Tuesday Travels

Friends, Official stuff, Panama City

The driver, Gian, who took me from the airport to the hotel couldn’t drive me today, so he sent his brother Humberto, who was on vacation this week. Both of them are very nice. Humberto was at the hotel right on time, and we took off to start the official process at Immigration.

Marianna (the lawyer’s daughter) and her assistant Sharon met me there and led me step-by-step. They are dealing with several of us at once, so Marianna put me with Sharon. At one point I told her that I needed all the hand-holding I could get, because I was a baby. She replied, “No, no, don’t think of it like that. You are a fancy person, and you have people who do things for you.” So cute, with her adorable Panamanian accent! Well, I’ve definitely never been a “fancy person” and have never had “people” except for good friends, but it sure was nice to have them to keep me calm and get through the process quickly!

While I was waiting for Marianna, I felt a tap on my shoulder and someone said, “Hey, there, lady!” It was Carol from our tour group, along with her husband Larry. They moved from Kansas City to Panama at the end of June, and were at Immigration to get their permanent resident ID. They live about an hour and a half outside Panama City, so they’re some distance from me in Boquete. But, hey – maybe a weekend visit to their beach resort will be in order some day?

After finishing at Immigration, I had to bring my passport back to the lawyer’s office so she could make a copy of the new stamp they added. Then Humberto drove me to Multiplaza Mall, where I got a new SIM card for my phone and bought some snacks at the Riba Smith supermarket. People online rave about Riba Smith, and I can see why. It’s pretty upscale, and large. Of course, there are no real bargains there, but it was lovely.

Step by step, checking items off the list….

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