Siempre Soluciones

Update: Last night Rodny did followup with me and suggested that I return the cedula to the Tribunal Electoral office. I also asked him if he could kindly call both the Policia Nacional and Tribunal Electoral and notify them that the cedula was found and would be returned to the Tribunal Electoral the following morning so that the person wouldn't go through the trouble of inadvertently ordering a replacement.

I was walking with friends in town today and we found a cedula lying in the street. I emailed Rodny on where to return it to, either the Policia Nacional station or the Tribunal Electoral office but I haven't heard back from him. Any suggestions?

You wrote: "I was more paranoid and drank boiled water." I sure hope you let the water cool down first! That's exactly what the doctor prescribed for me yesterday, Flagyl, Metronidazol AKA Metronidazole, 500 mg. I'm back to normal in just under 24 hours.

Here's a photo of what people were doing in a rural part of Panama a few years back. Very rudimentary.

They were giving away numerous antibiotics namely Eskapar. Sorry, I did not ask about the origin of this pandemic. In my case I'm guessing that it was municipal water due to all the ongoing recent work. Without boil water notices I just drank it as I normally would. Moving forward, to be on the safe side, I will no longer drink municipal water until some time after all the work has been completed.

I attended this morning. I arrived at 8:20 AM and they greeted me as their first "customer." Present was an English speaking doctor from David who was very thorough. I explained to them that I had a mild case of diarrhea that the antibiotic that I've taken in the past (Eskapar) didn't seem to resolve it this time. They prescribed me two medicines one of which they had on hand which I refused to allow them to keep to provide for the less fortunate, I'll go to the pharmacy and purchase them. They had one gallon jugs of bottled water they offered me but once again I refused. The doctor gave me their Whatsapp number to followup and stated that they visit Boquete often and to feel free to contact them. Overall it was perhaps the best encounter I've ever had with a medical professional and it was free!

You're 100% correct Keith, some people make the assumption that Panama will be like their homeland or any other place.

Lilly, The poor service in Panama used to irritate me until I realized that it keeps the cost of living low. If you want good service go to Costa Rica and pay a lot more. Costa Rica has ten times the tourism than Panama.

I use Google Voice for that exact purpose but it's not supported by some entities namely the IRS. They require a cell phone number on a major carrier, not the throw away burner phones you purchase at Walmart. And they do not support Skype numbers either.

El Rey in David has always had turkey burgers and I've seen them at Pricesmart too.

It's located in what is commonly referred to as the "Gringo" isle. It's the isle with wood shelves versus the traditional putty color painted steel shelves. Their isles run East to West parallel to the PanAmerican highway. This isle begins in between where the cash registers end on the North side and the location of the bakery and traverses to the deli counter on the other end of the store. The isle is bisected in the middle by another isle and the wasabi is on a shelf chest high in the Asian food section which is located in the West most part of the Eastern section of the bisected isle on the southern side. It's amongst other Asian items such as rice wine vinegar, sushi rice, sushi paper (nori), etc.

Yes, and I'm sure the word is spoken quicker in Spanish than in Japanese!

I heard a rumor a month or so ago that the Baru Restaurant & Bar was under new ownership. Walking by today it appears they've erected a new sign by their bulletin board with the name: "Bamboo Restaurant & Bar" The old pole mounted sign is still in place. They've posted a new menu on their bulletin board with the new name with what appears to be the same fare but no prices.

Super Baru in David has this brand of powdered wasabi in a smaller 1 ounce can I believe for $3.95. They also have the small 1.5 ounce tubes of wasabi paste of the same brand for $4.21. One would think that the Super Baru in Boquete would stock it too.

Their menu looks great! Does this restaurant have off street parking?

You wrote: "it lowers the monthly electric bill." I love it! I can see the ad campaign now..... Naturgy..... Doing our best to save you money!

US recalls ambassadors over recognition of China Washington seeks consultations over moves to break diplomatic relations with Taiwan Jude Webber in Mexico City September 7, 2018 The US has recalled the heads of its missions to the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Panama for consultations over decisions by governments in those countries to break diplomatic relations with Taiwan and switch to China instead. The state department said the US ambassadors to the Dominican Republic and El Salvador and the chargé d’affaires in Panama had been summoned back to Washington for talks, even though the US itself recognises Beijing. “Our three chiefs of mission will meet with US government leaders to discuss ways in which the United States can support strong, independent, democratic institutions and economies throughout Central America and the Caribbean,” a spokeswoman said. Panama set the ball rolling in the region in June last year when it severed ties with Taiwan in favour of China. The Dominican Republic followed suit in May this year and El Salvador made the switch last month. Taiwan now has formal diplomatic ties with just 17 countries. In the most recent country to switch sides, El Salvador, the decision raised widespread suspicions that the move was in part electorally motivated, said Johnny Wright, an opposition legislator. Aid from socialist ally Venezuela has dried up and “official sources in Taiwan have claimed that the government of El Salvador sought financing for the [February 2019 presidential election] campaign”, he said. El Salvador’s switch came after its government “repeatedly demanded large amounts of funds from Taiwan” for a port development that had “tremendous debt risks for both Taiwan and El Salvador”, Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu said in August. China denied the claims. In Mexico, there has been speculation that China could be interested in investing in infrastructure projects to be launched by president-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who takes office on December 1. He is planning a trans-isthmus rail route and a train from Cancún to the Maya temple Palenque, both of which have been seen as potential targets for Chinese investment. The move comes amid a broader push by Beijing to increase pressure on Taiwan since the Democratic Progressive party led by Tsai Ing-wen replaced the more China-friendly Kuomintang in 2016. Beijing has frozen official communication with Taipei, increased military activity near Taiwan-controlled territory and has worked to block the island’s officials from international forums since the new government came to power. After China was admitted to the United Nations in 1971, most countries switched recognition from Taiwan to Beijing. But the two sides have competed for allies — typically through financial measures — and Taipei’s remaining partners are mostly small countries in the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. A group of bipartisan US senators this week introduced new legislation aimed at supporting diplomatic recognition and strengthening unofficial ties with Taiwan, in another sign of American unease with China’s burgeoning international influence. The law would authorise the state department to downgrade US relations with any government that takes adverse actions against Taiwan, including suspending foreign aid and military spending. It was introduced by Republican senators Marco Rubio and Cory Gardner and Democratic senators Ed Markey and Bob Menendez. “China’s insidious agenda to isolate Taiwan cannot go unanswered,” Mr Rubio said. Additional reporting by Edward White in Taipei

There's a person who frequently joins us for breakfast or lunch at a local establishment here in Boquete that brings their own coffee, soda, and even food. The employees see this every time and of course being passive cultured Panamanians never complain. We have mentioned this inappropriate behavior to her many times but she just shrugs it off. There are a few in our group that won't attend if she's present for this reason as there are a couple of people who will leave when she arrives. Mind you this is a senior citizen expat so they should know better. Any suggestions on how to deal with this?

Which will all connect to the tunnel from Boquete to Bocas del Toro.

You are correct. I was invited to invest in the project but I saw numerous problems and declined.

The builder is getting hit with unexpected excess construction charges from Union Fenosa, Gasfenosa, Naturgy, whatever, transformers and such, expenses he nor his investors planned on.