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Panama: Eight Destinations in Which to Spend the Winter Months

First Time Reader?

Why Panama? – This blog explains the rationale of
the trip and this series of blogs.

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lobo/excursions/1266327384/tpod.html

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Boquete – Expat Haven in the Chiriqui Highlands
Part 3 of 4

Villa Marta

It was during the coffee tour at Café Ruiz (see previous blog) that I overheard a discussion about a "beautiful garden called Villa Marta" just up the road from Café Ruiz.

If my trips were planned in advance the good fortune of visiting Villa Marta would have been by design and not by coincidence. If you like gardens this is a Boquete attraction that should not be missed.

Living in Victoria, British Columbia we have one of the world's most beautiful gardens in nearby Butchart Gardens. Busload upon busload of Alaska Cruise Ship passengers that disembark in Victoria for a day make the 45-minute trip to view this oasis of landscaped beauty. My enthusiasm for Butchart Gardens is somewhat muted by the $28.10 admission price so we don’t go there too often although an annual pass for $52.38 would make sense. My annual pass to the Imax Theatre for $75, located just an 8-minute walk from where we live, seemed to make sense as well. We have gone once so far.

http://www.butchartgardens.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

In Mexico an oft seen sign of welcome is “Mi Casa es su casa”. Upon arrival at Villa Marta the sign of the same genre reads “Mi Jardin es su jardin -Bienvenido” – “my garden is your garden –welcome”. As you don’t pay admission to your own garden that is the first surprise – entry is free.
 

That begs the question, who is the “mi” in, “Mi jardin es su jardin”?. Here the story takes on a dimension of enormous generosity as Eduardo Gonzales, the owner and creator of this little piece of paradise in the Boquete Highlands has thrown open the gates to allow the public to share in his creation.

So imagine, you have a prime piece of property and apparently unlimited funds to create a garden of your dreams. You unleash your creative side by letting your imagination go wild to create your own personal Garden of Eden. Or, if you have no creativity, hire the best landscape artist that you can find and let him/her create your own personal Shangri-La. Such is the frivolity that people of means can engage in and that is not unusual for the well heeled. What is unusual is to share it with others and Señor Eduardo Gonzales is to be commended for this kind gesture.

So is Villa Marta as good as Butchart Gardens? Considering that Butchart Gardens is a commercial undertaking of a grand size the comparison would not be fair. I would say a walk through Villa Marta would be more in line with a walk thorough the gardens of Government House also located in Victoria. It is the official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. Both have the huge scale, the beautiful landscaping incorporating an abundance of flowers, shrubs and trees as well as surrounding scenery to make them memorable destinations. But then on the other hand, the Gardens of Government House do not have mini suspension bridges over ponds or large fibreglass cows whose former career was to participate in Cow Parades.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CowParade

If I haven’t made the point already, after the coffee tour at Café Ruiz take a short walk up the road to Villa Marta and just relax and soak in the beautiful surroundings.

 


Coming Soon: Valle Escondido – Splendid Country Living in a Gated Community

In this exceptional case “soon” really does mean “soon” as in “right now!”

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Valle Escondido – Splendid Country Living in a Gated Community

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Disclaimer:

As with all commercial enterprises or developments that I include in my blogs I have no connection, receive no benefit and do not endorse any of them. I include them simply as information of what is available at the various destinations.

In the case of Valle Escondido I had no contact with anyone representing the development so my knowledge is limited to what I saw and what is available on the Internet.
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I heard about Valle Escondido while visiting the Boquete Visitor’s Centre. It is a gated residential community, located in a “Hidden Valley”, a ten-minute drive from the center of Boquete. 


I definitely wanted to see how the “other side of the track” lives in Boquete and I was therefore more than pleased when a gentleman working at the Visitor’s Center – Arcesio Fernandez offered to drive me there. This had two advantages, it saved me a long, hot walk to get there and it would also ensure that I would get past the gatehouse in the gated community.

There are many beautiful luxury gated communities in various parts of the United States especially in Florida, California and Arizona. Many of these have been severely hit by the “Economic Meltdown of 2009” with the result that their prices have been lowered considerably making them more affordable.

That begs the question, why go to Panama if you have that kind of money to afford living in a luxury gated community?

Part of the answer lies in the list of benefits that Panama provides in its “Pensionado Program”.

http://www.panama1.com/Pensionado_Visa_Panama.php

The promotion for Valle Escondido takes it a step further under the link – “Our Story – A Safe Haven”.

http://www.valleescondido.biz/our-story-a-safe-haven.html

It would seem that Valle Escondido has the best that Boquete has to offer (if you like a gated community).

The beautiful setting in the valley, the uniform architecture of houses, the creative landscaping, the numerous amenities including the amphitheatre and spectacular golf course all make Valle Escondido a desirable place for the expat to live.

I make this statement without knowledge of the financial side of the investment or the track record of the developer in meeting the promises made in the purchase agreements etc. Without a doubt “due diligence” and “buyer beware” are in order as in all investments. 

 (see the photos for Valle Escondido below)

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 Coming Soon: Boquete Interviews
Feedback: travelswithlobo@yahoo.com
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