Here are a few photos that we captured before the party began. They are precious boys. We all love them both very much! And we are lucky that their birthdays are close enough together that they can share the party. Thanks again everyone.

Scott decided that he wanted to invite all of his classmates from the Tangerine School on Isla Colon and some of his other friends from Bocas out to Tranquilo Bay for his birthday party. It was a great day. The kids all kayaked, swam, played, ate, beat up the pinata, wrestled for candy - you know all the fun things one does at a birthday party. The parents had some fun too. Here is a quick look at the party and all the children having a great time! Thanks to all that came. It was a great day for all of us.

Happy 17th Anniversary to Jim and Renee! Many more years of wedded bliss to follow.

Happy Birthday to our little girl. She is the princess of our place. She reigns over all of our hearts.

This weekend's birthdays include:

Jim's Mom - Gayle today
Jim's Brother - John tomorrow
Yohanny - tomorrow
Renee's step-mother - Monday

July is full of birthdays. There are more to come.

We are celebrating a few special birthdays today. Jay's mom, who is here visiting us now, is having her birthday today. My dad, Charles, is also celebrating his birthday today. We had a special time with him during our recent vacation in Houston. And this month Tranquilo Bay celebrates its fifth anniversary. Hard to believe that we have been open for business for five years. Some times it seems like yesterday and then some days it feels like it has always been.

Well, we are all trying to get settled back into our routine. Vacations, business trips, etc. all occurred during the month of June. Little by little we are becoming reacquainted with our tranquilo life here in Bocas del Toro. We celebrate the freedom to choose our life this 4th of July. We celebrate our freedom from the normal day to day. We hope all of you celebrating the independence of the United States of America enjoy your day. For those of you in other locations or of other nationalities we wish you freedom.

Thanks to Mathilde and her staff for allowing us to park our boat at Starfish Coffee each time we go to Bocas Town. Earlier this week we ran into a little problem with one of our motors. We called Jon at Bocas Water Sports to try to get a boat to come help ours in front of Solarte. He found a botero who came to get the crew and tow the boat over to Starfish. Then that botero brought our group back to TB. We called Mathilde and she and her staff found someone to watch our boat for the night. We are blessed to have friends who look out for us. We are truly grateful for this!

Nuri has been a blessing to us. She has been at Tranquilo Bay since January 2006. She is an amazing woman. Many of you that have visited us here have heard her story. She brought her daughter here with her when she first came to work for us. Several months later she used all of her salary to purchase a plane ticket for her brother to join her in Bocas. We were not sure we would have work for him, but we told her he could stay with her until he found work. Leo joined us our here in April 2006. He and Nuri were our kitchen for a long time. The two of them have since continued to do wonderful things for their family. They have paid for two sisters, a brother in law and two nieces to move to Bocas. They have opened a restaurant in Bocas: Sabor Caribeno. Leo left us in February to go work the family restaurant. Nuri is leaving today.

We have a new chef, Eric Troya, who joined us at the beginning of April taking over the kitchen. Eric has an immense amount of experience and is a great chef. He and Nuri worked the kitchen together for the past month in order to have a smooth transition.

This blog post has a photo of both Nuri and Leo with some of the Athleta crew. It was extremely unusual for them to come out of the kitchen to take a photo as they are both shy.

We have been extremely fortunate to have a great kitchen staff and we know with Eric we will continue to have many a great meal come out of our kitchen. Thanks to you all for your time and energy. We will miss those of you who are leaving or have left, yet we will stay in touch. Good luck with the new restaurant!

Gina and the boys have had to reschedule this party several times now due to Tres' previous bugs. Now they were ready to go. It was a fancy party. We had refreshments: Citronella tea (a story in and of itself), pineapple punch, shortbread cookies, lollipops and jellybeans. We saw some of what the boys do in school each day and then they gave us a great puppet show. So for those family and friends near and far unable to attend today... see for yourself!



Please forgive the quality of this video. We are working with the little camera right now as we have been unable to send the G10 to the USA for a onceover since it went into the ocean. We miss it!

We have a good friend, Martin, who comes to stay with us each year. He is from South Texas, but he spends about 2 months each year in Bocas. During his Bocas time he comes out to stay with us at least once. This year he came out for a few days in December and then again in February. One of the annual highlights of his stays are the jam sessions. This year, Tres wrote a new song for the group. I didn't have my camera for each of the sessions, so these are an example from one of the short morning sessions. The last few nights of his stay, all of the kids, Jim and Martin were in on the session. Tres was on the drums. Scott was on the harmonica. Boty was playing guitar with Martin's help and Jim was also on guitar. There were other sessions when Boty was playing the harmonica (really well, actually). It was a lot of fun. So whenever you visit, take one of the guitars down and play a while.

My friend Chrystel is not going to return to Panama. Her body was positively identified yesterday afternoon in Haiti.

I can’t imagine what Eric, her fiancé, is going through and has been through these past few weeks. I can’t imagine what Chrystel went through immediately following the earthquake. I can’t imagine what all of her family and friends are going through around the globe.

I can tell you that it has been uncomfortable for me, but so what. I am a bystander to some extent and if I could do anything to take away any of their pain and suffering I would gladly do so.

Ironically, I only knew Chrystel for about a year. It was a very intense year, but still only a year. She came to Bocas del Toro to work on an USAID project designed to create and implement a destination management organization for the archipelago. She accomplished her goal. She met, fell in love, and was engaged to be married to Eric.

We were smitten with the idea of a destination management organization for Bocas so we began working with Chrystel early in the process. She ran into a fair amount of resistance and encountered more than a fair share of challenges, yet she proceeded. That is the kind of person she was. Dedicated. Stubborn. Giving. Complicated. Real.

She was in Haiti on a similar tourism project. It was just getting started, in fact I believe she had only arrived in Haiti the same day as the earthquake. It isn’t fair, but as we all know, life isn’t fair. She is only one of the people that this natural disaster has taken from us. There are many other people whose lives are forever changed based upon this earthquake.

So what do we do? We remember the lessons we learned from these people. We remember why they crossed our paths. We remember them. We do all of this in whatever way works for us.

Chrystel – I will miss you. I will remember you each year as I light my candle on my birthday cake - January 22 is our shared day. We would not have our fledgling organization (BSTA) if it wasn’t for you. Thank you for crossing my path. Thank you for pushing me to work on these issues. Thank you for being an example to us all.

So here is Tres' take on his session at OLS the other day. We will hopefully have Scott's take on it tomorrow.

There have been many times in my tenure here in Panama that I am thankful that we do not have cable television. With the recent earthquake in Haiti I am reminded of how good a decision it is for us. We can remain informed about what is going on in the world, but we must go looking for it. We choose the outlets and what we do or do not want to read or watch. One can do the same with cable television, but it is more difficult to screen what is presented to you. I am heartbroken by what the people of Haiti are dealing with right now. I am crushed by what Eric is facing throughout his trip to Haiti to find Chrystel. However, I am more able to continue to send positive thoughts, prayers and love since I am not faced with the photos and videos of what life in Haiti is like right now. It works for us. We were without the internet for almost 2 days due to power outages on Isla Colon. As soon as Jay restored the internet I went to my information sources to find the latest news. Unfortunately no miracle yet. Sometimes miracles take time. I will continue to put my efforts towards the possibility of a miracle. My friends and the people of Haiti deserve that from me.

I am familiar with natural disasters yet I am not. Growing up in Houston, Texas and having relatives in Louisiana puts one in the path of a hurricane every now and then. They are scary events. Lives are turned upside down. Yet we move on.

Haiti is a developing country at best. Its infrastructure is limited and the resources it has to draw upon following this earthquake are generally not its own. Haiti and all of its people will rely on the kindness of strangers to help them make it through this round of problems.

I am torn throughout the day in trying to keep going on with my everyday life and trying to figure out what I can do for the people in Haiti. I have settled on a two-step process. For one, as my thoughts turn to the challenges facing the people in Haiti each hour, I stop and send positive thoughts, prayers and love to them. Then I go back to doing what I need to do. I do not want to be indifferent to their plight, but I also cannot be crippled by it.

Second, we are giving a small amount of money to a friend who is personally going to Haiti to try and find his girlfriend, my friend Chrystel. She is in Haiti to help the Haitians look into developing tourism as a market for their development as a nation. She has worked throughout the world on projects such as these. Eric will go to Haiti to find her and I am sure will help the Haitian people in the process.

I think that each of us has to find a way to deal with the troubles we are faced with each day. It is far easier to do so in a calm and rationale manner than to do so from a position of personal chaos. My hope is that each of you has or will do something yourself to send assistance to the people in Haiti. Assistance in the form of cash, positive thoughts, prayers or love - it doesn't matter. Whatever works for you.

While this post has nothing to do with Tranquilo Bay, it makes me stop and wonder how we would deal with a disaster of this magnitude here. And I hope we would be able to step back, take a deep breath, and move forward in a deliberate manner.

Well at age three, we figured it was finally time for Boty to get a haircut. She was ready for it. She didn't put up a fuss or cause any sort of problem. She loved it. It was probably because her Aunt Missy did the cutting, but nevertheless it was painless.

Jay took Patrick out for a swim while the big kids were having a go at it. Patrick really enjoys the water. He will be surfing with the big kids before we know it.

Off for a big surf down off the point
 


They call this pearl diving



Made the drop
 


Get off my wave school boy
 


You burned me dude
 


Out of the way



I swear dude it was over head
 


Watch out, I told you not to burn me



THE GLIDE



My second stand up, no one bothered to take a picture the first time
 


Hanging with the Dads
 


We're both going for it
 


It's called a "Hang 20"
 


It's so easy dude
 


Come on, Nuri's got some cookies

Here are a few of the photos that Marilyn and Greg got the day that we went to the beach. It was a great day off for all of us. Neither Jim or I took any pictures so we are grateful for the ones that Marilyn and Greg snapped of the day. It was Marilyn's idea to take a photo of the Kimball family since it was Jim's birthday. We would have just gone on playing in the water. Thanks guys.

Funny, how almost all of the children in North America are on summer vacation right now. Then here in Panama they have been in school since April. One of the great things about having our school on site is that we control the schedule. So, now that everyone is back at Tranquilo Bay from their vacations, school begins again. Boty is a bit bummed as she missed her solo afternoon for the week. She will get over it. Tres, Scott and Gina all headed off for class this morning with just some of the supplies we hauled back from the USA. It was a good trip. But it is really nice to be Tranquilo again. Come see us!

Beaux and Mary Kathryn are getting married right now! Congratulations guys!

Episode 63- Tranquilo Bay, Panama Tarpon: Want to learn the biggest secret in Tarpon fishing all for less than it would cost to fight the crowds of Florida? Then join Randy this week you travel with him to the Caribbean of Panama for world class Tarpon fishing without the world famous crowds! You will be amazed by the beauty and ready to book your trip to Tranquilo Bay at the end of this adventure! You also won't want to miss this week's guide tip and are you the Catch of the Day winner?

What is it about a vacation that excites a child? Is it going someplace new? Different? Seeing people or places that are different than everyday life? Is it riding on an airplane? I think it is something different for each person. Our children have been counting down the days until their vacation begins. They are excited about going to Texas to see their extended families. They have certain traditions that exist only in Texas (or so they think). The countdown to the trip is about each and every one of these things. It is about a break from school. It is about trying out new things.

It is really no different than when you, our guests or future guests, are preparing for a trip to come here. There is a spark of excitement in a change from the every day. Our every day is wonderful. Ask our kids, they will tell you the same thing. Yet they are excited about a trip to Houston, Texas. Arguably, Houston is not a vacation capital. But it works for us.

This year it is interesting to watch Scott and Tres as they calculate the number of days until we arrive in Houston. They are doing it on their own this year. Once they designate the number of days for a given day, Boty follows suit and will repeat it several times throughout the day letting anyone who comes within her zone know that she is going to Texas in X number of days. Children's excitement is like a virus - super easy to catch. I am happy they gave me this infection.

Here are a few of the shots that jumped out at me when I was going through the photos for April. Ramon and Natalia have been catching some amazing photos of us and of all of our guests. Jim and I also took a few of these photos. You have much better odds when you have so many photographers. Whatever it is, skill, luck, good equipment, or excellent subjects I am thrilled to have so many wonderful photos from which to choose.

This is a picture that Tres drew for his teacher, Gina, a few days ago. He and Scott are constantly drawing things for her. They are so excited about school. It is ever apparent when they light up when Gina walks into the room. Miss Gina, Miss Gina. They need to tell here whatever it is they have learned or are working on so that they can continue it in class. Boty is loving school as well. She is thrilled when it is her time to go to class. What a wonderful life for them. What a treat for us.

Jim, Ramon and Natalia received this thank you note from a young boy who stayed with us earlier this month. When you get a thank you note like this one, you know you are doing something right.

She is the only girl around here, which means that she is the princess. Of course many little girls are princesses, whether or not they are the only girls around or not. Look at her special necklace. Miss Linda from the Chocolate Farm bought it for her. She loves it. We must wear it all the time. As everyone knows that princesses need jewelry.

Do you know anyone in this photo? There are of course the usual suspects: those of us who live and work here at Tranquilo Bay. Then there are four guests. These four guests came down to go fishing and had a wonderful time. Each one of them caught a Tarpon. They also caught several other species of fish. Do you recognize the gentleman in the center? The one with the kids? What about his lovely partner next to the kids? For those of you who are NFL fans - you should remember this former Miami Dolphin. For those of you who are fishermen, you might recognize him from his television show called NAPA's North to Alaska. What I can tell you is this - this gentleman, his partner and their friends from Alaska were great fun and super people. I am glad the suggested we get a group photo. We do not do this often enough.

We were fortunate enough to have a neat family from California visit us two years ago for about a week right at the new year. The whole family was a joy to be around. They are super laid back, but not. The father is a professor at Stanford and an accomplished business writer. The mother is former managing partner from a large firm who now heads up a large Girl Scouts organization in California. Their teenage children are all accomplished in a variety of ways. Suffice it to say we had fun.

There were a number of things that fell into place in getting them to Tranquilo Bay. The mom originally found us on the internet. She decided they should try to come see us. The dad travels a lot for his book promotions and has used one travel agent to help him with all of his plans. So, dad told his travel agent about us. The travel agent then went through another company we work with to put the trip together. Prior to arriving at Tranquilo Bay, the dad, a blogger, began reading our blog to get an idea of what he might be in for down here in Panama.

After visiting us, the blogger, decided that our story was one that needed a wider audience than it had received thus far. He sent out a few emails to some folks he knew either personally or through his work in promoting his book. One of those people, Leigh Buchanan bit. She called and asked us more about our story. This ultimately led to the article about Tranquilo Bay that ran in INC. Magazine in May 2008. (See this post.) That article has introduced us and our story to a variety of other people over the past year or so. There is a television show airing on The Outdoor Channel - Randy Jones Strike Zone - in early May 2009 that is directly a result of the article.

The same family came down to Panama again last year for the New Year's holiday. It was great to see them again and catch up on all the things that have happened over the past year. I do stay in touch with them via email on occasion, and I read Bob's blog on a regular basis. There are two posts this week that jumped out at me.

Diego Rocks - this is a post about a post that a friend of Bob's wrote on his own blog and then ended up on Harvard Online. I like the post for two reasons, it is a sound argument and because it includes Travis Pastrana. Travis is a hero in our house. He is capable of all kinds of things according to my children. He is almost as cool as Superman. He and Ricky Carmichael are the bomb.

The Helicopter and Lemonade Story: A Favorite from "What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20" - Bob posted a few days prior to this post about a new book by Tina Seelig who is a good friend of his. He puts an example of a story in her book in this specific post. What I took away from it is that although Bob thinks he needs to be reminded of the things in Tina's book, he lives it more than he knows. His small acts of kindness that he has shown us have made a big deal in our lives.

Thanks to you Bob, Marina and the rest of the family for showing us the kindness that you have over the past few years. We really appreciate it.

Stefanie and I were talking at dinner on Friday night about how much Scott and Patrick were alike. She sent me a few pictures of the boys that I put together here. We are pretty sure that they are going to be great friends.



[ Supplies: Ali Edwards and others from the kit: Bloom and Grow at Songbird Avenue. All proceeds from this kit go to benefit Autism Speaks. Word Art: Ali Edwards at Designer Digitals. Fonts: Official Ali's hand from Creating Keepsakes, Century Gothic ]

Boty began preschool in earnest last week. She has been going to school with Scott and Tres for about thirty minutes on Saturday mornings for about six months now. She basically informed us that she was going to go to school all those months ago. Now that the boys have moved onto first grade, Gina decided it was time to begin working with Boty a few times a week on her own. Boty loves it. Tres and Scott are each getting one individual session a week as well. The dogs are missing Gina in the afternoons, but the kids are thrilled to get the individual attention. As if only two kids in the classroom wasn't attention enough. Here are some photos that Gina snapped of Boty in school.



ETA: [ Supplies: Ali Edwards from the kit: Bloom and Grow at Songbird Avenue. All proceeds from this kit go to benefit Autism Speaks. Paper by M Terasawa from Shutterfly Digiscrap Blog. ]

The Knot Magazine has its annual 50 best honeymoon spots included in its national Spring Summer 2009 issue. Tranquilo Bay was featured in the section of 10 Best Bargains.

Bocas del Toro: Why? The archipelago is more quiet than Panama City and makes a great outpost for exploring nearby islands. Where to stay? Tranquilo Bay is a chic eco-lodge in the middle of a rainforest.

Check it out on news stands now!

We were included in this month’s Coastal Living which went on the news stands earlier this week. There are photos available online here, however they are not the same photos included in the article. The article is not yet available online so if you want to read it you need to go find a copy of the magazine. This one is much easier to come by than the Conde Nast Traveller as it originates in the USA. This is the first article we have seen which focuses specifically on Isla Bastimentos. Bastimentos is special in our archipelago since it is home to so much of Bastimentos National Marine Park. The author splits his time between La Loma Lodge and Tranquilo Bay. La Loma is a beautiful place on the other side of the island run by some friends of ours. Thanks to both Jeff and Shelley for their kind words and beautiful photos!

The photos from the article in the December 2008 issue of are now online. Conde Nast Traveller says that Panama is where to go in February. We personally believe that Panama is where to go any month of the year - however admittedly we are a bit biased.

You can access the here.

Photo One is of Punta Valiente. Punta Valiente is one of our favorite excursions. The trip to the indigenous village which is surrounded by exquisite nature is just amazing.

Photo number five shows Beau (Jim’s youngest brother) and Mary Katherine at the Zapatilla Cayes just after they got engaged. Perfect timing!

Photo number eight shows Gina (our teacher) walking down the stairs with Heather, a friend of hers. Heather works her in Bocas with the indigenous women.

Photo number nine shows two guys kayaking off of the Zapatilla Cayes. It is the perfect uninhabited Caribbean island.

Photo number ten is a Ngobe Bugle house in Punta Valiente.

And the is here. For some reason the Panama Travel Guide has not been updated with the information from the article. The latest information with regard to the places in the article is found with the story which isn’t yet online. I will post once it makes it online.

Tranquilo Bay was featured in a story in the December 2008 issue of Conde Nast Traveller in an article entitled Panama Panoramic.



It is a beautiful article with quite a few photos. So far the article is not on the Conde Nast Traveller website. We found a few copies in a book store in Houston, but the magazine is pretty hard to come by in the USA. In Europe I believe this one is already off the newstands. If you find one, consider yourself lucky. The author Paul Richardson does a good job describing both the San Blas and Bocas del Toro. The photographer, Ken Kochey, caught some great shots of Panama.

Today is Tres’ fifth birthday. He woke up this morning and told us he was so happy to be five. He also informed us that he had been growing in his bed overnight to reach age five. He has invited his friends from the next farm over to come play this afternoon. Miss Gina made him a pinata for her gift to him. So, Tres, Scott, Boty and the neighbor children will take a crack at the striped egg shaped pinata (all as requested by the birthday boy) this afternoon. Later this evening we will have his family birthday party where we will eat a white cake with blue icing. Why a white cake with blue icing? Well because the YZ 250 is the greatest dirt bike around and all little boys must choose the colors of their birthday cakes based upon the color of their favorite motorcycle. Big surprises are in store for this little guy today. Have a great day, Tres!

Patrick has been back here at Tranquilo Bay since September 16, 2008. His doctor decided that he was doing so well at that time that he could make the trip home and go back to Panama City to get his shots when necessary. So he came to Tranquilo Bay for the first time that day with is mom and paternal grandmother in tow. He has done super since he came home. He went to the doctor yesterday for his shots and weighed in at 8.5 pounds. So even though he joined us about six weeks early there are no signs of any issues at this time. Here are a couple of photos of him that really show how much he has grown. What a miracle life is!

Here is another photo of Patrick - this time outside of the incubator. He was released from the hospital about a week ago. He is doing great. All of us here in Bocas, including Jay and Scott, are counting the days until Patrick gets to come home to us here.

We have another new addition to announce! Patrick James Viola was born on August 21, 2008 at 12:09 am. Baby, Mom and Dad are all doing just fine. PJ’s initials are the same as his paternal grandfather who passed away earlier this year. PJ was born between 6 and 7 weeks premature, however he is doing just great. He is currently in the NICU at Punta Pacifica Hospital in Panama City. He is expected to be released in less than a week. Stefanie and Jay are in Panama City (obviously). Stefanie and PJ will stay in Panama City until around PJ’s original due date, October 4. We do not anticipate any problems, however to be on the safe side the Neonatologist/Pediatrician has asked that PJ stick around Panama City for a while. Scott, Tres and Boty are all waiting anxiously to meet little PJ in person as are the rest of us here at Tranquilo Bay.

Brandon and Rob came to visit to take our pictures for the INC Magazine article. It was interesting to say the least. We learned a lot and had a great time with them. Thanks to Brandon Jim has a new camera. We started using on our trip to the States. It takes great photos.

In the June issue of Sport Diver there are a variety of articles on where to go expat.



Panama and specifically, Bocas del Toro, made it as one of the destinations - the Wild West. Check out the article here - http://www.sportdiver.com/article.jsp?ID=21392105. The reference to Panama is toward the end of the online article.

I can't begin to describe how cool it is to read someone else's account of what we have been up to down here for the past few years. I just read the article Paradise the Hard Way in Inc.'s May 2008 issue about how Tranquilo Bay came to be what it is today. Obviously you can't capture all of it in 5000 words or less, but the folks at Inc. did a pretty good job. We came down here and built Tranquilo Bay for a change in lifestyle. We got what we bargained for and then some. All of us share ups and downs on the island. Fortunately there have been more ups than downs. We are celebrating this article as a definite up!

We have been pretty busy over the last few months as my lack of posts indicates. I am going to try and post some of the photos from the past few months over time in order to give you a feel of what it is like to be here. We have done all the hard work for you. You just have to come down and enjoy. Give us a call - we will find the right time for you and your group to visit.

I can't believe that it has been over a month since my last post, but alas it has. We have been busy - which is such a good thing.

We were very fortunate to really catch the attention of one of our guests during the holiday season. Bob Sutton is a professor and an author. He teaches at the d.school at Stanford and has heard a variety of stories about start up companies. He thought ours was an interesting one and he decided to tell a few people about us. He wrote to Leigh Buchanan at INC magazine. She found the story also to be intriguing and in less than one month she was here interviewing us and learning all about what it took to build Tranquilo Bay. The photographers, Rob and Brandon, followed shortly thereafter. We worked with Leigh and Ryan at INC to verify the facts in the story as it was being edited. Then we waited. Yesterday, Jay, Stefanie and Scott went to the USA to visit family and they found the May issue of INC on the newsstand. Jay tells me that he and Stefanie are pleased with the article. Jim and I are waiting for someone to fax a copy of it to us as it is not posted on INC's website just yet.

We are very appreciative of all the attention granted us from Bob, Leigh, Ryan and all the other people involved in making this article a reality. I thought that some people might be interested in getting a better grasp on what it took to build this place so we put together a new section of the website that goes through the story year by year. Each of the photos on the pages and the text blows up so that you can see them clearly and the gallery on each page takes you through the photos for that year.

Thanks to you all for making Tranquilo Bay a reality ;-)

We had a couple of photographers come out to take photos this week. It was interesting to watch the process and watch how our employees took part in the photo shoot. They really enjoyed it. Here are a few photos Jim took of our crew having portraits taken by the photographers.





I have added a new page to the main website on our employees. It currently includes only their photos, but we will add some information on them in the near future. Here is the page: www.tranquilobay.com/employees.htm

I consider Tranquilo Bay to be a slice of heaven on earth. There are few places in this world where a group of people can end up and have the opportunity to participate in a dream. Obviously Tranquilo Bay is our dream. We are grateful we get to live it each and every day. However, when we get to watch other people enjoy themselves doing all of the different activities we have to offer while immersing themselves in nature it is so rewarding. It is wonderful to have a lively discussion at dinner amongst the guests we have from all over the world sitting at the table.

Here is an example of the different kinds of "thank you" we get from our clients once they return home. This one came to my Dad's house along with a favorite book of our guests' children when their boys were Tres and Scott's age. We will be reading it to Scott, Tres and Boty for many years to come.

Dear all - A belated thank you for a wonderful time at Tranquilo Bay. We loved EVERYTHING. You did an amazing job and despite the weather we had a fabulous time. Thanks for the biscotti recipe. Mine won't be as good because the atmosphere just isn't the same. For the kids, I am enclosing one of our favorite books. Hope they like it. Love and hugs to all: R, N, E, G & I

I am into quotes right now. They seem to help one get the point across far better than one's own words at times. This one caught my eye the other day:



It is a variation on the common theme of behind every good man is a good woman. It is fitting for our situation as we were separated by 1800 miles as we built Tranquilo Bay. I would not have wanted nor could I have completed what Jay and Jim did to build Tranquilo Bay. However, they could not have done it if they didn't have a regular influx of cash coming their way from the girls they left in Houston.

We have been reviewing our quest to build and create Tranquilo Bay recently. It is quite a gift to be able to look upon what it has become and is continuing to develop into - almost as one watches a child grow. It is a labor of love. One that has its ups and downs of course, but oh what a ride it is.

The thing that we do is hope for the best and plan for the worst. We always hope for the best weather and conditions for our guests' experiences, but sometimes it rains. So we always have a plan for how to deal with the rain. It may be as simple as wait 30 minutes and the skies will clear or a bit more complicated where we have an excursion where everyone will have a good time rain or shine.

Each day I wake up here I count my blessings. There are so many things and people who helped me reach this point in my life and for that I am grateful. This evening I have been reviewing in my head the multitude of people I have met in the last few weeks and how spending time with each and every one of them has been rewarding. One of the things that is so great about being here in Panama and running a small lodge is that we get to meet people from all walks of life with a variety of interests and experiences. It is so cool when these people come here and have an adventure together.

I try to make it a point not to ask people what they do for a living as that conversation is one they have regularly at home. On vacation in the middle of the Caribbean ocean one should talk about different things. So I thought it would be interesting to give a brief list of ONE thing that I took away from each group of our guests over the last few weeks (I obviously took away much more than one thing from each family and each person for that matter but to list all of them might become tedious for those of you reading this)

S – teenage boys are very good at entertaining 4 year old boys – thanks guys!
H – chai tea helps to make friends
M – there are good white wines
K – family trips are one of the best gifts to give and to receive
E – there are other people who like bugs and snakes as much as Jim and Jay
N – teenage girls are up for all kinds of adventure – even bat caves
S – it is possible to truly unplug and just “be” on vacation with your family
Z/C – let me sleep late and then keep me going all day and into the night
C – game for anything especially if it includes bacon, chocolate or beer!
R – children can’t learn to speak properly if they don’t actually chew their food
R – cousin in a very distant way – that whole 7 degrees of separation thing rings true
B/H – when it seems like there is more to the story there usually is

There are so many things that I learned from these recent guests. If I did list what each of these people did for a living and the accomplishments among them I would go on for days. Suffice it to say that our guests accomplishments far outshine ours yet we can all spend a bit of time here together and have a great time doing so. Thanks to all of you for spending some of your precious vacation time here with us!

We all want to wish you and yours a happy, healthy and safe holiday season. December is a time for all of us to celebrate our families, friends and opportunities. There are the different religious holidays, the cultural holidays and the new beginnings to prepare for and contemplate. Then there is the time to just ENJOY. We all wake up each day thankful for the opportunity we have here to live, run a business, raise our families and spend time with each of our guests = and we get to do all of this in paradise. Take care until we see you next. :)

Simple pleasures. Today, on my porch here in Bocas del Toro Panama, I shared an afternoon treat with a very special young man. He educated me on the finer points of popcorn. He went on about which animals could and couldn’t eat the different parts of the popcorn.

You see when popcorn is fully popped just about anyone with teeth can eat it. It doesn’t require extremely strong teeth at that point – just that one has them. Thus an infant who does not have teeth cannot eat popcorn. Birds can snack on fully cooked popcorn as it makes a yummy meal for them.

However, the kernels that do not pop should not be eaten by humans or most animals. Monkeys are apparently equipped with teeth that can make easy work of an un-popped corn kernel.

I also learned there was an exact way one was to carry the bowl of popcorn and how to select the finest pieces when you decided upon the next bite. The popcorn should be nice and fluffy and preferably have just the right amount of butter and salt to bring out the flavor of the corn.

Who was this special young man? My three year old son. He has apparently gleaned all of this popcorn wisdom in his short years here on this earth. Lucky for me he is here to educate me about such issues.