If We Followed This Bait and Switch We Would Not be able to Live Abroad! We've seen the bait and switch in action, while even helping expats get through the gringo bubble...some folks actually have to pack up and go back home because they simply can't afford it anymore after the gringo bubble forms. Most people don't know how to get through the bubble when it happens... but because we go local from the start it doesn't affect us so much, however in some ways it does, like rising mercado prices and even grocery store prices.
Welcome to Gringo Good Samaritans, integrated with our 8 years of living in Cuenca Ecuador and traveling the world. We create informative videos and articles helping people come to awareness of what's happening in our world so they can enjoy their retire early lifestyle with their families, healthy, happy and free!
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Panamanians LOVE Baseball and 9 More Interesting Facts about Panama PA
NOTE: This article pertains to our experiences in Panama City only and not other areas of Panama.
1. Panamanians call Panama City just “Panama”, so if you are in David or Las Tablas and they are referring back to the big City of Panama they’ll just say, “Over there in Panama”. It took a few conversations with the Panamanians to understand what they meant when they said “in Panama you can find…”
2. The main sport in Panama is not soccer; it is baseball! So you’ll find they love to talk about everything related to the sport; Panama’s baseball team ranks 13th in the world. They also play soccer but it is not the rage like it is in Ecuador and other Latin American countries. SOURCE
3. There are very few stray dogs roaming around on the streets in Panama City, at least during the day time. In fact, on two different occasions we spotted dog catcher’s trucks. However, when we ventured away from Panama City and into smaller towns there were plenty of malnourished dogs roaming the streets, so clearly this is just a Panama City thing.
4. Panama City has lots of traffic and they honk their horns more than in Ecuador, if you can believe that! Sometimes someone will get so irritated with the way someone is driving they will press down on the honker and not let up for a full thirty seconds. Drivers in Panama City are no different than any other Latin culture; it is erratic and seemingly unorganized. And another thing, very few street signs with street names exist in the city of Panama, which makes the city confusing for drivers who are new to the city.
5. There does seem to be more intimidating police presence. You’ll often see a road block, stopping vehicles at random, checking ID’s. We do not drive anymore (yaaay) so we cannot say anything personally about bribes but we’ve heard through the grapevine that cops can be overly assertive in this arena.
Doing some research we find that it is a common practice in Latin America. All over on the Internet you’ll read gringo stories of how corrupt police officers are accepting payments in lieu of a ticket but the gringos are just as corrupt for facilitating such bribes by breaking foreign traffic laws in the first place.
Headlines read, “Tourists Paying Off Corrupt Traffic Cop in Panama” and “My Experience Giving Bribe Money to a Corrupt Police Officer in Panama City”; however, when tourists give the cops money they are “playing the game” too and therefore should not be labeling the cops as being corrupt because it takes two to tango. On top of that, almost all gringos we’ve personally talked to and some we read about always overpay on a bribe, so then, how is that not tempting the policeman? There’s more to say about this but not in this article.
When we take the time to look at it through their eyes, it’s actually quite generous of a police officer/government to allow gringos to pay ‘small’ fines upfront for minor traffic violations rather than having them go through the whole process of being given a ticket and having to navigate a foreign process. However, on the other hand, if you’re drinking and driving or driving recklessly, then you deserve to go to a Panamanian jail.
6. Garbage littering the streets is a problem in Panama City. On several occasions we personally witnessed people littering, throwing garbage under buses, over fences and next to where other garbage is, even though there are garbage baskets on almost every corner, and they’re empty. The other problem is bags of garbage just sitting on the side of the road rotting.
Believe us when we say, it doesn’t take but a few hours in hot, humid weather for garbage to start stinking and reeking. Panama City is a nice city with some great services but sadly an organized garbage pickup is not one of them.
Ok, it is time to compare, I cannot help myself. In Cuenca the garbage pickup service is excellent and prompt three times a week. Panama City is not perfect but no city is, right?
7. The people of Panama are helpful, friendly and non-confrontational. They would rather tell you something positive than tell you “no” or something negative. For an example, the Internet was not working in our hotel room and so we asked the lady behind the desk to please reboot the modem as we know that works. She proceeded to inform us that the modem was located in the locked office and the manager of the hotel was gone and she is the only one who has access.
Now understand, this was on a Sunday and to top it off it was Father’s Day. But the wonderful lady behind the hotel desk would rather tell us the manager will be coming in soon, that very same day to reboot the modem than tell us something we do not want to hear, such as the manager really is not coming in until the next day at mid morning! Having lived in Ecuador and understanding the culture, we both knew the modem would not get rebooted until Monday sometime, so we simply accepted it and spent most of the day out.
The point is, bless her heart, she didn’t want to tell us anything negative, and so every time we asked her about the Internet she would say with a smile, “Soon the manager will be in to reboot the modem”. Sure enough the manager did come in just when we thought, mid morning on Monday a full day without internet!
8. About taking taxis in Panama City: Taxis are not metered and many times the driver will ask you, “What do you want to pay?” or “How much have you been charged from other taxis?” Now understand, this is a question he is asking you because some foreigners pay big fares and he wants that from you too, otherwise why he would even ask you what you’ve paid rather than just quote the price?
A normal taxi fare, within the city limits of Panama City will cost anywhere between $2.50 and $4.00, depending on how far you’re going. Taxis are generally fair and will not try and overcharge unless you are “coming out from”, or “going to” the airport, bus terminal, Mall, or tourist attraction/event, or if you simply let them overcharge you. Now you know what the going rate is.
We’ve written a lot about taxis and how to handle them in the DIY Cuenca Landing Guide, and we left this subject in the guide intact so that foreigners could use the information in countries other than Ecuador where taxis have been ‘metered’.
Most taxi drivers are gregarious in Panama, much more so than Ecuador. They will talk your ears off if they know you understand Spanish. This is good because Frank always like to strike up conversations with the locals about crime in certain neighborhoods, where are the bad areas, where is a good place to go eat for a good price, and where to get “hard to find” food items, etc, etc. After awhile of doing this you begin to see a consistency in what the local folks are saying, and well, it provides us with a clearer picture of local life in Panama.
9. Crime and Safety in a nutshell: 1 out of 2 Panamanians walk around with their iphones or ipads in Panama City. It is so prevalent in Panama that I’m surprised they do not trip on the bad sidewalks. We also noticed in restaurants people leave their purses, cell phones, etc just sitting at the empty table while they order or use the restroom. We saw this over and over again. Coming from Ecuador, where you have to keep a close eye/grasp on your things, this was a big eye-opener.
While traveling in the country of Panama City on the inter-state buses, the locals put their stuff in the overhead bins. Buses stop for a 30-minute lunch break and people leave their back-packs, carry-on luggage, etc on the bus while they go eat; some people stay on the bus. This observation is a clear sign which shows us there is less threat of pick-pockets and snatch and grabs in Panama.
Bottom Line: From what we witnessed day in and day out from the locals is, PETTY crime (overall) in Panama is much safer from pick-pockets and personal robberies than Ecuador. But that doesn’t mean there’s no crime in Panama City. Violent crimes in the bad neighborhoods can be a problem. But we never are out at night so we miss all the action. Just remember: you can make yourself a target anywhere in South or Central America.
10. Typical working man’s (executive) almuerzo cost $4.50, touristy areas $6. It is a big lunch which usually consists of 2 pieces of chicken, rice with beans or rice with peas, potato salad or coleslaw, and a couple slices of plantain.
We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad and Beyond!
1. Panamanians call Panama City just “Panama”, so if you are in David or Las Tablas and they are referring back to the big City of Panama they’ll just say, “Over there in Panama”. It took a few conversations with the Panamanians to understand what they meant when they said “in Panama you can find…”
2. The main sport in Panama is not soccer; it is baseball! So you’ll find they love to talk about everything related to the sport; Panama’s baseball team ranks 13th in the world. They also play soccer but it is not the rage like it is in Ecuador and other Latin American countries. SOURCE
3. There are very few stray dogs roaming around on the streets in Panama City, at least during the day time. In fact, on two different occasions we spotted dog catcher’s trucks. However, when we ventured away from Panama City and into smaller towns there were plenty of malnourished dogs roaming the streets, so clearly this is just a Panama City thing.
4. Panama City has lots of traffic and they honk their horns more than in Ecuador, if you can believe that! Sometimes someone will get so irritated with the way someone is driving they will press down on the honker and not let up for a full thirty seconds. Drivers in Panama City are no different than any other Latin culture; it is erratic and seemingly unorganized. And another thing, very few street signs with street names exist in the city of Panama, which makes the city confusing for drivers who are new to the city.
5. There does seem to be more intimidating police presence. You’ll often see a road block, stopping vehicles at random, checking ID’s. We do not drive anymore (yaaay) so we cannot say anything personally about bribes but we’ve heard through the grapevine that cops can be overly assertive in this arena.
Doing some research we find that it is a common practice in Latin America. All over on the Internet you’ll read gringo stories of how corrupt police officers are accepting payments in lieu of a ticket but the gringos are just as corrupt for facilitating such bribes by breaking foreign traffic laws in the first place.
Headlines read, “Tourists Paying Off Corrupt Traffic Cop in Panama” and “My Experience Giving Bribe Money to a Corrupt Police Officer in Panama City”; however, when tourists give the cops money they are “playing the game” too and therefore should not be labeling the cops as being corrupt because it takes two to tango. On top of that, almost all gringos we’ve personally talked to and some we read about always overpay on a bribe, so then, how is that not tempting the policeman? There’s more to say about this but not in this article.
When we take the time to look at it through their eyes, it’s actually quite generous of a police officer/government to allow gringos to pay ‘small’ fines upfront for minor traffic violations rather than having them go through the whole process of being given a ticket and having to navigate a foreign process. However, on the other hand, if you’re drinking and driving or driving recklessly, then you deserve to go to a Panamanian jail.
6. Garbage littering the streets is a problem in Panama City. On several occasions we personally witnessed people littering, throwing garbage under buses, over fences and next to where other garbage is, even though there are garbage baskets on almost every corner, and they’re empty. The other problem is bags of garbage just sitting on the side of the road rotting.
 |
| This spot had garbage littering the street every day that we walked by... |
Ok, it is time to compare, I cannot help myself. In Cuenca the garbage pickup service is excellent and prompt three times a week. Panama City is not perfect but no city is, right?
7. The people of Panama are helpful, friendly and non-confrontational. They would rather tell you something positive than tell you “no” or something negative. For an example, the Internet was not working in our hotel room and so we asked the lady behind the desk to please reboot the modem as we know that works. She proceeded to inform us that the modem was located in the locked office and the manager of the hotel was gone and she is the only one who has access.
Now understand, this was on a Sunday and to top it off it was Father’s Day. But the wonderful lady behind the hotel desk would rather tell us the manager will be coming in soon, that very same day to reboot the modem than tell us something we do not want to hear, such as the manager really is not coming in until the next day at mid morning! Having lived in Ecuador and understanding the culture, we both knew the modem would not get rebooted until Monday sometime, so we simply accepted it and spent most of the day out.
The point is, bless her heart, she didn’t want to tell us anything negative, and so every time we asked her about the Internet she would say with a smile, “Soon the manager will be in to reboot the modem”. Sure enough the manager did come in just when we thought, mid morning on Monday a full day without internet!
8. About taking taxis in Panama City: Taxis are not metered and many times the driver will ask you, “What do you want to pay?” or “How much have you been charged from other taxis?” Now understand, this is a question he is asking you because some foreigners pay big fares and he wants that from you too, otherwise why he would even ask you what you’ve paid rather than just quote the price?
A normal taxi fare, within the city limits of Panama City will cost anywhere between $2.50 and $4.00, depending on how far you’re going. Taxis are generally fair and will not try and overcharge unless you are “coming out from”, or “going to” the airport, bus terminal, Mall, or tourist attraction/event, or if you simply let them overcharge you. Now you know what the going rate is.
We’ve written a lot about taxis and how to handle them in the DIY Cuenca Landing Guide, and we left this subject in the guide intact so that foreigners could use the information in countries other than Ecuador where taxis have been ‘metered’.
Most taxi drivers are gregarious in Panama, much more so than Ecuador. They will talk your ears off if they know you understand Spanish. This is good because Frank always like to strike up conversations with the locals about crime in certain neighborhoods, where are the bad areas, where is a good place to go eat for a good price, and where to get “hard to find” food items, etc, etc. After awhile of doing this you begin to see a consistency in what the local folks are saying, and well, it provides us with a clearer picture of local life in Panama.
9. Crime and Safety in a nutshell: 1 out of 2 Panamanians walk around with their iphones or ipads in Panama City. It is so prevalent in Panama that I’m surprised they do not trip on the bad sidewalks. We also noticed in restaurants people leave their purses, cell phones, etc just sitting at the empty table while they order or use the restroom. We saw this over and over again. Coming from Ecuador, where you have to keep a close eye/grasp on your things, this was a big eye-opener.
While traveling in the country of Panama City on the inter-state buses, the locals put their stuff in the overhead bins. Buses stop for a 30-minute lunch break and people leave their back-packs, carry-on luggage, etc on the bus while they go eat; some people stay on the bus. This observation is a clear sign which shows us there is less threat of pick-pockets and snatch and grabs in Panama.
Bottom Line: From what we witnessed day in and day out from the locals is, PETTY crime (overall) in Panama is much safer from pick-pockets and personal robberies than Ecuador. But that doesn’t mean there’s no crime in Panama City. Violent crimes in the bad neighborhoods can be a problem. But we never are out at night so we miss all the action. Just remember: you can make yourself a target anywhere in South or Central America.
10. Typical working man’s (executive) almuerzo cost $4.50, touristy areas $6. It is a big lunch which usually consists of 2 pieces of chicken, rice with beans or rice with peas, potato salad or coleslaw, and a couple slices of plantain.
 |
| $4.50 almuerzo in Panama City, Panama |
Cute Apartment at Great Price with Huge Terrace and Views! Home Tour Cuenca Ecuador
HOME TOUR| Cute Apartment at a Great Price with Huge Terrace and Views in Cuenca Ecuador! This is a great, little apartment for one or two people or couple with a child. Lovely apartment in a good location. Price is negotiable!
Thursday, February 21, 2019
3 Good Reasons Why You Can't Move Abroad and Live Happily Ever After
3 good reasons why you can't move abroad and live happily ever after. Of course anyone can move abroad but these 3 good reasons we talk about will surely make the move less enjoyable and probably much shorter for most people who uproot their lives and move to a new country. Don't let someone else dictate where you move abroad and how much you spend on cost of living. Be your own person.
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Our Lifestyle Choices and Healthcare –This Video Will Make You Think!
Our Lifestyle Choices and Healthcare –This Video Will Make You Think! Just another perspective on a very important subject for many people in this life.
Thursday, February 14, 2019
3 Good Reasons TO MOVE to Cuenca Ecuador Right Now!
This is 3 good reasons to move to Cuenca Ecuador and the last reason is a good reason to move to Cuenca RIGHT NOW! Watch the video to find out why we say "right now" on number 3. And of course there are many great reasons to move to Cuenca but these are our three for right now. :-)
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Panama City Metro Clean, Safe, Inexpensive and Fast! NEW Metro Line Coming Soon to Panama!
Panama has won our vote on one of the best transportation systems we've ever encountered. There is virtually no wait time, it's cost effective, very clean and fast. We always enjoy using the public transport when we visit Panama. They are just now finishing up a new metro line that will take you from the airport into Panama City and so we're getting really excited for that....you realize no more expensive taxis and having to get gringoed for $30 to $50 bucks just to go 15 miles into the city ! Watch the video; we're sure you're going to love it too! Panama city buses are good too! AC in all the transportation here because it's so hot!
$500 Cuenca Ecuador Condo, Located in Popular Neighborhood
Today we're going to take you on a tour of a $500 Cuenca Ecuador Condo, located in Popular, centrally located Neighborhood. Let us know if you would like to see more Cuenca Ecuador home tours. The gringos love Remigio Crespo area where this 24/7 secure condo is located.
Thursday, February 7, 2019
The Big Social Differences between Ecuador and Panama that No One Talks About
The Big Social Differences between Ecuador and Panama that No One Talks About. You most likely do not know these three differences because the first two are something that is not realized until you have traveled to both places and spent some time on the ground. We don't think there are any videos or articles that talk about these three differences and so you might find this video quite interesting. We just want to say that these three things certainly do not make one country better than the other, it just makes them different. Ecuador is what it is and Panama is what it is, both are great countries to visit and live for the person or family that finds what they need for their lifestyle in that country, meaning what one person finds appealing another person might find unattractive. That's why no one, not even the RAMM can choose a country for you. You have to choose the country according to your needs and wants.
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Here's How I Can Tell If a Country Is Safe or Not
Do you just watch a few youtube videos and then decide a country is safe from that video? There are three things or sources I look at to tell if me if a country is safe or not. Btw, watching or reading the Spanish news is going to be a lot different than what the English-gringo population put out...big-big difference. Don't be fooled. For example to find out about just how polluted Lake Chapala was we went to the Spanish reports because the few gringo sources we're all the same--unfortunately they copy each other, but there were numerous Spanish sources and from different news outlets and environmental reports with actual water samples and such...another example is when we wanted to find out about crime in Ecuador; there are numerous videos in Spanish about petty crime in Spanish on youtube and in the Spanish newspapers but gringos aren't talking about it in their videos. So again, do not be fooled just because you are not going to the Spanish sources! You can use Google Translate. We've been reporting from the Spanish sources since we began blogging in 2011 to bring you how it really is.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)