I mentioned awhile back that the roads in downtown Boquete are a mess right now. It’s been going on for a long time, but since the Panamanian President came here to see it for himself in late August and promised that the roads would be finished by the end of November, there has been much more activity – and consequently, much more of a mess. Plus, it’s the rainy season, which washes away temporary gravel patches and leaves the roads with huge potholes and washboard texture. Not good for cars or pleasant for drivers!

They seem to be working everywhere at once these days, and it’s really difficult to get to where you need to go, or even to find a parking place because sometimes they’re tearing up two or three blocks right downtown, where most of the businesses are. Detour routes change almost on a daily basis, so you’re never really sure if you can go the same way today as you did yesterday.

The business owners are struggling mightily to stay afloat – customers can’t get to them easily because of the roads. Plus, there are planned water outages for entire days, perhaps once or twice a week, in the areas they’re working on. How does a restaurant stay open with no water? How does a hotel stay open with toilets and showers that don’t work? Difficult, to say the least.

And now, there’s a major detour that was supposed to go into effect today. There’s only one main road into and out of downtown Boquete, and they were going to start on a section of that road near the edge of town. This detour would take people way off the highway, starting about a mile south of town. They would travel down a two-lane side road (which becomes one lane in some areas) until they reach the downtown area. See the map below – downtown Boquete is just to the north on this map.

The red line indicates the route of the planned detour (click to enlarge)

This detour is scheduled to last two weeks (but considering the rate of completion so far, it’s very likely to take longer). Here is a video of the current road conditions on at least one section of the route. Granted, the video was taken during a prolonged rainstorm, but that’s a river washing across the road! How are heavy busses and small cars supposed to go through that for at least two weeks? The road would be one sloppy, rutted (not to mention dangerous) mudhole in no time with all that traffic.

I say the detour was supposed to go in effect today. However, it seems this detour was the last straw for people in the transportation business – school bus drivers and taxi drivers. This morning, about a dozen school busses formed a blockade just at the edge of town, preventing anyone from entering (or leaving) Boquete on the main road.

School busses blocking the main road into and out of Boquete. This blockade lasted at least two to three hours.

Blocking travel, either with vehicles or crowds of people, is apparently a common means used in Latin American countries to protest issues that affect the community. A couple of weeks ago, people blocked a highway going into Costa Rica because of tax hikes. The Boquete community has been frustrated for quite awhile over the road conditions, but it seems it’s reached the boiling point with this latest detour.

So the detour has been postponed for a week. How much that will help is questionable, but I heard that they’re at least trying to improve the alternate route in coming days, probably just by throwing a bunch of gravel in the worst spots.

Time will tell – but I’m not planning to go into town very much for awhile unless I just have to.

I’m in the process of moving to a long-term rental this weekend – a three bedroom, two bath house with a carport that’s a couple of miles further out from downtown Boquete and about three blocks from the highway. It’s in a nice little neighborhood called Jardines de Boquete (Boquete Gardens) – just a couple of streets with cute little houses. It seems safe and well-kept.

I think I got a bargain – it’s just $105 more a month than I’m paying for my current two-bed, one-bath, second-floor apartment, and most importantly, it has NO STAIRS! Tim and Bill helped me move – I had them schlep all the boxes down the stairs and into the house, and paid them by buying them lunch.

My initial rental agreement is for three months, just to make sure I like it (which I’m sure I will!), then I’ll sign a one-year lease. The landlord (Don) is Canadian, and will be in Edmonton for at least the next year or more. We’ve e-mailed back and forth several times, and I spoke to him on the phone today. I think we’ll get along just fine!

Front of the house. The driveway is paved with ceramic tiles. Pretty, but slick when it’s wet outside, which is most of the time during the current rainy season!

The living room is furnished with comfy leather furniture – a sofa, loveseat, and recliner. All those pieces made the living room pretty crowded, so I moved the loveseat to the dining room. Much better!

Living room, after rearranging the furniture.

Dining room. The floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the back wall are a little startling sometimes, but covering part of it with the loveseat helps a bit!

The kitchen is small, but serviceable. With the availability of a room off to the side where the HUGE refrigerator, chest freezer, storage shelves, and washer/dryer are located, it should be just fine.

The kitchen has lots of dishes, tools, and cookware available. There’s more counter space across from the sink.

Storage room with refrigerator, freezer, washer/dryer, and storage racks.

Two of the bedrooms have queen-size beds in them. The third bedroom had twin beds, but they were removed so I could use that room for my office. So excited to have a dedicated guest bedroom – I haven’t had that in any house I’ve ever lived in. So, friends, your room is ready – come on down for a visit!

The master bedroom has an ensuite bath with a shower that has a big rainfall shower head. There’s another bath with shower in the hall, across from the guest bedroom.

Master bedroom, with windows overlooking the back yard and the neighbor’s house.

Beginnings of my office. Computer will go on the desk, clay table on the back wall, and jewelry assembly on the left side.

I was so happy to find some storage drawer units very similar to what I had in Oklahoma, to store my clay. I had to go to the DoIt Center (like Home Depot) in David to find them. They were a little more expensive than the ones I originally bought, but it was well worth a few extra dollars not to have to pay shipping!

The yard is covered with gravel – no grass at all, so it’s low-maintenance. The landlord pays a lady to tend the trees, plants, and flowers. There’s an avocado tree and lemon tree in the back yard, and a mandarin orange tree, hibiscus flowers, and lovely shrubs in the front yard. I think the trees are fairly young – Don said the avocado tree produced exactly ONE avocado last year. Hopefully, there will be more this year!

Gravel-coated back yard with avocado and lemon trees.

Tonight my friend Tim and I went to the Olde Timey Radio Show at the BCP. It’s a variety show featuring song, dance, comedy, and skits put on by local Boquete residents, both expats and Panamanians.

Show poster

The show was lots of fun – there’s a whole lot of different talent in this town! Many people participated, and it was pretty much sold out for both nights of the show. Nice to go “out on the town” for an evening’s entertainment.

Curtain call with the entire cast

Today at the BCP, there was a fundraiser for the Boquete Knitters & Quilters, who make items for the indigenous people here who have very little. They knit hats, blankets, and toys for the children, as well as baby quilts and other items.

The fundraiser was called “SoupFest”, and it was fabulous. For a donation of $10, people could sample any (or all) of the 18 or so wonderful and hearty soups made by the volunteers.

I had a variety of wonderful creations – African peanut soup, Thai chicken, chicken & wild rice, bourbon corn chowder. There was also butterbean soup, vegetable, carrot & ginger, gazpacho, and several other varieties.

A variety of breads were available to accompany the soups, and there was a boatload of cookies and other sweets, too.

Just one small area of the soup tables

And today was definitely a perfect day for soup – it’s been raining most of the time for the last couple of days, and it’s pretty cool outside. Hot, hearty soup and friendly people made for a great counterpoint to the weather outside.