Category: Panama

Bocas del Toro

View from dock across the street from our hotels. Peaceful and serene.

Bocas del Toro is an archipelago (group of islands) at the northeastern part of Panama, very close to the Costa Rican border. This is an extremely popular tourist destination even though you are seriously warned not to drink the water (which also means not to eat anything that is washed such as raw vegetables and to avoid ice). Unlike other tourist areas like Granada Nicaragua where the nicer restaurants or ones that cater to tourists which use filtered water for drinking and ice, we didn’t see/hear of any in Bocas that did that.

Archipelago of Bocas del Toro

We were extremely careful not to drink unfiltered water and not to use ice or eat raw veggies. I would have thought I got the amoeba infection there anyway except that the incubation period is much longer. (I did try literally a single drop of homemade hot sauce in a restaurant a few hours before I got sick but that wasn’t the cause if it truly was an amoeba infection).

While I didn’t get to enjoy anything other than walking around, Dan went on an all day catamaran ride where he snorkeled and saw starfish (and got sunburned). We had planned to go on a bio-luminescence tour one night but couldn’t because of the diarrhea. By the time I was well enough to consider being on a boat without a restroom for 2 hours, the moon was out again so you wouldn’t be able to see the glow.

Other common activities in the area are bicycling (we did do that-me once and Dan several times), fishing, shopping the locally made tourist items, and the like.

Biking was easy on this part of the island which is fairly flat.
Water taxi

To get to Bocas, you go to Almirante, a small town on the mainland. As you arrive into town, there is often a person on a bike who offers to show you where to park and get the taxi (for whatever you tip the person). You park your car in a gated lot for $3 per day (not 24 hours so if you arrive on Monday and leave on Wednesday, you pay $9). From there it is a short walk to the water taxi that takes you to the island for $7 per trip per person or $10 round trip (if you do a better job of keeping up with your receipt than we did, LOL). That ride is about 30 minutes and the water taxis run every 30 minutes from 6 AM to 6 PM. The ride was fairly calm both ways since you are in a bay area.

Food is pretty good and not outrageously expensive. We had excellent seafood, usually Corvina which is a very mild sea bass.

The weather was mild with afternoon rains most days.

The drive to Almirante was verdant with rural, poor, windy, hilly roads, and was very pleasant. There are places where the road slumps several inches with no warnings. A lovely drive but quite long given the distance is only 180 KM (111 miles). It is supposed to take just over 3 hours but was really closer to 5, including a 30 minute stop for a bite to eat. Not sure why but many of the indigenous Guaymi peoples’ houses in this area are on stilts, in the mountainous area of the drive. (We did see clothes drying under some of the houses but don’t know if that is the reason for the stilts.)

House on stilts on road to Bocas

Volcan Panama

Horse farm outside of Volcan

Volcan is a lovely area about an hour and a half from Boquete. It is known as the Little Switzerland of Panama. It is a little higher altitude than Boquete and about 1/3 fewer people. It is more agriculture related and cheaper to live. The temperatures are similar to Boquete, 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit. We went there on September 15th which is the first day of their fall festival. We didn’t want to be in the crowds of people that would be there the next day for the parade however we did see quite a few float type decorations at various places along the road.

We couldn’t see the top of Volcan Baru, the highest point in Panama (11,401 feet) because as usual it was overcast. Baru is close to Volcan.

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Dan is a Softie

Dan and a horse tied up along our quiet neighborhood road so it can graze.

I don’t think Dan has ever met an animal he didn’t like and a flower he didn’t want to take a picture of. He goes right up to all kinds of animals and pets them. They seem to love him, I guess they know he is a kind soul.

Anyway, here are just a few of the pictures of the random animals and flowers we have seen in Panama. We’v seen a ton more plants and trees. It is obvious that Daddy was familiar with the flora from Central America when he planted various plants at the house he had built. Mimosa, hibiscus, oleanders, and much more are common around here.

Signs in Panama

More signs that caught our eyes…

Healthcare in Panama

Invoices from Clinic visit. Note the charge for the “consultation”, $5 to see the doctor.

We’ve had more occasion to check out the Panamanian healthcare system in our travels than we would have preferred. First Dan had allergies or a virus and saw a local doctor who was raised in the USA but got her medical training in Panama. I saw her to see if she had any different suggestions for the chronic insomnia that I have (some help).

Then last week when we went to Bocas Del Toro on the Caribbean coast I got “amoeba”. The water in Bocas is notorious but from what I can tell, the incubation period for amoeba is 1-2 weeks so I can’t blame it on Bocas. Amoeba seems to be the underlying problem causing dysentery. Gross bloody mucus stools, intense cramping. It came on quickly and I went to the Bocas clinic the next morning.

The clinic is in a large old building. Staff was professional but not overly friendly. The wait for care wasn’t long. I saw a doctor with a face mask on who asked me about symptoms and allergies. She ordered basic blood work, two IV antibiotics, and medications to take home.

It is obvious that sanitation is not a very high priority in this area. While we didn’t encounter mosquitoes in spite of some standing water in some ditches and the doctor wearing the mask, the rest was cursory. Not a single restroom was fully functioning with paper, soap, and flushing toilets. There was some combination of those things in the various restrooms but the only soap was in the treatment room.

The prep of my arm prior to the blood draw or IV insertion was a very quick swipe with a piece of cotton that had alcohol on it. It must have been adequate though.

I went home with two oral antibiotics, antacid, and probiotics. I was shocked (and grateful) that the doctor ordered the probiotics. The IV antibiotics started working within a couple of hours and I am now back to normal.

The entire cost of my test and treatment? $37 which included the medications. I would have gladly paid more to have more sanitary conditions but I know many of the locals couldn’t have afforded that.

Aside from these “adventures”, Dan has seen a skin doctor and will see her again this coming week. The office visit was $40 and the skin biopsies will be about $150 each. I plan to see a dentist locally in the next week or two for cleaning. My understanding is that the dentist himself/herself does the cleaning and that the cost is in the neighborhood of $50.

And in case you are wondering, I really have no idea how I got the amoeba. We have been really careful and use the reverse osmosis water to drink, brush our teeth, rinse many of the dishes, wash veggies/fruits. I had gotten a little lax and drank water in a restaurant in David but so did Dan and he didn’t get sick. We have gotten stricter again, just to be sure.

Raquel’s Ark and Cat House

Raquel has a wicked sense of humor. The cats include a jaguar and house cats. She used to have a margay but it died.

This is a small rescue center in Vulcan, Panama. The animals currently include chickens (Raquel is vegetarian), a jaguar, an owl, two-toed sloths, baby howler monkeys, a tayra (member of the weasel family), raccoons, white-nosed coati, a weasel and some house cats. Continue reading “Raquel’s Ark and Cat House”

Views from our Balcony in Boquete

We are staying at Vista Grande. This property has 4 apartments. The three one bedroom apartments are rented out and the owners live in the 2 bedroom apartment above us.

I never tire of the view just outside our door. They are constantly changing and I love them whether it is sunny or socked in. Enjoy looking at them.

Education in Panama

Candelario at his desk. The building is older and there is no door on his office. The arched door leads to a woman’s office (secretary?) which is much larger than his.

I’ve been wanting to talk with someone familiar with the education system in Panama and this week our B&B host, Lisia, and I were out for a walk and ran into the principal of the local elementary school. Lisia introduced me to him. His name is Candelario. I asked if he might have time this week to chat for a little while; he was happy to have me come the following day.

When I arrived, Candelario was waiting for me at the school. After he rang the recess bell, we went into his office to talk. His office is barely 8’x5′. The secretary or whatever her title is has twice the space as the principal. But it was very significant to me that the FIRST area you enter is to HIS office, not hers! During our 20-30 minutes of talking, at least 4 students came to him to ask quick questions. Each time, Candelario immediately stopped talking with me and focused intently and lovingly on the child. It is obvious that he is there for them.

He often gave the child what they wanted but one child wanted something to do with a non-nutritious snack and he kindly but firmly said that they don’t eat that kind of food at school. One of his main focuses is health and healthy eating…more on that later.

I will divide the information I have on education in Panama over several blogs since it is a lot of information and quite diverse.

Education in Panama Part 2

Kindergarten kids always love to get their picture taken.

The local elementary school is one of only 8 schools in Chiriquí Province where we are currently living. In this posting I will discuss general education in Panama and a subsequent posting will talk about this special school.

Panamanian children attend school from kindergarten (or as Candelario called it “his garden”) through the 12th grade. Schools are generally 5 hours per day (a little shorter for kindergarten). The school year runs from March to a few days before Christmas. Students are off for about 2 1/2 months for their vacation.

I was surprised and saddened to see in at least one article (very interesting article from late 2016) that Panama’s education system is considered the “worst in the world” which would be bad to be worse than Nicaragua or other really poorer countries. Candelario characterized Panama as a rich country whose wealth is centralized among the elite and doesn’t trickle down to the masses. Drop out rate is 20-25%.

Beginning in 2008, children with disabilities are integrated into the regular classroom. I’m a huge proponent of integration but in Panama most of the teachers don’t get any support to teach the child with disabilities. No aide, no training, no smaller classroom. Hard to expect any success for those children in those situations.

More females attend college/university than males who have usually already joined the workforce by their mid to late teens.

Education in Panama Part 3

Local elementary school: Ministry of Education, Volcancito School.

This post is about the Volcancito School. As I said in the first posting about education in Panama, this one is one of only 8 schools in this province of Chiriquí. The school is almost entirely indigenous students, k-6th grades.  While the kindergartners only  attend until noon, the other students attend from 8-4 each day. The students generally don’t have any homework except occasionally to study for a quiz.

Education is mandatory however the principal, Candelario feels that the children are really sent by their parents because they are fed. They each receive a breakfast and lunch. The school receives $3000 per month from the Panamanian government to cover the cost of food. With 180 students, approximately 20 days of school a month, that works out to $0.83 a day for food per child. Despite the limitations I saw a large crate of fresh tomatoes when I was in the kitchen.

Students receive 2 hours per day instruction in English by teachers that only teach English. The rest of the day is taught in Spanish. In addition to English and Spanish, students are taught sanitation, health, relationships, reading, writing, math, and history.

Candelario feels that his biggest obstacles are:

  • Poverty-as many as 8 people would live in a space the size of his office. If you look at the picture I took of it, you can see how small that is.
  • Inadequate facilities-Since becoming the principal in 2013, several classrooms have been added however they are barely adequate. The kitchen is approximately 25’x15′ including two large picnic benches where the children eat, refrigerators, freezers, sink, and stove! The Rotary club has helped them add space, including a new classroom that is almost ready to be used.
  • Abuse-Sadly, physical, sexual, and mental abuse is common in the culture. Girls as young as 10 get pregnant.

This school is truly blessed to have Candelario for their principal. Although he plans to retire in a few years after 31 years as a teacher and a number of years as a principal, he hasn’t done that yet because he feels that he has a mission from God to help these kids.

One goal of his is to add a computer lab. There are currently no computers for the children to use. If you are so moved, let me know and we will see how you can help with this.