Successful Trip to Texas

Pedasi and Dallas month two

It has been a busy couple of weeks here so I have some catching up to do.  I made my first trip back to Texas to attend my daughter Alex's graduation from UT Arlington with her Master's of Social Work.  To recap; it is a five hour drive from Pedasi into Panama City and the international airport.  We look forward to when the new Rio Hato airport has some flights to Texas then it will only be a 3 hour easy drive.  

After talking to all of our new ex-pat friends we opted for taking the bus into the city instead of trying to drive in the craziness that is the city.  We drove into Chitré, parked at the bus terminal and hopped on the big bus into the city.  It is a four hour bus trip for under $10 on a nice air conditioned bus.  We arrived at the bus terminal at Albrook in the city armed with what I thought were driving directions to the Hostal Areka in the Punta Pacifica area of the city.  Of course, the taxi driver had no idea where this hostal was so we had to get the phone number and have him call directly to get directions.  So much for Google maps, what we needed to say is take us to the Super 99 in Punta Pacifica.  Since I didn't have the phone number written down, I had to pull out my laptop at the crowded bus station to get the number.  Not a smart idea anywhere in the world.  The only guy that bothered us was an American who first told us to be very careful with our stuff as he had everything stolen and then proceeded to come back a minute later to ask for money.  The taxi driver came running over to get rid of him and help us make the call.  He called the guy a regular "loco".  The cab driver was very friendly and helpful, but he charged us double the normal rate.  Frustrating.  Every strategy we try in order to get the price of a cab ahead of time seems to fail us. This time I'm not sure we did get a price until we were in the cab.  He had already rescued us from the regular "loco", made the call to our hostal for directions and now it was pouring rain as he loaded our bags into the trunk.  Every cab ride is a new experience!

We decided to use our trip to the city to get our residency visas started as all of the paperwork we collected in the states has a short shelf-life and we are technically only allowed to drive on a foreign license for 90 days (even though we can stay in the country for 180 days on a tourist visa). I picked Hostal Areka because it is only a couple of blocks from our attorney's office and the manager speaks English.  As a side note, I just learned that here in Panama a hostal is defined as any hotel with seven rooms or less.  This hostal has a great location across the street from a shopping center with several restaurants and a grocery store.  We walked to the attorney's office the next morning armed with our signed and certified FBI reports and retirement info. Peg is getting the Pensionado Visa which is pretty simple and only needs the criminal background check and proof of her retirement income (all signed and apostillated).  Mine is what is called a Specific Nations Visa which is a little more complicated; I need the background check, proof of a Panamanian bank account and either ownership of property or a corporation in Panama.  It took a couple of hours to complete the application process at the attorney's office and then we headed over to the immigration office.  Think DPS/DMV on acid.  We were warned that the office was really crowded that day and that the public offices are not using A/C in order to save energy.  Thankfully we have a fantastic attorney!  She has an employee at immigration first thing in the morning pulling numbers and waiting the several hours to be called.  So we just show up and get the next available spot.  It only took about 45 minutes.  After taking yet another picture and getting fingerprinted, it all went very smoothly and we are now on our way to having residency!

View of Panama City from our attorney's office

Copy "center" outside immigration.  That is our visa liason hired by our attorney to wait in line for her clients.

We did have one scary episode while in the city.  We have taken taxis all over the city and have paid all different rates so now we ask how much before we get into the cab.  We caught a taxi in front of our bank to take us back to the attorney's office knowing we had paid anywhere from $3 - $10 for this ride.  We turned down a couple of drivers and finally got in one that held up three fingers and Peg heard him say "tres".  He was a very aggressive and scary driver, running the toll booth without paying and dodging in and out of traffic like a lunatic.  As we got close to our destination, traffic was backed up so I pulled out $3 and went to hand it to him and he started yelling treinta, treinta (which is $30).  We said no way were we paying 30 and then he said trece (13) and we said no way again knowing it should be a $5 ride.  While I was trying to reason with him and he is yelling at us he pulls his arm back like he is going to hit me.  Peg says throw the money at him ($5 to distract him) and get out of the cab.  He is trying to pull back out into traffic so we can't get out and I give him the money. I have the cab door open and am getting out, when he grabs my shirt to try to prevent me from getting out, Peg pulls his hand off me and shoves me out of the cab.  While Peg is trying to get out of the cab behind me, the cab driver grabs her hair, then takes and shoves her head so she stumbles out of the cab.  We have heard of horror stories, but this was the first time it happened to us.  We now have the name and number of a very reliable and friendly taxi driver name Luis programmed into our phones.  I used him my last day in the city after returning from Dallas.  He picked me up at the hostal, took me to the attorney office, waited for me as I signed papers and then took me to the bus station for my trip back to Pedasi.  All for $10, now that's what I'm talking about being the norm, it is just hard to find on the fly.

We met our new friends Robert and Lolita for dinner in the city at "Beirut", one of my favorite restaurants.  Since they lived in the Emirates they knew exactly what to order and it was delicious! Peg was able to get a ride back to Pedasi with them and I headed to the airport for my Dallas departure.  We had left the butt-holes in the care of our Spanish teachers sister, Gloris for the two nights we were both gone.  She doesn't speak English, but loves animals and she did a great job.  Not only were the animals cared for, but she cleaned the house from top to bottom.

I reached Dallas a little later than expected (thunderstorms) and Alex was their to greet me!  Amanda and Andrew came into town as well for the graduation so we had a beautiful couple of days together celebrating Alex's achievement!  Jacob's parents drove in from Boerne for the festivities as well.  Alex's husband Jacob threw her a graduation party at their favorite winery in McKinney on Saturday and we had a fun Mother's Day together attending church and making a yummy dinner.  I had been shipping things to Alex's house for a while (new dogs collars etc.) and I was also able to do some shopping to pick up things we haven't been able to find in Panama and came back loaded down with three 50 pound suitcases stuffed to the gills.  I stayed at the hostal again before catching the bus back to Pedasi and made it home safe and sound.  I will say I think my Spanish is getting better, but it is still a little stressful getting around.

Time with kids Mother's Day weekend - Priceless!

Congratulations Alex!  Jacob is also very proud.

At our celebration lunch

Unfortunately while I was in Texas our little Zoe had another setback.  It looks like she may have had a stroke, but we aren't sure.  Peg took her to the vet here in Pedasi who doesn't speak English.  He took blood, gave her IV fluids and prescribed a few medications (all for $90). Peg went and got our Spanish teacher so she could talk to the vet and explain to Peg what he thought might be going on.  He thought she might have gotten into a fight with a frog and the frog won.  She was not foaming at the mouth which is a sure sign of "Rana"poisoning, so chances are good it was a stroke. She has started eating again in small doses, but is having some trouble walking and her head is tilted slightly.  She has a swerve on and lists to the starboard side.  It simply adds to her adorable charm :)  We call her the comeback kid so we hope she will bounce completely back once again.  We did go to the beach yesterday and she seemed like her old self.  Here we thought it was the cats who were suppose to have 9 lives!

Next post... a fun visit with our new friends and future neighbors Richard and Daryl.

Zoe at the beach before stroke - such a happy beagle