A collection of pleasure products, goods, and services found in Panama City, Panama, curated by pleasure concierge Deborah Porter, with sensual articles and essays.
CULTURAL SPOTLIGHT
How Charlotte Van Horn Is Inspiring Black America to Taste Freedom
There's a particular kind of hunger that food cannot satisfy — it’s the hunger for a life that finally fits. Through Black Expats in Panama®(BEIP®) Charlotte Van Horn has spent years feeding that hunger, one BEIP tour at a time.
Her BEIP Cultural Relocation Tours were never about sightseeing. They're an invitation to slow down, become immersed in a curated relocation experience and the warmth of Afro-Panamanian culture. Guests are seduced by the hospitality, the calming rhythm of coastal breezes, the rich, unhurried flavors of a cuisine that lingers and feeds the soul. Guests don't just see Panama. They feel it.
Van Horn is affectionately nicknamed ‘Harriet’ for helping guide a multitude of Black Americans toward new possibilities living abroad. She was also Executive Producer on BEIP's first mini documentary, "CHarriet." In July 2026, Van Horn completed her 50th BEIP tour and has expanded her reach beyond Panama, into Colombia, Brazil, South Africa and Ghana. These milestones speak to something deeper than wanderlust. It’s an answer to a longing many are just discovering they have. Some tours show you a country. Charlotte shows you yourself when you arrive.
With a combined social media community of more than 40,000 followers and members across multiple platforms, BEIP has become more than a travel company — it's a movement rooted in happiness as a birthright: the pleasure of finding community with others and the quiet peace of knowing that a different life may be closer than they ever imagined.