A Crises A Day Keeps The ???? Away!

Just When You Think, "Back To Normal"

The rioting about the new legislation in Panama has stopped, at least for now, as I mentioned last time.  Strikers have agreed to 'back off' for 90 days and government officials have agreed to 're-think' the legislation's toxic points.  This 90-day hiatus is a common weapon used in Panama when there are demonstrations.  The sad part is that there were eight strikers killed and 20-some blinded by police use of pellet shells for crowd control.

Given what had gone on in previous weeks, you can imagine my shock when I realized Saturday morning's street noises outside my hotel room where not normal.  I interrupted my coffee/newspaper routine long enough to walk over and look out the window.  What is going on?  What are these people looking at up here?

Well, I stepped out on the balcony and discovered this young lady on the floor under a bench, her face covered in blood.  There was also a young injured guy sitting on the floor in the comparative darkness up the hallway.  A helicopter swooped in over the park and two guys in riot gear rappelled 100 feet down in to the park.  I was still trying to figure out what was going on when I approached the young lady on the floor.  She smiled at me and said something about the same time a policeman in riot gear stepped out on the balcony and waved me off.  I was in the middle of a big fire-fighting civil defense exercise.  Duh!

For the next 2 1/2 hours we had firetrucks arriving and deploying people and hoses (the water was not turned on).  Then came ambulances and EMTs evaluated 'injured' people throughout the hotel.  Some where carted out on stretchers while others were carried over-the-shoulder by firemen.  One guy (in this case, a fireman) was lowered down to the street from the hotel's roof (5th floor).  All the 'injured' then had a quick evaluation in the street in front of the hotel before being moved to the triage area in the park.  Some firemen rappelled up and down the face of the hotel, while others ran 'sniffer dogs' throughout the hotel looking for survivors (or corpses I guess) who had been overlooked.

All of this was made more exciting by a vocal crowd of spectators who treated the whole thing like a sporting event.  Most of the 'injured' in the hotel where college students who had been recruited for this exercise.  Many of them seemed to really enjoy the opportunity to scream in pain from the start of the exercise until they personally were rescued (in some cases over an hour later).  Ha!  Never a dull moment here!

 

A Bit Of Irony

This picture is of a parade last week.  This group is one of five included in the parade, all from the local university.  They are all members of an ROTC-type, multi-year school-sponsored training program.  Very professional group, I might add.

Where is the irony you say?  Well, try this - A big ROTC program in a country that has no military?  Has no military by constitutional provision!

 

A New Island Getaway Right Here In Chiriquí

An island sanctuary in the Chiriquí Bay is the site of a unique resort community offering a lavish tropical lifestyle. The island has over 400 acres and five miles of coastline. There is also over a mile and a half of sandy beaches, many of them small, secluded and hidden. Stunning views of the ocean are available from the beaches, coconut groves, wild rocky outcroppings and craggy tree-covered ridges.

The first phase of development will be completed in late 2012, and will include a boutique hotel with approximately 30 rooms and about the same number of homes. The complete master plan calls for 90 hotel rooms and 200 homes. This “low-density” style development, with less than one dwelling per acre, will preserve over 220 acres of tropical forest for guests to enjoy.  Development will be concentrated on the coast, using the few areas of the island that had previously been cleared. Each home will be custom-sited to create minimal grading and clearing. They will be nestled into the landscape so as to be minimally visible. Isla Palenque is currently accepting reservations for homes now priced from $300,000 to over $1 million.

 

Till Next Time.  Pura Vida.