Like any good reality TV show, Panama Red Beer’s Excellent Bocas Adventure needs a cast of special characters. So here goes.
Panama Annie: A global trekker, Panama Annie is approaching middle age with a special zest for life. She is a self-described “Cougar,” an older woman who likes younger men, especially Panamanians. Owns her own business in Toronto which specializes in colloidal silver medicine for rare diseases in horses. Also believes the medicine can cure humans of all kinds of ailments. Studied yoga in India from a swami. Smart, pretty, yet seems a bit wary of true love.
Bill and Sharon Bohmfalk: Owners of Bohmfalk’s Bar, a favorite watering hole of American ex-pats, graying Baby Boomers, retired businessmen and women, aging rockers, treasure hunters, a few local Bocasites and all sorts of ne’er-do-wells. Bill and Sharon moved to Bocas from Key West. The bar is a classic dive, with mousetraps glued to the bar to keep currency from blowing away. Sells collector t-shirts. Some of the signs in the bar: What Kind Of A Show You Running Here? The Only Way You’ll Get a Better Piece of Chicken Is If You Are A Rooster. Oh My God, We Realized Our Panama Dream — Now What Do We Do?
Steve, The Magic Man: Another global trekker, Steve owns his own roofing business in Akron, Ohio, mostly to finance his global adventures. Loves Fiji and is well known there. Specializes in sleight-of-hand magic, which he performs for wide-eyed children, hard-edged cops and baffled bar patrons, leaving all entertained and scratching their heads. Due to his free magic shows for kids and cops, he has an aura of protection where ever he goes. An all-around good guy, he also plays mandolin and has friends in the music business in the U.S.
Milana: The Magic Man’s office manager. She is a crack up, smart and quick as a whip with a sharp retort. Specializes in being a “bird dog” for The Magic Man, pointing out great-looking women for her boss and sometimes lover. Celebrated her 44th birthday at Bohmfalks on Feb. 15 by dancing on the bar with friends.
Diver Jim: Retired treasure diver/salvager who helped the late Mel Fisher discover the Atocha, a sunken Spanish galleon loaded with treasure. Has written his life story and is looking to get it published. Used to run a bar in the Keys, has loads of stories of the drug business there in the early years. Is 72, has had heart problems managed by a pacemaker. Rides a “Hardly Davidson,” a cheap Chinese knockoff of the U.S. classic. Has lived in Bocas for 17 years back when “there were only four outsiders and nothing going on.” Has his “office” at the Golden Grill, an American-owned restaurant, on the main drag and holds court there each day for any passersby who have an interest in history. Is awaiting his “ship to come in” which is a salvage ship he will use to uncover more treasure. Is pretty closed-mouth about any future prospects, as he should be.
Costa Rica Joe: A window washer from San Diego who has lived in Costa Rica for 12 years, and for three in Bocas. Travels back and forth between the two countries as his passport requirement dictates. Classic street hustler who gets a cut of the action when he brings vacationers to various turista businesses and hostels. He only spends three months a year in San Diego to earn money to return to Central America. Is fluent in street Spanish but claims he cannot read Spanish. 
CD: An original member of Quicksilver Messenger Service, wrote and performed under many pseudonyms, including Chuck Steaks. Plays out and about at various clubs on occasion, but seems more interested in helping the local Indios develop and sell their lands for their profit, not Gringo Speculators. Some people think he’s a fake.
The Brit Twit: I nicknamed him such due to his at times arrogant holier-than-thou attitude toward other musicians and run-of-the-mill people he meets. He is an excellent blues guitarist in the same vein as Eric Clapton and Keith Richards. Rumor has it he could have been a Rolling Stone, but isn’t, which seems to have gnawed at his craw. He whines that he’s the only true musician on the island. Can’t seem to get a band together for more than a couple of gigs and he has no idea why, other than they are not “professionals.”