I was gone for almost two months and when I returned to Panama, I saw a lot of things that had changed. David seems to be in a constant state of construction and there is something going on anywhere you look. I’m sure this doesn’t even begin to cover all the projects currently under way and this is only David. There are a lot of things also going on in other parts of the country as well.

My grandson is obsessed with Mighty Machines – construction equipment, and big trucks and machinery of any kind. Since the construction projects usually come with heavy equipment I’ll include some photos for him. He would have so much fun here! There are mighty machines everywhere and you wouldn’t even have to take any detours on your way home to see some.

Close to home, I saw STREET SIGNS! They are at almost every intersection between our neighborhood and the highway. Panama is notorious for not having street signs and confusing anyone not familiar with the area they are in, so this is a very cool thing to see.

There was a house under construction in our neighborhood. Now it is much closer to being finished, and a second one is underway next door. This photo was taken on Sunday and the guys were hard at work. That doesn’t seem to be all that unusual around here, so anyone who thinks Panamanians are lazy needs to really rethink that opinion.

Then, just outside our neighborhood they are putting in another neighborhood. The roads and utilities are being dug in and if you look at the hill beyond, you can see two pathways dug into the side of the hill. I don’t know why you would need roads up there, so I don’t know what that is about. Maybe time will tell. Of course mighty machines are involved in this project.

Next, I headed up Via Boquete to the site for the new bus terminal and shopping mall. Nothing is being built yet but the area has been really smoothed out and prepared, and looks quite different than it did the last time I saw it.

Now there is a large, wide open and flat area. This photo is looking somewhat north from the entrance on Via Boquete.

This is looking west, I heard this is where most of the work is going on at the moment. There is going to be another entrance over there.

Of course many mighty machines are involved.

From there, I headed south to the overpass on Via Boquete.

A few blocks north of the overpass I found a new project underway. I don’t know what it is going to be.

As I went over the overpass, I could see the ball field. There is heavy equipment out there, the bleachers are gone, and they are digging and making piles of dirt. They are building a new sports complex south of town but I don’t think the stadium is even started, so I wonder where they are playing ball these days. This stadium was used a lot.

Farther down by the Parque de las Madres, I see this gas station is now finished and open, and there is a new Pio Pio also (fast food chicken)

From there, I took the street that goes behind Romeros and headed towards downtown. There are some big projects down there as you get close to the Grand National Hotel, and they also showed considerable progress since I’d seen them last.

This is an office complex. It’s twice as high as it was when I saw it last.

6 floors, 4 levels of parking, and lots of other nice things

Of course there were mighty machines

More machines were on the other side of the building. Guys were hard at work here too, and this photo was also taken on Sunday.

Across the street this fairly large commercial center looks finished, and there were a couple businesses already moved in.

Next, I headed downtown. I was hoping the store that sells paint was open because there is much less traffic on Sundays. (It wasn’t, and I had a much more exciting ride on Monday through weekday traffic. But, they had a really good selection of paint colors)

The sign in front shows another very attractive commercial building. Again, there were people working on Sunday.

This was going on across the street, but it looks more like a remodel than new construction.

On the way back uptown, next to Banco National, this building is now finished and occupied.

On the way back I crossed the highway under the overpass. They are in the process of building on and off ramps for the new Via Boquete that goes over the overpass, but the work has been stalled for months for lack of money, according to a security guy I talked to some time ago. Unfortunately this project looks just the same as it did, and nothing has happened since I left. But, there is a cement truck for Camden 🙂

Then as I made my way back up the old Via Boquete, I passed a couple other interesting buildings just a few blocks north of the highway.

There has been a lot of progress on this building. I thought I was told it’s going to be a shop for trucks, but with all that glass I don’t think that’s right. Workmen tend to speak fast and mumble so I often don’t get what they tell me.

This building was finished shortly after we arrived 3 1/2 years ago and has never been occupied. Now it has a for sale sign out front. Some have mentioned money laundering, but I don’t know if that’s true or just the only way to explain this situation. The government offices wanted to move here there but it was too expensive, according to my neighbor who has two kids who are lawyers working in the city. Now offices are scattered all over town which is less convenient for everyone.

This place was a mess! There was a house in the middle with no roof, and a building down the side that looked like motel rooms where they had various offices. The sign says something about tearing down the old place (done), cleaning up the site, and building them a new building.

The metal workers have a new tin man out front.

All this was just on a Sunday morning bike ride downtown and back, a ride of less than ten miles. This is only a small part of what is going on in David. I know of at least three other commercial centers, a university, a big supermarket on the west side of town (where it’s already a traffic nightmare) and a number of housing developments.  There are also things I haven’t seen, things planned but not started yet (like a huge metropolitan park just getting underway) and places completed and occupied that I haven’t mentioned. It is quite the booming place here! What is it going to be like in another ten years?