2 Retire In Panama? (the book) – Page 2

My Lack of Recent Blog Posts…

…is without excuse. I have been attempting to provide a weekly newsletter that is being enjoyed by nearly 600 people every week. The newsletter is morphing into quite an undertaking, and while I vow that it will not replace my blog, I will probably blog less with the newsletter providing brief up to date information for would be expatriates and many on the ground here in Panama.

If I had to offer up an excuse for the lack of recent blog posts, I would say that I have been less than inspired by the pandemic and politics of late. I am deeply concerned for the United States. I am amazed that the country would ignore the recent failures of Socialism around the world and vote it in to their own back yard. The protests are okay as long as you are the party of the media and not if your not. It has become okay to censure anyone not fitting into the game properly. I have been careful to remain neutral on most political matters here, however this is something that people in the United States seem to be missing. I have friends here in Panama who have escaped the political situations in places like Venezuela and South Africa. They are beside themselves that the great country of the United States would go the way of these and other countries. That is all I am going to say about that here. If any of you want to debate any of these issues with me it will have to be on some other platform. I want this space reserved for positive experiences and adventure.

The pandemic is the other issue causing my reluctance to blog. I have been posting the statistics of Panama weekly in the newsletter. Please take a look, if that interests you. I am like many who are frustrated about the lockdowns and quarantines. The bright side of all of that is that we are possibly in one of the safest places on earth. Panama has contracted with Pfizer to buy vaccine and Jen and I are already on the list to receive it. We are too interested in adventuring, and without the vaccine it is frightening to climb aboard a commercial flight or go with a group into the jungle.

This past weekend we were supposed to be on adventure in Bocas Del Toro. It was one of our adventure buddies birthday and her surprise was this awesome trip. Due to the extended weekend lockdowns and difficult travel (even domestically) we were forced to cancel the trip.

Jen and I did travel to the States for the holidays. It was quite a stressful time with all the covid-19 restrictions and mandatory masking. We visited with several people who are high risk so we did a voluntary test prior to our departure. Testing upon our return was required by the Ministry of Health in Panama. One of the worse parts of the experience was the swab probe up the nose into the nasal cavity. When asked about future International travel, I have been reluctant to say positively that I will do it. I do not blame any of you who refuse to travel back to Panama, or come for the first time, until all this crazy pandemic business is in the rearview mirror.

Our trip started on Christmas Eve and we traveled from Panama to Miami on Copa. We booked Business Class at $6.00 each more than Coach. It always pays to check both prices. Business Class on Copa proved to be almost the same as Coach except they gave us a food box. Only water was available. The advantage was that we were in the front of the plane for easy departure of the aircraft at Miami. Planes are being unloaded by row to keep people distanced as best they can. We were surprised to find the International Terminal empty and we breezed right through Immigration and Customs. We picked up our luggage, rented a car, and were bound for Punta Gorda, Florida within 30 minutes of landing.

The International Arrival Terminal at Miami

Florida does not have masking requirements, however masks are required by many of the shops and restaurants. We were able to relax for Christmas with some of my family under much less restrictions than we have become accustomed to in Panama. We were very selective where we went to avoid being exposed to the virus. It was really nice to visit with my parents and sister. We got a bunch of new fan photos for my book, and took care of some business that could only be done in the States. We learned that even temperatures in the 70’s F are a bit cool for us. We never even took any of our shorts out of the suitcase.

Renee nearly incited a riot when she made all the girls put on Santa Shirts

After Christmas we drove north. We made an awesome lunch stop to catch up with some friends in Homosassa. After lunch, we continued north to Orange Beach, Alabama. I did not figure out the mask requirement there, but every where we went, outside of our friends condo, required masks. Our friends just recently purchased their condo on the beach of the Gulf of Mexico. They are taking their first stab at being snowbirds. They considered Panama, but they ultimately chose a place that is driving distance from Michigan. Their condo is delightful, but the temperature outside while we visited was 50 degrees F during the day and down into the mid 30 degree F range at night. Despite the cool weather, it was really nice to see and catch up with our friends. We did a little shopping and enjoyed the beautiful little beach community where they are spending the winter.

On January 4th we departed early for the airport at Pensacola, FL. The temperature in the car was reading 37 degrees F and we were freezing as we turned the car in and checked in for our flight home. We were again in Business Class. We knew that we would be doing a little shopping while in the States and a 1st Class ticket allows more bags at a higher weight. That is something that also merits consideration. The return flight was on American with a layover in Miami. I give American high marks for their hospitality on the flight. Despite the covid-19 restrictions, they did everything possible to make us comfortable. They did serve drinks and gave us a choice of a sandwich or a cheese tray. The flight was almost completely empty. I settled back in my seat and watched a movie. By the time the movie concluded we were on approach to Panama City.

We were very comfortable in Business Class on American

The flight from Miami to Panama City was shorter than our experience with the covid-19 testing center at the airport. I have been advising people in my newsletter to get the test free if possible before leaving home. If that is not possible it is available at the airport upon arrival for $50. Jen and I could not get a free one so we opted for the airport option. We had been told that the testing center was easy to find with a lot of signage. We did not find adequate signs, but followed the crowd. We joined a line that may easily have been 300 people. I felt that the most likely place to be infected with covid-19 was the line at the testing center. The Ministry of Health should evaluate the system in place there and seek to improve it. We were there for over 3-1/2 hours from start to finish. Most of the time was spent in a crowd waiting for test results. We were there so long that we figured out who was delivering the negative results and who was delivering the positive results. Periodically a man would come out and take people away while there was a woman who brought out paperwork for those testing negative. You cannot get through immigration without a paper showing a negative result. Those people being escorted away were being taken to a covid-19 hotel to spend 14 days of quarantine at their own expense. I am told that they will give you a second test after 7 days and release you if it comes up negative. I am sharing the pictures from the testing experience below. If you choose to arrive and be tested this way I pray that your experience is better than ours.

The line was nearly the length of the concourse

In November when I last blogged, outside of the newsletter, Jen and I were finishing up a bathroom remodel. It was one way we could give back to the local workers while getting something that we have had on our wish list for quite some time. Prior to our leaving on vacation the work was completed. Many of you followed along in the newsletter, but in case you did not see the newsletter and want to see the final result I wanted to share a few before and after pictures. It came out beautiful, if I do say so myself.

Book sales have remained strong through the holidays and into the beginning of 2021. For this I feel blessed. Thank-you to all of you who have bought a copy and/or suggested it to a friend or acquaintance. I would like to extend a special thank-you to any of you who left a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Those reviews help others find it. I never wrote the book to make money. It was something that I had to prove to myself that I could accomplish. It may never turn a monetary profit, but the profit is the knowledge that it touched a few people and helped others in their quest toward expatriating. Click here to see a montage of selfies that book readers have shared.

I guess that I had more than I thought to say this time. I hope to share some real adventures soon. It means a lot to me to have you all following with so much intention. I had a couple of people let me know that my last post (with advertisements) caused them some grief. Apparently, one of the advertisers nabbed them and made it difficult to get away. I took those comments very seriously and discontinued almost all of the advertisers. Please forgive me if you experienced anything less than you deserve. If you are finding my blog and/or newsletter inciteful and informative, please, share it with friends. Also check out, like, and share my 2 Retire In Panama Facebook page. I am closing with a link to a video trailer for my book. The book is without pictures so the video trailer contains a few pictures of past adventures.

Blessing From Panama,

Greg and Jen

Panama Is Reopening

For those of you who receive my newsletter, I may be repeating myself a bit in this post. About a month ago, I published the first weekly newsletter in place of the blog. My idea was to begin providing weekly updates for my readers and those who need to keep up with happenings in Panama. The newsletter gave me challenges that I never expected. The platform from which I publish the blog provided me with the ability to publish a newsletter, but gave me a hard time sending it to the almost 800 regular readers of the blog. I have subscribed to a better software to improve the process and it seems that the frustration readers and I were experiencing is now a thing of the past. If you missed a week of the newsletter you can access it from the newsletter archives on the header. If you are not getting the newsletter…perhaps you are not officially subscribed to the blog. I am only giving it free to regular subscribers.

You may be noticing that a few advertisements are appearing in the blog. My hope is to recover some of the expenses involved in publication of it. I do not necessarily endorse each of the advertisers and the advertisements appearing are almost all random. One advertiser that will appear is Amazon. I am a fan of Amazon and future volumes of the newsletter will have coupon offers exclusive to my readers. I am also noticing that there is a free offer for a trial of Amazon Prime appearing. As an expat, Amazon Prime is a great resource. Jen and I use it for premium television , movies, and sending gifts to our grandchildren. Clicking through the ads will get you to the provider and I will make a few cents to defray expenses. Thank you for helping me out with this. Thank you also for your indulgence with the ads that do not interest you. Just ignore them. If you are not subscribed for the blog (and newsletter), please subscribe today. Do not miss the great offers coming your way.

The snow is flying in many parts of the United States and Canada. That usually signals the arrival of our snowbird friends. Some are not coming due to travel challenges. Many others are arriving daily. If you are still on the fence about travelling to Panama this year, the following information may prove helpful. With the reactivation of international flights at Tucuman International Airport, the Civil Aviation Authority has announced that nationals, residents, and foreigners who enter the country and do not have a Certificate of Swab Test/PCR or negative antigen, the cost to perform the test at the air terminal will be $50. There are three Swabbing Centers strategically located and duly signposted for the attention of travelers, in the Central Area, North Pier and Satellite B within Terminal 1 of the airport. Travelers will be able to obtain the results in approximately 20 to 30 minutes. If the rapid test result is negative, the passenger will be exempt from complying with the mandatory isolation.

If the swab/PCR or antigen test is positive, the person will go to mandatory isolation in a hospital hotel designated by the Ministry of Health. Seven days later the passenger will have another antigen test. If the result is positive, the passenger must complete the fourteen-day isolation and if the result is negative, the isolation ends. I advise getting the test before leaving home, but within 48 hours of arrival in Panama. If you do not have a residence upon arrival, and test positive the government will send you to quarantine in a hotel at your own expense.

Technical crews, auxiliary crews, mechanics, and humanitarian personnel are exempt.

This information came from a statement released by the airport.

One of the things that we love about Panama is the ability to bless the local working people by hiring them to work for you. Many of our friends have local housekeepers, pool guys, grounds keepers, and the list goes on. When Jen and I decided to move forward with a remodel of our master bath, we searched our recourses to find local workers. We secured a group of guys who have been as much a blessing to us as we have been to them. The guys did the complete demo, prepared the space for a spa type shower, and all new bath fixtures. The tile work is winding down and the cabinet guy will be able to install our locally sourced and built cabinetry. Once the cabinets are installed the local granite purveyor will be in to get his final measurement before cutting our countertop. We also involved an electrician for additional lighting and outlets. Most of these people have been shut down for 7 months, and are just now getting back to work. Most of the working class in Panama have been barely surviving; with the majority spending all of their savings to provide bare necessities for their families. There is more about our project is in the newsletter. If you have not been getting it click on the newsletter link on the header to get a list of the archives.

November is like July in the United States. It is the beginning of summer in Panama with a full month of celebrations. This year the Panamanian people are celebrating without festivals and gatherings. Due to the COVID crisis, the government has cancelled all the big celebration events, but the holidays are not cancelled. Record numbers of people are expected to head to the beaches and the government is ready for them. According to PanaTimes, the first weekend that the beaches reopened the police were out enforcing part of the Ocean 2020 operation. The operation was deployed in 27 locations at beaches, rivers, and spas nationwide. Commissioner Arroyavez indicated that during that first weekend 1,513 people visited the beaches. Of those,14 people were arrested for failure to wear masks and 3 for consumption of alcohol on the beaches. Alcohol and food consumption on the beach is prohibited due to the COVID 19 crisis. The people who were arrested were taken to the justice of the peace and fined $100.00 each. The individuals who were fined all tested negative for COVID. The Ocean 2020 operation will continue through December due to the large capacity of people going to the beaches after 7 months of quarantine.

The Pan-American Highway was choked on the first day the beaches opened.

The opening of the beaches marked nearly the last of the reopening effort. We have been enjoying many of our favorite restaurants and nearly all the shops are open and maintaining regular hours. The pools are open and the movie theatres are opening with limits on capacity. About the only things not opened are the schools and the gyms, which are under a great deal of scrutiny. Churches that meet the protocols set forth by the government are being allowed to open with limits on capacity. Our church, Coronodo Bible Church is opening for regular services, on the first Sunday in December. We have been meeting on Fridays over the past few weeks due to the Sunday full lockdown, which just ended. On line services are expected to continue indefinitely.

Some of the protocols required here in Panama include masks anytime you leave your home, temperature checks anytime you enter a place of business, and social distancing. Anytime you enter a business you must walk across a shoe bath, and they spray sanitizer on your hands. Those of you who live in the United States, may be surprised to see how much more rigid it is here in Panama. I see news reports from the States with people complaining of mask usage and social distancing. In Panama it is not an option so, if you have a problem with this, it may be better for you to stay home this year.

I wanted to give you all an idea of how the Republic of Panama has handled the COVID crisis. MINSA, which is a division of the Ministry of Health, reports that the country has registered 134,366 cases and 2706 deaths. The resulting fatality rate for the entire country is at 2.0%. Active cases total 19,996. Of those 18,765 are recovering at home and 562 in hotels. The remaining 669 are hospitalized with 562 in ward and 107 in ICU. Compare that the rest of the world where 30,907,934 recovered registered patients are compared with 46,196,087 accumulated cases and 1,197,194 deaths creating a fatality percentage of 2.6%. Compared to the rest of the world Panama has done a phenomenal job of protecting its population from the virus.

The holiday schedule for November is important information. During the month there will be many days when government offices, banks, and other businesses will close. On many major holidays the government prohibits the sale of alcohol. Even if you are not going out for a drink, you may find your favorite restaurant running on a different schedule because of the prohibited alcohol sales. There are 5 official holidays in November. The 2nd is the day of the dead in Panama. It is a dry holiday which is set aside for the Panamanian people to visit the cemeteries and tidy up. On the 3rd Panama celebrates its separation from Colombia which occurred on November 3, 1903. This is also known as Independence Day; one of 2 celebrated in Panama. The 4th is Flag Day. You will see the Panamanian flag waving and hanging everywhere on Flag day. Flags are displayed on banks, businesses, overpasses, car antenna, and about anything that can be decorated with a flag. On the 10th Panama celebrates the uprising of Villa de Los Santos. This is known as the first cry of independence from Spain. On the 28th the second Independence Day is celebrated. The day commemorates independence from Spain which occurred on November 28, 1821.

I wrote a great deal of information about the holidays of Panama in my book “2 Retire In Panama?” which is available at Amazon or on Kindle. You can order by clicking the link on the home page. The Independent Press honored “2 Retire In Panama?” with a New York City Big Book Award. It was recognized as a Distinguished Favorite in the category of Reference. Writing the book has been an adventure all of its own. I feel blessed that it is getting noticed by many important organizations.

Please remember to subscribe to the blog today to receive both the newsletter and blog in your e-mail in box. It helps me when you give feedback so I know that I have been helpful in keeping you informed about what is going on in Panama. It also helps when you like and share my posts.

Blessing from Paradise,

Greg and Jen

Our Official Update From Panama

The past 6 months have been a challenge for all of us. Jen and I have been in virtual lockdown since returning from our abbreviated adventure in Israel last March. I have been reluctant to make many blog posts as it seems everything appearing in others posts and on social media has been largely negative. I have never been a fan of spreading negativity here or in any other medias. I never want the unvarnished perspective that I present in my posts and in my book to be mistaken for negativity. Often when we have a negative experience, we prefer to refuse to return for a repeat experience rather than spread hatred of a business or vendor. People often contact us to inquire about something of which we have been vague. The fact that we have been vague about an experience does not necessarily mean the experience was bad. We have been offering endorsements sparingly, because we want to keep our blog honest and raw, allowing our readers to create their own experience. Hopefully, all the readers are sharing our experiences from afar or learning enough to help pave their own path. Today I am going to share with all of you a bit about how we have spent the past 6 months and where the country of Panama is heading as they attempt to reopen the economy here. The next few paragraphs are rooted in my research and come from various sources that I will attempt to give credit as I share.

In a previous post I detailed our experience upon returning from Israel. I will give a brief recap to bring our new readers up to date. While traveling to the Middle East we found no concern for the COVID in the airports other than in our own departure from Panama City where they were doing health checks of all passengers arriving. Our departure was early in March and we did not see any widespread concern until about half way through the first week on the ground in Israel. Nothing about our time in Israel was as we expected. After being told that the tourism industry was closing and that we should plan to leave the country as soon as possible, we began having concerns that we would not be able to return to our home in Panama. As it turned out, we just barely got home before the airport in Panama closed. Other than the numerous cancelled and rescheduled flights, and difficulty finding a restaurant opened in Miami where we had an unplanned overnight layover, the only real appearance of a world-wide pandemic was upon landing in Panama City. We were carefully screened in the airport and sent home for a 14 day quarantine. We were only allowed to leave quarantine to go for groceries or the pharmacy (only 1 of us was allowed to go). Within a few days of our return the entire country was placed under strict quarantine. Gender specific days out of the house with people only allowed out for 2 hours at a time. The time for going out was based on the last number of a persons cedula with foreign residents allowed out based on their passport number. Only people meeting the proper criteria were allowed into a grocery store or pharmacy. All other businesses were closed and any person with a special need to be out during a different time were required to have a special permission from the government which is called a salvo conducto. While none of this was particularly comfortable, we agreed that the restrictions were there to keep us safe from the pandemic. After a few weeks, some restaurants were allowed to open for take-out and delivery. I think the number one income of people in Panama for most of the past 6 months is delivery drivers. The streets have been deserted and traffic concerns dropped to nearly zero.

Wear your mask and practice social distancing

Fast forward to today…things are starting to re-open. The 2-hour time restrictions ended at the beginning of September. The gender-specific quarantine ended this past Monday with all people being allowed out Monday through Saturday from 5am to 11pm. Only those with a salvo conducto are allowed out on Sunday and from 11pm to 5am. For the past several months we have waited patiently every evening for an update on one of our Facebook groups like the one below. Our friend Karyn Saunders gets the update in Spanish from the Minister of Health, translates it, and posts it to the group. A careful look at the post from yesterday will show just how successful all this lockdown has been for Panama.

September 17th, 2020 UPDATE

104,138 total cases +672 new, 2213 deaths +15 new, 152 ICU, 731 hospitalized, 24,044 active, 77,881 recovered +1094 new, 2.1% death rate,

- 417,620 total tests, +5355 new, 12.5% positive rate, 9761/100,000
- There are over 218 tracking and tracing teams throughout the country.
- Vice Minister Ivette Berrio and her team paid a visit to the new mask manufacturing company in the Panaparkfree Zone. She is pleased to report the masks follow all the requirements needed for the medical industry (KN95 and surgical). The company is also making other equipment that will be used as PPE.

We are still on course and our numbers are going down. A great sign 4 days into our new found freedom.

Our church has been involved in a very comprehensive process to open back up. Approval has been granted, however we still have a total lockdown on Sundays. We had a service today to test the system for allowing us to reopen. Every person was required to walk across a shoe cleaner, have their temperature taken and recorded along with their cedula number and name (for tracing purposes). Attendees were required to use hand sanitizer every 30 minutes, wear masks, and exercise social distancing. 13 people were in attendance which is a long way from the average of 100 pre virus. Thank you Pastor Jon for the video of the Doxology and the picture of our small gathering.

We will continue to have Sunday service via You Tube and Facebook until things open up a little better. I am still not sure about having services on Friday to conform to the government requirements. People here are starting to feel a little rebellious with the restrictions and I am not sure why it has taken this long. Jen and I are putting it all in God’s hands and accepting that we are guests in this country. The Constitution of Panama guarantees health care to all. They have to keep us all healthy or prepare to take care of us.

Car washes were allowed to open on September 7. That is nice, but I fail to see the importance of this being put above many other things. They allowed the beauty parlors and barber shops to re-open, due to public outrage, a few weeks ago. This was done with huge limitations. Jen got her hair done the other day and her salon has enacted significant price increases.

On September 28th retail stores, restaurants, and portions of the service industry will be allowed to open. National Aviation will resume and National Parks, rivers and beaches will open. Earlier this week my friend Roberto posted a tour of the beaches near our home here on the seco arc. Roberto Hernandez writes a popular blog called The Spartacus Papers on WordPress. Jen and I have had the privileges’ of enjoying most of these beaches and I am sharing the link to his post for your enjoyment Roberto’s beach tour. After you check out the link, please use your back browser to return to the remainder of my post.

International Aviation will resume along with hotels, motels, rural hostels, other accommodations, and tourist activities. Tourism, tours, cultural industries, music and art academies, libraries and swimming pools.

NO date has yet been announced for the remaining which includes schools, colleges, universities, cinemas, theaters, museums, galleries, and closed structure tourist sites. Also remaining closed without an opening date are gyms, casinos, bars, canteens, discotheques, and carnival parades.

At our house we are anxiously awaiting the reopening of the beaches, pools, restaurants and gym. Even in our closed private community, gyms, the country club, and pools have remained closed.

We have had friends who returned to the States to wait out the restrictions. It has been hard to remain in virtual solitary confinement and that is taking a toll on the mental stability of many people. Many parts of the world have far less restrictions but the mental suffering is still a huge concern. For several weeks now we have been having a weekly lunch with 2 other couples. We have rotated the location and cooking responsibilities with an afternoon of dominos following lunch. This has given us a wonderful thing for which to look forward. Our condos have not told us we cannot do it and our friends are all happy to escape solitary confinement once a week as well. In the past, this was possibly against the rules, so I will not disclose the locations, day, or time.

Today our ballots arrived. Pursuant to the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE) we requested our ballot be sent to us by e-mail. The email ballot includes instructions for completing and returning the ballot for the upcoming election. We will be required to print and sign the ballot. It must be returned in the pre-addressed, postage paid envelope which was included with the e-mail with instructions for assembly. Our ballot must be delivered to the US Embassy no later than September 24th. They will return it to the States in a diplomatic pouch. From there it will go by mail to our jurisdiction. I learned from a friend in Michigan today that she has received 6 applications for an absentee ballot in her mailbox which she never requested. I hope that this does not cause voter fraud. Every legitimate vote counts; once you move to a foreign country, make sure you continue to vote.

When I started writing this blog post I was unsure if I had enough content. There are actually several other points that I wanted to make. I will save these for another time. Thank you for the overwhelming support of my book. If you are among those who have read it, please go Amazon or Good Reads to leave a review. That helps others find it on search engines. If you have not yet picked up the book please go to Kindle or Amazon to get a copy today. Kindle Unlimited readers get it free. As always, like and share my blog to help me build the reader base. I am considering publishing a newsletter once we have the readers to support it.

Lynda Allison enjoying her copy of my book.

Blessings from Panama,

Greg and Jen

The Launch of “2 Retire In Panama?” (the book) and more….

On July 18 friends and relatives gathered for the launch of my first book. The event was a bit rough given the whole COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. We gave a lot of thought and prayer to how we could launch the book on a virtual platform. We wanted to make the event available to the majority of our friends and family. Facebook live event turned out that the best way to make the launch event available to the most people, so that was the platform we selected. I scheduled guests who we thought would be able to join us in person from our condo here in Panama. A few days prior to the launch, we learned that the weekend would be total lockdown here and our guests had to be given the option to prerecord their greetings. We had all but one of our guests record their greetings. The other joined us in person. It looks like we had over 300 of you join us in real time or watch it later. I am sharing a replay here for any of you who would like to see it. Replay of “2 Retire In Panama?” launch event

I have also taken a little time to work on my You Tube Channel where you can find the prerecorded messages of my guests.. A visit to my You Tube channel is also a great way to see some of our adventures. Please feel free to subscribe to see future updates. The short segments of the Panama Canal are pretty awesome. These are clips that I used in my previous blog post, The Panama Canal Tour, during our first trip to Panama. There is also numerous picture video clips of our recent trip to Israel. Many of these videos I produced for my friend and author Mesu Andrews; others I made for myself. It seems that I have gotten better at these as time goes by, and I will share future adventures there. When you click on the links here just use the back browser to bring you back to the remainder of the blog post.

A look at my previous blog posts in the archives will give you all some insight into much of the content of my book. A picture paints a thousand words. My writing skills are still a bit raw and my mentor tells me to strive to paint pictures with my writing. The pictures are there for all to see in the blog posts.

Since the beginning of our adventures in Panama, the blog has been my way to share with friends and followers. During that time, I have found myself following several blogs of others living or adventuring abroad. When the pandemic started many of them used their platform to let their followers know where they were trapped and how they were dealing with it. A couple of them used their platform to complain about the situation and blame the governments of the world for the predicament. Jen and I chose not to post much about what we were going through. We recognize that the situation is all in God’s hands and how we deal with it is deeply rooted in our faith in Him. We are thankful every day that we are spending the pandemic in Panama. The government here is often criticized for their handling of it, but we have felt safe in the knowledge that they are taking extraordinary measures to keep us safe.

When we returned home from our abbreviated vacation in the Holy Land, we were quarantined in our home for 14 days. At the end of the quarantine the Ministry of Health called us to confirm our good health. It was about then that nationwide restrictions were imposed to minimize the movement of people and the spread of the virus. Our restrictions remain in effect with men and women allowed out for 2 hours, 2 or 3 times per week. These times are on alternating days based on the number on one’s Cedula for Nationals and passport’s for residents. This time is for shopping and visiting the pharmacy. All restaurants have been closed and are allowed only to serve delivery and takeout. The churches, pools, beaches, and gyms (even inside condos) were all closed and visiting friends was forbidden. Netflix and Hulu became our best friends. Most recently many of the restrictions are being relaxed and we are now enjoying our pool and gym. We have been able to have friends for lunch and a friendly game of Dominoes, as long as we follow certain protocols.

I spent the majority of the time during lockdown finishing my book. Once the rough draft was completed it went through many edits, a bit of rearranging, and formatting. I then had to develop the cover and submit it for approval at Amazon. It took a great deal of work to bring it to fruition. I was thankful for the hours of seclusion which kept my butt in the chair.

Social and main stream media are not always our friend. I spend a great deal of time on social media now promoting the book to potential readers and keeping on top of what is going on in the community. People seem to use social media to bash one another and complain about how the pandemic is being handled. There can be valuable information there; but everyone has to sift through it to find what is good and worth reading. It seems that at times the mainstream media is not in our best interest either. Daily news from around the world tends to twist the news to benefit certain political and other agendas. I implore all of you to keep yourselves safe in a way in which you are comfortable. If you have health concerns, aside from COVID, stay at home where you will not be exposed. If you must go out in public, wear your mask to protect yourself and others.

I am being asked now when I will write another book. I will not commit to anything until I see how the first one pans out, but the questions cause me to think about what I may write. Jen says I need to take a stab at fiction. I wish that there was enough content in the sunsets for a book. Every evening we enjoy marvelous sunsets. I could not share a blog post without pictures and I am choosing to share a few of the pictures that I have taken during the lockdown. God paints us a beautiful picture daily and we are thankful to be able to enjoy these gifts from Him.

I think that I have given you enough for now. I would like to point out the icons on the bottom of the post. Follow us on any of the social media platforms there. I admit that I do better at keeping up with some than I do on others. Please like and share everything I post so that I can get the exposure needed to make the book successful.

As a thank you for being readers and followers of my blog, I am offering the Kindle version for half price until noon Central Time on July 30, 2020. Buy the Kindle version here .

Blessings from Panama,

Greg and Jen

The Passion To Write

Since returning from our COVID19 abbreviated adventure in Israel I have been spending some of our lockdown time to organize photos and complete my first book. I never imagined the task of writing, editing, formatting, and creating a cover for publication would be so daunting. All of these things must fit into the parameters set forth by the publisher. The cover is featured above as my featured image. In the weeks to come I will be completing the publishing process.

In the book, which is based on the blog, I lay out in detail the immigration process and everything that went into our move to a developing country. My goal was to educate and entertain in a fact filled book for anyone considering the expat lifestyle. Everything in our life over the past two years has been an adventure and my goal was to give readers honest straightforward information for what to expect as they explore retirement options.

For Jen and I, we wanted eternal summer on the beach with a relaxed lifestyle. We wanted a location that would not break our budget and we found all of that in Panama. I found tons of information on the internet for would be expatriates. I will however warn you right up front that many of the websites, blogs, and companies promoting living outside a person’s home country are not all on the up and up. Many only want to attract the attention of investors, home buyers, and others with money to spend. A savvy researcher must glean information from those sites that will support one’s own agenda. Perhaps you have considered retiring, moving overseas, and even reinventing your life as an expatriate. I hope that you will read 2 Retire In Panama?.

In the next few weeks I will begin promoting the book. I will send the blog followers and all the others reading it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram a link to buy the electronic version or the print copy of the book. I hope to be putting a clickable link in the blog to purchase, review, and comment on the book.

I want to thank all of you for the continued support and encouragement. The writing has been a passion of mine for quite some time. My friends following the process who have read excerpts think that I have a winner; and it has been a pleasure preparing to share it.

Above all, I must thank the great God from whom all inspiration and encouragement has come.

No work is ever complete before it passes through many hands to help with the fine tuning.

I must start by thanking my patient and understanding wife without whom we would never have had any of these adventures. She also encouraged me, proofread for content, and was my first check for mistakes. She was instrumental in helping with the formatting and she never once told me that I could not do it.

The adventure partners are numerous and a group that will continue to grow. Thank-you to Ty and Lyn Gilbert who are always ready for an adventure. Thank-you also to John and Barbie Yoder who showed us an awesome adventure in Costa Rica. And a special thank-you to all the people who have visited and participated on the many other adventures that went into the writing of the book (you all know who you are).

Thank-you Lynda Allison for being that special person who mentored me, answered all the questions and was my guiding force to get the book to a publishable form.

The cover is about the most frustrating and yet important parts of a published work. I toiled over cover art and asked for help from friends and family who came up with the idea for my cover. An exhaustive search of photo sites helped me to discover photographer, Valentin Antonucci. The cover photo is his work and the book would not be the same without him. Check out his other works @NeonStdios and @antonuccival on Twitter.

Last but certainly not least…Thank-you to Vicky Ireland for the many hours spent editing and organizing the manuscript. Without her I never could have finished it. The book is immensely better with her input and finishing touches.

Once the worldwide borders and that of Panama begin opening up, and we are all allowed to move about more freely I will be blogging more frequently. Everybody here is ready to embark on more adventures. In the meantime, please scroll down to like and share. Oh…and pick up a good book. As always if you are not yet subscribed, it would be a great time to do it (the subscribe link is on the right margin). Many of my blogger friends have taken the COVID lockdown as an opportunity to rant about it. I did not feel the need.

Blessings,

Greg

Category: 2 Retire In Panama? (the book)

Our Official Update From Panama

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