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The cost of eating

I should have been at the Tuesday Community Meeting but I needed to go to David. I decided to take advantage of the time with a trip to visit a friend at the Regional Hospital and check some food prices. This survey is not too significant other than curiosity as to how some food prices [...]

Another Boquete Moment, Waking Up

Today I went to a book signing in Valle Escondido, it was the second time I met with an author, in the same location. The first was

statue_of_liberty_with_extract_of_poem_by_emma_lazarus_fixed

It took me five years but now I understand…

I was born and spent much of my childhood in Brooklyn New York; now I live in Boquete Panama. New York City was known as the gateway and melting pot of the United States. The primary school I attended, PS 268 was named after Emma Lazarus, the New York born poet who wrote this poem [...]

More background information on the Ngobe protests

This post is from InternationalRivers.org It provides more background on the Ngobe crisis. 5,000 Indigenous Peoples Ignored In Grab for Carbon Credits Fri, 02/11/2011 – 12:51pm By: Katy Yan A community leader speaks to his people and visiting NGO representatives about Barro Blanco project (ASAMCHI) As far back as the 1970s, civil society groups and [...]

TCM: Organic Gardening & Pink Slime

It appears my old concept for gardening is just that, an old concept. I believed the reason to do organic gardening was to eliminate chemicals on my food, not a bad reason, but I could just wash those off. Today at the TCM Justin Seeley educated me and perhaps some others equally ignorant to our ignorance. [...]

Do you hear the drums?

The drum is beating again, the drum of impending and disastrous war. It is a shame Americans do not have any perspective of the world outside of the United States and it’s corporate media. Fred Reed a US expat living in Mexico has a viewpoint to this reality. First the way the US sees itself, those rose [...]

Boquete to David, a game of chance

We are half way through the three year David to Boquete highway expansion project and it is becoming a more interesting drive every week. In fact each day is different, sometimes the old road, sometimes the new, sometimes with traffic control, most times not. Depending upon where you enter the road you might not know [...]

TCM: Briant Dominici on Panama as Paradise

We were very lucky to have Briant Dominici visiting with a group from Panama City. Briant is a Panamanian Biologist and someone who has travelled in Panama extensively. He took his time to share some stories and photos of places few people visit. The message I received from his talk is that Panama is indeed [...]

And the beat goes on, and on, and on…

This year the Boquete Jazz and Blues Festival has developed into adulthood. After years of looking for a venue, looking for talent, looking for an audience and looking for maturity it has happened. I would like to thank Hans, Barbara and all the others who have worked with them for putting Boquete onto the map [...]

Los Gringos Locos, the crazy gringos

Gringos of Boquete Panama, you need to contact your grandchildren and have them check out the fact that you are all regressing to a fantastic second childhood. These photos and short videos are of the New Orleans Parade in Boquete. The local children loved it even if had no clue why the crazies were throwing [...]

Obstructions, roads or rivers, which is worse for Panama

“The indigenous who oppose mining and hydroelectric cloth reopened the bridge over the river Resume, which remained closed since the morning. The indigenous allowed the passage of vehicles that go to Resume, Chepo, Darien, of According to local media. Indigenous leaders have shown their displeasure because, so far, no results have been achieved in the discussions [...]

TODAY !!! Boquete Jazz & Blues Festival

C’mon baby let the good times roll! Boquete goes New Orleans with a Mardi Gras parade in the streets of Boquete on Thursday March 1st! YEAH, we know that carnival will be over by then but we’ll do it just the same! Check out the details below, and don’t forget to bring costumes, umbrellas, [...]

TCM: Dr. Bormann on Volcanic Central America

I was not sure what to expect from Dr. Bormann when he offered to do a pair of presentations for our meetings. Today he established that he is both knowledgeable and does an excellent job of presenting his experience. Those in the almost full room had a clean explanation of the reasons for both earthquake [...]

On the trail to the source of Alto Jaramillo Water

Me, Rupert Murdock, no, out of touch, maybe.

I do not watch FOX News, I stopped reading my favorite newspaper, the Wall Street Journal when Dow Jones sold it to Rupert and finally, despite accusations to the contrary, I do not move, shake, slice, dice or significantly influence events in Boquete. I am just an more expat who moved to Boquete and fell [...]

Moving the Nicaragua?, no not me.

I cannot help but be deluged with information from International Living, Live and Invest Overseas and others about where people should retire. I always urge people to think several times about moving out of their home country. Many people think it’s a piece of cake, after all International Living says so. International Living and others [...]

Back to School on Monday

I realize most expats in Boquete are not watching closely but school starts on Monday. This week families around the country are buying notebooks, uniforms and the other essentials. The government has a published request out to purchase thousands of laptops for students as Panama continues to move forward on some fronts. So watch for [...]

Coming soon another Boquete Festival

It started with Halloween, Boquete Panama’s series of fiestas. From Halloween we went into a month a parades and patriotic events, December had Mothers Day and Christmas. January started with a sky full of fireworks, moved into the Coffee and Flower fair and Pollera Parade. February was Carnival and despite Boquete being a retreat for [...]

Papa Ricco Lives!

Although Papa Ricco did die in an auto accident, he will continue to live in the hearts and stomaches of many. At his memorial service one mourner offered that Ricco will continue to live as long as the last person with memories of him lives. One person who will never forget Ricco is Iris, she, [...]

The meaning of life, contemplative moment, a third life

An email from a long lost fraternity brother stimulated some thought on an old question, what is the meaning of life. Monte Python did a movie with the title years ago, my thoughts might not be as well presented as theirs and certainly not as entertaining. But to me the meaning of life has become a [...]

Coming this Weekend the Debauchery of Carnival

The biggest holiday of the year in Panama is Carnival. Boquete Panama is among those locations that does not have a massive Seco induced hallucinatory party for Carnival. This town is a retreat for people fleeing the Carnival party towns and the Capital. Seco for the uninitiated, is the national drink of Panama, it is [...]

TCM: Tomorrow: Volunteerism

I usually write about Tuesday Community Meetings after the fact, not before. This meeting is special because I am writing a very public notice to you. When I asked people to present on the numerous Boquete Organizations that give to our community I was told know one would attend the meeting. That is why I [...]

NoticiasChiriqui.com a new site to bookmark

Normally I would be posting about last nights fabulous Bid4Boquete wine tasting event, but I am not going to succumb to personal temptation. Instead I posted that to a new site http://NoticiasChiriqui.com NoticiasChiriqui is an idea that fermented for some time after the death of the Bajareque Times, what was a Boquete Community Newspaper. The [...]

This is Bid4Boquete Weekend, your way to support the needs of people in Boquete

The Annual Bid 4 Boquete Fundraiser is this weekend – February 11 and 12. If you haven’t marked your calendars and made plans to attend, please do so now. Yo Boquete 2012, is a Not To Miss event. February 11 kicks the weekend off with an Art Show of multi-media offerings, including designer jewelry, by [...]

Construction in Boquete, tipping the scales in your favor

I have lived in Boquete for more than five years. The house I bought was originally described as a shoebox, a bowling alley and by a contractor who worked on it as a typico campesino casa. The house made my wife cry. It was designed and built by expats on a shoe string budget and it showed. [...]

Some History of the current situation in Panama, perspective without commentary

I want to thank Jim and Nena for the post on BoqueteNing.com that has the link to the United Nations Refuge agency. This is verbatim copied from UNHCR even though they disclaim it in the footnotes . Note the report is from 2004, this is not anything new. Title Chronology for Indigenous Peoples in Panama Publisher Minorities at Risk [...]

Panamania 22 : Retirement in a new culture, a new adventure

Now in the middle of indigenous protests and road blockages which are not being reported outside of Panama is a perfect time to respond to people who are considering retirement in Panama or any other developing country. Here when the pressure boils over and people want to get the attention of their government they take [...]

Nero did not fiddle while Rome burned, I however do beg indulgence for my weekend

As an expat, non citizen my only response to the tragedy that unfolded this weekend near Tole was to try to stay informed and use BoqueteNing.com to inform others. I am sure there are many living in Boquete who have no idea that many indigenous and police were injured in hours of fighting to open [...]

You cannot be out of diesel, I need to get out for cocktails.

I received a telephone call today from a local resident who just returned from Panama City. She was amazed at what she saw at the airports in David and the Capital. She also mentioned that the President of the Republic was seen in David loading vegetables onto a plane bound for Panama City, a photo [...]

Las Brisas de Boquete, The wind is making me loco

I have been here more than five years, five season of the Summer breezes and I think this year is the worst. That is of course anecdotal and I really cannot tell if my memory of being pushed, pulled and blown around is washed away by the beginning of the rainy season. If I can [...]