Siempre Soluciones

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!
 

6 hours ago, Uncle Doug said:

I suppose Chiriqui Chatter is coming to an end, as well.  Unfortunate.

As did Boquete Guide after Lee Zeltzer passed.

16 minutes ago, Uncle Doug said:

I need to receive a delivery of documents from the US sent by Fed Ex.  I realize, of course, that there is no delivery in Boquete and that a Fed Ex office is somewhere in David.

I can find the Fed Ex office in David using a taxi, if nothing else. It's fairly urgent, of course...

But what would my sender use as an address?  

Uncle Doug,

David, Chiriqui, Republic of Panama?? 

That doesn't seem like a very good plan....

 

4 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

Protesting the lack of a pre-school teacher. Video.

 

 

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!

3 hours ago, Bonnie said:

Yesterday, I sent the following e-mail to the Ms. Thao Anh at U.S. Embassy:

Good afternoon:

At his talk in Boquete, Ambassador Feeley said it was his intention to check into the matter of obtaining criminal history checks when one's fingerprints cannot be read. Has he learned anything in this regard? There are a number of people in that bind here in Boquete and, as the Ambassador noted, doubtless other all over the world. There must be an alternative method.

Thanks,

Bonnie Williams

Boquete Warden

 

Here is the response I received:

 

Hi Bonnie,

Please refer to the MASCOT dated March 15 that we sent out to all U.S. citizens subsequent to the town hall in Boquete below.  For additional questions about FBI Identification Record, including fingerprints’ readability issues, please contact (304) 625-5590 or send an email to identity@ic.fbi.gov.  Since each case is treated on its own merits, we can only provide general responses and it will be up to each individual to follow-up regarding their specific case with the FBI using the contact information provided.

Best,

Thao Anh

 

It looks like each person is on his/her own here.

Worthless government employees.

3 hours ago, Moderator_02 said:

Here is a transcription of the English version of the article so that it might be easier to read:

 

"making such changes as the reduction to 3 consecutive months of stay in the country"

Has the 180 days been reduced to three months?

4 minutes ago, MarieElaine said:

Apparently (per Olga S. on that "other" blog) the Panamanian government is trying to simplify the immigration process and are encouraging people to apply online without a lawyer.  This is probably upsetting a lot of lawyers who make their living serving the expat community.  There are more changes on the way.

What changes?

On 4/3/2017 at 4:02 PM, Penny said:

I believe that you don't need an attorney for this type of visa. In fact, it appears that having an attorney is discouraged.

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.

1 hour ago, Moderator_02 said:

My understanding of what you are trying to do is file for legal residency without the assistance of a competent attorney. Probably not the wisest approach to achieving your desired end goal to my way of thinking.

Wishing you all the best. When you get to the end of this process, would you mind posting your experiences here on CL?

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

59 minutes ago, Jim and Judi said:

Scared me there for a minute.  If Casa de Jamon closes, I may just die ? 

God save the queen!

22 minutes ago, Bonnie said:

The Casa de Cerdo across from Melo suddenly is gone. I went by last Thursday. Closed up, no sign. Boo hoo.

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.

7 hours ago, Penny said:

What is a "cubetazo"? My online dictionary doesn't have it. Is it like a tapas?

Cubetazo translates to bucket in English.

5 minutes ago, Penny said:

While driving by Alto Dorado this morning I noticed that the "Casa de Jamon" is no longer on the Gago building. And it looked like it was closed. Did they go out of business?

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.

50 minutes ago, Keith Woolford said:

The whole point of the mission is to improve distribution of potable water to the community so dropping that component would be regressive, and a waste of already expended time, effort, and resources.

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.

35 minutes ago, Keith Woolford said:

Nothing to that effect has been published by the Mayor's Public Relations department.

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

I spoke this morning with one of my Panamanian neighbors and they said that with the intervention of the mayor regarding the turmoil of the sewer/water/electrical project that  they're scaling the project from five to two years and will only complete the sewer portion at this time.  The roads will be re-paved in one year.  No time frame on when or if they're continue with the the water and electrical components.

17 hours ago, TwoSailors said:

Jeeze...that is horrible. What the heck is wrong with these people? It is out of control. Anyone think US of A is a free country better think again when they want to go on an international flight. Was that a recent experience and what airport were you flying out of?

2013 and Miami.

2 hours ago, Bud said:

I suspect there is no hard and fast rule on what actions the authorities are allowed to take or do actually take. To my way of thinking it would depend on where you are, the "mood" of the officials, how you present yourself, possibly how much money you actually do have, and maybe other factors.

Not trying to frighten anyone here, but Marcelyn and I were in a Central American country returning to Panama on a COPA flight, and you would not believe the hassle a lady traveler was going through. All of the "action" was not at the normal security screening station, but rather at a boarding gate inspection station. At one point she had five armed officers surrounding her, and each of the five were counting every currency bill that she had in her purse and her carry-on luggage. It looked like a Gestapo field day. The process was a bit more than 30 minutes, which had to be frightening minutes for her and her children (no husband). She eventually was allowed to board the plane, and we could only hope that she had all of her money.

One thing the two of us talked about on that return flight, assuming the officials had seized some of her money, was whether said funds would go into pockets of the officers, or into government coffers, or both. Would she be able to reclaim seized funds at a later date?  Who knows for sure other than her? But we suspect not.

I experienced a similar situation.  I brought about $9,800 US on several trips to Panama while getting settled in Boquete, money for bank accounts, attorney's fees, rental deposit, shipping costs, etc.  I had always used a loop belt wallet which I would simply place in one of the plastic containers on the conveyor belt for xray but on one trip I forgot my loop belt wallet and had the $9,800 in a pocket on my cargo shorts.  When unloading my pockets at the screening area I attempted to place the money (loose $100 bills) in a plastic container along side my wallet and a security guard approached me and told me to walk through the screening machine with the money in hand.  After walking through I was whisked away and treated like a criminal!  These people acted as though they never saw that kind of money which I found hard to believe.  They asked me where I got it and what I'm doing with it and I responded that I'm using the money for vacation and retirement in Panama.  They weren't having it.  I got stripped searched and they went through my carry on bags, a garment bag and a computer backpack, as if I was Pablo Escobar!  They seemed furious that they found nothing.  They continued to retain me and I'm thinking I'm going to miss my flight.  I made them aware that in one bag I had a copy of my FBI report for immigration purposes for them to review if they'd like.  They then stripped searched me a second time.  I'm thinking I'm going to miss my flight so I decided to name drop and asked them to access my cell phone and check for two names of people who can vouch for me.  One my neighbor of 20 years who is an FBI agent whose wife happens to be a sitting district court judge and two a friend in the US State Department who has diplomatic immunity.  They verified the name of my friend in the FBI and then they scattered and let me go.  I believe they were really trying to get me to miss my flight due to their failed profiling exercise.  That's the problem with giving uneducated people earning minimum wage such power.  Read the book "TSA: Thousands Standing Around."

36 minutes ago, JimAndNena said:

Exactly correct.  And it does not have to be just cash.  And it is a cumulative amount of everyone traveling together.  If you are arriving in the USA from Panama:

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/195/kw/10000 dollars/session/L3RpbWUvMTQ5MDE5MDAyNS9zaWQvQmxuUF9hZW4%3D

I do believe that the $10,000 limit includes bank notes, bearer stocks, bonds, precious metals, diamonds, etc.

13 hours ago, CEPage1Ca said:

Hi Everyone, could someone please let me know where I go in David to pick up my new license plate? Thank you.

As you can see the Municipio is on Central Avenue.  If you don't want to navigate from the center of town, driving from the Panamerican highway turn at the traffic light at Calle Miguel Angel Brenes (the road that connects the Panamerican highway to the airport road or the old McDonalds road) you would turn left at the restaurant named Antojito's and the Municipio is on the left after four blocks.

22 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

Global migration is at a peak. People are on the move everywhere and it's unfortunate you got caught here in the solution to a different problem.

http://metrocosm.com/global-migration-map.html

My bad.  Here's the video converted to GIF format in three parts:

15 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

Who published this map? It certainly seems unrealistic that Australia, the U.S., and central Europe are the only migratory destinations noted.

The ABA Journal.

30 minutes ago, Keith Woolford said:

Maybe Bud can embed it

Here's a more clearer one.