HelpX: more real than an idyllic resort vacation

I stepped down off the stool, set my paintbrush across the can of white primer, took a corner of my T-shirt sleeve and wiped the sweat from my face. Hot, humid and sweaty – that’s Panama by the beach in January. But we’re not lying around sipping mojitos. Instead, we’re helping a guy named Gilbert, whom we met through HelpX.  

Short for ‘Help Exchange,’ HelpX is a website that lets you connect with people who need help with a wide variety of tasks, in exchange for room and board. Gilbert – a Canadian from Rimouski, Quebec – has been slowly building his house here on nine acres of beachfront land over many years, but he needs help to finish the house and maintain the grounds. That’s why we’re here. We’re painting, sanding, varnishing, doing electrical work, gardening, fixing windows, caulking and more.

I glugged down water and gazed at the view from Gilbert’s verandah (the one I’m painting). Butterflies of all hues flit around the magenta bougainvillea that arcs gracefully over the now-white railing. Palms, other trees, and flowering shrubs around his yard frame the blue Pacific Ocean. It’s a seven-minute walk to his slice of sandy beach. I’m terrible at spotting wildlife, but even I can see the squads of green parrots and howler monkeys that blunder through the trees along the stream!

The pretty yellow house is habitable now, but still needs finishing touches: the tile floor, some lights, the shower in one bathroom. All the living space is on the second floor, while the garage, workshop and utilities are on the ground floor underneath. A third-storey room, somewhat like a cupola, will house Gilbert’s office one day. I was very happy to paint the second-storey verandah, well out of reach of scorpions and snakes. They’re here but not likely to be seen…so Gilbert said.

Bill helped Gilbert straighten out his workshop, found dead palm branches and fallen coconuts to pile for burning, trimmed some jasmine bushes, helped install an electrical outlet and run wiring for a light, and refit and caulked all the wooden windows in their concrete openings. He is also developing his machete skills as he helps keep the vegetation low in the yard. (Snakes love to hide in tall grass.)  

Every day is in the mid-30s Celsius and really, really humid. (I know. We’re not getting any sympathy.) Working in this heat, even in the shade, has taught me a few things. Number 1: Slow down. I began the first day working at my usual pace, wanting to show Gilbert we’re hard workers. But I soon discovered I couldn’t keep it up. Number 2: People from hot countries who work at a slow, even pace are not lazy; they’re smart; they’re survivors. Number 3: Hot yoga classes are nothing compared with Panama in January. Especially when there’s no air conditioning.

Gilbert keeps urging us to take breaks, grab a cold drink, go for a swim. “You can even sit and read a book,” he suggested.

I was nervous about varnishing the window frames because I was afraid I’d get varnish on the screens, but he said it didn’t matter. “The sun will rise tomorrow.” Afterwards, I was criticizing my own work, then added, “I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist.” He nodded. “I noticed.” And he’d known me for only a week. I never knew that trait was so obvious. It suddenly struck me that I owe my former work colleagues an apology – I probably drove them nuts!  

This may not seem like an idyllic vacation, but we love it because it feels real. Not only does the HelpX plan cut our accommodation costs, but also, we get to experience what it’s like to live in Panama as a foreigner.

We’ve gone into town (Puerto Armuelles – 15 minutes north) a few times with Gilbert to go grocery shopping and do errands, such as buy a Panamanian SIM card for our phone. There’s a mid-sized grocery store that’s reasonably well stocked, but he prefers a particular fruit and vegetable stand where the prices are good and the women are kind. Gilbert takes them his extra lemons and plantain to sell.  

We’ve visited with Gilbert’s friend Edmund a few times. With not much prodding, they regaled us with stories of Panamanian red tape, bureaucratic nightmares and strange-to-us real estate practices. A woman they know rented a house, but the rental agreement never specified exactly what furnishings and appliances were included. One day, the landlord showed up and took the fridge and stove. Nothing she could do about it. And after she made improvements to the house, the landlord raised the rent. She didn’t stay long.

The family next door has three nice, friendly kids, aged 13, 12 and 10. They come over to visit nearly every day, often hanging out on the swing Gilbert hung from his tree for them. They don’t have school now – they’re on vacation until March. They giggle when I speak Spanish but they seem to understand my fractured attempts.

After a long, sweaty day of work, we often go swimming at the beach. The water is clear, shallow for a long way out and the perfect temperature – refreshing without making you cold. Then, as the sun sets, we sit with Gilbert on the verandah and enjoy cold Balboa beers or rum and freshly squeezed lemon juice (quite a refreshing combination).

It’s a little chunk of paradise where we’re planning to be until early February.