By Dana Akers
“Home is not a place, it is a feeling.”

My husband, Dan, and I had visited Palmas Del Mar, as well as Dorado, Isle Verde and the surrounding areas mid- August of 2017 with the goal of discerning if we wanted to make any of these communities home for our family. It was hot those mid- August days, but Palmas was beautiful and we fell in love…ocean, palm trees, iguanas and all. There was just …this feeling. Once we returned home to Texas it did not take long, labored discussions to know we would make Palmas Del Mar our next home. We decided to move a few short months later in October, and began making our plans and saying our good-byes. A bit scary to make such a big move so quickly, but the feeling of “home” was permeating through the community. We knew we felt it, but were unsure how our three girls (at the time ages 10, 10 and 3) would adjust; would they have friends and activities? Even though we were certain of our move, we had our reservations, would we create a new life here filled with experiences and new friends?

Unfortunately our plans got delayed as Mother Nature had her literal “eye” on Palmas. Our computer was glued to every news source and video about Maria, and we watched with sadness and horror the destruction of our new community and felt such despair for our new neighbors. You see, Palmas was already “home” in our hearts. We were anxious to get there, excited to start our next family chapter in this adventure called life. Some friends and family advised us to wait, but we just knew we couldn’t hold off any longer. (They watched too many 60 Minutes specials.) We arrived early December 2017 and had the unique opportunity of planting our family’s roots in the community while Palmas itself was growing back to its pre-Maria greatness. It was amazing week by week to watch the transformation around PDM as little by little beauty was restored. The restoration seemed parallel to our lives, little by little making friends, connections and putting down firm roots.

Now that we have called Palmas home for almost two years numerous times we have been asked, “Why Palmas?” After living here, the question to us now is, “How could it be anywhere but Palmas?” What makes Palmas Del Mar so great is the people, the community and that our friends are family to us here. We cannot imagine our life without
these new friends and relationships. It is magical to drive around in our golf cart and run into friends everywhere… passing them on the road, seeing them at the plaza, dining at the same restaurants or jogging on the same path. Interestingly enough it is not just a wave, but a stop, a traditional Puerto Rican kiss on the cheek and lots of chit chat. The closeness of our community is unparallelled. I laugh now thinking back of our concern about a social life for our family! We find that we are far more busy and social here than back in the states. It is so easy to be involved since Palmas is such a compact community with so many opportunities a short golf cart ride away. There are endless opportunities that Palmas has provided for our family to get connected. It is so effortless to make strong friendships here if you are willing. Soon after we arrived it was helpful for me to become connected with The Palmas Ladies Club. It assisted me in meeting a variety of women from all over Palmas. I also enjoy the women through Palmas Community Church in Bible Study and ladies breakfasts. Learning conversational Spanish each week with a group of ladies at the Wyndham hotel has been another way to be connected, drink our morning coffee and laughing a lot
as we learn!

While Dan stays connected to our “old” life through working at our company each day, he has also enjoyed meeting like-minded entrepreneurs in our community. Dan has enjoyed the relationships he has made through poker games, as well as occasional Martial Arts classes, jogs up Submarine Hill and tennis matches. Our three girls are dancing with Palmas Dance Academy and our oldest has the honor of helping assist with one of the classes. We are blessed with this other way to meet friends from all over Palmas, as well as the convenience of not having to travel outside the Palmas gate for classes. The summer camp provided by The Palmas Academy has been a great experience the past two summers. They have met friends that attend the Academy as well as friends from the surrounding communities! It has been the highlight of their summers! We love the families we have connected with in our homeschooling group (Palmas Del Mar Homeschooling Families). This group has offered endless opportunities for growth, learning and relationships. Picnics in Palmas, jumping at the trampoline park and trips to the Rainforest are fun ways for the kids to connect. A few of our activities are presented by other Palmas residents which helps us get to know many talented people so close to us! Lessons in Mosaic Art while creating our own mosaics, crafting fabric art and learning about hydroponic gardening are opportunities we participated in this past year. We are looking forward to an art lesson scheduled this fall with acrylics and a trip to a cricket farm to learn about entrepreneurship! We are part of a playgroup that swims together with our kids each week as well as outings to the Palmas forest and the children’s park. Fostering relationships with other moms and families in Palmas for our family has made a huge difference knowing we have a support group we can depend on and invaluable to the kids to feel like we are home.

The tennis bug has bitten our entire family! This sport has opened up a whole other group of relationships for us. The kids enjoy lessons and camps while Dan and I love to just play with other couples. I have enjoyed playing on the beginner’s tennis league that plays in tournaments with other teams from Puerto Rico! This has been another great
way to meet other women and families. Palmas has so many activities depending on your interests. “Why Palmas”…it is all right here in our community….a golf cart away! Palmas del Mar has grown tremendously as a community over the past two years we have been here. We love that Palmas allows us to raise our children in a community with the “small town” charm and closeness that you just can’t find anywhere. We are truly “Texa-Ricans” embracing where we have the opportunity to live. The people in Palmas are welcoming, helpful and friendly wherever we go. I love that we when we dine at Pura Vida Ivan will personally greet us, or walk into the tennis club and Ricardo is there with a smile ready to help, when we visit Rosa at Par Avion to mail a package (she always helps find the best price), or if necessary to call Best Golf Carts they come to our aid in minutes…there are countless people that work and live here that make this community special! We arrived on the heels of Maria knowing less than a handful of people. Fast forward two years later, the threat of Dorian was knocking on our community’s door. We were concerned, yet we felt safe, supported and connected and knew we would be just fine because of the amazing network we have in Palmas. Palmas is called many things by those who live here, “The Bubble” and “Paradise” being two of them, but it is a privilege to call Palmas Del Mar HOME to our family. Texas was our home for 20 years, and we always look forward to returning however, “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.”