Here's an email I just received that takes me back to my very early days in Panama......Thanks for this Panama Mike

 

"I moved to Panama the year after we gave back the canal. The rental market was wide open with rental signs for apartments everywhere. I lived on the corner of Via Argentina and Via Vineto 1 block from the college. I saw the riots first hand, got tear gassed and hit on the foot by a chunk of concrete trying to video the students throwing molotof cocktails at the police. I was interviewed on TV that day. What I said shocked the reporter. The Panama Hotel was in full swing and the casino was hopping. I got my pensionado before I even moved there, they were so aggressive.  I got it for 600 dollars and have enjoyed the benefits for 22 years. For 2 years  I had the number one guide service in the country. I got topo maps and we traveled every back road in Panama. I was instrumental in more than a dozen people moving to the country. I can name 15 people that have died that i have known in Panama since i moved there. I now live in Medellin Colombia for health reasons but I own 3 homes and have a wife that works at the Westen since the first  month they opened....It is obvious that my spelcheck works.....not jajaja, and my punctuation is as bad as my spelling .. happy you took over as the paper as it is much improved.  I look forward to the additional improvements .. I am known here among my expat friends as Panama Mike .. by the way I am 77 in excelent health now. ciao"