R & R and Easter in Boquete
Apr 8th, 2007 by Don Ray
I drove up to Boquete today with the sole purpose of meeting Ari, who owns the bookstore in Los Establos. She had read about Hal and The Bookmark and had been touched and really wanted to help. She had contacted me via email and asked how to get in touch with Hal. She had offered to take some of Hal’s books and make them available in Boquete, giving all proceeds to Hal. Hal already had an arrangement with Romero’s in Boquete and he didn’t want to create a conflict of interest. Still I was impressed with her wanting to help, and I went to Boquete today with the hopes of meeting her.
The Read & Relax bookstore has only been open about 3 weeks. Think of this as your mini mini Barnes and Nobles. I took some time to look at all of the books that the store has in stock. It reminded me that I have several books that I need to get busy and read. She had a copy of “The Innocent Man” by John Grisham, which I have and have not read yet. There were several other current best sellers there as well. There were several very good Spanish/English dictionaries. I just got through reviewing these very books for Natalie’s TOFEL studies.
The store has three comfortable chairs so you can sit, relax, have a cappuccino and evaluate which book you want to take home with you. It is a very pleasant store, but the best part of my visit to the store was meeting Ari. Here is a photo of Ari (standing), Mabel (behind the counter), and Ari’s sister Nilka (Sitting left - they tried to convince me that Nilka was Ari’s mother, but I don’t believe them – must be a sister).
Ari and another sister work and live in Panama City and travel to Boquete and work part time. Mabel is the store manager and is in the store full time. Mabel previously was in the Boquete Library. Talking to Mabel, I learned that the Boquete library has several English books. I found that interesting since the big library in David has none.
The first thing I noticed in the store was this decoration of Easter eggs on the table. This isn’t something I have seen often in Panama, but with so many Panamanians having lived or studied in the US I guess this is not that unusual.
This little girl had found herself a book to read.
The books line both walls. There are also some magazines.
This is Maria Claudia and her two daughters (Natalia and Ana Lucia). Maria’s husband was in the previous photo.
I have to tell you I had a great time meeting Ari, her sister (oops mother if you insist), Maria and her husband and Mabel. I must have spent close to an hour just visiting with everyone in the store. I am sure you will go to R&R to look for books, but I encourage you to get to know the people you meet there. Today everyone I met was Panamanian and Panamanians are by far this countries biggest asset.
Ari, thanks for the nice time I had today. Also thank for you concern about Hal.
Hi Don, I’m Giovy (Ari’s sister) and yes, that young lady is our mom.
I’m in Seattle right now and brought the Panamanian sun with me for couple of days. I will be in Boquete this weekend for the Orchids fair and will have more new releases and pockets books.
We also received special request and I’m also looking for these, I hope I can find everything requested. Regarding Hal, I will try to visit him soon, we sincerely wish him the best and want to help him.
Thanks for visiting us and I’m glad you like our home.
Giovy
Hi Giovy - Thanks for commenting.
I guess if you and Ari both say that Nilka is you mom, then she is your mom.
I will stop in again. I enjoyed my time there.
I always enjoy a good book store! How’s the coffee?
I didn’t try the coffee, but I would imagine it was good. Next time I will try it.
Hello Don,
MUCHAS GRACIAS for the nice compliments!
I’m glad you enjoyed the friendly, cozy and joyful ambiance we try to maintain in the bookstore. We have fun meeting people so talking to you was a delightful experience!
Please come again and bring some friends too!
Ari
P.S. As for my interest in Hal… It all started with your post, so thank YOU for sharing the story with all of us.
Hi, we don’t only have coffee, we also have special receipt chocolate and gourmet teas. Everything you need to enjoy your reading.
Soon we will also have HotSpot wireless access.
See you this weekend.
Giovy
Hi Ari, Giovy - I will be up again. Doubt if it will be this weekend. Boquete gets too crowded when there are special events going on such as the Orchid festival. I will have to come back since I don’t have Giovy’s photo.
[...] I left Boquete today, I stopped in Read and Relax to see Ari. and her sisters (Giovy and Nilka). Last time Ari tried to convince me that Nilka was her mother, but I still think [...]