Your Escape Blueprint

Bocas Del Toro described as a “sleepy” little group of islands, a “hell hole” of a town and “the idyllic place” to settle.

Having spent a few days there, I am not sure which description is the most accurate. Bocas Del Toro is in fact a small group of Caribbean islands off the northeastern coast of Panama.  The main island of Isla Colon is where Bocas town is located. Depending on your age, expectations and location, Bocas town can be a “hell hole” or paradise.

Its reputation as a party town means that it is a mecca for backpackers planning to have a little fun, the drinks flow readily (as do other substances) late into the night. Music blares across the neon lit water of Bocas town and the neighbouring Isla Bastimentos. The water taxis shuttle their happy passengers back and forth at what seems like break neck speeds with optional running lights.

Move away from Main Street with its plethora of bars and you get to experience the real town. Reaching out from the shore are homes built on stilts. Not as picturesque as Bora Bora’s idyllic cabanas perched over the sparkling blue seas of the South Pacific, but with much more character.

Travel further out of town and you can explore miles of beaches, Bluff beach is spectacular and accessible by land. If you are there between March and July you could be lucky enough to experience a turtle laying her eggs or maybe even spot a hatchling make its way to the sea. Please use only the environmentally sponsored turtle tours (cost $15) as they are less disruptive to the turtles.

We were lucky enough to secure a 3^rd floor room right on the waterfront for a very reasonable $50 per night, prices are normally a lot higher here as are food and drink prices nearby. Having spent some time in Panama, we were experiencing major sticker shock.

For a very reasonable $4 lunch of chicken rice and beans fare, go to Toms Restaurant, located above the municipal market. You may need to ask directions and make sure you get there before mid-afternoon; they shut down when they sell out.  Breakfast is fast and funky at Bocas Blended, the “Bus” with a new life as the funkiest eater in town. For a drink with a difference, check out “Riptide” as she floats at her permanent moorings, on the outskirts of town. Just be careful that you can still keep your footing on your way out though, that dock could be treacherous for the unwary.

Bocas is also home to a growing number of friendly expats, who live in town, further out along its beaches and neighbouring islands. A good place to connect with them is The Bocas Wine Bar, where everyone seems to drop in for a regular chat.

I would not call it a “hell hole” unless you had expected a quiet little island paradise. Whether you intend to party or not bring earplugs unless you can sleep through loud music, roaring engines, drills, saws and all the life that goes with this loud little town.

We enjoyed our time there and although not “paradise”, we are making plans to go back in the not too distant future.

A magical experience starts with a magical journey! For us the magic is the thrill of boarding a small boat casting off and skipping over the ocean, even the overcast skies could not dispel our wide grins.

Our “escape” to our island refuge started with a very courteous driver who delivered us to Boca Chica, Panama where our concierge, captain and an extremely comfortable well-designed boat waited to whisk us away.

Warm welcomes greet us, as does a refreshing cocktail as we tour this six-room eco-resort tucked away on the under developed island of Isla Palenque. Water cascading from the infinity pool, the surf caressing the rocks below and bird song from the surrounding jungle are the sounds of life here.

The resort is an award winning design, featuring wood clad steel framed buildings, open-air halls, bamboo decking and local artwork. Very different from the usual concrete and tile five star resort’s that pepper the tropics like fallen coconuts.

Playa Primera “first beach” is steps away, the broad expanse of soft sand freshly smoothed with each tide beckons for its first footprint, the denizens of the tidal pools included crabs, blennies, sea slugs, whelks, chitons  and an octopus frantically squeezing itself into its own refuge.

Over breakfast, we spotted our first island native, an anteater clambering from branch to branch, agile as a monkey as he foraged for dinner.  Not to be outdone, the local howler monkey troop moved in to munch on the fresh new leaves overhanging our balcony.

As we had arrived in the “green season”, the weather was overcast and rainy, good for providing monkey fodder and perfect for the mosquito population who waited in ambush on the trails. Long pants and long sleeved shirts are a great deterrent as is a readily available leafy stem emulating a horse’s use of his tail as he whisks those annoying flies away.

Returning hot and sweaty from our jungle explorations to the sanctuary of our cool room, our unique suspended outdoor bamboo screened shower was bliss! As was the double shower and soaker tub in the ocean view suite.

The organic furniture made with the islands dead, fallen trees used throughout the resort fascinated me. As did the multitude of life around us, from vine wrapped trees, exotic bromeliads, hawks, flycatchers and baby green iguanas.

Jungle traipsing and ocean air mean a good appetite, fueled superbly by Chef Oliver’s creations. Eden is the well-named restaurant serving innovative dishes using local ingredients and Panamanian flair. Lunch and dinner options changed daily offering seafood, meat or vegetarian choices and some very interesting deserts, such as raw cocoa beans in a sweet syrup and lemon chocolate basil ice cream.

Our five days passed in an exquisite blur of beaches, jungle, wildlife encounters, gourmet food and wonderful people. We plan to be back as often as we can, maybe when they open the tented suites later this year. In the meantime, you too can experience this paradise for a fraction of normal rates right here

Within hours of arriving at one Isla (island), we were making plans to explore more, with such enticing names as Islas Secas, Monitas, Viudas and San Jose who could resist.

Our gracious hosts at Isla Palenque know that their guests have not only a sense of adventure but also limited time in which to satisfy their cravings. The schedules are designed to reflect that. Each day has at least three options ranging in levels of difficulty and the time needed, varying from one hour to all day.

The manager already had us pegged as snorkelers (maybe the bag of fins and masks that arrived with us?) and suggested the next day’s trip to Isla Secas. How could we refuse a day on the ocean in a comfortable, fast boat, attentive crewmembers and great company?

The day dawned wet and gloomy with a promise of better weather to come. Our guide pointed out each islet and Island as we passed. Isla San Jose, unlike San Jose, Costa Rica is a tiny uninhabited islet.

As we sped across the glistening swells, a small pod of Spinner Dolphins joined us, racing alongside, riding the bow wave and leaping for joy at the fun of it all. I for one would have been happy if the day had ended there, more was yet to come.

We anchored in a calm, white sand bay, flanked by sea-smoothed boulders and overhung with frangipani and palms.  Our crew escorted us ashore, along with all our cameras securely sealed in a waterproof tub.

While we enjoyed the warmth of the sea, they set up camp under the only sign of human presence, a thatch covered tilapa. By the time, our wrinkly fingers told us we had been there long enough, a table and chairs were set with a small smoky fire doing its best to dispel the hungry bugs.

Wrapped in big fluffy towels, we explored the beach. Fragrant frangipani blossoms, hermit crabs and the spiky bark of the giant trunk, still untouched by the oceans caress on the far end of the bay.

Enticing barbeque smells enticed us back to “camp” where glasses of Sangria were served. Lunch was the best “burger” I have ever had, fresh house made buns, all the servings and a perfectly cooked and seasoned burger.  Chef Oliver not only knows how to make good burgers but also teaches how to cook them with only a small beach debris fire.

Another quick dip and we piled back on to the boat to a sheltered snorkelling spot. This place has the biggest triggerfish I have ever seen, with lots of puffer fish, sergeant majors and angelfish.

The weather was closing in once again as we headed for home, passing rocky fortresses with fascinating swell action (I wonder what a surfer would make of them?) more islets and a few turtles.

Tired, a little burnt (only a few degrees from the equator here) & a little bitten we ended our first full day with a seven-course gourmet dinner! Ah Paradise!

Hiking, white water rafting, birding, these are all available in Boquete. I mean the outdoor life, right here under our roof.

A covered, tiled patio of 463 square feet (more than the entire footage of many city apartments) is where we, like the majority of Panamanians spend most of our time.

Complete with hammock, table & chairs our outdoor living room comes with additional features. Most impressive of which is our ever-changing view of Volcan Baru, subtle sunsets, crisp mornings, dense fog, torrential rain and the miracle of watching clouds form in the aftermath.

It also comes with its own surround sound system, an ever-changing symphony of cicadas, birds, bugs & howler monkeys.

One species of bird dominates the landscape; it floats so effortlessly, master of the up and down drafts of the canyon below. Graceful and beautiful to the eye, they dip, wheel and soar in search of their next meal. They prefer it dead and decomposing, how else would they find it? May we introduce our resident turkey vultures, snacking on chicken skins? Carrion eaters with faces and habits only a mother could love!

As I discussed in my last post, for many people the main thing stopping them from retiring early is debt.

If you did the last action item, you have found areas where you could make some savings. By keeping the money you would have spent on wants, you can start making a snowball.

This is not a new idea; however, it is a very effective method. I have seen people pay an overwhelming amount of credit card debt, using this simple method. It works!

What is it?

This is a debt reduction method used very successfully in reducing credit card bills or revolving credit. Think of a snowball as it rolls down a hill, picking up size and speed as it goes. Imagine doing that with your debts?

The Basic Steps

• First list all your credit card bills in ascending order from small      amounts to large. If two outstanding balances are similar, list the one      with the highest interest rate first.
• Next note the minimum payments required for each debt.
• Write down what you have been paying (many people pay a little      extra on each bill, each month, think of this extra as your snow from      which to make your snowball).
• Now deduct the minimum payment on each debt from what you have been      paying i.e you were paying $50 and the minimum payment was $40, the      difference the $10 is your snow.
• Add up all those little pieces of snow, this is your snowball. For example  we have $10 from the first debt and a additional $35 from our other debts.
• We combine this with the money we saved from eliminating a few wants, let say we managed to keep a extra $50 per month. Therefore, our snowball is $95, $45 from the credit card bills and $50 from the excess wants.

Use your Snowball!

• Each month pay the Snowball ($95) plus the minimum payment to the      first bill on the list and make only minimum payments on the rest. This      will accelerate the payment of that bill (as long as you are not using it      to make purchases of course).
• Once the first bill or card is paid off in full, take your snowball      plus whatever the minimum payment was i.e. our snowball was $95 with a      additional $43 of minimum payment = $138. We now roll the larger snowball      down the hill to attack the next bill, again adding the snowball to the      minimum payment that we were making previously.
• Repeat, repeat, repeat!

 Alternatives

Some advisors suggest picking the highest interest rate first, which will probably mean less interest paid, however if the highest interest rate is also the highest balance, it may be a long time before you see results.

Physiologically we do & feel better when we can actually see the results, just like going on a diet, if someone does not see the weight coming off; it is hard to keep up the discipline.

I have also found that people who use this method become much more focused on paying these debts off and in many cases find extra $$ to build a bigger snowball!

Why should I do it?

You gain a sense of control over your finances and you will pay a lot less in interest payments to the banks. Money, which used well, is the key to start planning for your retirement.

You may never have to see another snowball again!

Having many years’ experience in the financial services industry, I understand a lot about debt. The Canadian debt to income ratio is now a whopping 165% our neighbor’s to the south & most of Europe now report huge debt percentages.

There are two types of personal debt. Good debt, mortgages or loans to purchase assets and bad debt, primarily consumer debt, goods and services that do nothing to add to your net worth. Sorry a flat screen TV or closets full of Jimmy Choo shoes does not add to your net worth!

Although we have retired early we do have some debt, we have “good debt” in the form of mortgages, which our renters pay. The additional rental income offsets our travel expenses.

Over the last few years, we have consciously avoided bad debt, which meant no monster flat screens or exotic vacations that we were still paying for a year later. We learnt to live within our means and to spend our money on necessities’ not wants!

Identifying and eliminating “the wants’ is the first step to financial independence. A “want’ is anything that is not helping to feed and shelter you.

Action item~.

• Track and list your monthly expenditures.
• Go over that list with a red highlighter and mark items that are “wants’
• Total the amount that you spend per month on ‘wants” surprised? Most people are.
• Think about what you could do with that money. Could you pay off debt, save it, invest it?

Coming next, how to…….

Pay it off with a Snowball!