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Panama: Eight Destinations in Which to Spend the Winter Months

First Time Reader?

Why Panama? – This blog explains the rationale of the trip and this series of blogs.

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lobo/excursions/1266327384/tpod.html

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Delago

Note: I did not include Delago as one of the - Eight Destinations in Which to Spend the Winter Months

Part 1 of 1
 
Dolega – Several Degrees Cooler Than David

Date of Visit to Dolega: February 2010

Date Blog Written in Victoria, British Columbia: July 10, 2010
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If there are two words that describe David (pronounced DaahVeed) in the "dry" season it would be "hot" and “humid”. I generally leave the complaining about hot and humid weather to my spouse Barbara but parts of Panama and Costa Rica had me complaining. David was one of those places that seemed particularly hot.

I therefore paid close attention when Tom, an expat interviewed in David, mentioned that Dolega was a small town, located nine miles north of David on the road to Bouquete, that was on the average about 10 degrees cooler than David during the “dry” season. It was cooler because it lies at a higher elevation.

http://www.maplandia.com/panama/chiriqui/dolega/dolega/

There was only one way to find out if that was true and that was to stroll down to the bus station in David and make the half hour bus ride to Dolego. As usual my advance knowledge of the destination I was about to visit, was, well in this case, there was no advance knowledge. I therefore asked the bus driver to drop me off in the “centro”. He turned and nodded to me in front of the “Cooperativo de Transporte de Dolega”. I wasn't sure whether this was the bus station or just a place to park buses for there was no one around to answer that question for me.


So deprived of information and a place to grab a bottle of water to quench the thirst that started to become a nagging reminder that -yes - it was certainly cooler than David but it was still hot, I started to walk along the highway. I did not walk to look for “greener pastures” because I was already surrounding by lush green vegetation but rather just to search for another human being.

Along the way I passed: the “Jardin 3 Estrellas” Discoteca that was closed, the Farmacia Doraz that was closed, a beautiful white statute of the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus , a nursery with a crazy selection of plants and trees and that was followed by a parade of lovely homes along one of the main streets of Dolega.

Yes it was impressive for I saw occasional large fenced-in properties with lovely homes sporting red tile roofs and beautiful manicured lawns. More modest homes also vied for my attention for they were also located on large lots with beautiful lawns, lush vegetation and huge shade trees.




From what I had seen so far, Dolega had an overwhelming feeling of space and a rare mix of tropical and non-tropical vegetation. It all made for a positive impression. Located only nine miles north of the hustle and bustle of David and the landscape couldn't be more different. This seemed like paradise and just as deserted.

Wait, there was some hope of finding some activity in “paradise” as up ahead, after twenty minutes of walking along residential properties that lined the highway, there seemed to be a commercial sign. Was there a bar or a restaurant to get a drink of water?

As I approached the sign my spirits were lifted because it read “The Book Mark – All the Books You Will Ever Read – Sell – Trade – Special Orders”. That was hopeful since my chances of finding an expat here to interview here appeared to be 100%.



It was a cute place - “The Book Mark” - with a clever name that no expat, and maybe local Panamanian wanting to learn English, could resist.

http://booksr4reading.wordpress.com/

Among the crammed wall-to-wall books I found a friendly, erudite looking gentleman by the name of “Michael” who turned out to be an expat from the State of Maine, USA. Michael seemed to fit right into his surroundings for he had “the look” of a man content with being surrounded by books. The round glasses, the beard, the bald pate – it all seemed to add up to a man who had read a lot of books and who was full of knowledge and happy to be here in what is billed as “the best book store in Panama”.

One of the first things Michael made clear to me was that he was not the owner of The Book Mark. That honour belonged to “Harold” an eighty-year old American who unfortunately at the time of my visit was taking his afternoon nap. I am sure that I would have had an excellent interview with Harold considering what he had achieved in placing this lovely used bookstore and landscaped property in Dolega. On the store’s website he is described as a “curmudgeon”. When was the last time I got a chance to have a conversation with a “curmudgeon”? Apparently, Harold runs a tight ship as shown by a list of “Do’s and Don’ts” for book orders.


An internet posting dated March 19, 2007 reveals that not all has been smooth sailing for Harold.

http://www.chiriquichatter.net/blog/2007/03/19/the-bookmark-is-operating-under-a-limited-schedule/

Be that as it may Michael had an interesting story in his own right.

Michael originally came to Panama in 2001 where he met his Panamanian wife. After living in the States for a year he and his wife decided to come back to Panama. It was here that his small military pension would go a long way as prices in Panama are significantly cheaper than in the U.S. The move to Panama would also bring his wife much closer to her family.

Nevertheless even in Panama money was tight so he was glad to hear about Harold and his bookstore and the job opportunity that it represented. Since Michael always had an interest in books this seemed like a perfect fit for him.

I got the impression that Michael loved his work at what he called the “most famous bookstore in Panama” and that he had great respect for Harold whom he called his “mentor”. He gives Harold the ultimate compliment by describing him as “a man who lives the old years without getting old”.



In addition to Harold and Michael, The Book Mark employs a cleaning lady, a handy man and a reliable young man who does the stocking.

What was it about the Dolega area that Michael liked?

The main point was that psychologically he and his wife felt at home here. He has a true liking for Panama and considers it home. It was important for him that his wife is close to her family so life is good especially with the low prices that make life affordable here in Panama. He describes Dolega as a good compromise as the renowned Bouquete (next blog) located just up the road in the Highlands is out of range price-wise for the average Joe.

Earlier in my blog I referred to Dolega as a “paradise” to describe its idyllic lush green country setting.

However according to Michael, there is trouble in paradise in the form of a recent crime wave in the Dolega area. A spate of four robberies and physical assaults in the last three months along with other malicious acts such as burglaries, stealing of PINs, and the killing of watchdogs had the local population on edge. He felt that outsiders, whom he described as “gang bangers”, perpetrated the crimes.

Michael lives with his wife and four children in the small community of Puente Cochea. While he describes himself as a “mellow guy who long ago got over the loss of his hair” he acknowledges their lives have been changed by recent circumstances.

Despite the two Rotweilers that they have, his wife has been nervous and he has had trouble sleeping. He has also considered getting a burglar alarm installed.

I would have hoped that this would be the end of the crime aspect of my blog. Unfortunately a Google Search for “Dolega” results in the most frequent hit being a sensational story of a 60-year old American expat who recently moved to Dolega and was murdered during the month of March (I was there in February).

http://www.boqueteguide.com/?tag=dolega-panama

So a serious situation has turned worse.

Needless to say there is crime everywhere but Dolega is in such an idyllic setting that it would almost seem immune to such evil activities. From my own observation the very thing that is attractive about Dolega – large properties with lots of space between houses – would be an aspect that would lend itself to crime. If a property is targeted it is not likely to draw immediate attention from neighbours simply based on the space between properties making it an easy target for the perpetrators.

An aspect that puts the “outsider” theory to the test is that Dolega is such a small community where everyone knows everyone else that an outsider would stand out like a sore thumb. But then again maybe thieves swoop in on an easy target and then take off again in the middle of the night.

Finally things have to be kept in perspective for, are there not “murders” in all the communities we live in? For instance one of the most perplexing and unsolved criminal cases in the Victoria area happened in February 2008 when a young female real estate agent was murdered during an appointed house showing.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Cops+closer+closing+brutal+Saanich+murder+case/3216188/story.html

Has this unfortunate incident made Victoria less attractive? I don’t think so and maybe the same can be said for Dolega.

Nevertheless, I am tempted to change my title from “Dolega – Several Degrees Cooler than David” to “Dolega – Trouble in Paradise” but then again I am not trying to sell newspapers so let’s just leave it as it is and hope that life will get back to normal in Dolega soon.

After finishing my discussions with Michael I had the pleasure of spending a few moments in the Shangri-La like gardens behind The Book Mark. Beautifully landscaped and very tranquil it really would have been a great place to read a book in an ideal setting.


After spending about half an hour at The Book Mark I set off further along the road to discover other aspects of Dolega.

My attention was drawn to a roadside poster advertisement for a nearby housing project called “Montañas de Caldera – A Pathway to a New Lifestyle”. Without a car I was not about to visit the project but a look at the website reveals a most impressive project. It is situated at 1,100 meters (3,610 feet) above sea level thereby making the climate a little warmer than sometimes cooler Boquete.

http://www.montanasdecaldera.com/home/

Another aspect of Dolega that is interesting is that there are a lot of running streams of water. Some are natural and some appear to be irrigation canals. Considering the rich agricultural lands surrounding Dolega irrigation ditches would not be surprising.



It was here along the irrigation canal that I found a tranquil beauty evoking scenery that I found nowhere else in Panama. It was a place of quiet reflection and reminiscent of similar scenes I had seen in parts of France.

I did not get to linger her for very long as it started to rain rather profusely. Fortunately there was a covered bus stop near the canal where I was saved by a passing bus after a ten-minute wait that took me back to David.


Coming Soon:

Boquete: Expat Haven in the Highlands

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