Once Upon a Time....

Well I should really start at the beginning. How our Panama affair came to be. It really all started with a online relationship site. I put my profile on LavaLife, and Allan created his. He sent me a smile and I did the same. We met on a cold December evening. It was December 18th, we had Pizza and a drink and then went and shot a bucket of balls in an indoor golf driving range. Two taurus' with goals, passions and a willngness to really I mean really think out of the box.
Our early conversations while dating revolved around traveling, and where we saw our lives in the future. We talked about where I wanted my life to go and where Allan saw his life in 5, 10, 20 years. We both concluded it certainly was not going to be in the northern part of this hemisphere and it certainly was not going to consist of fighting traffic, commuting and doing the concrete jungle 9-5pm thing that most of the western world has found thereselves in. We both also agreed that we were in search of a land that offered a lower cost of living, but one that would not comprimise our lifestyle. Our lifestyle which revolved around being active, a nice home and the freedom to do the things we loved to do that being golf, scuba diving, and explore our love of wildlife.
We then started googling. Well Allan started googling. Eastern Canada, Western Canada, Thailand, Mexico, Florida, Souther Italy, Costa Rica and then where? On a Costa Rican website Allan discovered Panama. Where is Panama? What is going on in Panama? Who lives in Panama? We quickly went to Blockbuster and rented "The Tailor of Panama", "Basic" and "Sniper". Ok so it is warm and has lots of rainforests and jungles and an old city. We still were not convinced.
November 2006, we book our 3 week vacation. 1 week at The Decameron Resort the following 2 weeks we spent wandering around Panama. .
From Boquete to Portobello and everywhere in between. We looked at real estate, we took our Toyota Yaris where no Yaris had gone before. Offroading, onroading and truly a lot of roading.
We returned to Canada sold and in love with this fabulous country. A country filled with culture, a wonderful ex-pat community and tons and tons of things to do. A country where there are 3cent bananas and tucans flying overhead. A country that was welcoming investment and that was not yet spoiled by the North American tourist.
What happened is this: We ventured back for 5 days in April of 2007, almost bought in Boquete then didn't. Returned home and made the decision later that year to spend the winter of 2008 in Panama. Four months we figured would be enough to decide on what or if we were really going to do it. I took a leave of absence from my very successful career at the age of 37 and Allan worked virtually from Panama. We spent 2 1/2 months in Boquete and 1 1/2 months in San Carlos on the Pacific. We absolutely adored Boquete. The ex-pat community was so welcoming the Panamanian community was welcoming, the weather was spring all the time, and the mountain views are second to none. However we needed a golf course and Boquete's local course was not yet complete. I did not want to leave Boquete but a deal was a deal. This was research and investigation and we promised ourselves we would give the hot lowlands on the Pacific a chance.
There truly is something magical about the ocean. Where we did end up buying was in a new gated community of Hacienda Pacifica. Our bedroom faces the mountains, we are 1km from the Pacific. We are 1 hour from Panama city and we have a mango tree on our front lawn. The golf course is across the street and we are 30 minutes from the mountain village of El Valle de Anton where they sell 20lb bags of oranges for $4. There is a beautiful 24 hour grocery store 5 minutes down the street and we can buy fresh fish from the local fisherman everyday. It is a place where you can set your watch to the high tides and where I can see Allan and I spending the next 5, 10, 20 years together.
I am 38 years old, Allan is 43. Panama is not just for the retired folk. We and many others have proven that when you have a dream and you finally come to realize that it is the life in your years not the years in your life that count (thank you Abe Lincoln), really why would you not find a home that gives you the opportunity to really make each minute count.
This blog is intended for anyone to ask us questions, make comments and to read my posts on how we did it, and what is going on here in the lives of 2 Canadians "Aqui en Panama" (Here in Panama).

Karyn