1 hour ago, Bud said:

I know, I am grousing. But it is noticeably worse over the past several days. I discount the carnaval festivities because Boquete has no such activities.

Bud -- you don't get it. They're here to avoid Carnaval; not to participate in it.

3 hours ago, Sandeep Lal said:

Penny I sincerely apologize to you and your group for how this event turned out. Would you please email your cell number to me slal@lucero.com.pa so I may personally arrange to host your group at my cost. I am so sorry.

Sandeep

This is a very generous offer but I don't think there is a need for us to impose upon your generosity. In the end, we were all happy and quite amazes that Nelson and Enrique, and a woman whose name I don't know managed to recover so well. Your staff is great !!!

I passed by the Alto Boquete Terpel gas station about 7 AM Saturday and there was a bad accident slowing down traffic. Lots and lots of onlookers, lots of police cars and a truck from the bomberos.

It seems many of the folks leaving Panama City are doing so to avoid Carnival and Boquete is their destination. No Carnival here and it's easy to ignore the semblence of Carnival down the road in Dolega. No rooms to rent in Boquete and the restaurants are busy.

16 hours ago, Bud said:

I could be wrong, Bonnie, but I believe that Casa Decor has shuttered their business (or perhaps relocated?). I was on the Volcancito Road yesterday during regular daytime business hours, and it did look closed down, not just closed at that time.

But then here is a posting from last November:

 

I would not be surprised if Casa Decor has closed. For quite awhile now they've been having trouble paying people for sold consignment items. The business has been for sale. I've twice gone there during posted open hours to find them closed. If you have items there on consignment I would try to retrieve them ASAP.

The Boquete Chicas had made arrangements with chef/manager Craig for 20+ of us to dine at Seasons today at 12 noon. The organizers had several email communications with Craig and had sent in our menu selections well in advance of the luncheon. Imagine our surprise when the group arrived and we learned that Craig had abruptly quit, and nobody knew anything about the arrangements. That's the bad news.

To their credit, the staff at Seasons rallied, had us email them a copy of the menu selections and went to work. Nelson, who used to be head waiter at both the Panamonte and The Rock got kitchen duty and turned out some fantastic meals. Enrique who used to be head waiter at Amigos did a masterful job of taking drink orders and soothing our ruffled feathers. It all ended well but you can put another notch in Craig's belt as leaving unexpectedly seems to be a pattern. The gossip is that he's going to a restaurant on Taboga Island. In my book, Taboga Island is the most boring place in Panama and you sit and count the hours until the ferry leaves to sail you back to civilization.

Does anybody have a current phone number for Erick Quintero, the lawyer in Alto Boquete? Thanks. You can email me at pjbarrett@aol.com

15 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

Emergency Light, Luz de Emergencia, Luz de Bateria

I believe there were some installed similar to those pictured below in the BCP auditorium, although I did hear a rumour once that they were turned off because of interference with performances.

The emergency battery powered lights in the BCP theater were recently replaced by our great electronics guy Phil Bennett. I can ask Phil where he bought them. As I remember they were relatively inexpensive (maybe $30???)

18 hours ago, Sassy Blake said:

Here are the responses from the buyers regarding the items you suggested:

 

 

Products previously tested and discontinued due to low demand (not planning on repeating)

·         Fresh Artichokes – due to low demand

·         Pepper Jack Cheese

 

 

 

 

 

Hard to believe there wasn't enough demand for pepper jack cheese. Everybody I know is wishing it would come back.

Major General Albert Stubblebine died a few days ago. For several years he and his wife Dr. Rima Laibow  were controversial residents of Volcan. They were both extreme conspiracy theorists and felt they were hiding out in the mountains of Panama but in reality they were developing a commune or cult like development on the outskirts of Volcan. General Stubblebine was known for his work in the intelligence division of the army and was in charge of conducting psychic experiments, the most famous of which was training soldiers to stare at goats until their heads exploded.

A character ("General Hopgood") in the 2009 film The Men Who Stare at Goats  is loosely based on General Stubblebine as head of the project to walk through walls.

TRU TV once did a show with Jesse Ventura (ex governor of Minnesota and ex professional wrestler) interviewing Dr. Laibow. The theme was she flew in from her secret hideout in the mountains of Panama to a small undisclosed landing strip in the U.S. where Jesse interviewed her about her plans to develop a utopian community of followers in Panama. The truth is that the residents of Volcan gave the group so much grief they eventually picked up and moved to Peru.

I second (or third) the recommendation for Dra. Zapata. 3rd floor to the right when you get off the Hospital Chiriqui elevator. She's very thorough and explains everything in English. I have heard nothing but good reports about her services.

Furnished 1 bedroom, 1 bath apartment. Lower level of house in Jaramillo Arriba. 20 minute walk to town. Private patio and shared garden area. Washer and dryer shared with upper tenant. Totally fenced with secure under-cover parking. Electricity, wifi, and cable tv included. Must love dogs.
Available March 1. $500/month plus deposit.
Contact Leslie: peeverleslie@yahoo.com

I traveled the Pan American about 12 noon.

1 hour ago, Keith Woolford said:

According to a report on Twitter, protesters have closed the PanAmerican Highway in David and there is currently a major traffic jam at the intersection of Via Boquete .

I just traveled the Pan American highway from Price Smart to Novey and there is no visible protest action and no part of the highway was closed.

Bud

The recycling place across from La Posada restaurant will take your appliance. They will even pay you the scrap value for it. Get a Panamanian with a pickup and give him $10 and he'll probably get another $10 from the salvage place.

It's good to know about La Reina. I find their prices to be quite reasonable on most things. My dishwasher went electronic/circuit board crazy after only 7 months. Am going to try to get it fixed under warranty (ja, ja, yes, I know this is Panama and it's a long shot).

Actually, in my neighborhood I just set stuff out on the curb. Don't even have to put a "gratis" sign on it. It's usually gone within an hour or two.

11 hours ago, Bonnie said:

I once visited the house, which is in the El Banco area of Potrerillos. Among other interesting features, it has a helicopter pad and a secret room/compartment that, according to the then owner, had not been explored by him.

During "Just Cause" the US Military went to the house and opened the secret room. There is no written report of what they found but they apparently took whatever they found.

Email me

My car is going to the body shop next week because of that damned pole.

Tomorrow's Tuesday Talk is a very special one. We've been working on putting it together for many months. TV Chiriqui is going to film the presentation.

This is one you should not miss.

22 hours ago, Moderator_02 said:

Daughter swears to report Noriega house arrest violations

I wonder if this is the daughter who is married to the son of my neighbor Julie Fogarty.

As promised I went with my Panamanian neighbor today to pay our garbage bills. Last year mine went up considerably (to $32.40) because I was a gringo. Yes, they actually said that was the reason. This year my bill stayed the same and my Panamanian neighbor's bill rose up to equal my bill. So, no profiling in our neighborhood. However, at the same time I paid the garbage bill for a house in Santa Lucia (Volcancito neighborhood) and that bill was $54 for garbage. I believe the rate difference was because Santa Lucia is a planned community and I live more in a neighborhood. In any case both $32.40 and $54 a year are pretty cheap. Also, many folks think that the rate increase was to pay for the new garbage trucks but I heard today that they were a gift from the government of Taiwan which, apparently, likes to give stuff to Panama.

The big difference in bills seems to be the water bills. There are something like 21 different water systems in the Boquete area. My system is the Jaramillo Arriba system which has billed me $16.20 a year for  many, many years and we never run out of water. The water bill I paid for the house in Santa Lucia which gets very, very little water was $108/year.

Irony !!!!

I'm quite sure the inspection isn't free however a tin-foil hat is almost free and works well.

In my memory (13 + years), no Panamanian perpetrator of a crime against a gringo has ever been solved to the point where the perpetrator has been jailed.

I would love it if someone could cite a case where I was wrong. They did catch Wild Bill and Ozzie and jailed them but they were/are both gringos.

The main address for the Panama taxation department is https://dgi.mef.gob.pa/

Click on DGI En Linea.

I used this website yesterday to fill out and submit my annual corporate income tax form (called "La Renta")

However, I can't figure out where to find the section where I enter the property RUC and my NIT and find out how much property tax I owe.

Hopefully, somebody with better Spanish skills can figure lit out.

Last year this was the web address:

https://dgi.mef.gob.pa/defaultsecure.asp

However, like many things in Panama, the address to get your property tax information has changed again.

I want to repeat Bonnie's question -- does anybody know the new address???????