Sylvain’s Panama Adventure

I’m back from Panama; this was a very quick and busy trip, but also very successful!

I did sign a contract with my builder and he should be starting excavation work within a couple of weeks.

This time around I spent quite a bit of time in Panama City and gained a new appreciation for it. My previous impression was that it was just another dirty, smelly, noisy and overcrowded city. But I now see it as a thriving city with lots of interesting architecture, shopping, restaurants, entertainment, and culture! The number of top-notch restaurants seems to have doubled in one year!

I also visited the annual Home Show, which was quite impressive; it was very similar to home shows in North America! I was impressed by the heavy machinery section, clearly targeted at the canal expansion and other mega projects throughout the country.

There is a new and very interesting product now available in Panama: Palmex Panama S.A. will be up and running the first week of November and they offer an innovative Canadian roofing product from Palmex International. This great looking product is a synthethic replacement for the traditional thatch roofs that are so popular throughout Central America, the Carribean, and Polynesia. While everyone likes the look of those roofs, they tend to hate the problems that go with them. They rot, they leak, they get covered with mildew, they harbour bugs, they fall in pieces, and they are incredibly messy when taken down. In wet areas these roofs have to be replaced every 2-4 years. The polymer-based Palmex product is waterproof and mildew resistant so it conserves its good looks and will easily last 20 to 30 years. It also will not burn very easily (there is even a fire-retardant version). So you get a product that will be maintenance-free, leak-free, bug-free, and lasts a very long time while conserving the insulation quality of natural leaves! I plan to use this product on my own bohio! (aka. palapa or gazebo)

Trackback URI | Comments RSS