Playa Venao, Panama

Living in Playa El Uverito, was becoming more challenging as each day slowly passed. The showing for the house had come and gone, yet the owner remained. This meant long nights trying to sleep in our small sweatbox, instead of the master suite with ocean breezes. We were growing tired of this situation with the environment becoming tense and uncomfortable, due to the fact that we still lived with another adult, who was increasingly revealing his negative characteristics. Being subject daily to hours of conspiracy-laden rants and blatant bigotry, was taking its toll. His poisonous character was confirmed by others living on the beach and everything came to a head when we asked him for the over 200 USD he owed us from various purchases we made for the house and pets while running errands. The anger he displayed was outrageous and very threatening. Needless to say, we could see the writing on the wall and whether we believed it or not, we were again about to plan a dramatic exit.

During our time in Colombia and now in Panama, we had been in contact about a housesitting gig in Mexico, which would involve running a small boutique, beachside hotel about as close to Belize as one can get. In practically the same moment we realized we had to get out of this insane persons house, the Mexico opportunity arose again. At the time, we had planned a mini vacation to a small surfing community, called Playa Venao, for two nights over our one-year anniversary. Since the owner of the Panama home was not flying back to Canada for another two weeks, why not get away for at least a few days. On the Monday of this given week, with our trip to Venao scheduled for Thursday, we setup a call with the owner of the hotel in Mexico. Huddling in a small cove just off the beach, both avoiding wind and any listening ears, we talked to him for an hour and decided on the spot that we were ready to commit.

We rushed from the beach, back to the house and booked connecting flights through Mexico City to Cancun, leaving Panama City on Saturday. This was all moving incredibly fast and many problems arose that needed creativity and cunning to solve. The first of which was leaving, without the owner, who slept with a gun, having any knowledge of it, as this would completely screw him over. He was to be out of the house all day on Tuesday, so we immediately accelerated things, by booking ourselves into the hotel in Venao two days early, thus our exit would happen in less than 24 hours, while he would be out. I cannot articulate enough, the shit-storm our bailing on this housesitting job was going to create and we did not intend to be in harms way when the owner found out. That same night, Monday, we walked down the road to an elderly British couples home for drinks and board games. They didn't know yet, but they were already intricately involved in our exit plan...at least we hoped. We laid everything out for them over heavy rum and cokes poured by Dougie and they agreed that we had to get out. Their role was to drive us and all our crap to Las Tablas the next day, so we could catch a bus to Playa Venao. Dougie had his SUV parked in a covered drive a little closer to us and gave us his keys, so that as soon as the owner left the next day, we could drag our luggage down and pack the car quickly in case he came back. Relief set in and the night was enjoyed, as this chapter was coming to and end the next day. Amazingly so, as this entire plan, a new home, flights, buses and rides were all organized that day.

While strolling back from the Brits that night, we decided to pack our four big bags, sneak them out, down the road and get them in Dougie's SUV, in case the owner did not go anywhere the next day. That way we would only have a few backpacks to make our exit with for good. It was now after midnight and our bags were packed. Somehow, still not sure how on earth this worked, we managed to get 4 massive bags, down the back stairway, out through the house, past 3 sleeping dogs and out the front security gate that runs on iron rails. We didn't risk the noise of rolling them down the road, so in a few trips, carried them to the waiting SUV and locked them in the back. Returning for our last night in Playa El Uverito, we stopped to take in the nights’ sky, looked at each other and laughed about how crazy this entire situation was turning out to be.

We awoke that Tuesday morning excited to get the hell out of there, but nervous that the owner would be around all day, which ended up being the case. This made last nights luggage mission a genius move. All we had to do now was pack up absolutely everything else and be ready to move as soon as an opportunity presented itself. Easier said then done, considering the setup of the house and the fact that both a cleaning lady and a maintenance guy showed up. Complicating things even more, was the owner hanging out on the porch all morning, in front of the security gate, chain smoking, denigrating entire races to someone on his phone and yelling about when the earth stopped spinning. We sat in our room for hours, completely ready to go and then the moment came. With the owner now in his room, on the balcony overlooking the front gate and the cleaning lady on the porch, I spotted the maintenance guy also move indoors into the back casita. This was it. We grabbed the remainder of our belongings and headed down the back steps towards the gate leading into a cornfield behind the property. Apparently in the time it took us to grab our stuff, the maintenance guy had gone out back and was now staring right at us through a whole in the gate. It was too late now, so we opened the gate, stepped into the cornfield and told him we'd see him later. Once out of view, we cut back through a property to the road and hightailed it to the Brits, where they kept us out of site until it was time to head into Las Tablas. Given this homeowners reputation, it was wise to stay hidden until we were wheels up.

Needless to say, arriving in Playa Venao, at the serene Villa Marina Lodge, was a huge relief and an end to one of the most bizarre and unexpected living experiences of our lives. Playa Venao is a very quaint surf community that rests in a small cove, but still has the capacity to host international surfing competitions. Rebecca had booked us in a quiet hotel, slightly secluded from the main action of the beach and unblemished by the slight influx of cheap design in the area. Our own little pocket of paradise to relax, regroup, think about the future and of course celebrate our first year together! Having four days to unwind, run on the beach, watch the breaking waves and just be with each other was exactly what we both needed before embarking on yet another new adventure. Except for a hammock that crashed to the ground while we were both resting in it, enjoying a cerveza and taking in the view, this trip will always be remembered for the bridge in life it created and hopefully the first of many anniversaries to come.

View more pictures of Playa Venao by clicking the Photography tab at the top of the page.