JohnF13

Because he thought it reasonable to give an explanation for his leaving?

I think the one factor here can be described as lack of "situational awareness". It is present in both the pedestrians and drivers. Pedestrians, for whatever reason, seem to think that a 4000 lb vehicle can stop on a dime if they walk in front of it. Drivers in a lot of cases are actually unaware of pedestrians (or other drivers) and do not think about what the other person may do. Add into the mix the almost complete disregard for turn signals and you have a dangerous situation for everyone. As North American drivers we expect a certain standard of behaviour by others - when we rely on that and it is not present then collisions will occur. THEN, throw taxi and bus drivers into the mix and you have mayhem. We need to drive very defensively, I know that is not "fun", but neither is being responsible for injuries or deaths.

IMHO, speed in itself is a factor in a lot of collisions and most certainly a large factor in the severity of injuries and deaths. No matter how you look at it, the presence of a police officer with a radar will slow down traffic, albeit for only a short time because most folks know if you pass one radar check point there is little chance there will be another a few miles down the road. Unfortunately, appealing to people's "common sense" doesn't always work because some folks just don't have any. We have all been passed on the highway by the ego driven idiot driving at 160k or more and if you were able to stop him and ask why, the answers would be something on the lines of "Im a good driver", "what harm is it doing" or "I have a good car, it is meant to go that speed". It seems to me, from years of experience, that the only solutions revolve around punative fines (think thousands instead of hundreds) and licence suspensions, the latter backed up by jail time if flouted. You could also throw in vehicle impoundment and sale as well. Improving roads will never be enough, there is always the one jackass with the Bugatti that wants to exceed the safe speed limitations of the road. As someone previously noted, it is generally the speed differential that is the major problem, everyone driving at 80 or 100k usually results in few accidents. Last comment, a lot of us are older but still seem to think we have the reaction times we had when we were 20. As a personal example, I took police pursuit driving courses and drove, "back in the day" at speeds and in a manner that I would never try to replicate now, my reaction times are just not as good as they once were.

Not to hijack the thread, but does anyone know where starfruit trees can be had?

Citricos in Potrerillos Abajo sells decent sized sweet orange and lemon trees. Dont know if they have anything else, but they plant their stock quite high up on this side of the mountain. Good prices, less than 5 bucks a tree.

So far (praise whatever deity you choose) my Mobilnet service has been rock solid in Potrerillos. I too am interested in what will happen to pricing, it looks like Cable Onda has a few options (apart from expensive, more expensive and "you must be joking"). However, expect the worst and what you get might be a pleasant surprise.

Weather patterns are changing here in Potrerillos, now getting rain during the night and sunnier afternoons. A couple of days have been without rain. Darn, I like rainy season...

I just cannot see why the American government would extend health care to people who have left their Country for a better/cheaper life somewhere else. As others have said, America looks after it's own interests, any money spent here is to support American policies and/or the canal. But, of course, that doesn't prevent the entitlement mentality of some living here.

Gordon, I wouldn't know, haven't been there for a couple of weeks. Maybe everyone should do the same and let it die in obscurity....

I certainly don't see a need for a debate. Rodny is providing a service for a fee - good old capatilism. But,. AAC is requeting "donations", so how much difference is there? Seems to me that the AAC folks have their knickers in a knot because someone came in and encroached on "their" game. Having said that, there may be a place for both, but AAC needs to get over it's lethargy and explain what kind of service they are going to provide - not in February, but now.

My internet on Movistar is working fine in Potrerillos

Brundageba....And proud!

Cowboy Dave and Keith provide a vital service, especially to newcomers that speak little Spanish. We bought a car from Dave shortly after we arrived and Keith handled the paperwork transfer, things I would have been loath to do at the time. Keith has also provided me with good advice, free of charge, about vehicle importing from C. R.

Bridges are expensive. Add that to the actual cost of the road and I would suspect you are into tens of millions.

CL is filling the no-ning void very well. As two sailors said, we need to get more people on board so that we can have a truly inclusive site. I was going to say I will miss Ambreen, but I have decided to not visit that site again, so it is a moot point. Up, up andaway, Chiriqui Life!

I didn't realise the breadth of the immunity provisions until I looked into them. Seems like the flea on the dog owned by the wife of Mr. Martinelli's gardener can claim immunity.....

Bonnie, love the graphics in that one, can't read the text!

Lynnie, but that's what you would expect of an algorithm... a canned response that really says nothing. I'm getting out the tinfoil hat......

So this has been niggling at my mind for some time. Is Ambreen real, or is she a computer algorithm? The way people/comments are treated (banned/removed) seem to indicate the latter. Similarly, the language cadence used by Ambreen suggests computer generated speech. Maybe it is just me, but I am getting very suspicious.

Al, great comment, lucid and direct.

Great, save the traffic fight venturing into downtown.

Nice, clean and crisp. Good upgrade Bud.

Unfortunately, there is not a renewable energy plant out there that doesn't list the first income line as "government subsidy". The technology isn't there yet and likely never will be unless these projects are made to stand on their own. The cost of materials, from solar panels to windmills are way too high because of government inputs.

I talked to Mr Daves some time ago before I knew anything about him. Quite charming and charismatic - I guess that is how he gets so many followers. At the time he had an office upstairs in San Francisco plaza. Don't know if he is still there, but he did mention that he was lookig for land in Potrerillos to put up greenhousesand feed the poor.

I have not been into the one in Dolega but from the looks of things it is only partially open Mon-Fri, I do not think the emerg section is in operation. As for the Boquete one, I'm guessing a couple of years at least considering the number of people they have working there.