Siempre Soluciones

26 minutes ago, Keith Woolford said:

Maybe Bud can embed it

10 hours ago, Rooikop said:

No Michelle is with me.they refused her entry and my vehicle is in Panama with Gareth.

Thanks for the clarification.

Though we've never met, I can speak for myself and the many people that I've discussed this with in the last week, we all care about you guys since we're all in this together.

10 hours ago, Bonnie said:

They let Michelle back into Panama but did not let you in? I'm confused.

To those advocating a walk back into Panama, one complication is that Steve has a truck less than a year old worth thousands of dollars. I'm sure he's reluctant to abandon it in Costa Rica.

Bonnie,

People in Panama on tourist visas are not allowed to drive vehicles owned and registered to them outside of the country.

How did he do this?

Just now, TwoSailors said:

The sky is falling...the sky is falling!  

All joking aside, I just can't understand the abruptness of such action, many honest people will be impacted.

1 hour ago, MarieElaine said:

Were there actually Brits refused entry?  Does anyone know this for a fact?

It must be since we read it on the Internet!  Who knows, perhaps Panama is adopting the "fake" news concept as in the United States.

On 3/7/2017 at 11:24 AM, MarieElaine said:

Law 591 states that Americans, Canadians, Brits and Australians need to leave the country every 180 days and all others only get 30 days.  It would be devastating to this area if they boot out all retirees living as tourists.  We bring employment and spend our pensions here without taking jobs from Panamanians.  Think of the trades people alone who would be out of work.  Most Central and South American countries encourage retirees to live in their countries and bring money into their economies.  Am I wrong?  Too much logic?

Tell that to the Brits denied entry.

"Among the rejected are 77 Venezuelans, five Hondurans, three Salvadorans, two Nicaraguans and the rest are of several European nationalities, according to the institution."

On 3/6/2017 at 10:51 PM, SP87 said:

I personally would be very nervous about exiting in Paso Canoas with the intention of renewing tourist stamp regardless of your nationality. Here is a paragraph directly from a news article posted from Telémetro News today. Where someone from Mirgration states that foreigners from ALL nationalities cannot remain in Panama as tourist their whole life. 

"El director del Servicio Nacional de Migración (SNM), Javier Carrillo advirtió este lunes a los extranjeros de todas las nacionalidades que no pueden estar en Panamá "toda su vida" como turistas"

http://www.telemetro.com/nacionales/Director-Migracion-extranjeros-pueden-turistas_0_1005499877.html

It looks as though this is a serious problem for our friends who are border hoppers.

"The Panamanian government said Monday that it maintains its decision to prevent re-entry of foreigners who try to remain in the country indefinitely as tourists."

"He added that some of the people who have been in the border for several days have done this procedure up to four times and the solution will be to legalize the immigration status of those who meet the requirements, or they will have to return to their country of origin."

"Among the rejected are 77 Venezuelans, five Hondurans, three Salvadorans, two Nicaraguans and the rest are of several European nationalities, according to the institution."

Panama Will Maintain Steady Positions with Irregular Migrants

http://www.escambray.cu/2017/panama-mantendra-postura-firme-con-migrantes-irregulares/

On 2/21/2017 at 7:46 AM, Bonnie said:

The optical shop in Boquete, near eShop and Union Fenosa/Western Union, is Vega Optical. They also have offices in David.

Bonnie & Dennis,

I stopped by Vega Optical and unfortunately they do not offer glass lenses.  They can't special order them from Panama City.

1 hour ago, Penny said:

It's a common misconception that the restaurant can deduct the discount amount from their taxes. What actually happens is when a restaurant sells a $10 meal for $8, they only report the $8 income. Actually, many smaller fondas and restaurants pay no income taxes. You have to have gross sales of $30,000 per year before you're liable for income taxes. Restaurants that don't pay income taxes, take the hit from the discount.

The tourist visa person who demands the discount should be informed of the law. This is the true definition of an "Ugly American". What an A*H* (pendejo in Spanish).

Yes, and this pendejo even only pays jubilado rates on taxis and buses screwing them over too.

One of the problems that plagues restaurant owners are the people on tourists visas claiming the jubilado discount.  I'm surprised that restaurants don't request proof.  Think of all that lost revenue.  In fact there's one expat in Boquete on a tourist visa that can't obtain permanent residency but demands the julibado discount everywhere including low cost eateries.  They proclaim that restaurant owners are greedy, capitalistic scumbags that shouldn't earn a profit on food.

Dennis,

Wow, I've got two pairs of Zeiss glasses that are almost 30 years old, great quality!  My prescription is -1.5 so there's no restriction.  The doctor at Lopez told me that no one in Chiriqui cuts glass eyeglasses.

Bonnie,

I'll drop by Vega Optical.

Is there an optometrist or optical store in David that makes or can order eye glasses with glass and not acrylic?

I purchased an acrylic pair at Lopez Optical about three years ago for $250 and I'm not satisfied with the performance.

Any new news on the new Riba Smith in David?  They were supposed to break ground this year but I have a funny feeling that the owners of the new mall in David must have made them a sweet heart deal hence no construction.

On 2/13/2017 at 7:51 PM, Bud said:

Thanks Siempre.

Marcelyn and I had to go unexpectedly to David this afternoon (don't ask), and on our return to Boquete we stopped by this new coffee shop. The name is Delicias Chiriquí. The owner is Oscar, along with his partner, whom we did not meet. The chef is not Oscar's wife, also not met. Oscar has been in business one week as of today, and is from Venezuela. There probably is a story there, but we didn't inquire further because he was busy taking care of us and other customers.

The menu is on the wall. Here is a (admittedly poor quality) photo that was stitched together from some quick grab shots. Oscar sounded like he would fix just about anything a customer asked for, assuming he had the ingredients. He also mentioned offering a limited  breakfast menu. We did not ask about the hours of operation, but assume early morning to late evening.

 

And here is Oscar, who speaks good English (although we talked in my poor Spanglish):

 

And then the business sign over the entrance door:

 

And finally, a panorama of the store front. I had to stand very close because of the cars being parked so close, but you get the idea what the coffee shop looks like.

Bud,

Either my eyesight is going or they just added the sign above the door!  I only saw the sign in the window! 

Lunch too!

Interesting menu, no prices .....  I guess if you have to ask.....

There's a new coffee shop in Boquete.  It's located in the same building at the old location of the Boquete Sandwich Shop at the bridge by the feria as indicated in the attached map.

They've got an array of pastries, cakes, pies, and cookies on display.  Pieces of cake and pie begin at $1 each.

I can't recall the exact name but it's "Dulce something."  Sorry, I'm getting old!

9 hours ago, Bud said:

Marcelyn and I have been shopping around for a new washing machine because of a catastrophic failure of our current machine (probably due to electrical surges* and brownouts, , again and again!). When we go to the various dealers in Chiriqui, we ask about the delivery and installation of the new machine, and the removal and disposal of the old machine. We universally are being told that delivery is an added cost option (okay, we understand, and it is a reasonable charge anyway), but in no case can we find a store that will commit to installation of the new machine, and to removal and disposal of the old machine. Are we expecting too much?

What do people do with old appliances such as a clothes washer? We presume that the Boquete garbage service wouldn't touch such a task.

 

 

---

*P.S., yes we have dedicated electrical protection devices for these appliances, but obviously they are not up to the task presented by the power grid.

 

The area appliance repair places will take your used appliances to be used for parts.  On a good day they'll pick them up.  Try the one next to the Terpel gas station as you come into town.

For non-working refrigerators, they're coveted by tallers to be used as tool boxes and for storage.  Fishermen use them as coolers, they lay them on their backs and seal off any internal components. 

As for delivery charges from David, Panafoto has raised theirs to $45 and they only deliver to Boquete on Tuesdays, Reyna delivers within one hour.  I've been satisfied with Whirlpool products from Reyna (washer, dryer, and full size refrigerator).  The Samsung refrigerator I purchased in David only lasted two years before experiencing problems.  Keep in mind that Panafoto charges $40 per visit in Boquete for warranty repair work.  So the minimum is an initial visit to determine the problem and then a second visit to install the part totaling $80.

For those who aren't aware, the Reyna appliance store has relocated from next to MBE to one block away directly behind the main Reyna store as depicted in the map below.  It's a much larger store with an expanded product line including office and living room furniture.

Moisture is not your friend.  There are engineered vinyl, fiberglass, and composite replacements for traditional wood applications.  Some can be very pricey.  I would suggest visiting Novey, Do It, Cochez, etc. to see what they're stocking.  They're available in solid colors as well as wood grain finishes.

16 hours ago, Bajareque said:

Or do I have to go all the way to David?

The new store is located on Calle 2a Sur in the building on the north east corner of Calle 2a Sur and Avenue Centenario as depicted in the map below.

16 hours ago, Penny said:

I'm quite sure the inspection isn't free however a tin-foil hat is almost free and works well.

Not to be a stickler, but, aluminum foil replaced tin foil long ago.

16 hours ago, TwoSailors said:

Business is business and social time is just that! 

That's dependent on the industry you're in.

17 hours ago, Bonnie said:

I understand your intentions, S.S., but I think Keith is probably right. Your experience with how to approach politicians is American. It's different here. A good Panamanian friend warned me long ago never to raise "official" issues (jokingly or not) in a social setting as, in Panamanian etiquette, it is considered rude. A friendly visit to the Mayor's office--without a lawyer and media--would be the correct move. And it would be made easier since you already know the Mayor and have found success with this approach.

I've been conducting business this way for decades in Latin America, I've never encountered a problem.  In fact, there's a government official here in Chiriqui that likes to conduct business in of all places at cock fights.  Go figure.

3 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

Most likely the Mayor found you to be rude for querying his administration in a social situation.

For clarification, I mentioned the water issue after his wife had stepped away.  In my experience, standard practice for exploratory requests and questions with executives and politicians is to always address them off site in non-formal social settings.  Appearing at his office with an attorney with a member of the media to discuss this issue would've been rude in my book.  And for the record, none of my attorneys would've done so and I feel you'd be hard pressed to locate an attorney who would pose such a challenge.

As I mentioned, this was the second time that I've met Mayor Walker.  Boquete is a small town and you are who your friends and business associates are and he knows mine.  His funny look?  He knows damn well that I'm not going to pursue an issue regarding a small amount of money when me and my business associates have ongoing business in Boquete.  It was simply viewed as a joke.

On 1/18/2017 at 7:52 AM, Keith Woolford said:

The definitive answer is that there is no discrimination by nationality with Municipal of Boquete water and garbage accounts.

Some people have seem to have difficulties understanding the billing system by zone, while others are challenged by the Spanish language.

I'm the only gringo on my street of Panamanians and just like last year my annual water bill was double that of all of my neighbors.  Yes, we compared bills.  I brought this up in a casual and jovial conversation with Mayor Walker and his wife last night and he gave me a funny look.  It was the second time I've met with the mayor, the first time he successfully assisted me with resolving another problem.  This time I didn't get a good vibe so I won't pursue the issue.  I'm from New York and long ago developed a good sense of when it's wrong to be right.

One good reason is if there's an outage within the ATM network.  In October of 2013 there was a one week outage where ATM machines in Panama couldn't access banks outside the country.  It's well documented here:

http://boquete.ning.com/forum/topics/atm-s-so-how-do-we-get-money?

I use Multibank too, no charge for depositing US checks up to $3,000 every 15 business days.

Cafe Boquete next to Policia National.

Typico runs between $3 and $3.50 depending on the meat.  A bowl of chicken, yuca, rice, and corn soup for $1.50.  Beers are $1 but beware sodas such as Coca Cola are $1.50!  Breakfast items under 25 cents so breakfast and a cup of coffee for under $2.  Great fried bread.

They've got a BBQ smoker outside and advertise rib dinners on Friday and Saturday nights for $14.  I've never tried them but they must be good for that price since they're always busy.

Indoor and outdoor seating and a television inside that they do not play at alarming sound levels!  I would say the patron ratio is about 1/3 expats.  I've also seen locals arrive with large tupperware type plastic containers and purchase in bulk for take out as opposed to the traditional white plastic single serving containers which they offer.  Very fast service too.

Note that Google Maps has it located on the wrong side of the street where there used to be another eatery.