Panamanian teens grounded…permanently

The new government has reinstated the 9 pm nationwide curfew for all minors not accompanied by a responsible adult. Not sure what the reaction to such a law would be in Costa Rica or the UK but most people here seem to approve of the measure.
The government does not take a dim view of [...]

Read Full Post »

Anyone for a 99?

The new president of Panama was sworn in yesterday. He pledged to keep his three main campaign promises, the first of which was to get tough with criminals. He owns a chain of supermarkets called “Super 99″ and one of them was attacked by an armed gang last night.  A shoot-out ensued. Not an auspicious [...]

Read Full Post »

Las Lajas finally has a decent hotel

My family and I love to spend time at the beach. By that I mean the simple pleasures: swimming, eating and sunbathing on unspoiled, largely empty beaches. The nearest long stretch of beach is at Las Lajas. That is about a one-hour (very pleasant) drive from David, now that the road is paved all the [...]

Read Full Post »

The Global Peace Index

This year’s Global Peace Index has just been published. Not surprisingly, perhaps, New Zealand tops the list as the most peaceful country in the world, while Iraq brings up the rear (the Web page includes an explanation of the methodology used). Despite a sharp increase in crime over the past ten years or so, Costa [...]

Read Full Post »

Panama’s new cabinet

I read in this morning’s paper that most of the ministers appointed by the incoming President are career politicians who served in previous administrations. Nothing new there, then.
The man chosen to head the “get-tough-on-crime” campaign as Chief of Police is a former Noriega sidekick (a “key player in the regime,” according to the paper). He [...]

Read Full Post »

PS to elections in Panama

I read in today’s paper that one of Noriega’s daughters was elected to the Central American Parliament (a white elephant). She belongs to the party that lost the Panamanian elections. Could that have been one of the trade-offs for Noriega not coming back to Panama? The man undoubtedly still has clout.

Read Full Post »

Elections in Panama

General elections took place in Panama yesterday. As predicted, the opposition swept to victory. The next president will be Ricardo Martinelli.

The BBC reports that he spent $35 milion on his campaign. Wonder how he plans to recoup the investment…
The only troubling aspect of the voting was the nervousness of the local people. Everyone I spoke [...]

Read Full Post »

The Red Devils

No, this isn’t a post about Manchester United.
After posting about the buses in London, I thought Panama’s “Diablos Rojos” deserved a mention.  I don’t have any photos of my own but found lots on the Net, including this one on another blog.

These are old yellow school buses imported from the US and “redecorated.” The volume [...]

Read Full Post »

Boca Chica, Panama

I’m having such a busy year work-wise that I’ve had almost no time to blog. Last week I finished a major project, so I rewarded myself with a relaxing day at the beach.
Boca Chica is about one hour’s drive from David. You drive east along the Inter-American Highway for about 40 minutes and then turn [...]

Read Full Post »

Update on the situation in Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro

I caught part of an interview on the local news with Ruben Blades (pronounced Blades in Panama and BLA-des in Costa Rica). The salsa singer and movie actor is currently Minister of Tourism in Panama. Since the recent floods, many flight and hotel reservations in this area have been canceled. The tourism industry is adamant [...]

Read Full Post »