A year since boarding a one way ticket

A year ago today I was repacking my bag for the umpteenth time wondering where my one way ticket would take me. To France, Spain and beyond. Tonight I sit under the stars and a bright moon in a bay on a boat. Today's events I couldn't have foreseen even from yesterday's vantage point. When I woke up this morning I thought I would be going on a trip nearby then waiting to welcome the new house sitters. As the saying goes "If you want to make god laugh, make plans."

Jenn and I have been housesitting for just over two months now. We've had hiccups but it hasn't deterred us from loving the house and our time here in Bocas del Toro. There was one week where we had no boat, no fridge and no internet. We still don't have a boat, our internet is not great but the fridge is on the mend. Its problem seems to be a matter of cleaning the back pipes out regularly from all the bugs that lodge themselves in the back. It's a propane fridge, the first one I've seen but they are very popular here. (A $6.40USD tank of propane lasts about 12 days)

Today I came inland (we're also boat sitting) and walking up the steps at 6:30am heard the Genny running. We hardly ever run the generator because we monitor our power and do laundry on days that are rich in sunlight. We unplug everything when we're not using it so there's no phantom charge and we don't use a lot of water so the water pump doesn't have to work hard and use up the power. As I was walking up the steps I thought maybe Jenn had been keen and started a load of laundry so we could hang it before we left for our day trip and it would be dry for the new house sitters.

That was not the case. A lot of learning happened today. Apparently the house wanted to make sure we learned a lot more about water pressure systems, batteries, generators and the whole system and how it works together. Sometime in the night a switch that is activated by a pressure gauge on a water system stopped working. Instead of turning off the pump kept going sucking so much power that our displays were angry with a red light indicating power was getting dangerously low. Having recently been told the damage that can happen to batteries when depleted we were anxious (to say the least). We called next door to Carl and Mary for advice and to cancel our trip.

I wont bore you with all the other things I learned but after being very sad to leave the day before Jenn and I are ready to embark on other adventures. If only the new house sitters had shown up! I've been a little bummed that the new house sitters aren't as chatty as I would have liked. Particularly after waiting all day and receiving a message just before sundown that they were only in Panama City. I've only had a very short chat two days ago with the newcomers, my favorite question so far was: "Are there bugs?"
To which I replied "yes, it's not a sealed house. There are lizards, geckos and the very occasional scorpion"
I looked up at Jenn and asked "I don't have to mention the cockroaches that are the size of your hand right? Those fall under 'bugs'?"
At least they don't bite or bother, they just hang out on the walls really.

So it's been a really tiring day and I've enjoyed recalling where I was last September 24th. So many new faces, places, changes and learning's. So many airplane rides, boating lessons and land exploration. If you walk out your front door, not sure where you'll end up some interesting things will happen. I guess that one way ticket was just what I needed to see the world of possibilities.

Spoiler alert: I'll be living on a boat!

How I tripped and fell into paradise

I've realized a lot of people are wondering how I stumbled into Panama here's the story…

Treehouses in Paradise
Fantasy Designs for the 21st Century
by David Greenberg

Well, there I was in Spain not ready to go home but not sure of my next move. I started looking at France, living in France had been a dream of mine. Through searching for house sit opportunities, you know how the internet can be, click here and there. Well a series of clicks and suddenly I was looking at a tree house that needed a caretaker. I had really loved tree houses through a book showing a series of contest photos for a tree house design competition. I saved the page in my 'world travel' bookmark folder beside Professional Hobo, Vagabondish's 8-tools-to-travel-long-term, Ethnologue and, Greenheart travel.

I went to bed dreaming about the house I had seen. I found myself looking at the photos and re-reading the description. There were so many reasons why I couldn't do it. The dates didn't work, I was only one person when they requested two, I didn't even know where Panama was. Still I went on dreaming and day dreaming about the house.

I found two other houses in France that I wanted to message so I bought the membership on housecarers.com, (which I wrongly called house-careers for ages, Freudian slip?) I made a profile and thought of Tim Ferris. In The four hour work week he mentions how easy it is to connect with people through the internet. This was worth a message. If they didn't answer at least I put my foot in.
I'm not afraid to send the first message, not afraid to make contact. Well, actually I am afraid of the pushy-ness, rejection and possibly being ignored. But doing it so often now, putting myself out there for relationships, jobs, travel opportunities. I don't take it personally. If I don't get reciprocation it's not crippling.

So I took a deep breath and wrote:

Hi there,
I saw your post a few months ago and can't stop thinking about it. I now have a friend who would be available to housesit with me but unfortunately not until July. Are you still in need of house sitters that time of year?
Hope you're having a great day,
Samantha

I hit send and let myself forget about it. If I got a reply, great. If I didn't well I had done my part. I had showed up in the way I knew how for my seemingly unattainable dream.

I did get a reply and after a long series of emails from December to June with some phone calls I got on a plane, met up with Jenn and we made our way to The Treehouse.

We were told to follow the dogs and they would take us to a chocolate farm. Seriously! Every time I say this is makes me smile. We have a chocolate farm as a neighboring property and they do tours and show how they make their heavenly natural chocolate.

So there I was with Jenn on a tour with a group of students studying monkeys with a primatologist. Lloyd, the person who set up the tour, connecting the primatologist with the chocolate farm asked how I'd come to be here. As I was explaining I mentioned that almost all the previous house sitters had been asked to house sit other properties in the surrounding area. They were always finding a reason to stay.  "That's actually why I was asking." He said "We're looking for house sitters over at our place"

After chatting through a lot of the excursion I checked out the website and sent an introduction email right that night. I wanted to email him who I was, show him I was serious by getting in touch right away, and make sure I would make a good fit. I asked to see the contract or an outline of responsibilities. After some back and forth emails I was invited to come for two days to really see for myself what the responsibilities were and most important, if I got along with the dogs!

I've been planning on coming home to Toronto. So excited to re-unite and actually looking forward to Autumn followed by snow. I'm sure that people back home will understand though that this is an opportunity I can't refuse. From what I've seen so far Casa Cayuco is a slice of paradise. White sandy beaches, well maintained jungle paths preserving the natural beauty of the rainforest, mouthwatering flavourful meals and a guarantee that only people who appreciate the lifestyle it provides will be the ones you paddle board, snorkel, surf and explore with.

I most enjoyed laying in a hammock beside the water listening to the calm sea. Enjoying a morning coffee on the beach looking at the horizon and seeing mountains far off in the distance. I had jokingly complained to Jenn "It's not completely perfect, there are no mountains." She nodded in agreement as we waded in the warm water of the beach the first night. Then as I was sipping my coffee in the morning Lloyd said "If you take your coffee out on the dock it's clear enough now to see the mountains in the distance" I swore under my breath and could not ignore that I'd love to call this place home for the next three months.

I understand now completely why this special area of Panama was compared to Hotel California upon arrival "you can go, but you can never leave" Thankfully my visa does have an expiration so I will be taking the big bird in the sky back to Toronto but not until January 2013.

The day to day in Panama

A praying mantis visits our vlog

In catching up on stories about Paris I've been leaving out details about Panama. Jenn and I have been doing a fun nightly Vlog that we're already excited to look back on. It's probably funniest for us. Now, how to explain Dolphin Bay, Bocas del Toro...

Me with a Kinkajou

A paradise to look at, with a great community feel. I have come in contact with more bugs and animals then ever before. I've gotten acquainted with a kinkajou, a possum, cicadas, dolphins, birds, snakes, fish, leaf bugs of all sorts, howler monkeys, sloths, ants galore, dogs and horses. Everyone that lives out here is a character with an amazing warm heart. Everyone looks out for each other here and together the cruisers and expats have made a welcoming Bay.

The view from the tree house

I usually wake up between 6-7am and enjoy a coffee as I look out onto the Bay. Jenn and I like to take in the view as we listen to the morning Net, a radio show that everyone in the area participates in. Sometimes we play a game of cribbage and are usually content just making fun of the trivia questions. We're the youngest house sitters in the area and the questions are usually about things 'before our time' and prefaced with "this is an easy one". (If it's so easy why do only two people ever participate with answers?) So sometimes we'll shout out ridiculous answers just for our own enjoyment.

Rana Azul "parking lot"

 The rest of the day is filled with house sitting duties (general clean up, walking the grounds, maintaining the solar batteries, feeding the dogs, paperwork for the worker) reading, writing, learning something new about sail boats, socializing and exploring the area. Every Wednesday there's a game of Mahjong but we've only been a couple times. Every Sunday the restaurant Rana Azul is open and it's a great way to see everyone in the area to catch up, enjoy some drinks and buy eggs. That's right, we buy our eggs when we go out to the restaurant from another patron who has hens. The weekly supply sells out pretty fast so we try to get there by noon.

Watching friends watch dolphins

We go into town to get our gas, propane, and food supply once a week. We use the propane for the stove and fridge. The gas is for the boat and generator. Our boat Cricket recently had some problems so we've been relying on the kindness of others to take us into town. We've had enough sun that we've only had to run the generator when we equalized the batteries for the solar energy.

The Treehouse

Jenn and I call this place the Treehouse. It's raised off the ground and level with the canopy of the surrounding trees. It's completely off the grid, running off solar power with a back up generator to use when needed. There are two huge water tanks that catch the rainwater that is collected from the large circular roof. We were happy to discover that if we're not catching sun, we're catching rain and always replenishing our basic needs. The washing machine runs off the solar energy and all the rain water is filltered first through a regular sieve to catch debris and then though a filter. Sometimes we put the rain water through another filter before drinking but we usually drink right from the tap.

A Troller (left) and a Panga (right)

The only way to get around here is by boat. There are no roads in the jungle and we're lucky to have a few well maintained foot paths. Jenn and I kayak around from time to time and love to visit the boats in our bay. That's right, only here 45 days and we're calling it "Our Bay". We've had a few cruiser dinners, pot lucks and juice bars where we've invited newcomers and returning boats up to the Treehouse so we can brush up on our sailing vernacular.