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If you are interested in visiting Mono Feliz, visit their facebook page for more information. I have also written about Mono Feliz on my site.
You can visit Mono Feliz via a road (which is soon to be paved most of the way) or, my favorite way, by driving on the beach. You must time your journey with the tides.
We have visited Mono Feliz from Puerto Armuelles both as a day trip and for multiple nights.
You can learn more about Puerto Armuelles starting here.
Betsy: Hi, it was a lot of fun stumbling across this video is of us back in 2007.
It gives you a relaxing glimpse of life in Panama
It's a little baby monkey, she's 4 months old,called Niña, a howler monkey.
We're at Mono Feliz in Panama, Punta Burica.
Reyn: We're relaxing and the stresses of daily life.
Our house is actually being sprayed for termites,as we speak, so we had to vacate it for the weekend.
They sprayed it with a mix of diesel and ariva, which is a commercial crop dusting chemical, so that's all going in our house so it'd be nice to let it air out for the entire weekend before we go home and sleep there.
We're here at Mono Feliz,there are small waves at the surf camp down the way
and Steve and another tourist and I were gonna try those out, so that will be fun.
Skylar: Look, look dad.
Reyn: I'm very happy and relaxed here.
It's cool.
(child laughs)
I think the monkey can actually hang by his tail.
Betsy: He's too young.
Reyn: This one is a huérfano.
Betsy: Let's say goodbye to Niña.
Bye, bye Niña, little scratcher.
Reyn: Want to compare size of hand?
music ♫ Can you hear it calling, Come on down to Panama
In this post, I will touch on some of the many hobbies you can enjoy here in Panama.
This is because an important trait among the happier set here in Puerto is that they have a hobby or several activities, that they pursue on a regular basis.
Many of our expat retirees in Puerto Armuelles are passionate gardeners.
Here in the tropics, it is much easier to garden successfully than up north. With many species of plants and trees, you just get a cutting of the plant you want, stick it in the ground, and it will grow. No kidding.
For those who love to get their hands dirty in the garden, there is ample opportunity to do it here. For heavy tasks, or for general maintenance, one can have your gardener do the work.
If you like to garden, it is also easy to cultivate some of the food for the table. Many types of fruits, in particular, grow in our tropical climate. It is easy to grow papayas, bananas, mangos, pineapples, bananas, passion fruit, etc. etc…the list is long.
Gardening can easily be expanded to include bird watching. Many species of tropical birds pass right through our gardens in Puerto every day. Huge, noisy swarms of giant parakeets careen through the neighborhood at dawn and again at dusk. We have a barred owl living in the mango tree in our yard. We have seen a tiny pygmy owl on several occasions. We have seen a pair of toucans in our papaya tree on numerous occasions.
You can plant a garden that provides ideal habitat for birds. You can do this planting many of the plants that the birds that you want to attract to love. Add to this both feeders and bird baths and you will be visited by many tropical birds.
Panama is a bird watcher's paradise. And not just in your backyard. You can cultivate an active life, as well as an active social life as a bird watcher. There are bird watching clubs in Boquete, Volcan, and Panama City with scheduled outings to look for birds. Some of these outings are easy strolls, and others include extended trips to the less explored parts of Panama.
Many expats raise their own chickens, rabbits, pigs, cattle for the table. Some others just like to have animals around to keep the homestead feeling “homey”.
At one point, when our daughter Skylar was interested in raising animals, we had over 20 chickens and 20 rabbits running around in a fenced off part of our property in Las Palmas. We even had a horse for a while.
Horseback riding is always available here. Many houses have properties large enough to provide feed grass for a horse, or two
most of the year. In the driest months, you can let your horse out to graze nearby. There are hundreds of miles of dirt roads and riding trails around town, some trails lead up into the foothills, and one can ride over to the beaches on the Costa Rican side of Punta Burica in half a day.
There is a woman named Veronica who lives up the hill from us in Las Palmas neighborhood of Puerto who teaches riding and who is helping to develop a national equestrian program in Panama. You can see a video she did about her life in Puerto Armuelles.
We also know at least one expat, Russell, who has joined a local rodeo team and competes in calf roping competitions on the weekends (this is not a hobby you would want to pursue unless you are an expert rider and are fearless). A neighbor of ours raises and trains horses.
Panama means an abundance of fish. So there is a lot of fishing here. You can fish from a boat, a paddle board, kayak, raft or from shore. You can fish to your heart's content here. And many people do. My older daughter Skylar loves to fish. She once caught a fish in Panama using only a piece of plastic bag as bait.
You can even splurge occasionally and go to one of the many sports fishing lodges in Panama. One lodge, Hooked on Panama, is only 6 miles away (30 min drive) from Puerto Armuelles.
Retirement in the tropics is the perfect time to take up painting, or drawing, sculpture, or any of the visual arts. Maybe you were an artist when you were younger, and just need to break the inertia to get back to it.
Our daughter Skylar took painting and drawing at the local Centro Bellas Artes (fine arts center). They offer a number of classes for adults. Which is also a great way to practice your Spanish since the classes are in Spanish.
Don't know where to get art supplies in Panama? Check out this post: Where to get art supplies in Panama City, David, and Puerto Armuelles.
If you are a budding artist in Puerto Armuelles, explore these art opportunities in Puerto.
If you have never played a musical instrument, retirement is a great time to learn to play for the first time. Our daughter Skylar took up the guitar last year. I took this as an excuse to give it a try. We are both learning online.
There are hundreds of free online courses to choose from. My family can attest to the fact that not all people are destined for greatness as musicians (Skylar is picking it up pretty fast. For me it is coming slowly). However, it does seem to keep Dad occupied.
There are also a number of music festivals in Panama. Our family enjoys going to the annual Boquete Jazz & Blues Festival in Boquete, Panama.
There are more and more musicians in Puerto Armuelles these days.
You may want to join the growing expat music scene in Puerto Armueles.
My daughters are both studying tap dance and ballet. Ballet is pretty brutal on anybody, regardless of age, however, tap can be a great whole body workout for folks of any age. You can push it as far as you want.
My father had a friend named Jesse who took up tap dancing in her late 50s, and kept at it until she was in her late 80’s. She and a group of girlfriends used to travel around the east coast and perform at senior centers.
I drop my daughters off at dance class four day a week. I am meeting other parents who have decided to join their kids and take up tap dancing.
So, this week I took the plunge. I removed the taps from an old pair of throw-away tap shoes given to me by the instructor, and I used Shoe Goo to glue them onto a pair of men’s lace-up shoes.
If I decide to stick with it, I will invest in some real tap dancing shoes. Tap dancing could be the perfect hobby for this aging athlete. It is increasingly popular as a form of exercise. As with everything you can learn how online. YouTube really is a fabulous resource.
Cooking is another great hobby in retirement. There are lots of good, fresh, economical raw foods available in Panama. And you can grow your own food as well.
Once again, I can vouch for YouTube as a great place to be inspired to “raise the bar” and improve your cooking skills.
Our daughter Blaise, who is now ten, is a big fan of Youtube cooking videos.
This morning she made waffles and cinnamon rolls. Yesterday she baked raspberry filled macaroons. For Halloween, she baked a “Brain cake”. It was a chocolate velvet cake covered with cerebral looking crenelations of sugar fondant and finished with a red raspberry glaze. The cake was truly gruesome to behold. If you could get past the looks, it was delicious.
She made these all from recipes, she learned to cook on Youtube.
Panamanian Food Opportunities
You can also explore new fruits, vegetables, and dishes that are popular in Panama. For instance, we have written about:
You may also want to check out a Foodies in Panama group on Facebook.
Another popular hobby is woodworking. Several of the local expats have set up workshops in their garages or carports. One began by making all the furniture for his and his wife’s house before he graduated to making furniture for other folks.
At least one guy we know takes his craft products to the Tuesday Market in Boquete to sell (He says that this is not a path to retirement riches, but it is fun and he meets lots of nice people.)
Another craft hobby, that might or might not include woodworking, is sculpture using found objects, driftwood logs, coconuts, hard seed pods, etc.. There is an incredible number of one-of-a-kind natural shaped driftwood that washes up on the beach, especially in the rainy season.
One of our neighbors out at Corazon de Jesus has a collection of anthropomorphic shapes, and some others fish shaped (ichthyomorphic?), all gathered on morning walks on the beach in front of his house.
Volunteer work is a rewarding way to add value to one’s daily, or weekly schedule. Certainly, the happiest retirees and the happiest people that we know are those who have discovered the joy of contributing to the wellbeing of another person.
This volunteer work could be as simple as just showing up to visit or help out another older expat who needs some company. Or you might want to try volunteering as an English conversation partner. You could offer to help another expat who doesn’t have a car to do a shopping trip in town, or to David.
I’ve just scratched the surface of the types of possible hobbies and activities that could contribute to making retirement in Puerto Armuelles healthier and happier. Please write and let us know what hobbies you enjoy, and any that you would like to investigate in your retirement.
Other active hobbies include surfing, walking, bike riding, sea kayaking. These are all hobbies pursued by a number of 50, 60, and even 70 somethings in Puerto Armuelles.
Walking and cycling are best done in the early mornings before the sun gets hot. In the rainy season, this is not so critical, since there is more cloud cover, and it stays cooler.
Puerto Armuelles is a perfect place to try out surfing or stand up paddle boarding for the first time. Stand Up Paddleboarding, which is an easier way to get into surfing, has arrived in Puerto.
There is also one fellow who occasionally surfs on a kayak designed for running white water rivers.
There is a technology known as a wave sled ( a sit-down kayak type surfboard with a paddle) which I have not seen in Puerto yet. This is an easier way for beginners and novices to get out and enjoy riding waves.
Little by little in Puerto we are growing a small community of old guy surfers (even a middle-aged gal or two). The waves in Puerto Armuelles are certainly not intimidating. It is a small wave surf place. A great old guy surf spot.
Of course, there are a number of world-class surf spots in both Panama and Costa Rica if you want to test your surf prowess.
The mountains of Chiriqui are a good destination for those pursuing an outdoor hobby. It is quite easy to drive to Volcan, Cerro Punta, or even Boquete to go for a day hike in the cool mountain air.
In fact, one day I swam in the morning in the Pacific, spent the afternoon hiking in Boquete, and was back home at the beach by dinnertime.
There are some wonderful hikes and mountain bike rides to be had at higher altitudes all over Panama. We have a retired neighbor in Puerto Armuelles who belongs to a mountaineering group in Chiriqui. He is often away from Puerto Armuelles for days at a time on one adventure or another.
You can also read Betsy's post about living a healthy life in Panama.
I'm not saying that internet in Panama will not be without its frustrations. It may stop for no apparent reason, you may pull your hair out while talking to, or trying to talk to, customer service, and then of course, the internet may be working fine, but you wouldn't know it because the electricity it out.
However, as you'd imagine, I use the internet all the time in Panama. Overall, while it is not lightening fast, it is more than adequate.
If you are in or near a city or town, it will be fairly easy to get internet. The more remote your location the harder it will be.
In the more developed parts of the country, like Panama City area, Colon and David, you will find high speed (for Panama) broadband cable internet and DSL.
In undeveloped, or older areas, then most likely you will be left with DSL as your fastest option. DSL can be fast, but its speed can fluctuate. In remote areas, the only option is satellite internet. Satellite internet can be very fast, but is more expensive.
At one time, the only Internet provider was Cable & Wireless. But since 2003 when the government opened up telecommunications to competition there have been a growing number of providers.
I asked a friend of ours to share her experiences with various internet companies in Panama. Specifically, in Puerto Armuelles, Panama. She has tried a few providers, while I have only used Cable & Wireless.
Our friend prefers to stay anonymous. I have edited her words slightly for clarity and added sub-headers.
Here is her experience with Internet in Panama.
I have used several Internet providers during my time in Puerto Armuelles.
Internet Activo
Currently I have Internet Activo and have been very satisfied with them and their service.
The only down side is they currently do not offer automatic deduction from a credit card for payment. So, I pay them every three months when I go to David. The other option would be to pay at one of the two banks where they offer a payment service of making the deposit and then providing proof of deposit.(Both banks are in Bugaba. But if I drive that far, I don’t see any sense in not just making a David run of it)
Planet Telecom
Planet Telecom was a personal nightmare for me on so many levels. They promised installation and equipment in a week – it took a month. I was at Andrea’s (an Internet place in downtown Puerto) for hours every day. (They knew not to set the timer on my computer!!) That was a pain because at the time I did not have my truck here.
When I was building my house, I wanted Plant Telecome to pre-wire my house. They sent someone out, finally, to do the pre-wiring. Because I had made an inquiry about the possibility of TV, as well as internet, they just assumed I wanted TV and installed that wiring as well.
I was charged for both the internet wiring and the TV wiring, as well as the travel and time to do the installation. The reality was that they were doing such a poor job that my worker, Jonathan, actually ran the wires! That is when I decided I would no longer do business with Planet Telecom!
Fidanque
I moved into my house and initially had Internet a company that is now called Fidanque. They were very good until they weren’t. I did like that they would automatically deduct the payment from the credit card I provided.
When they started the road expansion project, my Internet service was completely disrupted. I believe it was from interference from all the communications systems the road workers were using. At any rate they never could get the whole signal thing worked out so I had to move on.
Internet Activo (again)
Enter Internet Activo. They had no qualms about putting up an antenna that was high enough to block out the interference from the lower level interference. They are courteous, prompt, speak English and understand my payment schedule. I have been asking them to open a small account at Banco National, but so far no luck. I will ask them again when I go make the next 3 month payment. For some reason they believe that there is a $10,000.00 fee to set up automatic deductions from credit cards. There very well may be; I simply have no expertise in that area.
Cable Onda
Cable Onda has an excellent product and I had them for about a minute. (I still have their equipment on my roof).
The guy who signed me up spoke English. The guys who installed did not. After about a week, when I ran into a signal issue, I was dead in the water. No one anywhere in the company could speak English.
Right now, I am waiting for Cable Onda to finish laying all their fiber optic cable and will then I will switch over to them for phone and internet. They do have the best price – about $23.00 for 3meg of internet. Don’t know what it will be with telephone, but don’t think it will be that much more. They started marking their presence with a “deal” on satellite TV (all the blue dishes) so they would have some sort of customer base when they get the fiber optics done.
Cable & Wireless
Cable and Wireless has recently been bought out by someone else. They are unable to deliver 3 meg to Corazon de Jesus even though they say they can when they sign you up (enough theys for ya). Alexandra has them at her house – phone and internet – and the service is reasonably reliable. When there is an issue the repair guy is fairly prompt. They do have English speakers in their call center now so that does help with problems.
Internet Sticks or Dongle
I even tried one of those dongles and it was OK for checking email, but only while I was in the rental house. It never did work once I moved into my house.
(Note: you can buy these internet sticks, or traveling hotspots, from most internet and cell phone providers such as Claro and Movistar. They cost about $15 and the speed is slow. They can be useful for checking email and such in places without any internet.)
That is my Internet saga.
In another post, I (Betsy) will share my Cable & Wireless saga.
In May 2016, Cable & Wireless was purchased by Liberty Global. Hopefully, it will improve. Liberty Global is an American company, is in 30 countries and is the world's largest international TV and broadband company.
Here are some things to think about before choosing an Internet provider.
I would take their answers to these questions with a grain of salt, but it could give you a good indication of what it will be like to deal with them.
Important: Remember to check your Internet speed to ensure you are not paying for more than you are getting. Immediately downgrade so that you are paying for the speed you are getting, not the speed they promise you will get.
Updated March 16, 2017
Americans may have more reasons to get a Panama residency than other foreigners, but every nationality benefits. (Scroll down for 3 American specific reasons)
As I said, a cedula is a Panama ID card. You can only apply for a cedula, after you become a Panama resident.
A cedula is forever. It is a document with a number specific to you. Like your social security number, it never changes.
Without a cedula, anything you do: getting a bank account, electricity, buying land, or even registering your car is done using your passport number. Unfortunately, every time you renew your passport you get a new passport number as well. Changing the passport number you have associated with almost everything in Panama is a nightmare and takes time.
More Cedula Perks
Get even more details about Panama cedulas in one of my older posts.
If you’re an American, you may have even more reasons to want be a Panama resident.
3 Reasons To Consider
Learn more about 4 types of Panama Residency Visas on my site.
March 2017 UPDATE: New Tourist visa rules make it impossible to be a Permanent Tourist in Panama. You must leave the country for at least 30 days before you can get another tourist visa.
Until March 6, 2017, many people lived in Panama as tourists for many years. But no longer!
You will need many documents to get residency: an FBI report, finger prints, birth certificates, medical examination reports, affidavits and more. It all must be certified, authenticated, notarized, stamped and gathered together and submitted, in person, in your presence. And some of those documents, like your FBI report, can expire and need to be done again if too much time passes before you are able to submit it.
There are 8 or 9 Panama residence visas. As I mention above, I have written about the 4 most common types of Panama residency visas.
You may want to hold off on getting your residency visa until you are sure you want to live in Panama on a long-term basis. The tourist visa gives you 180 days to check out Panama as you decide if it is a good fit.
Please let us know if we forgot to mention some of the benefits of having residency. Please comment below.
Updated Dec 13, 2019
You can accomplish many tasks at one of these ACS travelling shows.
As I mentioned, the ACS visits David and/or Boquete every 3 to 4 months. If you are lucky, their visit will be in time to save you a trip to Panama City.
To find out when they will be in town, you can visit the embassy's website, email [email protected], or give them a call during their very limited phone-answering hours.
Unfortunately, the embassy doesn't set the date for ACS's visit to the Chiriqui province much in advance of it happening.
The ACS will only accept payment by local banker’s cashier check (known in Spanish as “Cheque Certificado”). That is, the check needs to be issued by a Panamanian bank. It must be made payable to “U.S. Embassy Panama” and have been issued within the past 5 months.
The ACS will NOT accept cash or credit card payments. The notarial fee is $50 per each signature of the Consular Officer.
Depending upon which ACS services you will be using, you will need to bring the following documents.
Passports: For adult passport renewals, in addition to the completed DS-82 application, provide one recent color photo with a white background that measures 5x5 cm (2X2 inches), your passport, and a photocopy of the photo page of your passport. The fee for an adult passport renewal is currently $110. If your previous passport was lost or stolen you will also need to bring a copy of the police report and the fee for the new passport is $135.
You will be happy to learn that you can complete adult passport renewals by mail (or Uno Express). You do not have to visit the embassy in person to renew.
For minor passport renewals, in addition to the completed DS-11 application, bring a copy of the photo page of the minor’s passport, a copy of both parents’ passports /cedulas, one recent color photo with a white background that measures 5x5 cm (2X2 inches) and a copy of the minor’s birth certificate, in addition to the original birth certificate and passport/ cedulas. The fee is currently $105.00 for a minor (under 16) passport renewal. The minor and both parents or guardians must appear in person. If only one parent is present in Panama, the “Statement of Consent from Absent Parent” Form DS-3053, notarized in the U.S., is required. Please note that the DS-3053 will not be accepted if notarized in Panama.
Notarizations: If you are requesting the notarization of your driver’s license, bring a photocopy of the front and back page of your license, as well as your license. If you are requesting notarization of benefits documents, bring the original and a copy of the document(s) showing the amount of benefits you receive monthly or annually. The notarial fee is $50.00 for each signature of the Consular Officer. Visit this US Embassy webpage to learn all the details regarding getting a document notarized there or at the visiting ACS unit.
Voting: You can submit your completed absentee ballot, no postage required, at the travelling ACS unit (or at the US Embassy in Panama City).
If you haven’t yet registered to vote or requested an absentee ballot, you can find out how to do those things by visiting the Federal Voting Assistance program's website. I also explain how US citizens can register and vote from Panama in this post: How To Vote in US Elections While In Panama.
LPR Abandonment: Bring completed form I-407 and a photocopy of your Permanent Resident Card, as well as your Permanent Resident Card. (Filling out this form means you decided to voluntarily abandon your status as a lawful permanent resident of the United States.)
The Embassy stresses that all your copies of the required documents, noted below, need to be legible.
SSA Proof of Life: If you are required to comply with this requirement, please bring your cedula or passport.
Medicare Enrollment/Cancellation: To enroll in Medicare, you should complete and sign form CMS 40B. To find out more about Medicare eligibility and how to cancel your participation, this US government Medicare page is a good place to start.
Social Security Replacement Card: Bring a copy of your valid U.S. passport and completed form SS-5FS.
Social Security Card for child under 12: Bring a copy of the U.S. passport for one of the parents, the child’s “copia integra” birth certificate, and the child’s U.S. passport (as well as copies) as well as completed form SS-5FS.
Change of Address for Social Security: Bring your current passport or cedula.
International Direct Deposit Enrollment: You should bring the necessary form and whatever other documents the form instructions requests. Before the ACS visit, e-mail the SSA Federal Benefits Unit ([email protected]) to request the enrollment form.
You can get more information on getting your Social Security checks directly deposited into your bank account (in the US or in Panama) on this US Embassy webpage.
If you live in Panama and have questions regarding Social Security, you must contact the SSA Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) located in Costa Rica. For more information on their services and how to contact them, please visit their webpage.
For comprehensive information on SSA’s services abroad, please visit SSA’s Service Around the World.
Also, I wrote a post about how to continue to receive SSA benefits while in Panama.
There are several websites that will help you both register to vote and vote. In many cases you can do these online. Some states allow voting by email or fax.
For resources on how to vote as an American overseas go here.
The US Consulate in Panama City has special postage paid envelopes available.
You can also create your own with a blank envelope and a printer. You can get the necessary information to print your own envelope from one of the online voter assistance websites for Americans living abroad. For instance, the Federal Overseas Assistance website has all the information you need for your envelope at this link.
Are you in the Chiriqui Province? The US Embassy is visiting David & Boquete on October 12th. You can hand in your absentee ballot during their visit. Don't have your absentee ballot yet? go here.
The US consulate is open only from 8 a.m. until noon. You don't need an appointment.
Take your envelope to Window 14 at the consulate.
The US Consulate is in the American Embassy complex in Clayton. You can visit the US Consulate in Panama's current voting information, by clicking here.
The US Consulate does not offer overnight mail. You should count on it taking 2 weeks for your ballot to reach its destination.
For the US Presidential election on Nov. 8th, the Consulate recommends that you get your ballot to them no later than Wednesday, October 26.
If it is less than 2 weeks from election day, you should overnight mail it using FedEx, DHL, or other service.
You also might want to contact your state election office to discover if you can fax or email it.
One or more of these sources for overseas voting should help you find out more about your options.
Please comment below
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Sometime I will remember to take a video when the thunder and lightening really gets going.
It can get very loud. And the lightening here flashes and spans the sky in ways I have not seen anywhere else.
Until late in August, it was not raining everyday. And when it rained it was typically raining for 1 to 2 hours in the afternoon.
But as we head into September, the rain is sometimes invading the morning hours.
Sometimes in November we can have days of rain.
If you are interested, I written more extensively about the rainy season and the overall climate in Panama.
For more on living in Panama, check out our blog and our frequently asked questions about Panama.
Ten years ago, we had to visit each individual utility office. Then wait in line to pay.
Sometimes the lines were long, and did not move fast.
These days, we simply take our bill to Romero’s grocery store where they have a counter dedicated to accepting utility bill payments.
In some parts of the country, mostly in or near Panama City, there are also Rapid Money and E-Pago kiosks in malls (as well as in supermarkets). You simply give the clerk the bill and pay them directly. Keep in mind that, Rapid Money payments can take several days to be credited. The E-Pago payments only take a few hours.
There is also a bill paying center in downtown Puerto Armuelles where you can pay all your bills (see photo)
You can also pay your bills online. You can initiate payment with your Panama bank or the utility company itself.
However, there can be a few requirements for paying online, depending upon the utility. For instance, some only accept payments from specific banks. If you don't have a bank account at one of those banks, you cannot pay online.
All our bills are hand-delivered by an employee of the utility company. If you are home, they will hand it to you. If not, they may leave it rolled up in your fence like they do at our house.
There is no home mail delivery in Panama, except for utility bills.
Luckily, the pay centers and utility companies also keep records of what you owe. So you don't need to have your bill in order to pay.
Make sure you get your bill stamped paid when you pay it.
These days the utility companies do a good job keeping track of your payments However, not always.
In the past, you could never count on your payments showing up in payment system.
If there is a problem, you will need to produce your paid - and stamped paid - bill. It will easier, faster, and result in fewer headaches and much less time spent if you do that.
In the case of garbage, a person comes to your house to collect the money. At least that is the only way I know that it happens in Puerto Armuelles.
The monthly garbage bill is only $3 in Puerto Armuelles. This month I paid through December and it only cost me $15. $15 for 5 months of garage sounds good to me. They pick the garbage up every Tuesday in our neighborhood.
Except for Internet, we pay all our utility bills in person. As I mentioned above, someone comes to our house to collect payment for garbage service.
I pay the rest of the utilities at the beginning of each month at Romero supermarket. When we are out of the country, we have someone else pay them for us.
In the case of our internet & phone bill, our service is through Cable and Wireless Panama. We pay it online using our bank account in the States.
We pay Cable & Wireless $35 a month for 4mbps Internet and a land line.
Internet Speed
Cable & Wireless will promise you a higher speed if you pay more. Don't believe them. That is their maximum speed, at least in our neighborhood of Puerto. Other Internet provider such as Cable Onda or Planet Telecom you can get 10mbps.
I still grimace to think about how horrible the experience was of having to wait in an interminable line at the Cable and Wireless office in Puerto Armuelles. This office used to only be open on Tuesdays and Thursday. Back then, Puerto didn’t have enough Internet customers to merit an office with regular daily hours, and Portenos were treated as if purchasing internet service were some sort of a grand privilege, rather than a business.
Now it is easy to do. We still don't have a Cable & Wireless office in town. Cable & Wireless has been at a stand still for the last 3 years. They haven't made any investments in their system due to the road construction (which keeps knocking out their lines) and the selling of their company. Cable & Wireless was finally sold about 2 months ago and the road expansion project is almost done. So perhaps Cable & Wireless will improve soon.
Luckily, new Internet companies are increasingly popping up these days. Companies that promise faster and better service. But faster and better service, I mean 10mbps and internet that does not cut out on a regular basis. We will have to write about it soon.
Find out what utilities cost in Puerto Armuelles, Panama.
First of all, bill paying in Puerto Armuelles has not been a big preoccupation for us.
Bills here are so much lower than they are back in Seattle.
As you can see from the photo of the water bill (Instituto de Acueductos y Acantarillados or IDAAN), our water bill for June was $4.94, for unlimited water use.
By comparison, our water bill in Seattle is typically $150 per month in the winter, and up to $250 in summer. In Seattle, they charge you for the water both going in and going out of your house.
Our electricity bill in Puerto Armuelles is typically $35 per month. In Seattle, our summer electricity bill is about $300. Our highest winter bill was over $450 (we have electric heating).
We do not have air conditioning, but we are heavy users of fans and have a big and old refrigerator. We also have children who never remember to turn off a fan or light they are not using(!) You can see our electric bill below. Click on it to make it larger.
I looked up the electric rates in Seattle and Panama City to get a better comparison. 2 big cities.
Electricity in Panama has 3 rates, depending upon your use.
If you use less than 300 kWh, your rate is subsidized. Which is how some people have monthly electricity bills of only $4. If you use between 300- 750 kWh, you pay at a higher rate. If you use more than 750kWh, you pay at the highest rate. I couldn't figure out what that rate was, but that is the breakdown per kWh.
From conversations and reading, it seems clear that the rate charged at each of those kWh levels varies across the country.
Maybe it has something to do with whether your area is covered by Union Fenosa vs. Gas Natural Fenosa vs. the 2 electrical distributors (Empresa de Distribución Eléctrica Metro Oeste (Edemet), and Empresa de Distribución Eléctrica Chiriquí (Edechi) vs. Enca, which serves the northeast area of Panama
Gas Natural Fenosa of Spain is in charge of almost all the electricity in Panama though. Gas Natural Fenosa merged with Union Fenosa in 2009 and since then they bought 51% of the electricity distributors Edemet and Edechi. And they keep expanding. Perhaps all these subsidiaries and companies maintain separate rate structures? In Puerto Armuelles, the electricity bill (above) is issued by Gas Natural Fenosa, although everyone refers to it as Union Fenosa.
In general, if you use A/C all day every day, your electricity bill will likely be close to $300/month. If you use your A/C less, say just in your bedroom, your electricity bill will be more in the $100 to $150/month range.
Our gas bill in Seattle is around $100/month. Here in Puerto, where there are no in-ground gas pipes, our bottled gas bill for our propane range/stovetop and our propane dryer is about $10/month. $5 a month for each bottle.
As you can see, compared to our costs in Seattle, we have substantial savings in our home utility bills in Puerto Armuelles.
Now for a question, I also get, "how to pay your utility bills in Panama". In that article about paying utility bills, I also give some information on a few other household bills such as
