Hello out there, and welcome to The Ocean Ridge Report.
We’re finishing off a fun month, with Tom and Stephanie (lot 7) and Josh (lot 9) both coming in to stay at the house for a few days. The weather was pretty terrible, very rainy, but we still managed to get out on the lots with an architect and start the initial planning process. Stephanie conducted a yoga class every morning, and thanks to Tom and Josh the Mariato supermarket had to schedule an extra delivery from the beer truck! Here’s a photo of the happy campers.
Got a few things to cover, so here we go:
1) Airport update. I told you last month that the government was evaluating the possibility of adding commercial flights from Panama City to Santiago. They finished their evaluation, and it was determined that there was not enough demand to justify adding any flights. Looks like we’re stuck with a long bus ride for awhile.
2) Bank update. This will only affect you American gringos; Bob and Annie, you can relax. The United States, in it’s infinite wisdom, has just demanded that all banks in Panama disclose full financial details to the IRS for all U.S. citizens who have bank accounts in Panama. Our bank (Credicorp) refused to comply, so instead they will be closing every U.S. citizen account in the entire country. Patricia and I are looking for a new bank, and it looks like HSBC is the best bet. Even if you have an HSBC account in the states, you will still have to open a new account in Panama. We’ll have all the details worked by the time any of you get there, don’t you worry.
For what it’s worth, I already include all of my Panama banking details in my annual tax returns, so you don’t have to worry about us fleeing to Brazil to escape tax evasion charges!
3) Lot 13 update. Lot 13 was purchased by a really nice 65 year old lady named Marcelina.She has had a 37 year old boyfriend (Chris) for awhile, and they recently became engaged. Chris told her that he’s a city boy, and would never live out in the country. Therefore, Marcelina has decided to buy a condo close to Panama City, and eventually sell lot 13. We wish her the best, and we hope that the boy toy situation works out for her!
4) Critter update.
Okay, I just missed actually missed seeing this one. Patricia and I were down by the river on our lot, talking to the well drillers. Suddenly they got excited, pointing across the river and saying “gato solo” (solitary cat). We jumped down in the river, but it ran up the other bank before either one of us could see it. I had the guys describe it, and it had to be a jaguarundi, a small relative of the jaguar. They often hunt during the day, and at 15 – 20 lbs the biggest animal they eat is the occasional chicken. I attached a photo, in case you’re ever lucky enough to see one.
I also attached a photo or two of the agoutis around our house. They hang around pretty much every day, and provided some quality entertainment for the group. Josh did some research, and apparently the mating ritual includes the male spraying urine all over the female, which send her into a frenzy of dancing and cavorting all over the place. Those agoutis are a wild bunch; maybe some day they’ll have an orgy just for us.
That’s about it for this month – hasta pronto,
Jay and Patricia
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Jay Stafford
www.thepanamacollection.com
954-309-2837 cell in Florida
507-6679-7540 cell in Panama
thepanamacollection@gmail.com
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