Playacommunity invites you to join us at La Teca every Tuesday for Happy hour & Tapas. Playacommunity will be hosting "Happy Tapas" at La Teca from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.  instead of our monthly mixer.

Enjoy 2x1 drinks (try the red or white wine sangria), and a tapas tasting menu! Choose 6 options for $15. Try this weeks new Tapas menu! See the full menu: here

La Teca will be giving away great prizes each week!

Join us today (Tuesday, June 18th) from 5:00 p.m. onwards.

We look forward to seeing you!

Asados del Campo is a great place to meet friends for drinks, or to bring the whole family for dinner. The open-air restaurant is the perfect setting for the culinary experience severed up. The smell of barbeque wafts though the restaurant, assuring your pallet’s decision to order a plate of mixed roasted meats.

Order as a group to get a taste of everything they have to offer. Choose from several roasted meats including whole roasted chicken, beef & pork. Try some traditional sides like the patacones, yucca or rice and beans.

If you are looking to pick up some quality food on the go, Asados also does take out. Open 7 days a week! Give them a call at 240-1615                                                                                               

Rob Brown, Founder of Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN) proudly announces that the launch of the NHN HOTLINE.

The search for two HOTLINE operators has begun. Rodney, the HOTLINE operator for Alto Al Crimen (AaC) in Boquete is searching for a member of the Paraplegic Association of Panama, as he is the President of the Association, and he is hopeful that a fellow paraplegic can find employment with NHN as well.

Less than 3% of paraplegics in Panama have a job, and Rodney has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can not only perform the job - he excels at it! Rodney is a Rock Star in Boquete.

From Ricardo Martinelli's office to Salomón Shamah, the Minster of Tourism, all levels of Government are aware and interested in cleaning up the criminal element at the beaches. That was the message brought to the meeting at Rancho Los Toros, on June 6, 2013. There was a strong show of support from the expat beach community with over 120 concerned residents showing up.

A number of things came out of the meeting - this article will attempt to sum it all up.

Feedback from Police and Government

There was a strong show of support from Government and Police. Cynthia Meneses, Commissioner of the Tourist Police in Panama said that they are aware that San Carlos and the surrounding areas are becoming a hot spot for tourism. Her office plans to provide cars with Tourist Police to patrol the area.

A young Harpy Eagle named “Panama” will arrive on the isthmus on June 17th …provided she makes her American Airlines flight.

“Panama” was born at the Metro Zoo in Miami in September of 2009. At 3 years and 7 months she will be the youngest Harpy at her new residence, the Municipal Summit Park.

The park has had four Harpies, but all of them have since reached adulthood. Harpies generally live to about 40 years old. "Cheyenne", the oldest at the park passed away last year at the age of 51.

Since endangered species cannot be donated, given as gifts or sold, “Panama” will come to us on loan. The main goal of the female Harpy’s vacation to Panama will be for her to find a mate.

The fisherman was hungry. It had been sixteen hours since he left Gandia, a sleepy port town south of Valencia. The sea had been rough, and the sun, which had beat down hard in his small, lonely panga, was sinking like a rock into the water. He had made his way through the Ibiza Channel and into the Balearic Islands where the blue-fins and dorados roam.

In a small pan on an even smaller burner in the stern of his rusty boat, the fisherman sautéed mussels, cuttlefish and shrimp (which were caught that morning for bait). To the seafood, he added a sofrito of garlic, onions, peppers, tomatoes and olive oil. The aroma, as it mixed in his nose with the salty breeze, made his stomach growl with anticipation. Then he added short, thin noodles and a spoonful of fish stock. He stirred and stirred and stirred, adding more stock as needed. And beneath the ancient stars, with two lines cast out over the lip of his skiff, he ate the same dish his father ate under the very same stars. The dish is Valencian Fideuà.

In the mountains of Capira 14 families live and work together in a sustainable organic farming community.

Rebecca, a native Panamanian, with a flair for color, design and fabric combinations, had studied in the United States for many years. Upon her return to Panama, a friend introduced Rebecca to the small farming community. Watching villagers work, Rebecca became inspired by their craft and the co-operative manner in which they lived and worked together.

From June 8^th – June 16^th Panama will join 30 Countries and 300 of the World’s Best Junior Surfers to compete at the World Junior Surfing Championship (WJSC) in Playa Jiquiliste, Nicaragua. This is the world largest and most important junior competition. Each National Team will consist of up to 4 under – 18 Boys, 2 Under – 18 Girls, 4 Under -16 boys and 2 Under 16 girls as well as Team Officials The Panamanian team is as follows:

In the tiny village of San Carlos sits a bright, yellow ray of sunshine known to the locals as “Finca La Maya.” It is there, in the large cultural arts center, that the lives of local children have been changed. Giving them hope for a better tomorrow.

When Starr and Stephen McCamant moved to Panama they had planned to downsize and live a quiet life in a beachfront casita. Instead their lives took a different turn, when they stumbled upon a 40 acre, fixer-upper farm. While it was not at all what they had envisioned their life in Panama would be, it turned out to be exactly where they were supposed to be. The area was poor and the children, in desperate need of a better education that could improve their future. Starr and Steve decided to do something about it.

The second robbery of Rancho Los Toros, a restaurant / hotel located on a San Carlos farm, has the expat community concerned about safety. A recent crime wave of violent home invasions without any known arrests has people wanting solutions. The situation is driving three community safety groups in Panama to come together: Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN), Alto Al Crimen (AAC) in Boquete and Gorgona Vecinos Vigilantes are working on the Rancho Los Toros case together.

According to an email sent by Rob Brown of Retirement Detectives:

The EMS unit is designed to provide surge protection for the entire home or facility, increase the life of electrical motors through heat reduction and provide significant savings on electric bills, by using methods employed at large industrial complexes, now reduced to a compact unit, to reclaim and recycle electrical energy. The application has benefits to both the user and the supplier of electrical power.

The EMS unit fine-tunes the electrical system in your home or facility. This fine tuning reduces heat generation, reduces amperage and results in reduced consumption of electricity. It causes less waste of electrical energy while increasing the life of the inductive equipment in your home or facility. It protects against power surges and increases the capacity to the electrical panel by making it run cooler. All this means extra dollars in your pocket. All EMS products are backed with a comprehensive full five year factory warranty.

"I'm frustrated, Im disgusted." Said Joe Camdon Wilmoth, owner of Rancho Los Toros. "I'm alive", he added. His restaurant / hotel was violently robbed on Tuesday, May 28, for the 2nd time in 4 months.

The first time it happened was on February 15th, 2013. That night, 5 men wearing ski masks, carrying guns and machetes, stepped out of the darkness and held 15 people hostage. It was an evening of sushi at Rancho Los Toros and several people were there to enjoy the creations of Chef Andres. The thieves terrorized the hostages for several hours before they took off with around $15,000 in cash and property.

That robbery created an outcry in the expat community, which was answered with a community meeting, well attended by Police and expat community leaders. The Police announced that they were 80% progressed in their investigation of the Rancho Los Toros robbery. Everyone expected arrests were around the corner.

Have you wondered where Spay the Strays (STS) has been lately?  We have been diligently working to obtain the anesthesia necessary to spay and neuter animals in the area surrounding Coronado.  We ran into some obstacles but are happy to report we are back in business!
 
On Saturday, STS held a clinic in Sora to try out our new protocol  and it was completely successful.  We spayed and neutered 49 animals of which 8 were homeless dogs who live at the Altos del Maria basura.  The best news is that 1 was a puppy who was adopted during the clinic!  Our intrepid volunteers madly moved animals, people, operating tables, etc to escape a flood inside the building during a torrential downpour. Despite darkness and water, our wonderful vets continued to work!

Today is the Playacommunity Mixer (May 29th)! This month's mixer will be held at Picasso Bar & Restaurante from 5:00 p.m. onwards. There will be two dinner sittings, if you have reserved for the first sitting it will take place from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. This sitting is full, but not to worry the second sitting will begin shortly after. If you would like to try some of Picasso’s new menu options, reserve for the second sitting by calling Picasso at 345-3777.

Picasso will be serving some new items like the Ensalada Playera (beach salad). The main course will be a choice veggie curry or spaghetti bolonesa. And for desert, the famous Picasso brownie.

For only $15.00, enjoy this 3-course meal plus one free glass of wine, beer, iced tea or a mixed drink.  This price includes the jubilado discount.

RSVP to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at 345-3777. Picasso is located inside the Coronado gates on Ave. Roberto Esienmann across from the fire station.

Bamboo Express is one of my favorite lunch spots at the beach. This small restaurant is located in the Las Olas food court of the Coronado Mall. They are open everyday from 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m., for eat in and take out. Specializing in traditional chinese food, Bamboo Express has a variety of fresh traditional Chinese dishes.

Try the Vegetable Chow Fun, and you will be pleasantly surprised with an abundance of fresh vegetables atop a heaping plate of noodles for only $6.00.  Bamboo Express fronts like a fast food joint but don’t expect your food in minutes, everything is cooked fresh, it is well worth the wait!