Chiriquí Chatter

13 Responses to “Have You?”

1. Mike Owen says:

   March 17, 2009 at 3:29 pm

   Fortunately (knock on wood) not yet. However, people have to understand that every precaution should be exercised in protecting property. In only for a few seconds, the opportunist thief has the audacity to snatch something from you. The rule of thumb has to be, “Trust no one”. Once one gets into the routine of “thinking like a thief”, it is really not too hard.
2. Michael says:

   March 18, 2009 at 8:30 am

   To be candid, this problem is one of my biggest worries about moving to Panama.
3. Don Ray says:

   March 18, 2009 at 8:38 am

   Knock on wood, so far, I have only had one cell phone lifted from my pocket. Of course it had to be the $600 smart phone I had bought a few months earlier. Now the cell I carry is much cheaper. If you leave something setting around, it will disappear, but I think that is true in the US or other places in the world too.
4. bob says:

   March 18, 2009 at 9:32 am

   Don,
   That is very true although, chiriqui is such a small small town and foreigners stand out like a sore thumb. The general assumtion seems to be, “all gringo’s have too much money”. I know that is not always the case but most of the time it is.
5. Don Ray says:

   March 18, 2009 at 9:33 am

   Hi Bob. Thieves in David are equal opportunity thieves. They do not care if you are gringos or Panamanian. They take from both if given the chance.
6. Lee Zeltzer says:

   March 18, 2009 at 9:38 am

   Michael
   Crime should be high on your list of issues to be considered before moving. In reality although often discussed the real rate of crime in Chiriqui and Boquete in particular is still very low compared to the USA.
7. Don Ray says:

   March 18, 2009 at 9:46 am

   Hie Lee. Thanks for dropping by. It is the increasing amount of violent crime that is of concern. If you listened to the Panamanian presidential debate, that was a hot issue of the Panamanians.
8. Michael says:

   March 19, 2009 at 8:02 am

   To clarify my previous comment: I have photography equipment that, if stolen because of my own stupidity, would be VERY painful to me (smile). When I do a photo shoot, my attention focuses on the subject(s) in front of me and the settings for my cameras/flash units/lenses. I tend to forget the bag at my feet. I must make some changes to the way I do things from the “gitgo” before I start taking pictures in Panama. The rise in violent crime is also at the top of my list of concerns. I wish the Panamanian presidential debate was available for viewing online somewhere.
9. Don Ray says:

   March 19, 2009 at 8:31 am

   Hi Michael. I understand your concern. For this reason, I chose to use my highend Olympus SP570SP instead of an SLR. It is large for a point and shoot, bit small compared to what I would have to carry.

   I don’t know if the TVN site has videos or not. The do have pretty good coverage f the current news.
10. Lenny says:

    March 19, 2009 at 10:08 am

    Crime and all types of theft are IMHO really getting out of hand here. I’m currently renting a house with a wrought iron gate in front and the other three sides with cyclone fence topped with razor wire. Nevertheless, with certain clockwork every night a thief will scale the front wrought iron gate and steal anything in the front yard regardless of significance. Last night it was a DOG LEASH. On a morality scale of 1 to 10, I’d give this culture a minus 20.
11. Don Ray says:

    March 19, 2009 at 10:12 am

    May be time for a Doberman.
12. Michael says:

    March 19, 2009 at 9:53 pm

    My wife and I watched the presidential debate at TVN with her translating the candidates responses. Very interesting.

    The 5 part debate can be found here:
    http://www.tvn-2.com/noticias/e09/presidencial/video.asp?id=5
13. Don Ray says:

    March 19, 2009 at 10:04 pm

    Hi Michael. Thanks for following up and the link.