Bud

We deposit our US bank checks here at Multibank (also have an account at Scotiabank, but it is only for backup purposes). There is zero fee for this service, and the hold time is only five business days. The short hold time was pre-arranged because we are long term customers, limit our checks to no more than $3,000.00 USD, have cedulas, and they know (copy of the escritura was requested and provided) that we own our property and are full-time residents. Couldn't ask for better service from any bank.

In asking around we have not found any other bank to be this "friendly" about transferring funds from the US to Panama.

We likewise have a Canadian bank account that is denominated in USD, but were told that the same funds transfer service would not apply to a Canadian bank check even though it is in USD. Dunno.... Some Canadian banks (e.g., RBC) have US bank affiliates that would overcome such constraints.

P.S., the checks we deposit in Multibank clear the US bank typically in two days. That is fast.

Progress continues on this "lighthouse" just a bit north of Los Molinos. I think of this project more as an observation tower or lookout post, but apparently it is being called a lighthouse. Hmmmm.

Here is a picture taken on July 13th. Not the best imagery possible, since this picture was taken through a rainy windshield.

Olga Rios' breakfast place is a long time staple for good food, good service, and warm greeting hugs. We were surprised not to find anything posted on CL about Punto de Encuentro, and so decided to fill that gap this morning.

Marcelyn and I had breakfast at Olga's this morning. Everything went like clockwork. It all started with warm, genuine hugs upon our arrival. We ordered just one order of pancakes and a side order of bacon to be shared between the two of us. Marcelyn ordered her usual café negro, and I my hot chocolate. The service was prompt, accurate, and the serving was huge. Even though it was just one order to be shared between the two of us, it still was more than the two of us could eat.

For visitors in the Boquete area, I submit that you cannot legitimately say that you have been to Boquete unless and until you have experienced one of Olga's famous (and sincere) welcoming hugs. Breakfast almost becomes secondary.

Olga's is open only for breakfast, and this is done seven days a week. Not sure of the exact hours, but I believe breakfast starts at 7:00AM. I guess she closes when the last breakfast patron leaves.

Here are some pictures taken this morning. First, the famous welcoming hug (Olga and Marcelyn).

Followed by a couple of inside shots of the ambiance.

There are no printed menus. Look at the chalkboards just outside the entrance door. An extensive selection, to say the least.

The signpost that is street-side.

And a shot showing Olga and an employee checking the grounds, and the entrance walkway into the breakfast area.

Wondering what is happening at the El Viajero Restaurante. They have been closed for almost two weeks, and no indications of having gone out of business.

We believe that Mattia Bertero's wife was expecting, and so we are hoping that nothing serious has happened in their lives.

Does anyone know what their status is?

In another run to the [current, soon to be relocated] recycling facility here in Boquete yesterday afternoon, we learned from the lady who manages the facility that it is relocating to a building that is located next door to the Boquete Bible Fellowship Church. We stopped by to see the current status of that building. For those who do not know where this site is, go down the side street next to Restaurante La Karreta (which is across the main street from Biblioteca de Boquete).

Here is a picture of the building. To the right of the bushes shown in this picture appears to be a yard space that is fenced in and likely to be used as the receiving area. The wall of the building on the left side of the picture is the BBF church building.

Marcelyn and I tried out the new Rustica late this afternoon. She bought some fresh fruits from the produce stand. Good looking items there but not a large selection, but what was there was well displayed and obviously very fresh.

And then we had an evening snack at the restaurant niche. Ended up ordering nachos (to share) and two fresa batidos. Service was quick, prices very reasonable, and the nacho dish was huge, way beyond what we could eat between the two of us. I could have made dinner out of the batido. It was fantastic.

Here are some pictures.

We definitely will go back. Nice friendly ambiance. Great service.

Marcelyn and I just got home from running errands. For years we have routinely deposited recyclables at the recycling facility here in Boquete. It used to be on the side street down from the Bistro. And then it relocated to across the street from La Posada.

What a surprise today. As we were leaving the recycling place, a nice lady came over to inform us that their facility is closing within a week. If we understood her correctly it will be relocating to somewhere close to the Boquete cemetery. If this is true, then it will be a lot less convenient to deposit our recyclables.

And another surprising piece of news by the lady talking with us is that the current recycling place is going to be converted into yet another restaurant. Wow, restaurant row is really taking hold of that part of the Calle Principal here in Boquete. She did not know the future name of this restaurant, who was the owner, and what cuisine would be served.

Here is a picture of this new produce stand and eatery. Note the total absence of any signage. Maybe that is coming in the near future. I don't even know the name of this place.

On 4/3/2017 at 10:45 AM, Keith Woolford said:

 

While in Boquete today (Thursday, July 6, 2017) running errands, we received a brochure on our windshield identical to the one that Keith posted. This eatery is obviously still advertising. We have been there only once, and the food and service were okay. It just seems too far for us to go.

The interesting thing is that there was another brochure on our windshield advertising spa type services at the same facility. I guess they are branching out into new ventures. Here is the other brochure:

My research suggests that Canada, the USA, and Mexico are considered the countries of North America. Then there are seven countries that comprise Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. South America is everything south of Panama. I am not saying the above is absolute fact, but simply the end result of a huge amount of research.

P.S., the part about Mexico being a North American country was a surprise to me.

On 7/4/2017 at 7:59 AM, Keith Woolford said:

Many Latinos believe that anyone from the Americas, be it North, South, or Central ..is a true American.

On my very first arrival in Panama a long, long time ago, as I got into the taxi at Tocumen for the ride to my hotel the taxi driver started the conversation with a question. I will never forget that dialogue; it was an important and cathartic learning experience, more like a sense of increased awareness and sensitivity.

His question was: "Are you (referring to me) an American?" To which I of course answered "yes". He responded with "So am I," with a good deal of pride in his voice. He was not trying to be condescending. That was an important lesson for me -- that everyone from the north, central, and south regions of the "New World" are in fact Americans (Américanos to the Spanish speaking parts of the Americas).

My life experiences are that few US citizens think that way.

I was in the Social Security Clinic here in Boquete yesterday. Although I wasn't looking for it, I think I would have noticed any signs discussing flu or pneumonia shots. I saw none.

El Santuario area is not experiencing any problems with CableOnda television. (Had some Internet outages on Friday and Sunday, but TV is fine.)

18 hours ago, Bonnie said:

But was it a good chicken pot pie?

You betcha!

Not the absolute all-time best, but very good. Perhaps a bit too much chicken meat to my pleasure, but as us former sailors say: "any port in a storm" (any chicken pot pie when there are so few).

Marcelyn and I ate at Mike's Global Grill late yesterday. The mesera (waiter) indicated that they had a special menu item that evening -- chicken pot pies (CPP). We needed to read the menu no further, and immediately ordered two CPPs. After a few minutes the chef came out to apologize that they had only one remaining CPP. We were disappointed, but kept the order for the one remaining item and back-filled with another item for my main entré.

Here is a picture of the CPP (the spots on the plate are decoration). And there was good news as we were finishing our dinner. The chef came out to our table a second time, given our strong support for CPP as a menu item. He told us that he was planning on adding the CPP to their menu. That doesn't mean that they will have this specialty item for everyone everyday because the plan was to make up one batch of the ingredients on a regular basis (perhaps not everyday because CPPs involve a lot of work in the kitchen), and when the supply was gone, then someone would have to wait until the next round. The chef also said that CPPs take extra time for cooking once ordered, so plan not to be in a hurry. And get there early -- certainly before we arrive -- if you want your own chicken pot pie.

Marcelyn and I, along with friend Penny Barrett, had dinner last night at this new eatery in Boquete: Milan Italia. The ambiance was warm and inviting, and we were surprised at the beautifully matching chairs and tables (read probably fairly expensive), etc. Even more impressive was the attentive and competent customer service.

I had expected a typical Italian cuisine, but concluded after reading the menu and talking with our waiter, that this is a new restaurant in Boquete that is owned by Italians. Sure, there were some Italian dishes, but there were non-Italian dishes as well. Not a big deal, but I mention this only because the Italian "label" that I had heard about really didn't fit the situation that I saw.

Marcelyn and I had an eggplant dish that was vegetarian and simply called "Parmigiana". It was not a pasta dish, but rather a layered eggplant dish. Excellent tasting, and ample serving size. We generally order one entré and then split it between the two of us. Still had plenty to eat. Marcelyn went bonkers over the dessert selection, and so we split a chocolate item, but I can't remember its name.

BTW, there were no alcoholic beverages available. It wasn't clear if wine and beer, etc., might be coming in the future after licensing issues are completed, or they choose not to have alcoholic beverages. Good selection of non-alcoholic beverages, though.

We plan to return to try some different dishes.

Here are the business card and another copy of the menu. Here are the phone and email in case the business card image is hard to read: 6954-3036, milanitaliapanama@gmail.com.

In driving by the old Parmigiano (aka N22) Restaurant today, there was a new sign out front. It now says "Kamcha, Peruvian Brasas".

Anyone know what is happening now at this eatery that is seemingly doomed because of lack of parking?

We know one of those 80 Panamanians currently studying in Taiwan, and soon to be in China. She is Boqueteña and about 20 years old, with a full four year scholarship in engineering. This has to be exciting for her and her family. We wish all of them the best.

Pardon my ignorance, but what does Chiriqui Producers produce? What is the significance of this strike?

On 6/12/2017 at 7:21 AM, Keith Woolford said:

Many Panamanians seem determined to keep killing themselves and endangering the lives of others with erratic and inconsiderate driving behaviours.

Keith,

The subject of driving habits and skills has obviously grabbed your attention. This topic and the "road carnage" topic are testimony to the need to make things better. For you to post your words here, which are uncharacteristically sharp for you, tells me that you are really concerned.

I concur with you. We (Marcelyn and I) have seen on more than one occasion cars (and motorcycles) literally racing at extreme speeds on Calle Principal here in Boquete. And cars driving on the wrong side of the street. And cars not even slowing down, much less stopping at stop signs, and, and, and, .... You get my drift. I don't want to come across as a "do gooder", but the changes in driving patterns in my 16+ years here in Boquete are inescapable, and the trend is definitely in the wrong direction.

Given the news articles that we are reading, and first hand experiences while driving, I have dramatically changed my driving habits to a considerably more defensive posture. That means that if someone reading this posting is behind me on the road, I will not apologize for driving as slow as I now drive and for being extra attentive. Perhaps others should adopt my safer posture.

Don't know about Renfro, but we just had a very good experience with Taller Felipe Rodríguez in David. Wheel alignment, balancing, etc., with outstanding customer service, including by Sr Felipe Rodríguez himself along with his son. We started out using my Spanglish with a person who turned out to be Sr Felipe Rodríguez himself. Sr Rodríguez then got service representative Roberto in the loop because Roberto speaks good English. We had no appointment, but got scheduled for service a couple of hours later when the technicians returned from lunch, and we were on the road home by 4:00PM. All of this was just last Friday.

Absolutely fantastic service. Our maintenance service included balancing, alignment, and replacement of windshield wiper blades. And we considered their charges to be very reasonable.

Taller Felipe Rodríguez is located on Avenida Olbadia, fairly close to the Romero grocery store that is across the street from Rodelag. If you use Waze, then search on 'Taller Felipe Rodríguez'. Their telephone is 775-7740.

Attitude definitely affects one's altitude (about their situation).

22 hours ago, Bud said:

Can someone help me understand the bottom line here? On the surface this sounds like it is good news for consumers (policy holders), but then at my age I have learned to be cautious (at times skeptical).

Yes, I do intend to discuss with our insurance agent.

Our insurance agent has reviewed our situation, and responded:

Quote

This will not affect you at all.  You do not need to worry about it.

Can someone help me understand the bottom line here? On the surface this sounds like it is good news for consumers (policy holders), but then at my age I have learned to be cautious (at times skeptical).

Yes, I do intend to discuss with our insurance agent.

While running errands in town today we looked at that intersection. Never noticed them before, but lo and behold there are arrows painted on the roadway (not doubting you, Keith). Interesting learning on my part. I intend to respect those restrictions in the future.