Boquete Panama First Annual Pollera Parade Jan 12 2012
As an addition to the Feria in Boquete they have provided still another parade to Boquetes calendar.… [more]
Thursday Night, the Fair followed by a healthy and remarkable dose of Amigos
Many of us who live here go to the annual Flower and Coffee Fair once, after one trip we realize it is… [more]
Foodie Alert: Dim Sum
If you are one of those who love DIm Sum, Chinese breakfast, it has until now required a trip to Panama… [more]
The US Consul and Ambassador visit Boquete
Today about forty members of the US community in Boquete took the time out of their busy schedules to… [more]
The passing of a friend, Papa Ricco was killed today
Papa Ricco was killed today in a head on collision with a CUSA dump truck on the Boquete to David Highway.… [more]
An imperfect situation at Amigos Restaurante
Boquete lacks any local news media and this blog and I are not accepting the job of being "Noticias".… [more]
A frustration that happens three times a year
A minimum of three times a year I have a frustrating day. Perhaps I have more frustrating days but without… [more]
House bound this week
If there is anyone who is wondering where I have been hiding, the answer is at home. After Christmas… [more]
A Very Panama Christmas in La Concepción, Bugaba
Last year we celebrated Christmas in David, my son and his girlfriend were visiting and they helped cook… [more]
The week before Christmas and …
Christmas season seems to have a life of itself in Boquete, it may have in Tucson also, but I never noticed.… [more]
The Lastest Boquete Guide
Looking back toward Arizona, with dismay
I was dismayed to receive and email from a reader of this blog last week. The email discussed books being banned in Tucson Arizona Schools. I did some digging and found the Statute now being used to dismember what was the Mexican American Studies curriculum in Tucson Unified School District. The Bolding is mine, not [...]
Please do not come to Panama…
About once year I write a post to discourage people with the attitude of the “Ugly American” from moving to Panama. You might want to read this prior post before continuing with my thought today. Today’s post is entirely motivated by the following comment to my post about Panama’s minimum wage increase. The post encouraged [...]
Boquete Panama First Annual Pollera Parade Jan 12 2012
As an addition to the Feria in Boquete they have provided still another parade to Boquetes calendar. This was actually the best of the season, music yes, dancing men yes, dancing ladies of all ages yes and best of all a dancing Mayor. One of the great anomalies of Panama is that temperate Boquete is cold [...]
Thursday Night, the Fair followed by a healthy and remarkable dose of Amigos
Many of us who live here go to the annual Flower and Coffee Fair once, after one trip we realize it is just a small county fair with precious little to offer that is worth fighting the crowd or braving the blaring discos. This year we went twice, we braved the mobs and noise on [...]
Foodie Alert: Dim Sum
If you are one of those who love DIm Sum, Chinese breakfast, it has until now required a trip to Panama City to scratch the culinary itch. We have been saved! You can now eat Dim Sun for breakfast at the Nuevo Futuro Chinese restaurant in David, it is across from the Nissan Dealer, or [...]
Up the cost of living
As most locals and some expats are aware a new minimum wage went into effect on 1 January 2012. This increase which is the largest in many years will impact many things in Boquete and other parts of Panama. The minimum wage in Panama is balkanized with different regions, having wages scaled to the cost [...]
The US Consul and Ambassador visit Boquete
Today about forty members of the US community in Boquete took the time out of their busy schedules to meet the new US consul, Kent Brokenshire and the possibly outgoing US Ambassador Phyllis Powers. In this photo Price Peterson is doing introductions. The meeting was short, the acoustics in the new third floor library meeting room [...]
The passing of a friend, Papa Ricco was killed today
Papa Ricco was killed today in a head on collision with a CUSA dump truck on the Boquete to David Highway. Ricco was apparently passing and had a head on collision with the oncoming truck. Reports from the scene said the accident was in the morning just below Los Molinos and that the damage was [...]
My fellow Americans
I do not view myself as a paranoid, but as a realist. In my life I have watched the bubble of freedom slowly eroded in the United States. Occasionally some action occurs that requires special attention. On Sept 11 2001 the wheels were set into motion to accelerate the elimination of freedoms of the citizens [...]
An imperfect situation at Amigos Restaurante
Boquete lacks any local news media and this blog and I are not accepting the job of being “Noticias”. Still when something happens and I find it effects me or those around me I tend to get involved, sometimes as an agent of change, as when we had water wars on Jaramillo, sometimes as an [...]
A frustration that happens three times a year
A minimum of three times a year I have a frustrating day. Perhaps I have more frustrating days but without fail I can guarantee that the last days of April, August and December will leave me in a stew. Those days property taxes are due in Panama. If you buy property in Panama do not [...]
House bound this week
If there is anyone who is wondering where I have been hiding, the answer is at home. After Christmas celebrations I have been at home watching construction workers remove a wall that had isolated us from their building. This is one of the final stages but it requires someone to be in the house at [...]
A Very Panama Christmas in La Concepción, Bugaba
Last year we celebrated Christmas in David, my son and his girlfriend were visiting and they helped cook and serve to a very happy family group. This year we planned to attend three different Christmas events before heading to the late night Panamanian feast. We never made it to the local events, too much construction, [...]
The week before Christmas and …
Christmas season seems to have a life of itself in Boquete, it may have in Tucson also, but I never noticed. Retirement, what ever that might be has been an interesting experience. I find that I have time to see things that were always in front of my eyes. What a difference it makes not [...]
Bid 4 Boquete, Help the United Way of Boquete
Bid 4 Boquete Charity Auctions has worked very hard getting items to auction off for our charitable projects. We currently have over $50,000 and counting) worth of donated items and services. Now we need bidders . . . . we need YOU. Lots of these items would make great Christmas presents for someone on your [...]
A Happy and a Merry
I find this time of the year bittersweet. Many people celebrate with a religious significance and that gives them a prepackaged celebrative mood. The fact that the Christmas holiday was stolen from Pagan rites is irrelevant. It was and still is a celebration of family and life, surviving in the harsh winter of the European [...]
TCM: Chocolate and the Ngobe Bugle
Tuesday at the Boquete Community meeting we had another excellent presentation. After last week when the US Embassy learned more about Boquete than we learned, this week was a contrast. We had another US government agency, the Peace Corps, represented by Elsie Mclver and another volunteer. Peace Corps people are called volunteers because no one [...]
Jazz, the Messiah followed by a course of Noriega
I decided Sunday was going to be a day a music. Mayra and I started our day listening to free jazz in the Central Park in Boquete. We quickly moved to listening to the same jazz in the garden at Baru. It was much more enjoyable to sit with friends, drink cold beer and enjoy [...]
Return of the General, not a Tolkien story
Tomorrow, Sunday 11 December 2011 Manuel Antonio Noriega will return to Panama. There are those here who loath him and there are those who love him. The side of the fence people sit on depends upon how their fortunes faired under his regime. It is said that George Bush created Noriega when he was CIA Director [...]
Mothers Day in Panama
Tomorrow, 8 December is Mothers Day in Panama. In my culture, the culture of the US, Mothers day is a Hallmark Day; a greeting card, maybe some flowers. In Panama Mothers Day is a BIG event. First it is a legal holiday and many businesses and government offices will be closed. Second it is a [...]
TCM: Ask not what Panama can do for you …
Today the guest at the Boquete Panama Tuesday Community Meeting was J. Marcelo Hevia-Ortiz. Mr. Hevia Ortiz is the Coordinator of Social Projects for the US Embassy in Panama. I was glad to hear about the Embassy involvement in many efforts to aid the people of Panama. I think Mr. Hevia- Ortiz was surprised to [...]
Coffee Harvest Time in Boquete
I was surfing the net last week and discovered the Bisbee Coffee Company. I know Bisbee Arizona, it is a small town that was at one time the center of copper mining activities in Cochise County Arizona. In a past life I did some contract work in Bisbee for the County helping to retrain mine [...]
TCM: The Day after and more dancing
Today was the day after Independence Day in Boquete Panama. The marching bands marched into the night and finally ended their parade at eleven oclock. I am sure the residents of Bajo Boquete were please about the pause. This morning the Mayor had scores of people out cleaning the streets and we had an unusual [...]
Independence Day 2011 Boquete Panama
One hundred and ninety years ago Panama as a part of Gran Columbia, gained independence from Spain. Gran Columbia included what is now Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador and Panama. In part this is why Panama considers itself part of South American not Central America despite a geographic argument to the contrary. Today Boquete celebrated in weather [...]
Samy & Sandra Sandoval, November 26 at the Arco Iris
At the Tuesday Community Meeting I mentioned that Samy & Sandra Sandoval will be performing this Saturday night. I received so many blank stares that I decided to educate. If you ask any Panamanian whois approaching drinking age or maybe younger, they can tell you that Samy & Sandra are one of the most popular [...]
TCM: Panama Canal Zone
The Tuesday Community Meeting in Boquete this week featured Robert Boyd as a speaker. Robert spoke about the Panama Canal Zone. He grew up there, left and then returned to work there. When he retired he stayed in Panama and settled in Boquete. His powerpoint presentation lacks narration but I have posted it here for the joy [...]
Thanksgiving in Boquete Panama
Thanksgiving might not be a holiday in Panama but the fact that it going to be celebrated in numerous locations is some indication about the influence of the expat community here. Just for the fun I am listing the four restaurants I know are offering Turkey with all the trimmings for the American Thanksgiving. Vary [...]
I was walking in town today,
I was walking because my car was in for some serious maintenance. Last December I had all five glow plus replaced in my Rexton. The original glow plugs lasted four plus years, the new ones, less than one year. I was thrilled at the low price I payed for replacement a year ago. That garage [...]
A Foodie Quickie: Pizza Pit Mall in David, not a place for Vegans
It is not often I toss in a food quickie, but I read about the Pizza Pit in Chiriqui Mall in a Yahoo group, Gringos in David. I ended up in Chiriqui Mall this week and then hunger struck as did my total recall. The Pizza Pit Mall is located in the food court right [...]
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