June/July 2006 Volume 3 Issue 4

BOCAS SPRING CLEAN-UP
by Janet Sanders

On the 2lst and 22nd of April Bocas celebrated International Clean-Up Day by giving the town a spring clean. Project Aware is an international non-profit conservation organization that is involved with underwater and beach clean ups all over the world. Bocas combined the two for a second year and it was, without doubt, as successful and enjoyable as the first. The event was once again organized by Starfleet Scuba, headed up by Georgina Sanders. The after-party was held in the Lemongrass Restaurant as a thank you to everyone who contributed or helped with the day.

The facts speak for themselves.

On Friday the 21st the Mayor, with his staff, joined the 287 children who helped clean the park and most of the roads in the town. 60 of the children cleaned the beach. Previously, the children had taken part in a poetry competition relating to their environment. The standard was very high, but the three chosen to receive a prize were Melani Smith, Rosa Romirez and Paimeth Del Machado. Well done to all who took part, both in the competition and the clean-up!

On Saturday the 22nd 30 divers and 20 snorkelers cleaned the waterfront. Over the two days, 200 bags of rubbish were collected and 400 t-shirts with Project Aware logos were given out to volunteers.

Thanks should go to the many people and organizations in the town who either helped organize or made contributions for the event. Once more we saw that when our communities work together, nothing is too big for them and everything can be improved.

Did we raise awareness of the beauty of our environment and the need to work for its preservation? Yes, I think we did, but we also have to remember that it does not need our care for just one day of the year. It is for every day of the year. It is for life.

June Update on the Bocas Fire at: http://www.thebocasbreeze.com/HomePage-News/bocas-fire-june-update.shtml WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP! May Update: http://www.thebocasbreeze.com/HomePage-News/update-on-bocas-fire.shtml.

New English-only Anglican services starting mid-June at Sta. Maria Virgen (Comunion Anglicana) on 4th St. in Bocas at 11:00 a.m. Sundays under the direction of Kenny and Oonagh Ryan-King. Call 6706-8191 or email panamapadre@aol.com for details.

Spanish conversation classes for women 12:00 noon every Wednesday at Hotel Angela. Contact Dorreene at 6642-1911 or Kathy 6617-1018 for details.

For breaking news and other important announcements during the month, join our email list by sending your email address to: bocasbreeze@yahoo.com.

Remember that the deadline for articles, photos and advertising is the 20th of every month. Please, no exceptions.

Treat each other with respect, nurture one another and play well together.

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, in coordination with the Environmental Education Office of the Ministry of Education, held a workshop for local teachers on the Colon Island, Bocas del Toro, from March 20th to March 24th. The subject matter was “The Dynamic Connection between Nature, Science and Learning”.

All 42 teachers from the areas of the Colon island, Bahía Honda, Bastimentos, Carenero, Popa, Quebrada Sal, Solarte, Bocatorito, San Cristobal, Tierra Oscura, Tobobe, Punta Níspero, Chiriquí Grande, Río Caña, Bahía Azul, Playa Verde, Bahía Grande, Cayo Paloma, Miramar, and Bucori, actively participated in this five-day workshop. It was full of information on the most important marine ecosystems of the archipelago and scientific research, and succeeded in teachers developing educational and didactic materials for their classrooms.

It was a most rewarding experience for lecturers and facilitators, as participants showed their amazement at all the natural wonders found in the region. One teacher even said, “… now I know why tourists come to Bocas”.

POKER RUN JUST FOR FUN!

by Mary Austin Crofts

On Saturday, May 13th, Marcia Lang and Suzi Hallman organized a Bocas Poker Run and everyone involved had great fun. The game was 5-card stud poker and participants paid $10 per hand. There were 45 hands played.

The group traveled by boat to five local businesses to enjoy food and drinks. At each stop, lasing about an hour, participants received one card and at the last stop the winner won the pot - $450! Kellie thought she was a sure winner after four cards, but Raymond Guthrie beat her hand at the last stop with a heart flush, nine high. He was thrilled and bought drinks for everyone.

Participating businesses included Boca Bill’s, Alfonso’s on Crawl Key, Roots, Playa Mango and the Buena Vista Bar & Grill. If you’d like to know more or get involved in the next one call Marcia at 757-9824 or Suzi at 6494-3045.

Last month I had my gall bladder yanked out at the Mae Lewis Clinic in David. Before the doctor told me there was something wrong inside my vesicular biliar, I had not known where this organ lived, let alone its Spanish name.

I say, "yanked out" because that is what they do these days. The surgeon drills four holes in your tummy, one of which is through your belly button. Through these he manipulates knives and scissors to separate the GB from where it is hung on the side of the liver. Having made the separation, he grips the top of the GB and hauls the whole thing up and out through your belly button. I know because I have watched the video replay.

I was in hospital for 30 hours total. The first six hours nothing happened; the surgeon just wanted to be sure I didn’t have a beer or hamburger before he did his stuff. The video shows the op took twenty minutes. The rest was recovery time. The following morning, I walked out and drove myself home.

The nurses were terrific. Response time to my call bell was never more than a minute and there was no rationing of the number of calls I made. The nurses smiled. (In the Florida hospital where I once spent a month recuperating from an infection, the nurses were not permitted to waste time and energy smiling, let alone fraternizing with patients).

The Mae Lewis nurses were so friendly they felt like primas (cousins) by the time of my leaving. The farewell breakfast of porridge, papaya, omelet etc was equal to Hotel Nacional. We exchanged gifts. I gave them a box of chocolates and they gave me the video to keep.

I am sure I will be back to Mae Lewis when other parts need repair or removal.

One last thing, I never did like my old belly button. It had an unsightly mole on it. Now, at no extra cost, I have a perfect button the match of Natalie Portman's. I would show it to you if I were’nt embarrassed by the folds of fat that surround it.

Malcolm Henderson is the author of "Don't Kill The Cow Too Quick" An Englishman's Adventures Homesteading in Panama.

A new cave has been discovered on the road to Drago ... literally ON the road to Drago. A tree trunk has been placed in the hole for now to keep vehicles and cows from entering but spelunkers can easily climb down and explore the approximately eight-foot deep, twenty-foot diameter cave, which is probably expanding on a daily basis. It is almost certain that the Bocas road crews will discover the cave for themselves within the next year or so and fill it in but for now it's an exciting new attraction and it won't be long before some enterprising resident begins charging admission. To get to the Drago Road Cave, just take a left at the Griega (Y) and drive five miles or so until you see the log in the hole. You can't miss it. (This cave is not to be confused with the manhole in the middle of the road near the cemetery that has the upside down lawn chair in it.)

WHAT IS THE ASILO?
by Pat Quayle

The Bocas Asilo is a government-sponsored nursing home with 31 residents; 21 men and 10 women. Five of the residents are in wheel chairs and 6 are blind. Many of the residents speak English. There are 8 caregivers who work there during the week, usually two or three at a time. They have their hands full cleaning, cooking and caring for all the residents.

One of the residents is Lydia Peña de Silva. Lydia is 98 years old and sharp as a tack. I noticed her right away when Professor Luis Palacios (singer, guitar player) asked her to sing a solo during our Panamanian music sing-a-long. Lydia was born in 1907 in Nicaragua. Back in 1931 she and her husband came to Panama on a vacation. They fell in love with Panama and decided to make this their home. First they lived in Colon and next in Chitre, later settling in Guabito, where her husband was a policeman and musician. Lydia has been at the Asilo since 1991.

There are many opportunities to lend assistance and help make the Asilo a brighter place. For example, some of the residents asked us to bring snacks for the evening. (The main meal, usually chicken and rice, is served at noon, with only a light fare for dinner.) The residents love music, so a CD and/or cassette player with music CD’s and/or cassettes would be a good gift. A soft lap blanket or knit poncho for some of the ladies would be nice. Another idea would be to “adopt” one of the residents and visit occasionally to listen to their stories and tell them about the outside world.

If you would be willing to help out in any way, please contact Jo Ellen Jeffers (6-622-4042 or email JoJeffers@aol.com) for ways you could help. Josefine Bilanfanty, who is the translator and leads the singing for the Sunday morning worship services at the Asilo, can also be contacted at 6-481-9243 for information on ways to help.

NEED ADVICE?
ASK CARMEN!!

Got a problem? Get a solution!
Email Carmen questions at: bocasbreeze@yahoo.com.

Dear Carmen:

My husband and I retired in Bocas to live a less complicated life. He recently got bored and started a new business, so we don’t spend much time together anymore. This is becoming a problem. What should I do?
In peril, Pearl

Dear Pearless:

Asking this question means: you think he’s the problem; you’re bored with your life. You can’t change another – you can change you. So, spend more time on your other interests (you do have some, right?). Bocas needs you, Pearl: join our Garden Club or Newcomer’s Group; volunteer at a school, our hospital or Seniors’ Home; subsidize a kids’ day-care center. And, becoming more creative and independent will make you more interesting to spend time with. Marriage is a vocation daily renewed, with no vacation due at retirement. How blessed you are, with the rest of your less complicated life to follow your bliss! If none of this is getting thru to you, well..... just run away from home. .....and tell your husband to call me.

Carmen:

Last night, I needed cash. I went to Banco Nacional ATM – it was “Out of Order”. Ay!Caramba! What’s a penniless ninny to do?
P. Ninny

Dear Ninny:

Banco Nacional, our only cash cashier, has two ATM’s: one at the bank, the other on Calle 1st, next to the jail, near IPAT. Usually, one of them works, with cash (more often than breaking, the ATM runs out of cash). Plan ATM’ing during bank hours; if ATM out, you can go in the bank. Since many in Bocas know of this problem, some of us will advance cash for food or needs, even to travelers. We’re all travelers, right?

Bocas Nice Cars – in Changuinola 6661-1614

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