Making Connections
Coincidence or Fate?
Both fate and coincidence are outside of our control. They just happen! Fate is what’s meant to be, no matter what you do, and coincidence is a matter of right place, right time.
Now I am fully aware that a person can manifest a connection with someone. What I mean is that if you are looking for common ground you will find it. It’s not really coincidence or fate if you just went to Bulgaria and it just so happens that someone you randomly meet also went to Bulgaria…there is no magic there.
But here is were coincidence and fate have stepped in for me over and over and over again.
1) Goran the Tour Guide
If you have been following along, you know I went on a tour with a guide named Goran. It was such a great tour!
The coincidence of this event was that as we were chatting and walking and exploring the city. He mentioned that he was from ****** (a country that shall remain nameless for now so I do not reveal any secrets).
I was a little in shock to be fully honest because where Goran is from is the country I am heading to next. I will tell you that it is not a super popular tourist destination as far as countries go…Don’t get me wrong, lots and lots of people visit it, but most people chose countries like France, Spain, South Africa, Mexico, Australia, etc.
So when I found out that Goran is from ****** it was incredible.
Basically, I got a 2 for 1 experience with him because not only did he give me a ton of tips for places to go in Panama City, but also for places to go in ******.
You will find out where this mystery country is soon. 
2) Sarah, the Airbnb Savior
Now this is an interesting twist of fate. I was actually coming to terms with the possibility of not being able to go down the coast to see the small fishing village, Pedasi that I really wanted to visit. I had all but decided it wasn’t going to happen.
Multiple things fell out of place which was taking this checkbox off my list:
- my accommodations fell through
- renting a car was getting confusing and I didn’t want to rent it in the city and then have to navigate my way out of Panama City
- the domestic airport down the coast appears to be closed so I can’t even fly most of the way there…
It was looking like it just wasn’t going to happen.
So I started investigating where else I could possibly go for a change of pace and I started looking into Coronado which is just an hour drive out of the city and cheap enough to just hire a driver.
I found a super cute Airbnb with a bunch of Casitas and a pool so I contacted this woman named Sarah to inquire about the possibility of staying there for 2-3 weeks next month.
She was so helpful and kind and we just started chatting like we were old old friends.
Big surprise? She is Canadian and from Whistler (in case you don’t know, Whistler is the ski resort town Vancouverites go to for recreation year round) I started telling her about my failed plans to head down the coast about the car rental and the accommodations struggle.
Well, did she ever hook me up! She has friends in Pedasi with a Bed & Breakfast with availability and she has a car guy with availability. So…Pedasi is back on the books. So I will stay with her for two weeks at Sarah’s Coronado Casitas, then get the car rental in Coronado and head down the coast for a few weeks to Pedasi.
On my way back, I will stay with her again for a few days, drop off the car, then get a ride back to the city with her driver. The whole reason I extended my trip another 3 weeks is because I want to stay in another part of Panama City and it just so happens she hooked me up for that too.
3) Tour de Jenny and Naoko
I went on a different tour with Jenny, a free walking tour of Casco Viejo. Jenny was sooo super rad that I took another day trip with her to Gamboa and Monkey Island.
Jenny picked me up at my accommodations and on our tour there were two other people, one from Panamanian and one from Spain. But this is NOT where the magic happened, neither the coincidence nor the fate…the tour was magic and incredible so let’s be clear about that…but I have another post about that. Gamboa and Monkey Island with Jenny.
No…the coincidence & fate happened when we arrived at the boat dock to head by boat to Monkey Island. When we got on the boat, there was another tour that had a single guest on their tour. So naturally the couple on my tour sat side by side and I sat beside the other girl from the other tour.
She started speaking Spanish to me super fast and I couldn’t understand what she was saying (man these masks make languages difficult on a whole other level). So I said, I don’t understand…and she said in perfect English “Oh you don’t speak Spanish”. I actually thought she was a native English speaker. Then we got to talking and turns out she is actually Japanese living here in Panama.
I say that it was both…coincidence and fate because of several reasons. Coincidence because I speak Japanese from having spent so much time living in Japan…Coincidence because she just randomly had a day off work that the company she works for just gifted everyone because Tuesday was a holiday so they gave everyone an extended weekend. It was fate because we totally hit it off and ended up going out for dinner together that night with another friend of hers. A hat trick of meant to be moments.
4) Naoko’s friend Miwako
Now I just mentioned that I met Naoko on the tour and we ended up going out for dinner with her friend Miwako. They were incredibly friendly…they live on the other side of the city from me and we were going to a Vietnamese restaurant in their neighbouhood but they got in an Uber and came to Casco Viejo to pick me up…then we went to the Vietnamese restaurant and had some really good Pho and shrimp rolls.
I really enjoyed meeting them and getting to know them and the time just flew by. Then Miwako and I were just chatting and it turns out that she happened to spend time in Vancouver many years back. She was telling me about her time in Vancouver and that she had spent a summer there attending an English immersion program.
In that moment, it clicked for me and I asked her, was that immersion program at UBC? (University of British Columbia) She said “Yes!”. Funny story, I also went to that program at UBC. When I was in Grade 9/10 (I can’t remember) I had spent time in Mexico City staying with a girlfriend, then when I got back from Mexico, I went to UBC and spent time on campus attending a Japanese immersion program.
Now I realize that it would have been an incredible twist and the ultimate coincidence with all the stars and planets aligning had we attended the program in the same year. While that wasn’t the case, it was still fate that I met Naoko and the epitome of coincidence that Miwako, from Japan attended the exact same program at UBC in Vancouver that I did.
I know there have been a ton of other moments where the stars align but these are the most notable. Now…I am just waiting for the 6 degrees of separation moments to start firing up.
Jackelyn
Please note that I have not received these products for free or at a discounted price in exchange for my opinion. There may be links that are affiliate links but at the time of posting this review, I have not received any monetary kickbacks.