Where to go, what to do

 So, we looked at St Croix. It's a lovely place with interesting people and if we had the sort of income that allowed it, would probably live there. However, the cost of living rivals Manhattan and Los Angeles, and that's not feasible.

Then we looked at Roatan. The cost of living is definitely doable, but the vast disparity between Haves and Have-Nots, and the...well...(shall we say)...Interesting state of the infrastructure kind of put us off. We've also had several people tell us "The island will speak to you. It will either welcome you or push you away." We felt that with both St Croix and Roatan.

So, on to the next one. We have bought tickets and made necessary arrangement to go to Panama. We are reading all we can find about it. It's an interesting place. The most I knew about it involved Banana Republic comments and Manuel Noriega and a couple of molas my Mom had. (Molas are a type of textile technique akin to quilting but not quite that.) Panama City is a very modern place, with all the amenities of any good American city. David (pronounced dah-VEED) is a smaller place, but has a Costco which...y'know...is a benchmark of sorts. We aren't looking at those places but it's nice to know they're there. We are looking at the island archipelago of Bocas Del Toro province. Fishing, diving, boating, looooww cost of living, decent housing, fruits, backpacking trust-fund babies with armpit hair and braids, a bar-hopping event called Filthy Friday in which we are unlikely to participate, and apparently all you need is a bike or a golf cart to get around (or a boat). We're going to take a week and check it out, and decide what's what.

Then, come home and discuss. Look at pictures, crunch numbers, talk to Abram (our Bocas Contact), and think/pray/sleep on it. 

See, here's the thing. I'm tired of being predictable. I'm tired of living by everyone else's expectations and wondering what would they think about it and do I need their approval to do something I've always wanted to do, and knowing I probably wouldn't get it. Go on a week-long trip and bring back a t-shirt and a seashell? Oh sure, they'd be all for that, as long as I come back and return to doing all the good and proper middle-aged woman things of which the world approves. 

But I'm tired of being Properly Approved. I want to live the second half of my life joyfully, not just contentedly. I want to go several weeks wearing nothing but flipflops and shorts and a t-shirt and a stack of silver bangles on my left wrist. I want to find a group of people who are also living joyfully. 

Now, I know we might get down there and not be spoken to by the place. If that happens, it happens. I'm open to it happening. If it does we will keep looking. Probably take a break from it for a couple of months so we can catch our breath and research...but keep looking.

There are certain criteria. Shallows fly-fishing is a must. Capt has a beautiful flats boat he wants to take people on chartered fly fishing trips. St Croix didn't have much, Roatan had more, Panama is full of it. So are the Alabama and Florida Gulf Coasts. There's some great places along there, and moving to the Gulf Coast would certainly be logistically simpler, especially since we already have an RV that's comfortable for living in.

We wouldn't be the first people ever to do this. The Caribbean, Central and South America are full of expats who decided a change was in order. The internet, cell phones, Skype, and email have made communication with people all over the world a snap. While it's not the same as hugging your grandkid, if we lived in Kansas the effect would be about the same.

I imagine having the Grandpunkins for 5 weeks of Summer vacation. I can picture it. They start back on the first day of 5th grade and the teacher assigns the ubiquitous "What I Did On Summer Vacation" essay, and it involves "learned to scuba dive in a Central American country" and "learned how to speak Garifuna". How cool would that be? My 5th grade essays said things like "I went swimming in a pond and got a leech". I would love for our kids to be able to come visit, and expand their horizons.

One of the things Capt has been saying all along, was that he's spent the first half of his life making people work, grinding them up to make a profit for someone else. He wants the second half to be spent helping them have fun. Fly fishing, teaching them to scuba dive, and I want to help facilitate that in whatever way I can. Maybe I can make a memento of their fun, or feed them while they're making those memories. Maybe I can find a group of women with a common interest and a way to use it to help others.

We'll figure it out. I'm glad we're finally in that spot to be able to actively work on it.

Here's a random picture of a red hibiscus for your viewing pleasure.