Joyful,

Thanks for your comments. We understand and agree with what you write.

A bit of explanation here. Note that we did not identify which airline was involved.  We have had firm guidance not to speak ill of any company on our website because of slander and libel laws in Panama. Our trip was to northern Florida for medical consults for me. We were incredibly busy during those ten days, and the WiFi at the hotel that we were staying at was, at best, horrible. Note that we don't do cell phone internet (in fact, no cell phone in the US at all), and so it was our iPad and the hotel WiFi fighting each other. That is why we did not fill out the Minsa form for the QR code prior to arriving at the origin airport for our return flights. Yes, we do get an email request to pre-check-in about 24 hours prior to our scheduled boarding time. However, we have generally been barred from pre-check-in because of two reasons, (a) special services are needed, and (b) we do not have tickets for a return to the US and since we are traveling on US passports they need to see our cedulas to prove our Panama residency status.

Going a little further, the hotel, also unnamed, was not up to par. We have stayed there previously on several occasions, but this time they hit the bottom of the tank. Unlikely we will ever make a reservation for that hotel in the future. Actually, we are considering boycotting that entire chain of hotels and returning to our more favorites, such as the Hilton, Marriott, and IHG/Intercontinental (Holiday Inn, etc.) chains. Even independents work for us.

We do appreciate your feedback.

Here are the pictures that were promised. The fire truck in the right leg is blocking the road for the route to Cabañas Sabrin. You can see Bambuda Castle in the distance off the left leg.

Below you can see the sizzling and smoking high tension line on the roadway (photo courtesy of Robert Boyd.)

Below you can see the arcing and sparking high tension line (photo courtesy of Robert Boyd).

Interesting article. Thanks, Joyful. 

On our recent medical trip to the US that Marcelyn mentioned, we had a total of eight flight segments. On each leg we witnessed at least one incident of unruly passenger actions. Travel no longer is something we look forward to; rather it is something we have to endure (separate from the Covid-19 component) in order to get something achieved.

I long for the time when the world will return to normal, but normal no longer is normal, and likely never will be again. 

3 hours ago, Jon L said:

Does anyone know where I can I find a doctor who specializes in internal medicine or geriatrics & can issue a certificate of good physical & mental health?

Two years ago, when I first turned 70, I had this done in Boquete, but now I'm told they don't have a doctor who can do this.

Is there any other option, other that going to a hospital in David?

Dra Digna Diaz (in Alto Boquete) is the only doctor that I am aware of in the Boquete area who can sign off on the documentation for driver license renewal for seniors. Her appointment number is 720-2434.

There was a long line at Sertracen at the time of Marcelyn's appointment for her license renewal. We estimate about 17 waiting in the queue outside the office, not including us. Since Marcelyn had made a reservation (an online procedure, relatively easy) she was shuttled to the front of the line and immediately granted entrance into the Sertracen office. That queue jumping was under the direction of the security guard, but it still upset many of those in line waiting for their turn, but who had not made a reservation.

Below is Marcelyn exiting the Sertracen office after successfully completing the requirements for renewal. In years past it took 15 to 20 minutes to renew her license, but this year with the Covid-19 issues it took 1.5 hours. Still a long line waiting their turn as she exited. There were about 30 applicants inside the office that don't show in these pictures.

Marcelyn commented that several of the applicants inside the office were police and bomberos who were renewing their licenses. I found that a bit curious. Why so many at one time? And of the ~30 in the office when she was admitted, only four (including her) were female.

Well done, Marcelyn.

I got my flu shot today, given that today (May 7^th) is a guy's day to be out and about. I arrived about 11:06AM. Total time for me was about ten minutes. I was a bit more lucky than Marcelyn in finding a parking place at the corner across from the mayor's office (where the small ponies typically are located on holiday weekends). Marcelyn described the procedure quite well. Here is a picture of the flu shot station.

When I arrived, there was one man waiting in front of me (that is him in the photo). Upon my exit a few minutes later there were 13 men lined up waiting for their turn for a flu shot.

The two nurses were competent and friendly. All communication was in Spanish. Show your cedula, tell them where you live, and then roll up shirt sleeve. I also had them document the immunization in my yellow W.H.O. booklet. No bandaid provided. Alcohol was used in the preparation phase to cleanse the area of the pending injection.

Tuesday, April 14^th was a guys day for running errands. Marcelyn and I normally do not go into town on consecutive days, but there were rumors (bochinche) about possible stricter mobility constraints.  We wanted to be sure that we were well stocked with essential food and supplies.

I went to five different businesses. Other than waiting lines there was nothing unusual, with one exception. Upon parking at Mini Super El Dorado in Alto Boquete I saw the queue was about nine people - all guys, of course. I'm wearing a face mask and gloves, but manage to say hi to all in line as I moved to the end of the queue. About three minutes after getting in line I noticed two women walking into the parking lot from the street. I thought to myself, gee that is strange; are they employees of the store because today was a guy day. As they got closer to me, I noticed that both had clipboards, and each female had a lanyard around their neck with some kind of badge attached. They then looked at each of the guys in the line starting at the rear but said nothing until they approached the man two positions in front of me. There was a short discussion, none of which I could hear. The man pulled out his wallet and showed them something. The two women smiled and continued going forward. I then lost track of them.

Upon exiting the store I placed my goods in the back seat, got in the car, and started backing out. I then saw both of the women talking with a man. They had their clipboards up and were writing something. The guy was obviously not a senior citizen. I figured out that these two women are quarantine compliance monitors. They apparently caught a guy who was out and about, but outside of his allocated time slot. The look on his face said everything as I slowly maneuvered past them. If I had to put a caption on his expression it would be "I'm screwed now". I have no idea who he was, nor the eventual outcome.

The message here is: Follow the law. Don't try to game the system.

An alternate title might be: GoGo for GaGo.

Sr Lasso recently raised his haircut price to $4.00. Still a great deal.

Thanks for making work for me. 😀

The clock is about 23 inches in diameter. I was not able to get the glare removed.

No on the blood tests for license renewal.

Given that we needed to see our doctor for Marcelyn's license renewal, I decided to turn that visit into a general physical exam/review for both of us. Thus the blood work was done.

BTW, we use Dra Diaz here in Boquete (she is the only doctor we are aware of in Boquete that can certify for driver license renewal), and it was a very thorough health checkup for both of us. Glad that we did that. We also use Dr Gomez across from Melo when we want a consult quickly without an appointment. Both are great doctors.

If true, then this is a really sad situation. Javier and Magaly do so much for our community. And our dog was a rescue situation about two years ago by Javier and Magaly.

What happens now for the rescue services that they perform? Where will Javier and Magaly go? Hopefully all of the dogs will find new permanent homes soon.

Here are two pictures of Anouk visiting with Dra Chely this morning. One can tell just by watching her interaction with Anouk that Dra Chely genuinely cares about pets.

First is getting ready for the injection.

And here having her teeth and mouth thoroughly checked.

Here are two recent pictures of the barbershop mentioned above. First is Sr Lasso (on the right) and his business partner. Second is a street side view of the barbershop. This barbershop is on the same street as Melo here in Boquete, but a bit north, going toward the church.

2 hours ago, Siempre Soluciones said:

Yes, but I may add that they're family owned like the Fish House and sometimes decide not to open on time or at all.  We went for breakfast one morning and there was one of the owners wearing a bathrobe and slippers preparing her breakfast.  She said no breakfast today, see you at lunch.

Interesting, and not the first time we have had such experiences (note use of the plural here)..

To some, this aspect of life in Boqueteville is called its charm, and to others it is an irritant. To each his own.

This topic has brought unexpected information to the table. Yeah for it because we all win! We plan to try Cafe Boquete in the near future.

Below is a picture of the laundry that we used.

The sign over the door reads "Lavamatico." This business is next door to the Cafe Boquete breakfast place. Both are located immediately behind the Boquete Police Department, and in the same block (but opposite end) of the block where the CSS Policlinica is located.

Here are two pictures of Dra Monica Sanjur's office and sign.

Here is a picture of Sastreria Domingo:

Opening of Estadio Kenny Serracin.

A concert by Rubén Blades.

Javier and Magaly,

This blog post amazes me at how much the two of you do for our animal friends. So many dogs (plus some cats!), and the pictures show them getting along well with each other. I don’t know how you can even remember their names because there are so many.

Thank you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR back to you as well. Wishing you all the best.

Javier and  Magaly,

Thank you for this information and the pictures. You are doing a fantastic service for our community.

I do have a question. You house many dogs that are rescued and awaiting adoption. In your experience with a large group of dogs do you find one or perhaps two particular brands of dry dog food that seems to be better received by the dogs? I ask this because we are wanting to donate some dry food, and would like it to be what you find tends to work best. Or perhaps just anything?

Here are some pictures taken this afternoon of the wire mesh that is being installed. We believe that cane toads will find it difficult to come through the fence once this project is completed. The mesh has about 1/4" openings, and goes up about four feet from the base of the fence. The mesh is being tack welded into place. Painting will be done after all of the welding is complete.

We are pretty sure that the neighborhood cats will no longer come to the back door for food.

Nicole and Daniel,

Our condolences.

A good friend is a certified translator. Her name is Mitzi Clare Nash Amat. Her cell is 6669-4786, email mitziclarenash@hotmail.com, website www.otralenguatranslations.webs.com. Mitzi is also a CL member.

Background: I recently was able to take advantage of about 35 hours of professional training on Windows 10. These were separate one-hour sessions in a classroom environment using new computers running the latest version of Windows 10, which is called Windows 10 Anniversary Update. The classroom had 16 stations, but at most of the training sessions there were students at chairs looking over the shoulders of those fortunate enough to get a station. (Nice hardware, BTW.) The instructor, Kristin, was a Microsoft employee with about ten years tenure with Microsoft.

Two motivators for Microsoft to bring out a new operating system are (a) industry trends toward the use of touch technology (as opposed to man-machine interfaces based on a keyboard or mouse), and (b) the movement from programs to apps, or the incorporation of both. Apps are modern, dedicated applications running under what Kristin called a "metropolitan operating system concept". Please do not ask me to explain that term. A program and an app are different beasts.

The subject of Windows 10 crashing (actually the word 'trashing' was used many times) the computers that were being upgraded from prior versions of the Windows OS came up (many times). Kristin explained that almost all cases experiencing crashing/trashing were the result of hardware and/or software driver incompatibilities. Only Windows 7 and Windows 8 systems were candidates for an upgrade to Windows 10. In other words, Windows Vista and XP could not be upgraded, and more than likely would not have hardware compatible with Windows 10.

The biggie news here is that Windows 10 must have very new hardware in order to function properly. Video cards and drivers are a primary culprit. If you have a computer more than 2 or 3 years age, there likely will be hardware problems. Microsoft provides a free program (available on its website) to test and report compatibility of a machine prior to upgrading. It is my understanding that that program does not test peripheral compatibility.

Further on the 'driver' comment in the prior paragraphs: once a machine is upgraded, then there likely will be driver incompatibility issues that cause major heartburn. For example, after upgrading a machine that had a common consumer grade ink jet or laser printer attached, then even the drivers that interface between the computer and the printer need to be upgraded as well -- providing such a driver upgrade exists. Ouch.

Those who upgrade and do so successfully are indeed lucky people (my terminology, not Microsoft's terminology). My own experiences with upgrading were not something I choose to repeat. The best situation would be either (1) to use a fairly new machine that is known to be hardware compatible, and rather than upgrade to 'reimage' the system {that means to wipe it clean and basically create a new computer}, or (2) to buy a new machine with Windows 10 already installed.

To close on a positive note, I was really impressed with what Windows 10 can do. I found myself saying "Wow, I really like that" many times during these training sessions. My current think is to go into Windows 10 in 2017 based on new hardware.

Somehow I came across a BBC article about a Husky in Shropshire, England. The really interesting thing about the dog in that BBC article is that the British Husky has a name (Anuko) very similar to our Anouk. The British Husky apparently is now very wealthy given a twist of events. One big difference between the two dogs is that our Anouk has one blue and one brown eye. The other big difference is that our Anouk doesn't have a fortune to her name. Darn the luck!

Here is the link to the BBC article: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-shropshire-37311658
 

Quote

Anuko the dog makes a fortune by being grumpy

8 September 2016 Last updated at 16:04 BST

A dog who looks like he's unimpressed has earned thousands of pounds for his owner after becoming famous on the internet.

Anuko, whose owner Jasmine Milton lives in Telford, Shropshire, has thousands of fans on social media and people have paid to use his pictures on websites and in magazines around the world.