Comments on: Oh My

By: Don Ray

Don Ray — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:57:06 +0000

I know. When you go to Panama City, it looks like the entire city is a construction site.

By: Server Seller

Server Seller — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:49:17 +0000

That monster was going to be built next to my building, although the whole of Obarrio is now a construction site to be fair… super casino and hotel coming soon!

By: Don Ray

Don Ray — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:32:31 +0000

Well, it appears that tomorrow’s trip to the Frontera has been moved to next week some time. The reminder about tomorrow still apply.

By: Clyde and Linda Keith

Clyde and Linda Keith — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:31:53 +0000

Hi Don,
Have a good journey to the Frontera! Will enjoy reading your blog whenever you get a chance.

Clyde

By: Don Ray

Don Ray — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:01:35 +0000

Hi Clyde. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I have to make a run up to the Frontera in the morning, but I may have something ready for tomorrow. But understand how tomorrow works in Panama.

By: Clyde and Linda Keith

Clyde and Linda Keith — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:12:30 +0000

Hola Joyce and Don,
Thank-you for all the good information on David utilities and the Chiriqui/Potrerillos/ Boquete area in general. I like the change in the blog header, it lets readers see more of the area around David. I started my day off reading each of your blogs to Linda, so we’re ready for another day and looking forward to tomorrow’s entries! You all have a good day!

Clyde

By: Joyce LaGow

Joyce LaGow — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:25:20 +0000

Clyde and Linda,
Quite a few of those who are digging their own wells are those who got trapped with no water access. Cisterns here are not the norm. We looked into it and were advised against it as a supply for the house. The few people I know who have something like that use it for water for irrigating their gardens during the dry season. The problem is water management–it can go bad here in a cistern within 2 weeks. But then I think you’d have the same problem in Texas. Almost every gringo I know in this area of whatever nationality has a reserve water tank. Very few of those are gravity feed; just about all of us have pumps.

Some Panamanians I know have dug their own shallow wells. One of our friends offered to introduce us to a dowser when we were looking into it. I think eventually we’ll dig a well, but that’s way on the back burner for now. Even though maintaining our water lines is work–and today I’m nervously eyeing a ganadera back hoe that looks parked on the bank that holds our water line–the problem is not big enough to stir me to that kind of expensive action. Yet.

There are entire sections of Boquete that have severe water problems in the dry season, and that’s within the municipio itself. Last year, Torrijos–the President–visited Boquete and was pressed on what the government was going to do about the water problem in the province and especially in Boquete. Absolutely Standard Politician that he is, he promised a major water study! I almost fell off my chair laughing when I read this.

The problems with water lines that I’ve described differ only in details. You can go up to the Jaramillo Central area (I think it’s Central) in Boquete, and see miles of 1/2″ and 3/4″ PVC pipe going uphill and down, bringing water to different houses. Barely outside city limits, and that’s what you’ll see. These lines break for different reasons and YOU are responsible for repairs. This is true of every single area outside of the David city limits that I know of.

I know that there are those who buy gas backup electricity generators, because I see the generators in PriceSmart, but I’m sure they’re aimed at the gringo market, given the prices. And now with the price of gasoline what it is, it might be prohibitive to run one. Personally, I think they’re unnecessary if you’re willing to put up with a little inconvenience.

Given our current water pressure, we have no trouble with hot water when the power goes off, but before that, we used to because the pressure from our tank was not sufficient. So–we waited a while for showers, heated water for dishes or sponge baths on the stove–exactly what we did in the US under similar circumstances.

By: Don Ray

Don Ray — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:19:43 +0000

Hi Clyde. Most have some access to a municipal water supply. They use it to feed their reserve tank and than the tan feeds the house. Many use a pressure pump and some elevate the tank and lit it gravity feed. The problem with gravity fed water is that there won’t be enough pressure to power an instant on hot water heater.

There are some that are digging their own wells.

By: Clyde and Linda Keith

Clyde and Linda Keith — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:29:41 +0000

Hi, Don,
Thank-you so much for your informative answer. Being in the country here, we were on a pressure pump, our own well, and a 5000 gal cistern, for years, until water lines were dug about 8 years ago and we officiallly joined the “city water” age, only took 20 years for it to get here. Seems like needed utilities in David are in pretty good operation, and available. We’re on DirecTV and Hughesnet here. I visited David, Boquete, and the Volcan/Bambito areas in Nov. of 2005 and really enjoyed the mountains, because of their coolness, something that is not the norm, as you know, in Texas. Guess if we wanted to live in the mountains, we’d be wise to have back-up water storage and power generation, for refrigerators, etc., too. That’s not a bad thing to have here, either, for that matter. The more I’ve read and learned about Panama, the more similarities I see in living there, from a rural perspective. Do they dig wells or use a rain capture water storage system in the rural areas, for back-up, in addition to any underground water line system they may have?

Thanks again,
Clyde

By: Don Ray

Don Ray — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:48:21 +0000

Hi C&L,

My experience is that utilities are much more reliable than Boquete, based on the time I spent there and talking to others. I suspect it is better than all rural areas. I can expect to have an electricity problem as many as 4 times a year, for from an hour up to 12 hours. I always report an outage, so if you have followed the blog, you can see the history.

I do keep all my equipment on good surge suppressors and the PC on good UPS. Power can fluctuate or go out for a few seconds above and beyond the 4 times a year that I mentioned above. The last two times I lost power was because of a transformer blowing and it was fixed within 4 hours.

For me water outage is a more serious problem, just because of the inconvenience of not having a bathroom. Outages with water also occur up to 4 times a year in David. Water service is different in different parts of David. I know some people that say, while they do have water, they rarely have enough pressure to take a shower.

Most people that live in areas that suffer from water problems put in a water tank which provides water during an outage until the water supply is turned back on. Where I live, I don’t need that.

Internet in David is pretty good. I can chose from Cable and Wireless or Cable Onda and in this part of town, both provide reasonable service. Still I can have an outage of several hours now and then.

For TV, I have the choice of AstroVision, Cable Onda or DirecTV. None are equivilent to US standards in programing, or quality. For example, the Fox News network can sometimes be out of sync in audio and video by as much as 10 seconds. I have friends on the other provider and they have the same problem, changing providers would not solve the problem. In Panama, DirecTV will loose signal in a good rain storm, which will happen several times a year or more depending on where you live.

Nothing is perfect in Panama. You have to make the best of things that are not perfect and enjoy more fully the relaxed pace of life here.