boats -- those too big to pass the canal -- will reach 670 by 2011, representing a total of 4.6 million tons, or 37 percent of the world's container capacity. Source: Xinhua

The Canadian Association of Panama is having a Thanksgiving dinner and would love for you to attend. Please come out and celebrate with us… You will meet many interesting people! October 7th, 2006, 7 P.M. Cocktails, 8 P.M. Dinner, Miramar Hotel, Tickets: $25 members, $30 non-members, Tickets will be available at the Canadian Embassy: 264-7115/9731. Note: There will be a membership registration table for those interested in joining the Canadian Association of Panama.

Author Kurt Muse was on C-Span last Saturday in Florida, talking about his book "Six Minutes to Freedom," the story of his rescue from Panama's Modelo prison by US Delta Forces during the invasion of Panama in 1989. This video clip shows the entire program as it aired on C-Span. "Description: Kurt Muse talks about his rescue by the U.S. Army's Delta Force. He chronicles how he defied Panama's dictator, Manuel Noriega, by broadcasting on an underground radio station, encouraging civil resistance. Eventually, Kurt Muse was caught and arrested by Noriega’s forces. As the only American civilian imprisoned for months in Panama’s Modelo Prison, he describes the torture he witnessed and recounts his rescue by Delta Force. The Panama Canal Museum in Seminole, Florida hosted this event. Author Bio: Kurt Muse is a descendant of Revolutionary War veterans. Mr. Muse lived in the U.S. and Cuba before starting a printing and graphic arts business in Panama. John Gilstrap, coauthor of "Six Minutes to Freedom," is also the author of "Scott Free," " Even Steven," "At All Costs," and "Nathan's Run." Publisher: CITADEL PRESS 850 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022

This afternoon I had to go back to the clinics at the National Hospital to have the bandages changed on my foot after some minor ambulatory surgery last weekend. With my foot the size of a football I couldn't drive so I took a cab over and back. During the return trip I stumbled upon something that is becoming relatively rare - someone who is genuinely leaning toward a "no" vote on the upcoming referendum on the Panama Canal. Since we were going to be spending some time together in the car anyway, I struck up a conversation on the topic and tried to unravel his logic in order to better understand his position. I was actually delighted to find someone who was not a politician but who had some serious lingering questions about the project. He didn't say he was going to vote no in the referendum, but did indicate that he was solidly in the "undecided" column. Here's the gist of our conversation and the things he's thinking about.

(Source) PANAMA CITY, Panama, September 25, 2006 – Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Board Chairman and Concurrent Minister of Canal Affairs Dr. Ricaurte Vásquez Morales spoke at a private-sector forum hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) in Tokyo, Japan last Friday, September 22. Dr. Vásquez briefed forum participants on the Panama Canal expansion proposal, as well as highlighted investment and business opportunities in the areas of infrastructure, multi-modal transportation, information technology and logistics. The forum was designed to strengthen and develop partnerships between business leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean with their counterparts in Japan and other East Asian countries. The target audiences of the forum were business leaders from Asia and Latin America and Japanese government officials, as well as representatives of the Latin America and Caribbean and East Asian diplomatic corps. “Many of the Canal’s top 10 customers come from Asia and Latin America and as such, this was a perfect opportunity to discuss business synergies and opportunities for closer cooperation and integration between the two regions,” said Dr. Vásquez.

(By: Anne Stanton) There’s nothing like serving as a Peace Corps volunteer to learn how America’s demand for cocaine ultimately forces a good-hearted tribal leader to flee from seven assassins through a thick, tangled rainforest. The tribal leader’s name is Sergio and he had befriended Ashley Thompson of Traverse City and her newlywed husband, Jon Fazzola. For the last two years, they worked for the Peace Corps in Panama, one of the safest and most stable countries in Central America—safe, except for where they lived. The Peace Corps pulled Thompson and Fazzola out of the country a few days before their scheduled departure. Peace Corps officials feared they might be kidnapped, or even worse, killed due to their high profile of being white, American, and Peace Corps workers—not to mention their friendship with Sergio. Thompson and Fazzola were home for a few weeks in late August, staying with Thompson’s parents who live at the base of Old Mission Peninsula. They were still in awe of the hot water showers and soft beds without the buzz of mosquitoes.

(Source) PANAMA CITY, PANAMA, Sept. 25 /CNW Telbec/ - Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Republic of Panama today signed a Memorandum of nderstanding (MOU) to facilitate Canadian participation in the future expansion of the Panama Canal and other large-scale projects in that country. The MOU assists EDC in planning a multi-million dollar credit facility with Panama that will facilitate the purchase of Canadian goods and services for Panama's infrastructure development. Key among these projects is the planned expansion and modernization of the Panama Canal, representing one of the world's largest infrastructure projects at an estimated cost of more than USD 5 billion. "EDC will help Panama finance projects that contribute to the social, environmental and economic fabric of the country," said Robert Forbes, Vice-President of EDC's International Business Development Group, who today signed the MOU with Samuel Lewis Navarro, First Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama, Carlos Vallarino, Minister of Economics and Finance of the Republic of Panama and Romy Vasquez, Panama's Ambassador to Canada. "Our participation will increase opportunities for Canadian exporters and investors in Panamanian transactions in areas such as water management, natural resources, transportation, energy and information technology." (more)