A land deal goes down

After we picked up Dave at the river we headed about 1/2 mile down the road to a new house. I was told that CSI Bob lives there.  One of the funny things down here is if there are several people with the same name such as Bob they are given titles - This Bob worked in Las Vegas for years as a Crime Scene Investigator.  ( Dave who is buying the property is Hillbilly Dave and the other one is Cowboy Dave)
The property was behind a locked gate.  The house was very nice but unfinished as they had only been living here for 1 month.  We sat down at the table and the first thing I knew there was a bottle of beer in front of me ( yes I know it was only 10:30 in the morning) we sat and talked for some time and I was starting to wonder just what we were doing.  Dave leans over and says he had to wait for this guy to show up.  So a couple of beers later in walks this Panamanian man.  he spoke little English and Dave speaks limited Spanish so Bob's wife who is from Columbia acted as interpreter.  I was catching bits and pieces and suddenly realized that they were negotiating the land deal.  Land here is sold by the square meter and is not in acres but Hectare and that is equal to about 2.5 acres.  What Dave was buying was approximately 2-3 hectares. They went back and forth on price and settled on $2 a meter - or approximately $7500 an acre- or $20,000 a hectare.  That is very cheap for land around here - he will take all the land runs along the river and that will include the road.  As I listened more they agreed that the seller would pay to have the land cleared.  That means that 4-5 men with machetes will slice through anything that is less thick than 3" .  Any trees larger than that you have to obtain a permit to cut down. 
Suddenly there was a handshake and the deal was made.  Dave was grinning like a kid at Christmas.  The seller will acquire the title and do the survey - it is hard telling how long that process will take but Dave hopes to start building his house in Dec. once it is officially the dry season. 
It was a neat experience to see this transaction happen.  And will be even more fun to watch the land be cleared and the house started.  He is planning on going totally off grid - supplying all his own power, water etc.  He will even have his own greenhouse for growing food. 
I am excited for him.  He has a goal and a purpose and will see it fulfilled.