Yes folks, another year is blasting by with a little over 60 days till Christmas! Time to get your holiday house in order and let the eating begin! While container ship traffic jams, worker shortages, rising prices has put numerous kinks in the pipeline of goods flowing in through your ports and out to your stores, Panama and specifically Boquete has no shortages whatsoever. We live in the heart of Panama’s most productive farm land and with abundant veggies, fruits of all kinds, excellent beef, pork and chicken. Beef prices stayed solid at $1.5 to $7.5 a pound for filet mignon! We now also have a steady source of seafood coming in from the Pacific and Caribbean waters. Fresh Tuna is still $4 a pound like most premium fish.
Halloween is next weekend followed by our November holidays and we have plenty of them in Panama. Things slow way down and this is the time of the year your patience will be tested with not a lot happening at work, but lots of parades and parties.
Here is list in case you did not already know:
| 3 Nov | Wednesday | Independence Day | National holiday |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Nov | Thursday | National Symbols Day | National holiday |
| 5 Nov | Friday | Colon Day | National holiday |
| 10 Nov | Wednesday | Shout in Villa de los Santos | National holiday |
| 28 Nov | Sunday | Independence from Spain | National holiday |
| 29 Nov | Monday | Day off for Independence from Spain | National holiday |
2021 was certainly a year of passage for Panama and things here are opening up all the way with large gatherings now permitted and soon a relaxing of the mask mandate under certain conditions. Panama is building up it’s Vaccine supply for next year and will be administering booster shots soon. If your position is to abstain, I fully understand and simply ask that you do not come anywhere near me! With my underlying conditions, I have multiple targets on my back so thank you!
Our economy was like many, hit hard by Covid and is now just starting to rebound. Our real estate market in Boquete is now on fire and the inventory of nice homes is shrinking quickly and this is still rainy season. We priced our home very aggressively and in July we reduced the price to $695,000. We are at the right place, right time and that price is still a bargain so we hope to conclude my downsizing plan this year.
If you are interested, here is a link
Overall, the rental market has dried up and rental rates are reflecting that. I tell people that if you decide on Boquete and you see something you like, you better move on it quickly.
We will keep you posted as the year closes out and the New Year begins. Drop us a line if you have any questions.
Get Vaccinated and stay safe!!