In less than 48 hours we will be en route to the Republic of Panama. This trip is exploratory, a chance to tour the country, see the beaches, mix with the people, immerse ourselves in the language and in general get a feel for what Panama may be like as a permanent residence. We’ve always been a couple of dreamers, so it’s likely we’ll do what we’ve always done: we’ll over-anticipate, romanticize and drink in all the hype and effusion about this new (to us) land and its promise. The difference this time is that we’ve done extensive research on Panama as a place to live, and we have a reasonably good feel right now of the pluses & minuses we’ll find there. We’ve read each and every post from Kris & Joel Cunningham, The Panama Adventure. We’ve dug into ‘Loving retirement in Panama‘, and Holly Carter’s always amusing/frank/engaging ‘Let the adventure begin.’ It’s become pretty obvious to us that folks who relocate to Panama share our love of the unknown, our belief that, as Mariah says, “I’d rather have a passport full of stamps than a house full of stuff.” So on to Panama we go…Tomorrow we travel to chilly Cleveland Ohio to catch our (incredibly inexpensive) round-trip flights to Tocumen International Airport, Ciudad Panama. From there we catch the COPA David shuttle, landing in David around 6:30 pm. We’ll spend the first few days relaxing and doing the beach/kayak/sea cruise/vacation thing at Bocas del Mar. Then the exploration begins: David, Boquete, the markets, people, travel & atmosphere of Chiriqui Province. We’ll test our (very limited) Spanish to see who responds, and to enjoy the laughter that is bound to come from people who, we hope, will at least try to help us with their language.

On to Panama City on the 3rd of November to explore the big city and to soak in the atmosphere there. For an idea of life in the big city we’ve perused Emma Cohen-Joppa’s ‘A woman, a plan, a canal,’ and wish she’d written more, but good for her anyway, and congratulations to her for graduating! Yay! Too bad she’s leaving Panama for parts unknown. Of course there’s also a FB page, ‘Ex-pats in Panama,’ that’s been a big help.

More later, as we discover our own parts unknown and learn more about Panama. Look for more posts as we set off on our own Panama adventure. Thanks for reading.