Hostal Chalupa has its own kind of welcoming vibe… Use it as a jumping-off point to explore Tulum’s beaches, cenotes, and ruins, but leave time to soak up the atmosphere of the hostel itself,” reads one online review of this quirky establishment on Mexico’s Riviera Maya...
My wife, Sami, and I ventured into expat life in August 2016. We recently relocated to a condo community called Ensenada Beach Resort at Lago Mar, in the San Carlos district of Panama. I’ve been a part-time gigging musician for many years. In 2016 I even published a book on the subject, for musicians. That book inspired a business idea...
I have to stop pinching myself… I’m getting little black and blue spots all over my body. That’s maybe stretching it a bit, but waking up in Lagos, Portugal, is pretty amazing for numerous reasons. About 20 years ago, I came down with a bad case of wanderlust. Luckily, it’s not life threaten-ing…in fact, it’s life enhancing...
Don Mouton was first attracted to Medellín and its music scene during one of his many vacation trips to the city. One evening he stopped into La Cabaña del Recuerdo, a tango bar in the nearby town of Envigado, to catch some live music. “It’s like a step back in time to a 1940s club,” Don says. “From the old musical instruments and vinyl records hanging on the wall...
It’s been two years since I took the plunge and left Canada for a life of eternal warm weather. I honestly didn’t think I was going to last this long here in Guatemala, but the beauty and charm of the town and the people have kept me here...
Panama City. It’s the kind of place that wows first-time visitors. The downtown area, which shines and twinkles with sky-scrapers and deluxe hotels…the deep blue waters of the Panama Bay…the romantic Casco Viejo sector, dripping with colonial gems. There are scads of concert and performance venues, green spaces galore...it’s incredibly modern and unexpected.
Jay and Naomi Kaskie start most mornings in their Panamanian dream home by having fresh fruit for breakfast on their ocean-facing verandah. Naomi absolutely loves the sound of the waves crashing against a large rock formation just behind their house. At certain times of the year, they can see mother and baby whales offshore, or the tracks of nesting sea turtles that come ashore to lay their eggs...
Ask Yvonne Bullis why she and her hus-band Cliff love living in rural Panama, and her answer is immediate. “It’s got every-thing that we were looking for: proximity to several beaches, howler monkeys that love to get us up early, birds, and butter-flies. There’s fresh fruit, too; it comes via truck every week, and, during high season, twice a week...
When Ruth Mahoney and her husband, James Wilson, came to Cuenca, Ecuador, in 2014 to do mission work, they immediately fell in love with everything about it. They decided they wanted to stay. “It’s a beautiful city and the people are very welcoming,” Ruth says. “There is a great cultural life and expat community. I enjoy viewing the architecture and speaking with the local people.”
I worked on rigs and vessels all over the world, so I was no stranger to Bangkok. I probably first visited in the late ’70s. Twenty years later I had a condo there, now it’s 20 years later again and look where I am.” Barry worked as a mechanical engineer in the petrochemical industry for over 30 years. Sometimes he was lucky and worked in the Gulf of Mexico or in the Caribbean...