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Bonnie
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Everything posted by Bonnie
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Marcelyn, Boquete is touted by the country of Panama as a tourist destination. My point is that it is not being maintained like a tourist destination. I don’t know what you mean by “Many gringos?” -
As a U.S. warden for Boquete, I was contacted today by a citizen living in Las Lajas who believes strongly that expats who travel with their pets should band together to advocate for a change in Panamanian law relative to bringing pets into Panama. She lives in the U.S. but travels back and forth several times a year with her dog, each trip requiring voluminous paperwork, a $350 fee, and the occasional missing of her flight to David because of the vet not being at his post in Tocumen when he should be. Other countries like Mexico, she related, issue one-year permits for pets and require only that paperwork be checked at the airport, i.e., no vet. She cites a number of people who have left Panama because of the stringent pet policies. She believes that if enough expats experience this expense and inconvenience, they might form a group to seek change in law. Following a lengthy conversation, I advised her that I would post here to see if other citizens are suffering from the same problem and have interest in getting together to try to change the Panamanian law. (Just how to go about changing it would be an issue for the group to consider.) If you have such an interest, please respond.
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People north of downtown are minimally impacted as they can just avoid the town center for most everything. The rest of us face it on a daily basis in order to get anywhere. But you're right. It'll be done when its done. And Hank verified that it was said twice during the meeting that the roads will be dug up a second time. So I guess all of us just need to suck it up.
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You would think some impetus to finish would derive from Boquete’s status as a tourist destination, as well as from President Varela’s having recently bought a home here.
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There is no action we as expats can take that I am aware of. I was just trying to reach an understanding of what is going on. Over the weekend I talked with three separate Panamanian friends and acquaintances, in different walks of life, about the road situation. All three blamed the Mayor and said he wouldn't survive the next election. He's a nice guy, they said--too nice to deal with the contractors as they need to be dealt with. One of them had heard that the Mayor had contacted PC for help (CONADES, I presume), but they told him it was his baby and he has to deal with it. Native Boquetenos hold him responsible was the word I got.
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I used the river road this morning to get my dog to Roberto's. It was rocky and extremely muddy in parts. Moreover, I had to stop three times because of heavy equipment in the road. One stop lasted in excess of 10 minutes. The alternative is turning off Ave Porros onto a very narrow road and then making an acute left turn at the highway. I took this route on my return rather than the river road only to find the entire road blocked and traffic backed up in both directions by a garbage truck. The last straw was finally to encounter a PARADE in front of the social security clinic headed north toward Romero! Fortunately, I was turning right at the bridge and therefore didn't have to wait long. The round trip took 50 minutes. Stay away from downtown if you can. It's the worst I've ever seen. I had FINALLY gotten my car washed last week; today it's covered in mud.
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That's excellent news. I will be tempted to use it much more often now. Thanks, Keith.
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Hank, to whom does the project engineer report? Is the Mayor the project head? Or a national figure or national agency? I'm still trying to figure out the supervisory hierarchy here. (Or is supervision responsibility as amorphous as execution responsibility?) I would be willing to give the Mayor a pass, like so many insist on doing, if I knew that there is nothing he can do, that he is not ultimately in charge.
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I haven't driven it in about three months. Has the road surface been improved the entire distance, or are there still large patches of very rough going?
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The "river road" is long and extremely rough in large part. Anticipating that this was going to be a detour when work started on Calle Central, it would have made sense to me for the contractor to have paved or at least graded it earlier. The road is a very slow drive as it is now, and traffic is likely to be backed up. There also will be a lot of cars making the left turn, crossing a lane of moving traffic, off the Wilson Bridge road and onto the highway if it's true that this will be the route for southbound traffic. This will be dangerous. It seems to me that the plan ought to be reversed, i.e., northbound traffic headed into Boquete taking the detour, for smoother and safer traffic.
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I wrote Hank this morning, and he responded right away as follows: Bonnie, I was at the meeting on Wednesday discussing the long term destruction of Boquete roads. After four hours of complaints, I can summarize the reason for the disorder is that there is a lack of central directive. There are various corporation contracted and working in a disjointed effort. The project engineer painted a picture of utopia: excellent water, project about 90% complete, etc. Which in the opinion of everyone in attendance was far from the truth. Furthermore, the water distribution lines and sewer collection lines will be done separately. So, we will probably see the disorder for the next few years. I cannot blame the mayor because he is doing the best he can to make things happen. The mayor has relied on the expertise of the engineers who, in my opinion, have failed to centralize the construction efforts and complete the project in an orderly and timely manner. Hank Landis
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Good idea. The other warden, Hank Landis, is fully bilingual. I will ask if he can try to get some answers.
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Thanks, Marcelyn. I hope this will become a regular topic and that everyone will contribute.
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I was reacting to the meeting, not to your reporting of it, Keith. I just think it would help us all understand what's going on if we knew who is in charge, who to hold responsible. As Bud said, the postings simply stir everyone up and make them want to voice their frustrations. I think both the postings and the reactions are good for us.
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But the contractor isn't local, is it? What does the contractor care about the the discomfort of "members of the public" here in Boquete? And if the Mayor has "been on their case for months," what does this say about the effectiveness of the Mayor? Who, exactly, is responsible for overseeing this project, i.e., to whom does the contractor report? As at one time an official or officials from Panama City came to look into things, I assume there's national government involvement. These are basic questions I've never seen answered; yet, in my opinion, they are at the heart of this fiasco. If anyone has any answers, I invite their input. I realize that we expats can't do much of anything, but just understanding what's going on would be comforting
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I read this as saying there’s little interest on the part of the construction company, not little interest on the part of the community. I don’t understand what was accomplished by the meeting that the Mayor couldn’t have accomplished himself. Assuming that the Mayor has been encouraging swifter action all along, were there higher level government officials there to support him and exert some pressure? Meetings rarely are of any use, in my experience, unless they give rise to specific action, as opposed to just talking about issues and perhaps receiving vague assurances and bestowing expressions of confidence which, in this case, are unearned. When is the community going to move beyond “discomfort” to anger and demand of the government that it take whatever steps are necessary to move this project to completion? I honestly just don’t understand it.
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Probably about six months. The outreach dates generally are announced only about a week ahead.
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And Now I Know - Beneficiary On Bank Account
Bonnie commented on Marcelyn's blog entry in And Now I Know
It hasn't happened lately, but I can recall a time when ATMs sometimes were down for days. I therefore keep a Panamanian bank account, savings only, for emergencies. I don't keep a lot of money in it, and I don't have a checking account, because my experience with Panamanian banks has been almost uniformly bad. -
And Now I Know - Beneficiary On Bank Account
Bonnie commented on Marcelyn's blog entry in And Now I Know
My bank lost my beneficiary altogether. I found out about it only by accident. I completed a new form and gave a copy to my lawyer. -
And Now I Know - Beneficiary On Bank Account
Bonnie commented on Marcelyn's blog entry in And Now I Know
Marcelyn, is your bank the same as your friend's bank? Or are we talking about two separate banks? -
Thanks for the reminder, Keith. It makes me realize, once again, what a creature of habit I've become. Paid!
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I pay Cableonda by credit card, but I've heard too many horror stories about how difficult it is to disaffiliate with Union Fenosa, should that day ever come.
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Message for those attending the U.S. Embassy outreach tomorrow (June 14) This is a special message for those with appointments to meet with U.S. Embassy representatives during the community outreach at the library on Thursday, June 14th, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Because of the ongoing road construction, which now has moved to Calle Central, the parallel road on the other side of the library (Av Bellsario Porras) has become a main artery for getting in and out of Boquete. Because of this, it is important that those going to the outreach at the library not park so as to block that street, where traffic currently is heavy. If possible, park on a side street. Otherwise, park in a space where your car will be totally off the roadway, clear of both lanes of traffic. If you obstruct traffic, there is a good chance that you will be ticketed by the police. (There is an even better chance that you will engender road rage.)
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I made my third trip to Union Fenosa today to try to pay my electric bill. Last week, ironically, there was no electricity. Yesterday and today there was a Cableonda outage (possibly caused by the road construction on Calle Central?). If anyone is successful in paying their utility bill there within the next few days, please post the information here to save some of us the wasted trip.
