A Trip to Punta Chame (and New Friends!)
Punta Chame is one of many small, Panamanian beach towns that are on our list of potential places to settle down. It’s fairly remote so it’s quiet, beautiful, and real estate prices are within our reach. We knew we wanted to investigate and visit so I made a post in a Facebook group to ask what it’s like to live in Punta Chame. I got a very helpful response from Roger, an expat from Detroit who lives in Punta Chame with his wife, Liz…
Further communication with Roger led to a visit to Punta Chame so that we could meet him and Liz and they could show us around Punta Chame. The four of us really hit it off! We’re very likeminded, share many interests, and I think the future is bright for our friendship.
Known primarily for its pristine beaches and kiteboarding/kite surfing, Punta Chame is a beautiful, sleepy little beach town. And while it seems to lack one of the key items on our checklist (live music), that would be largely offset by having good friends nearby. (Neighborhood karaoke, anyone?) Of course, a lack of a live music scene is something that can always be addressed by simply making it happen — and I’d enjoy that very much! Once the nearby Margaritaville resort opens up, they’re bound to have live entertainment, too.
The upcoming Margaritaville resort, however, is a double-edged sword. With all the cement mixer trucks and huge semi-trailers laden with cinder blocks, it’s responsible for making the road to Punta Chame almost impassable. The potholes and ruts are so bad that even in a 4-wheel-drive SUV, you have to watch for potholes like a hawk, driving at sub-5 mph speeds, crawling slowly and carefully over many, many stretches of road. It’s not a drive you want to make after the sun sets — and that imposes some serious limitations.
Ultimately, Punta Chame is still a possibility for us. It checks a lot of boxes. And eventually, Margaritaville will open, the road will be repaired, live entertainment options will expand, and supermarkets and other places will pop up nearby. (At a cost of tearing up of the newly repaired road, though?) We’re sure to spend more time with Roger and Liz in the future. That could influence our decision as well…