Panama Plant Guide

It’s been two months since we left Panama, but I wanted to write this last post, about plants in Panama. Mostly to help anyone there who wants to get more plants. Hope you’ll find what you’re looking for! Before we dig into this, make sure to follow me on Instagram!

Being a plant lover in Panama City is both a blessing and a curse. Plants grow everywhere. The biggest Epipremnum aureums I’ve ever seen, Monstera adansonii growing on at least half of the tree trunks in the city, every office building has either a vertical garden full of Philodendrons and other hanging/climbing plants, or a tidy garden next to the entrance with Caladiums, Syngoniums and Calatheas. All of these plants thrive here. In fact, most of them are from here, or at least from this region of the world. And Panama is in fact the country with the most types of Monsteras. But actually finding and buying them is a very different situation…

The only Monstera I’ve seen in plant shops around Panama City is the regular green Monstera deliciosa (aka Swiss Cheese plant). To get a variegated Monstera, you’ll have to venture with a car to El Valle de Anton and ask at any of the nurseries in the valley. The car ride is about 2.5 hours outside of rush hour. And remember to bring cash, most nurseries don’t accept card. Once there, you’ll find several types of Alocasia, Calathea, Caladium, Syngonium, Philodendron, Thaumatophyllum, different cacti, palms and much more. Whatever size of plant you’re looking for, you’ll find it here, especially bigger ones. You can get a variegated Alocasia macrorrhiza that stands at 1.2-1.5m high for only $10!

My rather small plant haul the first time I went there specifically for plants:

• Monstera deliciosa variegata (Thai constellation) = One huge leaf, $25

• Thaumatophyllum ‘xanadu’, quite big = $25

• Alocasia macrorrhiza, about 50cm tall = $4

• Philodendron verrucosum, 3 medium leaves = $3

Most plants in Panama (at least outside of the city) are pretty cheap. Especially compared to what you’ll get in Europe for the same money. If you’re on a really low budget, you could also get cuttings all over the country for free. Like I mentioned, Monstera adansonii and similar Monsteras grow everywhere, so that one won’t be hard to get. Same with Philodendron hederaceum. You can also find a variety of Tillandsias (air plants) hanging from many trees. If you go out of the city, you’ll find many more tropical plants growing at the side of the road, easy to pick up and take home.

There are of course also a couple of plant shops around Panama City:

• El Tigre Verde, San Francisco
  I never bought anything here, but I’m sure you could find a couple of plants from time to time. When I went, they had mostly orchids and philodendrons (most of which had mealybugs). But they have a gorgeous plant wall outside of the entrance, worth going to have a look at (and take a picture for Instagram perhaps?!).

• Hiedra y Bambu, San Francisco
  This place has more variety than most, lots of small cacti and many bigger plants. However most of it is very pricy. However I did find a huge and gorgeous Philodendron gloriosum for only $25!

• Vivero, Parque Metropolitano
  To be honest, I never actually entered this place. But I did pass it a couple of times and they do have lots and lots of plants, in several sizes. Most are medium to big. For example I saw the beautiful Philodendron squamiferum here, the only place I’ve ever seen it in Panama.

• Riba Smith, Multiplaza & Bella Vista
  This is one of the supermarket chains in Panama, and the one with the best plant selection. It’s not that cheap, but you can find some nice looking and rare plants from time to time. Alocasia cuprea for example. The one in Multiplaza has a bit more, but the one in Bella vista always has Calatheas, Monsteras and some Philodendrons.

Seven months in Panama

That, my friends, was a wild ride. I feel like I owe you all a quick update. My minimum one year stay in Panama actually didn’t last much longer than seven months in total (with a one month break in Sweden). Those months felt both like seven days and seven years. There might have been more downs than ups, but in the end I’m happy to have been there and I don’t regret going. In hindsight, maybe I could have done more with my time. But at the same time I know it does take a lot of time to find friends and work, especially when you move to a new country where you hardly speak the language. Sadly, when I wasn’t traveling out of Panama, I spent much of my time on Netflix and Twitter. I found myself in a routine of going to the gym, cooking, buying groceries, doing laundry and watching TV. And I was complaining, about everything...

Look, complaining about things is my nature. I do it all the time. But in Panama I think I reached a new level. Granted, we did have a lot of problems with our apartment. Leaky windows (and there were tropical rains pretty much every day), no gas for 4 months, no hot water for 6 months, no good way of drying clothes, stuff that got moldy, food that got bad super quickly, a freezer that barely worked, an apartment door without a handle, handy-men who never showed up (and when they did, took hours and hours of my time doing nothing, and then they made up excuses to come back the next day, which they never did and then didn’t even finish what they’d started). You know, I could go on… That apartment (and building) was literally trash. But I also complained about traffic, bad driving, no sidewalks, humidity, sweating, and much, much more.

But my trip to Paris and Stockholm made me realize what I’d been missing. My friends. They are so important to me. Feeling like I belong with the people I interact with is important to me. I mean, it’s not like I didn’t know that already. It just got very reinforced by visiting and seeing everyone again. So in the two months I had in Panama after coming back from Europe, I decided to meet more people. New or old, didn’t matter much. I ended up hanging out with some amazing people, which made me discover and see a different side of Panama City. And I opened up much more. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a shy bitch. But I try hard not to be, I really do. Typically, when I finally fell for the place I’d spent over half of 2019 in, I had to leave. It felt like a blow to the head, a rushed decision based on my previous distaste for the city and to be honest, the people. I no longer dislike Panama, nor the people of Panama. I have lots of great memories of the city and the country. And I’ve got my friends there to thank for most of those memories. So thank you for helping me see the good, and forget about the bad.

The next chapter has already begun. I’ve been in Brasilia since Friday night and I’m excited to see what the city and its people has to offer. If you or anyone you know is around, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I don’t really know anyone here!

Why we are moving to Panama

At a family wedding in Glencarse, Scotland, captured by the wonderful Wedding Photographer Zoe!

You might have heard by now. We’re moving to Panama. Actually, Vini has already been there for about a month. I stayed behind to sort out things with the apartment. I sold most of our belongings, keeping only a couple bags and boxes of things and winter clothes. I’m moving this Friday, the 5th, and we’ll be there for minimum a year, maybe longer. So many things are running through my mind every day, I’m exhausted constantly because of all the decision-making, organizing and other things that need to happen. Moving abroad is absolutely as exciting as it sounds, but it can also be super tiring. Like I’ve touched on before on this blog, but perhaps mostly in stories on my Instagram account, my life is absolutely not as glamorous as it may look or sound. And I just want to remind you that a lot of hard work goes into everything that I do. Nothing has come easily, nor has it come for free.

Sadly, this move means saying goodbye to my job in Copenhagen, my dear friends in Malmö, and by extension also in Stockholm and the rest of Europe. We’ve said our goodbyes to family members as well, and now we’re waiting for them all to come visit us in Panama City. I’ve also sold my 70-80 house plants, which was a sad but extremely successful event a month ago.

But why Panama? Well, that’s easy. Vini got a job offer and [we] said yes. People keep asking me what I’ll do there. My answer is still the same: I’m not really sure. But I do know there are lots and lots of opportunities and I’m excited to explore them all! I’m hoping I’ll find a group of people who love plants and a group that might go for jungle hikes now and then, and I’ll definitely kill some time by learning Spanish properly. And who knows, maybe I’ll open a perfume shop or start my own niche brand? What I do know with 100% certainty is that I’ll be with the person that means the most to me, my husband and partner in life.

I promise I’ll write more about life in Panama when I’ve landed. Amongst many things, I’m curious to see what their gay culture has to offer. If you know anything about Panama that you think might interest me, send me a message! And see you on the other side [of a very long flight]!