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Things I’ve learned in Boquete

 

Entries in this blog

An Now I Know - Tocumen Airport Handicap Assistance

Bud and I traveled from Mexico City to Panama City last week and noticed a substantial difference in the handicap assistance at Tocumen as compared to other airports. (Yes, I know the airport in Mexico is bigger than Tocumen in Panama City.) While waiting for two hours at the Mexico City Airport, Terminal 2, for our next flight, we counted 42 wheelchair assistance operations. In contrast there was Zero wheelchair assistance when we arrived at Tocumen Airport even though we had requested this ser

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And Now I Know - Admiring Panamanian Tolerance & Patience

Bud and I had an interesting experience in airline travel last week. We boarded a crowded plane at Panama City (PTY) and then sat on the tarmac for about two hours! Engines were running and the plane full of passengers were in their seats with seatbelts fastened. The pilot announced the reason for the delay in take-off was a problem at David airport; the destination airport was closed to all air traffic. Finally attendants offered water and a snack. Passengers were allowed to use the plane

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And Now I Know - Covid-19 Vaccination Documentation Requirements For Reentry into Panama From The US

Last week Bud and I had a scare at a Florida airport for our return flights to Panama. We trust the information posted on Chiriqui.Life and had even called the airline prior to going to the airport to verify the Covid-19 documentation requirements was still current. However when we arrived at the airport check-in counter two customer service personnel refused to issue our boarding passes. The issue was that they believed all international passengers had to show a negative Covid-19 test within 72

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And Now I Know - Courtesy Gestures Where Everyone Wins

Bud and I were waiting in the check-out line at PriceSmart when a Panamanian couple joined the line behind us. She was very pregnant. A birthday cake was their single item for purchase. We asked this couple to go ahead of us. Another Panamanian couple observed our gesture and stepping aside, invited us to move ahead of them. The husband asked the clerk to move his items aside and place our purchases ahead of theirs. We were impressed by this Panamanian style courtesy. They noticed what

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And Now I Know - Overstaying a Tourist Visa

The recent CL posting about border hoppers (Click Here) by Mr. Abel Gomez (a well known Boquete attorney), reminded me of when Bud and I were sitting in the Mexican Naturalization Office waiting for finalization of our Mexican residency visa paperwork. We couldn’t help but overhear four Americans had overstayed their Mexican Visa allowance and now faced a major fine. One woman exclaimed “we can’t pay that much money, we’ll come back later”. The Naturalization Officer told the complainer “come ba

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And Now I Know - Rodny Direct to the Rescue

Excitement in El Santuario this afternoon. We lost electrical service for a second time today (Friday, June 18th), with the first outage being scheduled maintenance. The first outage lasted about seven hours, ending about 2:00 PM. A second outage started about 3:15 PM, and a few minutes later a neighbor called saying a high tension wire was on the ground and “arcing and sparking” in front of his house. We alerted Rodny Direct, who called Naturgy’s emergency number. Rodny called back within

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And Now I Know - Entitled People

Have you heard of the “entitled people”? Because of surgery on Bud’s hand and arm, we decided to fly first class on a recent trip in US. During our flight when Bud went to the toilet, a fella from economy section sat down in Bud’s aisle seat next to me. The flight attendant told him he couldn’t sit there. The passenger said that’s where he wanted to sit and started an argument with the flight attendant. I unfastened my seat belt and grabbed my cup of hot coffee because I could sense a fight

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And Now I Know - My Favorite Fruit And Vegetable Stand Relocates

One of my favorite places to buy fruits and vegetables in downtown Boquete is Caballero, located on the left rear corner of the side street where Mascotas is found. We are told that most people call that store “Sarah’s Place” as its owner is Sarah Caballero. Don’t know the name of the street, but you turn off of Calle Principal here in Boquete at the corner where The Perfect Pair is located. Headed to the usual location to purchase cabbage and red onions to prepare a dinner salad. What happ

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And Now I Know - Dollars vs Cents

My doctor ordered three pills to be taken prior to a physical examination. The pharmacy clerk in David filled the prescription and announced the cost of “48”. Shocked at the price Bud handed over his credit card. Clerk asked for cash. Bud answered he didn’t have sufficient cash.....so the clerk finally accepted the credit card for payment. On the way home, Bud grumbled about the high cost for three little pills. The next day when checking the credit card receipt, guess what! 😄 The charge wa

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And Now I Know - Wireless Motion Sensor Lights

Recently a friend gave me a motion sensor light...a really great gift! These are rechargeable LED light strips that are activated by motion during low-light conditions (e.g., at night). We ordered additional units from Amazon. Bud placed several of them along the hallway leading from our bedroom. No missteps or falls at night because of poor (or no) lighting. Installation is easy...no tools needed. Magnetic bar attaches to wall using adhesive strips (provided in the kit). Considering h

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And Now I Know - New Rodny Direct Placard

Rodny Direct is a service that every expat should seriously consider. It is much more than a 911 style emergency number that answers in English; most of our calls deal with issues with public services and utilities that answer only in Spanish. Our main benefit by contacting Rodny is that he knows the "systems", what number to call, who to talk to, and how things work in Panama. Our original Rodny Direct placard was faded from being placed on our fence and exposed to the bright sun. Time for

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And Now I Know - Renewing Panamanian Drivers License Ain’t Easy For Seniors

Every resident applying for a renewal Panamanian driver license (good for 4 years) must pass an eye and hearing exam. For people 70-85 years old, a certificate of good physical and mental health from a Panamanian doctor who specializes in internal medicine or geriatrics is required. All this plus an actual test in parallel parking and back-up maneuvers is required for residents over 85 years old. For us seniors the renewed license is valid for only two years. Since I meet the requirements f

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And Now I Know - Box Shop Boquete

As long term customers of the Box Shop in David, we are happy this service is now available in Boquete. Box Shop Logistics for delivery of packages is now open in Local #5, Plaza Los Establos, Bajo Boquete. Phone 778-0595. www.boxshoplogistics.com. (To WhatsApp the David office, use +507-730-1041 or +507-778-0270.) Arial, the friendly staff person, speaks excellent English. No charge for registering for an account. Credit card accepted for payment.    

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And Now I Know - Garbage Pickup Anomaly

For several years early on Tuesday mornings our garbage has always been collected from the elevated wire bin with lid container in front of our electric utility meter. We pay for that contract service through the Municipio de Boquete. Today going outside our gated yard to install the new 2021 garbage contract placard we noticed our garbage in black plastic bags had been removed from the bin, but stacked in a pile near the paved street. That has never happened before, and certainly made no s

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And Now I Know - Gender Restrictions at PriceSmart Last Tuesday

Interesting experience at PriceSmart last Tuesday. After reading the latest Minsa report, Bud and I tried to enter the store. Management type employee (female) indicated men only allowed inside. We attempted to explain current Minsa requirements. Her reply was “You are wrong, goodbye”. I waited in the car (for 40+ minutes) while Bud did the shopping. I observed lots of dog food, laundry detergent, dry cereal, and bottles of water were purchased as I waited in our car near the store exit door.  

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And Now I Know - International Flights From/To Panama, and Covid-19 Testing

This past December we took our first international trip since the pandemic started. We have a condo in Mazatlan (Mexico) and typically go there every Christmas season. Arranging the flights was not easy; we engaged Andrea Cook and she worked some miracles for us. We finally got our reservations completed, but they were changed many times (I recall at least five changes, and they were major changes, not just minor time shifts, etc.). Previously we were able to go from David to Mazatlan in the sam

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And Now I Know - First Airline Trip from David to Panama City During Covid-19

With our first step inside David Airport for our first trip (Friday, November 27th) since the pandemic began, we were stopped by an attendant using a camera-like device to take individual’s temperature. Then it was a very long walk to board the COPA flight.  After arriving at Panama a bus ride (20 passengers per trip) delivered us inside terminal. We had no luggage to claim, so we went immediately to taxi pick-up area. Very few passengers in Tocumen Airport. Boarding return flight

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And Now I Know - First Trip To David After the Quarantine

Yesterday (June 2) was our first trip to David in two months. Arrived at PriceSmart at 8:50am. Only three people entering the store. Staff person sprayed each customer’s cart handle with sanitizer while another staff member checked individual forehead temperature reading. Some items on my grocery list were not available, but shelves were being stocked. Checkers were separated from customer by a clear plastic sheet hanging from ceiling area. When leaving the PriceSmart parking lot at approxi

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Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Face Masks

Purchased two face masks from Magaly for DogCamp Boquete support. These masks are two layers of microfiber with cloth in the center which works as a filter. Washable. Come in a variety of colors. Maybe the best feature is eye glasses don’t fog when wearing this mask. $10 each. Available at La Granja pet store (near GAGO in Alto Boquete).

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Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Getting My Flu Shot

At 11:00am this morning (May 6th) I put on my face mask and gloves, and headed to the public health clinic across from Bomberos to get my flu shot. Of course, lack of parking was my first problem. Located a space about 300 feet down the street from the clinic and trotted back to join the waiting line. After a couple of minutes a young man wearing a face mask motioned me to step to front of the line and asked my medical need. Told him I wanted a flu shot. He instructed me to walk around the

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Marcelyn

And Now I Know - What About the Future Economic Stability of Panama?

Our electrical service has been interrupted daily (sometimes lasting several hours), Netflix reception poor (maybe because of heavy usage by stay-at-home folks), long waiting lines at grocery outlets, more & more empty shelves in stores, restrictive hours allowed for necessary errands like medical consults, “cowboy” drivers on almost empty roads, etc., with no end in sight to the quarantine. Feel like we are “camping out” in our home. The next scary situation is I may have to start braiding

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Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Ladies Day for Shopping or No?

Silly me !!  I donned my mask and gloves to go shopping today (Monday, April 20) because I thought this was the assigned day for females to be away from their residence. Reckon not! I observed more males (in stores shopping, driving taxi, selling produce from back of their pick-up, walking along the street with shopping bag, numerous male vehicle drivers, etc.) than females during my quick trip downtown to buy groceries. Seems fines, taking away drivers license and car for 90 days, etc

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Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Quarantine Compliance Auditing

After grocery shopping on Monday (April 13) I was stopped by Police on Ave Central (not far from Mail Boxes). The officer checked that I was wearing mask and gloves then looked into the back seat to make certain no one else was in my vehicle. I was wearing  a baggy tee shirt. My face was mostly hidden by the mask plus sun glasses, so the officer looked at my hair before waving me to continue. A polite inspection to verify that I was legally out of my residence on “Ladies Day”.

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Grocery Shopping....

Yesterday for the first time in more than a week I left the house to go grocery shopping. Put on my mask and gloves, grabbed my shopping list and headed to GAGO to buy fresh vegetables. Joined the line of waiting customers outside the door. When it was my turn to enter the store, the door monitor insisted I use the hand sanitizer that was available. Even tho I was wearing gloves, she refused to allow me entrance if I didn’t use the hand sanitizer. So guess what...I used the sanitizer‼️ Loca

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Marcelyn

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