Uncle Doug

I have had mixed results when wiring money into Panama.  I've had it show up here the next day, and I've had it take as long as 5 days to appear.  There really is no excuse for any delay at all.  Given the millions of dollars being wired on a daily basis, it looks to me like the receiving bank is simply helping themselves to interest free loans at our expense.

Can anyone here explain the value of getting a cedula?

I have a permanent residency visa.  It shows my passport number and date of birth.  So far, I've used it for identification for credit card purchases and at police checkpoints without a problem.  I assume I could use it to show that I am a Jubilado.

I've read the horror stories of what happens to your drivers license and vehicle registration when your passport expires and you get a new passport number on the new passport and the cedula no longer has the correct passport number.  Fortunately, I have a few more years before my passport expires, but it begs the question.  Why go through the hassle of getting a cedula?

The Alto Lino nursery that was near el Santuario is in the process of moving to a lot between the Catholic Church and Art Cafe on the main drag. I purchased about 10 plants there yesterday. Most plants in gallon size were $10. I'm not sure if that was the gringo price or not, but the plants seemed pretty healthy.

7 minutes ago, JohnF13 said:

Citricos in Potrerillos Abajo sells decent sized sweet orange and lemon trees.  Dont know if they have anything else, but they plant their stock quite high up on this side of the mountain.  Good prices, less than 5 bucks a tree.

I'm definitely going to head there for that.  I've always wanted to own a couple of each.  I had no idea I could afford a small orchard!

I'm looking for nurseries with plants that will do well in the Boquete area.  I've found directions to a nursery in Dolega (although I wonder if the plants would be suited for my elevation of 4,300 feet.  I have nothing at all right now.  I'm sure there are other nurseries, and it might be nice for this site  to have a fairly comprehensive list of places to shop for plants. Any suggestions with helpful location information would be greatly appreciated.

Typically, a bank in the US charges at least $35 per wire to the Panamanian bank.  The receiving bank also deducts its fees from what was wired.  I did this a bunch of times with Global Bank here, but I never did quite figure out what their fee was.  What I mean is that it differed slightly based on the amount of the transfer, but it was about $35, too.

Thanks, everyone for that great information.  I've got an outside gated storage for the tanks, so the padlock and getting the first delivery don't seem all that daunting with your tips.  Good to know about cash payments -- I'll be prepared. 

I am moving into a newly constructed home and need propane for the stove and water heater.  Do I buy the cylinders somewhere?  (where?)  I think I need two 100 lb tanks.

After that, how do I establish service?  And, how is the propane refilled?  Are tanks exchanged, or does Tropigas (or whoever the local service is) refill my tanks?

My Spanish is very limited at the moment.  Do I need translator help to accomplish  this?