Bud

We do understand about personal sensitivities to heat, cold, humidity, dryness, etc. A good friend moved back to the USA because of such an issue. There are two sides to this story, however. Recommend that you do some due diligence regarding utility bills for this kind of equipment before making such a commitment. Posted by someone who typically has $200/month electric bills, and we have no heating or air conditioning (nor swimming pool, etc.).

Personal reflection here. Glad to see that the national level ministries are trying to help resolve problems and improve various issues outside of Panama City. However, the timing for this specific project really caused me to pause for a moment. I refer here to the recent murder of a tourist in exactly this same place. The killing of Catherine Johannet has had very broad international coverage, and included having the US FBI coming in to assist local authorities in the investigation. For more details, see:

Keith, Thanks for posting this article about Catherine -- the person. She apparently was an ardent globetrotter as the newspaper article labeled her. And as you said, she was a very good photographer as well. Such a tragic loss of a young person with so much talent and energy. A sad story indeed.

With all of the really high winds and strong episodic rain lately, I have been checking out some weather websites looking for causes. I must be overlooking something. I can't find the cause. Hmmmmm. Can anyone help? Some report sustained winds at 20MPH. Okay. I see that. Some say wind gusts to in excess of 81KPH. Okay, we see those too. I'm still looking for a Caribbean storm but can't find one. What gives here? P.S., it seems to me that this kind of weather could bode ill for BJBF activities in various venues around town, e.g., in the Amphitheater at VE.

Marcelyn and I have been shopping around for a new washing machine because of a catastrophic failure of our current machine (probably due to electrical surges* and brownouts, , again and again!). When we go to the various dealers in Chiriqui, we ask about the delivery and installation of the new machine, and the removal and disposal of the old machine. We universally are being told that delivery is an added cost option (okay, we understand, and it is a reasonable charge anyway), but in no case can we find a store that will commit to installation of the new machine, and to removal and disposal of the old machine. Are we expecting too much? What do people do with old appliances such as a clothes washer? We presume that the Boquete garbage service wouldn't touch such a task. *P.S., yes we have dedicated electrical protection devices for these appliances, but obviously they are not up to the task presented by the power grid.

Thanks for the additional information about Noriega's land holdings in Chiriqui. My prior posting was pertaining to Finca La Pagoda. Was not aware of the Dolega holdings.

With the high winds and the bajarecques, this is the time of the year for rainbows. Here is a quick grab shot with my iPhone while we were going into town for errands recently. Not one of the more spectacular rainbow shots I have ever seen, but still worth sharing for our newcomers to enjoy. On a really good day, I have seen double (and very infrequently triple) rainbows. The real treat is a moonbow, which is extremely rare here.

I agree. John does very good videography and postproduction work as well. (I'm jealous.) What most people don't know is that this kind of media is very detailed and time consuming (well, to do it correctly, that is). The audio part typically is the hardest to get good and clean tracks.

We know the people who own the former Noriega estate in the Potrerillos area. There is a fence and gate around the property, and knowing them as we do we suspect that they would not appreciate someone trying to visit the estate. I acknowledge that you were not asking to go by for a visit. If you are interested in communicating with them, then let's take this into the PM (private message) mode, and we can discuss further.

I find it interesting that I am posting on the subject of coffee. Consider for a moment these contradictions. Most importantly, I do not drink coffee. I don't even like coffee. I do enjoy smelling the coffee beans while they are roasting. I live in an area of the world where, as discussed in the above article, some of the world's most expensive coffee is produced. Just 20 feet from our kitchen door is a coffee finca. I grind and brew coffee for Marcelyn's morning "fix". On Wednesday mornings I have breakfast with a group of hombres, among which is Price Peterson of Finca Esmeralda fame for having helped introduce the world to geisha coffee. I don't understand the fascination with (addiction to?) coffee. I know very little about coffee other than Marcelyn prefers a "French Roast", whatever the heck that means. Etc., etc. Why am I posting here? There is an interesting book by Michaele Weissman entitled God in a Cup: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Coffee. That book was published in 2008. Because of my breakfast conversations with Price I downloaded the Kindle version and surprised myself in that once I started reading I simply had to finish it. That book is not a definitive essay on all things to be known about coffee. But I did find it interesting, probably because if the contradictions mentioned in the above paragraph, and that I did learn a lot about coffee. For example, coffee's roots (pardon the play on words here) are in Ethiopia, and coffee is the second most significant commodity (after oil) that is traded in the world today. There is an interesting sidebar event based on my having read this book. One of the "players" in the coffee world is called Stumptown Coffee Roasters, which is located in Portland, Oregon. That is where Marcelyn is from, and we go back there periodically for several reasons. After reading the book I insisted that we visit Stumptown the next time we were in Portland. And so, there we were at the counter with Marcelyn sampling a cup of the famous geisha coffee from our area, just hanging out with the yuppie cult snobs (my terminology, not trying to be condescending but simply describing how I felt), when in came a team of TV reporters to interview the yuppie cult snobs about the world's most expensive coffee. Who did they include in their broadcast. You guessed it -- me. And I don't even like coffee! The bottom line here is that if you like coffee or are intrigued by this topic, then you might consider reading the book God In A Cup. It is available through Amazon. And no, I am not associated with the book (other than as a reader) and I get no compensation for this recommendation. As an aside, there is another recent posting here on CL about coffee at http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/4862-a-call-to-coffee-people. Boquete and coffee go together.

Marion, Thanks for your posting. I/we have not been associated with airlines other than as frequent travelers on many different carriers. Thus the airline definition of FOD has not been part of our everyday lexicon. However, in reading your posting I seem to recall reading an article about foreign object damage. I think it came about the time that Captain Sullenberger (see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesley_Sullenberger) safely brought down an airplane in the Hudson River in New York City after having a flock of birds destroy both engines in the plane that he was piloting. Perhaps the term FOD was bouncing around in my mind while we were visiting Medellin for the first time several years ago. That was when we became aware of the high number of incidences of motorcycle crashes leading to Colombia getting a moniker as the organ transplant capital of the world. Interesting story, but way off topic here. In closing, you probably have me confused with Keith Woolford. My wife is Marcelyn. But thanks for your kind wishes for both the Woolford family and the Huber-Jandreau family. Igualmente. I wish we had met while you were still living here.

I've never heard of the Bar Keepers Friend. In checking the Internet, I see two versions of that product: liquid, and cleanser and polish. The picture in your referenced website shows the liquid version. Can we presume that is the version that works best? The most important question is whether Bar Keepers Friend (either version) is available here locally. If so, where? Or does it have to be ordered online? Can anyone provide answers as to version to use and more details on local availability?

Maybe I am just getting senile, but as of the recent past it seems to me that the driving skills of the people around me on the road is declining. Just this morning while returning home from the Potrerillos area from a dog training session we had three (yes 3!) near accidents, mostly from overly aggressive drivers. Two of those incidents were gringas (yes, females). And those three incidents do not include the high performance motorcycle that had to be traveling at least 125 KPH (admittedly my imprecise estimation) going (screaming) up the steep incline just after crossing the bridge over the Rio Cochea heading north from Dolega. We call those kinds of cyclists "FOD" (future organ donor).

I'm happy to report that this power box has recently been removed. In fact, the entire pole on which the power box was installed has been removed. A side benefit, beyond the safety issue, is that it freed up another parking slot. Good job for whoever took care of this problematic power box.

There are a lot of hardware stores in our area, and they all carry various sizes and styles of screws, nuts, bolts, washers, etc. Needing some uncommon size nuts and bolts for a minor repair on our emergency generator, I got tired of going from hardware store to hardware store, both in Boquete and in David, with no luck in finding everything that was needed. A couple of the attendants in some of the stores that I visited kept mentioning the same name for "the place" to go for specialty screws, nuts and bolts, etc. That name was TorniCentro, which is located in David. (El tornillo is the Spanish word for screw, bolt, nut, etc.) Yesterday we found TorniCentro, and are we ever so thankful. Not only did they have exactly what was needed, but the attendant was incredibly helpful, friendly, immediately understood -- all in English -- what I was trying to fix, and produced said items in less than 2 minutes. If you need nuts, bolts, screws, and similar type of hardware store items that you cannot find in your local store, then give TorniCentro a try. TorniCentro SA is located on Avenida Obaldia, fairly close to Rodelag and on the same side of the road as Rodelag, and in the same building complex as Felipe Rodríguez tires. Across the street is a Delta filling station, and a jumble of streets that intersect in a triangle. TorniCentro's telephone is 775-5313. My total bill was less than $6.00. Here is a picture of the storefront.

Marcelyn and I started an eight week long dog obedience training course for Anouk today. On our way home we stopped by Café Ruiz to replenish her supply of French roast coffee. Café Ruiz's coffee is her second most favorite here in this area. And so, being the big spender that I am, I decided to treat her to a cup of coffee and a cookie before departing for home with several bags of fresh coffee beans. Unexpectedly, Sr Plinio Ruiz (the senior Sr Plinio Ruiz) was there and stopped by our table to greet and chat with us. For those who are not aware, Sr Ruiz is a third generation Panamanian and the patriarch of the Ruiz family. He is, we believe, 95 years old. Oh to be that spry and alert. He is still going strong. Here is a picture taken about an hour ago of Sr Ruiz and Marcelyn.

Does anyone have any comments about El Rio Encantado "Nature Resort" that is located in the Caldera area? Here is a scan of their marketing brochure.

I tried researching this on the DGI website. No joy. We also would like to know the correct website address.

Marcelyn and I are pleased that Bajareque started this topic. We had driven by Juice Mi (actually, I believe the full name is Juice Mi Restaurante and Deli, according to David) on many occasions, but thought little of it. Then with this topic we stopped by (as documented above) for some nachos and smoothies. Not only was the food good and the prices reasonable, but we really enjoyed the conversations with David (David Hatton is the owner) and Josmin (not sure of the spelling of his name). All conversations were in English, but when I practiced my [admittedly poor] Spanish, they responded in Spanish and helped me with the pronunciation. So Marcelyn and I went back for breakfast yesterday morning. They are open 8:00am to 8:00pm everyday except Wednesdays (as noted above). It was our second very pleasant experience at Juice Mi. Marcelyn had fried eggs and her usual black coffee. I ordered the breakfast burrito and asked for orange juice. On the OJ thing, I asked if the OJ was canned or carton, and the look on Josmin's face was what are you talking about; we only do freshly squeezed orange juice. Oops, pardon me. With a smile of satisfaction, I said "bring it on". Marcelyn's coffee took several minutes, and so she asked me (having an empty cup delivered to our table) if it was self-serve. I had no idea, and then out came the freshly brewed coffee in a "French Press". I had never seen such, and so Marcelyn explained it to me. Her coffee was really top notch, so much so that she wanted to know what brand the restaurant uses. Josmin said it is unlabelled, and organic. In short order our main courses were delivered, along with my fresh OJ. Here are some pictures of them. We certainly will be going back. If I was forced to find something to fault, it would be that the servings are quite large. I could eat only 1/2 of the burrito, but then took home the leftovers. Parking (lack thereof) would be the only other complaint. What is wrong with this scenario? Good food, good prices, nice and quiet ambiance, customer oriented staff! Of course, we will be be going back. Here is one last picture of the outside of the building, which is immediately across the side street from Banco Nacional.

PM received. Transaction completed. Please see return PM for particulars.

My experience in "expecting" businesses to routinely monitor their published email accounts has been less than stellar. Those expectations have generally led to disappointment. Hopefully Radio Chiriqui is more attentive than those to whom I have sent emails. You may consider calling their station to alert them to an important incoming email message. Just a thought. Wishing you all the best. BTW, we know Roger Guerra, who is part of Radio Chiriqui. His dad is the one who started that business a long time ago. Roger and Radio Chiriqui did a radio broadcast from our home many years ago. It was part of a Saturday series of "Spanglish" broadcasts that they were doing. I have his email and cell number if you need help. I won't publish that information here on CL, but would consider sending you a private message if you requested it.

Given all of the postings in this thread, we were concerned about the payment of our garbage bill, but things worked out fine for us. Paid it this morning. It was a sizeable increase, specifically 47.27%. However, this is only approximately $2.00/month, which is very reasonable to our way of thinking. Note that as a resident of El Santuario, we only get garbage service from the city; our water is provided by Acuaducto de Alto Lino, and is paid in April. My 2014 garbage bill was $15.60 My 2015 garbage bill was $23.40 My 2016 garbage bill was $16.50 My 2017 garbage bill was $24.30 (the one paid today) What I don't understand is why the rate goes all over the place. Not complaining, just curious. BTW, there was a lot of keyboard activity on the part of the clerk this morning -- probably close to 3 minutes. And for the first time, I was asked for my cédula, which I provided, and that number is now on my garbage bill. (I've had a cédula for four years now, but it was never requested in prior years.) We were lucky on the timing of our arrival at the Tesoreria this morning, There was only one person in line when we arrived. By the time we left -- total turnaround time was about 5 minutes once she started processing my payment -- there were nine people behind me. Actually there are two lines right now, given large number of people to take care of, but the second computer failed, and so we had to revert to one line. [As a sidebar comment, a friend from the Volcancito area told me yesterday that his garbage bill went up by more than double, to just a bit under $60.00.] The clerk was very professional, and greeted me with a smile, and wished me a good day when I left. Overall, this was a pleasant experience.

Marcelyn and I ate at Restaurante El Viajero this afternoon. It wasn't a planned dining, but just kinda happened that way. Glad that we did it. The food was good, and the service was good. We met the owner, Mattia Bertero. All conversation was in English. Marcelyn had the chicken tacos and I had the special of the day, which was fried chicken with papas fritas. Marcelyn had an Italian red wine, which she said was really spectacular (and was only $3.50 per glass). If you are looking for a new experience, consider trying El Viajero. We likely will put it on our list of good places to go, especially if you want large quantities of good food. Here are pictures of the two plates.

According to our semi-official calendar of significant happenings in Panama, the next school year is scheduled to start on Monday, March 6th, 2017. However, there is a note next to that entry that indicates that the date is not yet confirmed.