Jim Bondoux

Yacht transit of the Western Carribean is iffy, weather-dependent, and slow. I suggest contacting Princess Cruises and Holland America Cruises. They both have cruise ships departing Colon in the next week and arriving in Ft. Lauderdale three or four days later. Safe, comfortable, reliable, with doctor and infirmarty on board...

According to the linked article, a project to repair and improve the highway to Paso Canoas has started - resurfacing, bridge improvements, cleaned shoulders and ditches and unspecified measures to alleviate traffic jams at urbanized entrances/exits. https://www.tvn-2.com/nacionales/provincias/limpieza-rehabilitacion-carretera-Panamericana-David-Frontera_0_5246475327.html

Farm Worker Dies From Bee Stings https://www.tvn-2.com/nacionales/provincias/Hombre-muere-atacado-abejas-africanizadas-Chiriqui-bomberos_0_5224727493.html A farm worker operating a machine on a pineapple farm was attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees, and died in David's Hospital Regional.

La Prensa had an interesting article today on the subject of corruption in the courts: "I Pay Judges Every Day". https://impresa.prensa.com/panorama/pago-jueces-dias-Janio-Lescure_0_5223977639.html I have made a full translation for my personal use, but prefer not to post it. The four pages are available in pdf format to anyone who contacts me privately.

History suggests that interfering in the internal affairs of another nation (for instance, recognizing a pretender in conflict with the current ruler) leads to war. That is the reason European nations signed the Treaty of Westphalia, agreeing to leave one another alone unless under external attack. But that was a long time ago - people forget. I am of the opinion that the seduction of globalism will lead to many regrets. Among other things, watch for the revival of "Yankee Go Home" sentiment in a number of quarters.

Makes good sense sense from an international shipping viewpoint, but the concept is only about 150 years old, and yet no real "land bridge" is in place. A big infrastructure project with highway, railway (beefier than the present inadequate line), and pipeline, plus port expansion sounds awfully good - but I wonder how they will obtain the support of the local indigenous folks, and how they will protect the cargoes from criminal attacks. Until those questions are answered, I am betting the thing will remain a white elephant. Cruisers know about the dread "T-peckers" (make the summer winds in Alto Boquete seem like gentle breezes), but that's a topic for another day.

No inside info here. I just note that COPA has built their success on the model developed many years ago by Southwest Airlines, i.e. hub & spoke route map and focus on one aircraft model (i.e. Boeing 737 variants, give them a pass for the few Embraers in the fleet). I have flown into Tocumen on COPA from Santiago, Aruba, Bridgetown, Las Vegas, Denver, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and a couple of other places that slip my memory, and I am amazed at how few of my fellow passengers show up at immigration - the overwhelming majority are connecting to some other flight. I now watch when they pass out the Panama customs forms on board - hardly anyone takes one to fill out. That is the source of my sense that Panama is taking the Americas passenger hub business away from Miami. I don't think Panama's geographic position (on the same meridian as Miami) gives it the same potential for European destinations. As to the full recline seats, they don't exist in a Southwest-type model - no long-range non-stop flights - just hopscotching along, not unlike a bus route. If I had inside info of any kind it would be illegal for me to share it... my comments are just based on my observations as a traveler.

Everyone seems to have a collection of air travel disaster anecdotes to share, so I won't burden this note with my most recent misadventure. What I do wish to pass along is a sense that the golden days of COPA Airlines are presently likely to be behind us. I have enjoyed COPA's service, which is easily superior to that of most US -based airlines I have made use of in the past. But the company's new headlong rush into the future is diluting its competitive strengths. COPA has nearly 60 new jets on order, compared to its base of just under 100. The company announces new routes and destinations with regularity. To this observer, the challenges in recruitment, training, and infrastructure of such a high growth rate signal major trouble ahead. To which must be added the inevitable teething problems when the new Tocumen terminal finally opens. A commercial airline is an incredibly complex system, and is vulnerable to disastrous events when a simple link fails. Panama City is challenging Miami as the hub for The Americas, and COPA's day has dawned. The temptation to make the most of the opportunity is difficult to resist, and the company has succumbed. The price will be a decline in the quality of customer experience. The stock (listed on the New York Exchange) has had a nice run, but has dropped from its high last January at 135 to today's 76. The consensus of opinion expressed in the stock market is trending downward, but that rarely causes management or the Board to alter their strategic plan. I expect to have more frequent negative experiences in the future when traveling with COPA.

I didn't think it was just sour grapes when I was told that my previous employer stated that the canal job couldn't be done for less than the $4.8 billion it had bid. The winning bid of $3.1 billion was met with derision at the time. Now I read that we are at $5 billion or so...

Just as Panama and Boquete continue to change and evolve, so does the environment everywhere else. "Going back to the USA and to family" isn't really in the cards, since both have changed since one' last experience with them. And also, so have you. "No man ever steps into the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man"... It might be a really good idea to explore what a "return" might be like before committing, just as it was when coming to Boquete...

Thank you. But if your mailing address registered with SSA is in the US, then you are not on the foreign mailing list, which was the thrust of my question.

I am curious if anyone has yet received their new Medicare card via mail to the Boquete Post Office. The mailing to US addresses is nearly complete, and I imagine Medicare left foreign mailing addresses for last. All Medicare enrollees are being assigned a Medicare number, which will replace the Social Security number used up until now as Medicare ID. Deadline is April 2019.

A month has elapsed since the announcement, and the Calle F road to the airport is still definitely two-way, except that the traffic signal halfway down toward the former police barracks is dark. Re-reading the announcement clarifies that they stated that the work on changing signage and signals was starting, rather than the immediate conversion to one-way traffic. BTW, there is an almost complete sign on the corner building that has been under construction forever - it identifies the structure as the "Hotel City Plaz"... with space left for the missing "a" as of yesterday. Seems like quite a long time to get the signals changed... must be fiestas patrias month...

As a counter-example, I consider the construction of the initial Hong Kong subway to be a model. A 16-kilometer new underground metro was approved in 1972, but construction did not start until almost four years later - and the project came in ahead of schedule and under budget. This, in one of the densest rural environments one can imagine. The secret: they didn't turn a shovel until every last engineering drawing had been completed, including not only right-of-way, but also design of the railcars, station equipment, fare collection systems and linkages between sub-projects. Everything was put up for bid and committed in advance, including logistics of delivery. A marvel of project management. Of course the British Colonial government was fairly authoritarian when it came to matters of eminent domain and squawking by the affected merchants...

I spent 12 years of my working career immersed in the world of engineering/construction contracts. Negotiating incentive/penalty provisions such as you suggest is part of almost every deal. My guess is that the contract negotiating skills on the government side are as scarce as the project management skills are on the contractor side. These are shark-infested waters, and the turnover in Panamanian administrations caused by the political pendulum almost guarantees that the government will be at a perpetual disadvantage.

Powerful side-to-side shake in Lucero

How did Mackinac Island get to Canada? Maybe it's one of those floating islands that might tip over at any time.....

The Chiriqui Chamber of Commerce is warning businesses about the distribution of counterfeit one-dollar bills (yes, just singles - victims less likely to take the trouble to file complaint over small losses) https://www.tvn-2.com/nacionales/provincias/Comerciantes-alertan-introduccion-billetes-Chiriqui_0_5147485289.html

FWIW - yesterday morning we ran errands in town between 8:30am and 10:00am, and once past the detour mess to enter, it became the most convenient we've ever experienced. We passed Romero and noticed two vacant parking spaces under the canopy, not counting the handicap space; we parked directly in front of the door at Melo; we were the only car parked on the block in front of eShop; we were the only customers at Revilla, ditto at Whole Foods; We parked directly in front of the door at Mailboxes, ditto Burbuja and the pet shop (ours was the only car on the entire block); ours was one of two cars in front of Super Baru; final stop was Organica, parked right in front. And yes, it was a bit messy getting back out, but it turned out to be an extremely efficient run: easy parking, fast service everywhere.

The way I read it, the Calle F remains two-way between the "Y" at the Delta gas station and the traffic light at the Pan American Highway. If you want to make a left onto the Pan American, you'll have jog over one block to the left once you are level with the Y, coming up from Fourth street towards the Pan American.

Number 1 choice for "Easy Place to Retire"... https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenpeddicord/2018/10/11/the-3-easiest-places-to-retire-overseas/#33ff0bf07cfd

Here's Millicom's press release: http://mb.cision.com/Main/950/2636808/922133.pdf Millicom has evolved from an early cell phone service provider to a multinational mobile telecommunications giant with a large internet footprint in both African and Latin American countries. The company has grown by consolidating various acquisitions and taking on lots of debt. Goldman Sachs advised in its purchase of 80% of CableOnda. I've generally been quite pleased with CableOnda's service, and I am not at all sure that this transaction will have positive consequences for the average household customer. I have no choice but to wait and see.

My phone lights up with an SMS message from Banistmo, about twice a week since the end of August, telling me that my debit card will expire soon and to visit a branch to request a new one. The card says it is "good thru 12/18", so the it seems that the bank is planning ahead to avoid delays in replacing the card. Nice. Hoping to put an end to the tiresome SMS nagging, I stopped in this morning at the Plaza Terronal branch, and was happy to find only a short line at the triage/receptionist desk. But then he declined my request, saying that my card is good through December, and that he could only accept my request after December 1. I nominate Banistmo for this month's customer (dis)service award....

These two Burmese cats are brothers, and just over two years old. They are neutered and have their shots. Burmese need company, which is why having a pair is a good idea. Our frequent and occasionally extended absences are now proving to be unfair to Felix and Oscar, and causing our search for a new home for them. Burmese are gentle, playful, talkative, and intensely curious. They are busy companions. Also, they lack self-preservation instincts, and will not survive for very long if allowed to roam. We have kept them indoors and on a terrace enclosed with mesh. Their new home should provide similar safeguards. 6839 9421