Back then, we had followed airline guidelines and purchased proper travel kennels for them. We were putting two of the dogs in the larger kennel together, and one in the smaller kennel.

Well, after training them so they’d be relaxed and groovy with this arrangement during the stress of the actual flight, the airlines went and changed the rules on us.

It wasn’t pretty.

I got a frantic call from my husband, who was back in Florida attempting to orchestrate the pet move.

“They’re telling me I can’t put two dogs together in the same kennel at all. What am I supposed to do?”

He checked with several airlines and got the same story from all of them. Apparently the whole “ship each pet separately” is a new IATA (International Air Transport Association) guideline. Nobody would deviate from it for any reason.

Pretty ironic when their first piece of advice about successful pet shipping is:

“It is important to train your animal to its new surroundings. Let it become familiar with the crate or kennel a few weeks or months before your planned departure. Animals behave perfectly fine when accustomed to the kennel or crate they are transported in.”

We even got a letter from our veterinarian stating his recommendation that the two who are used to rooming together travel together in the same kennel. The manager of the baggage department at the airline essentially slammed the door in my husband’s face.

This was not encouraging.

In the midst of it all, I flew back to Florida for our son’s wedding.

We decided it was more important to focus on family and friends for the weekend, and that we’d deal with the dog problems afterwards. I was able to compartmentalize, but my husband, apparently was not.

So, during the weekend, various family members tried to give me advice about what we should do with our dogs. I politely but firmly told each of them that we had agreed to put it on hold until after the wedding, and that I wanted to keep it that way.

Nevertheless, my father-in-law managed to tell me he thought we should take the dogs to the pound and be done with them. . .

It was hard work.

Anyway, the wedding was great, and it was wonderful to see friends and family.

The morning after the wedding we tackled the dog transport again. The four big problems were:

1. My husband was on his own. I was leaving Orlando to head up to Boston to help my college daughter with something, and was already booked to fly directly back to Panama from Boston.
2. From a purely logistical standpoint, my husband didn’t see how he could get himself, two large suitcases and his boxed-up bicycle, as well as the three dogs and three kennels, to their different drop-off locations at the airport, get the rental car returned and get himself onto the plane.
3. We had trained our three dogs (and bought kennels) for shipping two together and one on his own. Now we would have to buy a new kennel and ship each separately, which they were not used to
4. Temperature restrictions were becoming an inevitable issue. The airlines won’t board an animal if the temperature at departure, layover, or arrival would be over 85 degrees. Given the time of year and a departure from Orlando, layover in Miami and destination in Panama City, Panama, those temperatures were pretty much guaranteed.

Because of the temperature restrictions, my husband would need to buy an unrestricted (i.e., very expensive) ticket so he could change his flight if need be. That also added an element of uncertainty and another level of expense — more nights in a hotel, additional car rental fees, meals, etc.

Our oldest son, who’s very logical, listened to our tale of woe. He asked probing questions.

I mentioned that we still had the option to hire a pet moving professional to handle logistics for us. I had already contacted a recommended Panama pet mover and gotten a rough estimate of the cost for that service.

Our son did the math and pointed out that the cost of hiring a professional wouldn’t be much more than the cost of doing it ourselves, with all those extra costs.

So, although we’re very much bootstrapping, do-it-yourselfers, with bit the bullet and hired Panama Pet Relocation.

Total cost for their services? A whopping $4,200 (keep in mind every situation is unique with different needs and costs).

Part of that covered costs that would have come straight out of our pockets in any case:

• USDA certification
• Consular apostille
• flight costs
• veterinarian fees at Tocumen International Airport ($130/dog, or $390)
• other charges

They determined that the best way to get the dogs from Orlando to Panama was to drive them first to Miami, then fly them out of Miami at night.

So last Thursday morning, a driver picked them up and drove them to Miami.

After the dogs’ departure for Miami, my husband flew out of Orlando on Thursday afternoon, arriving in Panama that evening.

On Thursday, the company went to the USDA and the consulate for those approvals, and at 11 PM the dogs flew out on a DHL plane, arriving at PTY at 2 AM. They stayed there until 7 when the vet arrived, and then the company took them through the veterinary clearance process, delivering them to my husband at his hotel at about 10:30 AM.

From there, three very excited (but sadly dehydrated!!) dogs and my husband left Panama City for Las Tablas. For this part of the trip, we hired a van and driver. At a cost of $400, it wasn’t much more than the out-of-pocket costs to rent the van, gas it up, drive it to Las Tablas and then back to Panama City, and without the wear and tear of doing it when already exhausted.

Happily, they’re all here now and have had a couple of days to relax. The dogs seem to be adjusting well to their new home.

If You’re Planning to Bring the Family Pet(s). . .

If you have a dog or cat — especially if it can travel in the cabin under the seat — you shouldn’t have a lot of difficulty bringing your pet with you to Panama. As long as it’s healthy and you’ve done the paperwork, the process will be pretty straightforward and not very expensive.

However, if you have more than one, think long and hard about the new IATA guidelines. Requiring each animal to have its own kennel, in my opinion, has everything to do with profits and nothing at all to do with the animals’ welfare. It adds layers of difficulty and expense to the process.

My husband admits that, had he had any inkling of how complicated it would become, he’d have seriously thought about finding new homes for one or two of the dogs months ago. That was definitely not an option at the last minute.

In our situation, although not what we planned or anticipated, hiring a professional to handle the logistics and take the stress was well worth it.

But I hope we never have to go through that again.

Expat Sites

1. AngloInfo Panama. AngloInfo has been providing English-language information for expats in a variety of locations. The Panama site has just launched. It’s a good all-around resource, very focused on Panama City.
2. La Vita e Bella, two American expats living la dolce vita in Florence, Italy.
3. Joburg Expat is the site of Sine, a German serial expat who’s lived on four continents with husband and kids.
4. Northern Beaches Know-How. If you’re thinking about moving to Sydney, Australia, check out this site. There’s a wealth of good, actionable information here.
5. Leaving America is an interesting melange of thoughts, ideas and information from a serial expat originally from the US.

Travel

6. Curious Places is a photo journal showing all sorts of interesting and wacky places around the world.
7. 175 Days Around the World chronicles the travels of Christian Haugen, from Vietnam to Argentina. Nice photos!
8. Technosyncratic Travel, the wanderings of two digital nomads, Kali and Christy.
9. Twenty-Something Travel is the blog of another perpetual traveler, a single woman who hopes to help others launch their international adventures.
10. Exile Lifestyle is another PT (perpetual traveler) site. Colin Wright moves to a new place every four months, and he crowd-sources the decision about where to go among his readers! He’s a portable careerist who sells t-shirts, books and branding.

Portable Careers

11. 64 Ways Location Independent People Earn a Living. One of many excellent articles, if you’re considering a portable career you should read this!

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

I don’t know what happened, but between a very slow internet connection and who-knows-what, I was unable to get the boarding pass. My check-in was fine, but no printed proof.

So I took a different tack. I picked up my smart phone and went to the airline’s website where I was able to download the confirmation for mobile devices.

Turns out it’s a little QR code.

I assume when I get to the airport I just hold my phone up to a reader somewhere that will scan that QR code and spit out a boarding pass for me. I’ll let you know for sure after I’ve done it.

This is not the first time since I arrived that I’ve relied more on my phone than on my computer.

Not everyone needs — or even wants — the level of connectedness I have. But I’m very happy I chose a smart phone that lets me receive my email, browse the internet, and take advantage of GPS navigation.

If you’re thinking about a smart phone to take overseas with you from the US, there are some things you should know up front.

Buy an Unlocked GSM Phone

In the US, most phones are “locked” to a specific provider — AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc. This means if you want to change providers you can’t expect the same phone to work.

Most countries don’t do this. In most parts of the world you purchase a phone and you can use it with any provider you want.

If you want to take your US phone abroad you’re likely to have a problem.

The solution is to buy an unlocked phone.

You also need to choose a phone (and service provider) that uses GSM (Global Systems for Mobile Communications). GSM is the standard throughout Europe, Asia and Central and South America.

In the US, Sprint and Metro PCS use a non-GSM system, so if you want a phone to use there, choose a different provider as well. (You can see more information about these standards here.)

You can find unlocked phones on eBay, Amazon.com and several other places.

Make sure the voice and data will work in the country(s) you plan to visit

If you want to use your phone for calls in multiple countries, buy a quad band device. It’ll work for voice calls almost anywhere in the world.

Data’s a little trickier, and sadly I learned this the hard way.

In the Americas you have your speedy 3G and 4G networks. In Europe and Asia, they use a different system.

Unaware of this, when I bought my unlocked Android phone, I chose one made for the European market. If I go to Europe or Japan, I’ll enjoy lightning fast data connections. Unfortunately, in the US and Panama, my internet is s-l-o-w.

Lesson learned, so I hope you can benefit from my mistake.

Panama’s a small country, with a population of about 3.5 million, so they don’t have a big talent pool to draw on. Making it even more surprising that they can at least a dozen major league teams.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a playoff game between Los Santos and Herrera. In Las Tablas, where I’m living now, Los Santos is the home team.

It was a fun evening, and a great value for live sports entertainment.

Now, I have to be honest. I’m not a sports enthusiast.

Before this game, the last live sporting event I attended was in 1995 or thereabouts. Our older daughter was in marching band in high school, and during her senior year they did a half-time thing with band parents during a football game. So we showed up for our command performance to support the band and our daughter.

Back to the recent ball game. . .

Las Tablas has its own stadium, which was bursting at the seams during this game. Panama City has a spectacular new stadium, which sadly is never full, but the Los Santos supporters always make a good showing.

Along with my expat neighbors, I had a seat in the front row behind home plate. Cost? A whopping $5.

Here’s a little video I shot of the stadium just as the game was starting.

The evening was enlivened by the antics of a local businessman. Jim owns a sports bar/restaurant called Ponchalos (“Ponchalo” means “strike out”).

Jim, an expat from the Boston area, goes to the games in face paint, a bushy orange wig (orange is Los Santos’ color) and an orange Ponchalos t-shirt. When the opposing team has two strikes, Jim whips into action.

Holding up a sign, he stands in front of the crowd yelling “Ponchalo! Ponchalo!”

Soon they’re chanting with him.

Jim believes It’s good promotion for his business. He’s capitalizing on the Panamanians’ love of baseball in his marketing.

And he gets lots of attention. Recently he was asked to throw the first pitch, an honor usually reserved for visiting dignitaries.

Ponchalos serves American-style food: hamburgers, fries, chicken wings, chili dogs, and pizza are on the menu.

Expats, no matter how willing they are to integrate into the local community, still hunger for the familiar comfort foods of home, and Jim’s trying to supply that need. He’s a good example of an expat seeing a need, finding a niche, and building a business around it.

Another US expat came to Las Tablas to retire. But when local friends found out about his background as an electrician, they started begging him to work on their properties. He keeps as busy as he wants — maybe a little too busy, in fact, and he never looks for work.

There are lots of needs that could be filled here. I’ve spotted several (all food related. . . hmmm. . .).

For example, there’s no coffee shop in town. I’d love to have a place where I could go for a good cup of coffee and conversation.

Fresh vegetables here are a bit of a challenge. I think someone could do well offering a weekly service to bring in fresh, organic produce. And if they could find a way to supply some kind of lettuce besides iceburg, I’d pay a premium for it!

Or how about peanut butter — the real stuff, not the kind that’s full of added sugar and hydrogenated oils which are so unhealthy.

Here’s an idea that’s not food related — my husband, who’s an avid bicyclist, is considering putting together some bicycle tours.

Lots of expats open hostels, B&Bs, hotels, bars and restaurants. But if you’re thinking about starting a bricks and mortar business here, there’s lots of expertise that’s needed.

While not the portable careers I usually write about, there’s lots of room here for entrepreneurs to start all sorts of profitable businesses.

photo courtesy of Ponchalos.com

How? By writing travel articles about what I discover.

If the prospect of getting paid to experience the best the world has to offer appeals to you, then you might want to consider travel writing as a portable career.

Travel writing ticks all the boxes

• It’s completely portable
• No special expertise required — you can learn everything you need
• You get to travel and enjoy attractions, hotels and restaurants — often on someone else’s dime

Following are four books and a fabulous live event that will help you learn what you need to start earning money writing about your travels.

1. Lonely Planet Travel Writing (How to).In it you’ll find lots of
   • Insider tips
   • Exercises and examples
   • Secrets of creating a compelling story
   • How to conduct research
   • Resources
   • Industry organizations
2. TRAVEL WRITING 2.0: Earning Money from your Travels in the New Media LandscapeHere you’ll learn to be a “new media” travel writer.You’ll learn from dozens of working travel writers, editors and publishers about navigating both print and electronic media as a travel writer.
3. Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler (Travelers’ Tales Guides)
4. Travel Writing: See the World. Sell the Story.

The Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop

We all learn differently. If reading about something in a book doesn’t do it for you, here’s a top-notch workshop that can teach you everything you need to start your portable career as a travel writer.

Spend three days in beautiful San Francisco with experts who’ll teach you how to collect paychecks for your travel. And you’ll also learn how to add to your writing income by including photographs with your stories — even if all you have is a point and shoot camera.

In three fun-filled days you can experience San Francisco and jump start your portable career in travel writing.

Get all the workshop details here.

photo by jeffgunn on flickr

I won’t rehash all the reasons you need a VPN (virtual private network) — you can see them here.

Just think of it as a must-have service if you’re to access all the websites you’re used to, and to continue doing business online with your bank back home. (It helps keep others from spying on you when you’re using public WiFi as well.)

For occasional, limited use, you can use a free VPN service like HotSpot Shield.

Unfortunately, the free version serves ads and runs pretty slowly, so if you want to amp up your browsing speeds and ditch the ads, be prepared to pay for VPN service.

Here are some that come well recommended.

VyprVPN

Claiming to be the world’s fastest VPN, VyprVPN (aff) will give you a secure virtual network connection on your computer (Windows, Mac or Linux) as well as your iPhone or Android phone. No limits on uploads or downloads, and available in a regular version ($14.99/month) and a pro version ($19.99/month). They offer a 7-day money-back guarantee.

Choose from servers in the US, Netherlands, France, Asia, UK or Germany.

Personal, fast and secure VPN

Pure VPN

PureVPN (aff) offers a trial account for $2.50. There are three different plans, with varying access to services. Prices range from $9.95/month to $160/year. They offer a money-back guarantee, but only for three days.

Servers are located in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Romania, Singapore, Switzerland, Russia, Malaysia, Ireland and Panama.

Find out more about PureVPN here.

Strong VPN

Strong (aff) has several different plans, with prices starting at $55/year. Their service looks a bit more complicated than some of the others, but they get rave reviews for their 24/7 live customer support.

Right now they’re offering three months for $21 if you want to try them out. They also have a 7-day money-back guarantee.

They seem to do an especially good job getting around the firewalls in China, and they can also protect your iPhone or Android phone.

Visit StrongVPN.com
Visit StrongVPN.com

Hide My Ass

Yes, I kid you not, that’s its name. They pretty much refer to themselves as “HMA.” Anyway, HMA (aff) offers a 30-day guarantee. They offer service at a monthly fee of $11.52, or you can purchase a six- or 12-month package at considerable savings, $50.66 or $78.66 respectively. They point out that they don’t have any bandwidth limitations and you’re not restricted to a single server.

They have 241 servers in 42 countries.

Learn more about HMA here

Hotspot Shield

This is the one I’ve been using. I chose Hotspot Shield because they were recommended by PC Magazine, and their cost is reasonable — $44.99 annually, or $4.99 monthly. You can even get a plan where you pay $0.50 per day — good if you only need it a few days at a time throughout the year.

Hide My Net

With low rates of $4/month, Hide My Net was one of the less expensive options. It’s a US-based company, and they’ve been around since 1998 — an eternity in the fast-moving internet world.

If Privacy is Your Biggest Concern

While each of these VPN’s secures your connection, they don’t guarantee your privacy. Online privacy is a big can of worms, but if that’s your chief concern, check out this list of higher-privacy VPN services.

Have you used a VPN that’s not on this list? What did you like/dislike about it? Use the Comments to help your fellow expats out.

I’m talking about mobile.

Fewer people today are accessing the internet from a PC than from a mobile device. Most of us use laptops, netbooks, tablets and even smart phones. So if you’re offering a blog, you need to make sure it’s readable on any and all of these devices.

Mobile devices are expected to overtake desktop devices in 2014, according to this article. Sitepronews.com states:

“Approximately 900 million people currently access the web with mobile phones, compared to 1.4 billion desktop Internet users. In 2014, mobile web users will outpace desktop users (approximately 1.7 billion mobile users to approximately 1.65 billion desktop users). By 2015, the number of mobile web users is expected to increase to 2 billion.”

(If you want to see what your site looks like on a mobile device, here’s a list of 10 tools for testing your site on mobile devices, and another one here.)

The old school way to make a WordPress site mobile-friendly was to install a plugin that would recognize when a reader was viewing your site on a mobile device and would serve them up a different, easier-to-read version.

Today, though, more and more developers are creating themes to be fully mobile responsive.

This means WordPress will recognize the device the viewer is using and adjust accordingly to provide an attractive, easily readable version of your site on the device.

Here are 14 fully mobile responsive themes for your expat blog (aff).

1. Generate Theme — when your top priority is collecting email addresses
2. Balance — an easy minimalist design
3. (in)SPYR — lots of customized features built in, like a dynamic slider
4. Agency — a very professional theme
5. Mocha — sophisticated, uncluttered and upscale
6. Driskill — A perfect marriage of timeless design with modern capabilities
7. Whitelight — full width featured slider, portfolio management (great for photographers and designers)
8. Currents — newspaper style theme with featured slider and lots of other goodies
9. Buro — elegant business theme
10. Olya — business portfolio theme
11. Evolution — more like a CMS (content management system) than a pure blog, this is an elegant responsive theme
12. Aggregate — another magazine-style CMS theme
13. Chameleon — simple and professional with loads of customization options
14. Gleam — for showing off your portfolio

Do you have a favorite mobile responsive theme you’d like to recommend? Let us know in the Comments!