JohnF13

That road is long overdue, it would make the movement of goods much easier for the farmers.  Yes, it would give a new route to the thieves, but they seem to make it to where they want to go anyway.

As someone who is not a resident of Boquete, I have to Ask, what is the point?  Having a sticker is not going to stop people from driving without licenses or insurance.  If the intent is to keep people like me from spending my money in Boquete, then that's fine....

I would want to know their credentials before considering this.

The hotel diez was nice, but had absolutely no sound deadening.  We could hear the people in the next room as soon as they turned on the tv.  We were on the third floor, so it should have been quiet, but it wasnt.

On November 30, 2015 at 4:31 PM, Bonnie said:

Perhaps not in total.  But medical care costs less here than it does in the States. When folks return to the States to take advantage of Medicare, the government pays more than it would if those people had stayed here and could collect on their Medicare. There probably are others who would expatriate, thereby saving Medicare money, but do not do so because Medicare doesn't pay here. But, at bottom, it's a question of fairness to my mind. We paid all our working lives into a system that we cannot collect on even though our collections would cost little when compared to the same costs in the U.S.

Bonnie, of course you can collect, just go back to the US, accept the higher cost of living and pay sales taxes.  You can't really expect the US government to pay medical bills in every Country of the World can you?  It is the same for the rest of us, we need to buy insurance at a substantial cost.  I pay taxes in Canada but would have to return for 90 days before I would qualify for "free" medical.

1 hour ago, Keith Woolford said:

Agreed but if I'm not mistaken John, that's what AAC was supposed to be doing.

Yup, but apparently they are not, so I guess we will have to do it ourselves.  Sad though, I was hoping for more.

In a lot of the recent cases we are speculating and guessing.  What, I think, needs to be done is prepare a list of common questions and interview each victim to see if there are any commonalities.  Questions could include location, security (window bars etc), does the person live alone (or were they alone at the time) did they just come from the bank with cash, do they have a description and what happened.  That way we could all see if there is a modus operandi and if so, what can be done to disrupt the cycle.  One person with a balanced mix of empathy and forcefulness (probably the wrong word) should do that so that the results would have a common baseline free of individual biases.  This would not be a quick study as victims may not want to talk about their experiences immediately after the fact.

I am all for lmmidiate reporting with details to follow.  While there is a chance of more accidental false reporting that way, it does alert people and, quite frankly, we all do need to be more alert.  Speculation on the size of gun is likely not of much use, while a large calibre weapon will cause a bigger hole a .22 can cause much more damage due to the characteristics of the bullets.  It really depends on the make-up of the bullet and getting into a technical discussion on that would just send most people to sleep.  I think the big thing here, as has been demonstrated previously, is that these gang members have absolutely no fear of shooting someone.  That is the scarey part and the one thing that most Expats still don't believe will happen.  We have to get past the notion that if we are submissive then all that will happen is the maleantes will steal money and goods.  As others have said, we, as individuals, are responsible for our own safety.  I read a good line on another venue yesterday - " when seconds count, the police are only minutes away".

Looking for water lilies or other types of water plants for a new garden feature I am building.

Because he thought it reasonable to give an explanation for his leaving?

I think the one factor here can be described as lack of "situational awareness".  It is present in both the pedestrians and drivers.  Pedestrians, for whatever reason, seem to think that a 4000 lb vehicle can stop on a dime if they walk in front of it.  Drivers in a lot of cases are actually unaware of pedestrians (or other drivers) and do not think about what the other person may do.  Add into the mix the almost complete disregard for turn signals and you have a dangerous situation for everyone.  As North American drivers we expect a certain standard of behaviour by others - when we rely on that and it is not present then collisions will occur.  THEN, throw taxi and bus drivers into the mix and you have mayhem.  We need to drive very defensively, I know that is not "fun", but neither is being responsible for injuries or deaths.

IMHO, speed in itself is a factor in a lot of collisions and most certainly a large factor in the severity of injuries and deaths.  No matter how you look at it, the presence of a police officer with a radar will slow down traffic, albeit for only a short time because most folks know if you pass one radar check point there is little chance there will be another a few miles down the road.  Unfortunately, appealing to people's "common sense" doesn't always work because some folks just don't have any.  We have all been passed on the highway by the ego driven idiot driving at 160k or more and if you were able to stop him and ask why, the answers would be something on the lines of "Im a good driver", "what harm is it doing" or "I have a good car, it is meant to go that speed".  It seems to me, from years of experience, that the only solutions revolve around punative fines (think thousands instead of hundreds) and licence suspensions, the latter backed up by jail time if flouted.  You could also throw in vehicle impoundment and sale as well.  Improving roads will never be enough, there is always the one jackass with the Bugatti that wants to exceed the safe speed limitations of the road.  As someone previously noted, it is generally the speed differential that is the major problem, everyone driving at 80 or 100k usually results in few accidents.

Last comment, a lot of us are older but still seem to think we have the reaction times we had when we were 20.  As a personal example, I took police pursuit driving courses and drove, "back in the day" at speeds and in a manner that I would never try to replicate now, my reaction times are just not as good as they once were.

Not to hijack the thread, but does anyone know where starfruit trees can be had?

Citricos in Potrerillos Abajo sells decent sized sweet orange and lemon trees.  Dont know if they have anything else, but they plant their stock quite high up on this side of the mountain.  Good prices, less than 5 bucks a tree.

So far (praise whatever deity you choose) my Mobilnet service has been rock solid in Potrerillos.  I too am interested in what will happen to pricing, it looks like Cable Onda has a few options (apart from expensive, more expensive and "you must be joking").  However, expect the worst and what you get might be a pleasant surprise.

Weather patterns are changing here in Potrerillos, now getting rain during the night and sunnier afternoons.  A couple of days have been without rain.  Darn, I like rainy season...

I just cannot see why the American government would extend health care to people who have left their Country for a better/cheaper life somewhere else.  As others have said, America looks after it's own interests, any money spent here is to support American policies and/or the canal.  But, of course, that doesn't prevent the entitlement mentality of some living here.

Gordon,

I wouldn't know, haven't been there for a couple of weeks.  Maybe everyone should do the same and let it die in obscurity....

I certainly don't see a need for a debate.  Rodny is providing a service for a fee - good old capatilism.  But,. AAC is requeting "donations", so how much difference is there?  Seems to me that the AAC folks have their knickers in a knot because someone came in and encroached on "their" game.  Having said that, there may be a place for both, but AAC needs to get over it's lethargy and explain what kind of service they are going to provide - not in February, but now.

My internet on Movistar is working fine in Potrerillos

Brundageba....And proud!

Cowboy Dave and Keith provide a vital service, especially to newcomers that speak little Spanish.  We bought a car from Dave shortly after we arrived and Keith handled the paperwork transfer, things I would have been loath to do at the time.  Keith has also provided me with good advice, free of charge, about vehicle importing from C. R.

Bridges are expensive.  Add that to the actual cost of the road and I would suspect you are into tens of millions.

CL is filling the no-ning void very well.  As two sailors said, we need to get more people on board so that we can have a truly inclusive site.  I was going to say I will miss Ambreen, but I have decided to not visit that site again, so it is a moot point.  Up, up andaway, Chiriqui Life!

I didn't realise the breadth of the immunity provisions until I looked into them.  Seems like the flea on the dog owned by the wife of Mr. Martinelli's gardener can claim immunity.....