Michael: Without

Struggling monster
Lies on its back and throws jabs
At the empty sky.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

One year ago today we took an early morning taxi to LAX and flew to Panama. The night before that we sold our Toyota Prius to a friend of Kimme’s. Going a year without a car was one of those unforeseen consequences that may prove as life changing as the decision to move to Panama.

I wasn’t sure how long we’d be able to go without a car and once I felt we were going to stay for a while, cars were one of the first things I began to research. But we’re on a budget and land and shipping expenses come first. So despite the desire to buy a car, I’ve stuck to our priorities; if there’s money left over after that, then we’ll look into a used car.

But getting around by bus and taxi here is so inexpensive and convenient, it’s seeped into my decision about where we should look for land to build a home. Once you leave the small town of Volcan, almost all the homes here are built off dirt roads, and some of those roads can be pretty rough, requiring 4 wheel drive to access if they‘re a good stretch from the main road, particularly in the rainy season. At first, finding a small parcel of secluded land might have been a selling point.  I figure we’d just pick up a used Jimny or Terios and we’d be good to go. But now I’m more inclined to find land where we can still walk to the main road and continue to take the bus and taxi around.

Life changes you in funny ways. In L.A. there’s no way we’d get by without a car. Here, it’s really not much of an imposition and in many ways it’s more liberating than I would’ve ever imagined.

At some point we may end up driving our own car again, but it’s definitely neither an urge nor a necessity. In fact the longer we can go without, the better, and that’s not something I gave much thought to when we came to Panama a year ago.