JANUARY 2005: “TC and Bob's Life in Panamá!”



Well, we're at it again, off on another "adventure", off to experience more of this world, more of this "dream". And, these pages will follow our Central American progress as we begin to build a life to call our own, and a house we will call Casa Ingaso!
We wanted a distinctive name for our new Panamá house-to-be, something that would reflect Casa Nalu, our "hut" on the Carribean thirty kilometers south of Límon, Costa Rica. We began by calling our future abode Casa Isabella, an homage to my dearly departed mother. But, after the trees were cleared from the lot and we saw the view for the first time, we looked up at Cerro Picacho and damn if it didn't look like our dearly departed cat sleeping!
So, we're now calling the house "Casa Ingaso" after Inga, our feline companion of 18 years, also known as: Ingaso. My mother, Isabelle, will understand; she hated calling attention to herself. Besides, she already has her own site: grandmabelle.com.
Anyway, here on this site we intrepid "Panamanians" plan to keep a quasi-record of it all. We can't promise regular, systematic additions, but some kind of information will accrete here for those who wish to keep track or to laugh at or with us. It's up to you.
Our decision to move to Panamá came after an almost six-year hiatus, during which we cared for TC's ailing mother, and which culminated with the deaths of both our mothers, TC's father, and finally "Ingaso." When the emotions settled, we knew it was time to pick up our pieces. The question was: where to reassemble them? Well, we looked for a spot, looked for months, all the towns safe and neatly tucked into the familiar, yet smothering folds of the good old U.S. of A. But, nothing clicked.
That is, until things started cracking one day when TC realized that the thought of living outside the U.S. no longer caused the trepidation she once felt, the trepidation leftover from the horrific climax to our Costa Rican sojourn - for those of you who remember.
Well, that was the realization that launched a thousand ships of thought, one of which docked in Panamá. The Panamanian climate is hot and humid, the way we like it. Although, we opted for property at an elevation of 1800-feet so it would be cool at night—sleeping without air-conditioning—while still warm during the day with temperatures in the upper-70s to mid-80s year 'round. Also, the country is multicultural, welcoming, growing and full of promise. tc_and_bob
Oddly, Americans are rather liked here—something hard to find these days, plus the economy is based on the US dollar, though they call it a Balboa. At any rate, we decided to make our new Panamá home in a "rural residences development" (that's what it says on the sign entering here) called: Altos del Maria, on Lote 42, Valle de Toscana.
We hope you enjoy our saga,
TC and Bob

[to begin our saga, click here!]