Best Place to Retire in Panama

Shopping in Boquete Panama

Although Boquete Panama has grown over the years and there are many shopping options most residents still like to pop down to David Panama for more variety and a change of scenery.

The Chiriqui Mall in David opened just prior to our arrival back in 2003 and it’s still going strong today. We always like going down to enjoy an English language movie in the six plex theatre then wandering the mall and typically stopping over at PriceSmart (the Latin American version of CostCo) to stockup.

The Chiriqui Mall is on the Pan-Am Highway just west of PriceSmart. It has wi-fi, the movie theatre, a great food court and a variety of stores that unfortunately don’t attract very many customers. I don’t know why. I really like this mall and can’t understand why it isn’t full. Maybe it’s too far form downtown David to draw the local population?

Here are some of the stores you will find at the Chiriqui Mall on the outskirts of David, Panama:

Yadi - A pharmacy that also carries some household decor.

Theatre - Six-Plex modern movie theatre with A/C. Most movies are new features in English with Spanish sub-titles - a great way to learn Spanish.

Super Baru - Grocery store with an awesome import & gourmet foods section.

Food Court - the usual fare found in pretty much any mall food court.

Sebastiano - Clothing and shoe store.

Valla Actives - a TV Cooperative.

Digicel Kiosk - Cell phones, calling cards, service.

Roly Lab - Medical Testing

Sportline - Athletic apparel; shoes; sporting goods

Kardy - Clothes store

Pretty Kidz - Kids clothes

Melo - Pet and farm animal supplies; garden stuff too.

Shoe Outlet - shoes!

Autoridad del Transito - drivers license office.

Passarela - Women’s Clothes

El Hombre de la Mancha - Book store

World Time - Watch store

Guess - Men’s, womens and kids fashion Clothing

Centro de Capacitacion - Driving school - cars, trucks, bus, etc.

If you’re thinking you want to get a retail business going in David there are at least 8 vacant store fronts available in the Chiriqui Mall, David Panama.

A Conway store just opened up in the Terronal Plaza which is right at the intersection for the road to Boquete from David. They have a lovely Rey grocery store and a ‘Do-it’ Center which is very handy.

Filed Under Boquete Panama, Boquete Shopping, Chiriqui Mall, Daily Life in Boquete Panama, David Panama | Leave a Comment

Boquete Hotels host Coffee Cupping

Boquetes Caf Ruiz experts are invited annually to participate in different training activities around the world, sharing information about everything from the agricultural aspects of the coffee industry to the presentation of finished products before end-consumers. As well, more and more international coffee people visit Casa Ruiz wanting to learn about Boquete coffee, about new knowledge and Coffee growing and coffee roasting techniques developed by this Boquete organization. Coffee investors, owners of coffee businesses, and just true lovers of coffee, participate in the exchange of knowledge and technology developed here in Boquete. Customized programs and/or innovative activities promoting creativeness and new experience can be created for organizations or groups.dibujo

Casa Ruiz keeps records of research and development activities as a method for increasing understanding among all the groups of people working in thiis coffee organization. This allows locals to understand better what is known about coffee at all stages, and how the final product is evaluated in the hands of a knowledgeable and serious coffee connoisseur. In-house training process and passing-on practical experience is an ever-present activity. The quality standards are strictly enforced. This philosophy of business instills in the personnel a sense of pride in their work, especially when that job well done is recognized by national and international visitors.

There is always something new within the many activities in the coffee industry. National and international practitioners and experts recognize the quality of the local effort, as well as the knowledge and expertise. They also recognize how an organization offers a structure of development and personal progress for those who show initiative and interest on moving ahead on their own path. International micro-roasters, roasters, baristas, and chefs receive training in Casa Ruiz about the capacity and potential of coffees grown in Boquete. Casa Ruiz, S.A. proudly represents a Boquete coffee tradition at the highest quality level possible.

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Volunteers Clean Up Boquete Panama

With more tourists and visitors coming to Boquete also comes more litter. While a few people address the problem when time and money allow, one group, Volunteer Boquete, has attacked the litter problem head on. UMMF (Unexpected Moments of Magic Foundation places volunteers from around the world and coordinates a variety of activities, that include helping curb the tide that is litter.

volunteers-no more litter volunteers oscar pena sanchez jades smithgilberto barria vallarinomaria galussimon shen-photo by kaytee hoverson-1

Volunteer Boquete has developed a campaign that was officially kicked off on December 24th with the first Community Cleanup in Boquete. With the new campaign, the foundation will be hosting a community wide event on Earth Day (April 22). We have found a need in the community and we plan to address it because it needs to be done said Kaytee Hoverson, project coordinator. In the meantime volunteers from the program, as well as local volunteers, have targeted areas of litter and attacked them head on.

A group of dedicated volunteers picked up litter on Christmas Day and then again the first week in January. While this hearty band of volunteers separates recyclables out of the trash picked up, they plan to further coordinate with Boquetes recycling program ReALBoquete.

Project plans include researching joining forces with Boquetes workforce for a more concerted effort, placing trash cans around the city in problem areas, building a regular volunteer base to pick up litter on a regular basis, and working with schools to educate young people about the litter problem.

As of this writing, a meeting was scheduled with Mayor Manolo Ruiz, to present him with a very concise 17-point topic list, outlining detailed solutions to litter problems in the Boquete area.

This is not just a group picking up trash, states Hoverson, but a long term project to make Boquete the cleanest, most beautiful town in Panama.

More information about how you can be a part of this important program is available at www.unexpetctedmomentsofmagic.org or by calling 720-1025.

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Jazz Returns to Boquete

For the fourth time, artists of International stature will be coming to the Boquete Jazz Festival. The Festival, February 25th to the 28th, will feature four days of jazz, as well as music clinics and workshops for music students from the University of Chiriqui and local High Schools.

jazz-atila kicks of tour of the americas in boqueteThe Festival seeks to create a scholarship fund that will help young Chiriqui musicians attend workshops at the annual Panama Jazz Festival and provide them with musical instruments. The Festival also hopes to fund other projects like the Summer Music Camp and programs for children at risk.

Antonio Singh, director and founder of the Boquete Jazz Festival, says that the working committee, residents of Boquete and David, is working on the final details of the Festival.

The 2010 Festival will feature international artists such as: Atila, a young Englishman with a voice that is captivating the stages of Europe. He recently released his debut album, Hello Young Lovers, and despite his youth has been impressing audiences with a sound made famous by artists like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and others. Atila begins his tour of the Americas with his quintet by participating in the Boquete Jazz Festival.

The Jon Day Jazz Quartet, based out of South Carolina, performs everything from jazz standards to modern jazz to original compositions.

Led by the smooth sounds of the internationally renown Canadian trumpeter, pianist, composer and arranger, Jon Day, this quartet will entertain and capture the imagination of all music lovers, leaving them eager for more.
Bannaba Project de Panama fuses the rhythms of the flutes of the Kuna with the saxophone, producing a vibrant mix of sounds and cultural dance. This group has been recognized internationally for its performances in the United States.

Local bands participating in the 2010 Festival include: Outside Chiriqui Jazz Band, directed by Quelvn Delgado, one of the winners of the Danilo Perez Foundation Scholarship; Sin Ensamble Jazz Quartet, featuring saxophone and guitar playing Jazz and 8 to 14 years old playing Latin Jazz; and the Fantasy Jazz Band, comprised of members of the Festival committee and outstanding young musicians from David playing Jazz standards.

Tickets are available in Valle Escondido, Boquete Bistro, Anas Sweet, Oasis Hotel & Restaurant and Cocina Rica (David) and Radio Chiriqui.

For more information, visit the Festival website at http://boquetejazzfestival.comTechnorati Tags: ,

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Boquete Hospitals and Health Care

I often get into conversation with people about Health care in Panama. Most people are very fearful of living and sometimes even travelling out of their home country for fear of “3rd World Health Care”. What many don’t realize is that everyone needs health care and in many parts of the world it is not only much cheaper but often easier to gain access to.

I was going to do a complete review of what happens when you get sick in Panama - hospitals, emergency care, health insurance, etc. but then I was reading Richard Detriches Blog, a fellow ex-pay who lives on and off in Panama, and I discovered Richard had done a great story on all of those things. What is cool is that he focused on health care services in Chiriqui, Panama so you can get a good idea of what it is like to get care when you live in Boquete or somewhere between Boquete and David, the Panamanian provincial capital.

Here’s Richard’s explanation of health care in and around Boquete Panama -

Hospitals: David, Panama

Chiriqui Hospital in David Panama

In David, the third largest city in Panama, 45 minute drive from Boquete, there are four large hospitals. The Maternal & Child Hospital is a National Hospital focusing primarily on material and pediatric care. It is only two years old and was a gift from the people of Taiwan, with whom Panama has diplomatic relations. Almost next door is the Social Security Hospital which serves people who are working in Panama and paying into the Social Security system. Just down the Pan American Highway is Hospital Mae Lewis, a private hospital that is used by locals and gringos. And a few blocks off the Pan American Highway is Hospital Chiriqui, a private hospital that is generally preferred by expats because of their insurance program (more on that later). Hospital Chiriqui. Additionally, scattered around David, there are almost a half dozen tiny private hospitals owned and run by a consortium of doctors. In some ways it isnt very efficient, yet the hospital costs are low. A private room runs about $60 a day! Of the private hospitals, Hospital Chiriqui has the most bells and whistles including a state-of-the-art MRI machine, one of two in Panama.

Unlike in the US, in Chiriqui any doctor can practice in any hospital and you are not limited to only certain hospitals where your doctor happens to be on staff.

Emergency Care in Panama

Here is where things can get a little dicey.

If you happen to be one of the very few people to get bitten by one of our famously poison snakes, like the fer de lance which is fairly common in Chiriqui . . . and let me quickly add that your chances of getting bitten by a poisonous snake are about the same as your chances of getting struck by lightening or winning the lottery! . . . if you are bitten by a snake anywhere in Panama you are generally about 45 minutes from a Social Security hospital which is where the anti-venom is kept. So you have plenty of time to get to the hospital where you will find that rather than immediately giving you anti-venom there is a long waiting/observation period while they test your blood and wait to figure out what kind of snake bit you and what type of anti-venom you need. Almost everyone, except for Indians living in very remote areas, recovers. So although the fer de lance and bushmaster can be deadly, your chances of dying if you get assistance are very slim.

OK, we got that out of the way!

When we first came to Panama my wife asked our Boquete doctor, So if Im having a heart attack, what do I do?

His response: First you call me. Ill come to your house and call an ambulance. Well stabilize you in David, and if necessary, once you are stabilized, we will fly you to the Panama City where the hospitals and doctors who specialize in invasive procedures are located.

Good enough . . . but when we say ambulance do NOT think of ambulance service in the US! There have been times in Boquete when we had four different ambulances . . . and none were working! And an ambulance here is primarily a means of transportation. Dont think a team of trained EMTs on call . . . or an ambulance with any sort of equipment on board. Over the years weve been in Boquete the expat community has worked hard and raised money to improve ambulance service, but it still is nothing like what we were used to in the States.

One Couples Panama Health Care Experiences

Chiriqui Hospital Panama

Chiriqui Hospital Panama

One afternoon my wife started having some kind of episode. She was dizzy, had no feeling in her arms, was weak, and couldnt stand up. It looked like some kind of allergic reaction and I feared she was going into anaphylactic shock. (We have experience with this: I am highly allergic to shellfish of any kind in any amount, and my daughter is highly allergic to chocolate.) Without 911 or any similar kind of emergency help, I called our friend Brad, and together we carried Nikki to my car, and I went to the doctors office (the same guy who treated her when she was thrown off the horse . . . the story I told yesterday). It turned out the good doctor was on vacation and the gal who was filling in not only didnt speak any English, but wasnt that familiar with his office. Eventually she found the oxygen mask, started an intravenous drip, got Nikki stabilized and agreed we needed to get to the hospital in David. She called the ambulance . . . and the fun began.

The doctor called the ambulance, then said to me, They dont have any gas. They want to know if you can pay for the gas? Yes!!!

So the ambulance and attendants arrived . . .

First problem: the doctors makeshift treatment room and the gurney that wouldnt fit in.

Second problem: the ambulance crew hadnt the slightest idea how to move a patient from a bed onto a gurney. Somehow we managed.

Third problem: Nikki was too big for the ambulance. Panamanians are shorter. So they couldnt close the back doors of the ambulance all the way. She wouldnt fit! So the creative solution was for the ambulance attendant riding in the back to wedge himself between the side of the ambulance and press his feet against the gurney to keep Nikki from sliding out the back doors, which were flapping in the wind.

Fourth problem: Nikki had an IV drip going and there was no place to hang the drip in the ambulance. The attendant in back was busy trying to keep the gurney from flying out the back, so Nikki had to hold her own IV bag.

OK, we stopped and got $20 worth of gas. Then we began racing down the mountain to David with lights and sirens going.,

Fifth problem: Nobody in Panama is going to move for an ambulance! Only the expats will pull over out of force of habit. So Im in front, the driver is laying on the horn so people eventually will move out of the way.

Sixth problem: We start to get one of our famous, afternoon rainy season cloudbursts when the water is coming down in torrents. In front the windshield wipers are barely working and in back the doors are flapping in the wind and the water is coming in soaking Nikki and the attendant who is bravely still holding the gurney in place with his feet.

The reality: Supposedly laughter is the best medicine and Nikki, although the center of the drama, couldnt help but find the humor in the situation.

Fortunately we arrived at Chiriqui Hospital and into the tiny emergency ward. It took a while, but Nikki was stabilized and a team of internists eventually discovered that she had developed an allergy to aspirin. She spent two nights in the hospital, before coming home. The ambulance ride:(for those of you who remember the original Disneyland . . . definitely an E-ticket ride!) $20 for gas, and another $5 (in gratitude) for beer for the guys. Hospital: emergency room, two nights, and physicians $225.

Yet another story . . . my wife keeps things interesting!

Nikki was experiencing tingling in her arms, chest pain, yada yada . . . with her history . . . Come on, Nikki, dont be a hero! Lets get it checked now. If its nothing, fine . . . if its not, golden hour and all that stuff. So we go to Boquete to the new clinic for such emergencies that Hospital Mae Lewis has opened. The only problem is theres only a receptionist staffing the clinic. No doctor . . . not even a nurse . . . receptionist and janitor. The receptionist informed us that the doctor was going to be coming in an hour and that we could sit and wait. OK, so this is to be an Emergency Clinic . . . right. And if it is a heart attack, were going to sit here and twiddle our thumbs for an hour and hope that the doctor actually does show up as scheduled . . . which, in itself, would be somewhat of a miracle anywhere, let alone in Panama. And Im about to have a Richard-goes-ballistic attack . . .

I remembered that a friend I had met because he had read this blog, lived in an apartment upstairs. He is a retired neurosurgeon who still consults via video cam in complicated surgeries around the world. Although he wasnt a cardiologist, I knew he had his own personal encounter with a massive heart attack and open heart surgery, so I went upstairs and asked him if he could just come down and take a look at Nikki. Gracious friend that he was he put on his slippers, found his stethoscope and came down and took a look. His verdict, I cant say what is going on, but I can say with 99.9% certainty that she is not having a heart attack.

So . . . forget paramedics and 911.

As oldsalt1942? commented about yesterdays post, You get better or you die, and thats the reality of health care in the vast majority of the world. You get better or you die. Period. And lets face it, you cant take life too seriously because none of us are getting out of here alive.

Health Insurance in Panama

Folks handle insurance in different ways. People who worked for the Canal or the US military in Panama have their own insurance. Some people worked for companies who still provide their retirees with the insurance they were promised when they retired. Some have their own policies from the States or some international insurance policy. Like most insurance when you are trying to get insurance after retirement you find that the insurance companies dont cover preexisting conditions, which is exactly what you are worried about. And by the time most people reach retirement age they have preexisting conditions.

When you turn 65 of course and are collecting US Social Security you have Medicare. However, Medicare only covers treatment in the US. So unless you want to return to the US when you need medical care, which some folks elect to do, you are not covered. When I looked at the cost of Part B for me, and what all was not covered by Part B, I decided that for me it was cheaper to just pay the full amount for the procedure in Panama. So we, basically, self-insure . . . with a couple of exceptions.

Panama Travel Health Insurance

Panama Travel Health Insurance

Since we travel a lot, we purchase annual travel policies from a company in Scandinavia that cover us when we are away from Panama for emergency medical care except in the US. When you include the US the cost is prohibitive, and at least when I am in the US, I could use Medicare. My wife is too young for Medicare! Since we are on ships a lot, it is important for us to have insurance that covers medical evacuation. I think anyone is crazy who takes a cruise without having travel insurance that includes coverage for evacuation. The cruise line wants you off the vessel and into a hospital as soon as possible, firstly for your own medical welfare, and secondly to avoid legal responsibility. A medical evacuation from a ship by helicopter can easily run $10-15,000! Get insurance!

Hospital Chiriqui does have an insurance scheme called Medical Services Chiriqui, or MSChiriqui which we use. It is not really insurance but more of a discount plan. A doctor visit that usually would cost $40 with a MSChiriqui coupon costs us $20. There are discounts on almost all hospital services and treatment, somewhat akin to a major medical plan in the US. In our case when my wife required an angioplasty and stents, because the procedure is not available at Hospital Chiriqui, we went to Hospital Paitilla in Panama City and the MSChiriqui plan covered half of the cost. After you have belonged to the plan for 2 years it does cover pre-existing conditions. The plan now costs us about $1200 per year for both of us.

Filed Under Americans in Panama, Best Places to Live, Boquete Panama, Health News, Panama, Panama Government Incentives, Panama Health Care | Leave a Comment

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