Bocas del Toro New Years Eve 2011

What a wonderful way to spend the New Year! We enjoyed our New Year camping out in a deserted coal mining village from the early 1800s. There’s nothing left but piles of rocks where foundations used to be, and an old tower used for pulling mining buckets out of the pit mines. It was fun sitting around the camp fire wondering how the miners might have celebrated. It’s amazing how many different ways there are to celebrate. Glad you enjoyed Bocas for yours!

This is a letter from a frnied: As a frnied of the owner of this website, I will just give you the simple truth. The first truth is that I am from America, so my viewpoint is comming from that of a former American. The truth is that Panama is where itb4s at. I moved here recently and let me tell you the most difficult thing to do now is talk to my friends and family back home in the U.S. They say things likea8”be careful in that third world country” or “or it’s dangerous and there is political corruption.” The truth is America is far more dangerous than here. Political corruption? Hello genius, you’re in America, and if I have to be the thing that tells you how much political corruption you suffer from right now, you’re a product of it and simply canb4t see what’s right in front of your face very clearly. Panama has no where near the same amount of corruption, restrictions, taxation, bank frauds, foreclosures,low morality, or problems that exist currently in the states. Panama has the Panama Canal where all the big ships of the world pay around $300k to pass through it. If you are a big ship and you want to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific or vice verse, you have to go through the Panama Canal and you can depend on that. At any given moment,, whether it’s 3 a.m. or 3 p.m., there will be a string of ships lined up waiting to go through. This is 100% national income. This place has no IRS and basically no tax on income and it isn’t going to need one for a long, long time. I could talk about tourism and the city and many more things for hours but for here I just give one example that nations of the world cannot claim a comparison for in long term economical support. Taxi rides are a buck, the bus is a quarter, you really donb4t need a car, and the paradise is the best paradise I have ever seen in my life (and I have been to a few places). Full, delicious meals prepared by others cost $2.80 and you donb4t need to exchange any currency. A gardener, house cleaner or cement layer will cost you $8.00 a day. Markets are wide open, and foreigners are from every end of the world. In Bocas del Toro and Bouquet, everyone speaks English. The view anywhere here should sell for a couple hundred thousand in an art show and this is my every day life now. I have alot to be thankfull for being here. Donb4t try to get me started on the negatives in the U.S., because they donb4t exist here at all and not thinking about them is my personal greatest pleasure. I could go on and on and on. Come check it out and see for yourself. The owners of this site will put you up if you’re looking to buy one of their many properties and are probably some of the coolest people you will ever meet in your life. Need I dive into the possibilities of real estate here? Have what you think is a nice day in the U.S. Am I ever glad I moved on from that memory. As they say here, “Ciao.” P.S. I am eating a fresh pineapple a friend gave me in the street a few minutes ago, and it is ridiculously good.