Journey & Adventure

My friends have entered a contest to win an all expense paid vacation for one month to Panama. The contest is sponsored by International Living. These are the same friends that have an early retirement plan in mind for next year. So by voting, you'd be helping them out to get a head start. They are currently in second place in the voting, so it would be much appreciated (by me and them) if you could go to this link and vote for them. If you have more than one computer in your house - vote on each one of them, smart phone - vote with that too, at work - even better. VOTE NOW! Let's help them live the dream....

While still in Bocas, J and I started to compile a list of the pros and cons of the island. It’s funny to me what made our list – J listed being able to flush toilet paper in the toilet as a major pro because in some countries/locations, you must dispose of used paper waste in a trash can because the plumbing is not equipped for anything except waste. I on the other hand listed the amount of excess water bottles tossed around as a con. I understand it’s not North America, but the lack of recycling facilities bothered me. Even with the lack of recycling facilities, I was very impressed with how clean and pristine some of the beaches were. J liked the idea of still being able to purchase oceanfront property. I too like this idea, but my expectations are that we still can’t afford even the smallest amount of oceanfront luxury in Panama. I was also disappointed in the lack of quality fruits and vegetables. I understand we were on an island, but I thought nice fruits and v...

J and I have just returned from our trip to Bocas Del Toro, Panama. Our one week trip allowed us to experience a little of what this island has to offer. We mixed pleasure, with business, as we were after all trying to get a lay of the land and to see if this place could be in the running as a retirement destination. I’m happy to report that it’s still in the running. We may just need to adjust our expectations a little. Some of the Pros included - Beautiful Beaches; Friendly People; Warm Weather; Cheap Adult Beverages; Affordable Real Estate; Relaxed Atmosphere... Some of the Cons included – a lot of rain (it is a rainforest after all); not many options for household shopping; no potable water – all drinkable water needed to be purchased; not a lot to do, except relax (this is also a Pro, but long term I would likely need a little bit of something, something to keep me engaged). I'll try to collect my thoughts a little more and expand on the above Pros and Con...

By the time our early retirement plan comes to fruition, you will be either too dizzy or too confused to follow this blog. Remember how I said, Ecuador would most likely be our retirement destination of choice and then we had a change of heart and thought perhaps Bonaire could work for us and then we were back to Ecuador and then I think when I last left you we were back in Bonaire mindset. Well, after doing some pre-retirement homework while we were on island in Bonaire, reality has again kicked us in the pants. Guess what? We apparently are not made of money and once we quit our jobs, we will no longer have a bi-weekly income in which to support the lifestyle we’ve become accustomed to. So while we could financially make Bonaire work short term, we aren’t convinced it could be sustainable long term. Housing is more than what we want to spend, groceries are on average 5-10% higher than they are here in Canada and the daily housing costs (hydro, propane, water) are significant...