Thoughts from The Mud

It was a little over a week ago that two low pressure systems stalled on either side of the western end of Panama, looking on radar like two giant boobs. These two low pressure systems dumped a ton of rain on Chiriqui and Bocas del Torro, areas where the soil was already saturated by the heaviest part of the rainy season. The result was havoc, and disaster for some, while others continued celebrating the Panamanian independence holidays. Those two boobs of weather would merge in the Caribbean and become Hurricane Ida, which would eventually dump even more water on Nicaragua and El Salvador leaving, at this writing, some 20,000 homeless, 120 dead, and 500 missing. So we should be thankful that the damage was not worse in Panama.

Two of our dear friends lost their dream home, and I have spent much of the past week ankle deep, and once almost waist deep (and needing to be pulled out) in mud and debris. And throughout the week I have had some random thoughts and impressions . . .

I’m not as young as I used to be!

I had plans to get on the elliptical machine and start walking and lose 5 pounds before I left on the ROYAL PRINCESS . . . 10 days from now. But with 66 lectures and talks to prepare for the DAWN PRINCESS world cruise, which leaves a month after I get back from ROYAL, most of my time has been spent sitting at my desk. Well, I’ve lost the 5 pounds shoveling mud over the last 9 days . . . and I feel the “burn” . . . boy do I feel the “burn” . . . of new muscle. I’m shoveling, lifting and working like I haven’t worked in years . . . and chugging Ibuprophen and living for the evening when I can soak in my hot tub. I’ve done this before . . . but I was a heck of a lot younger! My idea of leadership has always been to lead by doing, and so I figure if I expect the Gnobe Bugle guys I’ve recruited to give 100%, they better see the old man gringo giving 100% even if it’s killing him. Well, it’s not killing me, and I’m not going to let it . . . but it hurts! Most of all what hurts is admitting I’m not 20 any more!

“Feed the baby!”

My wife used to run a program for Ventura Public Health working with teenage moms and dads. Sometimes she would accompany case workers on home visits just to check up on things. One one such occasion the baby was screaming and the case worker wanted to discuss available options for the bewildered teen mom, and give detailed instructions on baby care, totally ignoring the screaming kid. My wife’s evaluation to the case worker was, first, “Feed the baby!” Then deal with the rest of the stuff.

Something similar happens in a disaster . . . or, for what it’s worth in grief. One of the things we used to teach in our seminars for people wanting to help folks going through grief . . . or disaster . . . was that they should never say, “If there is anything I can do . . . anything! . . . just let me know.” Or, “What can I do to help?” . . . which is a little better. Mostly people say these things because they want to feel better and no matter what their sincerity it is self-gratifying and not at all helpful to the person in need, who is likely in shock and has no idea . . . but you’ll feel better yourself for saying something polite, if trite. You got eyes! You can see what needs to be done! Do it!

I loved this week seeing folks stop by, presumably mostly wanting to look, and then saying, “If there is anything I can do to help . . . ” when we are trying to shovel out a mountain of mud! Grab a shovel! How obvious does it need to be? We need help! You think a half dozen folks are going to do this alone?

The folks I admire are the ones who just showed up, prepared to work, and started doing the obvious, or folks who just showed up with food, without asking or being asked, since it was obvious the workers had to eat. One gentleman showed up out of the blue up in his cowboy hat and drawl grabbed a shovel and did the obvious, he started digging. Thank you sir! Some folks none of us knew, showed up with meals! Thank you! A Panamanian guard at the guarded, gated community showed up on his day off just to lend a hand to someone in need. Thank you!

Recovery is a grim task.

This has been a sobering week of recovery archeology. And there have been successes. We’ve been able to find three sets of keys in all the mud, Jackie’s wallet and passport . . . not much else, but they were vital items. We’ve pulled out clothes, what’s left of beds, rooms that have been smashed so that all we can tell is . . . “This is green” so this giant hunk of wall came from the laundry on the other side of the house” or “How the hell did the entire kitchen get moved from one side of the house to the other and crushed like an accordion.” All the while knowing . . . if this had happened at night . . . if Brad hadn’t been in the States and Richard (the house boy) hadn’t been in Panama City . . . we would be recovering bodies, not the remnants of a family’s life.

Who’s responsible?

Well, this was a natural phenomena . . . and “shit happens” and tornados, hurricanes, mudslides, wildfires . . . stuff happens, natural stuff. So, I guess ultimately it is God who is responsible. But maybe, just maybe, we shouldn’t build housing tracts in areas that are prairie and for eons have depended on wild fires to disperse seeds and procreate the landscape. Maybe, just maybe, we should look at a valley created by what appears, without heavy rains, to be a peaceful little stream and wonder, “How did this valley get cut over the eons?” But we like to pin blame . . . and in this case there may be more than enough to go around.

Why did Panama allow development along a hillside which has done this very thing as recently as 25 years ago and is known by all the locals, who we newcomer gringos usually ignore, to do this kind of thing periodically? Why did they issue building permits knowing this problem? Who approved the plan for the development given these factors? Didn’t this kind of thing show up in an environmental impact study? Oh, there was no environment impact study, even though one was required. How interesting! Why not? And the head of the Junta Technica, a gentleman by the name of Sr. de las Casas, refused to give the required approval to the project and tried to shut it down several times, yet was over ruled by political considerations. [Sr. de las Casas told me this personally several years ago.] And how did that happen, and why?

I remember when we first came to Boquete and started looking around for property and one of the then well-known developers, who really wanted me to buy a house from him, showed us around not only his project but all of Boquete. He spent about 3 hours with us, and we went with him to pick up his son and rabbit at his son’s preschool. He was charming and wonderful, although I think always a bit peeved with me because I didn’t buy from him. At any rate at one point on that tour of Boquete he got a phone call, and when he hung up he was absolutely elated and said, “That only cost me $5000 to get that approved, and I thought it was going to cost $15,000.” I started thinking about that statement this week . . . wondering just what he meant . . . and thinking maybe at that point I should have gotten back on the plane and gone home.

Our new President in Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, has promised transparency and that government and law applies equally to all regardless of their money and political pull. We shall see how successful he is, particularly with out-of-town developers who come with great dreams looking for shortcuts and fast profits.

And, I know, everyone likes to beat up on the developer . . . but, as I said, there is more than enough blame to go around. The developer was just one character in this sad play . . . which could have cost lives. Makes you ask some serious questions about a lot of the developments . . . and high rises . . . under construction in Panama. Mr. President Martinelli take note! If you want foreign investment you better be able to guarantee  a government that works and can’t be purchased . . . and, for what it’s worth, so far on the surface at least, that seems exactly what Martinelli is trying to accomplish.

We have a long way to go to “community”.

There’s a lot of talk about the “expat community” in Boquete, but, after the past 9 days I suspect 98% of it is just talk. A community responds. A community reaches out. A community helps. I’ve become painfully aware of all the times during the past six years when I’ve thought good thoughts about others in need, said prayers . . . but never really done anything . . . except maybe say those dreaded and useless words, “If there is anything I can do . . . ” I’ve been surprised at how few folks have reached out, grabbed a shovel and helped, even within the “gated, guarded community” in which the tragedy happened. Yes, I know people were shoveling mud out of their own homes, and weary . . . but cleaning up mud from your living room and losing everything are a little different! I’ve been amazed at people who wanted to divert Jackie’s attention from salvaging what little was left of his home and his life, to worrying about “his” mud ruining their grass! “His” mud?!? Just because it landed on his house destroying everything, suddenly it is “his” mud? Give me a break! But people are people . . . and if I’ve learned anything in 30 years of the ministry, people are mainly concerned about themselves. You can talk about “saving the world” but navel gazing is a lot more fun, and certainly a less strenuous commitment.

What I find appalling is the comments by some other expats, who for whatever reason didn’t choose to live in this particular development that happens to be experiencing a problem right now . . . trust me, others will follow . . . comments to the effect that, “It serves those folks right!” and they seem to take some kind of personal satisfaction in another’s loss.

Boy, do we have a long way to go in building a “community”!

You learn who your friends are.

I sometimes think that over the years we’ve known them, Brad & Jackie have entertained half of Boquete. Various clubs have enjoyed their weekly hospitality, consumed their booze and wolfed down their food . . . yet have any . . . or better “many” . . . of these folks shown up to help in time of need? Brad was an impeccable host . . . but when the china is all smashed, the booze bottles are broken, the cards are at the bottom of the pile of mud and the fancy gaming table is smithereens . . . where is everyone? [See "Community" comments above]

Pondering the future of Boquete

Sure . . . I do. This is our home. This is where we’ve chosen to live. This is where we are vested and invested. And Boquete will survive, and thrive. There have been bumps in the past and there will be bumps in the future. I remember driving through Vail a number of years ago . . . more than I’d like to remember . . . and saying, “Who in their right mind is ever going to pay $90,000 for a home beside a river in Vail?” Today . . . try $9 million! So Boquete will survive and weather this and future storms. But it is a double whammy . . . a once in 20-year flood last November, and again this November another “once in 21-year” flood . . . that, coupled with a world-wide financial downturn . . . all this has taken its toll. Several well-known, flagship projects . . . mostly at this point fancy architects drawings or partially constructed dreams . . . are rumoured to being taken over by banks, or failing all together. This is certainly a time for caution if you are thinking of coming to Boquete, but . . . it has always been a time for caution! This is not the time to come to Boquete and to be so overwhelmed by the beauty of it all, that you leave your common sense at the baggage claim at Tocumen Airport.

Overwhelmed by the beauty of it all . . .

Yes, we got reamed . . . but driving from Palmira to Boquete in the morning, with the sun shining you are overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. It really is “paradise”. Unfortunately there is no “paradise” in this world that is immune from nature’s occasional rampage or human failure or tragedy. Is it worth it? You’re damned right it’s worth it! I was talking with a local expat who moved here from Carlsbad, California, and in the midst of all this chaos I asked if he missed the traffic and hassle of Southern California, and he looked at me as if I were nuts! Who wouldn’t choose this?  And one of the things that makes living here wonderful are real friends like Brad & Jackie who would do the same thing for us if we were in need.

And would I buy in this particular development again? Yes! It is reality . . . reality, like all reality, of course has a few problems . . . but it is reality, it’s not a pipedream, it’s not “going” anywhere. It is beautiful! We had wonderful friends there and we could walk to their houses for dinner and drinks, and walk home . . . now we have to wend up the mountain on dark and sometimes foggy roads. Yes, I’d buy there again . . . but I would pay very close attention to the construction . . . although in the case of this particular home the construction was the best money could buy and unfortunately no one could build to prevent a mountain from falling down . . . and I’d pay very close attention to the location of the home and avoid being directly up against the canyon walls. I’d talk, talk, talk and talk some more to locals as well as expats. Is this home built on a pad that was carved out from the side of the mountain, or has this ridge or whatever been there as long as anyone can remember? I’d do my due-dilligence and check with engineers, local building officials, and architects – but you should do that anywhere, right?

Anyhow, that’s how it all looks from the mud.

PS – And since we uncovered a few bottles of wine today, I’ve consumed most of a bottle tonight . . . so if I’m being too frank or too honest . . . blame it on the Chardonnay.

Tough times never last, but tough people do!

It was the title of one of Dr. Robert Schuller’s (the original one) books, and it’s true!

It’s been a rough week in Boquete and in other sections of Panama as well, including the Gnobe Bugle comarca. If you drove into Valle Escondido this morning, or even yesterday, with the sun shining . . . it did indeed look like paradise. But even in paradise there are storms and disasters. It could be snow and ice, or tornados, hurricanes or tsunamis . . . we don’t happen to have those things in Boquete. What we do have at this time of year is rain, often lots of it. The winds blow from the North at this time and bring storm after storm off the Pacific and across Panama, so we get alot of rain in November. And tropical rain is often torrential and the predictable result is flooding and mudslides. All-in-all people have held up well.

My very good friends Brad and Jackie suffered the most and lost 90% of their million dollar home in Valle Escondido when the mountain wall collapsed on top of their house and sent a wall of dirt and mud through the part that remained standing. Their house keeper, Richard, was in Panama City, and Brad was in the States, and Jackie was home alone. He came outside to check out a wierd noise, looked up at the mountain, saw it start to move and ran . . . when he turned around the mountain was on top of his house. With the rest of the family gone, Jackie is left alone to cope with not only the loss but also the cleanup. I snapped this picture of the damage, not really paying attention to Jackie being in the picture, but when I look at it, the look on his face conveys it all.

But this is one tough China man! He’s generally pretty quiet, until you get to know him, and, at 37 is a lot older than he looks. He’s an ex-Taiwanese marine and a tough cookie, despite his slight looks. In his high school English class in Taiwan the teacher was arbitrarily giving students English names, and I think Jackie got stuck with something like Stewart (no offense to all the Stewarts out there!). He complained and the teacher let him pick his own name, so he choose Jackie Chan after the kung-fu movie star. His Chinese name is beautiful when he says it, but most Anglos can’t reproduce the tonal sounds of his name and it comes out sounding like chop suey, so, except officially, he’s Jackie Chan.

He’s faced this tragedy alone and day by day he has become more optimistic and positive in spite of the mud! He finds the humor in having spent weeks taking all the bad grass out of his back lawn and just when it was perfect . . . down came the mountain. He cleaned the gutters to be ready for the rains . . . then this. He’s gracious when neighbors ignore that his house is in ruins and complain about the mud run off ruining their grass. He worries about their problems, when he has humongous problems of his own. When I’m lamenting his loss, he is pointing out ways in which his glass is half full. Amazing guy, really, and I’m glad to have him as a friend.

It is amazing what a few people, very few, have been able to do it removing mud, pulling out a few trinkets that can be saved, and initiating the clean up. A lot has been done in a few days, but there is so much more to be done.

What has always amazed me, both professionally and personally, is how quickly and instantaneously life can change. But in the midst of tragedy . . . the tough times never last, but tough people do! What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.

Jackie is one tough guy.

Starry Morning

Good morning! It’s 5AM in Panama . . . when I usually am up and writing my blog . . . sitting in my flannel shirt and drinking Diet Coke. The Boquete coffee comes later . . . when I can savor my coffee. The Diet Coke is just to pour caffeine into my system.

Life starts early in Chiriqui. Work starts at 7AM, so at 6:45am I need to feed the dogs and then drive down the hill to Boquete to pick up Carlos, who is doing the tile in the casita rennovation, Oscar, my electrician and plumbing engineer, and Jonathan, who is filling in working on our little coffee finca. The “team” is rounded out by Sabino who lives on our farm and has been working on and off as needed, helping me on projects for a year.

I guess the day starts early in Chiriqui because we are primarily an agricultural province. And in the rainy season it will often start to rain in the early afternoon, so you need to get as much as possible accomplished before the rain begins.

At 5AM it is pitch dark in Panama. I rolled over in bed this morning and looked out the windows that surround our bedroom and it was a clear morning with no moon and the stars were absolutely awesome! It was like being in a planetarium! Absolutely stunning! And all I could think of was Vincent Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” painting.

There are actually two Starry Night paintings . . . The best known is . . .

But there is also this “Starry Night Over The Rhone” as well . . .

I enjoy watching the stars on clear Panama mornings . . . and I enjoy it not just for myself, but on behalf of my friend Brandon Hein  as well. Brandon has been in prison in California for, as of 5AM this morning, 5214 days, 5 hours, 33 minutes, and 47 seconds or over 14 years for a crime nobody says he committed. Brandon, like a whole lot of 18-year-olds was guilty of drinking underage, smoking some pot, and getting into a fight . . . that’s it! One of the boys he went to buy pot with had started the brawl and in the process the other boy stabbed another kid in the fight. The other kid who was acting as the drug dealer’s “body guard” was the son of an LAPD officer and ended up dying of his stab wound. The LA District attorney had just lost the OJ case, had been embarrassingly unsuccessful in charging Michael Jackson with sexually abusing boys, and had been forced to retry the case of the Menendez brothers, went after all of the boys who had come to buy drugs with a vengeance, charging all of the boys with felony murder. Initially the DA had actually tried to find a way to send all of these boys to the death chamber for essentially just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. In a highly politicized and publicized trail all the boys, not just the kid who wielded the knife, were sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Incredible as it may seem, this happened in the USofA, in California, and in one of the greatest injustices of our time, these guys still rot in prison.

In preparation for my ROYAL PRINCESS stint this fall, where we will be visiting Devil’s Island every 14 days, I’ve been reading some of the books written by survivors of the French penal colony at Devil’s Island, popularized by the Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman film “Papillon”. I am amazed at how much of the same mentality still dominates the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation . . .[Is that name a joke! There is no attempt at rehabilitation! It is warehousing pure and simple, and many of these folks in prison will eventually be moving back into your community!]

Anyway, knowing that this is Brandon’s view from prison . . .

I enjoy my “Starry Morning” in Panama on his behalf as well.

I know some of the stuff Brandon has dreamed about in prison for over 14 years and I pray that this gross injustice ends eventually and that Brandon can live some of his dreams.  Martin Luther King said, “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice” . . . but in Brandon’s case it is taking an incredibly long time to bend!

When he first went to prison I was still in the travel business and I used to send Brandon tons of cruise line brochure pictures which he stuck on the walls of his cell.  I can tell he still thinks about cruising since he calls this one “Cruise” . . .

Brandon’s artwork, often signed just “Heinsight”, is accomplished often with very limited materials, and sometimes with nothing.  At times he has fashioned his own hair on pencil stubs to make brushes, and made ink and paint from taking the greasy remains of lunch and mixing the food oil with scrapings from checkers.  You can see more of Brandon’s incredible artwork at www.BrandonHein.com – just go to the bottom of the home page and click on the icon marked “The Box”.

Another Day in Panama

Kudos to Materials Karen and Black & Decker!

I wrote earlier a piece about “China Crap” . . . which when translated into Spanish by Babelfish doesn’t crap around but calls it what it is! Anyway, my DeWalt drill apparently was stolen while I was on the ZUIDERDAM for 5 months, so I set out to replace it. Horrified at having to pay $50 extra for a DeWalt drill, and figuring I only use it very occassionally, I decided to settle for the much cheaper Black & Decker, and bought it at Materials Karen, a construction supply store in Boquete. Well the Black & Decker drill only lasted three weeks and about a half dozen uses, and busted! Of course it was Made in China. And by then Materials Karen had closed! So I figured I’m out $60, and bitched about the cheap crap made in China. And it wasn’t just the drill since I have a lot of experience with cheap crap made in China.

My wife Nikki was visiting our daughter in Seattle, so after first contacting DeWalt to find out where the particular drill I wanted was made (Mexico), I dispatched Nikki to Home Depot to buy a DeWalt drill without the extra gratuitous $50 Panamanian surcharge. Whilst she was winging her way back to Panama I decided to surprise her by organizing our closets and installing shelves, and there, neatly hidden in an unused comforter was the supposedly “stolen” DeWalt drill! I found out Materials Karen has a store in David. They took my broken drill, returned it to Black & Decker who repaired it (Amazing customer service for Panama!). So now I have threedrills, 2 DeWalt drills and a Black & Decker. I’m thinking of opening a hardware store!

TONIGHT!! Sammy & Sandra!!

Who are Sammy & Sandra? Be damned if I know, but all over Panama, and I do mean all over, you will see hand letter banners that “Sammy & Sandra” are appearing for one night at some local cantina. I mean these two must be booked ever night of the year!

Well an expat gringo friend from England who lives in Boquete’s only “castle” overlooking the valley, is celebrating 10 years in Boquete and throwing a week-long series of parties. Tonight he’s throwing a dance at the fair grounds featuring . . . Sammy & Sandra!! . . . and we’re going. Tomorrow I’ll give you my review. Simon Cowell I am not! I got to host ZUIDERDAM’S “Super Star” contest a couple of times, and even got to be a judge . . . but never had the Simon Cowell part.

Speaking of which . . . did you see Danyl Johnson’s first audition for the “X Factor”? Believe me, this is worth watching. This grade school teacher even wowed Simon!

Another restaurant that will probably bite the dust . . .

I love pasta and I had high hopes when Pomodoroopened last year in the Rio Valle Hotel just outside Valle Escondido.  They have a great menu and a nice location with a large open patio next to the river.  Delightful location and layout.  There’s a wine bar and an inside dining room as well, all very nicely done.    The first couple of times the service was pretty good and the food was great.  Then, like almost every restaurant in Boquete, things started to slip.  The service slipped noticeable, but that is usually the case when you have an automatically added 10% gratuity, as Pomodoro does: why knock yourself out if you’re getting tipped anyway.   Well eventually it became my restaurant of last resort.

When our friends from Ventura were here we were going to eat at Pappa Ricos.  Well the power was out, not just in Palmira but everywhere, so Pappa Rico’s was closed.  Knowing Rio Valle had a generator we went to Pomodoro.  It was open but the service was terrible.  Now with all the power out, suddenly they had a whole lot more business than anticipated, so I give them a break on their service.  My pasta, which I requested “al dente” . . . and I’m sure in this pasta restaurant that nobody had a clue . . . came all glommed together. 

Well this past Sunday we were taking a friend to PappaRico’s, forgetting that he closes at 5PM on Sundays.  Don’t ask . . . I did, and he explained that he had to go to church at 6AM.  So????  What’s that got to do with anything?  So I went to my restaurant of last resort . . . Pomodoro.    Nikki ordered a pasta and spinach dish, which of course they didn’t have.  It’s one thing to have a neat and extensive menu, another thing when whatever you order . . . five minutes later the water comes back and says they don’t have Nikki’s selection.  I had ordered pumpkin ravioli withAlfredo sauce.  Really a neat dish, and typical of their diverse pasta menu.  When it came the ravioli was the color of pink, undercooked chicken, causing my wife to ask, “What is that?”  I checked, it was definitely pumpkin ravioli, a little undercooked, but good.  Well the first part was a “little undercooked” . . . then I got to the bottom where it was just raw dough sticking together like chewing gum.  I was already full, so I just stopped eating. 

The service to this point was unfriendly, verging on curt . . . previously they had served a nice olive oil and balsamic vinegar flavored with chopped up fresh herbs in which to dip your bread.  No longer.  I decided I wouldn’t try with the waiter, but I got up to go to the rest room and saw the English-speaking gal who was the hostess or manager or whatever, and seemed to be in charge.  So I commented to her that the ravioli wasn’t cooked properly.  I’ve found out on cruise ships that the maitre’d would always rather hear about something from you than read about it at the end of the cruise on your comment card.  When I owned a business if something wasn’t right, believe me, I wanted to hear about it.  She nicely apologized and asked, “Can I do something for you?  Do you want something else?  Is there anything I can do?”  I told her no, nothing was necessary, but I like pasta and want them to succeed and thought she should know.  So she said, “Well, can I at least send you desert for the table?”  Not that any of us needed, or wanted desert, but I said, sure, that would be nice.

So we ordered a super sugary lemon pie with a hint of taste of lemon, but dominated by sugar.  It was decorated with stripes of undefinable red sugary stuff and chocolate syrup . . .talk about confusing flavors!  I guess it was Panamanian haute cuisine.  These guys take a couple month course to become a ” chef” and get all decked out in chef outfits fancier than the Executive Chef of Holland America and . . . look out! 

Anyhow we had our pie and when the bill arrived I noticed we were charged for what looked at first like three lemon pies, then I saw two were pies and one was the automatic tip.  I wasn’t going to say anything, figuring, “Well, that’s a neat way to sell deserts!” but my wife insisted that it was probably just a lack of communication between the manager and the waiter so I asked the waiter and he replied, “Only one was complimentary.”  Still a very good way to hussle deserts . . .  even if people never come back.

Oh well, I’ll wait until I get on ROYAL PRINCESS for pumpkin ravioli and start looking for another restaurant of last resort.  I predict Pomodoro will soon go the way of all Boquete restaurants . . . they start out with promise and fade fast.  And, oh yes, Pomodoro following the traditional Boquete way of restaurants, has significantly raised prices.

Then there is this piece, “Discontent Fuels Panama’s Emerging Real Estate Markets” . . .

This is from a Web site called Expat Focus:

“The Panama real estate market has suffered along with the rest of the world. But recent months have shown a real up-tick in requests for information stemming from growing numbers of Americans who, discontent and frightened about their financial security, are looking for a way to somehow stop the bleeding…

The May election of Ricardo Martinelli as Panama’s president has buoyed confidence in the stability and security of the republic and, as the U.S.A. and many Latin American countries move closer and closer to socialism, Panama has ‘just said no’. By an overwhelming majority, this little nation–”The Hub of the Americas”–elected a successful businessman to take the helm. While America turns to bailouts, handouts and a government finger in every pie, Panama has chosen bootstraps logic over the nanny state.

“Our company have seen a definite increase in prospective buyers who cite, sometimes desperately, their fear of what is happening in their home countries as the main motivator for exploring options in Panama,” says Douglass Rollings, marketing consultant for Lost Coast Panama and Buying Real Estate In Panama. “Panama has always had a wonderful reputation in Latin America for low crime, excellent infrastructure, private and secure banking as well as a relatively thriving economy considering the state of the world today. It is natural that a country that has had a hundred years’ interdependent relationship with the U.S. should attract the attention of citizens who are considering the expatriate lifestyle.”

Under pressure from the OECD to dissolve its cherished banking secrecy and relinquished its status as an offshore tax haven, it appears that Panama will bend, but not break. Sam Taliafero, pioneer developer in the Chiriqui Highlands, states on his blogthat he is pleased that Panama “will hold firm on its position and only do what is beneficial for Panama” adding that “the OECD will not be happy with this outcome.” This in reaction to an August 5th proposal presented by the High Level Commission for the Defense of Financial Services International and the Cabinet Council to fight back against “blacklisting” within the World Trade Organization (WTO) and raising the discussion to a higher multi-lateral plane with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Obviously, to the average home buyer, this high-level global wrangling isn’t very meaningful. But in order for there to be developments built for the would-be expatriate, investors interested in development will want the security of the protection of assets and privacy that Panama has historically provided. The world of Panama realestate is divided into the city and the interior. There has been a great deal of press regarding the ‘condo-bubble’ and the oversupply of housing units in Panama City. What has not been addressed is the lesser known, but still healthy real estate market in the interior provinces, particularly in Chiriqui, Bocas del Toro and the Azuero Peninsula.

Panama is a country about the size of SouthCarolina with a population of around three million people. Half of the residents of Panama live in the city and the other half is spread throughout the rest of the country. Foreign home owners have long sought the cool highlands and the Caribbean islands and have established a presence in the towns of Boquete and Bocas del Toro. Newer to foreign interest is the Azuero Peninsula where land speculation fueled by celebrity attention and a very high end resort development has pushed prices up quite rapidly in the last few years. The Pacific coast of Chiriqui is the next area to come on line as it offers the same appeal as the Azuero, but far better accessibility and the advantage of David’s proximity–third largest city in Panama and home to an international airport slated for expansion under Martinelli’s administration.

Boca  Chica in particular, with its dramatic coastline, lush tropical hills and the appeal of record shattering sports fishing just offshore has already attracted a number of posh, five star resorts.

“We see Chiriqui as a logicalchoice for people who want to experience a different kind of Panama. David is a decidedly middle class city with all the amenities one needs to make life comfortable. Unlike the Azuero, you are never very far in Chiriqui province from first-class grocery stores, excellent and affordable medical care, dining, banking, and other services. You’re able to enjoy the mountains or the beaches with an easy drive of where ever you choose to make your home in the province,” says Rollings. “The successful communities here blend the security, privacy and comfort of what expatriates know in their home countries with the stunning natural beauty of Panama’s landscape. With the quality of life and cost-of-living factored in it’s a winning combination.”

Road To The Beach

Our friends and former neighbors in Ventura, CA are visiting with us this week, so we took them to the beach in Boca Chica.  Shaun took this picture of the “road to the beach” . . . that’s us in our pickup with they kayaks and dog up ahead.

“When it rains, it pours” . . . as it did last night, washing all the fertilizer I had just applied, and the seeds I had just planted, down the hill and into the river.  In addition to the Valentines, our friend Jubal is also in town this week, visiting from Madrid, Spain.  Jubal’s Panamanian, living and going to school in Madrid. 

Jubal is the reason why we have our coffee finca.  A couple of years ago he was visiting a mutual friend in Boquete and was helping me to find property.  We were going all over Boquete and to beach areas looking for property.  Jubal happened to be riding on the bus between Boquete and David and overhead a guy saying that he needed to sell his land in Palmira.  Jubal worked into the conversation, got the guy’s cell number, we looked, and here we are!

One of the best ways to find property in Panama is to find a Panamanian who will help you.  There still are Panamanian prices and gringo prices.  When I was out looking with Jubal, one old guy living in what most gringos would call a “shack” of a house, who happened to own about 15% of Boquete, pointed to me and said to Jubal, “If you want to get the best price, the next time leave the gringo at home.”

It was a beautiful day!

Yesterday we took our friends, the Valentines, to Boca Chica, and spent the day at Playa Grande.  When we left Boquete, and even driving out the – NOW PAVED (!!!) all the way – road to Boca Chica, the weather was questionable.  We stopped at our property, between two resorts – Gone Fishing Panama and Sea Gull Cove Resort – picked up our sit-on-top kayaks, and took the adventurous drive to Playa Grande. 

Nobody was there and the weather was beautiful!  Not even any afternoon rain!  We drove home and without rain the ride home was beautiful as well.  The Valentine boys picked up tons of shells and sand dollars.  Our Dalmatian, Spot, went along and played endlessly riding the waves, and slept all the way home.  It was a good day!!  Paradise the way it is supposed to be!

* * * *

Cinta Costera a major improvement for downtown Panama City . . .

It’s taken 3,000 workers working round the clock for 20 months and $189 million to build Cinta Costera . According to project manager, engineer Héctor Castillo, of the Panamanian Ministry of Public Works,

The land reclaimed from the sea is about 35 hectares, and has accommodated a six-lane track, parks, six multi-purpose courts, and a playground, as well as 1,200 parking spaces, space for small businesses, modern lighting and the yacht club that was moved to a new point of 3 hectares where the dealers will raise their buildings only if they comply with the architectural specifications that the government has established to be harmonious with the environment . . .”

Cinta Costera not only provides a beautiful promenade and park, but it unscrambles a major traffic mess on Avenida Balboa which has more than 70,000 vehicles daily at a rate of 49 cars per minute.

The historic statue of Balboa was scheduled to be moved, but workers discovered it was too fragile to be moved, so the road was built around the famous statue. In the process it was discovered that the head is of a different metal than the rest of the statue, and someone, over the years, presumably with some kind of real or imagined grudge, put a bullet in Balboa’s balls.

You can read all about it at The Panama Post.

Off to the beach

We’re enjoying having our former neighbors from Ventura, CA, Shaun and Julie Valentine and kids, visiting with us. 

Snorkeling in the hot tub really doesn’t cut it, so today we are off to the beach!  We’re headed down to Boca Chica to show Shaun and Julie the property we have there, and hopefully on out to Playa Grande, if the gate is open.  This is a great beach that usually has cattle, washed up sand dollars, and lots of shells.  There have been a couple of development efforts there, but so far all have either stalled or collapsed. 

Will let you know tomorrow how the day goes!

* * * *

My youngest daughter, Rebecca, is on vacation spending some time with her sister, Noelle, in Seattle.  They sent this picture of them clowning around with my grandson Rian.

Plant Hunting

Back in the States if you wanted to get plants you simply headed to Home Depot or the local nursery.  In Ventura we had Green Thumb, which was the place to go if you were really serious about gardening.  Green Thumb had everything . . . all in one place.  A little more expensive than Home Depot . . . sometimes a lot more expensive . . . but it was often worth it.

Fast forward to plant hunting in Panama . . . and, as Micky and Squit say in their soon to be reprised play, “Post Cards From Paradise” . . . ”It’s a whole new world in Panama!”

Forget all about “one stop shopping” . . . for anything! . . . in Panama.  Shopping is an adventure to spend time on and to savour. 

So yesterday we decided to go shopping for plants.  Want to come along?

One of the hot spots for plant shopping is the other side of the mountain, above a town called Volcan.  You pass through tiny towns with names like Little Suisse, Bambito, and Cerro Punta and eventually come to a little crossroads called Guadalupe.  There are lots of tiny viveros or nurseries, usually the front or back yard of someones tiny house.  The best known, and most expensive, is Mary’s, a kind of tourist attraction in Guadalupe.   It’s a jungle, but Mary has almost everything and knows where everything is located.

In addition to her plants Mary has a little restaurant.  This is her kitchen . . . as well as a couple of pet monkeys.

So we had a fun day visiting about a half dozen little nurseries and came back with a truckload of plants.  To give you an idea:  roses (small starter plants) $2-3 each, herbs $1-1.50 each, blooming plants in black plastic bags $1-1.50 each, fig tree $1.50 and a 5 gallon pot of rhubarb $8.   Now all of this is about twice what it was 4 years ago, but the total was  $75.    A lot, but we bought a lot of plants, and had we been back in Ventura . . . we’d have ended up spending that much for 3 or 4 plants at Green Thumb.  And Green Thumb didn’t have monkeys!

A new restaurant in Boquete . . . try it fast!

One of the things that amazes me about Boquete is how quickly new restaurants come . . . and go!  A new restaurant opens . . . some “hole in the wall”-types and some really nicely done places . . . and in three or four months, it’s gone!  Since I’m away on ships for a few months at a time, when I come home I find that half the restaurants that were here when I left are history.

The other night we ate in a new Chinese restaurant that opened while I was gone.  The decor was simple, but nice.  It had seating for 54 . . . and was empty.  A kid in a nice black apron, embroidered with the restaurant’s name and logo, gave us a nice menu in Spanish (and English).  Prices were high for Boquete, but not excessive.  [There are three price categories in Boquete: local, "Panama City" for Panamanian tourists from "Panama City", and "gringo".]  Nikki had a nice, big bowl of won ton soup.  Very good.  I had chicken with black mushrooms and black bean sauce.  Chicken and mushrooms were good: black bean sauce was absent.  Green tea and rice . . . nice.  The other guy who was our waiter served us nicely . . . then disappeared.  One lady came in for take out, but other than that we were the only people in the restaurant.  After we finished we sat a while waiting for someone . . . anyone! . . . to take our plates and bring the check.  The waiter finally showed up . . . and of course we are the only people in the restaurant.   Dinner, including tip for so-so service, $20.  OK, but this isn’tthe US or Panama City.  We did not use our Pensionado discount.   This is always a big problem: to use or not to use.  In theory since we are Pensionado’s we are entitled by law to a 25% discount on the food.  This is one of the things that makes running a restaurant a crap shoot, particularly if you are looking for retiree gringo business.   We tend to make the decision to use or not to use based in part on the price (Have they priced in the Pensionado discount?) and the “localness” of the place (Are these folks truly locals trying to make a go of it?).    There are some creative ways to market around this issue, but nobody seems creative enough to do so.  (Simply create a “Good Customer Discount Card” which of course cannot be combined with any other discount.)

So anyway . . . want to make a bet how long this restaurant lasts?  It is Chinese.  And the Chinese community in Panama is very supportive of these kinds of enterprises and has deep pockets . . . so it may survive.

But there are tons of businesses that open . . . and close in a matter of months . . . in Boquete that apparently have never heard the words “business plan.”  All these entrepreneurs lose a boat load of money, and the only folks who seem to be making it are in the sign or advertising business.  Who looks at their customers . . . at the “competitive universe”?   

We had a new beauty salon open in a new strip mall down the road with great fanfare.  Some outfit from Panama City.  $15 for a blow dry!  That may not sound like much in California, but in Chiriqui?  My wife had her hair cut, blow dried, and a pedicure in David for $15!  Who in Boquete, in their right mind is going to pay $15 for a blow dry?   What were these people thinking?

Take the restaurant biz.  Half the people who open restaurants think it sounds like fun and have never been in the restaurant business.  (Talk about nuts!)  And they are going to open a restaurant and aim at the tourist and retired gringo business.  OK.  Our local (Panama City) tourist season is four months, max.  What about the other eight months?  Well, you’ve got wealthy retired gringos.  (Everyone thinks we are all multi-millionaires!)  So you open a restaurant specializing in Manovian cuisine from Manovia.  Very unique.  Good stuff.  If you’ve never been to Manovia you’ve got to try it!  So you open your Manovian restaurant.  It’s beautiful!  The decore and lay out is well thought out.  You even have waiters in traditional Manovian costumes.  You’re open . . . and waiting for the money to roll in from the retired wealthy gringos.

Say we have 800 or so gringos living around Boquete year-round.    How many of these folks have heard of or tried Manovian cuisine?  How many of them will actually like it?   And how often are they going to want to eat Manovian?  And how many of them actually eat out . . . and how often do they eat out?  And will they pay the gringo or Panama City prices you plan to charge?    How many of them are more focused on entertaining each other in their expensive and often massive houses, rather than eating out?  How many are going to whip out their Pensionado cards and take 25% off the top?  How many have been frightened off driving at night and risking accidents and getting swallowed into a Panamanian justice system they don’t understand? 

So figure maybe 5% of the 800 folks will become your customers.  That’s 40 folks!  And you may get them every other week for “something different” . . . “Let’s do Mandovian tonight!” . . . 20 folks a week.  

So you open for business . . .

• The cooks have had two days to learn to cook Mandovian on expensive commercial equipment, unlike what they are used to, and it takes them a while to get things figured out, so initially the food isn’t quite up to snuff.
• The wait staff doesn’t like the traditional Mandovian outfits and are tripping over the over sized pants and bitching about looking like “I Dream of Gennie” extras, plus they can’t figure out how to use your expensive point of sale computer installation.
• So your initial guests have long waits, lousy food, and word spreads . . . unfortunately, unbeknownst to you gringos tend to give a restaurant one, maybe two chances . . .
• So you invest in advertising . . .
• You didn’t really plan on so many requests for Pensionado discounts, so, to make any money you need to adjust your prices . . . upward . . .
• This is more work than you thought!!  So you hire a manager so you don’t have to spend all your time in the kitchen . . .

And so it goes!  So, don’t look for the Mandovian restaurant in Boquete!   But, if you ever get to Mandovia, be sure to try the cuisine!!

For My Friends in Ventura Stuck on The 101

OK, I admit it . . . Panama is not perfect. 

We too have traffic jams!

This was taken on the road to our place in Boca Chica. An hour and a half from Boquete is the sleepy little hamlet of Boca Chica, really just a tiny fishing village.  We’ve been fascinated by Boca Chica for some time, and the Pacific islands and marine sanctuary that are just off shore.  There are beautiful islands, undeveloped beaches strewn with shells and sand dollars, and beautiful coves and vistas.  After trying for three years, and missing out on several key properties, we’ve finally got our seaside paradise in Boca Chica.

Here’s an arial shot of our place in Boca Chica.  The photo in the blog header was taken from there.  That’s Gone Fishing Panama to the right, and our place to the left, looking out beyond the islands to the Pacific. The large island is Boca Brava. Just off the left is a National Marine Park Sanctuary.  Just out of the photo to the left is our other neighbors, a delightful little bed and breakfast, Sea gull Cove Lodge.

I believe Boca Chica is destined to become a “hot” area for tourist development.  Most of the expats living in Boquete have a “surf-turf” mentality and are looking for the cool Spring-like mountain atmosphere of Boquete, while at the same time being able to get away to the beach and ocean.  A lot already have boats at our friend Carlos Spraque’s boat yard and diving operation.  Our neighbors at Gone Fishing Panama and Panama Big Game Fishing offer access to the fantastic fishing in the area.  As this picture from Gone Fishing Panama shows, they really do catch fish!

Boca Chica is an interesting spot on the Pacific coast and now that the new road is finished is about to be “discovered”.