A few days after our arrival in Boquete, we found an open layout modern 2 bed, 1 bath home that we are renting in the Volcancito area, which is about 2 miles from Boquete. Our furnished rental is $625/month including internet, water and garbage, and washer and dryer. It is fenced and also has a small yard out back. There is also a reserve water tank for any water outages. The oven, stove, dryer and hot water are heated by propane gas. We have been picking up things little by little to make it a little homier, it is still a work in progress. This will be our home base while we do some discovering.
Our altitude is 3,938 feet, with Boquete being at 3,200 feet. The surrounding mountains rise 11,000 feet above sea level. On a clear day you can see Volcan Baru clearly, but much of the time it is in cloud cover.
We are finding that stores in Boquete are pricier as far as name brands from the US. Normal day to day things are also a bit pricy due to the high influx of expats living in this area. Getting your fruits and vegetables from roadside stands or from the back of pick up trucks will get you freshness at a very reasonable price. We’ve had some great fruit and are anxious to change our eating habits and get into a healthier lifestyle.
We drove into David today, which is about 30 minutes away, to check out some of the stores. Their prices are lower and they have an amazing array of department stores with whatever you need. We went into a Conway store today which is a 3 floor department store. Also the Do It Center has all your household and home improvement needs at good prices. While in David we had lunch at TGI Fridays. We wanted a good old fashioned cheeseburger, lol. It was delicious.
Very cool digs, looks like a nice view also, any mosquitoes?
After we took a walk and were kind of sweaty, there were knat-like bugs all over us, but haven’t seen mosquitoes yet probably because of the elevation.
Hi Craig and Nancy – Your new home base looks great! The pictures and details about the area are great too. We’ll be checking for updates!
Hey Jeff, thanks for the note! To say things are interesting/different here would be an understatement. How’re things in PA?
All is good here – finally got the charcoal out and fired up a Sam’s Cowboy steak last night! Now rain for the next three days!
Glad you found a place and are ready to explore! It looks really beautiful. How far are you from the west coast and how is public transportation? When I was in Costa Rica, monteverde was at a similar elevation and super beautiful. Stoked for you guys! Cheers,
Keith
We’ve not taken public transportation yet since we have a car, but there are buses coming and going all the time for a reasonable price. The closest beach on Pacific is a little over an hour away, around 30 miles as the crow flies, and on the Caribbean it’s a rather long drive because of the mountains, you have to go around, over 4 hours, but as the crow flies about 30 miles. It’s a whole other world, we really have to know more Spanish. Everything is done differently here. The locals are very nice. Nancy
Your place looks awesome! I showed your post to a couple of my family members and they couldn’t believe what you can get in Panama for that price. Continue to enjoy your slice of paradise!
Did you guys buy a car? If so, how did that go?
Hey Scott, we did get a car – a 2014 Nissan X-Trail. A model made for Latin America – had about 113,000 kilometers on it and seems to run well.
Looks great! Enjoy the new lifestyle!
Thanks George, it is an adjustment but we’re enjoying it!