The Panama Adventure

This question come up quite a bit. I’m am no expert on anything but I thought I’d share a few thoughts.

The advice that you will hear from everyone who isn’t trying to sell you something – live in your intended location for at least six months, preferably over a year before you even think of buying something. You need a test run of living here beyond the honeymoon phase. You need to be sure you like the country, the culture, the people, and the pace of life. You need to be sure you like the climate in both the rainy and dry season. Most important, you can make friends and connections. Through them you can learn more about the area, learn what is a fair price for a property, and probably find likely places to rent or buy. There is no MLS here. This country runs on relationships. Your local friends can help you a lot.

OK, you have been here a while and it’s time for some decisions. Renting vs buying is an individual decision based on many factors.

We are happy renters.

• At this stage of our lives we don’t want the responsibility of caring for and maintaining a house. We are happy to address little things but if the septic overflows or the fuse box blows up, the landlord is responsible.
• Our money is in the bank, not in a house. We don’t have a hefty bank account or income, so we feel better having quick access to our money if something unexpected would happen.
• If we change our minds or circumstances, it’s very easy to leave. We have no mortgage or equity to lose.
• If something happens to both of us, our kids would be responsible for wrapping up loose ends. In our case the neighbors could have the contents of the house and the keys would be returned to our rental agent. There would be nothing more significant than a used car left behind.

We also know some happy home owners

• A house can be a good investment and you can built up equity. You lock in your price and no one can raise the rent or ask you to leave.
• I have heard some people say they prefer investing in a Panama property rather than than leaving that money in the US.
• You can do whatever you wish to the house –  remodel, build, make changes however you like and they are yours to enjoy, and they hopefully add to the value to the house.
• You have real roots in the community and the locals will see that you have made the commitment to live here.

But, there are some downsides to both options.

As a renter, the landlord can ask you to leave or raise the rent. You don’t know what you will be paying next year or in 10 years. I have heard about landlords who can be difficult to work with, who don’t want to fulfill their responsibilities, or who cause other problems. Even if allowed, you don’t want to make many improvements to someone else’s property.

As a home owner you will need to sell the house at some point (or your heirs will). Sometimes houses take a long time to sell. Certain styles, locations, ages, and price ranges can really limit your pool of potential buyers. If circumstances cause you to leave Panama, it is difficult to manage, sell, or rent a property from a distance. Renting doesn’t always work out either if you can’t get a tenant, or you get a bad tenant who damages your home or leaves unpaid bills.

I have been talking with quite a few people lately who are thinking about moving to Panama. Hopefully these thoughts will be helpful. A mistake can be financially and emotionally costly.  I’d much rather see everyone happy with the decisions they have made, and happy with their new lives in Panama.

I keep a container of water in the back yard for the birds, and it gets used quite a bit. Some come just to drink, and other come to also bathe. I have also seen iguanas and possums enjoying the chance for a drink.

One of the most frequent visitors is this clay colored thrush. I think it’s the same bird but of course I can’t tell for sure. It always comes alone though and bathes with great enthusiasm, often multiple times a day.

Often it splashes and flaps, and then goes up to the tree to continue flapping. A short time later it will return and repeat the process.

Sometimes, however, it will just stand in the water for minutes at a time.

This is not a glamorous or colorful bird, but it feels like an old friend after so many visits.

A very small baby iguana also visited the other day

You don’t need to leave your backyard to be entertained by all the wildlife that visits every day. Life is good in Panama!

My friend Andrea invited me to go on a hike to some waterfalls in the Los Angeles area. I had seen pictures from her previous hike there and it looked amazing. So, I agreed to get up in the middle of the night (5AM fits that definition for me), carpool with my friends John and Susan, and go hiking.

I woke up and it was dry. I headed up to our meeting point on the Caldera intersection, ran into quite a bit of fog, and then rain. It rained to Gualaca where the group was to gather, dried a bit, and then rained again all the way to the beginning of the hike. When we arrived the rain was just starting to let up.

We park our cars just as the sky is showing signs of clearing a bit

We set off down the very muddy path past the cows, greeting a couple men on horses as we go

The view looking back over our shoulders is beautiful i

beautiful!

I am not a good hiker. I am inexperienced, slow, and you do not want to hike with me. If you don’t believe me, ask anyone on that hike! I had my good sandals. It sounded like a great idea, comfortable, secure, and good for wearing in water (I know rivers here are rocky). But, I had never worn them in mud before. As soon as the mud got in them I was sliding around in my shoes and it was very hard to walk. I pushed on though, tightening them as much as possible and carefully picking my way along. By the time I got to an uneven field though it was clear that I could not walk at all. By now half of the attachments on the right sandal had broken and the sole was pulling away from the shoe.

I decided that I had to go back to the car where thankfully, I had stashed my hiking boots. My friend John said he could make much better time than I could in my inappropriate footwear. So, the hike stopped, everyone hung out in a field for what seemed like forever while he went back to the car. Apparently I had come farther than I thought. If I had had any sense I would have changed my mind about the footwear shortly after the muddy road but I didn’t want to be a problem. This turned out to be a much bigger problem in the long run for everyone waiting and for John who had to hike a lot more than he planned.

As we wait in the field, the fog rolls in

Soon it is so foggy it is hard to see anything

Eventually the fog clears a bit, and a cow comes walking and mooing towards us.

I decided to backtrack a bit to see if I can connect with John a bit sooner, and pass this sow and a piglet

Then, the rest of the piglets approach

When the cows approached in the field I wasn’t totally comfortable. They looked like they were all female and calm but still, they are quite large and could be a threat if they wanted to be. I headed back on the path hoping to catch up with John a bit sooner. Eventually he returned with the shoes and it was amazing! I could walk again! What a difference good footwear makes. We head back to the field where everyone was waiting so we could finally be on our way.

I return to find many cows in the field peacefully sharing it with the hikers

The view behind continues to be amazing

We proceed past the cow pasture to see we are quite high up with a view of a great distance

Now the fun really began. The grass was high enough that it was hard to see rocks and holes under foot, and soon it was a fairly steep downhill. That was nothing compared to what lay ahead though. We had to make our way down a very steep, muddy, slippery embankment that led down to the river. There wasn’t always something to hang on to and though it wasn’t dignified, I did a fair amount of it sliding on my butt. I figured getting there in one piece was the main objective.

We made it! You can also see the upper waterfall at the top of the photo

The photos do not do this justice

There were multiple waterfalls at this spot

The next objective was to cross the river and make your way up to the upper waterfall

A hiker makes her way up the slippery rocks

More hikers heading up

We made it!

My friends John and Susan also wave from above

The view looking downstream

As we left, I snapped another picture downstream where you can see the river below

I didn’t go to the upper level. The rocks were wet and very slippery and I am not good at that sort of thing. It was so beautiful where I was I didn’t feel like I was missing anything, and it just wasn’t worth the risk. Besides, my friend Andrea had photos from her earlier trip which I will share below, so none of us have to miss anything.

After a while everyone came back and we made our way up the muddy, slippery embankment which I found very difficult. Thankfully our guide gave me a strong hand up on the more difficult places, and I did the steeper parts on my knees, not my feet, so I eventually made it up. Again, not dignified, but I made it.

Then, the next objective was to go to another spot on the river and see a couple more waterfalls.

We head farther down through more long grass

a pretty shrub in the woods

We got to the next site and I immediately knew it wasn’t for me. The embankment down was much steeper than the first one. Another hiker who was recovering from a past ankle injury and I both decided to sit this one out, so we went back up a ways to a shady spot with a fallen log to sit on. We chatted, ate our snacks, she cleaned and treated my scratches (thank you Jackie), and we enjoyed the interesting bugs, spiders, and butterflies that came by.

This was a very wise choice. The others said the climb down and back was indeed more difficult. The rocks below were also very slippery, the current was strong, and if one lost their footing crossing the river one could easily be swept down river where a 30 meter drop to the rocks below awaited. If someone got hurt down there I don’t know how anyone would ever get them out.

A couple other hikers decided not to cross the river, so they made their way back up after telling the guide that they would pick us up and we would all go back to the cars.

We make our way back up to the beautiful views above

We go through the cow pasture where there are more cows now, and calves, and a bull but thankfully all are peaceful and don’t bother us

Then, back down the muddy path to the cars

We have done some hiking down by the river below us, and I went on the Pipeline Trail hike in Boquete which was a smooth path all the way. I was told by others that yesterday I went from beginner level to the big leagues in one jump. That’s for sure! I’m so glad I didn’t try to get down to the river at the second site. As it was I was tired, really sweaty, and covered with mud. Today many parts of my body are sore. My knees, my biggest weakness, are really unhappy with me.

Something to keep in mind for outdoor activities in Panama is the season. I think this hike would have been easier in the dry season. The people who had done this last May said the grass wasn’t so high, there was less water in the river so more rocks were exposed and more importantly, they were dry and not slippery. The way up and down embankments would have been much better also when they weren’t muddy and slippery.

Last, but hardly least, here are the pictures from that hike in May that my friend Andrea said I was welcome to share (thank you Andrea!) They include a little poison dart frog. We saw one on our way up the embankment but my photos weren’t in focus, so I’m glad you can see one here.

Some friends and I have had so much fun biking that we’ve decided to go out every other weekend. Today we met at the intersection of Via Boquete and the road to Caldera and drove east a few miles. We found a place to park and continued southeast on our bikes for a couple miles, and then turned south towards Gualaca.

The cows noticed us parking and a bunch of them came over to see what was going on.

I love the misty mountains

I could tell you how beautiful it was but the photos can speak for themselves.

We set out on this lovely morning through this beautiful scenery.

It looks flat but it was actually downhill enough that you didn’t need to pedal. We got our exercise coming back up.

We passed a teak farm

I love the green patches on the mountains where the sun hits them

My friends like to set out early before it gets too hot. I grumble about getting up before my usual time but when I get out there, especially in the beauty we saw today, I forget all about grumbling.

My friends bike ahead of me with Volcan Baru towering in front of them

As we came back I liked the wispy clouds that were starting to touch the mountains

A pretty farm

As we headed back the clouds were changing the views every time I looked up, and I couldn’t resist stopping for photo after photo.

Baru with an ever changing formation of clouds

I love the misty mountains in the distance

Misty mountains without the zoom

Sometimes I still can’t believe that I get to live here. This is an amazingly beautiful country! Thank you John and Susan for biking with me this morning and for choosing such a fantastic route.

Valle Escondido (Hidden Valley) is a very upscale, gated community in Boquete. It is indeed escondido though. I’ve been to Boquete quite a few times but had never seen it. Joel’s friend and drummer lives there at his parents’ house, so Joel has been there and knows how to find it. Yesterday we decided a field trip was in order so went out exploring.

The drive there, actually driving anywhere in the area is a pleasure since it is such a beautiful area.

We passed green mountains and lot of coffee plants like these on the left

The area is known for flowers. This is just a small example of the beautiful flowers that can be seen everywhere

Eventually we found our way to the guard gate that guards the entrance to the neighborhood

Valle Escondido has a resort and their website is here. According to the website there are rooms, suites, and bungalows, and the resort looks very health oriented with yoga, swimming, a spa, golf, tennis, and a restaurant serving locally grown organic food. Check the website for details.

I believe this is a hydroponic garden where they grow some of the food for the restaurant

Condos? Rooms for guests?

part of the golf course

A pretty river runs through the area

bungalows

Beyond the resort and condos, and past another gate is a very upscale housing area.

the grounds are beautiful and well tended

one of the many beautiful houses

the view from our friend’s terrace. He says the developer of the area owns that house below

There beautiful trumpet flowers can be seen everywhere. They are white, yellow, pink, or orange and smell very sweet at night

Another of the homes in the area

and another house

I was really interesting to see this area since I’d heard about it for quite a while. I know there is more to see also. There is an amphitheater somewhere also that had a lot of the performances for the Blues and Jazz Festival that took place last year.

we passed the restaurant on our way out

more beautiful flowers on the grounds

I almost felt like I was in a upscale part of Naples, Florida. In a way it seemed odd to me. If someone wants to be surrounded with beautiful, huge homes and perfectly tended and manicured landscaping, Panama is not the place. How do these people feel when they leave the neighborhood and land in town? Does it make them crazy? Streets have pot holes, sidewalks are often broken or nonexistent, people park anywhere on crowded streets, weeds grow, and trash isn’t always picked up. Panama is a lot of wonderful things but perfectly clean and manicured isn’t one of them.

I’m glad I got to see the area though and an added, unexpected bonus – when we drove by the home of Joel’s friend and drummer his wife was outside. Of course we had to stop and say hi, so we were invited in and we had a great time hanging out and talking with them. And, she had been outside talking with the couple who own the Cacoa Cafe that I just posted about, and that is how we learned about the restaurant.

We left as the sun was getting lower in the sky, and the mist was moving in.

Sometimes when you set out on an adventure, you have no idea what a great day is ahead of you. We definitely have to get out more and have more adventures.

We have a beautiful river behind our house. I’ve posted a lot of photos in the past but it’s been a while, so I figured I could post some more. We also have a new way of getting to the river. There is a road behind our house but it has been so overgrown that it was useless until the teak guys came to the neighborhood (I posted a bit about harvesting teak in this post) They had to bring the logs up from down by the river so they cleared the road, and now we get to use it to visit the river.

I think the heavy rains have made the ruts on either side of the road a lot deeper but with care and good shoes, it’s a good way to get down there.

We got down below, made our way through some brush, and there was our river!

Everything is so green in the rainy season

There river isn’t deep here and there are a lot of rocks, so the sound of the water is loud enough to be easily heard up at our house

I set out behind Joel as we make our way through the woods

Of course I had to stop frequently because there was always another pretty scene

Instead of going back the way we came, we decided to make our way along the river to the stairs that lead back up to our neighborhood. It’s more of a scramble over rocks and fallen trees than a walk, but it’s fun and there are always interesting things to see as well as beautiful views.

It’s time to scramble over the rocks

Interesting things on a fallen tree

The tree on the left is huge, but the one on the right is massive!

We have strangler figs, trees that climb up and wrap themselves around other trees until they eventually kill the host tree. This one looks like it wrapped around two trees and made some really interesting shapes in the process.

More interesting things on a fallen tree

Getting closer. The rock wall on the other side is visible from our destination

We eventually made our way to the path that leads to the stairs. It’s hot and humid down there so by now we were really…. ahem….  glistening and I was a bit muddy from climbing over and under things, but we were rewarded by my favorite sight of the day.

Here the water is deep and quiet. I love the reflections and the calmness of this spot. It is rare that we see anyone else at the river, so usually the quiet is only broken by the birds that fly over the water or sing from the trees above.

I took the time to snap a few more photos before we left

I love the river

Quite a few of these interesting plants were blooming in the woods

We also saw some of these pretty blue flowers

At first the stairs rise so slowly they are more like a path, but later they get a lot steeper

Check out that huge vine climbing up the also huge tree

Before long, we are back in the neighborhood.

You would never find the stairs if you didn’t know where to look. Do you see that small mossy spot in the lower middle of the picture? They start right behind there.

A neighbor’s papaya tree is doing very well

We are so lucky to live where we do! Not only do we have a house that’s just perfect for us, in a nice quiet neighborhood with really nice neighbors, we are surrounded by woods with this beautiful river just beyond.

We had a delightful and unexpected surprise yesterday. We decided to take the day off and explore some of Boquete I hadn’t seen. We ran into Steve and Donna who were talking about their new restaurant, so we decided to check it out on our way home. We were really impressed! The restaurant is called the Cacao Cafe and their website is here. Check it out for a bit of information about Mayan food, the specialty of this restaurant.

The restaurant is next to the dollar store on the main road in Boquete

How often can you watch the owner cook your dinner for you?

We rarely eat out. We make great food at home so it usually isn’t worth it. This wasn’t the case last night though. The food was excellent, inexpensive, and a bit different than our usual fare.

Joel had sauteed beef with onions and peppers, rice and salad. It was very flavorful.

I thought this was chicken chowder, though I don’t see that item on the menu. It sure was good! It was a stew of chicken, beans, and corn with cacao in the mix, just wonderful. The corn bread on top was also excellent and complimented the dish perfectly, and a salad was served on the side.

The salad dressing was cacao and balsamic vinegar, very different and very interesting.

My chocolate flan was excellent. Apparently I was so excited I only snapped one picture not exactly in focus before I ate the entire thing.

Bread pudding – Joel raved about this all though dessert and all the way home!

We were the last people there and it was dark when we left. As we got into the car I turned around and saw this pretty scene.

The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Donna told us that many people come just for the coffee since it is so good. Other friends told us that the breakfast is excellent and a very good value for $5. These are photos of their menu (taken from their website)

I think these people deserve to succeed so if you are in Boquete, stop by and see if you like them as much as we did.

We haven’t tracked our expenses for a long time. Like everywhere, it seems that costs are gradually creeping up so I was curious to see if this was indeed true. It is, but thankfully we are still doing very well.

Our house today

Our House in Oct 2012

We live in a Panamanian, middle class neighborhood on the north side of David. The house has three bedrooms and two baths, and I’m guessing it’s almost 1000 sq ft. I’ve planted a lot of things in the yard so I included an old photo where you can actually see the house.

Basic expenses (in dollars) –

• house – 385
• cable/internet – 67.44
• electricity – 34.59
• car insurance – 48.30 (two cars, one full coverage, other liability only)
• netflix – 9.99
• data plans on two iPhones – 22.44
• TOTAL – 567.76

We rented the house almost four years ago and our rent hasn’t increased. A similar house today could cost a bit more. Water and trash are included in our rent (around $11 month for both) We did a report for July 2013, exactly three years ago, so this is a good basis of comparison. At that time cable/internet cost 59.06 (so today it’s 8.38 more). Electricity has remained pretty much the same. We have AC now but rarely use it. Car insurance is also about the same. I apparently didn’t list Netflix in the old report, and we didn’t have devices with data plans at that time. We also have the phones for talking and add money as needed, but since we use them very little for this we rarely need to add money.

• Food – 400.90

I thought this might be significantly higher, but according to the old report the average was also around $400/month. We bought three pigs in the last year so we eat a fair amount of pork that was paid for months ago, but otherwise our food buying habits haven’t changed significantly.

• current TOTAL – 968.66  This covers our basic expenses, the basic necessities of daily living.

The next category is miscellaneous, non essential expenses and those were quite high this last month, mainly because I bought a new camera for $180 (the display went out on my old one, and I was told it’s cheaper to just buy another so I bought a little, basic point and shoot camera for daily use). Then we had other things like beer and liquor (though I see we have four cases of beer on hand at the moment! We went a bit nuts at Pricesmart), my audio book habit, a couple lunches out, art class and supplies, couple OTC reading glasses, cold medicine, few things for the house, and some new ear buds. Total 423.95, or 243.95 without the camera, for a total of 1212.61 without the camera.

There’s always something in the miscellaneous category though – car repairs, something for the house, my books and art habits. etc. so when making a budget allow wiggle room for extras.

I’m really really happy to see that we continue to live well within our budget! This allows us enough extra for a bit of travel, and those very important and expensive trips back to the US to see my family. Since we have no immediate travel plans, however, I think I’ll continue to track expenses for another month just to see if anything in significantly different.

If you are reading this report to get an idea what if might cost you to live in Panama, keep a few things in mind. Panama City is significantly more expensive. Rents can easily be $1000/month and more for what most expats would consider a decent place. In the interior (anywhere outside of Panama City) rents vary widely. You can expect to pay more where there are lots of expats like Coronado or Boquete. You can pay much less in more rural areas. I know someone paying $125 for a decent little house in a small town not far from here.

Food is another significant expense. The advice to save money is always “eat like a Panamanian”. Eat local food. Make friends with the most tight fisted Panamanian you can find and let them teach you where they shop and what they buy. Imported food is available but it will cost more. Eating at restaurants will also raise your costs.

Internet is another expense that can vary a lot depending on area, so be sure to ask about this before you settle on a place to live. The speed and reliability can also vary a lot.

Electricity can vary widely depending on AC use. I know people with less than $10/month and others with more than $400. If you need to be cool, stay out of city centers and try going higher in the mountains.

Ask about water reliability also. Water isn’t expensive, but if your intended area has a lot of problems with keeping it flowing it might not be a comfortable place to live.

I think that’s all the advice I have at the moment. I hope you have found our report helpful.

This bar is on the Pan-American highway, not far from the Via Boquete overpass. It’s my favorite place to cross the highway on my bike, so I pass it often. Sometimes on Sunday mornings it’s a rockin place with music blaring and people having fun. Today, it was quieter with only a few guys enjoying their beer. But, it’s unusual to see a horse parked outside.

I usually feel a bit uncomfortable pointing a camera at someone, but often the Panamanians are delighted that you want a photo of them and they are happy to pose. This guy stood proudly by his horse with his most dignified expression on his face.

The owner of the horse had been talking to a couple guys seated at a table inside. They each had a number of beer bottles in from of them, and they assured me that the horse also was getting his share.

It’s fun living here. You never know what you will see or who you will end up talking to.

I’ve been sorting through recent photos and found some to share, Most of them are flowers and butterflies, many taken with my macro lens.

The plantains are getting plumper

This pretty butterfly landed on one of the leaves

Then it landed on a cut stem

The wings are really pretty when they are closed as well

My neighbor gave me this pretty plant

Our latest crop of bananas is coming along

A red ti plant an some brown banana leaves

We were coming back from Boquete one day at sunset and the sky was really beautiful

there are usually beautiful clouds in front of the mountain

This pretty butterfly landed on my table

One of the gingers has these little white flowers on top of the pink ones

This lacy little vine with the pink flowers has really taken off this year

We brought home a wild orchid from the woods and it is blooming at the moment

more wild orchid flowers

a bit of moss growing on the orange tree

another ti plant we found somewhere and brought home

more red ti plants

these plants come up every rainy season and make these interesting flowers

the butterfly came back and landed on my bicycle basket

Happy Sunday! It looks like it’s going to be another nice day here. I hope it’s a good one for you too.