The last stop of my Panamerican trip before heading home to Europe for Christmas was Panamá. I came here just for a few days to see some friends and to set up a company. I did not expect to do a lot of sightseeing, but in these two days I saw a lot.
My friends Anabell and Randy Hilarski picked me up on the first day to show me around. We had a late lunch at a seefood restaurant on the Causeway, a long promenade which connects the mainland with a few islands. From there you can enjoy a terrific view of Panamá.
Then they showed me around Casco Viejo, the historic city of Panamá, which has been renovated in the last years, after it was bombed by the US Army in 1989. I arrived in Panamá on the anniversary of the invasion, when US troops sacked Panamá's dictator Noriega. Now Casco Viejo is the heart of Panama City's nightlife.
The famous "Panama Hats" are actually made in Ecuador
At night there was "Crypto & Beer" meetup in a craft beer pub, where I met many interesting people, among them Ira Miller, one of the founders of Coinapult, who now works on a super-interesting project to decentralise the Internet. As anywhere, there is a growing interest in all things crypto in Panamá.
The next day I had an appointment in Panamá with my attorney so set up a company in Panamá. This country has very good tax laws: you pay taxes on business you do inside Panamá, but when a Panamian company works for clients abroad, its income is legally tax free.
Then I met up with Raisa, an artist, chef and activist for endangered species. I met her at the LaBitConf in Bogotá, where she hosted a video show called Coffee and Crypto:
We had lunch at the top floor of the Miraflores visitor's centre from where you have an amazing view of the Panamá Canal, which connects the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The first ship I saw passing through the Canal was a gas and chemical transporter from my hometown Hamburg.
At night there was a Christmas meetup at the Panamá Bitcoin and Blockchain Embassy, a nice space inside a shopping mall. I showed a couple of our films and told some stories about them.
My favourite story which everybody loves is about the two actors who met through the production of this film in Buenos Aires. They are now a couple and have a baby. Greetings to you, Flor and Alejandro!
https://vimeo.com/113400426
I was impressed by the blossoming crypto scene in Panamá City and the diversity and beauty of this central American boom town. I hope LaBitConf will soon take place there!