Last year I wrote a personal note here on CL about meeting a very special person. He was Dr. Herminio Carrizo, a retired doctor who lived in Alto Boquete. Here is the link to that posting: http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/653-a-special-encounter-with-a-panamanian-senior-citizen/#comment-2519.

He was an OB/GYN who was trained in the US. He practiced here in Chiriqui Provinice. We understand that he delivered thousands of babies during his almost 50 years of medical practice.

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Dr. Carrizo last night, April 25th, while sleeping. He was 93 years old, and spry, especially so for that age, even as short as a couple of weeks ago when we last visited him at his home. The family knew he was in failing health, but his passing this quickly was not expected. He is now at peace and home with the Lord.

When we learn of the services, we will post that information here.

With sadness in our hearts,
Marcelyn and Bud

I continue to be amazed at and appreciative of our special Boquete community. When Marcelyn told me she was going to start the topic about Restaurant Survivability (http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/2076-question-of-the-day-restaurant-survivability), I had no idea of the depth and breadth of the responses that would come forth. And it has happened with other topics here on CL as well. You guys (we all) are amazing!

Sure, the Boquete area has some significant problems, such as lack of potable water in certain areas, not very reliable power grid, petty crime and some not so petty crime, potholes big enough to swallow an elephant (okay, I exaggerate a bit), etc., but with the people (no distinction in this context between Panamanian and expatriate), it strikes me that there is little that we can't solve, or at least substantially improve.

It seems to me that the integration of our multicultural community is perhaps our biggest shortfall. This causes me to think of more things to work on.

This kind of genuine sharing of information and thoughts has been both a learning experience for me, as well as humbling. I am so glad that we started this website.

Thank you for being a part of CL.

The both of us had drinks (1 alcohol and 2 sodas) and dinner (a single order that was shared, including appetizer). Given the great service and food we did NOT ask for a jubilado discount (but previously we asked for and had no push-back about the discount)..Total bill, including tip was $31.00.

I did not study the menu, but I estimate an average price for a main course at about $12.00. They are BIG servings.

Marcelyn and I recently celebrated an anniversary by having dinner at Parmigiano Restaurante. For those who don't know, it is on the main road in Boquete, about 50 meters south of the Fish House, and across from the former Texaco station.

We are early risers, so we frequently have dinner at 5:00pm or 6:00pm. Our special anniversary dinner actually was to begin at about 4:30pm. Turns out that the restaurant does not open until 5:00pm, so as we were turning away at the locked street-side gate, we heard a voice. It was Sergio, and he came out to rescue the potentially lost patrons. He told us he was cleaning the floors getting ready for the evening dinner service. He asked if we wouldn't mind waiting a bit, but inside and he would get us drinks while waiting. Sure, we said. We weren't in a hurry.

We ordered drinks, and chatted over our drinks while Sergio finished his tasks. He then took our order. We did a pasta carbonara dish with homemade pasta, along with garlic toast. We both really like garlic. Pretty soon our main entrée arrived. Tasty, nice presentation, a large serving, and good service.

Overall this was a pleasant dining experience. Nice background music at an appropriately low volume, with music to our liking. The inside of Parmigiano Restaurante has been rearranged a bit from our prior visit there a few months ago. The service was excellent, a lot of attention to details, but not intrusive. The only downside is the lack of parking. We parked on the side street near Sugar and Spice, and walked over. 

We will go back.

So happy to read of your latest experience at Casa Vieja.

We plan to check out their hamburgers in the near future.

Geovana is everything said above, and more. After working on a communication and coordination issue for us involving two large corporations, there was still a lingering problem that we were not aware of, but which Geovana knew was simply "going to happen," given the way things work here. Rather than discuss via email or phone, she came to our home and laid out a detailed plan, in writing. We then had a wonderful and lengthy personal conversation.

She is absolutely trustworthy. And thorough. And a good friend. We are soooooo happy for her that she found a great mate. We could see the happiness and joy in her eyes and heart.

Thanks, Geovana. You rock.

Quote

The Spanish minister of industry, energy and tourism resigned Friday morning after documents in the Panama Papers linked him to offshore investments in the Bahamas, and news reports then connected him to a company in the tax haven of Jersey.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/world/europe/panama-papers-spain.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-15/spanish-industry-minister-soria-resigns-over-panama-leaks

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/15/spanish-minister-soria-resigns-alleged-offshore-links-panama-papers

Keith, I have visited a few (granted only a few) agricultural activities. My suggestion is to be careful NOT to assume that anything grown here locally is organic. Candid discussions with management and/or label scrutiny would be advised.

17 hours ago, MJ said:

Very interesting thread.  I've thought about getting into it from time to time...

If you decide to pursue the hobby, I'll do what I can to help. Note that there is a monthly meeting of the ham radio operators on the first Saturday of the month. Lately they have been at Mike's Global Grill.

If I can't get my antennas installed, then perhaps you could get a complete ham shack at bargain basement prices.

Marcelyn does not like bugs. Any kind of bugs. We had just gotten up this morning and she had gone to the kitchen. I heard a shriek. "Come get this thing outta here, now!" I had no idea what it was until I got to the area at the end of the bar between the kitchen and the great room. It was a cockroach. Soon to be a former cockroach. This was the first cockroach in a long time. For JudyS: can we borrow your blow torch?

After completing that rescue, I turned around and saw another critter on the screen of one of our great room sliding glass doors.Quite a large grasshopper. I couldn't resist taking a couple of pictures and measuring the monster. It was slightly longer than five inches from head to end of tail, not including the extended legs or the antennae. Bugs grow quite large here.

Jim and Judi,

Got positive feedback from our friends re utility costs for their pool. Please check your private mail (PM) here on CL for more details and contact information.

Quote

[On Tuesday, April 12th] Panamanian authorities raided the global headquarters of Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the center of a massive documents leak scandal.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/12/americas/panama-papers-raid/index.html

Seems that this story is like an Everready battery -- it just keeps going and going, and keeps growing and growing. I'm still trying to figure out what was illegal. I continue to feel that Panama the country is getting a bad rap here.

When I wrote "Mind-boggling implications" in the post that started this thread, I think I grossly understated those implications. Perhaps I should have added the word 'massively' (borrowing from the lead sentence of the quoted CNN article) before 'mind'.

JohnF13,

Thanks for this information. While I don't like this news, at least here is an underlying reason for the additional expense. Still seems terribly high to me. 

I, too, had our house built with a design that would accommodate a pool. Swimming has been my exercise of choice since I was a youngster. My research told me many years ago (I've been here 15 years) NOT to use electric water heaters for a swimming pool, but rather to use propane. That decision obviously is yours. And FYI, we have opted NOT to go forward with the pool at our residence.

We do know a couple that have a pool at their home. It is an indoor, and rather large pool. Several years ago they converted to solar heating for their pool because of the cost of the utilities. Unfortunately, just last week they sold that home and so viewing of it is no longer a possibility. But I will ask the now former owner of that residence if he would be willing to talk with you about your question. He is not a member of CL, and I do not give out email addresses without permission. Please also understand that they are in the process of vacating that residence, and so the probability of their having some spare time to talk is rather low.

I've been struggling with this topic for several weeks now. Couldn't decide if I was just being a curmudgeon or if this really is an issue. The subject is the cost of shipping goods to and from the US and Canada. I am not talking about household goods that would go in a container, for instance, but rather when (for example) some complicated special purpose electronic component needs to be repaired at a US or Canadian facility because the resources do not exist in Panama.

This topic is NOT about which mail service to use, such as comparing MBE Boquete versus eShop and the other service providers. This is about the costs charged by the couriers.

This happened again to me recently. I ended up shipping some expensive electronics to a company in Canada for service reasons. We use MBE Boquete as our incoming mail and outgoing package service. And I do want to be clear that I am NOT speaking ill of Velkys or Arturo or MBE in general. Arturo packaged up the electronic component and it made its journey to Canada without incident. Fantastic work on the packaging and documentation, etc. But it cost about $350.00 to ship the box via DHL. The surprising thing to me is that the company has completed the repairs, and shipped back the unit. The shipping cost from Canada back to Miami (for forwarding to us here in Boquete) is only $42.00 exactly. I am hanging on by both hands waiting to see how much it will cost to get that shipment back to Boquete from Miami..

My gripe is about the extremely high cost of getting items shipped to and from Panama to other parts of the world. My feeling is that we are getting taken to the cleaners on courier shipments into and out of Panama.

Should I just let this go? Am I being unreasonable? Again, this is NOT about MBE Boquete, but rather the costs charged by the carriers themselves.

This has been an interesting and emotional thread for me. As Marcelyn mentioned above, I have wanted to be a ham radio operator since I was 15 years old. Here I am now in my 70s and finally having gotten my US and Panama licenses. Those were happy days.

However, I still have not transmitted one single minute on the ham radio bands. As hard as the tests were, they are nothing compared to the stress and difficulty in trying to get my ham radio antennas installed here in Boquete. There are some people who are adamant that they do not want me to install any antennas, even though I have all of the permits and licenses, etc. They apparently do not want me to be able to enjoy my hobby for reasons known only to them.

This makes me reflect on what the real meaning of a neighbor is versus should be. Not pleasant thoughts. Almost three years and still having to deal with this mess. Got any suggestions?

3 minutes ago, Brundageba said:

Thanks Doug...we need to make an appointment with Atty Contreras ( today!) and discuss this option......all options actually.   We did recently get an apostilled copy of our marriage certificate from Florida so as to obtain a certification of marital status here in Panama, in that our Corporation papers lists us both as single,  At the time we formalized our corporation we were told by the woman in the govt office that "this was just how it's done here"  ( which we thought at the time was mighty weird...not thinking about Probate or other such thoughts).  Anyway...just to be certain Panama sees us as official man and wife we'll obtain certification of marital status from Panama. 

Two comments. First a disclaimer. Neither Marcelyn nor I are attorneys. We are not legally trained. However, we have checked with several attorneys and suggest that you do some serious due diligence in your selection of counsel.

Comment 1: Marcelyn and I were married in the USA. We have just recently successfully gotten our US marriage registered on the Registro Civil database. Have the certificate to prove it. This is important in legal matters as well as health matters. I will not go into any details here (partly because so many people have differing needs and viewpoints about how things work here). If you would like to discuss further or in detail, perhaps a telephone call or an eyeball meeting.

Comment 2: Our understanding is that the only, repeat ONLY, way to avoid probate is for real property to be in a foundation. Having POAs or other legal documents while real property is in a corporation will not avoid the need for probate. And here I repeat: I will not go into any details here (partly because so many people have differing needs and viewpoints about how things work here). If you would like to discuss further or in detail, perhaps a telephone call or an eyeball meeting.

Bottom line of the purpose of my reply: suggest that everyone do some serious due diligence in the selection of counsel. Also stay current because the rules change from time to time.

A bit of history into how the "Panama Papers" incident started:

Quote

 

‘Hello. This is John Doe’: The mysterious message that launched the Panama Papers

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/hello-this-is-john-doe-the-mysterious-message-that-launched-the-panama-papers/2016/04/06/59305838-fc0c-11e5-886f-a037dba38301_story.html

For the uninitiated, the official name of what we are talking about is "amateur radio service", but we generally use the term "ham radio". Ham radio is one of the oldest communications hobbies in the world.

In the Boquete area there is a monthly "gathering" that is managed by Hazel Bowling. Hazel is a member of CL Her Display Name is "Hazel Bowling", natch. The gatherings typically are the first Saturday of each month. The April gathering was at Mike's Global Grill. About 10 to 15 people show up. The conversation generally is more about life in our area rather than ham radio talk.

I have been led to believe that there are quite a few (dozens?) of ham radio operators in the David area. I do not know how to contact any, however. And I am told that there is a sprinkling of ham radio operators in other areas such as Potrerillos, Volcan, Bugaba, etc.

Amateur radio, worldwide by treaties, requires licenses. The process for getting a license varies by country. For instance, most western countries require an exam, which includes components about electricity and electronics, operating procedures, the laws governing the use of amateur frequencies, electromagnetic radiation, safety procedures, emergency communications, etc. But I've been to the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas if you are Argentinian) a couple of times and there a license is (was?) simply a paperwork application thing.

I got my Panama license based on reciprocity with the USA. I know a couple of people (one Canadian) who have taken the test in David and rather enjoyed it. It definitely helps if you speak Spanish to go through the local test. I am told it is not as onerous as some people believe.

You might want to check out two documents by Ministerio de Gobierno y Justicia:

• http://www.mingob.gob.pa/mingob/extras/enlineaad/801_0.pdf
• http://www.qsl.net/hp1rcp/manual.pdf

Let me know if I can help any more.

73, (that is ham talk for goodbye)
Bud, HP3EWH and K5EWH

Great post, JohnF13. Thanks.

Isn't it rewarding (in a perverse sort of way) to be one of the 1%ers? Makes for an interesting life.

I know a couple of people here in the Boquete area who live off-grid. One is by choice and the other is because there is no grid. I know it takes a lot of attention and nursing to keep things going.

As I was typing this, Keith posted a reply. He stole part of my thunder (but that is okay, Keith). I was going to say that the most promising advances in battery storage of energy that I have read about over the past year+ is based on R&D work done by Elon Musk's companies. I believe it is being done in their California and Nevada facilities. I recall rather significant advances in the storage capacities in their batteries.I also hear that battery life spans going up dramatically, assuming proper maintenance.

I likewise have some (admittedly minor) experience with being semi-off-grid. The electricity supply where we live is, well, let me say, not very dependable. Because of our security systems, communications systems, and computer systems, all of those components are effectively off-grid. I have a large investment in deep cycle batteries, gel technology (but I am also looking now at AGMs when replacements are necessary), inverters, and control mechanisms. The only thing missing is that the power source still is the grid. All of the electricity for those sensitive and critical systems is from the inverters, with switching from grid to batteries done with solid state circuitry rather than transfer switches. It has been a huge learning curve as to how to nurse those systems, but it is really reassuring that the electronics are totally protected from the power grid. Prior to transition, I was spending a huge amount of money either repairing, and more likely replacing computers, phones, DVRs and NVRs, etc. Would I do it again, probably, but in a different configuration than what I originally decided on.

26 minutes ago, Penny said:

I hugged Bud; does that count?

Oh yes, a big definite YES!

Here is an interesting article about the generation of electricity at the Penonomé wind turbine electricity generation farm: http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/home/Panama_Wind_Power_Blows_Strong. According to that article, that wind turbine generation farm produced 21.7% of the national requirement. That number seems unrealistic to me, but what do I know?

And another article by the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/05/world/panama-papers-explainer.html

I am NOT trying to beat this to death, but my gut tells me that we small folk are going to suffer through more paperwork and government intrusion into our lives. I am not even a client of Mossack Fonseca, but fear that this "Panama Papers" episode is going to negatively impact many people.

I am still looking for what the illegal acts might have been. So far all I see is emotional reaction. And what is happening to the hackers that broke into the law firm in the first place?

France takes very quick punitive action:

http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Panama_Back_on_French_List_of_Tax_Havens

I remember Bud Smith. We weren't close because we had different interests, but did cross paths in our small community here. I seem to recall that I arrived in Boquete a bit before he did, but then we ended being here at the same time for quite a while. I lost track of him after several years. An interesting chap, indeed.

The name "Bud" (nickname in my case) for a grown man is moderately uncommon. That led to some confusion when people met me and started talking about things the "other Bud" was involved in. It got kinda cute at times. To distinguish between the two Buds of Boquete, I said he was the intelligent Bud and I was the good looking Bud. He was okay with that.

Sorry to learn of his passing.