We try not to spend much time covering the ins and outs of the hotel industries as the signs on the door change often throughout the world. But two prominent hotels we’ve reviewed in Panama changed from independent properties to Marriott brands recently, so we’ve updated our reviews.

The major one is the Buenaventura Resort on the Pacific coast of Panama, opened with all kinds of hype and pizazz before the owners of the Bristol in Panama City found that booking beach resort rooms at high rates was harder than doing so in the city. So Marriott signed on to manage the place and tap into their international marketing machine. If you’ve got lots of Marriott points, you can now book a beach resort in Panama. See our review of the JW Marriott Golf and Resort.

The other is the former Finisterre Suites in Panama City, which also opened with a bang and then promptly started looking for an international brand to partner up with when the expected bookings didn’t materialize. It’s now the Marriott Executive Apartments Panama, with the old name tacked onto the end.

In general it’s as good as the old one, with a seldom-used spa and poolside bar gone but otherwise looking exactly the same. And again, if you’re a frequent Marriott traveler, now you can cash in some points for a suite.

Having a new pope come from Argentina should be good news when it comes to numbers. Canada and the USA combined have 86 million Catholics. South America has 339 million.

Tired of hearing Argentina’s politicians’ sabre-rattling about the Falkland Islands, the locals went to the polls to vote in a referendum. Only 3 out of 1,513 voted not to continue under British rule. Turnout was 92%.

Wholesale coffee prices have tumbled and it’s creating major headaches in Colombia. Though you haven’t seen it trickle down to your local Starbucks, prices are down 50% in two years.

United Airlines just began weekly year-round service between Washington-Dulles International Airport and both Guatemala City, Guatemala, and San Jose, Costa Rica. The airline also will begin weekly year-round service between its Chicago O’Hare hub and San Jose the same day. Check prices on international airline finder Vayama.com.

If you want to assign blame for Mexico’s border region violence to someone, U.S. gun dealers would be a good place to start. A new study found last month that some 250,000 guns a year are heading south from border states, spurred by lax gun sale laws. There are more than three gun dealers for every mile of the 1,969 mile border.

Chile is now leading the world in astronomy, at least in terms of equipment superiority. Scientists have completed the world’s largest radio telescope array, bigger than all existing ones added together, in the Atacama Desert region. The resolution of what it can see is 10X that of the Hubble telescope.

The Association of Brazilian Supermarkets announced that it would not sell beef from cattle raised on cleared rainforest land. Critics say it will be hard to enforce since no government agency is monitoring origin, but it’s hopefully a start in turning the tide of clearing rainforest land for farming. Cattle farming is the biggest driver of deforestation.

There’s a new strain of dengue fever hitting Brazil, with more than 200,000 people being infected just in the first two months of this year. There’s no immunity in place in the population for this new strain, so anyone traveling to areas with mosquitoes in Brazil needs to be super-diligent with the DEET and clothing using BugsAway or Insect Shield.

Bolivia can keep growing coca leaves for workers to chew. The country got a special dispensation from the UN to legalize unrefined coca within its borders only.

I mentioned in our monthly newsletter last month that my Avianca flight to Colombia was another reminder just how far the U.S. airlines have fallen in comparison to most of the international carriers.

Avianca made me feel like a passenger again instead of a  number on a spreadsheet to be optimized and squeezed.

This matters because soon Avianca will probably be the name you see the most besides LAN in Latin America. It merged with TACA last year and by the end of May the TACA brands will all change to Avianca. By the end of 2013 the Ecuadorian airline AeroGal will change to Avianca name too.

On the way down to Bogota from Ft. Lauderdale, I was flying in economy but still had a seat-back entertainment system, a real meal, and a glass of wine. The flight attendants smiled instead of just nagging everyone to turn off their Kindle. My business class report will have to wait for another time, but it looked far superior to what I’ve seen on United and American.

Since international and domestic passengers can check two bags without fees, there was plenty of overhead bin space on my first flight and the three that followed. Naturally the plane boarded a lot faster for the domestic ones since there was no economic reason for bringing a rollaboard bag on the plane

We even got drink service on a 45-minute flight from Bogota to Pereira. Nice.

A few fun facts and some history about Avianca:

Avianca is the second oldest airline in the world after the Dutch carrier KLM.

TACA was created in 1931 in Honduras. It grew fast the past couple decades through acquisitions. In 1991 TACA bought all the airlines of Central America that were in financial trouble (Aviateca of Guatemala, SAHSA of Honduras, LACSA of Costa Rica) and merged them into GRUPO TACA.

In 1999 GRUPO TACA created an airline in Peru called TACA Peru

TACA stands for TRANSPORTES AEREOS del CONTINENTE AMERICANO (American Continent Air Transport)

Last year Avianca and TACA joined STAR ALLIANCE, in many ways the best international alliance for frequent fliers.

Avianca and TACA have 4 main connection hubs in El Salvador, Costa Rica, Bogota and Lima and fly to all Central America and South America.

North American gateways (direct or in code shares with partners) include San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Washington-Dulles, JFK, Chicago-O’hare, Toronto, and Mexico City.

See more at Avianca.com for more info and flight deals. See SeatGuru’s Avianca section for seat pitch and plan configurations.

The new airport in Quito, UIO, officially opened February 20 and flights stopped at the previous one the same day.

By most accounts, the new opening was smooth and without major hiccups. The main issue at this point is how long it takes to get to the city on roads that are not up to the increased traffic.

“To facilitate access to the new airport, Quito is building the $48 million La Ruta Viva freeway, which will open in phases by 2014 and aim to reduce the drive time from downtown to the airport to approximately 40 minutes.”

In other words, the airport opened long before the road to the airport was finished. It’s only 24kms from the city, but you’ll have a much shorter trip if you arrive at night–as little as 45 minutes in an official taxi (set fee $26). During the day, it could be three times that long. If you don’t feel like taking a cab, there’s also an $8 shuttle bus to near the previous airport or you can have your hotel or tour company arrange transportation.

This new airport was a necessary step, despite the loss of convenience. The other one was 52 years old, with buildings surrounding it. Some large long-haul jets couldn’t land there, while the new runway is one of the longest on the continent. This should enable more direct flights from Europe.

You’re going to be paying for it though: the departure tax went up $15. That increase should already be in your ticket price if you bought it recently.

If you’re a member of the Priority Pass business lounge membership program, or get it because of your high-end credit card, there’s good news: you’ve got entry to both the domestic and international lounge here. Sign up at Priority Pass if you don’t look forward to regular boarding lounges. Priority Pass – 10% Off

Andean Travel Company has a nice rundown on the new airport with facts and figures. Get it here: Quito Airport fact sheet.

Check out luxury hotels in Quito here.

As you’ve surely heard by now, Hugo Chavez went to join his comrades in the afterlife this week. The downtrodden and those who worked for him are mourning, while the opposition and the business community are quietly cheering.

Time will tell how long it will take to undo the damage he did, the economy tanking despite a fabulous oil boom that drove the price to record highs on the world market. Some of the highest crime in the hemisphere despite swelling state coffers for police and one of the highest inflation rates in the world were the marks of his legacy. A brain drain has been going on for over a decade, as well as a wealth drain that has greatly benefited Panama and Colombia.

Venezuela has been one of the countries we have never covered in Luxury Latin America. I’m not sure we ever will cover it. That will depend on whether business leaders return, whether anyone builds hotels catering to high-end travelers, and whether tour companies are able to feel secure for the safety of their clients. It will also depend, of course, on whether the anti-American (and pro-Iranian) sentiment that marked the Chavez era will fade now that he is gone.

There are plenty of natural attractions in the country, from waterfalls and mountains to jungles and beaches. Whether the 180-degree turn necessary to attract visitors with money to those places can happen anytime soon is a mystery though.

Adios Hugo. Let’s all hope for a brighter Venezuelan future.