We did it! Now what? . . .

One year, one week later and 1,500 miles later, we entered the Bocas del Drago channel at 1am on Monday, May 21st, and officially returned to Panama!  We did it!

We’ve spent the last couple of weeks hanging out with old friends, visiting our old haunts and generally getting back in the swing of things.  Believe it or not, we’ve been busy!

In these few short weeks, we visited three of the islands and the mainland, hosted guests from the States, said goodbye to D’s brother, Will, (who returned home after 2 1/2 months aboard) and got to work diagnosing and ordering parts to get Mother Jones back in shipshape.

Being “back” has been surreal, fantastic and curious all at once.

The main curiosity upon our return (other than us, of course) has been exploring answers to the question: “now what?”.

You see, our convenient four-part Panama plan was:

  1. Sell everything – check
  2. Buy a boat – check
  3. Sail to Panama – check
  4. Figure it out

Did you notice how there’s no “check” by item number 4???  (We’ve definitely noticed 🙂

Yay!  Off, to the drawing board.  The blank canvas of life.  What will we create?

Let’s start with the obvious: We need to refill the cruising kitty.

Given we’re not internet tycoons or trust-fund kids (not that there’s anything wrong with that) we always knew we’d have to figure this out one of three ways: generate income remotely, generate income locally or return to the States for a stretch.

We’re working on the remote income generation and thinking seriously about some possible local income sources, but in the mean time it’s easiest for us to return to the States to work for a stretch.

Bad news for fans of Laurie and Damon (together that is):  Because we have the dog and the boat to look after, we figure only one of us will return at a time.   This is kind of a bummer, but a price we’re willing to pay for full-time freedom and togetherness the other 10 months of the year.

Of course, we could always all fly back (K included or find him a local sitter) while we put the boat in a marina.  But, this is a less-appealing option for us for several reasons (expense, boats like to be used, and K is, well, K).

On this front, Damon has lined up a short-term contract with his old employer in Austin and will head back to the States later this summer for a couple of months.

I’m working on a couple of things remotely here but do need to kick it up a notch.  So, if you have an idea for me, do let me know . . .

So, that gets us through Fall, then what???

Well, we’re weighing some options, both short and long(er)-term. Here’s what’s on our minds:

  1. We take the long way back to Austin next cruising season (Dec-June), sailing Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Mexico on our way back to the States (where we’d sell Mother Jones)
  2. We settle into life here in Bocas and open a super-fun local business (we have something specific in mind . . .)
  3. And, the fantasy plan de jour is replacing Mother Jones with a camper van and touring Europe (Damon’s never been!)

You might notice that (at least one of) the plans we’re exploring don’t include building long-term wealth, stocking our IRAs and generally looking more than a couple of years down the road.  We noticed that, too.

We’re clear that our ability to live this lifestyle is due to many reasons, first and foremost, due to building a solid financial foundation early in life (which we’ve since significantly chipped away at).   And, we’re clear we’ll likely need to return to building up a solid foundation once again – not just a cruising kitty.  We’ll get there.  Maybe sooner, maybe later.  Definitely after December 21, 2012 😉

For now, this is where we’re at: exploring, dreaming and pouring over budgets.

Just thought we’d clue you into what we’re thinking.

Love,

L, D and Mr. K

ps. re: big life plans, some folks have asked, so we thought we’d let you know that . . . no, we still don’t know whether we’ll choose to have any little Jones’ enter our life.   And, no, we don’t mind you asking.  We’re flattered 🙂