China Panama Photography travel Wildlife

Time to Switch it Up

After 3.5 years exploring SE Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific we have leapt at an opportunity back in Central America. However, to reach this opportunity took a bit of work. The biggest challenge without a doubt was flying Air China and Air Canada. Air Panama turned out to be the most reliable of the airlines we used, and that is saying something. Is it just me or is there a common thread with the national airlines.

Air China
Our journey began in Qingdao, China. When faced with a multiple day journey around the globe I have to admit it helps when the smog is the worst you have seen anywhere.

There is a reason we like “slow travel”. Mainly because rapid travel is hard on your body and mind. Our trip from Qingdao, China to Bocas del Toro, Panama took 44 hours of travel time, with an additional 30 hours for a wonderful, though short, stopover in Calgary to visit our Moms and sons. Though a trip involving 6 flights is hard enough on the bodies, when you throw in 3 cancelled flights, 3 reschedules by us (due to cancellations), 2 delays, an extra over night in Panama City (due to delays), it becomes a bit of a strain on the attitudes as well. But….we made it, and still love each other.

Air Panama
Our arrival in Bocas del Toro was much more our comfort level and preference.

I was going to go off on certain airlines about their customer service, but in the end, it just does not matter. We arrived safely, though with a bit of a head cold due to the effect trips like that have on you. But life is bloody wonderful now.

Pool Time
A bit of time to find our feet and learn our roles but we have managed to find our groove quickly enough.
Basilisk Lizard
We are enjoying having these little guys watch over us as we learn our “house sitting”, or “resort sitting” tasks.
Brown throated Sloth
One of the things we loved about our previous time in Central America was the wildlife. Imagine how thrilled we were when we discovered this mother sloth with her baby on the property.
Spectacled Caiman
I was surprised when the splash I heard in the waterway by the path turned out to be a little Caiman trying to hide from us. Too cool!

We are settled in to enjoy this little corner of the world for the next 3+ months. So looking forward to expanding our skills and learning new things. As well, our Spanish language skills should be improving dramatically.

Exploring
We will make sure to take some time to do some exploring as well.

Stay tuned.

Welcome to our travel blog. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to say, "I'm out of here?" Well we did, and in 2013 we made it a reality. We sold or gave away all of our possessions other than what fit in our luggage and we set off on an endless adventure. Part of our goal is to share our experiences with others and hopefully provide some information, motivation, or just a moments escape. The general idea was to look for a place that would be ideal to settle down in. However in the meantime it is about experiencing life in different countries amongst different cultures and learning how to understand and appreciate each other. A large part of our time is spent housesitting which provides an excellent opportunity to experience more of the "normal" neighbourhoods as opposed to the tourist locales. Though we make sure to enjoy those as well. So through plenty of photographs and a running commentary come and share with us our life on the road.

1 comment on “Time to Switch it Up

  1. Glad you have landed safely in paradise! We will be lazing by the pool for the rest of this week in the south of France with the mid to high twenties. Gotta love this sweet life.

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