Since I still have two boys in high school and lots of projects going on in our home base in Northern California, we have decided to “commute” to our Panama sanctuaries. I am lucky in that I can now work remotely anywhere on the planet as long as I have internet. I no longer see patients everyday or do surgery. If I did, none of this would be happening. It has taken me quite a while to set my life up like this but it has been well worth the effort as I control my own time now. Ever read the 4 hour workweek?
So we set up time to get down there about every six weeks. Sometimes the kids can go and sometimes just Lauren and I go down depending on school schedules and all. We have been doing this frequently in part to get the homes all set up and put together for vacation rentals, friend visits and our own comfort. That takes a bit more time and effort than we expected, as many of the things we want, we bring down from the states (see the Panama pile pic) or order from Panama City or David (two of the larger cities in Panama). I am going to talk about all the systems we have redone in the homes and the kinds of things we have brought down in a future blog post. But, I just want to make it clear, at first there is a lot of work to get things set up. We always try and make time for fun, but we have been heading back north a bit exhausted after working on two new homes.
Getting to Panama and Bocas del Toro in particular is pretty straightforward. There are direct flights from most major US hubs to Panama City. We are coming from San Francisco and there are a couple direct flights a day (or at night in our case). Once in Panama City there is a cab ride from Tocumen (the big airport) to a regional airport called Albrook and from there, Air Panama has several flights a day to Bocas. For us it is a day of travel, but from some locations like Miami or Houston it is a lot quicker. We have a taxi driver we always use and love to get us between airports named Lorenzo. He is a great guy and always gets us where we need whether its an airport transfer or taking care of other things in Panama City. Panama is great like that with friendly helpful people that go out of their way to take care of you once you establish a relationship.
Although we arrive in Bocas tired because of our red eye flight, the nice thing is that Panama is on Central time zone. So its only two hours different than west coast and the time zone/jet lag factor isn’t too bad at all. We have found the places we like to get coffee and food along the way and there are lots of great inexpensive hotels in Panama City if needed.
We get adjusted within a day and we are off and running and shifting gears into “island time”. Those of you who have been to Caribbean islands know there is a different pace of things. Some of it is the heat and the need to move a little slower, but some of it is just an attitude. It’s like, yea its gonna happen, sit back and have a drink and we will get to you soon… You gotta shed some of your American expectations for sure and just start the chill out process asap. And once you get there – chilled out, it feels right. To me it feels like it’s the way its supposed to be. People will talk to you and not have to rush off. You can spend an hour or two at lunch sitting on a deck and just looking at the water or the people. It works.Now don’t get me wrong, when I am trying to get plumbing fixed or need the solar worked on, Island time can be frustrating. Things get done, but not at the rate most of us Americans are used to. Some of it may be just getting the part or supplies we need to do the job. If the item is not in Bocas, then it comes from outside with variable delivery times. But this all becomes part of the fun and challenge of living down here.
And it seems like just when I am fully chilled, its time to go back and gear up to the alternative pace in the States. At first I struggled with this a bit, but now I have found a way to smile and enjoy it all. I call the first few days “reentry” and know that I just need to not expect too much of myself or my loved ones. Lauren and I have found that her reentry lasts longer than mine so knowing that helps us not clash too much. I now focus more on the cool dual lives that I get to live – dual realities really. And as I said above, I can still do my work down here to keep the bills paid. Wifi is everywhere – even on an island in the rainforest my wifi is great so I always have some connection with the “other world” and my responsibilities. I just do a two times a day check in and will occasionally do a webinar or conference call but the rest of the time is off the radar time. I have had a couple interesting conference calls with howler monkeys in the trees above me, thankfully I could put the call on mute.
Sometimes I envy the friends we have made in Panama who are in Bocas full time. They live in the relaxed reality and don’t have to gear up for the higher pace. But, I do love my other life and feel privileged to have the opportunity to live these dual realities. I end up missing whichever place I am not at after about a week, so by the time we are headed back, I am excited. I miss my kids when they aren’t with us and I miss our dogs.
So the back and forth is there, but we have made peace with it and it gets easier each time. I think its well worth the stretch to make it all happen and reap many of the benefits of having two realities. And this can be done affordably and maybe even with some tax advantages in some cases, but that’s a topic for the future.
Cheers.
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