The last major project on our Must Do List. is DONE! We now have our Panamanian Drivers Licence and can legally drive here; not that we weren't driving anyway but we were quite overdue to get our local licences. We have done many things on our own but decided that it was worth paying a concierge service to help us with the four step process. One of the reasons is just finding ones way in Panama City. The "ciudad" has many one way streets and driving is complicated by a lack of street signs and no numbering system for buildings. Addresses are more like written out directions.... the white building across from the HSBC Bank on the corner of Avenida Balboa and Calle 50, next to the McDonalds Restaurante. You also have to contend with insane drivers coming at you from god knows where. Shiver, shiver.
Last time we took a taxi there we nearly got bashed twice in one short drive of 6 blocks.
The first step in the licence process was to visit a lab and get our blood tested for type. This info is shown on the actual licence. The clinic also tests your glucose but Sertracen, the private company that issues licences, doesn't want this info. Nobody told the lab.
Once you have this documentation in hand, you go to step two.
Our concierge was Tyrone, recommended to us by friends. Last Wednesday Tyrone drove us to Los Torres de las Americas, a very modern complex in the Punta Pacifica area of Panama City, where sparkling office towers sprout up by the day. This complex of two towers houses many companies, including the Canadian Embassy office we had to visit. After parking underground, we had to lineup at the reception desk, where we were photographed and then given a paper like a movie receipt with a barcode. We then went through turnstiles where your barcode is read and you gain access to the elevator area. Here you preprogram your floor selection and arrive at the designated floor in 10 secs. (I read the website)
From there, you pass another checkpoint before arriving at the embassy office. We presented our Ontario licences, which were photocopied and paid $50 bucks each. For this price the embassy authenticates your licence and produces a letter saying it is what it seems to be. When leaving, you pay $1.20 at the central reception and they give you a token to get out of the parking garage
The third step we left to Tyrone. He had to return to the embassy the next day to retrieve the letter and take it to The Panamanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Here the Canadian letter is verified as legal, stamped multiple times and this costs you $8.00 for the required stamps that are purchased at a bank. This step takes another day and then he picks up the paper and brings it to you.
Yesterday, we drove the 30 km.to Penonome, to do the final step. Here you present your papers and passport, answer some personal questions...height weight,address etc. and do eye and hearing tests. You pay $40 each to the cashier and in a few minutes you have a licence card with your picture and holographic symbols on it. Your licence is good for four years. All in all the process was painless and I'm glad we had Tyrone to do the running back and forth to P.C. That was a bargain at $75 and he is a personable and well spoken man. We will definely use his services again when we move our car licence from P.C. to Anton in January.
We were happy to hear from Tyrone that new drivers will now have to complete a private driving school course before they are eligible to take the written and road tests for their first licence. Hopefully, enforcement of the rules of the road will improve with time also.
If coming to Panama, be sure to pack your defensive driving skills. Don't let the skycrapers fool you. It's the wild west on wheels! Woo Hoo!
P.S. My avocado tree is growing! It's a foot tall and currently growing in a yogourt container. Avocados are grown in abundance here but it will be cool to have my own avocado tree in my own garden.
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