actually it looks more like this.

combined with this

What I meant by being tired of island life is that it gets old not to be able to travel far by car. It complicates things. At first its not that much of a deal, but after 3 years you kinda miss it.
FerFAL

Copy that friend!  I cannot wait to get to the tropics!  Will be a small challenge, but totally worth it.

Small challenges, but many of them. So far it has just been equipment related. For instance today I needed a new prop thanks to the previous owner. 3 shops and no luck for a prop to fit the most common motor here. Finally checked out the new mercury shop that just opened and bingo. I am excited to try it out tomorrow.

So today the container arrived and we got all of the stuff we shipped. Thank goodness that included my tools and here is a weird coincidence...

One of my guys cut himself pretty good carrying a box. Apparently during shipment a knife came loose and jabbed out the side. Luckily my main medical supplies also arrived including suture kits and staples. Well I cleaned it well and decided that a stitch would be beneficial but the location would not allow for good sutures. But steri strips worked. I sent him home with extra bandages, iodine, and strict instructions on care. I also paid him for the rest of the week and told him no working.

So preps save the day once again....

So, where do you go shopping? Bri Bri?

That guy would have torn his shirt off and wrapped it up and kept working if you hadn't done that.  Nice work however.  Looking forward to your continued updates and send me a PM if you need some help setting up an Imgur account to host pictures.

Bumping for updates.

Congratulations canoeguy.  I like Central America too (three growing seasons, plenty of rainfall, warm, warm, warm).

I know guys...I have been remiss in updating. We have moved from one rental to another and have been so busy. Things are going ok. I will update tonight I hope. Thanks for following along every one.

I hold Citizenship in three different countries.  All were declared when I became a US Citizen, and I was never asked to denounce any.  I also have zero issues traveling to any of those countries with a US passport.  Zero issues serving in the US Army either.

This thread is rocking CG...more pic's brother!!!

Amen brother, forget Belize!  Belize is a crime ridden ghetto-type hell hole that only looks good in phony TV ads.  And Pureto Rico is still the USA.  The West coast of Costa Rica is probably the best of the bunch, but more expensive.  Of course there's always South Texas where nice homes are inexpensive, the Latino women pretty and packing heat is legal!

Don't know how long ago that was. And I don't know what countries they are. All I can tell you is that, now, most countries will not go for it. Including Panama. There are a few countries out there that will allow dual citizenship, but the U.S. won't recognize theirs in return. At least this is the info I have received.

I am curious when you became a us citizen and what other countries you are a citizen of?


ETA: so I just read a blurb from the state department and you are right...kinda. The U.S. will not require you to give up nationality if that nationality was gained through no doing of your own. In other words birth. Where I and many of us here on this board are affected is that the law says that if you apply for another citizenship by choice you could lose your US citizenship. Not a risk I am willing to take.

And I do know that many countries definitely require you denounce you citizenship before becoming a citizen in their country.

When I was riding to Panama and went through Belize I was shocked to find it had more trash than any other country I went through. A real disappointment. But there are Mayan ruins everywhere, which is cool. And I never went out on the Islands or down to the remote end, just chugged through the heart of it.

Puerto Rico is also a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, and still has a big crime problem. The thing is less than 100 miles long and less than half across.
FerFAL

Whelp, I just read this thread front to back and I gotta hand it to ya OP....you stayed realistic, optimistic, and focused and made it happen.  Hats off to you, hombre!

(post erased) sorry, wrong thread

Any updates ?

OP..you guys OK?

Really?  You didn't cover that in the oath?


DHS USCIS Naturalization Oath

Weird,  we got Qtips at the Machetazo in Santiago.  But then again, Bocas isn't Veraguas.

Sorry to leave you hanging guys. A lot has happened and I will try to fill you in tomorrow.

Hope it's generally good news.

Ditto, though it doesn't have to be much north of "Not dead." to be a good start!



 

Ive been reading through this thread the past few days, and I feel like Ive just read a good book. Could be an idea for income, just write your story of this adventure. Amazing what you and your wife have accomplished, and my hat is off to you for it.

Now I'm left hanging waiting for an update to whats been going on. Hope all is well, can't wait to read more about this as it continues.

OK so here is the big update...

We are back in the US. There I said it. It is kind of sore to say it as I feel a little defeated. And in only four months. So here is what happened, and I told you guys I would always be upfront so as to give anyone thinking about this a real look as to what it is like...

I simply could not catch a break when it came to work. And any job at all would have been fine. I was confident that being a dive instructor would help me obtain a job at a shop. But I didn't count on the Panama factor. Basically it is like this, dive shops are governed by a body of organizations. these folks, like PADI, give guidelines on how a shop must be run as far as safety, teaching, and such or else they will pull their name from their organization. What I failed to account for is that Bocas is far enough off the path that they just don't care. And I saw some crazy practices being done. This will change as the area grows, but doesn't help me now.

SO we were there in Panama, getting nothing done but hemorrhaging money. We were getting frustrated and felt like we would have been better off buying a business as opposed to land. And about a month ago we just agreed that we need to come back to the US and make more money. And we needed to do it while we still had enough cash to get reestablished. So that night we bought tickets for about three weeks ago. And like that we are back in the states.

Now don't feel bad for me. I had three job offers before I landed. In the end my wife and I agreed to come back to running the Log Home business but that is another story. This also the reason I haven't been updating as I have been quite busy fixing the mess here at the business and honestly my pride is still a little stung. But as I said from the beginning I always had the ability to bail and I am not one to carry down a path to utter ruin when I can see the writing on the wall.

SO what is the current state of things? Well we have our dock in. the property is cleaned up and access has been cut to the home sight. this will be maintained while we are gone. We can get our residency here from the States now that we have accounts established in Panama.

Here in the US? We have basically nothing. We have been buying some furniture a piece or two at a time. I had my preps stored safely, so no worries there. Really it is kind of exciting. we cleaned out 14 years of junk and now are much wiser about what we need and want.

So I have some more thoughts to share on the good and bad and what we might do now but you guys have been along with me on this journey so I will let you who are interested ask me what you will and we will lay it all out.

Man I hate to hear that things did not work out.  But I am happy to hear you are safe.  I look forward to what you do next.  Keep us updated.

Glad to hear you knew when to fall back and regroup before you were left with no options.

Also glad to hear ou still have the land and are not throwing the towel in on making another go of it.

You sure have a great attitude! I'm impressed.

I imagine your view of the future is a bit murky right now but it sounds like this trip back to the states is purely to replenish capital. Will you be able to make any improvements to your place while you are gone? Do you have any plans yet regarding when you might return? What about your boat? Did you sell it or is it being protected while you are gone?

Thanks for your honesty, OP. That took some guts.

Good for not waiting until it was too late.

Hate to hear it's not working out as smoothly as planned, but it doesn't sound like you've given up just yet. Keep us posted.

Where in Va are you guys?

Glad you are OK. 36 years ago, I decided to do something like that; move to a place I loved... no jobs, no place for me. I gave up and came back home to nothing.

It worked out, got an education, job, found a great wife, bought a house in a great neighborhood, and had a child, and we vacation in the place I love...but can't live in.

The very southwestern tip. Lee County.

Thanks for all of the positive support guys. I feel let down in myself for bailing so quickly, but I am also relieved to be home, but I miss the jungle, but I am armed again, but...

So regarding our plans for going back...we simply don't know. We also need a little time to think on it. In the back of our minds we are kicking around the fact that magical places aren't magical anymore when you must do the daily grind of just surviving. Don't get me wrong we love the land down there it is amazing. Sloths hanging in our trees and parrots squawking above is real story book stuff. But the everyday grind of fuel and grocery shopping and boat repairs and just boats in general is tiring.

And to be honest I learned something. I am American. I mean I must bleed red, white, and blue. My attitude, my opinions, how I carry myself, and this is the toughest part, my expectations of others. Now I have travelled a lot and I love it. I also realize that I stand out, but this was a different experience. The situations that homesteading put me in are different from gallivanting around on a motorcycle or diving for a week. I did not have many shared views with some of the folks there. But, these aren't the Panamanians I am speaking of per say, rather the Europeans. What a bunch of liberal crybabies. No offense to any Euros on here. I mean serious white guilt which cracks me up when you are in a sea of brown people looking to take advantage of you everywhere you turn.

Canoeguy,

While you are back and re-establishing yourself, have fun and ride safe on your new Harley!  Keep your knees in the wind!

Ride Safe!

I've chatted with other survivalists / preparedness folks and the common denominator seems to be if things do get "difficult", the "outsiders" are the first targeted.

My short foray into Panama wasn't really enough to gauge that vibe, but it certainly was in other countries in that neighborhood.

Whatever your situation OP., I truly hope it works out for you and you appreciate those sunsets regardless of mountains or beach.

I didn't leave the country, but I learned the same lesson by spending 12 years in rural Northern California. I lived on a mountainside covered in redwood forest, but by the end I barely saw it any more. The grind of taxes, shitty gun laws, being surrounded by commies, having to get expensive permits for every tiny goddamn thing my business did...

I'm back in TX now, summer's coming on, my clothes stick to me as soon as I walk out the door... and I couldn't be happier. This is where I belong. This is where I can relate to people. Freedom, guns, low cost of living, BBQ, TexMex, and the culture that raised me.

Welcome back to the good ol' USA. It's a wonderful place, and Virginia is a beautiful state. You have nothing to be ashamed of at all. You embarked on a great adventure, and then you made the right choice to come home.

That's as good as it ever gets

Happy for you that you gave it a shot and were aware enough to call it before it got too bad!  Welcome back to VA!

Texas saying.

If you haven't filed for bankruptcy at least once, you ain't trying.

Big balls you have for the effort.

I have zero doubt you will try again, and keep at it until you accomplish your goal.



Txl

Glad you are safe and sound.

I was just thinking about you and what a vacation down there would be like -wondering when you might be ready to entertain tourists.

Thanks for posting follow-up despite the temporary hit to you pride.  Your clarity and decision to act are a good example.

Looking forward to more updates on how you manage things from afar.

Glad you were able to assess ahead of any disaster.

Welcome home and good luck on getting settled and or sorted out.

Hopefully this will give some people who think that they would bail on the US if things got bad a reason to re-consider.




Sorry your adventure didn't workout Canoeguy but it was very interesting for us all to read your thread.  Thanks for posting!!

Hope you guys work it out. You seen to have a great attitude and it's the most important thing. Emigration is always tough.
An old joke came to mind:
"There was a guy waiting in line at the Pearly Gates for his chance to enter heaven. The line was long and there was an offer to go for a tour of hell. Down in hell it was like one big party – beautiful people laughing, drinking, gambling. After returning from his tour he passed through the Pearly Gates but the quiet chanting and constant playing of the harps in heaven seemed incredibly dull compared to life in hell. The white clouds, wings and robes were beginning to get on his nerves. After a while he could stand it no longer and asked God for permission to transfer into hell permanently. Upon arrival into hell, he was immediately chained and thrown into a vat of boiling oil. He couldn’t understand what was happening. This was nothing like the hell he visited earlier. He called out to the devil for an explanation. “Don’t  confuse tourism with immigration!” replied the devil."