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Bocas del Toro is a province in northeast Panama comprising an archipelago of 9 islands. If you dream of living on an affordable Caribbean island and love boating, this may be the place for you. Doug Marcy and Anne-Michelle Wand were both immediately enamored with the islands and settled there. Traveling everywhere by boat and working to restore the coral in the ocean has given them an idyllic island life. Check out what it is like to live in Bocas Del Toro, on Episode 124 of Retire There with Gil & Gene.
Doug Marcy is the founder of the Caribbean Coral Restoration Center.
Anne-Michelle Wand wrote a Travel Awaits article about why she and Doug chose to settle in Bocas del Toro.
Anne-Michelle Wand was born in Brooklyn, NY and was raised in Middletown, NY. She attended the University of Miami and studied Psychology. She has 2 children and 2 grandchildren. Her career included owning 2 hair salons and her own real estate Franchise. And she invested in real estate herself and considered it her retirement account. She sold her last franchise in May 2021 and mostly retired. She assists her husband in his non-profit saving coral and fish habitats in Panama. She also builds or remodels and sells 1 home per year there.
Anne-Michelle has written an article about Bocas del toro for Travel awaits. She says that there are two things that get her out of bed every morning: The drive to keep developing herself living every second of life to the fullest, and her deep passion for helping others do the same while living up to their full potential.
Her interests include personal development, deepening her spirituality, doing things with family, and enjoying life to the fullest. She also likes to snorkel, kayak, go out on their boat, dance, play cards and have dinner parties.
Doug Marcy was born in Lincoln Nebraska and raised in Hay Springs, Neb on a large farm. He Went to college in Lincoln and became a civil engineer.
Main careers were engineer designing shopping malls, roads and bridges and more, small plane pilot and built airplanes, made a living selling his wildlife art for a time, had a clothing store, and built custom homes. Doug has 2 children and 3 grandchildren. Now retired, his passion involves saving coral and building fish habitats in the Caribbean with his non-profit, Caribbean Coral Restoration Panama. His interests include diving, coral restoration, art, and aviation.
