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Panama Reflections

4/6/2016

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As our plane leaves Panama City and follows a route north along the Panama Canal I begin to reflect on our Panama experience.

This is our second trip to Panama.  Three years ago as we left William said he never wanted to return.  It had been a hot and buggy experience and he had had enough.  What changed his mind?  Well, the opportunity to spend time with great friends was a big draw.  The fact that we would be in Boquete some of the time, which was a favorite location during our first trip was another factor.  Lastly, we had not yet explored the Caribbean side of Panama and the idea of kicking back was appealing.

These past six weeks we have been very happy to reconnect with friends, make new friends and meet interesting people.

This time we skipped Panama City except for the time in the airport.  It's a busy big city with some amazing new buildings.  Instead smaller towns (Boquete and Bocas del Toro) known for their natural beauty and outdoor activities were our destinations.

Our 10 days in Boquete were very nice, and our friends(new and old) made it a wonderful stay.  Valle Escondido where we stayed was very lovely (and clearly upscale and significantly owned and/or occupied by expats).  The town of Boquete is a mix of locals, expats and tourists and has a fair amount of activities for a small town.  At an elevation of 1,200 meters the temperatures are cooler (temperate) than much of Panama - but with it comes the light mist known as bajareque.  Our conclusion is that Boquete is a nice place to visit for a month or so, but would not be somewhere we would want to spend 6-12 months.

We stayed in Bocas del Toro for four weeks.  The area is primarily locals and tourists, but there is a small group of expats mostly from Canada and the US.  Activities center around sand, the sea, and eating and drinking.  Toward the end of our stay we were a little bored and definitely too hot unless we were sitting by the Caribbean or in our air conditioned bedroom.  Our conclusion is that two weeks in a beach setting is about the maximum for us.  Other people, I'm sure would love 3, 6 or 12 month visits.  To each their own!

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House Sitting

4/2/2016

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We have read about house sitting in various travel articles.  There's even websites which match house sitters with people looking for someone to watch their place.  Our stay in Bocas afforded us the opportunity to meet Steve and Jane, a couple who house sit full time, and have done so for several years.  They do not own or rent a permanent home.

My theory has been that there are three main reasons for someone to seek a house sitter, someone who stays in your home for free for a pre-arranged period of time.  They are: 1) watch the pet(s),  2) take care of the plants/gardens, and/or 3) make the place look lived-in, primarily as a deterrent to robbery.  It turns out that all three reasons come into play in Steve and Jane's experience.

Steve and Jane are the mostly full-time house sitters for a home on Isla Colon in Bocas del Toro.  It is one of two homes that were built in an up-scale planned development that went belly-up after the home was built.  The jungle has since reclaimed most of the unbuilt development.  The home is owned by a man from Chicago who has Steve and Jane live there most of the year to keep an eye on the gardeners and maintenance personnel who do the day-to-day care of the property and to deter thieves from stripping the home of it's contents and mechanical systems. The home is only accessible from the water, so a boat (and gas) is provided by the owner, as is a 4x4 Chevy Blazer which is kept in Bocas Town. 

I said they are mostly full-time in this home because the owner uses it several times a year and because Steve and Jane make their services available to other people as well.  We met Steve and Jane because the owner was using the house during Easter week, so they needed to evacuate.  What happens then? They use their network of acquaintances to see if they can find another house sitting gig, stay with friends, or if necessary rent a place short term.  It happened that Steve and Jane were staying in the same condo building as us because the condo owners were gone for a month. After four days they were moving to watch the Fincas Del Mono Botanical Gardens for three days so Lin and her husband could take a short break.  In May Steve and Jane will house-sit a couple of weeks at a beautiful home near Bluff Beach.  I asked what happens with the home they primarily house sit during these other gig's.  They said the owner is informed in advance and frequently he or someone from his family will fly down for part of the time they are gone.

Full-time house sitting really helps to stretch the retirement dollars.  In addition, they sometimes do projects for the owners and pick up some extra cash - Jane just finished painting some interior rooms.

William and I are intrigued by the house sitting idea, but it's doubtful it will work for us. There are three reasons: 1) we generally don't like pets and I am allergic to dogs and cats, 2) we do not have green thumbs - we generally kill off plants, and 3) we're not very fond of the idea of being the second line of defense (after locked doors) in areas where crime is a concern. 


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    Hi.  I'm Anne.  I wander around the world with William.


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