Greetings mi amigos y amigas!

[Robert Durand]

What a joy to have this social networking site here in beautiful Boquete! My wife Summer and I are retired gringos, formerly having lived in Hawaii and Florida (having left the former because of the cost of living and the latter because of the hurricanes). We have now been here two years and are still getting settled in and adjusting to some of the new cultural life here. Having this Boquete Panama access will help us to become better acquainted with our friends and neighbors as well as the activities here.

My wife is an obsessive "green thumb" and loves to garden and play with her landscaping. I'm sure that she will have her own page here, but here is just one example of her talents.

My background is in journalism and editing, and I still like to dabble in desktop publishing, doing everything from business and greeting cards to flyers and small books. My other interests include sports, especially baseball (a World Champion Red Sox fan since I was 12 years old and was taken to a game at Fenway Park), and college football (rooting for the Hawaii Warriors who were undefeated this year and headed for the Sugar Bowl!). Here in Boquete, my only sporting activity has been Bocce Ball, an Italian bowling game introduced to this area by some gringo Italians. It has proved to be a great game for fun and friendship without the stress of heavy competition.

We are both Bible-believing Christians and attend Sunday evening (6 p.m.) services in English at the Medical Mission in Volcancito which serves much of the indigenous population in the area with Sunday morning services (attendance usually over 300), along with medical and spiritual assistance. Anyone interested is certainly welcome to attend: just look for the sign and the "Iglesia" yellow school buses on the left of the Volcancito Road, about halfway between the Mozart Hostel and La Estancia. The services in English on Sunday nights include wonderful praise and worship music, the Lord's Supper, and a Bible Study, with great fellowship afterwards.

Our favorite leisure activity here is visiting Paradise Gardens, where we are constantly in awe at the birds, animals, butterflies, and tropical plants put together by Paul Saban, who is a friend of mine on this network. We heartily recommend a visit there for anyone who has these kind of interests. Paradise Gardens is located on the lower Volcancito Road (right side), about 2 kilometers from the Boquete-David highway. Following is a photo of the entrance.

For now, I'll leave you with this information. If you live here, I hope to meet you soon, and if you just visit, I hope that you make yourselves known.

Hasta Luego, Robert

P.S. My special thanks to Lee Zeltzer who created this social network. Great accomplishment!