In my last post I touched on the Covid 19 vaccination situation here in Panamá. At that time, we knew that Craig would be able to get the Pfizer vaccine since he is over 60 years old. They opened things up in our province of Chiriquí a few weeks ago, however we needed to wait until it was time for Boquete district. This past week there was mass vaccine distribution of the Pfizer vaccine at the local schools. Craig had his appointment on Thursday and I went along to see if they would allow me to receive one. I am under 60 by 1 year and 2 weeks. I’ve read some online posts saying that they knew of people under 60 who had gotten vaccinated so I thought I would take a stab at it! Craig’s appointment was at the school in Bajo Boquete close to where we are living. There was no line to speak of. I was very hopeful that it would happen. Alas when they saw that I was 2 weeks short of 59, they turned me down and told me I would have to go to the David Fairgrounds to get the AstraZeneca. I had signed up on the website to receive the AstraZeneca but hadn’t received an appointment time yet. The next day friends of ours called and told us about a possible opportunity to get the Pfizer shot at the school in El Francis south of us. Minsa was trying to round people up to receive the shot. Apparently, they had extra and looking for volunteers but we needed to get down there quickly (maybe because it was a Friday afternoon?) Exceeding the speed limit, we rushed down there. Fingers crossed, I got in line and they led me along from checkpoint to checkpoint. There was a moment where I thought my age would be an issue once again, but they made it happen. After they filled out my paperwork, I was seated with a socially-distanced grouping of 6 chairs. The nurse went from person to person and when all 6 of us received our shots, we were led into another room to sit and wait 15 minutes in the event we had any side effects. Exiting the door, Craig was outside waiting for me with umbrella in hand to escort me to the car. The next day I had a little soreness in my arm but no other side effects.
We’re off for little beach get-away for a few days at Playa Barqueta. Feeling relieved and hopeful. Loving life, what a great feeling.
I thought it would be a good day to update the blog, it being a quarantine day in our province of Chiriquí. There has been a large increase in the number of Covid cases in Chiriquí and Veraguas provinces. MINSA (El Ministerio de Salud) once again decided to lock us down the last two Sundays. Apparently, Sundays are big family gathering and party days here in Panamá and people have become laxer. I don’t have the answers but I do not agree with their solution, as recent history has shown. On the bright side, it is one day out of the week. It gives me an opportunity to catch up on things I would otherwise put on the back burner.
Pfizer vaccines are being distributed province by province. Finally, it is Chiriquí’s turn. Last week, some of the districts in Chiriquí had vaccination clinics being held at many of the local schools. This coming week, Boquete district is supposed to have them available, but for people over 60 years old or people with health conditions. Unfortunately, I will have to wait a bit longer as I am not yet 60, but Craig will be able to get it. We have signed up on the official website and waiting to receive verification that he has an appointment. There is so much news on social media about this from all sorts of sources and I find it very bewildering. Additionally, the latest news is that there has been a delivery of Astra Zeneca available for men over 30 and women over 50 that want to get the vaccine. I don’t understand the age variations! There is a separate website to sign up for this which I am having difficulty with. I have to admit that I am a bit on the fence about Astra Zeneca. I am a proponent of getting vaccinated, but the reported blood clot issues, albeit a very low percentage, gives me a little pause. I do believe the benefits outweigh the risks. Many of our friends and acquaintances here have flown to the US to get their shots and have since returned.
Life goes on and we keep ourselves fairly busy. We had a small gathering of friends in our home last week which was a lot of fun. We also drove to David this week for Craig’s dermatologist appointment which he will report on later. A few times a week we visit the Panaderia and Fruit and Vegetable Market as well as general grocery shopping.
Caldera Hot Springs Hike
Yesterday we drove approximately 35 minutes from our house to Caldera Hot Springs with our Panamanian friend, Mily. What a big difference in climate in that short distance! We hiked along a very rocky road to some areas with small thermal pools. We did not go in as we did not bring our swimsuits. The pools looked a bit tricky to get into without slipping. I am not the most sure-footed person! Then we went further down to see the river. After our excursion, we went out to lunch. What a lovely day spent and bonus of practicing our Spanish.
We also continue to do our group hikes as often as we can. Being one with nature and the comradery of the group is so much fun.
Fungi on the hiking trail
Panama Post Office
We had an interesting experience shipping packages to the USA via the Panamá Post Office. We sent out 3 packages that cost around $11 total. It will probably take 3-4 weeks, but it was not time sensitive. First you do not seal the package. Second you need to bring your own glue, not tape. We walked into the office with our 3 bubble envelopes that were already pre-addressed. The clerk inspected what was going into the envelopes (coffee). She sealed our envelopes and I had to write my name across where she sealed the envelope. She then gave us the stamps that we needed to affix to the envelope ourselves with the glue that we brought. I think this may be because of Covid. No licking! We also had to affix a customs paper that showed what was in the envelope and the value. You cannot use a US address as the return address. Since there are no traditional street addresses and mail delivery in Panama, we used the address for Mailboxes, Etc. as our return address. Mailboxes, Etc. is the company we use to import our internet shopping. Fingers crossed, hopefully our packages will arrive intact!
The weather here has been so nice the last few weeks. Officially the rainy season has started, but not much rain has fallen of late. Various places on the mountain have different climates! You can experience a frequent light misty rain known locally as “bajareque”, and then a few moments later it can get really hot when the sun came out. I found this cool website that explains what influences our weather www.boqueteweather.com/climate. This sort of weather is what makes the coffee from Panamá so good!
If I’ve peaked your interest about Panamá, I recommend Panama Relocation Tours on-line guide where you can learn how to relocate to Panamá with total confidence. We took the group tour almost 3 years ago that cemented our lifestyle here today! The on-line guide will give you all the same information but without the worry of traveling during Covid.
We’re taking things day by day here and enjoying what each day may bring. We’ve been given this opportunity to not have to do the daily 9-5 grind. Panamá isn’t perfect by any stretch, but if you open up your heart and mind, who knows what experience could present itself. There is so much more out there in this great big world than the US and gaining this new perspective is invaluable.
Craig and I drove to Chiriquí Hospital today to have preventive dermatology checkups. Because of an abundance of caution over Coronavirus concerns, we have been staying on our side of the Boquete checkpoint. We have been able to get all our needs met right here. We felt it was an important appointment as the higher altitude here means greater UV exposure. Don’t let the cooler Boquete temperatures fool you, the sun is strong! It felt a bit surreal as we drove to David as it had been over 3 months since we were there. David is the largest city in Chiriquí province.
When we arrived at the hospital, we were directed to the side entrance as the main doors were locked. Our temperatures were taken and hands sanitized. Needless to say, masks are mandatory! On the 3rd floor, there was a central check-in with a small waiting area with and chairs were spaced apart. I was called in first. My temperature was taken again. Since it was slightly elevated, the nurse waited a few more minutes and re-took it. By that time, it had come down to normal. I’m not sure what was going on, but the infrared temperature gun was aimed at my neck rather than my forehead. And it was also rather warm in the waiting room as the air conditioning had not yet been turned on.
This was our first time seeing Dra. Karen Zapata who did very thorough examinations. Pictures were taken of my moles and Dra. said that nothing looked awry. Her English is very good which is a bonus. Craig was called in shortly after. His visit took longer as he has had some skin issues to go along with his time spent on construction sites in the Florida sun. Dra. wants to monitor a few spots on Craig so he will go back in 3 months. I don’t need to return for another year. All in all we were very pleased with the professionalism as well as the price of our visits. We self insure and we paid $60 each for a thorough examination.
On our way home going through the checkpoint, our car tires were disinfected. I am not sure what benefit this has, but this is the procedure. Our temperatures were once again taken and home we went.
While we were in Panama City for the purpose of obtaining our residency visas, we stayed at the Executive Hotel, which we chose because its within walking distance of our lawyers office and a lot of shops, restaurants, and bars. On our first full day in the city we had visited our lawyer and taken care of some banking business when we decided to go out and get sim cards for our phones. We were walking and going to cross Vía España which is a wide road with a lot of traffic. We were standing at a very high curb and when the crossing light turned green we stepped off the curb (I did anyway) and Nancy came down on her left foot very hard and fell in the middle of the street. We didn’t get very far after that before her foot started to swell alarmingly and she was in quite a bit of pain.
We hobbled back to the hotel where they called paramedics for us. The paramedics came up to our room and examined Nancy and said she needed her foot x-rayed. So into the ambulance we went for a drive across town to a private hospital, Hospital Nacional on Avenida Cuba. The traffic was very heavy and I said to the driver something about “mucho tráfico loco” so he smiled and turned on the siren. Cars and trucks started scattering (or trying to) right and left and I was laughing, the driver was laughing, and even Nancy in the back of the ambulance was laughing. It was quite a ride.
When we got to the hospital they took Nancy right in to the emergency room while I paid the cashier a $500 deposit (they were not familiar with our health insurance so they would not take it). The girls at the cashiers desk only spoke Spanish and my Spanish was pretty limited but we muddled through. Meanwhile Nancy had seen the emergency room physician and they wheeled her off for x-rays. When she got back to the room a nurse came in to give her a shot in her ass for inflammation which she took like a trooper (she yelled so loud the nurse said “everyone is going to think I’m killing you in here!”). Soon after that another nurse came in and fitted her for a boot and then an orthopedic specialist came in and went over her x-rays with us. The orthopedic specialist (who spoke perfect English) told us she had a possible a fracture of one of her metatarsal bones and in any case it would take a few weeks to heal. He gave her a DVD of her x-rays in case she needed to see a doctor when we got back to Pennsylvania.
She was fitted with her new boot, the orthopedic specialist gave her his cell phone number and email address and told her to call if she felt any undue pain or swelling. I was sent to the pharmacy to get Nancy her drugs and then I went back to the cashiers desk to settle up. The total bill including ambulance, doctors, boot, shot x-rays, and drugs cost just about $800. No complaints about the quality or cost of Nancy’s care for this little mishap.
They got us a taxi back to the hotel, we had a couple of drinks, and did not get to do a lot of walking for the rest of our stay. We spent the next day in immigration but thats another story…
