Bud

We are again enjoying some early morning rainbows. 'Tis that time of the year. Unfortunately no pictures right now as my camera is broken. Just look ourside early in the mornings, or late afternoons and you may be greeted with a pleasant reminder of Mother Nature at work. For newcomers: CEFATI is a good place to see rainbows in the late afternoon hours, typically starting about 4:30PM for an hour or so.

Is all of this carnage a new definition of insanity?

Another picture of Inga from earlier days at the Panamonte.

Again from an Inga Collins family member:

Following extracted (with permission) from a communication dated Friday, January 12th, between me and a relative of Inga:

What is the story with the Chinese steak house in David? Stopped by, but found it closed. Remodeling? Closed? Vacation? Change of ownership?

Opening of Estadio Kenny Serracin. A concert by Rubén Blades.

I'm a bit confused. This posting (and the News.Boquete email) indicate this event is a "private event". My confusion is that this event is being posted in public forums and communications channels, so is it really a private event? Please help me understand.

International news media is reporting that this recent crash with fatalities involving Nature Air of Costa Rica is the second crash with fatalities in 2017 involving Nature Air. Curious as to what is really going on here.

Javier and Magaly, This blog post amazes me at how much the two of you do for our animal friends. So many dogs (plus some cats!), and the pictures show them getting along well with each other. I don’t know how you can even remember their names because there are so many. Thank you. HAPPY NEW YEAR back to you as well. Wishing you all the best.

Penny, thank you very much for these kind wishes for both of us. (I guess my secret is out now. )

Jo and Doug, What a super nice posting to find as we did our routine CL administration duties this evening. Thank you. Marcelyn was almost in tears. Such a warm and heartfelt message. We appreciate this very much. Thank you, and all the best to the both of you. With love, Marcelyn and Bud

One would think that the "perps" should know that they are going to lose. They must have been really seriously drunk, wiping out all logic. Curious what the penalty will end up being?

Javier and Magaly, Thank you for this information and the pictures. You are doing a fantastic service for our community. I do have a question. You house many dogs that are rescued and awaiting adoption. In your experience with a large group of dogs do you find one or perhaps two particular brands of dry dog food that seems to be better received by the dogs? I ask this because we are wanting to donate some dry food, and would like it to be what you find tends to work best. Or perhaps just anything?

Palo Alto Jo, Brundegaba, et al. On the matter of laboratory analysis of a water supply, that is something that we get done on a periodic basis. I read once many decades ago, after oxygen, that water is the second most important thing that is necessary to sustain life. Awkward wording there, but hopefully everyone will understand the point that I am trying to make. We strongly recommend that your water supply be routinely (not just once) be subjected to laboratory analysis, and then assess what action(s), if any, should be taken based on laboratory results. The only remaining question, to our way of thinking, is which laboratory to use. The local labs in Boquete can do the testing. However, we found that the results vary greatly, even when using the same water sample. (Go figure!) We then learned of Laboratory Dixon in David. The results there have been the most consistent, but at a slightly higher degree of cost and inconvenience. Bottom line here: do yourself a favor and test your water supply routinely (e.g., twice a year unless you have reason to believe there is a problem). Do your due diligence and select a laboratory that gives you a high degree of confidence. (For more information about Laboratory Dixon, do a search here on CL for "Dixon".) Finally, even with our attention to the purity of our water supply, our doctors (US based as well as our local primary care doctor) recommend that we undergo a prophylactic anti-parasite regimen. We do that once a year.

I agree with you, TwoSailors. That dash-cam video clip was distressing, and we were not even there. We have a dash-cam in our car. This incident and Keith’s posting caused me to consider posting some of the insanity that we have seen, experienced, and recorded. Speaking now as an owner/administrator of CL, we have received a few complaints about why we “allow” such “gore” to be posted on CL. It is our view that we all need to keep roadway safety in the foreground because it may help prevent a future incident. I now drive more slowly and attentively, given the routine carnage that goes on around us. Some drivers are simply willing to take risks (for some stupid reason). Think about it — statistically speaking* in Panama slightly more than one person every day is killed on the roadways. The other leading cause of death in Panama (excluding natural causes) is violence, typically but not always involving drugs and/or gangs. It is my understanding that vehicular carnage is the highest cause of death and bodily injury, even higher than violence (again excluding natural causes). _____________ *Reference statistics provided by Bryan Weller of the US Consulate in PC that were discussed on 29 November at their ACS outreach meeting in Boquete. See:

Agree with your feedback, Hil. Going a bit further, as I studied this article (rather than just browsing it), I came to the conclusion that both sides need to grow up. I support the canal authority “managing” canal transits based on safety and security, as well as using sound business practices, etc., but for a person of authority to say that a transit customer has to “...prove themselves worthy...” is not part of the canal’s purpose or responsibility. Maybe I am misinterpreting this article? Alas, things are slow to change, and a bit of pain always seems to be part of the process.

I have had a similar experience. US-based Rx for glasses, and got the same Rx here. That is encouraging. The cost of glasses here is essentially the same as prices in the US. The advantage here is not a reduced cost, but local availability for adjustments in the future should such be needed. A potential disadvantage was less selection of glass frames here when compared to the US, but so far that has not been an issue for me. Bottom line: I have had only good experiences with acquiring and follow-on adjustments regarding my eyeglasses in Panama.

To my way of thinking, $3M is not even a drop in the bucket.

It is my policy not to disclose those kinds of details about my business transactions. José's price sheet says all that I believe to be appropriate.

We gave José Abraham Quintero a call and scheduled a car wash and wax. That all happened yesterday. Since he did not know the area where we live, he parked in town and then I picked him and his co-worker (Juan) up for the ride to El Santuario. After a cup of coffee, their work began about 8:15AM, and they finally finished about 2:00PM. We provided lunch for both of them, along with our housekeeper. That is our normal procedure, and so they were included in lunch Bottom line is that their work was far beyond detailing. A total "restoration" of our 2007 Toyota Fortuner. There wasn't one square inch of the vehicle's surfaces that wasn't touched by them. And the inside was not only cleaned, but the upholstery parts were shampooed. We are very pleased with their work and will bring them back for maintenance waxing, etc. Here is a STRONG recommendation. If you want your car pampered, then these are the guys to do it. They bring all the tools and equipment and supplies. We provided only the water and electricity, and a very dirty car. Neither José nor Juan speak any English, but they arranged for a friend to help us through the initial communications via a telephone call.

You certainly are not trying to suggest that there might be collusion between the drug growers and the security forces are you? Heavens to mergatroid. I never have heard of such a thing.

Agree with Keith. For breakfast you can't beat McDonald's. And Marcelyn says their coffee is excellent. For other meals, there are many options.

I got an email from a friend who knows me well. He asked why I was "grousing" about having a lot of homework. For clarification, I was not "grousing", but rather letting you know that there is a lot of homework. To my way of thinking, having homework is a good thing. Based on my experience, one cannot learn Spanish (or any language) by simply listening to a classroom lecture or participating in a discussion. You gotta work at it.