Continues from 2023 update.
Well, it certainly didn’t feel like fourth gear during 2024, going through lots of bureaucratic steps for the house while waiting to have saved up enough money. Watching the grass grow again.
But our new baby girl Isabella (affectionately called Izzy for short) was an exciting addition to our family, although we decided we definitely do not want a third, preferring to wait until they are old enough so we can start traveling again. Not to mention one’s patience can only tolerate so much shit. The physical kind. Everywhere.
The end of the year was approaching and I started to get impatient, so we asked the architect how the plans are going, that we would like to move forward, when she responded, “Oh, so you are actually interested in us doing it and not someone else?” Once we confirmed that she sent us a long list of papers and permits she needed, so back to the bureaucratic maze. One of which was to meet with the original owner, as we found out that our landlord had not paid him in full yet, so the title deed was not officially transferred, and hence we could not get a permit to build on our lot because the two hectare property was not official sub divided yet. We met the owner for lunch and he happily signed a paper stating we could build a modest structure “in his forest”.
We scrambled to get those done as soon as we could, while the end of the year was approaching and hence the peak season. Our sales started increasing and subsequently our cash reserves, so the timing was right anyway.
Construction went on for almost a month when all of a sudden the landlord informed us he finally found a buyer for the house we are renting and that we have until the end of November to move out.
We purchased a glamping tent so that we had at least some sort of emergency shelter (which will serve as guest quarters once we move into the house), assuming the house would not be completed by then, but fortunately it seems the new owner was not ready to move in or perhaps the deal was not completed, so the landlord extended our stay until the end of December.
Every day in the morning I’d walk down to the new property carrying Izzy, who demanded a morning stroll as soon as her eyes opened, to inspect the progress and make sure things were on track. On Saturday mornings I’d bring with me two big bottles of the crew’s favourite rum as an incentive and moral booster to improve quality of work.
Around this time we also managed to open a business bank account for tax purposes, giving our humble family operation a professional facelift. It feels nice to support the local economy besides the taxes I pay in the copious volumes of beer I consume.
December was coming to a close and the landlord allowed us another extension until the end of January, and we are preparing the ground for yet another extension, for a more comfortable transition. A bridge still needs to be built from the main road so I can even drive down to the property, and other matters, but already now at the start of January it seems at least the main house will be done enough to move in soon.
It will be exciting to finally have our own garden and design it to our liking, besides just cutting the grass like I do on our rental. And start a mini restaurant – reservation only with limited seating. And rent out the entire place for parties. Will be nice to bartend again too.
And once we live in it for a few years and the kids are old enough, resume our travel lust. At first focusing on this country so that we can expand our website and offered tours, but once we are ready for the big fat world trip (and to visit you!), the plan would be to rent out the entire property with car on a long term basis. Difficult to find rentals on this island, and plans are finally in the making to build a bridge to the nearby city. This should only skyrocket rental prices and property prices as well, not that we would be remotely interested in ever selling. But this should give us at least a thousand bucks a month, which we could use to subsidize our travels while we continue to manage everything online.
So until next year, look forward to lots of juicy pics of our dream garden!
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We are a family operation managing private custom boat tours in the beautiful Palawan area, and are happy to help travelers with their plans through the Philippines, having traveled a lot of it ourselves and planning to visit it all. These pages in this section cover my various solo travels before meeting my wife.