Richard Detrich’s Boquete, Panama Weblog

An ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America (a/k/a “Dutch Reformed”) Richard served as senior pastor in churches in Bronx, NY, Milwaukee, WI, Littleton, CO, and Thousand Oaks, CA.  Later he served on the staff of a United Methodist Church in Westlake Village, CA. 

For 15 years Richard owned and managed Just Cruising travel agencies in Westlake Village and Camarillo, California. 

As Director of eCommerce he created from scratch the highly successful online Web presence for 24 Hour Fitness and Apex Fitness.  According to Bryan Andrus, vice president of information technology and business development for 24 Hour Fitness, “We’re in the multiples of tens of millions of dollars that the site has generated since 2000 as a combination of direct and indirect sales.”

Richard was a top producing REALTOR for Troop Real Estate in Ventura, CA.

He has a Master of Divinity, Doctor of Philosophy, and at 55 went back for a MBA from Cal State Northridge. His newest book, Escape Now: Escape to Panama is available on line as an eBook.  Other books include How To Recover From Grief (available from Amazon), Norman Vincent Peale: The Man & His Ministry, God Loves You and I Do Too! and Positive Living In Tough Times.

Richard loves to travel and is a destination lecturer on cruise ships of  Holland America and Celebrity Cruises.  He enjoys gardening, except for pulling weeds,  kayaking, beaching, and walking, or being walked by, a Rottweiler and two Dalmatians. and reading.  Dick & Nikki have two children, a daughter who teaches in Seattle, and another who teaches at Yosemite Institute, Marin Headlands.

Richard says, “Since we were able to do it, it only made sense to ‘cash out’ of Ventura while the market was high and do what most people just dream of - retire early in Paradise!  I continue to help others who are ready to get off the wheel in the hamster cage and escape to Paradise!  Not a day in Boquete goes by that I’m not happy to be in Panama and my only wish is that we would have done this sooner!”

Richard & Nikki currently live in Valle Escondido and are building on their coffee farm in Palmira, above Boquete on the slopes of Volcan Baru.

RichardDetrich@Yahoo.com

 Guest Comments Regarding Shipboard Lectures:

“One of the highlights of our cruise. Richard Detrich gave informative, well organized power point presentations on the Canal (and building thereof), Panamanian history, culture & politics, a focused lecture on coffees and advise on those planning to find new retirement digs. His enthusiasm for Panama was infectious. Bob & Judy”

“There was not enough space on the comment card for us to express our appreciation and satisfaction of the presentations by Dr Detrich and Sarah Terry on the Panama Canal and other areas of interest. The Canal itself is incredible but the commentaries really were significant to understanding the Canal history and experience. The presentations made our voyage come to life and we are so very appreciative! Thank you Holland America for providing their expertise and for the informative presentations. Doug & Nancy Hortin”

“Amen to the Hortin’s letter above. We left a similar note with Holland America. The presentations given . . . indeed made the Volendam canal trip one of our most memorable experiences. I’ll be keeping your blog at the top of my “bookmarks” column for some time to come, and hope to cross paths again someday. I’ll try to share some pix when we return to WA. (See photo at left) Thanks again, best regards, Ron & Sharon Hagedorn”

“Richard: Let me add my compliments to both you and Cpt. Sarah. Your lectures at sea on board the Volendam were very entertaining and very informative. You may want to check my review of the cruise in Cruise Critc. I am using PenderBender as my call name. You might be interested in my description of one of the guests I overheard on deck during our canal transit trying to explain the workings of the locks. Methinks she should have attended your lectures . . . You may remember that I spoke with you one morning on deck overlooking the bay at Cabo San Lucas and we talked about Canadian bacon. I still don’t know what it is (after nearly 61 years of living in Canada). Regards, Garth Liseth”

“There was a very excellent and informative resident ex-pat American lecturer and also a retired female canal pilot who shared her life experiences. Both of them owned hobby coffee plantations in northern Panama and both were very approachable and interesting in conversations with the passengers.” VOLENDAM review by PenderBender on CruiseCritic.com

“We just returned from the recent March 2-12, 2008 VOLENDAM cruise of the Caribbean and the Canal, and wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed your lectures and your thoughts. You are an excellent ‘expert’ speaker, bringing to life the places we visited and ‘teaching’ us in the gentlest manner what is important to know about Panama, its people, the Canal, and of course coffee! We saw you several times pacing Promenade Deck 3 doing your daily laps, but didn’t want to disturb your work out. You’ve led quite an eclectic life and seem to have found lots of answers that we appreciate you sharing with us, your fellow travellers. I think you share the positive outlook on life and relationships that Norman Vincent Peale taught in his writings and lectures. We certainly enjoyed our cruise on the VOLENDAM and are glad that you were an important part of it. And by the way, your blog is just great! Best regards, Frank Deeg”