Bajareque

This year Drs. Harrison and Andrew have brought their medical laser from their regenerative medicine practice in the USA with them to Boquete. They are working with Dra. Diaz to offer treatments at her clinics in Boquete and David.

Treat your toenails to a new look!

            Medications for nail fungus are expensive; have side effects; and rarely work well. Our laser goes right through the nail and kills the fungus dead.  Brand new nails grow out. Quick, painless, cheaper and safer than a long course of anti-fungal medication.

Get rid of “Age” Spots

            Age spots, “liver spots”, "sun spots" and even large pigmented lesions rapidly fade after laser treatment.

Remove Spider Veins

            Small spider veins and cherry angiomas disappear with one or two laser treatments.

Skin Rashes

            Psoriasis, rosacea, eczema, melasma and acne can be unsightly and even disfiguring. Laser treatments can dramatically diminish these rashes and clear up your skin.

Rejuvenate your face! Reduce facial skin dullness, rough texture, laxity and fine lines.

           Our laser treatment can make your skin smooth, glowing and vibrant again.

Warts and skin tags

            Sure, you could have these removed with surgery, but why go to the trouble when laser treatment is so much easier, faster and painless.

Thanks a bunch!

Or do I have to go all the way to David?

Maybe consider alternatives? Lettuce is not very nutritious. Iceberg lettuce, in particular, is almost nothing but fiber and water. Spinach, kale, chard, arugula, sprouts, etc. all make excellent salads.

You're right. He just changed his days and hours so that he would be open on Monday when most other places are closed. And even though it says 10-6 on the door, it's really 8-8.

It wasn't closed on the last two Wednesdays when I was there. I'll ask David tomorrow.

We queried this forum a couple weeks ago about android TV boxes and whether they were usable in Boquete. We've been looking for years for a solution to the entertainment problem here. Most cable channels aren't content we want to watch and the ones that are show more commercials than program. We'd looked at Slingbox and other potential solutions, but they were all too complicated or limited.

In the last year, however, it seems that android boxes have finally matured. Used to be that only hacker types could get these to work satisfactorily. But we're at about the third generation of such boxes now and most of the rough edges have been polished off.

Background: Android boxes are essentially smartphones without a screen that have been specialized for capturing video from the internet and sending it to your TV. They cost much less than most smartphones ($60-$300). They run the same android OS as the phones, but use apps to find and display content. They are about the size of a large can of tuna (only square) and usually have an input port for ethernet (or no input port and just use WiFi) and a HDMI output port that goes to your TV. Plug in both cables and connect to electricity and you're good to go.

The hard part has been the setup. You have to configure the system and the apps. Sometimes you have to choose, download, and install the apps. In my younger days i might have attempted this, but now I no longer have the patience. Hence my choice of the Rveal android box.

The Rveal android box costs about $300. You can get it with a regular remote or a special keyboard remote. It comes with ALL software preinstalled. They're available all over, but we bought ours on eBay and had it shipped to us at eShop. It took about two weeks.

Setup is simple: 1. Plug the included Bluetooth chip into a USB port on the box. 2. Plug in the box. 3. Turn on the remote (batteries included). 4. Turn on the box and your TV. 5. Set the TV for the appropriate HDMI input source. 6. Wait for a couple minutes as it installs and updates. 7. Watch any TV show or movie you want.

The secret sauce is the Rveal software. On other android boxes you mostly have to spend a lot of time searching out the content you want. Sure lots of TV shows and movies are available on the internet, but you have to FIND them! The Rveal software and human team (real people in the USA) constantly scour the internet for content sources; test them; organize them; and present them to you in a friendly GUI. If you missed the last episode of the third season of Murdoch Mysteries, about 5 clicks will get you there.

Virtually every show or movie ever made is available on the internet now. Many from multiple sources. Even Netflix shows. All free and commercial-free. New shows are added within hours of the time they initially air. Live sports and news are streamed constantly. The Rveal software taps into this for you. No subscription fees.

Caveats:

It's not all wine and roses. You need bandwidth. Rveal recommends at least 10mbps. The first time we tried to use it was right after the big storm. The Rveal was connected by WiFi (not ethernet) and when we ran Speedtest we found we had only 3mbps. It was miserable. Lots of buffering and crashes. The next night we tried again and found our bandwidth had increased to 7mbps. This time we were able to watch a TV show and a  movie without any hitches. YMMV.

We have yet to figure out exactly how to use the search function. With zillions of shows and movies available it'd be nice to go right to the one you want if you can be specific. The menu system works fine, but you have to drill down through multiple layers to get to the bottom.

It's rare to find a good salad in Boquete. Even rarer to find a salad bar or DIY salad.

Thankfully JuiceMi (not to be confused with the California drinks company of the same name) has come to the rescue of saladholics here. We came upon this restaurant (which offers a lot more than juices) because Renny scheduled our Spanish class to meet there. We expected a juice bar, but were pleasantly surprised to find a full service restaurant with a substantial breakfast and lunch menu (hours 10am-6pm). The highlight was the salad menu - pretty much a whole page unto itself. Juicemi offers standard salads, but the top half of the menu is dedicated to build-it-yourself choices with maybe a couple dozen ingredients to choose from. Choose  up to 8 items and you get a regular size salad ($3.50) and up to 12 ingredients gets you a grande ($5.50). If you want protein you can add things like chicken, tuna, etc. for a small added charge.

I ordered the regular size the first two days we were there for takeout lunch after class. The veggies were fresh and crisp. With the little bit of protein I added at home it was quite a satisfactory full meal. As there are enough ingredient choices to keep this from getting boring I think I'll make a habit of it.

Juicemi is located across the street from Banco Nacional; catty-corner from the Delta station; across Avenida Central from Los Establos plaza (mas o menos).

What does the recycling place take? Glass? Plastic? Paper?

I need some minor body work done on a 2010 X-Trail. Can anyone recommend a good local body shop?

And on another topic: Is there any recycling going on in Boquete nowadays or are we left to our own devices?

Does anyone have experience using android TV box in Boquete? I'm considering getting one and would like to hear about any potential problems, risks, or downside.

Get a cat. The foster cat we had for the last three months hunted down and "played to death" dozens of lizards around our house.

Update on Uber:

We called Uber from Tocumen for a ride to Costa del Este: $27.

The car was there immediately and we had no trouble finding him. The driver told us that Uber has 3,000 drivers now in Panama City.

He said you could even call an Uber from the airport and get a ride all the way to Boquete No idea how much that would cost!

We just paid a visit to El Guapo, a local outfit in Volcancito that produces fruit liquers and mermalades. They have a killer coffee liquer (also maracunya and limoncello, maybe others by the time you read this), and many local flavors of mermalade (zarzamora, pina, guanabana, maranon, lemon/carrot/orange, papaya...). their products are carried at Retrogusto, Pomodoro, and several other places around town, but if you want the best prices and selection you'll want to visit their factory up in the hills.

It's not easy to find. We missed them on our first attempt last week. They have a website (http://www.elguapodeboquete.com), but the map on the website is completely inaccurate. Take the Volcancito road up past Santa Lucia (but not as far as La Estancia) until you see the newish, orangish and white chapel on the right side. Turn right onto the road at the chapel (a school is on the opposite corner) and drive to the third gravel drive/road on the left. Turn here and go past two houses on the right. The third building on the right is their new factory (white) followed by their home (also white). A big greenhouse is across the street on the left.

Probably best to call the owner (DEBORA AMATO  6279-3930) before coming to make arrangements.

They also have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/El-Guapo-Licor-Y-Mermeladas-721442204648577/ with lots of pictures.

I think Uber may be good for both drivers and consumers. My wife used Uber because it seems all the taxis at the Albrook taxi stand want $15 to go anywhere. People who are not native to Panama City and don't know the ropes will turn to Uber rather than fight over fares with taxi drivers.

On the other hand the fact that taxis are readily available in PCity implies that there is a surplus and lots of competition. I can see a driver signing up with Uber to keep busy all day long rather than wasting time and fuel cruising around looking for fares.

On the security side there's been lots of publicity about people being hijacked and robbed by taxi drivers. Unlikely to happen with Uber since there's an electronic record of everything and the driver could be easily apprehended.

Uber, the international "ride share" service is gearing up in Panama City. My wife just used it for the first time a couple days ago and got this response:

"We'd love for you to help us spread the word about Uber! Below is your custom Uber invite code. Each friend that signs up with your code will receive $15 off their first Uber ride. For each person you refer that takes a ride, we'll add $15 in Uber credit to your account. It's the ultimate Uber win-win, and there's no limit to how much credit you can earn."

Bottom line: use the code below and you get $15 off your Uber ride.

Is there a place in Boquete to buy Movistar phone cards or add minutes to your account? I've tried online and it didn't work for me.

Thanks,

Ted

>>Of course, although humorous, it makes the pensionado discount worthless. <<

And I believe the ACODECO has already ruled it illegal. A discount has to be a discount from a real price. If everybody gets a discount then nobody is getting a discount. The government has already seen through this game.

Ted 

Have friends coming for a month who would like to bring their dog.

What's the deal with quarantine of pets? Where do they get information? Is it possible for the animal to spend its quarantine time at home?

Thanks,

Ted

Need some minor shoe repair. Whatever happened to the little old man who used to hang out around the mercado? Can anyone recommend a person or place?

Doesn't work.

Every time I fill out the form I get the response:

"Error:

Could not find any last time I was a Price Smart - 2 weeks ago. I used to get it at the big gym on the Panam Hwy, but they've closed down. Any other ideas?

I just bought the last bottle of whey protein at Romero's. Does anyone have a good source for this in Boquete or David?

Not familiar with IPTV, but it seems to be a pretty generic term. What implementation, exactly, are you recommending?

Can you get a Roku box here in Panama? If so, where?