Bud

4 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

<snip, snip>

The document warns the owners of establishments that in "in the immediate future" the intention is to extend this prohibition to the sale of food to take away.

<snip, snip>

The way this is worded (i.e., use of the word "extend") means that take away (take out) food is soon to be banned.

Wow, seems Draconian.

Yesterday Marcelyn and I joined a group of about 15 gringos for a tour of the Ralph Dessau Mariposario. For those who may not know, Ralph Dessau was a very talented and highly educated gentleman who lived in the Potrerillos area, but died in a car wreck about the time that his vision of a butteryfly sanctuary was to come to fruition. His dream carried on, and is very active. That facility is located in Los Naranjos (just north of Bajo Boquete), down the side street where Milqueburger is located. Fascinating stuff. There is a LOT more to see and do at this place, but we only did a quick tour of the butterfly sanctuary.

Following are just a couple of the pictures we took. Photo enthusiasts will go wild in a place such as this mariposario.

The facility is managed by Emily Haworth. Here is Emily:

Here are scans of their descriptive pamphlet and business card.

1 hour ago, Penny said:

The radio show was great -- especially Rudy the naughty wonder dog.

Agree with you Penny. And we know your opinion of Rudy the naughty wonder dog is totally unbiased.

41 minutes ago, JudyS said:

Thanks Keith.  I did this when I got a new passport, but I forgot about the Banco Nat'l step.  Is ATTT the driver license office?  I don't have to do that until next year.  Plates are in July.

Driver licenses are handled by Sertracen, which is located in Chiriqui Mall. The government has outsourced driver licenses to that company.

We have found the staff at Sertracen to be very friendly and helpful. More often than not there will be large numbers of people in process, but they seem to automatically move jubilados to the front of the line, without even requesting special treatment. We were there in January for Marcelyn's license renewal, and we were in and out in 12 minutes.

Don't forget to bring cash for the renewal fees. They do not accept credit cards or checks. I seem to recall it was ~$18.00.

It appears that Oscar's Delicias Chiriqui is more than just a coffee and sandwich shop. Apparently it has branched off into being a bakery as well.

At a recent birthday celebration, there was a birthday cake like none that many of the celebrants had ever seen (or tasted) before. It was wonderful. Moist, not too sweet, full of "Decllcias" (pardon the play on words) flavors, colorful, etc., etc.

Here are two pictures of the birthday cake:

And here is a handwritten note describing the name of the cake:

BTW, the birthday party was this past weekend for Penny Barrett. The next time you see Penny, give her a hug and best wishes for another banner year.

We had a party of four last night, and really enjoyed the flamenco dance event at Hotel Oasis. Besides a wonderful performance by Garsinia Carrillo, the chicken/Spanish sausage paella was something we had never experienced before, and it was really good food. And of course, being at Hotel Oasis meant that the service was impeccable. Anayansi and her staff outdid themselves last night. Even the weather was perfect.

Here are some pictures taken during the event:

I find this entire topic quite illuminating and disconcerting at the same time.

As an "old timer" here in Boquete I remember the Peter Gordon incident very well. Thanks to Jim for posting some links to that history. I also remember my attorney back in those days telling me to be very careful about not violating the Panamanian libel and slander laws. 

This subject is very important and very relevant to me, given that I am one-half of the owners/administrators of CL. A bit of history here for those who might be interested. Most who read this post will not know any of this, but some of the older timers may.

I owned and administered the Boquete.org website, which was one of two community information channels serving the Chiriqui highlands. Boquete.org was created in 2003. The other community channel is what is known today as News.Boquete that is administered by Penny Barrett. Back in those early days that mailing list was known as Hershel's List, being named after Hershel Stolebarger, who set it up and administered it. Hershel's list had about 300 subscribers, whereas Boquete.org had about 5,000 subscribers. (As an aside News.Boquete currently has just short of 1,900 subscribers.)

I shut down Boquete.org (I seem to recall it was about late 2007 or possibly early 2008?) after being threatened with five different lawsuits by people, specifically businesses, in Boquete and in David based on claimed defamatory content that had been posted on Boquete.org by some of its members. I was the one threatened with the lawsuits because the offending libel was on Boquete.org, which I owned, and not because it was something I wrote or said. I have never forgotten two of the five interactions about the threatened lawsuits because of the knocking on my front door (both of those instances were on a Sunday) by attorneys and business owners. The emotional stress, the financial drain, the vague and much delayed rulings of the courts, etc., are just some of the reasons for me to avoid litigation.

I was told by my then several attorneys that libel and slander are extremely serious matters in Panama, and that truth is not a defense. Now I read here differently. Whether something is true or not does not justify or warrant the damage done by libel or slander to one's reputation. Hmmmm, whom to believe and trust?

As Paul Harvey used to say in his radio broadcasts: "now for the rest of the story." For me, I don't intend to test the murky waters of libel and slander litigation, but rather avoid that environment altogether if at all possible. This piece of history is a reason that CL comes down hard on its two guidelines: treat others with respect, and know and obey the law. [[To read the exact words of CL's guidelines, see http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/4-site-guidelines/.]]

Going further, especially after reading Bonnie's reply:

23 hours ago, Bonnie said:

Yes, it is clear that once a denuncia has been filed the issue becomes a matter of public record. What is not so clear about the law is the liability one incurs when complaining about a person or person absent a formal denuncia. As I read the law--and I'm neither a lawyer nor fluent in Spanish--one cannot impugn the honor or dignity of another under any circumstances and cannot falsely accuse another of committing a crime. It's the first part that particularly puzzles me since truth or falsity don't appear to matter in the least. I believe this was the crux of the Peter Gordon v. HSBC case: Gordon impugned the honor and integrity of the bank by repeatedly griping in public forums about poor customer service. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to have been a judicial decision on the merits of the case, although it was decided that Gordon's assets weren't protected by a private foundation. Speculation is that, following that decision, the parties quietly settled. I haven't come across any other cases or judicial decisions clarifying the law.

... my experience also is that a denuncia is a public document. However, not many people go to the Personaria and review denuncias. But the main point here is that if one were to use a denuncia as a "weapon" to further libel or slander someone or a business, then my experience (and advice of my counsel) is that said person is committing a crime. The matter of truth is not resolved until a judge makes a final ruling, and said ruling is upheld (or not appealed). This then brings into question two more issues: is the ruling judge impartial, and whether the judge truly understands the entire scenario.

Note further that my counsel has said that Panama courts do not make rulings based on case law, but only based on statutory law as understood by the judge at the time of the ruling.

I will continue to watch this topic; however, I prefer not to change my modus operandi regarding protecting myself from litigation.

Everyone gets to decide for themselves. Your mileage may vary.

16 hours ago, Penny said:

First of all, Dr. Angulo's office is adjacent to the SENADIS office on the upper floor. ...

I have been in Angulo's office only about three times, and the last time was at least a decade ago. I recall looking out of the window and seeing the buildings on the side street, not the Parque. Perhaps he has changed offices during these intervening years. On the other hand, I could have been rip roaring drunk and hallucinating. 'Tis not that important anyway. Please forgive me if I have erred.

11 minutes ago, Keith Woolford said:

If I'm not mistaken, I've climbed those stairs to arrive to the law offices of Sanjur y Angulo.

You are not mistaken, Keith. It is the same building. Same steps.

I believe Sr Angulo is on Piso 1ra.

2 hours ago, Penny said:

Bud, it might be easier for people if you said the entrance to the Brencan building is across the street from the Slot Casino and next to a parking lot. The parking lot used to be $.50/hour but it's now $1.00 an hour. Still worth it.

Penny,

Just goes to show where our interests differ. My eyes do not even see a casino because I do not patronize them. I'll take your word for it that there is a casino across the street.

I do not recall seeing a parking lot next to the entrance to the Brencan Building. Maybe I need my eyeballs checked again.

Not a handicap friendly building in the least. Only one elevator, and a wheelchair would not fit in it, well certainly not a wheelchair that would accommodate me. The stairs were something that I would not be able to navigate.

What I did not understand is that there was one male employee at his desk in the far left of that office. He was in a wheelchair, and I did wonder how he got into the office.

13 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

'Burocracia' by Rosa Marques, was a different entry on the subject in the Notodo Filmfest.

I have never seen a video like this, and never expected to see such. It was absolutely hilarious.

We had a champagne experience in David about midday yesterday. I am applying for a handicap parking placard (already have one from Texas, but want to be completely legit here in Panama). We are smiling now because of how smoothly this process went; it took less than 15 minutes (once I had all of the necessary documentation). Here are the details in case you need to apply for a handicap parking placard.

First of all, the name of the government agency that deals with these matters is called SENADIS. That acronym stands for the Secretaría Nacional de Discapacidad. The David office of SENADIS is in Edificio Brencan. Brencan is literally facing the main town square in David, on the same side as the Catholic Church. It is a three story building, and the SENADIS office is on the secundo piso, oficina #27. (That means it is on the third floor, given that the ground floor is known as PB.) See more location information below.

Next is a scan of the documentation requirements:

There is no fee for this service. Apparently the placards are prepared in PC, and then shipped to the office in David. The agent told me that it will take about 15 days, and then to expect a telephone call to come by their office.

A few comments here about the process and how it worked for us. We stopped by our doctor prior to going to SENADIS (the first time), and the doctor wrote a "prescription" type document to indicate the medical basis justifying the application. We then took a copy of my driver license and cédula, and went to SENADIS about a week ago. We were not successful on our first visit, but only because they have a specific set of documents that are needed, and I did not know that in advance. See the scanned version of their documentation requirements as shown above. It turns out that the documentation needed is NOT onerous. Note that the medical justification must be a signed, original version, as no copies will be accepted. Obviously the other documentation will be copies.

On our second trip we had the required documents, and the total time in their office was less than 15 minutes. We left with a smile on our faces.

One comment about the medical justification that the doctor/doctora needs to provide. A general practitioner is not authorized to sign these kinds of applications. You will need an internist or other specialist doctor to sign the medical justification. At the current time there is only one doctor in Boquete, and that is Dra. Digna Virginia Diaz, who practices at the Boquete Medical and Associates (next door to La Reina). I would assume that there are many qualified doctors in David, but have no referrals to provide here.

Here is a map showing the location of SENADIS in David. If is directly facing Parque Miguel de Cervantes (the main parque in David), but the entrance is on the side street. For those who use Google Maps, the SENADIS office is located at 8.428777 -82.425734.

Here is what the entrance looks like, and again you will see a sign at that entrance with the Edificio Brencan name clearly on display:

Impressive! Certainly will appeal to a different group of people who wish to "experience" something rather than just "see" something. I suspect that means a younger group, younger either physically or based on mindset.

Having a doctor appointment at Consultorios Médico Alfa yesterday morning, I diddly bopped into town a bit after 11:00AM. I quickly saw that something special was about to start because there were lots of police on motorcycles and people standing in the street in front of Melos. I was not aware of anything special scheduled for Friday morning. My initial instinct was that it was a protest. Fortunately my appointment was on the main street, and so I thought how lucky I was to avoid that blockage. I make it to my appointment, finding a parking slot in front of the medical office (next door to La Reina) and am sitting in the waiting area for my appointment.

And then the festivities started. It was not a protest, but rather a parade. Leading the parade was the Alcalde Emigdio Walker. I then had a frequently occurring disappointment that I did not know in advance of the parade. But this time I felt vindicated because others in the waiting area (mostly Panamanians) indicated that they likewise had no idea that there was a parade scheduled for that morning.

The first significant group that I could identify was the Red Cross. There were many bands, drums, groups marching in formation, drums, dancers, flags, etc., and oh, did I mention LOTS OF DRUMS.

Glad to read Deborah's posting explaining that this was celebrating an anniversary of the Red Cross, which explains why the first group following the mayor was the Red Cross with their banner. Per Keith's posting, maybe I need to listen to the radio more frequently.

I completed my medical consult, and then went to the other side of the street (in front of Mail Boxes, Etc.) for a better viewing point. Here are two photos that I took after I left the medical office. The entire event lasted about 30-45 minutes.

Oh, such sad news. Our sincerest condolences go out to Lisa and their family.

With love,
Marcelyn and Bud

3 hours ago, Bud said:

Or raise your stress levels!

Electric power is again a problem in our area. 82 volts at most this morning. Running on the generator right now to protect appliances and be able to get something productive done. Hopefully Gas Natural will be here soon.

Was able to shut down the generator about 15 minutes ago. About five hours of outage. Glad that we are percolating again.

And no, I don't believe a word of the hucksters pushing their wares on the various countries. I just ignore them.

Or raise your stress levels!

Electric power is again a problem in our area. 82 volts at most this morning. Running on the generator right now to protect appliances and be able to get something productive done. Hopefully Gas Natural will be here soon.

On 1/12/2017 at 7:45 AM, Bud said:

Marcelyn and I returned to Panama from international travel within this past week. On this entry we were NOT fingerprinted, but both of us were photographed. As in the recent past, the lines at immigration have been changed so that there now are three (actually, four) lines:

1. returning Panamanian citizens
2. returning Panamanian legal residents
3. tourists
4. diplomats and flight crew

The immigration line reconfiguration actually works to our benefit because groups 1 and 3 were the longest. There were exactly zero in line for group 2, and so we were through immigration in less than five minutes.

Fingerprinting or not is perhaps a changing policy based on their experience and results.

BTW, the immigration officer (a lady) was very pleasant, had a warm and engaging smile on her face, and ended our interaction with "welcome home" (in English). We said "gracias, muchas gracias."

Again, just a few days ago upon returning to Panama from international travel, Marcelyn and I found the same four categories for arriving passengers to go through the passport control station. Long lines in categories 1 and 3 as listed above, but we were the only two people in the category 2 line (returning Panamanian legal residents line). We were through there in less than three minutes. And again, no fingerprints were taken, no pictures taken, etc. A very pleasant arrival experience.

My conclusion is that fingerprinting and picture taking of arriving citizens and legal residents is now history. Maybe it was too much trouble with too little benefit.

The silliness apparently continues. This afternoon (Saturday, May 13th), Marcelyn and I were returning from errands in David. We took the following pictures about 4:10PM today. The area is near Emerald Drive (just south of Los Molinos). We presumed from the lack of urgency on anyone's part that there were no injuries, although the pictures would suggest otherwise. One police vehicle had just arrived and two officers were walking around the accident scene. The roads were not crowded, there was no standing rainwater on the roadway, and nothing that we could see other than clear, straight roadway, etc.

21 hours ago, MarieElaine said:

Shouldn't the "supporters" of Maduro be living in Venezuela?

I would think so, but apparently the world is changing.

I had my glasses (the frame, not the lenses) worked on by Opticentro Vega, which is across the street from Multibank here in Boquete. Friendly staff, had the tools, materials, experience, and attitude. Successful repair job, and cheap. This work was done in mid-April, just a couple of weeks ago. This is not a recommendation, but simply reporting on my experience.

I have delayed responding to my original question/topic so as to give a reasonable amount of time for those wishing to respond to have time to do so. It has now been a bit more than a week since I started this topic.

Several replies brought up aspects of this tipping topic that I never even considered. I must be really naive. I have learned a lot. Thank you to all who have responded.

A disappointing new awareness on my part has to do with a cultural or regional (?, not sure which, or both) aspect of this topic is the "tip sharing" concept. For some reason I never considered that as an option. Duh! I know that is the norm in some situations (e.g., aboard a cruise ship, etc.), and that doesn't cause me concern. Apparently, if I am understanding correctly, the pooling/sharing of tips is a common thing in Panama. A management decision to share tips can be presented as a good thing by some. But that wasn't the way I was raised. I actually do [now] see both sides of this issue. But that then defeats the purpose of my wanting to tip someone for good service. My mindset about a "tip" is that it stands for "to insure prompt service", and NOT to be an augmentation to salaries for all employees; to augment salary for the intended recipient is what a tip is supposed to be about to my way of thinking.

I understand that many of you reading this will have different opinions, and you are free to share them and conduct your affairs accordingly. I am just telling you how I have always approached the subject of tipping (be it for a waiter in a restaurant, or a skycap for luggage assistance at an airport, or assistance with groceries at a store, etc.).

It is not clear to me how this new awareness is going to affect my tipping protocol. Time will tell.

Again, thank you to all.

Just wanting to understand what is really going on here. Infrequently, but seemingly at a growing rate as of recent times, some restaurant staff are now telling me when we are taking care of the bill for our food service that "the law doesn't allow us to put tips on the credit card; tips must be in cash". My understanding of the law (including the new law from earlier this year) is that tips cannot be automatically put on a bill by the restaurant, but nothing to the effect of barring customers from voluntarily putting a tip on the credit card charge slip. (And the credit card processing centers seem to validate my understanding, otherwise why would there be the ability to do such on the credit card transaction?)

So what is really going on here? I'm an inquisitive guy who just likes to understand things.

On the Netflix part of this topic, Marcelyn and I just this week reactivated our Netflix account. For that TV we do NOT have VPN, and Netflix worked properly without any restrictions (well, at least so far that has been our experience). We have now watched three movies via Netflix. The only negative so far is that the audio is so low that we have difficulty hearing it. The volume was as high as it would go. Will check into plugging Netflix onto a different TV to see if we can boost the audio.