Gualby Nation : Living the mountain life

We have decided to live in Boquete for awhile

Rainbow welcoming us to Boquete

We have been looking for a place to rest our heads for about a week or so now. We have been hopping around from hostel to hostel while looking for our semi-permanent abode. Our ideal situation is this: A lovely couple that owns a farm that has a mother-in-law suite on the land and wants two young, bright, upbeat hippies and their dogs to live on their property with them. We know its a long shot but hey, we figure we might as well try. Doesn't hurt to ask. Which is how we found Courtney and Sirio.

Con and I were cruising the hilly landscape of Boquete and we were on our last day of searching when we decided to pull over at a farm because the painting on the sign was artistic and had a welcoming energy to it. I hopped out of the car and started to walk down the steep embankment of the farm. The owner, Elizabeth, a wonderfully friendly and kind American greeted me. She said she understands wanting to live in the mountains instead of in town and although she didn't have anything to rent us, she described which houses up in this area were possibly for rent. We thanked her and went looking for our mountain home. All the houses were currently being rented but in our process of looking we met a young couple, Courtney and Sirio. Courtney's family owns 10 acres of property damn near the top of the mountain and her and her boyfriend, Sirio, were in the process of turning it into an organic farm. They were up on their land just checking a few things and it was quite coincidentally that we met, as they were only on the property for about 10 minutes and were on their way back into town when we met. Courtney and I got to chatting and while she was thinking of places around the area to rent, she casually mentioned that she has a "bodega" on the property and maybe we would want to live in that. Um, that's only exactly what we have been looking for. She said she has been wanting to spruce up the bodega and make it livable, and in exchange for us working the land for a few hours a day, she would be happy to let us stay there for free. It would work out for her to have a little extra help as she is planning on putting animals on the land soon and she would like someone there to look after things. The bodega is simple, she explained, but has electricity and running water. Perfect! We moved in two days later.

"Bodega" in Panama is apparently a fancy word for "tool shed with a bathroom" but Conor and I didn't care at all. We are use to simple amenities, we have been showering in the ocean for over a year. Bodega life was like fancy camping, just our style. We were waking up to a view of Volcan Baru and on a clear day we could see to the Pacific. At night, the stars were amazingly bright in the dark mountain sky,but if we wanted a glimpse of city life we only had to look west and see the lights of David in the valley below. We walked the property in the mornings and completed small projects that we both enjoyed. I dug in the dirt, cleaning up the areas around the fresh mountain streams while Conor kept himself busy building and tinkering. We then would help out Courtney and Sirio with various chores when they would show up in the afternoon. The first weekend there, Sirio, an Italian fresh from living in Rome, showed us how to make cheese out of fresh milk from the neighbors cows. That night with our new found friends, we gathered around the fire pit Conor and I had built earlier that week, and shared a bottle, or two, of wine, wishing our cheese was ready.

We should have toned down how wonderful bodega life was because the following week, Courtney apologetically informed us that she and Sirio, and her two year old son, Luke, were wanting to move into the bodega to save on gas money and rent. I completely understood where she was coming from but I couldn't help but think: Man I should have told more stories of how large the spiders are that we have to kill every night and how we both scream like little girls during our freezing showers each night. But, no, my optimistic, positive little self only talked about the romantic nights of snuggling, mornings of coffee and fresh mountain air, and every evening a sparkling show of stars that light up the night. Conor and I packed up the bus and left the property with smiles, new friendships, and promises to visit soon. We now have our own place, with some more privacy and alone time as well as an open invitation to visit the property whenever we want. Life has a funny way of working itself out just right.

Our new place is perfect for us. It's small, up the mountains, has a little yard, and is only $250/month. It has reliable internet, a small stove, dorm sized fridge, bed, and a bathroom with warm-ish water. I am happy with warm-ish compared to mountain stream cold. There is a public road close to our place, where we walk the dogs and get ourselves a little up the mountain walking exercise as well. I feel settled, and happy.