Bilingual Trilingual
Panama is country number 45 for us! We always try to learn a little of the local language of the country where we are traveling to show interest and respect, and have never had real trouble in any of our travels due to language, even in China and countries in Africa and Russia. So we do not look for bilingual services and could generally care less. Some people, however, may be interested to know of english speaking services that we became aware of in Panama.
Boquete is gringo friendly
Boquete has a large expatriate component to its population, apparently retirees and wealthy types make up the majority of those expats but are not the majority in Boquete. Native Americans, indigeouness to the area, come in and out of town to sell and shop. We rarely were stopped and asked to buy anything and we appreciated this. Most workers in stores etc, which we encountered spoke spanish to us and understood little english. We speak about 100 words of broken spanish. Using this and gestures we can usually get by but we miss enriching relations with non english speakers because of such limited proficiency on our part.
Boquete is apparently a favorite destination for foreign travelers due to its scenic surroundings and cooler than average climate.
Pete`s Mountain Tours Of Boquete and surrounding areas
We met and got to know Peter over the course of a week while his vehicle was in the shop. Peter, or Petes, as some locals call him, or spent early childhood days in Gamboa in the former Panama Canal Zone, moved to Texas, and now back in Panama for several years. He was born in Panama but has a grandparent who was a US a citizen. He can speak and understand Texan but is also fluent in his native spanish and in standard english. Though not a knowledgeable birder himself, Pete knows where the good spots are and can locate Quetzals from their call. He runs moutain bike, coffee farm, hiking, canopy, and other tours. He says he often has his well signed four wheel drive next to the park where the buses stop and near Amigos, one of the big gringo hangouts in Boquete. He was kind enough to make suggestions for birding spots in town. We really wanted to see quetzals while here, and he picked us up at 6:30 like we asked him to and took us to a place where we saw three but were unable to photgraph them because we were not quick enough. Ask for him at Nomba Hotelito or at Pension Topas if you donīt see him downtown. He is not currently doing email but should be soon.
Need a Dentist In Panama?
While in Bajo Boquete we also used the services of Dr. Lao Santisa, local Panamanian dentist who worked in Houston at a dental lab over 20 years ago. He now has his own lab in David and his practice in Boquete on the main street as well. He also understands both Spanish and english and Texan. Services were quite reasonably priced and his equipment seemed in good condition and quite current.
Clinica Especializada Boquete
As we mentioned in an earlier story, we got up way early on the day we came from Panama City to Boquete, traveled 9 hours, then partied all night with the international crowd. It was fun, but within a couple of days Laura and I both came down with 'summer colds' and were miserable for a couple of days. This coupled with the change from cold in Texas and Washington to DC to hot in Panama (city) to cool and damp in Boquete, the smoky autos, with many many plants in their pollen stage, kept us both wheezing and coughing. Laura mostly cleared up, but I knew I needed a breathing treatment like I usually do when I first get back to Smith Point from traveling and have to adjust to the pollen and the humidity. So we were going to the internet and noticed a Clinic, with all its signage in Spanish so not necessarily one that catered to the expat retiree or tourist trade. Fat tuesday saw many businesses closed, but this one was open. The young doctor, Dra. Gloriela Acosta P., Medicina General was able to understand the medicine and equipment names but not sure what else in my broken English Spanish, or spanglish as our students in Austin call it. This was ok because an exam is an exam, and this she did before putting me on the nebulizer. The treatment cleared me up but she also gave me prescriptions for several things that might good doctor in Austin Dr. David Pampe, and the Ear Nose and Throat specialist, Dr. Eskew have prescribed. I really did not want to take antibiotics again but she felt it best. Others who wanted to get health services may have had more trouble than I did because of a language problem. We went to the pharmacy inside the major 24/7 supermarket, Romero, and the pharmacist tried to explain the dosages in spanish, but when she figured out that I wasn't following, she disappeared off stage. She returned smiling with stickers in english with the dosages etc. All prices for the clinic visit, treatment, and drugs were very reasonable.
El Sabrasone Resturant
Peter of Peteīs Moutain Tours suggested the restuarant across the street from the Dentist as one of the most reasonably priced and consistently edible food in Boquete. We tried it one night and were quite happy with the prices and buffet selections. they open early in the morning as well. The cashier was not bilingual the night we ate there but was able to understand our broken spanish! Today it had a line out the door of locals and Panamanian tourists in town during Carnival. No real celebration in Boquete for carnival by the way, which is why some people were here instead of some of the other towns which do celebrate Carival. However, some apparently stay here and go the back toward David to Dolega which does have a Carnival celebration.
Internet in style
There are a number of places to access the internet in Boquete. We used the wi fi for free with purchase of a coffee at Habla Ya, but one morning after we took our clothes over to the blue and white building accross from the church on the main street to be washed, we decided to check out another place we had seen one morning while we were walking around looking for birs etc. We have been cooking most of our meals and walking a lot so we decided to splurge today and do our internet business at La Huaca Inn, which has this really nice room for the Internet. It costs $1.55 balboa (usd) per hour, their machine or your own. The speed is quite fast on both their machine and using our wi fi card and lap top. Seated on the couch Laura spied a beautiful rainbow out the window! For what its worth, the front desk person was not bilingual in the morning when we were there, but the bartender in the afternoon was when we returned. They also have a Wine and Coffee Bar with reasonable prices and the $40.00 rooms, which though priced above our budget, are in a green and pleasing location on the main road.
Panamonte Inn
We spend over budget for a nice dinner in a plantation style setting at this inn, suggested by the Moon guide to Panama. The entrees were about 40% less than we would have paid in Austin, but the wine was only about 20% less. They gave us waiter who is going to college in David and studying to be a translator. We did not need this but it was nice to quiz him about his life and various other subjects. We later discovered the bar area where you could also order food and sit by the fireplace. We did not go in because it was quite full. Suggest you give it a look if the night is chilly.
Bars and booze in Boquete
After dinner at Panamonte, which is uphill from the central parque about 6 blocks on the left, we wandered back toward the center and stopped at La Huaca and had a drink at the bar. There wine and bear was a balboa(dollar) cheaper than Zanzibar and Panamonte, but not as cheap as Coca Cola bar further on up the hill. We had thought to have a drink at Zanzibar, but there were almost no one there. We went back to the hostel and visited with the locals and other travelers, then decided to go back out. We went to Amigos on the square and visited with local Boquete translator girl who was born here and her crowd which included a woman from the US who has moved here and owns acreage. The bar tender is a musician and he played us a cd of one of his songs. The drinks at this favorite gringo bar were cheaper than some of the others but not Coca Cola, which is mainly local patrons.
Coffee, Cafe, Boquete
Boquete is pronounced Bohquetay or something similar. The area surrounding it includes numerous coffee fincas or farms, and a couple of those do their roasing in town. Others roast or dry on the farm itself.
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