Life Nomadic: The Pan Panama Road Trip Begins!

by Tynan on

The best adventures are the unexpected ones.

We sat at La Novena, an amazing Vegetarian restaurant on Via Argentina in Panama City. We order the same thing every time. Soup of the day, avocado salad for me, almond and pear salad for Todd, and whole wheat pasta with eggplant and tomato. We ordered it so much last year that when we returned the chef already knew exactly what we wanted.

After a predictably amazing dinner we stood in front of the kitchen chatting with the chef, Arturo. He used to be an engineer, and it shows in his meticulous preparation of the food.

Next to him was one of his employees, chipping away at the shells of dark brown beans, putting the cleaned bean in a small tupperware container.

“Que hace ella?”

And that’s when our education on the making of chocalate began. From a town near the Costa Rican border, called Al Mirante, came the raw cacao beans. Then they fermented them, roasted them, chipped away the shells, and ground them into cocoa powder.

Amazing. Todd and I are huge fans of dark chocolate. Anything above 85%. Can we try one of the beans?

The beans were delicious. We’d had both tried packaged cocoa nibs back in the states, but this was something different. They were barely bitter, just an overpowering chocolate explosion with a subtle fruity flavor.

We were hooked. Arturo put some of the beans in a cup for us to take home and Todd and I resolved to make the twelve hour drive to Al Mirante try to visit a chocolate plantation.

After dinner we headed to an internet cafe. A quick search revealed that Thrifty would rent us a car for only $8.10 a day.

“At that price, let’s just get the thing for two weeks and go everywhere.”

“Yup.”


We instant message our friend Vince, who is also in Panama, to see if he wants to come.

“Where are you planning on going?”

We never plan. We just go and let the adventure unfold ahead of us. The rental car wasn’t available the following morning, which had already put an annoying delay in our adventure.

From meeting fellow travelers during our time in Panama we know of a bunch of places that are worth visiting. David, Boquete (our first stop), Bocas Del Toro, El Valle De Anton, and of course a stop in Las Tablas for Carnaval again.

And so now I write this from the car as Todd drives like a madman through the Panamanian frontier. I occasionally glance up to find us in the oncoming traffic lane as he passes a car. Besides going relatively lightly on the horn, he’s adopted the Panamanian way of driving.

Thus begins the great “Pan Panama Road Trip” of 2009. Stay tuned as we go everywhere in Panama and let you know what can and can’t be missed. If you’ve been to Panama and want to suggest somewhere not on our list, let us know and we’ll probably go check it out.

Life Nomadic: Traveling without Planning

by Tynan on

Ahh, and we’re back. After a semi-hiatus of a few months, Todd and I are back to the full nomad lifestyle. I say semi-hiatus because within those four months we both spent a good amount of our time traveling around the US, Mexico, and Canada. And even when I was in Austin, where my family and most friends are, I lived in a 21′ RV on the side of the road.

Once a nomad, always a nomad?

Our trip this year is going to be very different from last year, but our first stop is the same as last year’s first stop: Panama.

I’m not sure why exactly we chose Panama last year, but this year we chose it because we’d fallen in love with the country. The people are universally friendly and warm, as is the weather, the food is dirt cheap and amazing, and there’s no shortage of adventure to be found.

Not to mention that Todd and I are both nearing fluency in Spanish and Panamanian Spanish is actually known for being very clear.

One hallmark of our trips is that we usually don’t plan much. We often go to a city with no place to stay and no plans, assuming we’ll figure it out once we get there. That’s probably where our mantra, “everything always works out” comes in.
When our flight landed in Panama, it was two in the morning. We have a few friends in Panama from last year, but imposing on them to sleep on their couches at 3am seemed a bit cruel. Getting a hotel was an option, too, but it doesn’t make much sense to pay for a hotel you’re going to be in for just eight hours, even at Panama’s bargain rates.

And so we chose the third, less obvious option. In our backpacks we cram in luxury-lite cots, giving us the ability to sleep in perfect comfort just about anywhere.

(side note: if you have the foresight, check www.sleepinginairports.net before deciding to sleep in an airport. They have a good database, though most of the complaints people register are negated with a luxury-lite.)

We headed upstairs to the waiting lounge, where a dozen or so fellow travelers were awkwardly sleeping on the hard tile floor or slumped over in chairs. I hate to admit it, but I felt pretty smug knowing we were about to rest in perfect comfort in an otherwise inhospitable environment.

And we did. A security guard gently woke us up at 7am, we packed up our cots, and headed in to one of our favorite cities in the world with no plans or accommodations to speak of.

Life Nomadic: Welcome to Life Nomadic

by Tynan on

The border agent was very suspicious of me.

“Where’s your luggage?”

“I don’t have any.”

“Do you have a return ticket?”

“No, but I have a ticket to Panama for next week.”

“Where do you live?”

This never goes over well.

“Well, nowhere, really…”

And it’s true. The closest thing I have to a home is a 21 foot RV that I park on the street and live in when I’m in Austin, Texas for a few months every year.

Last year my friend Todd and I made the decision to become modern day nomads and make the wonders of the world the backdrop for our every day lives.

We sold everything we owned other than two small backpacks crammed with cutting edge gear, and chased our whims around the world.

We ran with the bulls in Spain, sat under the cherry blossom trees in Tokyo, explored the catacombs of Paris, rode 4x4s across the dunes of Qatar, marched in the Carnaval parades of Panama, and a whole lot more.

This year we have a lot more planned, along with plenty of time to fill with whatever last minute adventure catches our attention.

And even better, we’re blogging about it exclusively for Gadling. Our goal this year is to show you what it’s like to be a modern day nomad, how to do it, and also how to use some hardcore nomad strategies to make regular travel even better.

We have three main principles that we follow, which you will hear a lot more about:

  1. Versatility

    We aim to be as versatile as possible. We pack extremely light, but with enough gear to cover any likely contingency. My small 28 liter pack has enough gear to keep me warm in 10 degree Toronto (where I write this from) and cool in 90 degree Panama (where I head this week).

    Our incomes are unbound from any location and we’ve developed good work habits to put in a full effort from anywhere in the world.

    We have no obligations back home to pull us back or encumber us while we’re gone.

    On top of all that, we eat healthy foods and exercise so that we can hike a few miles through the mountains just as easily as we can flop down on a hammock on the beach.

  2. Technology

    We use the latest technology available to fuel our worldwide adventures. Not just electronics, although we’re packed to the gills with those, but cutting edge clothing technology (more exciting than it sounds…) and even camping gadgets.

    Beyond what we carry, we use technology to keep in touch with family and friends all around the world as well as to generate enough income to fund our nomadic lifestyles.

  3. Deep Experience

    Our backgrounds and available time pose some restrictions, but we try to live like natives rather than trample the country like tourists.

    We try to learn the language of anywhere we stay for at least a month, rent apartments rather than hotels, and spend our time exploring the city rather than hopping from one Carlos and Charlie’s to the next.

    Whenever we’re able to make friends with locals we get a much richer experience, and we follow their recommendations on where to visit.

Whether you’re a fellow nomad, someone who plans to go nomadic eventually, a hardcore traveler, or even just an occasional traveler who wants to get more from his trips, I hope that we’ll be able to provide you with inspiration as well as practical tips.

There are a couple things I’d like from you:

  1. Your questions. Every week I will write an “Ask a Nomad” column. E-mail me directly at tynan DOT gadling AT weblogsinc DOT com and you may find your question answered right here.
  2. Your feedback. We’re nomads because it makes our lives better, but we write to try to make your life better. If you let me know which articles you like and which you don’t like, I can do a better job covering topics you’re interested in. Again, my e-mail is tynan DOT gadling AT weblogsinc DOT com.
  3. Subscribe. You can subscribe to the Gadling feed here, or to Life-Nomadic-only posts here.

Travel Alert! Get to Belize for under $150

by Grant Martin on

[ Edit: Looks like this one is dead, foks. Congrats to those who booked a ticket — ed.]

I’ve been sitting on this fare for a few days because I was sure that it was going to evaporate, but here, as I sit in a cafe three days after the fare went live, I stand corrected.

American Airlines is offering some pretty outrageous fares down to Belize for this fall and early winter from New York City (EWR) and Houston (IAH). For only abouht $150 round trip, you can get down to Central America, the jungles, beaches, strong dollar, and some classic adventure travel. Other cities around the country are clocking in at the $200 – $300 range, which, for a trip of this magnitude is still pretty fantastic.

The problem, in this case, is that the layovers on the connections are pretty terrible. If you’re planning on making a weekend out of the fares, you may have to reconsider the 13 hours that you may have to spend in Miami (or maybe you’ll enjoy it.)

They key, however, is to keep everything in perspective. You’re paying $150 to fly to BELIZE on a fare that’s less expensive than it usually is to fly 400 miles domestically. Book it, spend some time in Miami, bring a laptop and some movies and you’ll have a great time.

Four good reasons to visit Central America this fall

by Grant Martin on

With many of our travel budgets shrinking this season, now is a great time to consider the halfway point between that costly trip to Europe and the staycation that you’ve been dreading. Oh yes, I’m talking about Central America.

Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua have a lot to offer and are a great alternative to sinking a large chunk of cash into a heavy vacation. They’re close enough so that you can get away for a long weekend, not stuffed with tourists like many of the Mexican port towns and warm enough to cure those chilly fall hangovers.

Why else would we move our Thanksgiving family dinner from Providence down to Panama City? Check out four good reasons below.
The (relative) strength of the dollar: Sure the American dollar has made up some ground against the Euro in the last two months, but hotels in London and Paris are still going to cost you dearly per night. Compare that with some of the four star hotels that go for a third of the price in Panama City then factor in the price of food and entertainment, and you’re saving a ton of money over Europe

Plane tickets are inexpensive: Partially motivated by a slew of fare sales from Continental Airlines, destinations across the entire isthmus are dirt cheap right now. Many fares out of the country this fall are less expensive than domestic tickets across the US.

Diversity of activities: While the region may not have the cliche anglocentric activities you’re used to on vacation, the natural beauty alone is enough to keep vacationers busy ziplining through the forest canopy, sea kayaking or loafing on the beach. Mix in a heaping scoop of American history, keen architecture and an emerging nightlife and you’ve got a winning combination.

Tourism is booming: San Jose, Costa Rica is the perfect model that shows why tourism has worked excellently in Central America. Labor is inexpensive and resources are rich, so tour companies and travel agents will be competing to book your snorkeling trip and give you the best price on your jungle adventure. Furthermore, with the tourism base growing in each respective country, more and more content is now available by word of mouth, through tripadvisor or on gather.com for you to do more organic research.

Piqued your interest? A great place to start your research on a trip to Central America is right here on Gadling. Take a look around our articles on Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala and Nicaragua and check your sock drawer — you’ve got enough rainy day money for a small vacation this fall, right?