Panama Day parade in El Valle de Anton

El Valle is a parade town. The locals love to put on parades for every possible occasion:  Christmas, independence, various saints’ days, and more. These parades are big events, sometimes with half the town participating, marching, playing music, and riding custom-built wagons pulled by oxen. In between parades the youth practice, and the sound of distant rhythmic drumming can often be heard in the days preceding any parade.

Be aware that parades never start on time. They are always scheduled for an early time like 9am, but don’t actually get started until 10 or 11. That’s the Panama way, ha ha.

The parades are one the many things I love about life in El Valle.

Beautiful home in El Valle de Antón, Panama

Note: the house is also currently available for rent, as of November 1st, 2011.

This lovely house is for sale in the peaceful resort town of El Valle de Antón, Panama. Here are some quick links to pages on this site:

• Information about the house
• Yard and outside structures photos
• Living Room and Guest Bathroom photos
• Kitchen photos
• Master bedroom photos
• Master bathroom photos
• Office (green room) photos
• Baby’s room (blue room) photos
• Second bathroom photos

A Baltimore oriole was recently sighted in El Valle, Panama

A resident of El Valle de Anton (Panama) recently reported seeing a Baltimore Oriole in his yard, and suggested keeping an eye out for this brilliant orange and black colored bird.

The Baltimore oriole’s habitat ranges from the Eastern half of the United States all the way down to Venezuela, so in Panama we’re at the southern end of its range.

It’s head, throat, mantle, wings, and tail are all black. The underparts, shoulders, tip and edges of tail, and rump are orange to yellow orange. The orange on the chest deepens to almost a sunset orange. There is a single white wingbar; the orange shoulder makes a second wingbar. The bill is pointed and silvery.

Panama has 972 species of birds. Because of its unique location as a connector of Central and South America, Panama gets visits from migratory birds from the entire range of the Americas.

El Valle is a birder’s paradise, and in fact there are hotels devoted specifically to birders. Every morning in El Valle one wakes up to bird song. It’s quite lovely.

Coronado Bay, Panama

Number Three: Coronado, Panama, just 35 minutes away from El Valle.

Yahoo Finance just published a slideshow titled, “8 Great Places to Retire You’ve Never Heard Of.” One of them is Coronado, Panama, which is just down the hill from El Valle de Anton, only 35 minutes away. Coronado is where El Valle residents go for larger grocery trips, or to have a Subway sandwich, or (if you know someone) to hang out at the beach.

My beautiful house in El Valle is for sale. Not only do you get to live in one of the loveliest places in the world, you’re only 40 minutes away from the Pacific beaches, and only 90 minutes out of the capital city.

By the way, Raul is also the owner of Punta Rojo real estate. He shows many houses in El Valle for sale and for rent, and he chose my house to rent for himself. So think about that

For sale in El Valle de Antón, Panama: a large, modern, fully furnished house

I am offering my furnished house for sale in El Valle de Antón, Panama. For those who don’t know, El Valle is a lovely town of about 7,000 people, 90 minutes outside of Panama City, the capital of Panama. El Valle sits at 600 meters elevation in the bed of an ancient volcano, and has a pleasant, cool climate. El Valle is a resort town and a popular weekend destination, and as a result it has many nice restaurants and a thriving crafts market. It’s also a place of amazing natural beauty, with a hot springs, waterfalls, and surrounded by misty, forested mountains. There is an established expat community in Valle and many interesting ativities such as classes in cooking, paper making, glass staining, and yoga.

The lot is 1,500 m2 (16,145 square feet) with beautiful mature trees of all kinds, including papaya, eucalyptus, bananas (the banana trees produce a small, uniquely flavored banana called “guineo de manzana”), and various berry bushes.

The house is 260 m2 (approximately 2,800 square feet) with three bedrooms and three baths. The house was designed by a Panamanian couple in which he was an engineer, and she was an interior decorator. Their expertise shows both in the practical elements of the design, and the many decorative flourishes. Some of the house’s features:

• Convenient location two blocks off the main road and close to the center of town. Everything is within walking distance.
• House has a raised foundation to prevent flooding in the rainy season.
• The yard has a system of french drains beneath the surface to carry away excess rainwater.
• Plenty of windows providing lots of light. Panamanian-style homes tend to be dark inside. Not so with this house. Also, many of the windows afford wonderful views of the surrounding mountains.
• Ceiling and wall lamps everywhere, both inside and outside the house. Many of the lamps take the form of birds such as chickens and owls.
• Split AC’s and ceiling fans in each bedroom. (A split AC is a type of high-end air conditioner that works by splitting the hot side from the cold side of the air conditioner. The cold is inside, while the hot is outside, with the two connected by a narrow duct through the wall. Since the compressor is outside, the AC unit is quieter and much more pleasing to the eye. It’s also more efficient and will really cool the room fast). Anyway, you won’t need the ACs most of the time because of El Valle’s pleasant climate, but on the hot days they can keep you comfortable if you choose.
• Almost every room in the house has ceiling fans with lamps, including the bedrooms, bathrooms, living room and foyer.
• Stone flooring and teak cabinets in the bathrooms.
• A huge kitchen with a large island and plenty of counter space. Refrigerator and microwave were purchased last year.
• Large living room built in a unique “patio style” that allows the breeze to pass through, and with very high ceilings; this room is cool year round. There is also a loft above the living room that can be used for storage.
• A barbeque in the living room and an exhaust fan to take away the smoke.
• Plenty of closet and storage space.
• High speed internet connection via MobilNet. All you have to do is change the service to your name.
• Telephone line. Many people rely on mobile phones, and El Valle has a mobile phone store, so it’s your option to activate the landline or not.
• Furniture includes rustic-style couch and chairs, built-in tables and seating, rocking chair, hammock, kitchen stools, two beds plus sheets and pillows, nightstands, television cabinet, large television and DVD player, small desk and leather office chair, three UPS devices and several surge protectors, lamps, Vornado floor fans, quality cookware and silverware from the U.S., garden shed equipped with tools, and more. It’s turnkey. You could move right in with the clothes on your back.

The house is currently rented to a good local family. They will be moving out when their own house is complete.

An excellent maid and gardener help to care for the house, keeping it maintained and clean. They have worked in this house for several years and know it very well. They are both honest and hard working. You will not find better employees anywhere. By the way, Rosa (the maid) would be happy to cook for you as well if you like. She has really branched out her cooking skills over the years and can prepare very nice Panamanian food, Chinese stir fry, Italian, salads and even vegetarian. When I’m staying in the house I give her money in the morning and she goes to the local open-air market to buy fresh fruits and vegetables and cook them up the same day.

The side door has a small pet door built in, with a latch to keep other animals out at night.

The sale price is $345,000.

If you are interested please contact me via the form on the contact page, and I can make arrangements for you to see the house.

- Wael Abdelgawad, El Valle de Anton, Panama

Here is a gallery of photos of the yard, the street in front of the house, the shed, the laundry, etc. Basically all the outdoor structures. Click on the thumbnails to see larger photos.

The living room is essentially a large, closed-in patio with very high celings. It has ceiling fans and lamps as well, a hammock, two built-in seating areas with cushions and pillows, an indoor barbeque with a vent to remove the smoke, and a guest bathroom. A large, heavy wooden door separates the living room from the rest of the house. That door can be locked for added security, not that it is needed in this peaceful place.

This room is always pleasantly cool, even on the hottest days. It’s a lovely room in which to dine, relax with friends, play cards or games, dance, or just hang out. My daughter always enjoyed playing in this room, while I used to lay down mats and practice martial arts in the evening. We often entertained friends in this room. In the morning all you hear is bird song, and in the evening the chorus of the frogs and insects.

The kitchen is spacious and beautiful. So much counter space and storage space you won’t know what to do with it all. All the cabinets are made of beautiful teak wood. The oven and stove use gas. The gas cannister is inside the kitchen island. It lasts for months and can be refilled cheaply at the local Melo store in town. The refrigerator and microwave are both fairly new. For rentals, the kitchen comes fully equipped with quality cookware, serving ware and silverware from the United States, and even a portable Sony stereo/CD player.

The foyer is a large open area with a built-in bench and some kitchen stools. I’ve noticed that guests often like to sit on the stools and chat or have a drink. There’s a lot of space here that is not currently being used. You may want to hang artwork here, or put in a sofa or television (the house comes with a large screen TV which is currently in the master bedroom).

The master bedroom gets a lot of morning light, and has a nice view of the mountains. Like all the bedrooms, it has a ceiling fan and lamp, and a split air conditioning unit. The room also includes a large screen TV and DVD player. This bedroom has its own bathroom.