African Mountain Man, In Panama...

Juan and his "pretty cows"...yes, he has ugly ones as well.

Wow.

Let me rephrase that... WOW.

Juan was born and raised in South Africa. He conducted Safari's in Africa, most of his clients very wealthy Americans. Due to his involvement in political rallies in his youth, he was forced to flee the country. Years prior on a Safari he had met a very successful accountant, who worked for Hugh Hefner, Van Halen, so on and so forth. He left Africa and arrived in a very foreign, wild place.... L.A. His accountant acquaintance got him a job working for Hugh Hefner...taking care of his wild, African animals he had in his backyard. Ha. Juan later became a very successful contractor in the northern L.A. area, creating quite a name for himself and making a good amount of change. Having finally decided that he was done with the rat-race and wanting to reconnect with the nature that filled his youth, he did some research and ended up in Panama. *might I also mention that slicing off all of his fingers of his left hand also had something to do with him leaving the intense American workWorld. Present day...John has an amazing farm, two in fact, with cows that cuddle him, a horse that he doesn't ride whom he only hangs out with, and 3 very funny very eclectic dogs that worship him. He has a river in his backyard and mountain upon which it runs. He grows lentils, eggplants, oranges, naranjillos, grapefruits, avocados, coffee, watercress, dasheem, sweet potatoes, and so so so much more. He makes a mean cup of coffee, so good that I won't even hold the fact that he uses a COFFEE machine against him. He lives a very simple life, in a very simple house. He loves good music and has a passion for his animals. Somewhat of a recluse, I would say his closest friends are the family which live on his property, whom I think he would go so far as to call his own. So refreshing, so delightful and such a treat. We are staying at such a special place...I still can't believe that Juan has been so generous as to share his slice of heaven with us...a loud, rowdy crowd from Oeste, who start drinking rum at noon and have no problem moving right into a home that is not our own. Though it may be a bit more than he bargained for, I think my new quiet mountain man amigo has been thoroughly entertained.


We are having QUITE the adventure thanks to Juan. These damn mountains are just so damn charming, they enchant me more and more with every clean, fresh breath that I take and the beach is seeming such a distant thought. Who knows where the next few years will take me, and in the meantime, I'm just enjoying the ride.

Juan, Larry, Jenny and Boki the Macaw.