The virus statistics for Panama on March 28 stand at 901 cases, with 17 deaths reported. New cases have been added for the past 4-5 days at the rate of about 110 per day. This rapid increase in the past week is a bit alarming, especially since a handful of cases aren’t far from Boquete, but this seems to follow the global pattern – a rapid increase of cases, then (hopefully) a leveling off and decline of new instances.
Panama is doing many things right regarding their attempts to limit the spread of the virus – airports are closed, bus service suspended, residents are under quarantine except for a two-hour window per day, and that is only for necessities like buying food and medicine. IDs are being closely checked to make sure people are going out only at their allotted time. Numerous people have been arrested, and companies have been fined, for ignoring the rules.
The streets are eerily empty, compared to the usual hustle and bustle downtown. Below is a recent photo someone posted on Facebook of Boquete’s main street. Normally, there would be cars parked on both sides of the street, vendors selling fruits and vegetables from the backs of their trucks, and people filling the sidewalks, going about their daily business. Not today.
Main street in downtown Boquete, a virtual ghost town these days.Cleaning crews were thoroughly scrubbing and disinfecting the bus stops, sidewalks, and even the streets a couple of days ago.
So while I’m hunkering down at home and staying safe, I’ve been enjoying some of the very creative efforts of people who are making well-done song parodies online. These are some of my favorites. This “Coronavirus Rhapsody” is phenomenal, and the couple singing “Homebound” is adorable! Gotta love the “Quarantinaville” homage to Jimmy Buffett, too!
Although very different, life under quarantine is not nearly as difficult as the alternative – this illness is no joke, and being in a higher risk demographic, I’m not about to tempt fate. With patience and calmness, we all need to be smart about our health and remember these four little words, “This, too, shall pass…”
Since the entire world is on virtual lockdown due to the corona virus, I thought I’d send an update on how I’m faring here in Boquete, Panama. As of March 22, there have been 245 confirmed cases of the virus, with three deaths. All but one of the cases (and all of the deaths) have been located in and around Panama City, where approximately half of Panama’s population lives. I live in the western part of Panama, about a six hour drive from Panama City. There has been only one case in my portion of the country, in a city at least an hour’s drive from where I live.
Panama has been proactive to reduce the spread of the virus. A week ago, all incoming flights from Europe and Asia were cancelled, and as of tonight, ALL flights, both incoming and outgoing, are cancelled. People are told to stay home unless necessary to buy groceries or medicines, and non-essential businesses are closed. Grocery stores, pharmacies, and hospitals are open, but precautions are taken to limit the number of people in the facilities and ensure a safe distance is maintained. A curfew has been imposed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., and is being enforced by the police. Only residents of Boquete are (theoretically) allowed past the checkpoint, and must show proof of residence. I’ve heard from several people that this is NOT being enforced – at least not consistently.
I bought groceries a few days ago. There was a health official at the door, keeping track of how many people entered and left the store. The shelves were full, and the handful of shoppers I saw were not buying an excessive amount of goods – no “panic buying” in evidence here.
Restaurants are allowed to continue operations, with only carry-out and home delivery allowed. Before the virus, only a couple of restaurants offered home delivery, but that has become a necessary adjustment to their business model.
One peculiar rule has puzzled me a bit, though – all sales and consumption of liquor has been prohibited until April 7. Apparently THIS is what has triggered the only cases of panic buying that I’ve heard of here. In the hours before the cut-off of sales, people were rushing to the stores to buy cart-loads of beer, wine, and spirits to stock up for the duration of the quarantine. No gatherings of people are allowed, so maybe that rule was implemented to discourage partying, and perhaps because when people are drunk, they tend to make poor decisions regarding safety.
One of my friends wasn’t about to let the “no gatherings” rule stop him from providing some much-needed entertainment and boredom relief! He performs at various venues around town, and since that’s not possible at the moment, he was thoughtful and generous enough to set up a live video in his living room to allow us to join him on Facebook for a socially-distant but thoroughly enjoyable two-hour concert. Here’s a link to the replay. Enjoy!
As for me, daily life hasn’t changed drastically. I stay home quite a bit anyway, so home quarantine isn’t a big deal for me. I already work from home, so that’s exactly the same. I watch TV, read, or play computer games – again, fairly normal activities. The part that has changed is that I had to cancel a trip I was planning to take in a couple of weeks to OKC for my polymer clay retreat, and to catch up with friends there. That was disappointing! Other “fun stuff” here in Boquete has also been cancelled or postponed – our weekly drum circle, SausageFest (a contest among local chefs to see who makes the best sausage), a day trip to an orchid farm, and a production of Noel Coward’s “Blythe Spirit” play.
In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the lovely weather, the green mountains, and the sweet songs of the birds. This little bird likes to perch outside my bathroom window and sing his little heart out each morning.
Life will be eventually go back to normal (perhaps a “new normal”) after this crisis has passed. Maybe this crisis will wake us up to a new way of thinking. One can only hope. And speaking of hope, the video below was sent to me by a friend, and it’s the most sane and positive viewpoint I’ve heard on this event.
Stay safe, remain calm, and obey the safety guidelines, and we’ll all get through this together…
UPDATE 3/24/20: As of today, there are now 443 virus cases and eight deaths, including a 13-year-old child. There is now at least one confirmed case in Boquete. The entirety of Panama will be on 24-hour in-home quarantine, as of 5:00 a.m. tomorrow. We are only permitted to be out of our homes for two hours to buy groceries or medicines, with the allowed times based on the last digit of our cedula (government ID) or passport number. Seniors over 60 are allowed to shop from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., regardless of their ID number. Hopefully this tighter regulation, and rigorous enforcement of it, will result in a shorter time frame and fewer people affected. As they say, flatten the curve!
I go to a weekly event called a “drum circle” – which, as you might imagine, is a group of people who sit in a circle and make music with drums and other percussion instruments such as tambourines, gourd rattles, etc. One of the guys has assembled a set of plastic jugs and tin cans into sort of a drum set (quite effective!), and one lady even beats on a metal frying pan!
We meet on Wednesday evenings from 4 to 5, and on the Sunday evening nearest the full moon, we have dinner, then drum for a couple of hours afterwards. Often, we can’t actually see the moon because of cloud cover, but last night it was in full view, and it was spectacular!
Full moon through the trees at drum circle.
Drum circle is always fun, but when we caught a glimpse of the moon, we all had to howl in solidarity with the sight! Here’s a taste of what goes on…
This also is the fourth anniversary of the drumming group, so it was celebrated with a huge cake!
Last Friday I joined other Panama Relocation Tour alumni for happy hour and dinner at Mike’s Global Grill, one of the local expat hangouts. The house was packed! The food was good, the company was congenial, and the music was great!
The tour alumni table at Mike’s. (someone else took this picture – see me up by the stage?)
The musicians were gettin’ down with the blues, and a good time was had by all! It was a very pleasant social and musical evening.
Andy Egert, lead guitar
The Boquete Jazz & Blues Festival, with many wonderful musicians, was held a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t attend (big crowds, hot, and kind of expensive tickets), but a tremendous amount of people from all over did. Maybe next year….
Another field trip hosted by Panama Relocation Tours – this time, it was a short trip to David to the brand-new Federal Mall to see an exhibition of folk dancing from around the region.
Before I get to the main event of the evening, I must say something about the mall. Only a couple of department stores, a little ice cream and cookie shop, and the multi-screen movie theater are open as yet, but this mall is HUGE, and will have over 300 stores when it’s fully operational.
The theater is very modern, and the concession area is impressive. There’s also a little coffee shop inside the theatre, off to one side. I bought a large popcorn (they have both buttered popcorn AND caramel corn available) before watching the dancers.
Modern concession area in the movie theater.
Movie posters. Some movies are subtitled, and some are dubbed. Show times are available online, just like in the US.
The popcorn was much the same as in theaters in the US, but the price was very different. The largest size was $3.35 – about half the price of my local theater in the US. I think the caramel corn was the same price. This was my first time inside the mall, but someone who had seen a movie there posted on Facebook that the ticket price was $3-$4, and the seats were very comfortable. I’ll be going back to see a movie soon, for sure!
As we arrived and before the folk dancers began, there were lots of little kids on the stage, and they had a dance-off between the boys and the girls. They were adorable, and some of them were natural-born entertainers. It would be interesting to see what they are like when they’re older!
The folk dance exhibition (baile folklórico) included groups not only from Panama, but also from Columbia, Peru and Cuba. Different provinces in Panama have somewhat different styles of folk dance and costumes. When we went to Las Tablas for the pollera festival, we saw mostly the traditional white embroidered dresses with the full skirts. There were at least two groups from Panama at this event. The first group’s costumes were similar to the polleras, but the ladies wore fitted white vests and full red skirts. The men were dressed pretty much the same as the ones in Las Tablas.
Folk dancers from Peru, Columbia, Cuba, and (of course) Panama.
The second Panamanian dance group was much different from anything I had seen before – I think they were from Colón. Their costumes and dance style had a definite Afro-Caribbean flavor, and reminded me of Carnival (celebrated on the four days before Ash Wednesday), especially the last part of the video below, where the devil attempts to disrupt the proceedings, but is vanquished by the Carnival King and Queen, who defeat him by brandishing a cross.
Afro-Caribbean folk dancers reveling at Carnival and defeating the devil.
This was a delightful evening of entertainment, and the local culture is just one more reason I enjoy Panama so much!
