‘Hey man, we’re going on a chocolate road trip.”‘

‘What?’ I responded. Have my vegan friends turned chocolate fiends?

‘We’re going on a mission to find cocoa beans. Near Boquete. Are you in?”

I hesitated.

It sure sounds like an adventure, but I was in the middle of working on some stuff in Panama City.

And of course, there was my 21 day gym training.  My trainer would not be happy.

I also just started taking spanish lessons (along with my handy Pimsleur audio set).  How would I continue?

As I sat there in my A/C and Wifi equipped master bedroom, my laptop all setup for ‘work’ (not), and great restaurants at my doorstep, I was coming up with every excuse possible to just stay.

It would be more comfortable. I have work. I have commitments. I’ve also already paid for a whole month’s rent. I have milk in the fridge.

It was in that moment, when it hit me.

My excuses were lame.

The point of coming to Panama in the first place was to experiment implementing vacation with work life.

But so far, my ‘vacation’ has turned into my normal life back home.

I was eating at the same restaurants, walking the same streets., going to the same shops.

And if I stay, while I’d continue to enjoy $4 meals (like the Pollo con Arroz and Vegetales to the right), I thought to myself, would any of that change?

As someone who spouts and believes in pushing my comfort zone, new adventures, and living life to the fullest, deep down, I knew the right thing to do.

“I can work on the road. Do cross-fit with the guys. Hire an online Spanish teacher.”

So I made the decision.

“Ok… I’m in,” I said.

“Great! It’s going to be an adventure,” responded Tynan.

I knew it was going to be fun to travel with these nutters, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to work. I’ve always separated my work and my vacations. But maybe it’s time to experiment.

The very next day, with my backpack crammed full of what I thought as essentials, Todd and Ty drove to pick me up.

The adventure began.

To my surprise, I managed to more work on the 8 hour road trip than I probably would in days if I had just stayed where I was.

In the last few days, I’ve written a few articles, caught up with editing photos, got my product back on track, and instead of sitting at a desk with a view of a bunch of old buildings with cars honking 24/7, we are at an altitude of around 3000 feet in the mountains of Boquete.

The altitude not only means that I no longer need A/C with a cool refreshing breeze outside, but it also means a clear sky filled with stars at night, and clean fresh air.

And in between doing work,  we have already had some crazy adventures.

Yesterday, we went to explore wild life at an animal rescue sanctuary. I got a rare blue African Macaw to sit on my arm, fed a Cockatoo, played with a Jaguarundi, and held a 2 toed sloth upside down… just to name a few.

The highlight was getting to hold a baby owl in my hands, blowing on it to keep it warm, while it looked lovingly at me with its big eyes.

It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

And today, as I write this, I’m recovering from an evening of horseback riding with a rodeo in the mountains.  We’ve decided that today will be a day of work.  Oh, I also got a new Spanish teacher who will be giving me 1-1 lessons on Skype in between.

In summary, I definitely think making your normal life a vacation is entirely possible. You will need to be willing to burn a few bridges, have the right equipment, business, and push your comfort zone. Hanging with the right people, like my Life Nomadic pals, with a good work/life balance and are up for doing cool stuff all the time certainly helps.

“Don’t Take a Vacation From Your Normal Life. Make Your Normal Life a Vacation”

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