Day 4 – Sunday (Domingo) – 10/2/2011 - Playa Coronado

Yes I am starting to use the Spanish words for the days also as we started to learn those this past weekend.  The rain started our day today with us waking up about 5:00am, having coffee and learning a few new Spanish words and measurements to make shopping a bit easier for us.  While drinking our coffee the power flickered and went out (1^st time for that) but within minutes we were back in business.  Made breakfast (eggs, toast, and fruit) and it was now about 9am and I needed to scope out our trip the next day to Panama City (OK so there is only one road into Panama City from where we live) as I needed to go to our bank and get my letter of reference for my cell phone.  Rain stopped, we took Reese for her morning ritual and off walking to the Coronado Mall, this is where all of our stores are, groceries, hardware, pharmacy, dental, cell phone, electronics, mailbox etc., nail salons, subway, mcdonalds, KFC, local restaurants, a vet, etc…  We need to travel through 3 security gates to get out of Brisas de Coronado, and travel back through all 3 on our return trip.

Today in the grocery stores we just wanted to go aisle by aisle and take our time to see what they have and what we normally buy, the store was pretty empty so it was very relaxing to do this, best way to learn something new is to take your time.  We stopped off for lunch at one of the local restaurants called Todo Al Carbon, I had a seafood combo (corvina - the local fish, shrimp, and octopus) Nancy and Chicken Soup & Rice.

Once home we suited up to do some sprinting, I marked off a 50 yard and 100 yard running area in our complex so we could stay with our Sunday sprint routine that we started in the states.  We also met some new neighbors that were looking in on their place, they just bought and were starting renovations (By the way, at this point we have been the only ones here, us and the security guards).  We relaxed by the pool, at some dinner, and signed off for the night about 8:30.

Day 3 – Saturday – 10/1/2011 - Playa Coronado

Today started the day about 5:30am with coffee as usual and taking Reese for her morning business walk.  It is nice here for Reese since there is so much grass area for her to run around and play.  We walk Reese by both Security gates each morning to greet the guards and to let them know we are around, that is a good thing in Panama, be friends with the guards and they will make sure you are OK.

Upon our return I wanted to put the wet mop away as we mopped the floor the night before, well there was a good sized spider living in the mop so I whacked it against the floor, killed it but maybe a thousand little spiders came flowing out – it was amazing so we quickly scooped them up before they scattered all over the house (advise, never smash a large spider, could be carrying babies)

Today we decided we would walk to the Coronado Shopping Mall, 1^st stop the hardware store, 2^nd stop the Dollar Store.  We ended our trip at the Super 99 Grocery Store where Nancy somehow bought 4 tomatoes for 17 cents for ALL 4.  I picked up a six pack of one of the local beers called Balboa for $3.05, we packed up our backpack and headed back home.  The walk is just about 45 minutes each way so it really is not a bad walk at all.  On the way back we saw some folks riding horses down the street, kind of surprised us, but that is how it goes around here, not too many rules.

The day was so sunny that we decided to spend the rest of the day by the pool at our complex (you will see this sentence in many of our posts).  Later in the day we decided to drive to La Chorrera, a big town of about 100,000 about 35 minutes away to try to locate a bank branch of the bank we do business with, couldn’t find the bank but we did find La Chorerra and we did find our way back home.  Reese came for the ride and loved all the scenery.  Also stopped to get gas for the car for the 1^st time, $3.76 a gallon for 91 octane (lowest octane they sell).

One of the daily routines is sweeping out the house and dusting things off as we have the windows open almost 100% of the time unless the rain comes in or the humidity gets too high (we have not looked for a housekeeper yet – in time).  We ate dinner (2 main things Panama is noted for, seafood and beef) we had beef this night and Nancy’s homemade sangria.  That would just about wrap up day 3 for us as we headed off to bed about 8:30pm.

Day 2 – Friday – 09/30/2011 - Playa Coronado

We woke up about 5:30 and started our day with our usual cup of café, it was raining until about 10:30 which was OK as we were sticking around waiting for our contractor (UDO from Germany) to stop by and give us the set of keys he had while he renovated our place.  Udo did a great job with the renovations while Janet did the decorating, our place was amazing (Check out these pics). 

Once Udo was on his way Nancy and I drove to the Coronado Mall, 1^st stop Cable & Wireless to get a cellphone, in order to get the phone and service you need to provide proof of address and proof of income (if no income then a letter from a bank stating that you are a customer in good standing (most Panamanian banks will only give you this letter if you have been a customer for at least 6 months – so Plan ahead).  I had proof of address but not the letter so we needed to wait until Monday for me to get the letter.  The phone was on hold!!

Next stop, Super99 (President Martinelli’s grocery store chain), then across the street to El Rey’s grocery store (it is great to have 2 large grocery stores right across the street from each other, very unusual for a beach community but Playa Coronado is growing). As we were walking through Rey’s I looked at Nancy and she at I and we both decided we had had enough at this point, trying to do too much on day 1 was not a good thing, the mind was blown – it was time to go home.

Once home we put away the items we bought and we both needed to exercise desperately, a long walk was in order to clear our heads and we realized – hey we are now living in a foreign country.  We walked to the beach, about 45 minutes, and walked the beach for a bit and headed back home.  The beaches in Coronado are mainly black sand, real smooth, made from volcanic ash mostly.  VERY COOL LOOKING SAND!!!  This is not Naples, or Clearwater, that’s for sure.  There are spots however that the sand is as we all grew up knowing it, white.  We ate dinner and called it a night about 8:30pm.

Day 1 - Departure from Houston and Arrival in Panama

Day 1 – Arrival Day – Thursday - 09/29/2011

We took off out of Houston for Panama’s Tocumen Airport at 9:00am.  We did make a call to the shelter to make sure Reese had a good night and that she was getting on the same plane – everything was as planned.

We landed in Panama at 12:45pm, followed the signs to Immigration and Customs.  First stop Immigration for a quick look at our passports, a couple of the usual questions (where are you staying, how long are you staying, etc..)(remember you will fill out your customs and immigration forms on the plane prior to landing – the airline gives these to you).  Once through immigration we headed for baggage claim to get our 4 checked bags and as we were approaching we saw Reese sitting in baggage claim in her crate, safe and sound.  A young man came and took Reese in her crate to the side while we retrieved our bags and went through customs.  Once through customs we left all our bags with Reese and went into the office (now this was interesting, a room with no windows, no English, broken down furniture, felt like we were in a Russian Spy Movie and we were being interrogated) The young man told us to sit as he started to go through Reese’s documents and started to type new documents.  After about 15 minutes of typing and moving paper he asked for $16.00, then stamped a few papers, gave us those and escorted us to another office.  The next office had about 4 people inside and they were all smiling, again no English (ok we don’t speak any Spanish either so it made it fun).  There was one main guy in the back with a secretary and he looked over all the paperwork and said PERFECTO!  I guess we did everything OK, the girl took the papers from him, wrote out a receipt, stamped up some papers and asked for $130.00.  Once we paid we were free to go, gather up Reese, our bags, and out of the airport we went to meet up with our friend who was waiting to pick us up.

Our friend Richard was waiting outside for us in our vehicle that we purchase a month before with Richards help, a Toyota 4Runner, we were on the road in a matter of minutes once everything was loaded and Reese did her business.  We stopped in Panama City on our way to Playa Coronado to meet up with Richards’ wife Janet.  Nancy rode with Janet, while Richard, Reese, and I followed. 

Our location – Brisas de Coronado, 50 minutes west of Panama City on the PanAmerican Highway.  Of course on the way you must stop at either Queso Chele or Queso Mili’s for an empanada or two and a small fruity drink for a quick snack-  total cost about a $1.50.

We arrived at our new home and finally got to relax a bit and had a few cocktails with our friends before they headed back to the city and we started to unpack.  We called it a night by 10:30pm pretty exhausted from the events of the past few days.

The journey begins!

Preparation Day – Wednesday – 09/28/2011

Well, here we go, today is the day we are off to Panama to start our new life.  We need to get Reese to Air Cargo by 3:30pm for our 6:30pm flight.  Her crate is stickered, blanket is in tow, and she is ready to go.  Dropping her off at the Air Cargo section of Tampa International was a very easy task, we put Reese into her crate and I went inside to complete the Air-bill for shipping her to Panama.  Cost $403.00 (the price is based on weight and distance).

Once Reese was safely with the folks at Air Cargo, we went back to get our bags.  2 Checked bags each under 50lbs and we each had a carry-on and a personal item to take on the plane.  We flew with Continental United as they have the best PetSafe program in the industry that I could see based on my research.

6:30pm flight takes off for Houston as we needed to stop in Houston as that is the only place Continental flies pets out of the country.  Continental has a full vet/shelter in the Houston Airport, although we could not see Reese, we were able to call the Shelter to make sure she was doing OK.  Once we did that we located our bags at baggage claim and went to our hotel for the night. (Now you might be wondering why we stayed the night? Well 2 reasons, first the next flight out after we landed was not enough time in between to get Reese off one plane and onto another, the airline needs a minimum of 3 hours. Secondly, when traveling with a pet to Panama it is advisable to arrive during normal business hours during the week as that is when then Ministry of Health Vet is working, otherwise your pet needs to stay in the airport quarantine without you until the next working day.

We called it a night at our hotel for one last stay in the US.

Are you moving your pet to Panama? Part 2

OK, so yesterday I went to complete all of the required forms to get our dog into Panama.  It was a real simple process.  Now I have the advantage of being close to a USDA office and also having a Panamanian Consulate close by so I hand walked the paperwork through.  Most folks may need to fedex the document(s) to get this process completed.  Anyways, went to our local vet in the morning to have them look over our dog and sign-off saying everything looked good.  Then off to the USDA office to get their official stamp on the APHIS 7001 form (This is far and away the most important form).  Once the USDA stamped the form and I paid my $36 fee I drove to the local Consulate to have them put their official stamp on the APHIS 7001 form, paid my $50 fee and I was done.  The APHIS 7001 form needs to be presented upon arrival in Panama, you will need to go to the National Bank of Panama and pay the $130 entrance fee, get a receipt for payment then bring that to the VET on duty at the Tocumen Airport to get your pet released.  ALSO and very important if you want to home quarantine, there is a quarantine form that needs to be filled in and faxed or emailed to the Panama Health Ministry 3 days before you land in Panama so they know that your pet is coming and when.  With out this quarantine form you cannot bring your pet home with you, so this is a BIG thing to get done.  So far so good, remember most of this is timing and fee's to get your pet into Panama.

What are you waiting for come to Panama and turn your frown upside down

Are you moving your pet to Panama?

Greetings, there are many things to do when you want to travel to Panama with your dog or cat.  The steps are easy but need to be done.  Now we are taking our dog to Panama and are flying on Continental using their PetSafe Flying program.  You see our dog is a bit too big to fit under the seat so we needed a good safe cargo area to travel with.  Continental seems to me to have the best and safest situation if you need to place your pet in cargo.  The biggest things to pay attention to is health and vaccine records and timing of getting any shots and signatures.  You also need to make sure your Vet is USDA certified with a proper license in the state they work, now we live in Florida so have chosen Banfield Hospital (every Petsmart has a Banfield in it across the country).
Here are the steps
1. make sure your pet has an up to date Rabies shot, no more than 1 year old but more than 30 days old.
2. within 10 days of flying to Panama see your Vet and have them fill out the proper forms to certify that your pet is OK to travel
3. take the forms to your local USDA office for their official stamp (or mail it)
4. take completed certified forms to your local Panamanian Consulate Office for their final stamp of approval (or mail it to the main DC office)
5. At least 3 days before your flight leaves you either need to email or fax all documents to the Ministry of Health, this will help insure you get your pet out of customs and allow you to bring the pet home with you and do an at home quarantine (this you want to do for sure)
6. When you arrive in Panama you must go to the National Bank on the first floor and pay the required fee to bring your pet home for quarantine, show the receipt to the Vet on duty for release of your pet

I know this seems like a lot of steps but these are necessary and required for entrance into Panama.  Let us know if you have any questions on this or if you are aware of any issues that you may have had bringing your pet into Panama