Boquete and similar places.

[JOSH EROR]

Hi All,

 

My Wife and I attended the INT Living conference in Panama a few years ago. Was very interesting but we weren’t fully ready at the time. Getting close now and I’ve narrowed things down to Boquete and Northern Chile. When we were there we didn’t visit Boquete so I’m hoping to return later this year and stay for a while. One of my biggest concerns is health care in Boquete itself.

My Wife and I are 38 and healthy. Our 2 year old Daughter has Type 1 diabetes and it’s under control as we learn more about managing it. She’ll be going on an insulin pump soon to make things even more manageable. However, to consider living 6 or more months every year in a different country, I need to know that a safety net is there. That I can trust there is medical expertise nearby and access to insulin.

So that’s my big question. How are the doctors, clinics, hospitals (David, right)? What about pharmacies, are they well supplied? Is there access to fairly new products and in a timely fashion?

Secondly, the climate in the mountains seems like a necessity for us. Being from BC the heat of Panama City just melted us. The copious bug and mosquitoes we not so fun either. With said, one of the main reasons for choosing Panama is I want us all to learn to speak Spanish. Having read a ot about Boquete I’m worried that the large amount of English speakers might disrupt our language learning. Has anyone had this experience or found it to not be a problem?

 

Regards,

 

Josh.

 

 

 

 

 

[JESSICA RAMESCH]

Hello Josh,

Good luck with everything, sounds like you are close to making a decision, very exciting! Yes, the closest advanced medical care, if you were to choose Boquete, would be in David. With the road being widened now travel time is between 30-40 minutes (should be 30 or less after the expansion is completed). There are a great deal of English speakers in Boquete and so unless you push yourself to get out there and make friends with Panamanians and other Latin Americans (of which there are plenty) then yes, it is easy to become complacent and then yes your Spanish education will suffer a little, though there will be plenty of opportunities to speak Spanish at shops, etc. But full immersion is best and that tends to happen when you ensure your social circle is mostly Spanish-speaking! That’s how I learned, anyway 🙂
Best,

[ALLAN LEWIS]

Hey Josh,

Talking English here or anywhere in Latin America is up to you completely. When I first left the US about 10 years ago, I only knew few basic Spanish words… and no conjugating verbs etc…. but wherever I went, I found even the locals especially in business, want to both be polite and try to talk to you in English as they see this as a courtesy to you, also to make customer relations better (make a sale)…. remember, one great reason for living here is the friendliness of the people and culture, the good mornings by everyone etc.

But I chose to switch it up and ask them to please talk to me in Spanish, as it was their country and I wanted to show them respect and learn more.

It never went well, and there was a lot of shaking of heads and eyes rolling wondering what they were talking about (especially with many words such as EXITO for one easy example, I would hear it spoken and see it on signs and think it was the way to the nearest exit but found out a long time later it meant SUCCESS!) and them not having a clue what I was asking for (also, you can learn the words, but if you pronounce them with our American accent, many times you still will not be understood).

But those funny moments aside, that is the way to learn…….

You can’t help running into English speaking persons as you pass them on the street or they may be in a store, since the educational system here stresses English as a second language, but generally, the newer ex-patriots here or visitor tourists, don’t usually say hello or Buenas dias, or even acknowledge you exist, as they are still in their USA mode……. so you don’t have to worry about them talking to you…. you will be usually ignored (and it will reinforce to you why you are living here and not up north!!!)/

But when you meet the long time local ex-patriots here, they will speak Spanish or English, whichever is easier or gets the ideas across, answer your questions etc. and they will say good day, be very courteous and extremely helpful to you…. especially the members of the local theater group BCP!

Going full emersion, can make you a little lonely as you spend just too much time lost in the translations so from time to time a helpful English speaker may be next to you in a store or wherever, and hear you can not get your message across or ask for what you need, and they, like I, often will ask if you would like some help….

You should find like I always do, that there is a We are all in this together….. attitude here. and you will love Boquete.

Sincerely,

Allan Lewis

[JOSH EROR]

Thanks Jessica and Alan. What are medical services in Boquette like? Is there a clinic? How many doctors are there?

 

Regards,

 

Josh.

[COUNTRY EXPERT- JESSICA RAMESCH]

There are small clinics but for extensive medical care, Boquete residents head to David’s private hospitals, just 30 to 40 minutes away by car. The city of David is the capital of the province (Chiriqui Province) and boasts a great deal of amenities and conveniences that make life easy on Boqueteños…malls, large supermarkets and pharmacies, restaurants, etc. Most expats you will talk to in the Boquete/David area will tell you they have had very good experiences with the quality of care in the medical facilities.
Have a great day!

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