Doug Tyler

Inga Collins passed away last night Jan12/18.

https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/how-it-works/

the other is CARP.ca.  Owned and run by Moses Znaimer.

Thanks Keith

Does anyone have any experience with this? Knightsbridge or CARP are offering to change Canadian dollars to USD by buying large amounts in bulk. One can deposit $2000CAD+ in their institution and have it redeposited it in your Canadian account in about 48 hours in USD, saving about 2% versus Canadian banks' exchange rates. 

Steven has a GO FUND ME site. http://www.gofundme.com/vznsr2t . I presume it's still active. I visited them in Chorcha a couple of weeks ago and they were working hard to restore the sanctuary. He and Michelle were going to Costa Rica to get some specialty plants for some people and a job he was working on in Portrerillos. They really deserve help as they have had extreme duress trying to create something wonderful at the Howler Monkey Hideaway.

No water in Boquete today

The vast majority of Jubilados are Panamanian, aged over 58f or 62m. I AM interested in the number of expats with Tourist Visas, Pensionados and those with E-cedulas or have become full citizens and how much they respectively contribute to the economy. 

I need someone to repair the electronic ignition on my Samsung FX510 gas range. ASAP, cost not a major factor. 6799-7855

Come and join us Thursday @ 10:30 - 12:00 to find out about how we support the whole community. Sweets and coffee provided.

BHHF provides medical equipment, meals, transportation, home visits by trained volunteers, referrals and any form of assistance we can to help enhance the quality of life to those in need. This encompasses those recovering from illness, those in need of palliative care, those temporarily unable to manage aspects of their life.

We all know of people in these situations, and one day may be facing them ourselves.

Come and find out who we are and how we do it. 

There was no 'residents and citizens' line yesterday. We were fingerprinted and iris scanned. First time in my life. Who is this information shared with? I've got a pretty good guess.

I have some small mandevilla [4" pots] that I want to bring from Canada. I will remove the earth and keep the roots damp. Will I get them through customs? 

We came in March '05 for 5 days before had an offer in on some land. Completely out of character, but we haven't regretted it 1 moment. I believe following your gut trumps rationality in cases like this. Just go for it. Don't rent, buy. Get good advice though, from reliable professionals.

OHIP requires that you meet the residency requirements of 153 days for 5 consecutive years between extensions -

Ontario Drug Benefits aren't available during this time. 

It is our understanding that Mort passed away last night. I don't have further details. 

Some very sage advice and comments here. My 2 centavos. I feel Casa Vieja will make it through service, word of mouth and maybe Michelle is capable of accepting advice. Mar del Grau deserves a chance. Try it out. Two Sailors is right on with their list except for Mango's new iteration. Craig and Maureen were shafted there by the building's owner. So will the new operators be. We won't go there because they illegally manipulate jubilados. Same goes for Retrogusto.

Matia is from Tuscany via Paris. He's very young and exuberant. His specials are good and he has a large menu. In time he will mature into a bona fide chef. 

I can't sit at some of his tables that he brought from the old place [legs too long], the service is good when he's in the kitchen and not at his taco truck, and we will go back again. 

Right now I would give Il Barola a C+.

Just called my accountant. We have income splitting and can apply our Chiriqui co-pay to the higher income. Worth several hundred bucks. We do the 153 day thing with OHIP Thanks for the tip.

Steve is working at our house, building railings and a 'bench'. All our foundation planting was done by him 8 years ago. There is no one else here with his talent and expertise.

Our attorney is Juan Contreras. Because we have a Corporation, we have Powers of Attorney, which would negate probate as the asset would be taken over by the surviving POA holder to deal with as she/he wishes. We don't want or need wills.

If you are from Ontario the requirement is that you spend 153 days in Ontario for OHIP. Other provinces differ by a month. It all may change. 

If you are a legal resident of Canada or deemed so [that is you can convince CRA you intend to return as a permanent resident] the 25% withholding tax can be waived. You can get some of that back anyway when you file your annual return.

You can get reimbursement from OHIP for medical expenses in Panama. You have to pay up front [it's important to have a healthy reserve fund for emergencies], but then you can submit within a year all hospital bills [supposed to be in english] for repayment by OHIP. My sister had a kidney infection here. We saved all the bills from Mae Lewis and got it all back within a month of her return. 

We don't use ATMs much for Cdn withdrawals. We wire transfer through a clearing house in New York to our local bank. You can fiddle with the exchange rate that way. We use local debit and credit cards. We find it convenient. It works out to about the same price. You can also bring in up to $10,000 with you without reporting to FINTRAC. 

It can be frustrating and confusing, and you may have to do things over and over, and you will experience 'petty tyrants', but once it's all done it's fairly acceptable.

I strongly recommend going right to an E-Cedula to get residency here in Panama. It's worth it in many ways.  

Found my molasses at TIA MARIA. Gracias Keith

My bias is clear but so what - Olga, for no reason in particular to my knowledge - blurted out her allegiance for Donald Trump in a recent post. There was no context for this, she just felt like sharing I guess. Glad she did. Cards are on the table.

I'm looking for molasses. Organica occasionally has organic molasses. I don't care if it's organic. I've tried many places here and in David. Does anyone know a source. This is for 'satin balls' for my dog.

Do they provide a designated driver or does everyone pour themselves onto our streets with a load on?

We started with Banistmo in '05, but moved on to Global. who have treated us well. No crazy fees and Carmen and Michele are always helpful. GIC's are 4 1/2% locked in, 3% open, better than Canada.

Sending bulk money from Canada always goes through a clearing house in New York. They in turn send it to head offices in PC. They always use a Swiftcode. Every step of the way there is a fee, amounting to about $30-40. It takes about 5 working days. I'm sure US banks use the same procedure.  

Craig and Maureen did their best there, with great food, ambiance and decor. He provided the mandatory Jubilado Discuenta, and tried to keep his prices affordable.

Despite their efforts the overhead was formidable and they couldn't make it. 

When I see the new business owners are staying up-scale, enticing diners with well promoted reasonable prices, and staying within the law, I may be a solid customer.

I too await their prices, to go with an appealing menu.