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Bud

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  1. Bud
    We did Renny’s class that began last January. We found it to be worthwhile. I assess myself as competent only at a basic level, providing that the subject matter is not dense/complex and that the Spanish speakers talk fairly slowly. Marcelyn was not as successful. Our poor results are not a shortcoming of Renny’s class. At our age we just find learning a new language to be difficult. There is a lot of homework. Personally speaking, I am very skeptical of any class claiming success after three days. I still routinely complete one Duolingo session on my iPad everyday, and it is free but very basic, being more for vocabulary and phrases.
  2. Bud
    Marcelyn and I dined last evening at the newly opened Butcher Chophouse, which is located on "restaurant row" here in Boquete, next door to Retro Gusto. It was a wonderful experience. The owners indicated that they had opened just a few days earlier. When we arrived there was only one other patron. Our timing was very good. The service was excellent, with all of the staff with whom we interacted speaking English. The menu includes domestic steaks, US steaks, Nicaraguan (surprise!) steaks, and Argentinian steaks -- your choice. Since we do not consume much, we ended up ordering a single entree, and we selected a US rib eye with a baked potato side and a grilled asparagus side, plus our drinks. Service was prompt, and obviously well-trained; e.g., when the steak knives were brought out they were meticulous about the proper placement on the table. While waiting for our food to be prepared, more patrons started arriving. It wasn't quite a full house, but likely was going to be after our departure. When the food arrived, it was a very nice presentation, obviously a large cut of beef (larger than we had expected), hot, and prepared exactly as we had requested. This was a very nice dining experience, with a warm and inviting ambiance. We definitely plan to return to the Butcher Chophouse. We understand hours of operation are 5:30PM to 10:00PM. This looks like another successful eatery by the same owners of A Pizza, Ottos Parmagiana, and Retro Gusto. We wish them continuing great success. Here are some pictures, not very good (iPhone only, as we had not planned to take pictures and thus did not bring our camera). First, a general view of the dining area, with the bar at the far right. Entrance to the Butcher Chophouse is in the upper right of this shot behind a wall. Here is the menu. Not easily readable, but maybe you can see what the selections are. Here is a shot of the kitchen area. Note the wood burning ovens (multiple ovens). And a departing shot with Marcelyn and the owner.
  3. Bud
    Penny is bringing up some important considerations about this topic. This general subject has come up previously here on CL. Also see related postings at: http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/4584-why-is-a-boquete-bank-account-needed/, http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/37-best-way-to-handle-banking-coming-from-us, and http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/1120-depositing-a-us-check-into-your-panama-bank/. We use the Multibank approach of depositing a check on our US bank, have a 5 day waiting period, and NO fees involved. This option is limited to $3,000.00 per cycle, but we have never found that to be an issue.
  4. Bud

    until

    Marcelyn and I attended this outreach meeting at Hotel Valle del Rio today. We had no business transactions to take care of (notarization, passport renewal, etc.) but we did want to meet and hear the Consulate staff's talks. Here are our notes from this meeting. There were two speakers, Bryan Weiler, who is the Assistant Regional Security Officer (part of the Diplomatic Security Service), and Adrienne Harchik, who is the newly arrived (as of late October) Consul General. The meeting started off a bit late because the staff was delayed as a result of transportation issues. We found both speakers to be well-informed and candid in their remarks and answers to questions. From our notes taken during this meeting: Mr. Weiler was the first to talk, and of course his subject was primarily about security matters in Panama. In 2016 there were 416 murders nationwide, and 415 is the projection for 2017. In general, traffic accidents are a major source of deaths in Panama, basically one death per day, which is a number that includes deaths for pedestrians who are hit by a vehicle being included. Most arrests in Panama for violent crime are males aged 18 to 30, and those are related to gun violence associated with gangs and illegal drugs. A normal sentence for a violent crime (meaning resulting in death or the use of lethal weapons) is about 80 months. Lesser crimes (e.g., pickpockets, etc.) have a typical incarceration period of about 5 years. There is no perceived movement by Panamanian authorities to charge minors as an adult when a young person commits a serious crime. October, November, and December are when crimes like pickpockets and rape are at the highest. (No explanation as to why.) Ms Harchik talked about: driver licenses, US medical prescriptions coming into Panama, the moving of US Social Security Administration matters to the US Embassy in Costa Rica, proof of life forms, getting Panamanian citizenship, the firing of about 5,000 customs agents due to corruption, the role of wardens, and other issues of general interest to American residents here in Panama. We did not count the number of attendees, but every chair was taken and a few people were standing around the room. Our estimate is perhaps 50 or so attendees being present. The presentations and Q&A session lasted about 45 minutes, and then the staff started processing the individual requests for consular services. Here are the business cards for the two speakers at today's meeting: And here are some pictures of the two speakers: Bryan Weiler Bryan Weiler Adrienne Harchik (left) and Bryan Weiler (right)
  5. Bud
    Further on the matter of the "rules of the road" booklet discussed above, it turned out that my copy was not so current, being dated 2007, and so I felt it prudent to get a more current version of this booklet. We went to Supercentro Ivan yesterday, and upon asking for the book (in Spanish, but the clerk responded in English) I was directed to an area about ten feet to the left of the check out stand. There they were. That book cost $8.00, and it includes a copy of the also required accident report form. After my purchase, I counted 14 more copies being available. Here is a scan of the cover the current version (note that it is labeled as the 2018 edition): And here is the accident report form:
  6. Bud
    You might also try La Reina here in Boquete. Behind their main store on Avenida Principal there is another “store” ( building) that specializes in appliances. If they don’t have what you are looking for then give them the make and model and I’m told they will order it. It is my understanding that they deliver, install, and take away old appliances (orr at least did such in times past).
  7. Bud
    Keith, Interesting information based on close scrutiny of the photo collage. For instance, all were Panameña except one Ecuadorian. All were speeds over 100 KPH. All were violations in Chiriqui (4th zone, whatever that means). Different classes of driver licenses involved. There appears to be different cosmetics in the background designs of the licenses (or possibly the differences are because of a watermark in the photo collage itself). Can you tell us what the differences between classes C, D, F and E3 licenses are?
  8. Bud
    Thanks for this information. A local guy with a good recommendation is grounds to give him a try. And then possibly from his business card we see that he could also power clean our driveway.
  9. Bud
    Yes, there is an air conditioned waiting room with a TV (not a channel that was of interest to us) and free WiFi. There might have been a soft drink machine as well, but I am not sure. Assuming that there is not a queue, a typical complete cycle should be about 45 minutes based on our experience. We were there when there was only one other vehicle, and so on a bright sun shiny mid-day scenario, the wait time could easily be more than an hour. I believe one of the "programs" (perhaps "packages" would be a better term) is NOT to include cleaning of the inside of the car, which means that the waiting time could be considerably less. BTW, there was a sign that they also do detailing, but we have no information about that service. Here is a better picture of the facility (as seen from the side street where customers enter).
  10. Bud
    Marcelyn and I made reservations for this event at the Oasis for last evening. We arrived a bit early in order to get a convenient parking spot, and then waited in our vehicle for a few minutes before going into the restaurant. It was beginning to rain as we entered. The bottom line is that it was very good food and the usual outstanding service by the Oasis staff. Anayansi greeted us as we were being seated at a table for two. Then the buffet food service was opened, and there was quite a selection. The only thing we could fault for the entire evening was that we ate too much. Kudos to Anayansi and her staff. This event was obviously well planned and executed. Even the heavy rainfall and the faint aroma of a wood burning fireplace in the gazebo area added to the ambiance. This was a class act. Thank you, Sra Anayansi.
  11. Bud
    Marcelyn and I discovered the Quick Shine Car Wash (QS) in David earlier this week based on the recommendation of a friend. If you are in David and need a car wash, then we recommend QS. Location: QS is in David on the Pan American Hwy directly across the hwy from the Colegio San Agustin, and across the street from Parroquia Del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus Church. That location is a bit (maybe half a kilometer) southwest of where McDonald's is located. Description: QS is an automated car wash for the most part. The appearance is that of a tent, rather than a building. Hours of operation: Monday through Saturday, 8:00AM to 6:30PM. Don't get in a hurry. The staff was not slow moving, but rather thorough and meticulous about things like the vacuuming of the vehicle. I don't think the inside of our car has ever been so clean. Here is a picture of their fees, but given that it was slightly rainy the prices are not easy to read. Our car wash cost $15.00, having picked "program 4".
  12. Bud
    We would like some blue candles, to match my mood. I suspect Gas Natural Fenosa doesn’t even know where El Santuario is located so I best not get too depressed if I don’t get my candles. Seriously, does passing out candles mean they expect a long outage? Our service has been out since about 2:15 PM today, and it was another ugly outage. By that I mean ups and down with heavy hammering of our appliances. As I was headed to the garage to take us off the grid then all power went away. My posting on Monday was correct. The restoration two days ago was only temporary. Tell my again why I enjoy living here...... And where are my candles?
  13. Bud
    Marcelyn and I spent most of Tuesday, November 21st in David on business. We were not a witness to an accident, as it apparently occurred immediately prior to our arrival at the scene. It did not appear that anyone was injured, but speed sure seems to have been a factor to get that much weight over a curb and into the ditch. Shortly afterwards, a team of about six police arrived to cordon off the area so that a tow truck could begin extracting the two vehicles. This accident occurred about noon, at the intersection on the Pan American Hwy where there is an overpass to the Colegio San Agustin, and the Parroquia Del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus Church is located (a bit south of the curve where McDonalds is located). In this first picture you can see the second vehicle behind the foreground vehicle. That is the Pan American Hwy on the left, and it is the lane that should be going northeast but you see no cars moving because it was blocked; it was really congested for about an hour. The background vehicle did an approximate 180 degree rotation from the impact.
  14. Bud
    Although disappointed to hear of more electrical outages mentioned here, at least there was advance word. After about six hours our service at our home was back and seemingly pretty good. I did not want to jinx it, but I found myself thinking that maybe this outage was a significant step forward in terms of reliability. But jinx it I certainly did. We had another [unplanned] outage today, Monday, November 20th. About 11:00AM one phase of our grid disappeared. And then the other phase became very unstable. It was over five hours of crazy electrical ups and downs, with the eventual loss of all power. This kind of service is very destructive of appliances. To protect our appliances I took us off the grid and started the generator. Service was restored about 4:30PM, and here I go jinxing it again. The service appears to be solid — so far. Experience tells me this will be only temporary. For years I have had hope that reliable, clean, stable power would eventually be the norm. I now am losing that hope. In the meantime we keep replacing damaged electrical components.
  15. Bud
    It was my understanding from the conversation regarding the gringo vehicle towing experience was that the cédula (absence of any identity document) was a big deal during the interchange with the officers, but not related to his vehicle. It was a big deal about his legal status as to his presence in the country.
  16. Bud
    This is one of the nicest, most informative, easy to read, and well-prepared monthly reports that I have seen recently. This sets a very high bar for others to follow. Thank you to Amigos de Animales for all of the work you and your supporters do for our domestic pets.
  17. Bud
    The subject of the damage that plastic bags inflict on the environment is also confronting other countries. Two African countries (Kenya and Rwanda) are taking Draconian measures against violators of plastic bag bans, including fines and imprisonment. See the below recent articles about this issue from the New York Times. I hope Panama uses a positive/constructive path to address this issue -- meaning reusable and/or biodegradable bags -- rather than punitive measures. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/opinion/kenya-plastic-bag-laws.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/28/world/africa/rwanda-plastic-bags-banned.html
  18. Bud
    I am stunned speechless. All Odebrecht criminals in Panama are now free to enjoy their spoils?
  19. Bud
    WryAwry, Great to see you back here on CL. Great posting that you did, as usual. We know the moderator who posted the content that you refer to. Will chat with the lad about his stepping into your kingdom without your permission. Shame on him. The frog in the mouth was a bit much to stomach, to my way of thinking.
  20. Bud
    Yes, there are some ham operators in our area. They have a breakfast meeting on the first Saturday of each month. Contact Hazel Bowling for more information. Hazel is a CL member and can be contacted by PM at @Hazel Bowling. There also is a ham group in the David area. I have no info about that group, but it is possible that Al Mulaire (of Planet Telecom) may be able to help. Contact Al at @Al Planet Telecom.
  21. Bud
    It is my understanding based on what I have been told (not first hand experience) that a police report must be filed in the case of lost identity documents (cedulas or jubilado cards, etc.) That doesn't seem to be the case here. Can anyone clarify with facts, not conjecture? P.S., from first hand experience, I can say that a police report is absolutely required in the case of a lost placa for your vehicle.
  22. Bud
    IMO, a small step in the right direction.
  23. Bud
    Jim, No need to expend more energy on this for my needs/desires. Your quoted reply provided sufficient information to satisfy my curiosity. Thanks mucho for elaborating on your experiences and decision logic.
  24. Bud
    Jim, It appears that you have done quite a bit of on-site research. Would you elaborate on why you chose Boquete over Ajijic and the other locales that you mentioned. Just a bit curious. P.S., I did read the last sentence of your first paragraph.
  25. Bud
    An interesting YouTube video clip (about 16.5 minutes runtime) about Ajijic, México. This video clip was sent to me by someone who has visited Boquete, but decided not to immigrate to Panama. His main comment was that Ajijic is what "a lot of people told him that Boquete really is." He then said it is more like what many Boqueteños think it is, or want it to become, or words to that effect. https://youtu.be/6lYA7c1Pnuo I will say only that Ajijic sounds like a nice place.
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