PC Outing for Our New Car

Our new 2001 Nissan Pathfinder at Costa Grande.
Note the window sticker: Fla. Intl. University

Yesterday we went into PC to purchase a car. We boughNew t a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder, with about 60K miles for $7200 from a private party. Alex spoke perfect English, as a result of his having been in the US for a good part of his life. He was in the army, went to Viet Nam, and later had a job as Children's PE instructor with the US department of defense.

The car has a Florida International University sticker on the back window. The seller's son attended there, as do many Panamanians. I am hoping that this sticker will decrease the number of stops by traffic police.

We spent the day standing in several lines to facilitate the transfer: a line for him to relinquish title, a line to make copies of my passport and his drivers license, a line at his bank to deposit the money, a line to create paperwork for me on the car, only to be told we had to first deposit $20 at a nearby bank, where we stood in line for an hour to deposit $20, and then stood in line to get to the person who would issue the title in my name. She was in a big hurry and had to redo my address and phone number on a second title.

We had planned on spending only a few hours with the help of an employee at a car dealership, but we would have had to return to PC on another day to pick up the paperwork. Both sides of the transaction wanted complete the deal yesterday. We wanted, among other things, to return our overpriced rental car.

By the time we finished up we were too tired to meet Rob and Donna for dinner. Instead we did a little shopping at Los Pueblos after taking in a movie: The Day the Earth Stood Still. It was worth the $3.50 we paid for the two of us. We splurged and got a large popcorn and two large sodas for $6.

My shopping find was some excellent thongs (flip flops!) for $1.99. They fit and did not rub the sides of my feet. I left them in my usual place this morning while I swam. When I returned they were gone! No repacement shoes, either, like the last thief who stole my shoes!

The car drove well on the way home. The potholes seem smaller. Our gas mileage will drop to about 15 mpg, but we can go more places off the main highway.