We have updated all of the photo galleries with photos from the past year. Here are a few of my favorite new ones:







We are unable to include all of the photos we have taken or that our guests have provided to us. Each one of these has a story - they all bring a smile to our faces when we see them. We hope that they do the same for you. We also hope that they help you get a feel for what it is like to spend some time with us here in paradies.

We have broken down some of the larger categories into sub categories so that you can see an example of the diversity that we have down here in plant and animal life. This link takes you to all of the plants which you can use as a jumping ground to get to different plant types. This link takes you to the animals for all of the different types of animals we encounter on our excursions. This link takes you the entire group of photo galleries. Spend some time checking them all out.

Tags: Panama Hotel, Plants, Animals, Excursions, Bocas del Toro Panama

Area: Bocas del Toro, Panama (Mainland Panama)
Activities: Chocolate Farm Tour & Chance Ocelot Sighting
Weather: Sunny and Windy

After a very filling breakfast of Pixbae Pancakes (made from scratch) it was decided that our morning excursion was going to be a visit to a chocolate farm on the mainland called Green Acres. This beautiful farm is owned by Dave and Linda Cerutti who came to Panama from San Diego almost ten years ago. The boat ride out was breezy and allowed us to shake off some of the heat that persistently resides close to the shores of these lowland Caribbean islands.

After our arrival and introduction we were treated to something special, something that could not be planned. Dave had apparently saved an Ocelot as a cub from a life of imprisonment in a nearby town. He had seen it in a cage and offered to buy the cat so she could be set free. Now she lives in the jungle however, she occasionally comes for a visit to the farm. This relationship you have to see to believe. So, there we were getting ready for our tour, when out of the foliage comes this magnificent animal strolling towards us in a very nonchalant manner. We were all awestruck and frozen because it was not expected nor could one ever be ready for such an approach. I just about passed out when it started rubbing and licking my leg. After an explanation from Dave and Linda we let our guard down and enjoyed the company of this truly wild animal.



The next course of events were almost as inspiring, I had no idea the process it takes to get the Cacao bean to the point of consumption that we all know and love, that wonderful thing called chocolate. This was truly a day filled with education and enlightenment, the kind you only get by traveling through this mystic and mysterious part of the world.

Tags: Brandon, Animals, Nature, Plants, Chocolate Farm

Today I accompanied Joel and Lauren from Boston on a kayak trip to paddle Bahia Honda Creek. The weather was overcast and cool, with a couple of little showers throughout the day. Just as we entered the mangrove entrance at the mouth of the creek, we were swooped on by two different species of kingfisher birds. There are at least three different species of mangrove on this creek bank and some of the specimens are at the top of their size limit. The canopy forms as red, black, and white mangroves converge overhead forming a bridge for animals to pass over the creek. We stopped and watched a mother 3-toed sloth cross directly above us as her baby clung to her belly. We also spotted several speckled caiman and took some great photos. After our paddle, it was off to see some Caligo butterflies at La Loma. During a short hike at La Loma, we spotted another sloth carrying a baby, several lizards and some amphibians. Joel and Lauren just couldn’t get enough, so when we returned home, we hiked for another hour and a half at Tranquilo Bay. The birding was excellent, we encountered gold collared manakins, tityras, pale vented pigeons, Montezuma oropendolas, lineated woodpeckers, red lored amazons, and blue headed parrots. Lauren practiced her macro photography and took some nice shots of poison dart frogs, leaf cutter ants, and a beautiful cicada. Believe it or not, Joel and Lauren still had enough energy to go take a swim, but then again, it was their last day.

Tags: Animals, Hiking, Kayaking, Nature, Plants, JLK

We made a trip to Punta Valiente, which is located in the Nogbe Bugle Indian Reservation, with clients Joel and Lauren. We first visited the small (fifty inhabitants) Nogbe village named Punta Valiente. In the village we visited the school, where the children were happy to have there photos taken and we then traded a couple of bags of ice for some bread fruit and plantains. The villagers were very grateful for the ice. We then contracted one of the elder villagers, Constantino, to guide us to the top of a two hundred meter hill behind the village. The trail we walked passes through the villages food crops. As we walked Constantino pointed out all of the vegetation that they planted. Such things as otoi, dashine, yucca, plantains(several varieties), cocoa, bananas(several varieties), bread fruit, coconuts and a variety of other tropical fruits. At the peak of the hill we were shown the ruins of an abandoned U.S. Military radio/lookout tower. The tower was installed during WW2. Also at the peak our guide cut down some young coconuts and obliged us to try the water inside to quench our thirst. This water is referred to as agua de pipa. It is very refreshing and we all enjoyed taking a moment to look out at the ocean and see the village from this vantage point. This excursion took about two hours and afterwards we got back in the boat and headed for another even smaller Indian village called Ensenada. Here we stopped to eat our lunch and make the short hike across this portion of the peninsula to a beach. We ate our lunch on the covered porch of the local grocery store and visited with the locals about current events in the province. The walk over to the beach was about fifteen minutes, and well worth it. The sun came out for us and we enjoyed swimming in the surf for more than an hour before we returned to the boat for the forty minute return trip to Tranquilo Bay.

Tags: Beaches, Hiking, Nature, Plants, JLK