We had just been in Bocas del Toro and stayed at the Swan’s Cay Hotel there. When the fellow who was touring us around learned were off to Boquete next he made a call to an associate. He was trying to get us into Isla Verde a spot he thought was the nicest place to stay in the Boquete Highlands. Unfortunately they were all booked up as a matter of fact so was everything else in town. So, we ended up at the Fundadores Hotel.

The Fundadores was a little tired but so were we after another days journey! So, we took the boys for a walk and found some delicious ice cream at a place called Annas Sweets and then turned in for an early night.

By morning we hadn’t seen much of Boquete and although the air was cool and comfortable and the mountain jungles absolutely gorgeous we didn’t think much of the town. Of course we had yet to discover Valle Escondido or the Panamonte Hotel or any of the other hidden gems Boquete has tucked away around the next corner or lush green mountainside.

I remember meeting Sam, the developer of Valle Escondido and his comment that he had never seen a mosquito in Boquete. Well that night it seems our young son managed to experience the only mosquitoes  in Boquete and they were right there in our room at the Fundadores! But all said it really wasn’t too bad an experience. I think we paid around $40 for our family of four. The large room had a double bed and two singles. The old place had a certain charm or maybe better said, ‘character’ and you could tell it was a pretty interesting hotel in it’s day. The unique feature of a small river (probably the source of the mosquitoes) running thorough the restaurant is quite charming. Now Boquete has changed dramatically and there are a lot more Boquete Hotels to choose from so I’m not sure very many people still stay at he Fundadores Hotel in Boquete but it still retains memories for me!

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Volunteer Boquete has developed a campaign that was officially kicked off on December 24^th with the first Community Cleanup in Boquete. With the new campaign, the foundation will be hosting a community wide event on Earth Day (April 22). “We have found a need in the community and we plan to address it because it needs to be done” said Kaytee Hoverson, project coordinator. In the meantime volunteers from the program, as well as local volunteers, have targeted areas of litter and attacked them head on.

A group of dedicated volunteers picked up litter on Christmas Day and then again the first week in January. While this hearty band of volunteers separates recyclables out of the trash picked up, they plan to further coordinate with Boquete’s recycling program ReALBoquete.

Project plans include researching joining forces with Boquete’s workforce for a more concerted effort, placing trash cans around the city in problem areas, building a regular volunteer base to pick up litter on a regular basis, and working with schools to educate young people about the litter problem.

As of this writing, a meeting was scheduled with Mayor Manolo Ruiz, to present him with a very concise 17-point topic list, outlining detailed solutions to litter problems in the Boquete area.

This is not just a group picking up trash, states Hoverson, but “…a long term project to make Boquete the cleanest, most beautiful town in Panama.”

More information about how you can be a part of this important program is available at www.unexpetctedmomentsofmagic.org or by calling 720-1025.

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Boquete Panama, a unique community in the western highlands area of Chiriqui is 30 to 40 minute drive north from David Panama the capital of the Chiriqui Province. The Boquete climate is temperate and the population is a mixture of ethnic groups from all over the globe.

As the world economic melted down has been happening many are wondering how it is effecting Boquete Panama Real Estate market. Janeth Gomez-Suarez of Casa Solution is one of the most visible real estate brokerages in and around Boquete Panama.

Janeth says houses and properties are selling and even though the prices have fallen in the US and in Panama City to it is surprising to discover that Boquete Real Estate is alive and doing well. People are still arriving in Boquete to shop for houses. Most prices are still in the $200 to $300 thousand dollar range. Sellers are a becoming more open to entertaining an offer and some are accepting less than asking price. However, most vendors feel no pressure to sell just becauase  prices are not increasing. Boquete properties are not being offered or sold at fire-sale prices.

Also, there are many prospective buyers waiting to sell in the US so they can move. When the re-sale house markets in the US recover the Boquete Real Estate market is sure to boom.

The big question is ‘How Come?’ There are many buyers coming to Boquete who are not affected by the current politics or econmics.  People who are realists and some who are just looking to change their lives. The politically disaffected come in cycles as the politics in US changes. Many Boquete ex-pat residents left the US under George Bush and the new group equally dislike the new Obama administration.

More interesting are those baby boomers who now realize they have less. Lower equity in their homes, less money in retirement savings, but also less need to consume and a great desire for a chance at change in exchange for a simple lwo-cost lifestyle.

Boquete land and homes are certainly not the least expensive in Panama. The cultural and environmental aspects along with a new pro-investment government are becoming encouraging indicators of future growth. The crystal ball for Boquete seems pretty clear, growth is happening now, growth will continue and accelerate.

In July Business Week called Panama the “New Florida”, their reasoning is a mirror of mine and a harbinger of a bright future for Boquete Panama. Certainly still the one and still thought of by many as the Best Place to Retire.

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