Siempre Soluciones

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.

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?

Or a series of rumble strips.

A friend of mine did me a small favor for me and I'd like give him something that he's always complaining that's hard to find: Canned sardines in oil. I checked Romero and Rey and they've got a wide assortment of canned sardines but none in oil. In an effort to conserve energy and time, does anyone know who in Boquete or David that regularly stocks them? I'm thinking Super Baru and Filipe Motta at a minimum. Thanks!

As did Boquete Guide after Lee Zeltzer passed.

We got stuck in this mess this morning. The Policia National allowed us to turn around and drive south on the north bound lanes to a gravel road then to a paved road re-entering via Boquete at the intersection where Farmacia los Anastacios is located. The total delay was 20 minutes. It could've been much worse!

Worthless government employees.

"making such changes as the reduction to 3 consecutive months of stay in the country" Has the 180 days been reduced to three months?

What changes?

Penny, Apparently this individual doesn't know Spanish. Who should bear that cost? Immigration in the United States offers free interpretation services in 12 languages as well as handing out vouchers for free stays at Marriott hotels and debit cards for food, clothing, booze, as well as free public and private education, but then again they're bankrupt. I sure hope that Panama doesn't go that route.

Or at least invest $20 to have the document translated.

God save the queen!

Yes, the owner asked from day one to help get Panamanians to shop there because he knew that their business couldn't survive on gringos alone. They are constructing another building on the property in David where the original store is, perhaps they're expanding there.

Cubetazo translates to bucket in English.

I shopped there last Thursday and they had a delivery of steel and a welding crew making what looked like an awning for the front of the building. They may have just temporarily removed their sign. I hope! They're closed on Mondays.

I need to purchase new curtains for several windows, do any of the department stores or home improvement centers in David sell pre-made curtains in standard sizes?

Report the presence of sea snakes in El Uverito Alcibíades Cortez, Special for the Press | PLAYA UVERITO, Los Santos 26 Mar 2017 - 15: 00h The bathers at El Uverito beach, Las Tablas district, in Los Santos, reported on Sunday, March 26, about the sighting of sea snakes on that coast. The information was confirmed by different authorities of the province who added that the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) placed a red flag on the beach, after the evaluations of the lifeguard was placed yellow flag. The sighting of sea snakes on the beach El Uverito, occurs 48 hours after a green turtle of the species Chelonia mydas was stranded on the same site. According to the fishermen of the region its presence in the area is not usual.

Agreed 100%. However, as we know, there's been a lot of pain with phase one, to go five consecutive years like this would be tough.

That's unfortunate. All my Panamanian neighbors seem to believe it. We can only hope!