Our first Christmas outing was attending the Children’s Charity Concert 07 December at the La Maya property San Carlos.
There was plenty of drink & food and an amazing singing duo - both with an outstanding vocal range. Just loved it. They sang one of my favourite songs: “Perfect Symphony”.
I love listening to this sung by Ed Sheeran & Andrea Bocelli. This couple were equally enjoyable.
Our Bridge Club Hosts are away on a well deserved holiday, so I was asked to host our Tuesday afternoon game - 8 of us. Our living room was reorganised completely to fit in the 2 tables! Looked good & full of colour!
This Central American Country Was Just Named as Internationally the Best Place to Retire in 2025 for Its Warm Climate, Health Care & Easy-to-obtain Visas.
Panama remains one of the best countries in the world to live out your golden years.
Confirming this in late November, International Living released its 2025 Annual Global Retirement Index, an analysis meant to help readers identify the best places to retire abroad using metrics like: quality of life, real estate value, & the local cost of living. It named Panama as its No. 1 country for retirement in 2025.
"Panama remains a standout retirement destination due to its modern infrastructure, diverse lifestyle options, & unbeatable retiree benefits," International Living said. "Topping the 2025 Global Retirement Index, Panama offers something for everyone — whether retirees seek cosmopolitan city life, tranquil mountain escapes, or a laid-back beach lifestyle."
According to International Living, the nation's top perk for retirees is its Pensioner Visa, which you can get so long as you can show a "verifiable pension of at least USD1,000 a month (USD1,250 for couples)" — the visa will also provide you with permanent residency. It also comes with fun perks like 50 percent off movie tickets as well as useful discounts like 25% off power bills & 20% off prescription medications.
We left NZ to come to Panama maybe for the rest of our lives - not a definite but a plan - taking only excess baggage & nothing else.
So before we left NZ I took photo copies of all my hard copy beloved cards, photos, letters emails etc that I had kept over 60+ years - about 2000+ - help! & every now & again I peruse them…..it is a time of tremendous joy & deep sadness joined by tears, quiet laughter & emotional happiness if it can be called that?
If any of you are planning to go & live somewhere else this is a good way of keeping the memories you don’t want to loose.
A busy time over the past couple of weeks. A hair cut & pedicure for me, so feeling good & stocking up on basic food along with a trip to Costa Verde - 45 minutes drive from here - where we were told it would be the cheapest place to purchase our medications. And it was. So have about 3 months stock now.
Christmas day today. We had been invited to our Bridge Hosts’ gorgeous home for lunch at midday.
What a lovely day it has been……In the morning I made 2 salads.
First salad - lettuce & tomatoes, grapes, celery etc etc & second salad with green apple, raisins soaked in rum, roasted walnuts, blue vein cheese & lots of lemon/lime juice with maple syrup dressing.
We enjoyed a 4 course meal with 19 others. Delicious.
Turkey, ham, gravies, cranberry sauce, lots of vegetable dishes, home made Christmas pudding, cream, brandy sauce, different dessert dishes & then to finish a piece of home made Christmas cake with almond & white icing sugar topping. Just like my mother used to make. Fantastic!!
No one has come to stay at our Tropical Village over
Christmas. Only us & the restaurant owners living here full time. We are expecting about 6 families in a couple of days, staying for 1-3 nights over New Year as they did last year & we did enjoy their company.
Then we will be back to just the 2 units occupied & we will continue to have the large pool all to ourselves. Wonderful!
Gosh it will be 2025 in a few days! Time is marching along.
Happy New Year to you all!
Always exciting not really knowing what the year will bring!
“Cheers” 🥂🍷🍷🍺🍸
to you all & I look forward to sending you my January 2025 Update…….
Coral