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How do you Find Trusted Housesitters?

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When you live overseas, going away for a while can be more complicated than it would be in your home country. This is especially true if you have pets. While it's become easier to bring your pets with you when you move, it can be very difficult to travel with them once you get there. In the US it's pretty easy to find a hotel where your pets are welcome, for example. In Panama I've only heard of a handful of pet-friendly hotels, and they're all in Panama City. So if you want to take …

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Carnaval in Las Tablas, Panama

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Carnaval in Las Tablas, Panama (and yes, that's the correct Spanish spelling for Carnival) is a big deal here. A very big deal. Every year the town of Las Tablas swells to more than 10 times its normal population. This normally quiet town -- residents describe it as muy tranquilo -- jumps from about 10,000 people to over 100,000 for four days of round-the-clock partying and competitiveness. There are two queens: Arriba and Abajo (think uptown and downtown). You support one or the other. …

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How Reliable are Utilities in Las Tablas, Panama?

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It's time for another peek into the expat mailbag. Here's a question that I haven't thought about in a while (and trust me, that's a good thing!). Utility Outages Hi, I love your website, there's nothing like hearing about a place first-hand! What about electricity, water, and internet outages? How often, if at all, do you experience that? Thanks Excellent question! I'll take the three separately. Electricity Throughout Panama, and here in Las Tablas and all over the Azuero Peninsula, …

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Villas Coco del Mar One Year Later. . .

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Sadly, There's Not Much Progress Last year, I wrote a piece about a promising new beachfront development near Las Tablas. It's the Villas Coco del Mar, and at the time we bumped out there on a very difficult dirt road, there was not much to be seen. Rolling hills, beautiful views, and a long stairway down to the beach. . . Last weekend we decided to pay Coco del Mar another visit. Sadly, not much has changed in 10 months since I wrote about it last. The road out to it is just as bad as it was …

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How I Survived the Polar Vortex

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It's early January, 2014, and while the New Year brings sunshine and skin-caressing warmth to Anywhereists like us, family and friends are freezing their bippies. This horrendous cold snap is now known as the Polar or Arctic Vortex. My oldest son, who lives in Vermont, found thick ice coating everything when he arrived home after Christmas. It took them nearly two days to get the ice off their cars and get the driveway cleared. In Toronto, tens of thousands of residents were without power for …

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Some Common Questions about Las Tablas, Panama

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Recently I received this email from a reader. It asks questions I see pretty often about Las Tablas, Panama, so I thought I'd answer it publicly. I will retire in about 5 years and was thinking about buying a place in Panama - Las Tablas seems to be a good match for me (of course I need to check it out in person). Are there a few Canadians or Americans in that area - my Spanish would need to improve? Are there any gated communities that are reasonable in price? I like that idea as I don't …

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