Within a few months the biggest pool in Central America and the second biggest in the world will be open for business. Playa Blanca Resort and Residences, located in Cocle Province on the Pacific Coast, has mastered a monumental task in this creation. The pool is for those with membership in the Sea Club which includes the pool and other amenities. The other way to be able to enjoy this amazing pool is by becoming a property owner in one the new projects being developed in Playa Blanca Resort.
The Sea Club is quite unique not only because of the sheer size of the pool but it also includes an open air gym, two additional pools one on each side of this huge lagoon pool, a restaurant, a spa plus the possibility of water sports such as diving, kayak, sailing, among other activities. The Sea Club sits on a 6.5 hectare area that cost approximately $4 million to create.
The largest pool in the world is in Chile and is known as San Alfonso del Mar. The same company that built the pool in Chile, Crystal Lagoons, is building the one in Panama. They specialize in fresh water and salt water pools with technology that is characterized by keeping the water crystal clear for a much longer period of time so the pools don’t turn greenish and dirty as traditional pools do. Even with this advanced technology, the cost is much lower than traditional construction and is eco – friendly, requiring very few chemicals. Panama is joining the ‘green’ movement here at Playa Blanca.
Being the biggest pool in Central America, it shall take 12 to 14 days to fill with water pumps which pull in salt water from the sea 1,000 meters away. To get an idea of its dimension it is about the size of 4.5 basketball courts and takes 140 million gallons of salt water. It is two meters deep and has an artificial beach to on one side. It took approximately 18 months to build.
The technology is amazing and it is a rather large investment. This technology is also being applied in Dubai, Jordan and several other countries but for now Panama will boast the second largest pool in the world.
For more Water in Panama: PanamaQmagazine.com
via Panama Boasts the Biggest Swimming Pool in Central America « panamaqmagazineblog.
This city of sweltering days and sultry nights may be best known for the Panama Canal, but Panama City is quickly becoming one of Central America’s favorite adult playgrounds.
Panama City is a city of skyscrapers and Miami meets Las Vegas glitz, home to 23 casinos, dozens of strip clubs, three distict bar and club districts and on the tamer end, hundreds of restaurants, dozens of spas and nearby golf courses.
via Panama City: Central America’s (Adult) Playground | LatinWorld.
A poor lizard had the bad idea of walking into the house yesterday, and cute & cuddly little Pixie had a field day. She played with it for two hours, until she got bored and went for the kill, while producing a very scary guttural sound. Check the look in her eyes as she killed it, not so cute & cuddly anymore!
Attention: everyone with a camera, amateur or pro. Please join us on Sunday, May 2, at 15:00 (U.T.C./G.M.T.), as thousands of photographers simultaneously record “A Moment in Time.” The idea is to create an international mosaic, an astonishingly varied gallery of images that are cemented together by the common element of time.
How do I submit my picture?
Call up this form, submit.nytimes.com/moment, which should be self explanatory. That’s all there is to it. (If you’re looking at the submission form before Sunday, May 2, or after Friday, May 7, you’ll find that you can read it but can’t actually use it. )
How long do I have to submit my picture?
Five days, until 15:00 (U.T.C.) on Friday. We recognize that not every photographer will be near a computer on Sunday. Some of you may not be able to get to a computer for days. This extended deadline is for you.
via A Moment in Time (or, F.A.Q. on U.T.C.) – Lens Blog – NYTimes.com.
ANTON, PANAMA – A company in Panama is hoping to join in a small niche market of the fruit export business: square watermelons. The Panama Fruit Producer company has started “rounding up” the square fruit, sending its first shipment of 120 boxy melons to New York. The company expects to produce about 3,000 of the molded melons this year, and will send them to the Netherlands and Germany as well. Operations manager Gerardo Diaz said Wednesday that people are surprised at first because “it is not what they were expecting.” “Later they ask if it is a genetic experiment,” he said.
Diaz said the watermelons are natural. They are made to grow inside cube-shaped glass boxes and conform to the mold as they get bigger. The first melons cost about $75 apiece, but producers hope to bring the price down. The first square watermelons are thought to have been produced by a Japanese farmer and have been sold in some markets in Japan for years. Diaz said the only square watermelon production in the Americas he knows about is in Brazil and California in the U.S.
via Panama starts exporting square watermelons – Panama Guide.
Next time you are in Chiriqui, you should check out Paradise Gardens near Boquete. It is well worth a visit and they are doing a wonderful job rescuing animals in need.
Sitting on the slopes of Volcan Baru, a sleeping volcano and overlooking the flower garden that is Boquete, Paradise Gardens provides a sanctuary for those wishing peace, quiet and to experience some of the local nature.
Paradise Gardens features as a unique Wildlife Rescue Centre which is set within 4 acres of splendidly landscaped gardens. Started back in 2005 by Paul and Jenny Saban from England, the gardens and inhabitants have evolved in to one of the ‘must see destinations’ in the whole of Chiriquí Province.
via Welcome to Paradise Gardens!.
After about 1.5 years living and photographing in Panama, I have compiled a list of my top-5 most photogenic places. Your opinion may very well vary, and my selections may change as I discover new corners of Panama I have yet to explore, but here it is as it stands today.
- Casco Viejo, without a doubt my favourite photo-subject in Panama, with a mix of French and Spanish architecture spanning 3 centuries, old ruins, beautifully restored buildings, city views and lots of colourful people.
- Azureo Peninsula, beautiful beaches, micro-climates and Tuscany-like rolling hills. Azuero even has a desert!
- Altos del Maria, this gorgeous and huge development is my home and it provides superb and varied vistas, hiking trails, tumbling rivers and waterfalls, green lush vegetation, many exotic animals and lots of colourful flowers, birds, bugs and butterflies.
- Chiriqui, this beautiful province which covers the western part of the country and borders with Costa Rica is still mostly pristine and varies from gorgeous islands in the Golf of Chiriqui to the highlands and Volcan Baru. The possibilities are endless and I am just beginning to explore this area.
- Kuna Yala and the San Blas Islands, these tropical islands are still almost completely undeveloped and are thankfully still controlled by the very colourful Kuna natives. This is the place for gorgeous Caribbean islands with crystal-clear turquoise waters and reefs and a very unique indigenous culture.
What do you think? Any place I should explore and add to this list?
Saturday May 1st and 2nd is the annual Flower Festival in scenic town of Chica, in the Parque Nacional Altos de Campana.
The Coronado Photo Club will be doing a photo excursion to this festival and it is free and opened to everyone, no need to be a member (although we encourage you to join, it’s free!) We will meet at the Pio Pio in Bejuco at 8am on Saturday morning. If the weather is not suitable, we will try again on Sunday the 2nd.
If anyone in Altos del Maria wants to join in, let me know and you can carpool with me.
I just created a new online community for current and potential residents of the Altos del Maria real estate development and the surrounding areas. Check it out at LivingInADM.com
