The city of David is on the coastal plain. It is a market town and center  for the thriving agriculture and cattle industry which has been the mainstay of the province. It is not quite a frontier town, but the feeling is there. There is now one no stop and go light in the city a block from the Munisipio. It really helps the traffic going east and west. Traffic over all is obligated to be considerate of itself. That means there are no traffic lights except the new one. Sometimes the traffic is not considerate of itself. A friend who has lived in David all his life once told me that there were more traffic lights at one time, but it was decided to remove them. He couldn't remember an explanation given at the time.

The central park renovation is finally complete. These two pictures are what the main park looks like now. People come to visit or just relax under the shade trees. Unfortunatley some of the oldest and largest trees facing the National Bank were removed under protest from residents. Street  vendors along one side will shine your shoes or sell you something cold to drink like fresh cracked coconut juice or the juice from sugar cane ground on the spot. The new park was paid for by a donation of $20,000,000 from the Spanish government. The question is usually " the renovation looks like no more then several million, where did the rest of the mony go, and why did it take so long?". Some private companies also paid $20,000 to have a bronze plaque with their company names installed in various locations in the park walls.

The new Immagration building at the border is complete. The main highway from the border to David is complete too. It is now a 4 lane road. This in itself will turn David into a growing commercial center and a principle distribution area to the rest of Panama from the other Central American countries. The truck traffic  will more efficiently travel to and through the border at Costa Rica. From David to Santiago there are still problems, but has been improved dramatically. From Santiago to Panama City it's 4 lanes all the way.

In March David hosts the Feria International de David, where International companies arrive for a week long stay to promote their products and services to Panama. Another yearly festival is the "Childrens Day Festival" which concluded on the 17th of July.

New construction is evident in the city center. There is a new hotel named City Hotel of David being built in front of Plaza Oteima. More houses are being built in the new upscale neighborhood of  "Las Perlas" on the road to Boquete as well.  Although a quaint  mountain town, Boquete is presently enjoying the distinction of being the hottest growing area in Panama.