Saturday January 3, 2015
Canby
Six months, two weeks and one day from starting the voyage.
Well at least the start of the physical voyage of getting on a plane.
The way in is the way out -- and I've been going in.
This week the new rankings for best retirement places came out,
Again, Ecuador was #1.
http://internationalliving.com/2015/01/the-best-places-to-retire-2015/
But I thought I would look at number two - Panama.
Slightly higher cost-of-living, but also uses the US dollar. Perhaps more centrally located.
So I pulled up some videos.
And I realized something more clearly with the comparison of Panama to Ecuador (especially Cuenca).
Panama doesn't have the historic vibe and culture that I am looking for.
http://youtu.be/3x1Ttm7UnjQ
Cuenca was founded in the 1500's by Spanards who knew something about urban planning and laying out a city. There are a dozen or more churches in El Centro that are 400 years old. There are dozens of native cultures -- some with roots in the Aztec pre-history. And Ecuador is the most bio-diverse country on earth.
Oh and Panama is humid all year round -- including the rainy season.
Ecuador is not.
So it turns out that having a doubt reenforced my initial decision.
I've been spending time every day working on my Spanish. There is a long way to go before I have any chance of fluency -- but work and time will tell.
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