The Azuero Peninsula is mostly known for its beaches and its carnaval celebrations in Las Tablas.
The east coast is pretty popular amongst locals and expats… But if you ask a Panamanian if they’ve ever heard of Torio on the west coast of Veraguas, the answer will probably be no.
Despite this, the west coast of Veraguas is slowly becoming known to expats from all over the world and from different walks of life, including Ralph and Nataliya… a Canadian couple who traded the long, cold winters and hustle and bustle of life up north to live out a dream.
They now own the only luxury hotel in Torio—The Casa Blanca Inn.
This is their story…
Geraldine Gonzalez: What brought you to this part of Panama?
Ralph: I actually discovered it by accident…
My parents were turning the age of retirement, and they went to Florida and didn’t like it. I Googled it, and Panama came up as one of the top three retirement destinations in the world.
It was the closest of the options to Toronto and had direct flights. Plus, it had the U.S. dollar, security, economy, and all the other pluses that Panama has going for it.
So I planned a trip with my parents for a 15-day relocation tour with a rental car, GPS, and an itinerary with five stops from Pedasí to Volcán and Boquete… all over.
Torio was not on the schedule, but we had to stop in Santiago for two days on our way to Boquete. I looked at the GPS, saw the ocean, and decided to take a drive…
This part of Panama is beautiful for its ocean sunsets. I fell in love with it but continued the itinerary.
When I asked why Torio wasn’t part of the itinerary, I was told that it wasn’t developed and there was nothing to see there.
But on the contrary, I saw it as a good opportunity to come to this area because when it’s less developed, the price is better than other areas, and it also gives you the opportunity to do business because there’s less competition.
I saw there were a lot of hostels and small places to stay but nothing when it came to luxury, so I saw that as my opening.
My parents didn’t end up moving to Panama, but I did. I bought a piece of property for my luxury hotel.
Geraldine: Has language been a problem for you?
Ralph: I’m still learning. Ninety-nine percent of the Panamanians that come to the hotel speak English, and they always want to practice. Though I want to practice my Spanish, I always put my guests first. My 10-year-old son goes to the local school and is learning Spanish, so he’s my teacher.
Geraldine: Where’s this area headed?
Ralph: A new gas station opened in Torio a few months ago, and there are plans for a new grocery store.
As those things develop, it’ll have a snowfall effect. More people will come, more amenities will come, and in the long term, it’ll be better for everybody.
There’s talk about a pharmacy and clinic, maybe coming next year. Ever since the new road went through, a lot of things have been improving.
We had fiber optic internet, but it wasn’t really fast. Last week, I heard that there’s going to be a new high-speed fiber optic system.
Everything is being upgraded.
When we first moved here, there wasn’t any internet. Now the internet has enabled a younger demographic who can work remotely to come down.
Geraldine: When you’re not busy running the hotel, what activities do you enjoy doing here?
Nataliya: Because we have the space, the restaurant, and the dining capacity, we have events. We do private events (anniversaries, birthdays, etc., can be booked here).
But on our own, we do fundraising about once a month. We have an all-day breakfast event where we donate a portion of the money to the Spay Neuter Clinic.
We’re also working on doing a yoga and health retreat where we offer organic, natural teas, cleaning dietary foods and programs and educate people about the benefits of eating natural local fruits and vegetables.
Back in Canada, Ralph had a greenhouse business, so we’ve brought some of those ideas over here. We’ve spent the last 7 years planting over 300 different fruit trees that have many therapeutic benefits.
We also do a free finca tour of our property with trees and a greenhouse. We even have a desert rose bonsai greenhouse.
Geraldine: What do you dislike about living here?
Ralph: Everybody has their individual likes and dislikes.
For me, I wouldn’t say that I dislike it, but I think it would be better if there were a little bit more people in the area.
When it’s a small-town community, people tend to get into each other’s business, and there’s gossip involved.
But when there’s a certain level of population, there’s no time for miniscule things like that because there are just too many things to do.
Also, when there’s a bigger population, you have a more diverse selection of restaurants, grocery stores, and amenities.
Right now, the population is a bit small, and we don’t have these amenities yet. But I can see that already starting to change…
Geraldine: Have you experienced any type of crime in your time here?
Nataliya: There is small, petty theft, but personally, we have many people that work for us in construction and workers around us all the time… our gate is unlocked, and nobody ever takes anything.
But we attribute that to the fact that we don’t have a superiority complex. I hate to say this, but there are some foreigners that come here and show that complex like they’re better than everyone else, and treat people badly… that’s just asking for trouble.
You have to treat everyone the same, with the same level of respect. The locals and the foreigners, they like us, and if it comes down to stealing, they’re not going to take anything from us because we treat everyone with respect.
Geraldine: What are your favorite things about living here?
Ralph and Nataliya: Nature, quietness, clean air, ocean breeze… the community overall is very nice; the Panamanians and the expats alike are very friendly.
And it’s safe… the first few nights I didn’t sleep too well because I didn’t know how secure the area was, but after a while, I realized it’s safer in Torio than in Toronto and felt totally at ease.
We’ve created what feels like family with the people around us. Our maids have kids, and we’re always giving them homemade baking, leftovers, or whatever our son is not using… decent clothes, decent toys, and good food.
We just tend to share with everybody, and that’s reciprocated. We have a maid who knew that Ralph liked traditional Panamanian corn tortillas, so she made them from scratch and brought them.
We didn’t expect it… it gives us a feeling of unity, like a big family.
Sincerely,
