JohnF13

It looks like they are leveling the area to make it useable.  Guess they don't need rocks in the infill down below, so are setting them aside.

Hmmm, he is not in the Country, has never actually been arrested and imprisoned, no-one knows where he is and bail is denied?  Can anyone else see the dichotomy here?

Damn sexes - diputadA.

One of them was the owner of the helicopter, Enrique Anathianadis, father of Athenas, our diputado in the last government.  Enrique owns the Avicola Athenas chicken empire.

“En Chiriqui, education es primero” has to be the biggest joke ever.  No-one in authority seems to care, unless they can siphon off funds.

Meanwhile, in Dolega, our ONLY police car is in the shop waiting for a new transmission - and, of course, there is no money to pay for it.  At best, we have 5 police officers on duty at a time, big area for so few folks.

Ridiculous.  Climate change does NOT force a surcharge.  That is entirely the fault/responsibility of the ACP.  What they are trying to do here is get the same amount of money by providing less service.  Eventually they will price themselves out of the market, resulting in much hand wringing and crying.  Look for solutions, build another lake, find out why the catch basins are not working efficiently, utilize ocean water more.  It's not like there isn't enough water around, just that it is not the type that the ACP wants to use.

We need another lake.

Doug, it comes down to money.  If (and I'm only guessing) prison guards get paid around $600/month, then if someone associated to a, for example, a drug smuggling gang with virtually unlimited resources offers something similar for bringing in a "package" it can be hard for someone to resist.  As you suggest, though, I think there is a network amongst the guards and bribes are paid.  How to fix it?  I have ideas, but being an expat Panas are not interested in our input.

Mayo Clinic, WebMD and many other reputable organisations state that a) Colloidal silver has no significant benefits and b) could be dangerous to take.  However, I am not going to argue the point, if you can convince folks to buy then it is on you.

Everything I read says it is, at best, ineffective and at worst, dangerous.  

A tank based system is indeed, less efficient from a fuel consumption point of viw.  The one advantage, I suppose, is no longer messing with on demand heaters to get the correct shower temperature.  The big drawback, for those that like longer showers is that you run out of hot water.  Personally, I like the on demand approach, I have my heaters dialed in to the perfect shower heat.  I have found the trick is to NOT buy the biggest there is - they take too much pressure to maintain a constant heat.  I use 12kw heaters in both the main house and the Casita, the water temperature is steady.

Why bother?  Considering Panamanian courts recent rulings, no one of any importance will ever be found guilty of anything.  

I'm a big believer in local is better.  Form little associations of 5-10 houses where you can check on each other relatively quickly.  Larger groups tend to get lost.

We had to go to SanFrancisco Plaza today so did a test of the new Ruta Sur vs. The Via Boquete road.

From opposite the Avicola Athenas chicken plant on the Potrerillos Arriba road, start and finish.

Ruta Sur - 20.1 kms.       Time 30mins 2 seconds

Via Boquete - 29.9kms.  Time 23.36

So, the Ruta Sur is definitely shorter, but considerably slower.  YMMV of course!

However, the Ruta Sur has some spectacular views as long as you are the passenger - the driver needs to concentrate on the road.  Last observation - Ruta Sur best done with an automatic transmission.  My Frontier truck would have been down to first gear on a lot of the inclines.

Happy motoring!

Looking for someone to supply and install a straight 90 foot length of eavestrough.  2, maybe 3 downspouts.  Johnferguson1301@gmail.com

It looks like they are leveling the area, taking the hill from the South side and filling in the swale.  Why?  Don't know, but water run off and retention may be an issue, as well as commercial viability of the property.

Beginning to think he may actually be “underground”!

Keith, is that an issue?

Yes, it was a scheduled outage, we got notice of it.  It lasted an hour or so longer than predicted, but, this is Panama, love it or not.

Banning plastic bags is a very small contribution, but nevertheless is a contribution.  I might disagree with Dan in that it needs "first world countries" to lead.  Look at the industrial strength plastic that surrounds a lot of products these days.  You need a chain saw to get into that stuff!  If the companies using it were subject to penalties, then a change could quickly happen.

Diapers HAVE to be one of the most polluting items in Panama.  Alternatives are easily available.  Yet, we celebrate banning plastic bags.  Think seriously, folks.

Again, from us in the boonies, jealousy rears its ugly head....No fibre for you!

Just pointing out the “want to have” like sports facilities and the “need to have” like good drinking water.  The second should always have priority but, sadly, doesn’t.  Naturgy is another thing altogether, the line maintenance has been woefully lacking in the past, they are just trying to improve now but it will take years.

Yes, I noticed that the underground (not literally) asphalt plant near Avicola Athenas closed down soon after out last Diputada lost her reelection bid....