Siempre Soluciones

19 hours ago, JohnF13 said:

It is probably a health concern issue.

 

I know for a fact that "prepared" foods and "raw" foods must be kept in separate coolers here in Panama.  This was the reason that butcher closed down at Plaza San Francisco a couple of years back, the health department required them to purchased a second cooler to separate their meats which they chose not to.

John,

As for the handling, there could very well be additional requirements since coming into contact with prepared foods is safe whereas it isn't for meats such as raw chicken.

I eat there once a week, the best typico in David.

Keith,

You're not going when I am because I always see expats there.  It's just a timing thing.

After getting my hair cut on Calle 2a Sur I noticed a new Restaurant/Produce store across the street and a few doors down (map attached).  It's only been there one month, all new, 1/2 of the building is a produce store and the other half is a cafe/restaurant.  Nicely done, they spent some money on this place.  The prices are reasonable, I ended up purchasing cabbage, lettuce, and some really scrumptious looking tomatoes.  A photo of the tomatoes are attached.  The tomatoes were 80 cents per pound which is priced at the high end for tomatoes at the market.  Their selection is excellent, they certainly take their time in selecting their produce at least with the tomatoes as there wasn't a bad one in the bunch.  I wanted six, I picked six, all perfect. 

On 6/28/2017 at 6:31 PM, Moderator_02 said:

http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Panama_Suspends_Imports_of_Colombian_Meat_Products

This doesn't have anything to do with the recent boat capsizing?

4 hours ago, Bonnie said:

The passport of Mr. Henry Gibson Hayes is at the Municipio in the office of the Tesororia waiting to be reclaimed. If anyone knows Mr. Hayes, please pass this information on to him.

 

It looks as though he passed away last December.

On 6/10/2017 at 0:03 PM, Keith Woolford said:

Probably has less to do with product detail and more to do with the customs broker that the forwarder is using.

That brings up an excellent question, are all of the mail forwarding services treated equally.  MBE has their own employee at customs at a dedicated table under camera surveillance opening up every single incoming package as opposed to having a Panamanian customs official perform the task.  I do not believe the others do.

On 6/10/2017 at 10:13 AM, MarieElaine said:

I ordered about a year ago.  I ordered 3 paring knives, 6 steak knives and a chefs knife along with the sharpener.  They are Rada's light weight aluminum collection and I love them.

Marie,

Thanks for the clarification.  I'm familiar with those models, they're pretty docile looking knives.  And yes, I've got one of the light weight aluminum ones too and it's terrific.  It seems cheap since it's so light weight but it cuts amazingly well.

13 hours ago, JohnF13 said:

Where can I find a list of currently banned products?  

Here you go John.

20 hours ago, MarieElaine said:

I bought Rada knives from Amazon and had no trouble getting them into the country through E Shop.

Marie,

Ok, why don't you try to help us out.

1)  When did you order your knives?

2)  What type or model of knives did you purchase?

37 minutes ago, Bonnie said:

Why this ban at all? I don't understand the reasoning since knives, ordinary or not, can be obtained anywhere. Is there a special danger in the mailing of them? If so, why is that danger restricted to only certain knives? Just trying to understand, perhaps futilely.

You're right, it doesn't make sense at all.

Now that I'm learning how to cook in my retirement I need certain items.  I recently purchased a used knife made by Rada in the US ( http://www.radacutlery.com/ ) from an expat leaving and I'm in love with it.  They've got an amazing assortment of knives available from their website a few that I'd like to order.  I'm going to go meet with Arturo at MBE and see if he has any insight.  My concern is how often this "definition" changes.

In the current list of banned items published by Panamanian customs, they list the following:

Knives or blades except ordinary kitchen knives.

Does anyone have any idea on what their definition of "ordinary" is?   And how often does that change? 

A friend of mine had a medium sized butcher knife confiscated.  To me that's an ordinary knife.

Bonnie,

You're correct, not a good rumor to spread.  However I heard it from two unrelated distinct sources.  I usually won't repeat something until I've heard it from three or more sources but these sources seem pretty confident.

As you know they did change the rules for certain countries from 180 to 90 days which in the past people have said they couldn't because it would be discriminatory but they did so anyways.  So I was just wondering about this rule.

As for border hops at Tocumen, it's been reported that there's been numerous people staying out less than 30 days with one as short as six days.  Go figure.

I heard a rumor that the 30 day border hopping rule is returning to 3 days, has anyone heard this?

1 hour ago, JimAndNena said:

What crimes, hunting without a permit? Not the kind of arms used in robberies.

So if one attempts to rob a store with one of the above guns the clerk can simply state "Silly boy, you've got the wrong gun for a robbery."

I remember reading somewhere that you're exempt from filing the proof of life form if you file taxes with the IRS.

Is this true?

3 hours ago, Dennis Philpot said:

Thanks again for the help, Keith.  i tried yesterday, but there was a little twist that I thought I'd share.  My car was purchased (from you) before I got my cedula and was linked with my U.S. Passport number.  When I tried to renew the driver's license yesterday, I was told I needed to go the the Municipio and have my records changed so that the Passport reference number would be replaced by the cedula number (I got my cedula in December and got the new license plate in January, so that's when the cedula number got into the system).  So I got the records changed and will go back to Sertracen tomorrow (30 minutes before they open).  I hope this info helps save others an extra trip.

Dennis

I know a couple of people who got caught in the same scenario.  It appears that once you obtain your cedula you must have pertinent government documents such as auto and property titles re-issued with the cedula number.

5 hours ago, Uncle Doug said:

Something doesn't quite sound right.  An arrest is quite different than a criminal conviction.  

It also seems odd that Panama is now capable of running a complete criminal background check on American tourists arriving at Tocumen and returning all those who who ever ran afoul of a policeman at any point in their lives.  Did they hack into the FBI?

We all know the scrutiny on permanent visa applications as well as the effort to end "permanent tourism."   

But that is far different than turning away every American businessman or tourist with an arrest from long ago. 

President Varela had three Panamanian immigration officials trained in Washington DC in the use of the FBI's systems as well as others for random back ground checks.  They haven't published any criteria for initiating their random checks.

JimAndNena,

You wrote:

"One additional point to remember with government services is the multiple "windows" required.  Each window has a specific task and requires specific paperwork. One must get through the windows in the correct order to win the prize.  And the person at any window can change at any time so as they say, "Variety is the spice of life"."

I obtained my permanent residency visa over four years ago, it required two days at immigration (for the Friendly Nations Visa) and if I recall correctly we had to visit at least four windows each day.  At that time you could arrive early and obtain the necessary tickets for each window that you needed to visit for the entire day.  In fact my attorney asked me to obtain additional tickets for their other clients.  With all low number tickets you essentially flew through the process in only a couple of hours.  Now I've been told that you're only allowed to obtain a ticket for the next step in your process, no more obtaining all of them early with low numbers.  This has drastically increased the time for processing.  I have a couple of friends that have stated that they were there from open to close.  I couldn't imagine.

And on one occasion we forgot to obtain a ticket for a specific window and my attorney asked me for $10 and purchased a low number ticket from someone they knew, I guess there used to be scalpers there!

The good ole days!

I got the last 40 ounce bottle of Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce today.  There were two stock people and what appeared to be a manager with a clip board in that section.  I explained to him that SBR is the best and to re-order.  He gladly wrote it down, we'll see.

Upon checkout I had four items in one bag so the bag boy got a quarter.

Nothing beats El Rey in David.  You can stock up on everything heavy, milk, bleach, juice, beer, wine cooking oils, etc., and the bag boys are proud to accept a dollar tip to bring it out to the car.  If I'm shopping with a friend, they get a dollar from each of us since the back of the SUV must be loaded accordingly.  And all under roof cover so no issues with rain.

1 hour ago, MarieElaine said:

Has anyone applied for and received the 2 year Visa.  If so, could you share your experience with us please.

My visa credit cards have been coming with three year expiration dates.

I see from LoJack's website that their service is available in Panama.  Does anyone have experience with it?  Any idea of the initial and ongoing monthly/annual costs?

Thanks to all for the contributions.  It looks as though I've got to meet with Carmen to see if and how a wire transfer can be executed with a signed form while not present.  Perhaps if the form is notarized.  I'll report back.

I havet a friend who no longer lives in Boquete who needs to wire funds from his account at Global Bank to an account at a bank in the US.  He's asked me to do it so before I begin the journey I'd like to know if there's anyone out there that has done a third party wire transfer from Global Bank. 

Question:  Would they allow me as a third party to submit a wire transfer request (I assume a paper form since my friend does not do online banking) with my friend's signature on it?  Does he have to be present?

12 hours ago, Brandy said:

Maybe a series of speed bumps would do the trick and slow people down?  It would certainly tick them off!

Or a series of rumble strips.