Paradise, sure... if you say so

[Rick L.]

I'm not in Boquete so maybe I should be looking for the Bocas del Toro. ning site... probably isn't one but there could be.

So this is Paradise... living on an island off the coast, in the Caribbean. Oh yea... palm trees, birds and monkeys waking me in the morning and the clean fresh air. Sure, that part of paradise is here. I see it out the windows.

But let's look at that other side of paradise. Roads that are in such poor condition that bicycle riders have to carry their bikes from place to place because of the huge mud holes and mini lakes that are where the road used to be. I used to own a vehicle, but at $500 a month for repairs I finally said "Why?" and gave it to my mechanic. I get to see my neighbors this way now. I've become a ride mooch but I do get to see my neighbors a bit more often. That's a good thing right? (a big thanks to Bill) The road to paradise is strewn with good intentions and a lot of garbage, oh yea.. the dump is right on the shoreline and spills into the Caribbean. But I think everyone knows that, the Bocas Breeze has been covering that issue. I've been here some 7 years and the garbage was an issue then and, following the Panamanian way, will be 7 years from now.

I've got internet or I wouldn't be able to post this. But let's just touch on that for a sec. I live in the jungle and about 3 miles from the cellular tower. Oh, by the way, I have Movistar's cellular modem internet access. So I figure since I have 4 to 5 bars on my Movistar cell phone that this would be a good way to get internet. But, another mistake there. See Movistar believes in cheap chinese equipment so I have this ZTE cellular modem that only gets 1 bar of signal on a good day. I've requested several better brands of modem from them for over a year now but it's mostly a "talk to the hand" issue. They are getting my money monthly why should they worry about providing the contracted service. Most of the time it's like having 300 baud dial up. I'll have to do a save of everything I'm trying to post here just because it will probably take 3 or 4 times for it to actually get uploaded. They made the mistake of giving me the tech's phone number in Panama City so I send him between 25 and 50 text messages a day complaining about the poor service. I feel sorry for the tech, he seems a nice enough guy, speaks english and does pretend to feel for my plight, but then again he's my only contact so I've got to vent on someone. I guess after a year of texting him he's pretty numb to my messages.

And speaking of phone service, not sure about the rest of you, but Movistar seems to be having some serious issues. About 1 out of 10 local calls I attempt to make actuallly make it through. Mostly I get "Network Busy" or "Call Failed" and that's with those 4 bars of service saying "I'm here use me" but it's not really. It's another Panamanian trick. Phone calls to the States... well, let's just say I try every day but usually about 3 to 5 days I actually make it through. My friends stateside, same issue.. can't get through to me.

Our water system, yes I'm one of the 'lucky" ones to be on the Idann water system, is mostly working. I mean, what it's on for about an hour a day and that's only been a problem for around 6 months now. The resevoir is overflowing with water but a pump failed and so we are on the one they took out of service a few years ago because it was too small to provide for the town. All these new pipes are going in all over the place to provide more water but with the tinker toy pump no one gets any pressure. But rumor is that Idann is going to get a new pump.... sometime. Let's not put any pressure on anyone and get a firm date.

But there are good things right off the bat I can think of one - we haven't lost power in almost a month now. And we have groceries, even goodies that I never thought we would get. Frozen foods, regular supplies of fresh veggies (hey, 7 years ago that was iffy), and a lot of other stuff that I thought we would never get.

Guess I better stop here, I think I hear my doorbell (my dogs are barking) and maybe the housekeeper showed up! She's supposed to be here every day (she lives about 100 yards away) but it's been 4 days since she last showed up. She must be getting hungry or needs money for her cell phone.

See ya in Paradise!

[LOUIS]

Hey Rick,looks like your stay in ALASKA but you want to have Girls with Bikinis in front of your house!
all the best my friend

[LOUIS]

Tolle Sache,hoffentlich stimmt nicht alles so wie es da steht. Aber probleme gibt es überall!! MACH DAS BESTE DARAUS Gruss LOUIS

[Barry Dodson]

Lee Zeltzer's comments reflect the positive attitude we should all have. Some of my best memories of living in foreign (albeit 3rh world) countries have been the unplanned adventures and 'inconveniences' that come with the territory. Hang in there Rick, that's from one 'Geek' to another. :))))

[Rick L.]

I'm a technonut. I confess, my friends know I'd rather spend hours a day on the computer than socialize. Sorry, but it's true. I'm an avid online gamer, but I don't play poker, instead I'm hooked on multiplayer gaming worlds such as World of Warcraft (WoW). I've been this way for about 11 years now and yet I moved to a backwater location.

Yea, it's my fault.

So here I am in the Jungle, on an island and a couple miles from town but I want technology. I love the speed of a well oiled internet connection zipping along showing me movies quickly, web pages with little effort and corresponding with my email friends. After much searching and many various connection attempts I ended up with Movistink's cellular modem internet connection. Now don't get me wrong, when I first connected up, several years ago now, the service was fairly fast and I could play WoW with little effort. But, as technology improves new equipment is implemented to make it go faster and faster. Movistink told me I had to "upgrade" so I did. Hey, bigger hose, more water, right?

It's the pump story again. Here I have this nice shiny new hose that could flood my house in minutes with the volume it can handle but Movistink only provides a eensy teensy weensy pump so the flow dribbles out. They told me it would be faster and better and I bought the message hook, line and sinker.

Now the service is going down hill quickly. This is my 4th attempt to post my message here on the boards. I learned finally and am writing it with Notepad so when I hit "Add Comment" I won't loose it again and again and again...........

I used to have an open line of communication with the techs for Movistar in Panama City. I've got years of techno experience so I figured some feedback would help them. It seemed to in the beginning... I mean they kept saying yes, they knew of the problem and were working to correct it. But after about a year of hearing yes and seeing no, I moved from voice to text messaging. I can cut and paste a text message so I can send it 10 times to give it added emphasis, right? And again.... in the beginning, there seemed to be responses to my pleas for help. But.... after months of texting, I don't think they even read them anymore. I can sort of tell, since I'm now telling them stories about their heritage and schooling...with no response.

Yea, it's my fault, I should have known. I only expected them to live up to their contract with me but I should have looked at the unwritten print. You know, the stuff that says they can only provide what they have been trained to provide. The equipment will only work as well as cheap chinese equipment will work. That even though you want the same service as Panama City you live on an island in the jungle and you aren't going to get it. You know that stuff.

It's my fault....


(for those of you who know me, you already know I like satire, for those that don't... don't take me seriously. It's better to laugh at what happens then to get angry.)

[Lee Zeltzer]

In reflection paradise is someplace between your aorta and vena cava, your heart. Whether in Bocas, Boquete or NYC perfection is only where you find it. I enjoy the Boquete community, great people, great weather (as long as you like rain) and natural beauty. I do have the option of returning to the US and chose on a daily basis to stay here.

I may be naive but I love Panama, it's people and the community of Boquete.

[Lala Gopala D.D.]

Hey Rick...I just heard that your favorite Sanjaya from American Idol has a new hairdo and even a book out! Don't tell me you won't be on that phone calling your Mom in the States to get you an autographed copy;)

[Lala Gopala D.D.]

Sigh! Hey Rick! I kind of miss that nutty place! But of course G and I were completely independent from the system...our house was "pure funk" and our neighbors were fantastic!

[Joy Koopman]

Amen to that, Keith. Hey wouldn't that make a great song title "If life was perfect, it would be a drag" LOL

[Keith]

If life was perfect, it would be a drag.

[Bob Wolfe]

Great post. Seven years in Bocas should qualify you for some sort of award. It's nice to see a post where you can laugh at all that goes on around you in this interesting part of the world. Sure beats some of the posts I've seen where all they can do is whine and moan about not getting good "customer service", and bitch that the locals don't speak english. So much whining that if they had some cheese, they could make it a party. I can relate to most of your stories and smile.