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Panama: Nightmare in Panama:
The following is the text of the letter I just sent to the US Embassy in Panama City. I feel like a bubble has been popped and am looking for anybodys input and experiences with a similar situation. Thanks to all!!!
My wife and I have been in Panama since July 2012 and have lived the whole time in Cambutal. We love it here. Today we came back to our apartment to find 6 men and a policeman from the Tonosi headquarters waiting for us. The men who identified themselves to us told us they were a judge, a lawyer, and the police officer. The others were witnesses and maintenance men. The judge demanded we pay him over $1,700 in cash or other assets totaling that amount. He claimed this would be the amount to pay legal and court fees for papers that he held which were in Spanish and we could not understand. I am on a fixed disability income from the US Government Social Security Administration and get paid once a month on the 3rd. We told him we had no money to pay him. He ended up seizing our washing machine, gas stove, crock pot, toaster oven, and then started to seize the home owners appliances. The home owner started arguing with them that the other items and appliances in her kitchen were hers and had been for many years and that they had no right to take them. They did not take them at the end of the dispute but all our things were stolen from us. We have receipts, serial numbers, and pictures of our seized items showing we purchased them over the last few months.
A little bit of history is necessary now for you. The beginning of January we paid $400 cash and signed a 1 year lease with Daniele Travato who also lives in Cambutal and owns an apartment we were going to rent. He also owns the Boom Shiva Hotel located a mile away on the beach of Playa Cambutal. The $400 was for last months rent and the lease stipulated that we would be moving into his newly created apartment with 2 working air conditioners, refrigerator, stove, washing machine, microwave oven, sofa, table, and bedroom furniture. The move-in date was setup for February 3rd 2013. On the 3rd of February we moved into the apartment with only 1 working air conditioner, no stove, no refrigerator, no washing machine, no microwave oven, no sofa, a flimsy plastic table, and a bed in the bedroom. Nothing else! The next day they move an old, half broken refrigerator into our place from another apartment. Also, that day we started complaining that the 2nd air conditioner did not work. Over the next 2 months we reminded and complained about the missing appliances and broken air conditioner but got no solution. We finally became angry and told him we were moving out since he had breached the contract / lease and that we were getting sick because the 1 working air conditioner had started leaking after a month and the mold was forming under the wooden floorboards and in the walls. I am 63 years old and in poor health as well as being physically disabled due to having polio in 1954. Part of my problems include sinus infection and allergic to mildew and mold so we needed to move. Daniele became very upset that we were moving out after only 2 months and his 21 year old girlfriend even got physically abusive towards my wife and grabbed her hair to yank on it. We let them spout off but still moved out the next week.
So today was a very heart-rendering and upsetting day for us.
We are asking you to please look into this matter for us and advise us on what recourse we have to get our belongings back. We are so shocked about what has happened and hope you can possibly help us.
Sincerely,
Gregg and Rene Soden
Cambutal, Tonosi, Los Santos, Panama
Panama: Panama Weather:
I have just read about tropical waves in Panama and storms that have recently produced hail. I'm real curious about the climate in Panama. I heard that Panama is out of the hurricane window but how intense are tropical waves in country? Have there ever been tornadoes in Panama? Or waterspouts? It seems that the global weather is doing very strange things around the world and there is an El Nino growing in the Pacific and forecast to be fully created in July. What effects will Panama feel from all these anomalies, in your humble opinions? I know we should never say never but I've heard that there has "never" been hurricanes in Panama. Is this true? This is for the climate nuts and historians of meteorology living in Panama. Thank you!
Panama: Pedase's Surfer Guys:
Okay Lolita, here's my two cents to make this thread the 35th reply to your original post. You really started a good conversation!
Anyway, I'm a surfer and have been since growing up in Hawaii and starting surfing in 1963 so for the last 50 years I've been into the sport as well as other ocean sports like snorkeling, boogieboarding, swimming, and kayaking. I'm what you would call addicted to the ocean and the sun.
Anyway, somebody mentioned that the surfing contests are held at Playa Venao. I know this for a fact and have been following the contest for the last 2 years there. In fact, last April we could not get a room at our favorite hotel Eco Venao because all the international surfers had the place booked solid for the week. That is what led us further to the end of the Azuero Peninsula to Cambutal and Los Buzos. What a blessing we went there because we found our home starting July 3rd for the next year. We are just 5 days away from our big move. In researching the different areas in Panama for our retirement we ruled out the highly gringo areas of Coronado and Santa Clara because we do not consider ourselves condo dwellers. We found a house on the Pacific Ocean for eight hundres a month which is high for that area but is also on the beach which is the real value for us. We in no way are trying to sell this area to anyone because all people have their own set of unique needs and wants and we would never try to instill our choice on anyone else for those reasons.
At the same time we also do not want and would never attempt to change Panama into what we are leaving behind in the USA. As for McDonalds...we can take it or leave it although on our way down the PanAmerican Highway we did stop at one and had a fried chicken dinner. But a standard PioPio is fine for us too.
We are moving to Panama for what it offers...not what we think it should have to make it more like the USA. We love the local people we have met. We love the laid back atmosphere we find there. In other words we are very patient people and will wait the week to get a car fixed. We absolutely love the lifestyle of Panama and hope it never becomes a clone of the USA or any other country.
We realize we are foreigners in their country and we plan to be very respectful of their culture and way of life. We want to change US to be able to fit in with THEM. We don't expect to be credible in their eyes but maybe after a few years they will begin to accept us because we will be loving to them and their country.
My wife is part Italian and part American Indian and part Miamian having been born and raised in Miami. She also loves to feed people and is trying to fatten me up if only I would sit still long enough for the fat cells to accumulate. Our prayer is to be a blessing to the locals and to be able to feed people. Only God knows if we will be able to accomplish this yearning. But we will try.
We cannot wait to be there and get started filling any needs we can find.
Bottom line is that we feel that surfer guys can really help Panama as long as they're respectful of the people and the land and not be pompous a-holes getting crazy and disrespectful to their Panamanian hosts.
We did check out Pedasi and the Costa Pedasi community but again, there are gated communities here in Florida and we would never want to live in one. But this is our opinion and know it is not shared by everyone. Pedasi is growing and developing fast but again, this is not what we are looking for. It's too fast growing and too expensive for our tastes.
We love being at the end of the road and also at the end of the electric grid. It reminds me of when I lived in rural Maine and had a number of friends who had no electricity but lit their homes with candles and battery run appliances. We're not going that far off the grid but close to it.
We wish you the best of luck in your Pedasi adventures!
Panama: Honest Car Dealer? (yeah...right!):
We have decided to sell our car in the US as we finalize our move to Panama. July 3rd we will be looking to purchase a car in Panama City. I have a BIG question...is there an honest dealership in the city that anybody has previous experience with?
If we decide to buy a new car will we be able to financing as we will only be a few hours old in the country? If so, what will we need to prove we can afford one? (An apostille for our direct deposit income?)
Thanks to all for any help!
Panama: Fishing License Requirement?:
Hello All,
My wife and I will be moving to the Playa Cambutal area in July. We were wondering if anybody knows the laws pertaining to fishing. Either from the beach, from a boat, or underwater? We want to be able to fish the waters legally and have not been able to find any information online about such laws. Here in Florida there are controls in place that restrict fishing unless a license is purchased. Does Panama have such a law? How about spearfishing underwater? Any Panamanian laws that restrict this?
Thanks for any information you all may have!!
Gregg and Rene Soden
Ocean Ridge, FL (until 7/2/12)
Panama: "Grand tour":
My wife and I stayed at Eco Venao last July and being at the south end of the Azuero Peninsula we only had rain during the day on 1 of our 7 days there. The climate is a little drier there at Playa Venao due to the distance away from the mountains so this will be a bonus for you.
We loved the area so much down there that we are moving to Cambutal on July 3rd. We found a house across the street from the beach for $800 a month. We have committed to a year lease for now and hope it will be much longer.
Panama: Duty Free Car Import:
Can a car be bought here in Panama with just a tourist visa or does a person need another type of visa? We're thinking of selling ours back in Florida and just buy a car here to avoid all the "hidden charges". And can a car be bought for around 2 thousand and be deemed reliable or is this a stupid question and "the buyer beware".?
Panama: Spirit Airlines:
Well, yeah...I believe they're named after the Spirit of Capitalism because they nickel-and-dime their passengers to death but with that being said, they are still the cheaper of the 3 airlines that leave south Florida and fly to Panama City, Panama. I signed up for the Nine Dollar Fare Club they have but have yet to fly for $9. It still saves us when we book at least 6 weeks ahead of time. I hate their daily flight time of leaving Ft Lauderdale at 10:30 pm and then the return time of 2am. Truely Red-eye flights. I have to keep reminding myself of the cost savings to make it bearable.
Panama: Real Estate Taxes in Panama:
Thank you jrod1944 for the very good information! It's nice to know these types of things before we have to go thru them the hard way.
Panama: Blood Thinner Availability in Panama?:
The following is copied from my earlier "Testing" post where I didn't think it was going to be seen...
The original poster is "dolphinpan" and it seems like a pretty important question...
Anyone in Panama know anyone who is currently on blood thinner, Warfarin (generic for Coumadin) & how they're managing their INRs? INRs (international normalized ratio) r regular, periodic blood tests to help regulate thinner dosages & keep within each patient's target range. Goal is to reach INR stabilization within target range. Also, can thinner be mailed from USA to Panama & is customs inspection required? Many thanks to anyone who can answer these ?s
Gratefully, beacon
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