Newsletter #43

The Web's Only Peer-Reviewed Panama Newsletter
Cost of Living, Disneyfying, Car Parts

The Rising Cost of Living

The friendly bill delivery person for Elektra Noreste brought us a very unpleasant, but not unexpected, message in the latest electricity bill. We've been paying about $100.00 per month for electricity, but the latest bill was $159.84. There are several factors making this one higher than normal. Our son is home from England, and the spare bedroom A/C is getting more use, plus our grandson likes to keep both TV sets turned on so he can watch cartoons in either the living room or our bedroom. We usually have at least two computers running, and sometimes four. Then too Elektra Noreste billed us for 34 days instead of the normal 30 or 31 days. The greatest factor, though is one of the world's highest rates for electricity. With the basic rate now at $.17560 per KWH, Panama ranks right up there with San Francisco for electricity cost. The charge for 'excessive energy' is now at $.19307 and almost as high as New York City. These new rates represent a 15.8% increase in the basic rate and 14.96% increase in the 'excessive energy' rate.

The Canasta Basica continued to rise in December, and I expect some steep increases for January and the coming months as businesses get hit with up to 33% increases in the cost of elecrticity. Gasoline is heading back to the $3.00/gallon level in the city, which means it's already over $3.00 in some parts of the country. Worldwide high fuel prices are already driving up the price of everything that is imported, and skyrocketing Real Estate prices have the potential to price many lower income would-be retirees out of Panama.

Disneyfying Paradise

There's been a lot of speculation and rumor lately about the sale of some 3000 hectares of pasture land with a lot of beachfront near the Decameron Resort. The most popular rumor was that Disneyland is coming to Panama. Fortunately, the rumors apparently were not true. The land has been sold, but to a developer who plans to build a self-contained retirement community. Whether that will be better than a Disneyland remains to be seen.

Unfortunately, rumors of plans to construct a cable car system from Amador to the top of Ancon Hill seem to be true. Ancon Hill is a wonderful, marvelous nature preserve in the heart of a major city. Many years ago when I first came to Panama, access to the hill was restricted to US military and Panama Canal employees. One of the first jobs I did in Panama, while still in the Army, was in 1975, installing equipment and antennas on the peak. Every day on our trips to the top and back down we were impressed at the natural, unspoiled beauty and the abundance of wildlife. There were deer, sloths, ñekkies, monkeys, snakes, many varieties of birds, and other animals. Huge trees were abundant, and from time to time we would find the road blocked by a fresh treefall. On my last trip to the top in 1998 nothing had changed, except that Panama had installed another huge antenna tower and communication site near the peak, but below the Army installation, where my crew was responsible for tower and antenna maintenance. It was still a beautiful wilderness area, even though the road to the top was open to pedestrian traffic, and we occasionally surprised lovers at one or another of the benches which had been placed beside the road. The very wildness of the forest and steep hillsides kept people from venturing off the road. So long as it stays accessible only for hikers, this beautiful preserve will remain relatively unspoiled.

Sadly, it appears that greed and the Disney mentality may spoil it. Plans are under way to construct a cable car system capable of transporting thousands of tourists a day to the peak of Ancon Hill. Of course, it will be necessary to offer those tourists refreshments and souveniers once they reach the top, and the cleared area which exists today will be too small to accommodate them. There will likely be paved and handrailed nature trails built, and probably a 'canopy tour'. One can easily envision a future where it becomes necessary to build a small zoo so that the tourists can see some of the animals which now inhabit the hill. Most of the trees at the peak will have to be cut to provide room for the hordes of tourists to crowd the rail for a better view of the city.

Am I being too pessimistic? Maybe, but after observing more than 30 years of 'development', where the first step is to bulldoze the land, and having seen Fort San Lorenzo 'restored' with concrete, I have little faith in the ability or the will of Panama to preserve its nature or its history.

I received an article from Doctors Amarillys and Dominique Schwander, Swiss expats who live in Quarry Heights and are understandably passionate about preserving Ancon Hill in its relatively unspoiled state. It is in Spanish and I doubt that Nora will have time to translate it, so if anyone wants to take a shot at translation, please do. For those who read Spanish, you can find it here.

Cerro Ancon Téléferico

Car Parts

Last week I discovered that the mechanic I had check the brakes on my Jeep Cherokee really didn't know what he was doing. When the master cylinder ran dry, I went shopping for wheel cylinder repair kits, since rear wheel cylinders are usually the culprit. I was pleasantly surprised to find them at Panama Auto on Transistmica. The only problem was that when I got the Jeep jacked up and inspected it, the rear wheels and brakes were bone-dry. I then pulled the left front wheel, where the leak was, and discovered that the pads, which my mechanic told me were OK, were on the verge of disintegrating, as were those on the right side. Also the discs were heavily scored on the insides. To make a long story short, I ended up replacing both discs, brake pads, and the caliper pistons and seals. I found the discs in Vista Hermosa at Auto Mart and the pistons/seals at Multi-Partes, next door. Everything was priced lower than I could have got it by buying on the internet and having it shipped here.

Job Offer

I don't normally list want ads in the newsletter, but in this case I'll make an exception. Manuel Landron is looking for qualified EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) people to help clear unexploded munitions from Panama's ex-firing ranges. The offered pay looks good to me, but I'm not an EOD guy so I really can't say if it's low or high or just right. Here's the offer:

I need a qualify Explosives Ordnance Dissposal person ( EOD ) willing to work in Panama for a few months on a clearing of an impact area here in Panama. Salary will be $10,000.00 a month with no deductions.
If interested send me a resume and a copy of certificates and diplomas qualifing you as EOD. my e-mail manuellandron2000@yahoo.com. I am a retired Army 55B40.
I will need this ASAP because the contract need to be ready by or before 2 Feb,

Thanks...manny

The Website

The Panama Living section has been enlarged a bit, and you can now find a fascinating account of a first-time visitor's impressions. There is also a link to two of Panama's Super Markets. I'll keep adding to this section as I have time.