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El Nino is influencing the amount of annual rainfall we have had this year, which is far less than normal. Combining the shortfall of water with the fact that Panama is one of the countries with the highest water consumption rate in Latin America, we are going to see major shortages this summer.

Panama has only 3 ways of making electricity to serve the country. Water hydroelectric plants (produce the most electricity), bunker electric plants that work with oil and more recently eolic wind mills are currently the methods used in Panama.

This means that brown outs will start this summer. As the water is no longer available to run the hydro plants there will be no electricity.

In August, the Panama Government put into place a law barring the use of drinking water to water lawns, gardens and golf courses. This is only the beginning of more strict water consumption restrictions to come this summer.

In addition in some areas of Panama, towns are already rationing water on a daily basis with no water available during the day time. This could take effect all over Panama as the dry season approaches shortly.

It is our duty as residents of Panama to do our part in conserving water now and prepare for power outages.

• Turn off the facet when brushing your teeth
• Do less laundry and make sure when you do a load it is full
• Check for leaks in toilets and facets that drip
• Take shorter showers
• Stop watering outdoor plants
• Stock up on bottled water
• Collect rainwater to use around the yard
• Get emergency lighting ready, prepare for electric outages

The water problem in Panama will continue as El Nino will be around for a few years. In addition Panama is trying to find ways to create electricity as this will be an ongoing problem with more people moving here and the need for water and electricity grows.

Bids have begun for the building of a new bridge to cross the Panama Canal. Bids for construction will be open until November 30, 2015. The new infrastructure is estimated to cost between $1,000 and $1,500 million dollars. The date of completion and the grand opening is expected to be in 3 to 3 1/2 years.

The new bridge will be a cable-stayed bridge like the Centenario and will be around 1,118 meters long. It will have 6 lanes for traffic, 3 in each direction and have two tracks for the third line of the Metro.

It will be built north of the Bridge of the Americas. It will connect with the North Corridor and the Metro Station in Albrook and the other end will connect to the Arraijan highway.

The construction of the bridge in this area will benefit more than 80,000 people who commute daily to city center from the western areas of the city and the further reaches into the province.

It is hoped that this new bridge will ease traffic congestion on other bridges and make commute time easier and faster. It will also be an alternate in case of accidents or congestion on the other bridges.

There is a large discrepancy between fact and fiction regarding the subject of the price of health care and health coverage in Panama through insurance.

The fact is that Panama is cheaper than other countries for health care services, however rising costs have affected Panama and the costs associated with health coverage.

Since health insurance may be one of the biggest items in your budget, it should be on your investigative list before you move here.

The process for obtaining and receiving health insurance in Panama is different than what you are used to.

First if you elect not to get any insurance you will have to pay out of pocket, usually cash and upfront in any surgery situation. Emergencies may require the same depending on the hospital. While you may think that for most elective surgeries you will return to your home country, many emergency surgeries will have to be done here. Some surgeries and stays in hospitals can run into thousands without insurance.

Second if you elect to apply for health insurance there is a process you must go through. The first part of the initial questioning is to determine your age. All insurances have age restrictions, meaning that if you are over a certain age you cannot get insurance. The second part of the process will be that the insurance company will ask for health records, surgery records, blood tests, medications lists and any other pertinent things for them to consider your risks. Once they have thoroughly gone over your medical history, they can and often will give you a policy with pre existing medical problems being excluded from coverage. Some of these exclusions can be permanent others may have a waiting period.

Panama offers several different health insurance policies with differing copays and coverage items. It is important to look at your situation and determine what is best for you.

The easiest way to make sense of health insurance providers and their coverages in Panama is to consult a health insurance broker and expert who can easily assess your basic needs and pair them up with insurances which might be a good fit for you.  Health insurance brokers are on top of current health care coverage trends and changes.

Therefore it makes sense to use their knowledge to present you with the best policies that Panama can offer for your situation.

There are now new alcohol and curfew laws in Chiriqui. With crime on the increase in Chiriqui, the government has set forth some new regulations and laws to help protect the citizens. On September 24^th the major of David put into place, Decree 14 which establishes new curfew regulations regarding alcohol.  As of now in David there are new laws regarding the hours that liquor can be served. Bars may serve liquor Sunday thru Thursday from 11am until 1am. On Friday and Saturday they can serve liquor from 11am until 3am. Restaurants can serve liquor from 11am until midnight.

Further laws are now in place regulating alcohol purchasing in stores. No alcohol will be sold before 11 am. You cannot buy alcohol Monday thru Friday after 1am and on Saturday and Sunday after 3am.

In addition, minors must be in the company of adults if they are outside between the hours of 9pm and 6am. The only exception to this is if they are attending school or have a reasonable need to be outside.

Results of not complying with these new laws will result in stiff penalties. The new law stipulates that municipal inspectors, National Police, corregidores, and Municipal Police have been enlisted to help with the compliance of these new laws. This hopefully will reduce the gathering of youths and crime in the late night hours.

With recent violent crimes committed in Chiriqui the public has also been asked to be on alert for suspicious activity and report it to the proper authorities. As is the case in Chiriqui, North Americans are more of a target, the thought being that they have more money and possessions of value. In the past few months crimes against expats has increased in the area. It is imperative that we all do our best to help our neighbors and protect ourselves by being more diligent about our safety.

© 2015 Magda Crespo Panama Realty

For those of you new to Chiriqui, we would like to provide you with some safety precautions for living here. For those of you who have been here awhile, this is a fresh reminder.

It is sad that we need to speak of these things, but you need to be prepared.

With recent increasing incidents of violent and nonviolent attacks on people and their homes, expats living in Chiriqui need to take extra precaution.

The reason you will be a target and your neighbor will not is that you are the easier target. The attacks and break-ins are not chosen at random. The thieves want to take what they can in the fastest easiest way they can. They are looking for an easy quick entrance and exit.

First and foremost, do not flaunt that you have cash, guns or anything of value. Do not wear glittery jewelry or dangle high priced cameras around your neck.

If you go out alone at night make sure you are in a well-lighted public area. Let people know where you are going to be. Get a buddy to call every day at the same time when both of you are finally home for the evening. Do your best to protect yourself, be smart. Make sure someone has your contact emergency information that can assist you in an emergency.

Protecting your contents is very important. No matter where you live, bars should always be on the windows and you should have a security door. It would also be preferable to have a walled home, gated home with razor wire. The more the thieves have to get through to get to you the more they lose interest.

Whether you are at home or away, keep all doors locked at all times. At night close windows and make sure window coverings can’t be seen through. Do not place valuable objects within sight of windows or near windows. Thieves have easy ways to snatch these items.

One of the most important things to give you peace of mind, if something should be taken, is making sure you have homeowners or renters policy. I think by now recent events have proven that those who say, “It won’t happen to me” all wished they would have had insurance to cover their losses. Do not wait until an event occurs. Procrastination can be very expensive consequence.

If someone does break into your home, do not fight. The best option is getting on the floor covering your head and staying still. Most break-ins are to get money and anything they can grab and go. Let them. It is not worth your life to try to fight them off and be killed. Cooperating is the best answer for your survival.

We all love living in Panama and with a little common sense, planning ahead and due diligence we can continue to live here without regret and be safe.

© 2015 Magda Crespo Panama Realty

Panama health care services are the best in Latin America. Most health issues can be addressed and treated in Panama.  Panama City has excellent hospitals with state of the art equipment, highly trained physicians and staff who speak English. Panama City hospitals may be an option for those who find certain testing and equipment are not available within the Chiriqui area.

David has two private hospitals, Mae Lewis and Hospital Chiriqui. Both are staffed with doctors in all areas of specialized care.

Mae Lewis Hospital has an emergency department with ambulance service and an expert team of nurses and doctors for critical care.  The laboratory at Mae Lewis has diagnostic lab services that provide, blood work, x-rays as well as other medical diagnostic equipment. It is the smaller of the two private hospitals with ten beds.

Hospital Chiriqui is the largest hospital in the area. This hospital is currently expanding and adding on new wings to keep up with the demand of more doctors, rooms and services. There are over 100 doctors on staff at Hospital Chiriqui with ever expanding specialized care.  The room choices for Hospital Chiriqui include suites, junior suites, private rooms, semi-private with two beds and four bed rooms. All are clean and modern with cable television and air conditioning. In addition, Hospital Chiriqui has an emergency department with ambulance services as well as an intensive care unit with state of the art equipment.

Most people who can afford it like the services, doctors and staff at the private hospitals over the Social Security Hospital. Wait times at the private hospitals are far less and the attention given to patients is their top priority.

If you have medical insurance that is covered in Panama, these two hospitals will accept your insurance. Depending on the policy of your insurance company, you may need to have prior approval for certain surgeries and procedures.

Doctors’ visits at these hospitals are expected to be paid at the time of the visit and in cash. The doctor’s staff will fill out paperwork for you, for your insurance reimbursement when necessary.

Since Chiriqui is rapidly growing, both the private hospitals are determined to provide the best possible health care for Chiriqui with the latest technology in equipment for surgeries and diagnostic testing. In addition, they are recruiting the best doctors in Panama to work in Chiriqui.

© 2015 Magda Crespo Panama Realty

Ground has broken and bulldozers are moving dirt getting ready for construction of the new Federal Mall in David. The Federal Mall and transport center are on target for completion in late 2017. This 180 million dollar project will be a replication of the Albrook Mall and transport center in Panama City.

The site is just outside David on the new highway to Boquete just before the entrance to Colinas de Santa Cruz subdivision. The mall itself will be set on 50 acres with over 3000 parking spots. It will have over 400 stores and is estimated to employ around 4,000 people.

The transportation center will add another 12 acres and will replace the bus terminal downtown.

The Albrook Mall and bus station in Panama City has been such a huge success that it is understandable why the same developer has chosen to build an identical situation here in David.  The developer is Grupo Los Pueblos whose vision will transform David into a regional shopping mecca and transportation hub for Chiriqui.

© 2015 Magda Crespo Panama Realty

Boca Chica is currently about an hour and a half from David on the Pan American Highway.  Once the highway construction on the Pan American is done the drive should only take about 30-40 minutes.The turn off is at Hwy 407 to Horconcitos.  You will drive through the beautiful scenic countryside of the San Lorenzo District in the Chiriqui Province. The largest town in this area is Horconcitos with a small population of fewer than 1,000.

Boca Chica is about another 15 minutes further and this is where the road ends. Boca Chica is a small community on the peninsulas mainland with a population of only 400 people. Small homes dot the two block long main street that goes downhill to the pier. There is a small local grocery, no gas station.

In recent years there have been several small hotels built along the shoreline. They are scattered among the bluffs in seclusion of each other, offering bed and breakfast retreats with deep sea fishing tours, snorkeling, diving as well as kayak rentals.

There are a total of 16 islands that make up the archipelago in this region. Boca Brava is the nearest island and only a 5 minute boat ride away.  The boats will normally take you to the beach of your choice or to the Boca Brava Hotel or the Cala Mia Resort for about $3.00 each way.

Boca Braca is 6 kilometers wide and 14 kilometers long. It has over 280 species of birds, monkeys and as well as snakes, iguanas and armadillos.

There are no stores, roads or any other amenities on the island except the two small hotels which have restaurants. The beaches are accessed by a winding trail through a thick jungle with adjacent trail heads that wander down the steep paths to the beaches below. From the Boca Brava hotel the Playa de Piedritas beach is about a 20 minute hike. Playa de Arena is another 10 minutes. Making sure you visit during low tide is a must, if you actually want to be on a beach. Otherwise at high tide the water is right up to the banks of the island. The main path has access to all beach areas where you can swim in calm water.  Wear hiking boots or good slip proof sandals and make sure to bring water to the beach areas.

Snorkeling and diving trips are available from Boca Chica. These day trips go to the outlying islands where the tropical fish are plentiful and undisturbed.

The area around Boca Chica is full of wildlife, coral reefs, whales, turtles, sharks and dolphins. Boca Chica is where the boats leave from for all the whale watching tours during the months of August, September and October. In addition, Boca Chica provides deep sea fishing charter tours where you can catch marlin, tuna, grouper, snapper, sailfish and more.

Also in this region lies the Golfo de Chriqui National Marine Park. This is a national marine park that protects over 58 square miles of marine ecosystems as well as 25 islands. Only two of these islands are inhabited.

The region surrounding Boca Chica and the islands offers a great way to get to know Panama’s natural beauty undisturbed.

© 2015 Magda Crespo Panama Realty

The Enrique Malek International airport, or (DAV) in David is finished with construction of the terminal and runways. The terminal looks updated and modern. Parking has been added and the terminal is ready for business.

Air Panama has had flights to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) for some time and also offers daily flight to the Albrooks, Marcos A. Gelabert International airport (PAC) in Panama City.

Since earlier this year, Copa has begun offering flights directly to Tocumen International airport (PTY). This was a much needed addition for David. Now passengers can make direct connection at Tocumen for other international destinations.

Copa offers two flights a day to David from (PTY). Currently they are around an hour long and leave (PTY) at 7:50AM and 5:32PM and arrive at (DAV) at 9:01AM and 6:34PM concurrently. These flights run seven days a week.

Air Panama offers two flights that consistently run Monday through Sunday from the Albrook airport in Panama City. They leave (PAC) at 7:00AM and 4:55PM and arrive (DAV) at 7:45AM and 5:30PM. In addition there are other flights that leave on specific days only.

Currently Air Panama allows 14 kilos or 30.8 pounds of luggage per person within Panama. Copa currently allows 1 or 2 bags with a combined weight of 20 kilos or 44 pounds of luggage per person.

As a special note, to get your Jubilado discount you will need to book your flight with a local travel agent or go directly to the airline offices and purchase your ticket there.

© 2015 Magda Crespo Panama Realty