Yesterday we drove to Boquete on a sunny late afternoon, ran into clouds and a bit of rain on the way, and arrived in the Boquete area just as the clouds were clearing. We couldn’t resist stopping at the Mirador to enjoy the beauty and take some photos.
I think the photos speak for themselves without captions. Every day I cannot believe our good fortune to live in this country surrounded by so much beauty.
Sometimes people ask about housing in our area, and a house I know fairly well has become available in our neighborhood. I know it because a couple friends, other expats, lived there before family circumstances called them back to the US.
This is a great upper middle class neighborhood, quiet, very nice neighbors, on the north edge of David, but it’s just a few minutes from a major shopping area.
This house looks bigger on the inside than you would expect from the front. I believe it is three bedrooms and two baths, and the rooms are very spacious (by Panamanian standards). There is a comfortable open kitchen with a half wall so it isn’t isolated from the dining room and living room. The floors are cement, not tile. It’s the typical block construction with a metal roof. Behind the house are woods and then a river, so you can sit on the large back terrace and listen to the water. There are a number of fruit trees in the yard also.
The house is furnished and costs $650/month, with a discount for long term or a pensianado – retired people (furnished homes are more expensive than unfurnished but you could bring your suitcases and move in).
This is just one example of what is available in our area. There are other houses that are cheaper but they may be in less desirable areas, and/or be a lot smaller. It is hard to find furnished rentals in David since we tend to have a more stable population of locals who don’t move around much. There are also other houses that are a lot more expensive, especially if they are furnished, larger, and/or up in Boquete where there are lots of expats and a lot of demand. Even here, people constructed three very attractive houses (furnished) on a lot down the road, and I was told the rent is $1050 each! I see people are living in those houses now, but I’m not sure if they bargained for a more reasonable rent.
If you are seriously looking for a place and think this might work for you, contact the agent and my good friend Eduardo Horna at riochiriqui@gmail.com
Some time ago, I saw a sign for a Walmart. Some people were not happy, but others said it was only a joke. Unfortunately current evidence makes it look quite real. Does Panama really need a Walmart? I don’t know, but it’s not up to me anyway.
I went biking today and saw that they have now built a fence around the site. I asked the guy working there if a Walmart is coming and he said yes, it is. For you local readers, the location – There is an intersection on the PanAmerican highway just past Cochez, just west of the Franklin Jorado parking lot. Take that road northwest towards Aguacatal. The Walmart site is on the left maybe a half mile down the road.
If you are from the US you will see a lot of familiar things here – McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominoes, TGI Fridays, Subway, Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, and Dairy Queen, just to name a few. I’m not sure this is a good thing, especially the food which isn’t good for people’s health. But, it is well liked here. KFC delivery motorcycles can be seen all over town and the parking lot is overflowing in the evenings.
WalMart though? They are known for beating down the prices they pay suppliers, and for giving employees low pay and less than full time work so they can’t get benefits. Are they going to do the same here? Panama has very strict laws that give workers many benefits and protections so it will be harder to mistreat employees, but of course not impossible for a creative and determined employer. Many here are more concerned with price than quality, so maybe the products will be popular. I don’t know, and all I can do is observe and listen.
“Private Property – Walmart”, in English. I know it’s a small thing but they speak Spanish here, so have some respect and make a sign in their language.
Sometimes getting things done in Panama can be … ahem … interesting. Do not ever count on anything being fast or easy. Sometimes it is, but now always.
Fast and easy was my car that needed new license plates. I went to the insurance office, waited while they pulled up my records and printed me the necessary documents, I wrote them a check, and done. Same for the inspection. Walked in, no waiting, done in no time. The next day I went downtown for the plate. Again, no waiting, paid, took the paper to the next window, they found my plate, I signed the book, and done.
Speaking of license plates, you get a new one every year, no stickers like in the US. The insurance is similar to the US except your insurance comes with a towing benefit, very nice. The inspection is quite funny. You park your car in the designated spot, they come out with a camera and take a few photos, and give you your “revisado” document. This year they didn’t even check the lights and blinkers. But, you need your insurance and title to get your revisado, and your revisado to get your plate so just go with it. Plates expire at the end of the month so don’t wait until the last minute, or you might wait in line with all the others who also waited until the last minute.
The not so fast and easy… there is the saga of the microwave (get a cup of coffee and a comfortable chair). Joel bought one from the DoIt Center at the end of April, and it died recently. The Sunday before last I went to talk with my friends in the appliance department. Yes, it has a one year guarantee but you need the receipt (which we can’t find). But since we are on the frequent shopper program the guy at customer service can look it up and print a new one.
We are standing at the customer service desk at the front of the store, watching the people come and go.
We go to customer service and wait, and wait for the guy who said he would be right back. A woman tries to help but can’t find our records. Another guy comes by but says he doesn’t know how to do that, so we continue waiting. Finally another woman comes by and informs us that the guy we need is at lunch. By now it is around 2PM and we decide to come back the next day.
The next day (Monday), the guy we need is at the customer service desk and prints our receipt. On it is a phone number and I am told this is the call center and I need to talk with them. I call, make it through two menus, reach a real person and explain what I want, get an answer I can’t understand, get put on hold, and then cut off. My friend Tomás at customer service bales me out and makes the call for me. I am told I need to take the microwave to Taller Acosta to be fixed. Tomás wasn’t given the phone number for the shop though, and the next 15 minutes are spent with him and others running around DoIt Center trying to find someone who knows where this shop is located. The customer service guy comes to the rescue and draws us a map and explains how to get there – in English! (who knew after all this that he speaks excellent English)
Behind the customer service desk is the gardening department. They had a large selection of hoses!
We set off to find the shop which involved going through the most congested part of downtown, and finally find what we think is the shop to find it closed. It is lunch hour. We call it a day and go home.
The next day (Tuesday) we head out to the shop to find it closed again. I ask at the convenience store and am told that is not the shop. We need to go a few more blocks down the street. We find the shop which says nothing about Acosta except for a URL on the window that is something like serviacosta.com. I explain what I need, Joel fetches the microwave and brings it in. Oh NO, we don’t work with that brand. You need to go to the shop next door. OK, fine, so we go next door and wait. They get done with whatever they were doing in the back, come out and take one look at the microwave – oh no, we don’t repair that brand. You need to take it back to DoIt Center for a replacement.
(I told you that you would need coffee and a comfortable chair for this story. There is still quite a bit more)
We go back to DoIt Center to see the customer service guy. He can’t just take it back without proper documentation and authorization. He calls the call center and nothing is resolved. They need to contact the shop to find out why they wouldn’t repair the microwave. He is told they will investigate and he can call back after 3PM for their answer. He will call me to let me know what he finds out. I never got a call.
The light bulb department, ceiling fans, all all other things for lights and electricity. They always have a small display of plants also to temp you as you walk by.
Wednesday, we bike down to the DoIt Center. The guy at the service desk is off today. I didn’t even ask the others if they knew anything about our case. I’ll just go back tomorrow. Thank goodness we live as close as we do.
Thursday, they guy was in but hadn’t heard anything. He says they are still investigating and he will call if there is any news.
Friday, wrong time. He was at lunch again. We have learned to use other methods of heating foods, and have realized how often we use the microwave without even thinking about it.
It is now Saturday. Should I publish the story so far, or wait for the resolution? Monday I plan to ask him if we can have our money back, or at the very least, would he please call again and try to speed things up?
Get another cup of coffee and go back to your comfortable chair.
I wasn’t out and about on Monday, but on Tuesday I stopped by and our guy was at the service desk. He hadn’t heard anything so he got on the phone. We wandered about, said hi to my friends, wandered back and he was still on the phone. After much conversation and me explaining how to find my house, the word is that someone will be at our house tomorrow to fix the thing. If they don’t show up I am to call the call center again.
Wednesday – they didn’t show up.
Thursday (today) we go back to the DoIt Center. The guy we have been working with no longer works there. We explain our story to various people who try to help, and finally a manager comes to the desk. She says we should have gotten a change order from the shop when they couldn’t fix the microwave. We refuse to make another trip to the shop. She insists there is nothing we can do without the change order. Can she get the guy who didn’t show up to fix the unit in their store because we aren’t taking it home again. She calls the call center, then calls the shop buy by this time they are closed for lunch. I offer to do our errands and return in a while when the shop should be open again. No she says, we need to go to the shop and get the change order. By now Joel is totally over it. We tell them the microwave is now their problem, and we walk away.
We have been without a microwave for about two weeks now and have decided not to replace it. We don’t need it to defrost things if we plan ahead better. We can reheat things on the stove or in the toaster oven. We used to cook veggies in the microwave but find we like them better steamed on the stove. Now we have one less thing taking up space in the kitchen.
I can end with a fast and easy story though… more or less. We went to Dolega to get plates for Joel’s car (you have to go to where the car is registered). We wait for our turn, hand the revisado with a copy and $35.10 to the lady, go back to wait, and are called to pick up a document confirming our registration. Joel was late and they didn’t have any more July plates, so we’ll have to go back later to see if they have some in.
There is no place where you can live without hitting some bumps along the way, and Panama is no exception. I have been told that Novey is much better about returns so if we change our mind about getting a microwave, we’ll go there.
I am thankful that we live close to DoIt (after these multiple trips) and I am very thankful I know enough Spanish to communicate because except for the Customer Service guy, no one spoke any English. Patience is a good thing to have. It’s a great life here in Panama and sometimes you even get an advanced class in patience. Without opportunities to practice your patience how would you ever improve? I’m thankful for all the opportunities over the years because I fail a lot fewer classes than I did years ago.
A while back I wrote a post about renting vs buying. On the subject of deciding where to live, here is another important consideration. Panamanians like to celebrate a lot! But, how close will you be to these celebrations, and how much loud music do you want to tolerate until all hours of the night? There are advantages to not being in the center of town.
I LOVE Panama, and, in general, I love the Panamanian people. BUT sometimes it’s REALLY hard to do. In fact, sometimes it’s IMPOSSIBLE.
Take this past week, for instance. This was the 249th anniversary of the founding of the little town of Boquerón, and they were making a huge deal out of it.
The festivities started off on Wednesday. Around noon the first of the parade started by my house. Several of my neighbors from the old house came by with stools to sit on my porch and watch. It was the best parade they’ve had here in Boquerón in the five plus years I’ve lived here. This time there were a lot of floats and this time a lot of thought, care and originality was evidenced in them.
The first actual band that came by and even stopped in front of my house was from Colegio Daniel Octavio Crespo…
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A great Panama photographer who also loves bugs! Check it out.
What do these have in common? Nothing, except they happened to be in my camera today. Since you all seem to enjoy following me around town, I’ll share my latest collection of photos with you.
Sunday my friend Steffi and I set out on a bike ride. Our objective was to visit the fish sellers above the airport. But first, we decided to bike the loop in front of the airport and then, since we were so close to Pedregal, a ride through town and a visit to the marina seemed like a good idea.
Pedregal may not be the most scenic area, but sometimes there are some really big, expensive boats parked down there. I suppose it is one of the few places with a marina where you can get to town for supplies fairly quickly. I have been warned that Pedregal is dangerous and I should never go there, but I have only found people to be friendly and nice.
By now it was getting close to noon and I thought the fish guys above the airport might be closing for the day, so we decided to go to my favorite Pedregal fish market. I didn’t know what we would find on a Sunday but we were lucky and the coolers were full of many choices.
I bought a 4 1/2 pound pargo (red snapper) for $11.25. He cleaned it and cut fillets, which will be enough for four dinners for the two of us. I also have the head and bones for soup. We had fish for dinner Sunday night and it was excellent. Corvina is sea bass, and sierra is mackerel. The most expensive thing on the sign is camarón, which is shrimp. It’s out of season right now though and they didn’t have any.
With fish on board and being 10 miles from home, we figured we should head straight back.
We biked over 21 miles that day and the return trip was sunny and hot. Both of us had tired legs but Steffi is young, slim, and fit so I felt better knowing I wasn’t the only tired one.
The next few days were taken up with the saga of the microwave, which I will write about when the end of the story plays out.
Today, Joel and I set out on our bikes.
The street above is just outside our neighborhood, and the way we go to town. The cows get loose now and then and don’t seem to get in any mischief, but I was surprised to see how upset they were at Joel on his bike!
On our way home we took a scenic detour through the residential areas below us.
When not running around town, I continue to work on painting. I am slow and I don’t find time for it every day, sometimes not for days at a time but I feel like little by little I am getting better. Painting is not photography, and what works in a photo won’t necessarily work well in a painting. I continue to work on knowing what order to work (best to do the background first), and I continue to work on light and dark. Things always need a lot more contrast than I realize, and the vast majority of time the suggestions from my teacher are about this.
I’m lucky that I get some requests so I can paint but not have my house overflowing with paintings. The one in progress now is an underwater coral scene for my biking friend Steffi, and another friend might like something for her kitchen.
A day would not be complete without a critter! Joel has some plywood stacked out behind the house, and the scorpions seem to think it’s a great place to hang out.
The upper one seemed to be sleeping, but the long slim one below was running all over the place.
We have had a scorpion in the house a few times, but thankfully have never been stung. It is said they feel like a bee sting and aren’t dangerous other than the unpleasant experience.
Another day in Panama. Now I’m on my terrace watching the breeze pick up and the clouds move in. It’s getting to be about that time when the rains could start.
Life goes on, I keep my camera handy, and after a while I have a collection of miscellaneous things that caught my eye.
There is a ball stadium not far from us, and it has been undergoing a big overhaul and upgrade. They were building a sports complex south of town on the road out to La Barqueta but nothing has been going on there for quite a while. I heard that the powers that be decided there wasn’t the money for that right now, and it would be better to upgrade the existing stadium. That’s fine but it’s in a fairly congested part of town just south of the Pan-American highway and I’m not sure where all those people are going to park their cars.
Since we are on the topic of construction, we also stopped by a spot where you can see the progress on the new bus terminal. Nothing is being built yet but they continue to move around tons of dirt to prepare the site. The bus terminal is now downtown in the most crowded part of town, and all those buses increase the traffic and have a hard time getting in and out. Out here at the new site there will be lots of room, easy access to main roads, and also parking for the public. But, it will be harder for people who currently like landing within walking distance of everything they need downtown. Word is also that there will be a huge shopping mall at the new terminal site, built by the same people and on the same scope as Albrook Mall in Panama City.
There is an incredible amount of building everywhere in the area! I don’t know who is going to occupy all the commercial buildings and new homes, and how this rate of growth can continue. But it seems to go on every year and businesses and people move into the new spaces. What is this area going to be like in 10 years, or 20 years?
Anyway, a few other interesting things I’ve seen in quieter parts of town as I ride my bike.
Last but certainly not least, the mountains. I’ve probably seen them a thousand times by now but I love them just as much as I did the first time.
Just another day in Panama
There are pictures of spiders coming. You have been warned 😀
Panama is not the place to be if you don’t like bugs and critters. I have never seen such an interesting variety of bugs as we have here. There are some big ones, and some so tiny you can’t see how beautiful they are until you take a photo and enlarge it. I never knew there were so many kinds of bees, or ants. All of them are pretty mellow though and I don’t get bitten or stung unless I disturb an ant nest when I’m out gardening.
But, I will start with some critters.
The iguana in the last picture decided it was time to go, so it jumped off the roof to the ground, ran across the yard and through the chain link fence, and disappeared into the woods.
The caterpillars were relocated to a large citrus tree in the back yard where there are more leaves than they could ever eat.
Time for spiders!
This one has become a friend of sorts, and has visited my outside table quite a few times.
Just when I think I’ve seen the coolest spider, another even more interesting one comes along! I love having an outside office where I never know what is going to visit me next.
Our friends invited us to go to a swimming hole, along with their dogs and some other friends and their dogs, so I think altogether we ended up with eight people and probably as many dogs. It was a very fun afternoon in a great place!
We were told that this spot is known as the Caldera beach. We drove through the town of Caldera and beyond, until we found the turn off down a very rocky and bumpy road that lead to the spot. Of course you can’t drive anywhere without seeing beautiful scenery all along the way, and of course I couldn’t resist some photos.
The swimming home is such a pleasant place. Rivers tend to be rocky but there were sandy areas near the shore. The water was high and bit muddy because of recent heavy rains, but we were told there is usually more beach, and the water is usually clear enough to see the submerged rocks which make great places to stand while you relax. We still managed to find quite a few though.
The dogs had a great time swimming and playing. The people also spent a most enjoyable time swimming and then relaxing under the tree. But like all good things, the time comes to head back home. Some gorgeous thunderheads were forming and I should have reached for my camera sooner.
On the drive home we could see the rain in the distance, then the wet roads, and I can’t remember if it was raining when we got home or if it started later. It’s been raining off an on for the rest of the afternoon though and it’s gotten quite cool (well cool for us, 74 now as the sun is setting). It’s really pleasant sitting out here on the terrace watching it rain after such a nice day. Thank you John and Susan for inviting us, for driving, and for showing us such a nice place!
The Panama Adventure 