2 Retire In Panama?                                           NEWSLETTER

         February 22, 2021  Volume 22  

This week's COVID...

...update is how I am helping to keep readers updated on how "under control" COVID-19 is in Panama.  This is the update as of February 17th from Karyn Saunders.Thank you so much Karyn for continuing to keep ex-pats aware of the statistics:

Panama has 504 new cases, +17 new deaths, 210 in ICU, 1286 hospitalized, 12,035 active cases, and 1251 newly recovered. 

1) 12.2% positive rate.

2) Beaches are open Monday through Friday from 6am - 5pm.

3) All retail has reopened in Panama and Panama Oeste which includes beauty salons and barber shops, restaurants, car washes, and other cultural and creative businesses. Restaurants must close by 9pm and alcohol may only be served with a meal.

4) Gender specific shopping has been discontinued. This means that we can once again shop with our spouses.

5) Total nightly curfews (10pm-4am) remain in effect. MINSA states that the weekend curfew will be llifted on March 6th. Today gyms, spas, marine and sport fishing are being allowed to reopen. This leaves the schools, sporting centers, bars, cantinas, discotheques, concerts, and parties waiting to reopen.

 6) Last Wednesday, February 17th at 4am the checkpoint at Capira was closed.

This is all good news with improvement in almost every statistic. For more information on the covid vaccine in Panama click here.

A recent afternoon at the club pool...

...was rather quiet, and not many people were around. We began noticing the hooded dragon lizards boldly coming around. Before we knew it, we had photos of several and learned that the club manager has friended them and they all have names. I thought it was interesting, and figured that you all would enjoy some of the pictures that I got. I always enjoy the local wildlife. It is also fun to see the Iguanas, however it is rare that I get great pictures of them.

My special offer this week...

...is everything Fire TV. When Jen and I moved to Panama we discovered Amazon Fire TV. The Fire Stick device on each of our televisions allows us to watch American television shows while living as expats. We usually use it as an on-demand type device; however it will allow streaming of many shows. Click here to check it out. Even for consumers in other parts of the world, the Fire Stick will help save money on subscriber-based television services. 

Carnival... 

...is in the rear-view mirror. We could hardly tell any difference from the past 3 years of on the ground experience in Coronado. If anything, it was busier here in the resort than in past years. The Panamanian people are just as anxious to get out as those in other parts of the world. With all the celebrations around the country cancelled, more people rented condos and took the opportunity to escape to the beach communities to spend time with family.

On Saturday night Jen and I celebrated Valentine's Day at one of our favorite restaurants, Segundo Piso. It is the best fine dining place in Coronado and it is located in our club. The private club venue made it one of the few places where we were allowed to go for a sit-down meal during the weekend curfew. The club is now almost completely open 7 days a week. We are glad to pay our club member dues when it means we can enjoy these wonderful benefits. Saturday night and Sunday afternoon we enjoyed the entertainment of Pascal Turner at the poolside bar.

The beach club is also open during thee week. We are anxious for the Sunday brunches to make their return. This is also a great place to take guests and enjoy the beach or the pool. The bar at the beach club makes some of the best drinks on the beach.

It is also worth mentioning that the club hosted the best Super Bowl party in town. We got together with friends and enjoyed the game in the Sports Bar. They had a great offering of nachos, hot dogs, chicken wings, popcorn, and a host of other great Super Bowl food. 

I expect the nightly curfews to remain in effect, but the restaurants are now allowed to remain open until 9pm with the nightly curfew starting at 10pm. 

We are praying that people have been celebrating responsibly during this Carnival season. If the statistics continue to trend down these crazy restrictions can finally come to an end.