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Things I’ve learned in Boquete

 

Entries in this blog

And Now I Know - Gardener & Coronavirus

This morning (Thursday) our Panamanian gardener appeared at our gate on time for work  Bud told him no work now.  Poor soul thought he had been fired! Bud spent several minutes explaining coronavirus and how Panama is in total quarantine. Bud paid him his full salary then asked him to return to work when quarantine is over. Our great gardener left with a better understanding of the current environment.

Marcelyn

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

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Laundry

Gurrr........another day with electricity outage. Again, home laundry is not happening. So I discovered a nice full service laundry guy located behind Boquete police station. This place does a fast turn around of wash/dry and fold at a reasonable price. He only does wash and dry — no ironing, dry cleaning, etc. Happy clean day at our house.?

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Haircut

Not long ago an acquaintance (maybe I should call him a “real character”) came to visit us. He needed a haircut...did he ever! But he claimed he didn’t have time or the opportunity for this. Too many other activities like Jazz Festival, Tree Trek, food to try, practice his Spanish, etc. Then one day after his spending the day touring around the Boquete area, I noticed his hair was neatly trimmed. Where? was my question. Bert explained he had asked friendly Panamanians standing near Romero’s

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Beneficiary On Bank Account

A friend and I were enjoying a before dinner conversation last week when she inquired about who was listed as beneficiary on our bank account. I answered with certain names of people. And she said “are you sure, really sure?” Then she told me a scary tale. (This is a smart, clear thinking woman.) Recently when this couple visited their local bank and inquired about who was listed as beneficiary on their account, they were told two names of people they didn’t even know! So yesterday Bud and

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Tailor Shop

A short time ago I ordered jeans from an internet source. Quality was not very good. They were cheap; about half the price of what I could find elsewhere. Yes, once upon a time my mother told me “you get what you pay for”.  The color was O.K. The real concern was the length of the pant legs. They were seven (7) inches too long. Now that would be a heck of a roll-up cuff! What to do. I had paid for them; spent money to ship them here, and they were cheap. Off I went to downtown Boquete

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Tocumen Baggage Inspection Experience

A new experience at Tocumen last week. My one bag was stopped by a determined Custom inspector who asked me three times what food I had. Tried to assure “no food,” but she directed me to the inspection station where I had to open my luggage. Took her about two minutes to locate my bottle of water and a handful of candy mints I had dropped into the side pocket. The interesting part of this experience was my 50 minute delay caused by the lady in front of me. She had three suitcases all wrappe

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Drivers License Renewal

January is my birth month and 2019 is when I had to renew my Panamanian drivers license. Visited a lab here in Boquete for blood test. Then two days later, with blood result information in hand, went to doctor office for a physical exam and memory test. (At my age this exam has to be done by an internalist or gerontologist). Dra Díaz issued the “results” letter which I took to the licensing office the following day. (Glucose and blood pressure reading seem to be the primary criteria for consider

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

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

Marcelyn

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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

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

And Now I Know - BCP Market Experience

Several weeks ago I purchased a purse from an indigenous lady at the BCP Market. Just the right size and color and I used it daily. Last week I was in a hurry, forced and broke the zipper. Tuesday I took the purse back to this family and asked if a replacement zipper could be installed. No problem and the lady would not accept any payment. I was so happy with the results and impressed with her “no charge” that I purchased a small purse as a gift for a friend. As I’ve thought more about

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

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

Marcelyn

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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

Marcelyn

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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

Marcelyn

Marcelyn in main thread

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

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

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

Marcelyn

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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

Marcelyn

Marcelyn in main thread

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

Marcelyn

Marcelyn in main thread

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 - Antique Clock Repair

One of my favorite items that I brought to Panama from US is a large 1920s vintage Asian wall clock. I purchased it from a surplus store many years ago. “This clock hung in the office of the Hong Kong harbormaster” was the story told by the sales clerk.  This favorite item has hung on my kitchen wall here in Boquete for several years. Recently the clock stopped working. A friend told me about a repair shop in David, so yesterday off we went to David with my clock nestled in the back seat of

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Mercado Boquete

Yesterday we wandered into Mercado Boquete (across the street from Romero grocery store). Why? Because I was seeking eggplant (berenjena) to make moussaka. Now I had searched for this purple vegetable in several different stores locally and in David. No luck. In The Mercado I encountered mostly Panamanians, some folks were shopping and several were just talking with friends. And then at the fourth stall there was this wonderful lady selling my sought after eggplant or berenjena. I think my

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

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

Marcelyn

Marcelyn in main thread

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

Marcelyn

Marcelyn in main thread

And Now I Know - Pay Forward Philosophy

Heard about this piece of life philosophy? A few weeks ago Bud and I were almost ready to travel to Panama City by car the next morning. First we had dinner with friends at a local restaurant in Boquete. Then we stopped by the Delta Station to fill up with diesel and have air pressure in the tires checked. To our big surprise the attendant found a nail in one of the tires. What to do! Maybe not a good idea to start the several hours drive to PC with a damaged tire. So off to the old Te

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

And Now I Know - Dental Service

Last month Bud broke a tooth. A chunk just fell away. He wasn’t eating anything hard or difficult to chew, but a big part of that tooth was missing. This was a major and unexpected happening plus scary. A new problem and no dental experience in Boquete. What a blow! Using the Health Care Resources for Chiriqui Province maintained by CL moderators Doug and Jo, I called Dra. Monica Sanjur. Told her Bud was in pain and requested an emergency appointment. (She is located in new building not far

Marcelyn

Marcelyn

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