Living in Boquete

The other day I was coming down the hill from the CEFATI, the tourist center. When I had to brake halfway around the curve because there was a long line of cars, I figured it was the police checking licenses, a car accident, or a stalled vehicle. It wasn’t any of these.

Just a lot of cars going into and out of Boquete.

When my husband and I first arrived in Boquete 21 years ago, there were hardly any cars

at all. Many of them were so old or poorly maintained that the joke was the passengers

could walk faster than the car could drive. Now there are SUVs, sporty pickups, and even

a small spattering of Porsches.

A lot has changed. Not just with traffic.

There used to be only tipico restaurants here and a place called “Taco y Tacos” where you

could feed three people for $10.00 and have leftovers. We were all so excited when

Lorretta Bonfiglio opened the Bistro Boquete that it was all we talked about. When it

opened and I had the Baco Blue Cheese burger, I almost cried. Gringo food! My taste

buds were in ecstasy. Now there are so many restaurants I haven’t had a chance to try

them all.

But to be honest, there are many things about the old Boquete that I miss. No traffic

congestion. Easy parking. Panamanians who weren’t so exposed to Gringos that they had

developed a prejudice against us because we can be rude and demanding. I miss the

horses clomping down the main street and once there was a cattle drive on a side road.

Rentals, houses, and property were a lot cheaper.

There’s more crime now. But compared to the US, Chiriqui crimes are fewer and much

less lethal.

What I love most about living in Boquete is the community. Because the expat friends you

make here are, like you, strangers in a strange land, you lean on each other for advice,

comaraderie, potlucks, and the ability to have long conversations in your native language.

When you need them, they’ll be there for you.

Barring unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, my husband and I are sticking it

out here. I remind myself that living anywhere has to do with staying grateful for the good

things about it and discarding the bad. If I get crabby because Boquete isn’t the same

simple little town that I came to live in 21 years ago, I do a litany of what I love about it:

rainbows, lovely people who are the happiest in the world, Morpho butterflies, bajareque,

my poor old brain challenged to speak Spanish, vistas that stop you in your tracks, the

manana attitude, monkeys. Indigenous children looking solemn in brightly colored

dresses, best friends, bochinche, and all the volunteer agencies that have sprung up and

who do so much.

Research has shown it is good for your health to express gratitude every day. Unlike

eating more veggies, flossing my teeth, and getting enough sleep, being grateful is

something that I do without even trying. It just comes naturally.