How many condos does Panama City need?

by Iva Skoch on

One of the things that surprised me the most about my trip to Panama is the amount of development going up in Panama City, Panama. There are literally dozens of highrises going up right now, in addition to the dozens that are already there. Panama is a fairly small city, about 600-800 thousand residents, based on different estimates. Yet, judging by the skyline, you would think that this is a multi-million resident metropolis.

I have talked to a few people about this and they thought the development had to do with a) rise in tourism, b) banking, and c) planned expansion of the Panama Canal. Still, I don’t understand why the need for thousands of condo units. Even Donald Trump has been developing here. Well, gambling and prostitution are legal here. Is this going to be the Vegas of Latin America?

Photo of the Day (11/26/07)

by Iva Skoch on

Since I am in Panama now, here is a picture I took a few days ago in cloudy Panama City (it’s the end of the rainy season). This is my first time in Panama and I am blown away by the amount of construction going on in this city. The obsession with highrises reminds me of Shanghai; so do the slums with the view of the “good life.”

***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr site and post it.***

Buses from the Devil Himself

by Iva Skoch on

One of the coolest things I´ve seen in Panama so far is the crazy bus-art. Now, it´s not uncommon to see buses painted wild colors all over Latin America, but Panamanians have this stuff down to fine art.

Just about every local public bus is in the style of an old American school bus, but painted the craziest colors, festooned with religious sayings and multiple chromed horns. And, if the bus is lacking two large chromed rear exhaust pipes running up the rear corners of the bus, pumping diesel fumes into the sky, it just won´t do. I can´t think of a cooler thing to look at while stuck in Panama City´s insane traffic jams. The detail of the paintings will take your breath away… even more than the horrific exhaust fumes blanketing this modern city.

They call them “red devils,” but the government is banishing the devil. This blog reprints a story from the Miami Herald saying that the buses will soon start disappearing, this year.