February 3, 2025

I have been to Panama numerous times both for pleasure and business. Some years ago, I invested in an organic mango plantation. You may not know this fact, but the mango is the most widely consumer fruit in the world. Because of its many variations, dried, juice, purée (used commercially in deserts and cocktails) this superfruit has great utility. With preorders from Costco, the largest purchaser of organic fruit (not Wholefoods as I presumed) I thought it was a good investment. What I didn’t fully consider in my due diligence was all the myriads of factors not always readily apparent in agricultural investments. With that said, it was not a great investment.

Our first stop in Panama was to the Casco Antiguo (the Old Quarter). Having lived in Puerto Rico, the Old Quarter is very similar to Old San Juan or the Zona Colonial of Santo Domingo. With its many parques you can retrace the path of the early settlers and imagine families gathering under the comfort of a shady respite. St. Augustine, in our home state of Florida founded in 1565 by Spanish colonists, is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the United States where you can visit the same type of architecture. The Castillo de San Marcos (Spanish for “St. Mark’s Castle”) the oldest masonry fort in the United States and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine are two fine examples.

Our second stop was our favorite American Trade Hotel to meet our friend Joe Wilmoth. Joe is a serial entrepreneur from California, and he and his wife, Dr. Luz Pazmino, a Doctor of Nutrition who works at John Hopkins in Panama City have lived in Panama for many years.

Joe and I invested in in a global travel and coworking business center in Medellin, Colombia named The Global Express Center. Joe is now the Managing Director of that project and almost commutes between Panama and Colombia having taken 47 flights last year. The 1-hour flight is not that bad compared to the time to commute in the rush hour traffic of Panama City. (rush hour traffic is terrible in Panama City!)

Here’s a little information about Joe and Luz from a recent magazine article on “Movers and Shakers” in Panama and one of Joe’s recent projects.

And if you couldn’t tell from the photo, Joe was a football fullback and ex-rugby player. He makes me look small!

Thanks for traveling with us.

thirdmill update Panama. West Saint Mark Bible College and Seminary includes Thirdmill Institute’s English and Spanish curriculum in its Biblical, theological, and church administration degree programs for faith-based workers.