Last year around this time the US Ambassador to Panama, Barbara Stephenson, visited a variety of USAID funded projects in Bocas del Toro. I was fortunate to be included in one of those meetings as the Bocas Sustainable Tourism Alliance was created out of one of these USAID funded projects. The ambassador suggested that I look into Rick Steves' books. So I did.

All of Rick Steves' books and most of his website are related to travel to specific locations or tours, etc. that he himself offers. He has radio and television shows on public broadcasting in the United States. So, you could say he is well-travelled and has been exposed to many different countries and cultures. Given that I wasn't going to be traveling to any of the specific locations for which Rick Steves has books, I selected a book which struck a cord with me: Travel as a Political Act.

Travel as a Political Act is a bit of an extreme title. I found it to be more of a book about traveling with a purpose. The book works through how to travel more thoughtfully to any destination. This is something that is extremely important to anyone who wants to participate in sustainable tourism. Our world is so interconnected at this point in time that to better understand people outside our own country helps us even within our own country or country of residency.

I personally came to realize how interconnected our world was several years ago. Do you remember when the oil and gas prices were climbing on a daily basis? It was crazy. All of my former colleagues in Houston, Texas were thrilled with the increasing prices as it meant their own personal incomes would increase. Bonuses, etc. are based upon the financial health of the corporation. Makes sense. Or does it?

As that oil price goes up for developed countries, it also goes up for developing countries. Granted, in developing countries the amount of oil and gas used is far lower than in developed countries. The cost of oil was driving up the cost of transportation for everything. So the cost of living here in Panama increased drastically. The cost of living on an archipelago went up even higher since most things must be transported over to the islands in one form or another. Only certain things can be produced right here in the archipelago. A large contingency of people living here in Bocas del Toro are below the poverty line. How do they deal with this increase in cost of the very basic things they need? It isn't easy.

Now, the price of oil went down about six months later. The price of the goods on the islands did not go down. The blame was based upon the transportation costs. Baloney. People somehow stomached the increase and therefore the store owners refused to reduce the price. The difference in transportation costs was now going directly into the vendors' pockets. The price of fuel went down but the cost of goods did not. All of this was before the world economy began taking hits. So it was before the blame could be based upon inflation. Panama has since raised its minimum wage to offset some of this increase in the cost of living. It was a pretty substantial increase, fifteen percent or more, with less than one month's notice to employers, but it still isn't enough for these people living below the poverty line as most of them do not work regular jobs.

What this process taught me was that those of us in the developed world have no idea how these types of price increases effect the rest of the world. We see only what affects ourselves.

Rick Steves brings out the point that people who travel with a purpose have a much broader outlook on life than those who do not. When you expose yourself to other countries and other cultures you learn to look at things differently. The book as 9 chapters and is about 210 pages long. The first chapter goes over how to travel with a purpose. The last chapter brings some of the different things that you have learned during your travels home.

To me, traveling with a purpose goes directly along with both sustainable tourism and geotourism. While everyone may want to take a trip to a Disney park at some time in their lives, this trip is not travel with a purpose. Traveling to Central America, spending time in nature and amongst some of the different cultures located there can fit within all three: travel with a purpose, sustainable tourism, and geotourism.

If you are interested in sustainable tourism or geotourism, I would suggest you check out Rick Steves' book Travel as a Political Act. I didn't consider it political, but I did take away a variety of different points that will help me make more out of all of my future travels and work here in Panama.

Wishing each of you a wonderful weekend full of beautiful views such as this one.

Ramon got this shot of just one of the different "textures" we find here in Bocas.

This genus is represented in Central America by a single species, easily recognized by its Black and yellow wings.

Commonly encountered as solitary butterflies flying in deep shade close to the ground, usually near water courses. They visit the flowers during the morning, and they can be feeding in the same flower for up to fifteen minutes.

Larvae cut leaf veins in older leaves to stop the flows of milky saps, then feed on leaf tissues after waiting a short time.


Este género está representado en America Central por una sola especie, fácilmente reconocida por sus alas negras y amarillas.

Generalmente se encuentran individuos solitarios volando en la sombra, cerca del suelo, normalmente cerca de cursos de agua. Visitan flores durante la mañana y pueden estar más de 15 minutos libando en la misma flor.

Las larvas cortan las venas de las hojas más viejas para parar el flujo de savia lechosa, después espera un tiempo para posteriormente comenzar a alimentarse.

This Butterfly envolved in mullerian mimicry with Heliconius sapho over most of its range.

Curiosity: the subespecies galanthus is more common in Costa Rica while H. cydno chioneus is restricted to the southeast, near the Panamanian border. That relative aboundance is reverse in Panama, where you can find galanthus only in the places near the Costa Rican border

Usually, individuals fly rapidly in the middlestory. Both sexes prefer red and orange flowers and collect large polen beds from psiguria plant. Females mate multiply.

Adults roost solitary at night 6 to 30 feet above the ground.


Estas mariposas tienen una relación de mimetismo mulleriano con Heliconius sapho en práctimente toda su distribución.

Curiosidad: La subespecie galanthus es más común en Costa Rica, mientras H. cydno chioneus queda restringida al Sudeste, cerca de la frontera con Panamá. Esta abundancia relativa es la contraria en Panamá, donde sólo se puede encontrar galanthus en zonas cercanas a la frontera con Costa Rica.

Normalmente los individuos vuelan de forma nerviosa en la zona media del bosque. Los dos sexos prefieren flores rojas y naranjas, recolectando polen de las plantas de Psiguria.

Las hembras se aparean en múltiples ocasiones. Los adultos reposan en la noche, de forma solitaria, de 2 a 10 metros sobre el suelo.

These butterflies are envolved in mullerian mimicry (a form of biological resemblance in which two or more unrelated noxious, or dangerous, organisms exhibit closely similar warning systems, such as the same pattern of bright colours. According to the widely accepted theory advanced in 1878 by the German naturalist Fritz Müller) with Heliconius melponeme, over most of their range. One of the differences in the field, in between the behaviour of those two butterflies is that H.erato fly under direct sunlight whereas H. Melponeme tends to stay out of the sun.

They live up to 9 months, which is a very long time for a butterfly.

The males mate in an unusual way, they sit on female pupae a day before emergence, and mating occurs the next morning, before the female has completely eclose (they can kill the females if various males try to do it in short term).

Curiosity, etimologicaly Erato was one of the nine muses, the godness of music, song and dance. Her name means for the ancent greeks “the lovely” or “beloved”. It was the muse of erotic poetry and mimic imitation. That is why this name was given to this beautifull butterfly.

Estas mariposas tienen una relación de mimetismo mulleriano (forma de semejanza biológica donde dos o más especies nocivas, o peligrosas, sin ninguna relación de parentesco entre ellas presentan sistemas de alerta muy similares, como puede ser un mismo patrón de colores brillantes. De acuerdo a la ampliamente aceptada teoría expuesta en 1878 por el naturalista alemán Fritz Müller) con Heliconius melponeme, en casi toda su distribución. Una de las diferencias en el campo, en el comportamiento de estas dos especies es que, mientra H.erato vuela bajo los rayos del Sol, H.melponeme tiende a evitarlos.

Viven por encima de 9 meses, lo que es mucho tiempo para una mariposa.

La forma en que se aparea esta especie es bastante inusual, los machos se situan sobre la pupa de las hembras el día previo a la emergencia y, el apareamiento se realiza la mañana siguiente, antes de que la pupa de la hembra haya terminado de eclosionar ( Los machos pueden dañar seriamente a la hembra, e incluso matarla si varios machos intentan aparearse en un periodo corto de tiempo, en esas condiciones)

Curiosidades, etimológicamente Erato fue una de las nueve musas, la diosa de la musica, canto y baile. Su nombre significaba para los antiguos griegos “la encantadora” o “la amada”. Musa de la poesía erótica y de la mímica. Por ello se le ha dado este nombre a esta hermosa mariposa.

This beautiful butterfly can be find very often flying rapidly, individually, 10 feet above the ground in forest clearings and open areas.

Famales mate multiply, and the adults roost at night in loose groups lower than 6 feet above the ground.

Individuos de esta hermosa mariposa, se encuentran normalmente volando rápido, a unos tres metros sobre el suelo en claros del bosque o zonas abiertas.

Las hembras se aparean múltiples veces y, los adultos, reposan en grupos sueltos por debajo de 2 metros de altura en la vegetación.

Monotypic genus (a genus with just one specie) distributed throughout the continental neotropics. This beauty can be found in disturbed areas in the lowlands, sporadically found to roost gregariously at night, little is known about its biology or habits.

Genero monoespecífico (genero conformado por una sola especie) Su distribución se da a lo largo del neotrópico. Esta belleza puede encontrarse en áreas transformadas en las tierras bajas, esporádicamente pueden encontrarse reposando de forma gregaria en la noche, poco se sabe sobre su biología o hábitos.

Butterflies are animals that have always amazed human beings. Historically several cultures have used butterflies as a symbolic animal because, from one side, it shows the capacity of metamorphosis (change, transformation) and, in other way, the short term (in the Vietnamese culture, because of the similarities in the sound of two words, express longevity. The two sounds express butterflies and seventy years).

Some examples of these insects as symbols in different cultures are:

• In ancient Greece, the butterfly was called “psyche”, this term was also used to say “soul”(that was not destroy with physical death), which was represented in the death people as a butterfly or winged child (this belief is also found in some Turkish population on central Asia). Psyche was also the name given to the human lover of the god Eros and, when they were represented together usually butterflies surrounded them.
• In China, butterflies symbolize love between young lovers, or an eternal ribbon in between lovers. In feng shui, they represent energy of love and freedom.
• In Japan they were the favorite symbol of the lords of war and samurais. Butterflies symbolize women, because their beauty and chromatic magnificence. Two butterflies are related to marital happiness.
• For the Aztec culture, butterflies are a symbol of the soul, or last breath that escapes from a dying person’s mouth. They were related to fire probably becase of their colors. The god of fire wore a pectoral ornament called “obsidiana” butterfly, with a stone that they also used also for the sacrificial knife blade, which is why it is also related to sacrifice, death and resurrection. A butterfly playing in between the flowers was the soul of a soldier killed in a battle.
• For Christianity butterflies are a symbol of resurrection and immortality.
• Even in the psychoanalytic interpretation of dreams, butterflies appear to be the symbol of release and new beginning.
• Most of these myths are related to the life cycle of the butterflies, they are holometabolus insects (insecto that suffer a full metamorphosis) characteristical development of most evolved insects, they pass throught four stages, which are: Eggs, larva or caterpillar, pupa or chrysalis and adult butterfly. Morphology and behaviour of the butterflies in these four stages differ between species but maintain the stages that were the origin of these symbols.
• Where eggs means potencial, caterpillar is life, pupa is death and adult butterfly is resurrection.

This is just an introduction to some of the historical and cultural aspects, where butterflies are indifferent to culture.

By the way, the Word Panamá, becomes from an indian word that, according to one of the different theories for the origin of the name of Panama, meant, abundance of butterflies.


Las mariposas son unos animales que desde siempre han fascinado a los seres humanos. En la historia de la humanidad muchas son las culturas que lo han utilizado como animal simbólico que, por un lado, sugiere la capacidad de la metamorfosis (cambio, transformación,…) y, por otro lado, lo efímero (aunque en Vietnam, por cuestiones de homofonía, caracteres de igual pronunciación, expresa longevidad. Ya que representa la palabra mariposa y septuagenario).

Unos cuantos ejemplos de estos insectos como símbolo en diferentes culturas son:

• En la antigua Grecia, la mariposa era llamada “Psyche”, este término también era utilizado para “alma” (la cual, no se destruía con la muerte física), representándose en los difuntos como una mariposa, o una niña alada (Esta creencia se encuentra también en ciertas poblaciones turcas el Asia central). “Psyche” también es el nombre dado al amante humano del dios Eros y, al escenificar a los dos juntos, a menudo, lo hacían rodeados de mariposas.
• En China, Las mariposas simbolizan el amor en los jóvenes, lazo eterno entre los amantes. Para el Feng shui, estas representan la energía del amor y la libertad.
• En Japón era el símbolo favorito de los señores de la guerra y los samurais. Simboliza a la mujer, por su belleza y esplendor cromático. Dos mariposas se refieren a la felicidad conyugal.
• Para los Aztecas, la mariposa también es símbolo del alma, o del aliento vital, que escapa de la boca del agonizante. Las mariposas estaban relacionadas con el fuego, así el dios del fuego llevaba un pectoral llamado mariposa de obsidiana, que es una piedra con la que se hacían la hoja de los cuchillos de sacrificio, con lo que se asociaba también al sacrifico, la muerte y la resurrección. Una mariposa jugando entre las flores era el alma de un soldado muerto en combate.
• Para el cristianismo es un símbolo de resurrección e inmortalidad.
• Hasta en la interpretación psicoanalítica de los sueños aparece la mariposa como símbolo de liberación y nuevo comienzo.
• La mayor parte de estos mitos se relacionan con el ciclo de vida de las mariposas, son insectos holometábolos (insectos que sufren una metamorfosis completa) desarrollo característico de los insectos más evolucionados y ,en el que se suceden cuatro etapas, y son: huevo, larva, pupa y mariposa adulta. Morfología y comportamiento de las mariposas, en estas etapas, varían de una especie a otra, pero siempre se mantienen estas etapas que originaron estas simbologías.
• Donde huevo equivale a potencial, oruga a vida, pupa a muerte e Imago (mariposa adulta) a resurrección.

Esto no es más que una introducción a algunos aspectos históricos y culturales, en que las mariposas, han demostrado no dejar indiferente a ninguna cultura en la que se encontrasen presentes.

Por cierto, la palabra Panamá, proviene de un vocablo indígena que, según una de las diferentes teorías que buscan el origen del nombre del país, significaba, abundancia de mariposas.

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!

Tranquilo Bay worked with the Salt Creek indigenous community to request a municipal reserve from the Municipal Consejo. The consejo approved the reserve over a year ago; however it was not "legal" until it made it into the Panama Public Registry. The documents from the consejo making the reserve were published in the Public Registry on May 12. The Reserva de Guagera is adjacent to Bastimentos National Marine Park. This reserve will protect the trees, which provide roofing to this indigenous community and keep the area from ever being developed. There is a management plan which covers the reserve. It is to be managed by the Salt Creek community.

Blue gray tanager / tangara azuleja
(Thraupis episcopus)


Photo by Ramon Fernandez Frances

This bird is one of the most common birds in Panama, found in clear areas with bushes, gardens and secondary forest. This is not a reason to lose interest in observation of this bird, as they are very active and noisy birds. Blue gray tanagers are often found in groups of either the same specie or other species. Both sexes have the same color, light bluish head and under parts, with darker blue upper parts.

Es una de las aves más comunes de Panamá, que se puede encontrar en claros arbustivos, jardines y bosques secundarios. No por eso deja de ser un ave que da gusto observar, son muy activas y bulliciosas y con frecuencia se mueven en grupos, de su misma especie o de otras especies de este grupo. Ambos sexos tienen la misma coloración, sus partes dorsales son azules oscuras y la zona ventral y la cabeza de un azul más pálido.

Blue Dacnis / Dacnis azul
Dacnis cayana

Photo by Ramon Fernandez Frances.

Blue Dacnis frequent the sunny canopy areas of the forest, from where they descend to the open areas with a few bushes and trees, near to the forest. Some authors report altitudinal migrations, while other authors report the species as an uncommon specie. We do not know yet if it is resident or migratory at Tranquilo Bay, because it is an elusive and scarce bird.

It feeds on fruits, seeds and insects. You should look in the foliage, like the bananquits to find them. This specie make couples or small family size groups. Some times are observed with other tanager flocks, banaquits and honeycreepers.

Frecuenta los niveles superiores soleados del bosque, de donde desciende a los claros adyacentes con árboles y arbustos dispersos. Algunos autores reportan migraciones altitudinales, mientras que otros autores la reportan como residente poco común, aun no sabemos si esta reside o migra en Tranquilo, pues es un ave esquiva y poco abundante.

Se alimenta de frutos, semillas e insectos, que buscan entre el follaje, como las reinitas. Forman parejas o grupos pequeños de tamaño familiar. En ocasiones acompañan a las bandadas de tangaras, reinitas y otros mieleros.

Photos by Ramon Fernandez Frances.

This post is in our Bird Week series focusing on the Tanagers.

Green honeycreeper / mielero verde
Chlorophanes spiza

Photo by Ramon Fernandez Frances.

Green honeycreepers live in the canopy of dense forest, although they often descend to along the borders, clearings with a few trees and/or bushes and gardens.

They feed on nectar, fruts, seeds and little insects. The make couples and generaly stay close to other species in trees with fruit. Often they travel through the canopy with other tanagers, banaquits and other small birds. Green honeycreepers are residents of the Caribbean slope, from the sea leavel up to 1000m.

Habita en el dosel de los bosques densos, aunque con frecuencia desciende a lo largo de los márgenes, claros con árboles, arbustos esparcidos y jardines.
Se alimentan de néctar, frutos, semillas y pequeños insectos. Forman parejas y por lo general se juntan con aves de otras especies en árboles con frutos. Es frecuente que viajen por el dosel con tangaras, reinitas y otras aves pequeñas. Es una especie residente en la vertiente del Caribe, desde el nivel del mar hasta los 1000 m.

Photo by Ramon Fernandez Frances.

This post is in our Bird Week series focusing on the Tanagers.

Red-legged Honeycreeper / Mielero patirojo
Cyanerpes cyaneus

Male and Female - Photo by Ramon Fernandez Francis

During the mating season the male has a bright turquoise crown, that he loses after the reproductive season. After the mating season, he head has the same blue color as the rest of his body. The internal part of the male's wings are bright yellow.

This species travel through the top of the trees and semi-open areas, at the forest edges, gardens and platations.

Durante la época de reproducción el macho adulto tiene una corona brillante de color turquesa pálido, que al terminar la temporada reproductiva pierde, y tiene un color azul similar al del resto del cuerpo. La parte interna de las alas del macho es de color amarillo brillante.

Viajan a través de las copas de los árboles del bosque y de áreas semiabiertas, en bordes de bosques, jardines y plantaciones.

Male - Photos by Ramon Fernandez Frances


Female - Photo by Ramon Fernandez Frances

This post is in our Bird Week series focusing on the Tanagers.

Shining Honeycreeper / Mielero luciente /
Cyanerpes lucidus

Male - Photo by Ramon Fernandez Frances

Shining Honeycreeper are solitary birds that are sometimes found in couples or family groups, but never in flocks of their own species. They are often observed in the company of mixed flocks of bananaquits or other tanagers. In some locations they hang from skinny branches to reach their food, which allows one to watch their bright yellow legs.

Son solitarios o forman parejas, o grupos familiares, no forman bandadas de su misma especie, pero se le observa con frecuencia en compañía de bandadas mixtas de reinitas u otras tangaras. En ocasiones se cuelgan de ramas finas, para alcanzar su alimento, permitiendo al observador ver sus brillantes patas amarillas.

Male - Photo by Ramon Fernandez Frances


Female - Photo by Ramon Fernandez Frances

This post is in our Bird Week series focusing on the Tanagers.

We have been working hard to develop an inventory of the birds that we can see here in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Ramon, Natalia and Jim have been compiling this information for some time now. As a result, we are going to have individual weeks that focus on different aspects important to birding. This week we are focusing on the Tanagers.

Not to long ago we observed for the first time at Tranquilo Bay several species, that are a part of the Tanager family (Thraupinae). These birds are really nice to watch, because they have amazing and vibrant colors, especially if they are observed with the right light. Ramon has taken some really beautiful shots, that we want to share with all of you. Watch for the information on the individual species this week.


Hace relativamente poco tiempo hemos observado por primera vez en Tranquilo, varios individuos de la familia de las tangaras (Thraupinae), estas son aves con las que se puede disfrutar mucho, pues tienen unos colores increíbles, especialmente si se observan con la luz correcta. Ramón ha logrado unas fotos preciosas en las últimas semanas, que queremos compartir con ustedes.

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!

Rachel, Beth and Jed. Thank you and all of your different teams for choosing Tranquilo Bay and Bocas del Toro for your 2010 Summer catalogs. We appreciate the opportunity and look forward to doing it again. xoxoxo from all of us at TB.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Poloroid boards are an important part of a photo shoot we have learned. It helps the team to see which shots they have captured and how the book is coming together.

We gave beth two supersize boards. she filled both of them with photos before they left.

It was fun to watch the boards come together over the two weeks.

This set of photos is not what would have made it to athleta’s boards, but does show how many people and parts of the process are necessary to get to the finished result.

In all my days buying things from catalogs and over the internet I had no idea the effort it took to make it easy for me to confidently buy.





This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Danielle was running along the jungle’s edge. Not an easy thing to do when you are not familiar with it. She was such a good sport. Trying to run without encountering a root of a tree or some other kind of hazzard. Rachel is certain that we can set up some kind of obstacle course similar to one of the new runs they are offering in the USA. Bring it on. We can do it.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

I am not sure what is going on in this picture. It is definitely precarious. I am certain there was no danger in this situation as Jim took the photo. But what is happening?



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Filming in the jungle is an experience. The jungle envelops you. It is both dark and cool in the middle of a tropical day. It is definitely more challenging than other locations. But oh the things that you can see in the jungle. One of our naturalist guides went along with the group for the shots. Natalia and Beth were checking out the birds and many of the other natural wonders of the jungle. A little beneift for the day.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

This was the day that the second set of athletes arrived. They were on the morning flight to Panama City which leaves Panama City at 6:45 am and arrives in Bocas at 7:30 am. After making their way out to Tranquilo Bay and getting everything settled they had a free afternoon. Many of the crew members wanted to get on some waves. So off they went. Some of the crew were beginners and others have been at this for a lifetime. Those with experience were passing on their knowledge to the newbies. It was a great afternoon to give it a try.

Then there were the others who chose to take the afternoon to walk around Bocas Town and snap photos or shop for souvenirs. Each person took the afternoon to enjoy a little time in paradise.

We were glad that everyone had an opportunity to have some fun as this group works hard. It is nice to have a chance to work in paradise, but it is also imperative that you take the time to enjoy it.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

I have seen this set of photos many times as I have prepared all of the documentation for this blog series. Each time I stop and I look at the series and I wonder what made Jim capture it on film. Then I wonder what were they talking about. I could ask Jay. He might remember. I could ask Rachel. I am sure she would remember exactly what it was, However as a person on the outside looking in, it really just looks like it was a good conversation. One that would have been fun to over hear. Don’t you think? Maybe it wasn’t anything. But it looks like it was.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Most people on this shoot were taking pictures of everything and everyone on the crew as well as the normal things that tourists snap here in Bocas.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Ben was brave enough to make the drive down the hill at La Escapada in the back of the truck. I am betting he will not do it again. He says the basic going down wasn’t near as bad as the backing up to turn and get completely down the hill.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Corinne and Jenn with Tres and Boty - all smiles.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Again, we wouldn’t have been able to make this happen without a little help from our friends. We visited Hotel Macca Bite, Casa Cayuco Eco-Adventure Lodge, The Villas on Playa Paraiso, Crawl Caye, Cayo Agua and Isla Popa. We also made a day trip out to Bastimentos National Marine Park. All of our surfing was done close to Carenero. Thanks to everyone for helping us make this happen for Athleta and Bocas. We truly appreciate it.





This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

We could not have made this photo shoot happen without the assistance and cooperation of many different businesses and people on Isla Colon. We were unable to get photos of each and every location used for the shoot, however a quick look through the book shows the diversity of locations throughout Bocas del Toro that were used for the shots. Bocas del Toro has definitely benefitted from this experience. We appreciate everyone’s help.





Here is a list of the merchants and people on Isla Colon who helped us (if I missed anyone I am truly sorry). I have attempted to include a link where I could.

Barracuda
Bocas Sustainable Tourism Alliance
Bocas Yacht Club & Marina
Drink Stand
Gran Bahia Hotel
Gran Kahuna Hostel
Hostal Heike
Hotel Casa Max
Ixa’s Bicycle World
Kiwi Dave Gillingham
Lili’s Café (Facebook link)
Princess Lauren
Sabor Caribeño
Shave Ice Cart
Starfish Coffee (Facebook link)
Super Gourmet (Facebook link)
Tropix Surf Shop
Ultimate Refugio
Yudy Mendoza

This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Holly Beck and Corinne Gold worked with Agustin Munoz to get some great surf shots. Holly named the spot "OLS" or Our Little Spot. The group went looking for bigger waves, but this location worked best for what was needed. It happens to be where our kids go surfing on a regular basis. A great location for the land shots and for Agustin to get close to the ladies surfing in the water.





This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

ACTIVE. This crew was active from before the first light of day to well after the last light of day. Here near the equator in Panama, we have light for about 12 hours each day. the sun begins peaking across the horizon around 6:15 am . the sun begins to set around 6:15 or 6:30 pm each night. our moonrise is sometime after 9:00 pm each night. Travel after dark is limited as it isn’t particularly safe. So we had to make sure the teams made it back to our part of the archipelago before complete nightfall. Transfers between Tranquilo Bay and Macca Bight were fine as we had the entire route marked for safety.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

A photo shoot is not for the faint at heart. It is a new adventure each day based upon a change in scenery or challenges posed by the location or weather. Athleta photo shoots are for athletes. Look at the schedule they had each day. The schedule was different only on the days that the crew arrived or we changed groups of athletes.

4:30 am - Tranquilo Bay staff preparing meals, boats, etc. for the day.
5:00 am - First call for hair and makeup at Macca Bite
5:45 am - Last call for coffee, get to the dock
6:00 am - Boats pull away from Tranquilo Bay
6:15 am - Boats leaving Macca Bite for location, breakfast on the way or whenever you get a chance on site
7:00 am - Shots underway at first location for day. Some days it was one location for the morning, some days it was several in the same general area.
12:00 pm - Lunch time. Working on getting things set for days to come.
1:00 pm - Rest or move on to the next location for the day.
2:00 pm - Shots underway for the afternoon location.
6:45 pm - Packing it up to head back for dinner at Tranquilo Bay
7:30 pm - Dinner at Tranquilo Bay. Internet, phone calls, etc. Update the boards. Next day’s plans.
9:00 pm - Macca Bite crew is home and trying to get to sleep. Tranquilo Bay crew is preparing for the next day.

Much planning and preparation was completed before the crews ever showed up on site. Huge notebooks of shots & clothes, etc. are assembled so that each page of mulitple catalogs as well as many of the different online resources would be properly photographed. Athleta is running as many as three crews a day in order to capture these shots. These crews work hard to make the most of this two week period in order to produce a quality product. It was special to get to be a part of the process.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Photo Taken April 14th 2010 by Ron Dennis.

Survivor´ is building on the sands at Bluff Beach for another filming of the "Reality TV" show. Turtles are nesting nightly at Bluff Beach. It's leatherback turtle nesting season! A group of us are fighting for the turtles. If you want to send an e-mail showing your own outrage, please send it to info@discoverbocasdeltoro.com and we will make sure it gets seen.

These ladies are also athletes and were up for any adventure thrown at them. Danielle Halverson is a heptathlete. Juliane Rossi practices yoga. Drisana Carey plays volleyball and practices yoga. We were super fortunate to spend some time with these women.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Each of these women that came down for this adventure is an athlete of some sort. Jennifer Widerstrom is an American Gladiator. Holly Beck is a pro surfer and a videographer. Annalaina Marks plays water polo. Corinne Gold is a surfer and a great photographer.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

James was the man for Tranquilo Bay at Macca Bite. He is a dear friend of ours and has been for some time now. He helps us out as a guide over the holiday season each year. Some years he hangs out a bit longer. This year he stuck around to help us with the photo shoot. We are so grateful that he did. He took care of everyone and every thing over at Macca Bite for us. He is awesome. We love him.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

These ladies were up before the sun working with the athletes in preparation for the morning's shoot. Then they worked with them all day long in and out of the sun until the last light fell. It was great to have them around for a few weeks sharing adventures with them down here in Panama.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Rachel was trying to find a surf photographer to help with the water shots for this photo shoot. Jim helped her to find a few people and to look at a variety of websites. They review the work and decided to work with Agustin Munoz. (and here) It was nice to work with him. His shots are amazing.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Athleta has been working with Adamski Peek and this group of people for some time now. They come together for different projects around the world. We can see why. They work really well as a team. They are both serious and fun at the same time. And they take great photos.


This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

These are all of our new friends from Athleta. Most of our photos of the photo shoot are truly behind the scenes catching people in action, so finding good photos to identify each of the players was a group effort. I drew from photos from everyone on the crew (with their permission of course) to create a "yearbook" of sorts for the group. Rachel is / was our main contact. The rest of the team we met for the first time when they came down for the shoot. We enjoyed working with each of these people.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

We spent a lot of time on or around boats during this photo shoot. We explored so many parts of the archipelago and to do that we travel by boat. We had many glorious days full of sunshine. We had a few rainy days. It is amazing what a beautiful athlete can do for a plastic bag or a tarp. These girls were troopers. Up in the morning to catch first light meant being ready to leave the dock before the sun was in the sky. Catching the last light each night required some travel at almost dark. We made sure travel was safe, but we all had some really long days.

Traveling by boat between Macca Bite and Tranquilo Bay was a daily task as all of our meals were at Tranquilo Bay. James set up reflectors along the way so that he could see each of his markers no matter the conditions. Athletes, photographers and stylists snap lots and lots of photos.





This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

All of the photo shoot was managed from Tranquilo Bay. It was the communication hub among a variety of other things. Our radio was extremely active during the shoot. We had crew staying here. We had all of our meals either onsite or prepared here. We did all of the jungle shots at Tranquilo Bay. Our cabanas made it into a few shots. And no one will ever forget the extremely tall chin up bar.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Due to the crew size, we needed to find additional accommodations for part of the group. So, about a five minute boat ride away from Tranquilo Bay is a place called Hotel Macca Bite. We worked out a deal with them for the crew to stay there and eat all meals, etc. at Tranquilo Bay. It was also a great place for some of the photo shoot as you can see here.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Tranquilo Bay is located on Isla Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro, Republic of Panama. Most of the province of Bocas del Toro is an archipelago of over 60 islands. So getting around means traveling on boats. Planes land on the main island of Isla Colon. We transfer guests from Isla Colon over to Isla Bastimentos to stay with us here at Tranquilo Bay. All of the gear for the photo shoot was transferred by land. The van landed at La Escapa Eco - Lodge which is owned by our friends Ron and Kyleen. Our boats and staff met the crew which travelled with the gear in the van and moved them over to Isla Bastimentos. Some days it is sunny and super gorgeous. Some days it rains. We are in the middle of the rainforest, so it happens. You just have to be prepared. And we were.




This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Planes, vans, vans, planes, trucks, boats & manpower. Moving a crew of 20+ people and all of their gear around Panama is occasionally challenging. However, it is always interesting and usually a lot of fun. Rachel, Steve, Fernando, and James Beal arrive with all the gear after a long drive from Panama City. Steve Nohara got this great photo of Rachel on the ride from La Escapada to Tranquilo Bay.

DAY ONE: ATHLETA CREW AND PHOTOGRAPHERS ARRIVE
DAY TWO: TALENT AND STYLISTS ARRIVE
DAY THREE: PHOTO SHOOT BEGINS



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Make reservations. Make more reservations. Purchase stuff. All the same as what we do on a regular basis, but multiplied due to the number of people involved. And with a crew of 20+ that is working, there are special needs to be met. Tables, dietary requirements, first light, last light, getting people and gear from one place to another. Logistics in the tropics - not easy, but it can be done.

Accommodating a group of 20+ people who are working is a bit different than taking care of people who are on vacation. Most of our guests when they arrive have about 30 pounds worth of luggage and are moving at a slower pace because they are on vacation. This group had much to accomplish in a relatively short period of time. We did everything we could to make it as easy on them as possible. We had a service meet them at the gate when they arrived in Panama City to help them through Customs and Immigration. We had our transportation provider move them and their stuff throughout the city. We made all the airline and hotel reservations. We rented a van to bring all of the heavy equipment, etc. to Bocas. This group was traveling with far more than the domestic airplanes could handle as cargo. We transferred the people and stuff from airports and the mainland to get out to the archipelago. Then we made sure they had a nice place to stay and some delicious meals to sustain them. And this was before any work began on the photo shoot.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Karma is not fate, for humans act with free will creating their own destiny. If we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow evil, we will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determines our future. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate response.

So my theory is that when my friend Cindy told me about a company called Athleta and I decided to buy some of their clothes for life down here in Panama I must have set something in motion.

When I got an email for a photo shoot here in Bocas del Toro, I didn’t see the whole picture at first. I answered it just as I do any other email for prospective guests. Then I realized we could make it work for this large group by setting things up with another hotel nearby. Fortunately, Athleta found that what we could offer to them was a great match.

I haven’t spoken to my friend Cindy about this photo shoot. I think she is going to be happily surprised to see what she set into motion.

Thanks Cindy and thanks Athleta. We really appreciate the opportunity. And we look forward to doing it again.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

We start our month long Behind the Scenes series tomorrow, but today I thought I would share the video that Athleta put together to thank some of the people involved in their Summer 2010 Photo Shoot. It was a ton of fun! Click the link to get to their website and see it.

http://www.athleta.net/chi/2010/03/31/summer-2010-behind-the-scenes-video/

As I was downloading the photos from last week yesterday, this one really struck a cord with me. Just sitting on the edge of the boat looking off at the ocean and the beautiful blue sky filled with white clouds. A perfect afternoon at the beach topped off with some really great conversation and moments of peace and quiet. This is a wonderful memory of one's vacation in Bocas del Toro, Panama.



We are starting a month long behind the scenes series on April 1. Stay tuned.

Lionfish are trying to take over the reefs here in Bocas del Toro. They are a problem. I have pulled this information from the I Spear Lionfish.org website.

In May 2009, Alfredo Joseph, a staff member of Bocas Water Sports, was scuba diving at a local reef called The Playground when he saw feathery fins gently wafting around a large outcropping of coral before vanishing from sight. Alfredo swam around the coral head to see where the fish had disappeared to. It hadn't gone far. Waiting on the other side, unafraid and firmly holding its ground, was a fish Alfredo had never before encountered in Bocas waters. He snapped a photo and upon returning to the shop, showed it to BWS owner Jon Schneiderman who was immediately alarmed. Jon asked Alfredo to return to the spot the next morning and try to capture the fish alive, which he did. That afternoon, Jon sent a photo of the new invader along with a warning article to the Bocas Breeze, which we published in our July 2009 issue. Jon knew firsthand what damage these fish had done to reefs in Florida and hoped that it couldn't happen here.

Ten months later, his worst fears have come to pass. Bocas is overrun with lionfish.

Jon Schneiderman took matters in hand from the very beginning. He and his divers have captured many lionfish and taken them to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute for DNA testing. He has also given his staff the green light to spear any lionfish they see when not teaching a class or guiding a tour group. It is hoped that other dive shops in the area will follow Jon's example and help to reduce the lionfish population by any means and methods available.

After researching the invasive lionfish problem for several weeks, Allene Blaker founded a non-profit organization called I Spear Lionfish (www.ispearlionfish.org) (also on FaceBook). Her intention is to spread the word – locally and globally – about the Bocas lionfish invasion in the hopes that we can generate enough interest and support to do something about it.

She has had t-shirts made up, ordered decals, has been printing and distributing flyers, and presented Bocas mayor Dr. Joe Anderson with a summary of the lionfish problem Bocas faces. In that report, she expressed the need for Panama's Minister of Tourism Salomon Shamah to be aware of the ecological and economical ramifications that could occur if the government does not also take measures, or help with ours, in an attempt to reduce and control the lionfish population.

Before anyone jumps in the water and starts spearing lionfish, however, he or she needs to know the dangers involved. The dorsal, anal and pelvic spines of a lionfish are, as already mentioned, poisonous. Even a small brush with one spine can result in intense pain that may last for hours. And that may be the least of the victim's worries. (See an article that details First Aid and suggested treatment of lionfish stings.)

We want to encourage everyone to join the I Spear Lionfish organization to learn more about the species and the environmental war we need to wage against them. Our immediate and far-reaching goals are to minimize the damage lionfish can do through community education. We want to teach divers how to identify them, how to safely capture or spear them, and even how to clean and cook a lionfish (they are a considered a delicacy). Information is available here.

It's time to repel the invaders, stop the infestation and save our reefs. You can buy decals and t-shirts at the Bocas Breeze office, Super Gourmet grocery store, and the Bocas Sustainable Tourism Alliance Information Center. Support the cause!

Tonight is the 9th Annual Beso Auction here in Bocas. For the third year in a row Tranquilo Bay has donated a stay with us on our Within the Reef package. Look here for more information about BESO and the auction. Big high! Your funds support children's education here in Bocas del Toro.

Here are just some of the photos Jim took on the little boy's first trip to Punta Valiente. It was Martin's first trip as well. They all enjoyed the body whomping as the kids call body surfing. The swell wasn't much to ride that day but everyone had fun. The kids made some new friends and everyone had a great experience.

January 2010 was one of the busiest months ever here at Tranquilo Bay. We had a large group that liked to get up with the sun and return at dark. We had many different couples coming to see what the Panamanian jungle had to offer. We had a few families onsite to see our beaches. We had an individual traveler who has become a pen pal to Tres and Scott since she left. It was a great month.

The months in the fourth quarter are usually a bit slower pace. The archipelago slows down until the USA Thanksgiving holidays begin. Things pick up a bit at that time. Come the December holidays things are going full pace yet again.



October 2009

We watch the orthoptera as they make their way out of the trees.



November 2009

Local children in school enjoy it when our visitors stop off at their classroom to learn a bit with them.



December 2009

Watching nature continue on its yearly course - the same as it ever was. December is a good month for most activities. The surf picks up again.

Friends, family, wildlife. We experience them all during the third quarter each year. Surfing is up during the summer months. Fishing starts again in September. All of the adventure activities are available throughout these months.



July 2009

Many of the beautiful natural attractions that can be found here in Bocas.



August 2009

Family adventures before the children return to school for the Fall.



September 2009

Quiet days with very few people on the islands. Hatching turtles.

Our second quarter usually includes a lot of fishing. This quarter was no exception. We caught a large number of fish. We saw sea turtles. And we did all the regular fun stuff.



April 2009

Life in paradise - just an example of what awaits.



May 2009

Fishing, turtles, all kinds of good stuff.



June 2009

Not many photos as we were closed for the first three weeks for our annual trips to the USA.

January 2009

All the usual things: beach combing, birding, hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, swimming. Surfing is typically good in January, but we didn't have any surfers this January.



February 2009

We had a celebration of the natural life around us. These are all of the photos from the blog posts that month.



March 2009

Spring Break for many different groups. These photos are also a combination of the blog posts for March.

People frequently ask us when they should come to visit us. It truly depends upon what you want to do and when you can get away. Our weather doesn't change very much throughout the year. Our temperatures remain the same. The biggest difference is between rainy season and dry season. However, even that is no longer dependable. Our weather patterns, just the same as everywhere else, are changing. Months that used to be rainy are not so much any more. One of the best suggestions I can make is that you take a look at the things you want to do and when you can get away.

We have month by month photo galleries beginning in July 2007. I try to take a good sample of what we did in those months to include in the gallery. Look at the month you think you can get away. Does it include the activities in which you want to partake? Yes, great. No, that doesn't mean that activity is unavailable in that month, it may mean that we didn't have anyone that month interested in the same activity. It may mean that the weather conditions didn't support it. It may mean we just didn't get any photos for one reason on another. So ask us about it.

I am going to review each of the quarters and months this week to give you an idea of what we did this past year. Let me know if you have any questions.

So yesterday, Jim and Jay loaded up the boat with Scott and Tres, Stefanie and Patrick, some friends and a few surfboards and headed into town. We had a family to pick up in town later in the afternoon so they had enough time to get in a few hours with the boys at OLS. Stefanie, Patrick and Gina all went to town while the boys surfed. Boty and I enjoyed a few hours here at TB on our own. The boys had a marvelous surf session. It is so cool to see how they are growing stronger and picking up new skills. You can tell by the looks on their faces how much fun they are having. See for yourself!




Tres learning his style.



Brandon showing the little kids how to do it.



Scott on one of the many waves he rode standing tall.



Apparently having the tongue out of your mouth makes it easier.



Brandon again. Jim has learned a few new tricks in surf photography. I think I may need to buy him a helmet.



Almost up. Tres was standing up and then attempting to jump and do tricks just like he does on his surfing game on the iPod.



Scott taking a breather in between sets.



Pure determination.



No - they didn't have any fun.

I can't believe we are already 10 days into 2010. As most of you know the holidays are a busy time here in Panama. So we gear up for it, enjoy it as it goes along and then relish the memories. This year we have been blessed with a second wave of super business. As such, ten days have passed without a post. We have taken many photos of the good times in the month of December, here are just a few. Happy New Year, a bit belated. May 2010 bring you peace, prosperity, and the chance to come visit us in Panama.

One of the scenes Susan found while walking around Bocas Town.

More of the color on the streets of Bocas Town.

It is so interesting to see Bocas Town through the eyes of our guests. They capture some of the most unique photos.

This guy was apparently off for the day. His bike is great!

These are some of the hammocks to be found in Bocas Town on Isla Colon from the street vendors. I love the bright colors.

Here are a couple of pages I put together to capture a once in a lifetime experience of some of our guests in August. This family was at the Zapatilla Cayes and it was about time to return to Tranquilo Bay. Ramon was working the beach doing his rounds looking for nesting females, but really it was quite early. He happened upon a nesting female. He told Jim and the guests to come see her and to come see what they do when they study the females to tag them, gather scientific information, etc. During this nesting season, Ramon and Natalia happened upon a female nesting during daylight hours twice. It is very unusual. If you calculated the odds of a family from New Jersey getting the chance to see this while on vacation here in Panama - the odds would be very very low. However, luck was on their side and they experienced something that so few people in the world have a chance to experience. Here are the photos.

Here are a couple of posters that I made for Jim to take to a trade show a year or so ago. I realized that I never posted them here as I was working on the blog recently. Email me if you want a copy of them to print out. Have a great weekend!

This video was prepared before the USAID CCAW projects were underway. Look to the video for insights as to what you might encounter here not for the things that need to be protected although these things do in fact need to be protected. And we are working towards improving the sustainability of this precious area.

This is a recipe that has been in my family for a long time. Many of our guests ask for this recipe as they enjoy the peanut butter cookies we make here on site. These are the "plain" peanut butter cookies. We also have the cookies that have peanut butter and chocolate chip, I will share those on another day. Click on the link to download the pdf file for the cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies

The Bocas Garden Club had a session in Old Bank with two guys who have a really neat project with both STRI and USAID. The project is putting in an anaerobic sludge blanket waste management system for a large number of the houses on Old Bank. We took the kids as a field trip to learn more about it. It is a very interesting project.



A completed system.



A system under construction.

We went to Changuinola for some immigration business last month. Here is a photo Jim got of both bridges. Pretty cool.

Jim, Tres, David and the puppies took a boat trip to Jon and Mary's place on the mainland. Here are a few photos from Tres' adventures on site.

The canal to Changuinola has been closed since the storm last November. The water taxis no longer take this route as it is full of trees, etc. Jim, Jay and David decided to go that direction last month to see what it was like these days. Beautiful.

Looking for the green eel that lives in the coral by the dock.



Walking into the shade



Enjoying her vacation



Smiling for the camera

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.

This is a small sample of the wild life that Greg, Victoria and Marilyn saw during their week long stay with us. They are all avid naturalists so they were taking lots of shots. It is amazing to me to see the diversity of their sightings. They spent all but one day here on site. Only the photo of the hermit crab is from offsite. All of the others they were able to catch on film here. Very cool.

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.

Wow - I really try to keep things going on the blog here, but I have not done a great job this month. Things have been a bit off schedule. Here are the highlights for the days in between:

July 12 - Marilyn, Greg and Victoria - Jim's stepmother, stepbrother and niece show up for a week long visit

July 14 - Happy Birthday Jim

July 16 - All day meetings for all of the USAID funded projects in Panama and Costa Rica - I attended on behalf of BSTA

July 18 - Missy and Allison show up for their annual two week visit

July 19 - Happy Birthday Boty

So a few things - I will share many of the photos over the rest of the month.

This video is extremely over due. This is from November 2008. I just got some new editing software which makes it much easier to pull the videos together so watch out...

This is a photo that Marilyn Kimball took on her last trip here. It captures our beautiful sunrises so well. I prepared this page for myself to take with me while we were gone. A gentle reminder of home. And what a wonderful home it is.

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!

I figured it had been awhile since I went out to see what information was available about Bocas on the internet. So one of the first places I popped over to was Wikipedia. Here is what the basic description about Bocas included:

Bocas del Toro is a province of Panama. The capital is the city of Bocas del Toro, found on the island of Colon. The population of the province numbers some 89,300 people. Its extension is 8,745 kilometers and is formed by 9 principal islands. There are many plantation of plantains here, often called the oro verde or green gold of Central America.

You can get to the description here.

So, technically we are on vacation beginning today. Jay is onsite taking care of things. Jim and I and the kids are on our way to Panama City and then to Houston later in the week. Stefanie and the boys head to Houston later in the week as well. You can still get in touch with us. We live in a virtual world. We will be back onsite before you know it.

Randy Jones Strike Zone - The Outdoor Channel - Tarpon Fishing with Tranquilo Bay episode airs on Saturday, May 30, 2009. Check your local listings for exact times: 7:00 am and 1:30 pm Central Time. This time Randy went way beyond Southern California. It was great fun to have Randy and his crew here. We are looking forward to the episode.

Check out the details for the show here: http://www.outdoorchannel.com/Shows/RandyJonesStrikeZone.aspx

Take a look at the new website for the Bocas Sustainable Tourism Alliance. It is www.discoverbocasdeltoro.com The website provides a forum for both tourists and residents alike to talk and gather information about Bocas del Toro, various initiatives underway and in the future sustainable tours. We are excited to be working with this group and watching the positive changes it is bringing to Bocas del Toro.

National Geographic in partnership with Ashoka’s Changemakers, is sponsoring the second annual global Geotourism Challenge: Power of Place—Sustaining the Future of our Destinations.
National Geographic defines geotourism as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place -its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents. Geotourism incorporates the concept of sustainable tourism -that destinations should remain unspoiled for future generations- while allowing for enhancement that protects the character of the locale. Geotourism also adopts a principle from its cousin, ecotourism -that tourism revenue can promote conservation- and extends that principle beyond nature travel to encompass culture and history as well: all distinctive assets of a place.

Tranquilo Bay is participating in this challenge. We submitted an application for our Bocas Adventure project. You can see our application here. Our Bocas Adventure project will create a facility adjacent to Bastimentos National Marine Park that provides sustainable public access to the area’s parks and reserves. As you know, Bocas del Toro, Panama is an ecologically sensitive area. Current estimates show 100,000 travelers visit Bocas del Toro each year. Currently, there are no facilities providing sustainable public access to the area’s parks and reserves. Bocas Adventure will immerse visitors in our community’s local and natural history, culture, ecology, flora and fauna. We will use sustainable activities such as arts, hiking, kayaking, research, snorkeling and wildlife viewing as educational and cultural exchange tools to enlighten visitors and provide sustainable employment to the community. Bocas Adventure gives the entire demographic spectrum visiting Bocas del Toro (from backpackers to wealthy travelers) access to the extreme biodiversity found within and adjacent to Bastimentos National Marine Park.

Bocas Sustainable Tourism Alliance is also participating in the challenge. You can see the BSTA application here. Bocas Sustainable Tourism Alliance is an organization here in Bocas del Toro that we are working with on destination management among other pressing issues. The ultimate goal of BSTA is to conserve one of the most important watersheds in Central America. Currently, the remarkable ecology of the Bocas del Toro watershed is under threat from unplanned and incongruous tourism and residential development. To respond to the threat of unplanned development, tourism stakeholders in the region have decided to create a Destination Management Organization (DMO), known as the Bocas Sustainable Tourism Alliance (BSTA), with the following objectives: (i) develop best management practices for stakeholders in the Bocas del Toro watershed: (ii) inform tourists about the culture and nature based activities that can be experienced in Bocas and facilitate booking of these activities through a geotourism information center and Web site (www.discoverbocasdeltoro.com) (iii) diversify the tourism products available in Bocas by identifying and supporting the development of culture and nature based tours and packages; (iv) facilitate training programs for natural resource management, guiding, and other tourism services; and (v) generate revenue to support local conservation efforts in the region.

Right now, there are 415 nominations from 74 countries and 1048 nominations from 112 countries. Latin America has the strongest presence in the challenge because the MIF, through its Sustainable Tourism Cluster (STC), has signed partnership agreements with National Geographic and Ashoka Changemakers aiming to promote and support geotourism initiatives that benefit local communities by improving the competitiveness, social use and sustainability of tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean. MIF’s STC will select and co-finance 20 projects from institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean proposed through the Geotourism Challenge 2009.

The Geotourism Challenge is completely on a Web 2.0 platform. You are welcome to peruse the entries and make comments on any of them. We would love it if you took a look at our application and let us know what you think. You will have to join the website to provide comments or nominations. Voting for the challenge opens in Fall 2009. Good luck to all the participants.

Tranquilo Bay is on FaceBook. You can find us here if you are on FaceBook. I am still rather new to this technology so we are stepping in slowly. As we increase our activity there, you can watch us if you become a fan. For those of you not on FaceBook, ignore this public service message! Have a great week!

Randy Jones Strike Zone - The Outdoor Channel - Tarpon Fishing with Tranquilo Bay episode airs on Saturday, June 6, 2009. Check your local listings for exact times: 7:00 am and 1:30 pm. This time Randy went way beyond Southern California. It was great fun to have Randy and his crew here. We are looking forward to the episode.

Check out the details for the show here: http://www.outdoorchannel.com/Shows/RandyJonesStrikeZone.aspx

Last weekend, some of Jim's fraternity brothers came down to do a bit of fishing. One of the guys also went to high school with Jay and law school with me. Small world. Anyway, back to the fishing. The first day they did some Tarpon fishing. They had a great day. On Saturday, they decided they were going to check out some of the other things we can do here in Bocas, so they went off to the Zapatilla Cayes to do a bit of Bonefishing, snorkeling and beach combing. After they had tried all of those things, they decided to go ahead and go offshore to catch some fish.

As soon as they got to the bank, they noticed the Bonita jumping. So they threw a line out of the boat and caught one right away. Jim was getting ready to rig it to use it alive to catch a bigger fish. Glenn was on the rod and Mike was close by. Mind you this is a trout rod as all they were after was bait. Next thing they know, there is a Tuna jumping. Right after the Tuna was a Wahoo. The Wahoo took a bite out of the Bonita. One half gone. Jim told them to go ahead and leave the line in the water as the Wahoo wold come back for the other half. Sure enough, he did. He was caught. However, Wahoo have super sharp teeth. This rod was not set up to catch a Wahoo. It didn't have enough line on the reel, there wasn't a wire leader, etc. etc. Jim, Glenn and Mike all worked to put the fish in the right position around the boat so that they had a chance of landing this one. Once the fish got to the boat, Glenn had the gaff to get it. Glenn had never used a gaff at this point. He got it on the fish and they got him in the boat. Jim says that the fish was more difficult to handle and bigger than Tres. So that means it was at least 50 pounds. This one they brought home. We ate it for dinner. It was extremely tasty.

Jim has looked up the world record for a wahoo on twelve pound test - 57 pounds. It is awfully close to this fish. Of course, we had multiple people touch the rod, so no world record here, but it was a world record fish for sure!

We have done a fair amount of fishing this month. Various species, authors, guests, and friends and family. It has been a lot of fun.

These are the shots of our guests that jumped out at me for the month of April. There were way to many to choose from, but I went with these as a great representation of the fun our guests had during the month of April.

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.

Here are some more photos of the kids checking out the iguana from earlier this month. They loved it.

Right now I am struggling with really understanding the concepts of sustainability and geotourism. This is a good struggle. I believe one should constantly be learning and improving. I have had the good fortune to be in a position to work on two different efforts relating to sustainable tourism here in Panama.

APTSO (www.aptso.org) is the Panamanian Sustainable Tourism Association. APTSO is a non-profit association directed by a group of pioneers in the fields of tourism, science and development that intends to spread sustainable tourism across both the private and public sectors in order to improve the environmental and common development of Panama. It is open to any person, company, institution or organization that wants to support our commitment to conservation of the environment, preservation of our cultural heritage and local economic development across tourism.

The second effort is the development of a destination management organization (DMO) for Bocas del Toro, Panama (www.discoverbocasdeltoro.com - not active). As of yet it does not have a name, but it is guided by National Geographic's Center for Sustainable Destinations definition of Geotourism. Geotourism is tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place - its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents.

In order for Bocas del Toro and Panama to really succeed in the long term as a tourism destination I believe that we must be guided by both of these principles. I haven't found that either principle actually competes with the other. I believe them to be complementary. We must conserve and protect all of the cultural and natural resources within this country.

One set of resources is predominantly national. The other is facilitated by an international group but will ultimately belong to local players. We need to learn from the experience of others throughout the world and apply what we learn to our local and national situation. This is not easy. It does not happen overnight. However, it is necessary. We must begin and continue making improvements little by little. The benefit of doing so is huge. So we press on...and we do it together.

Ramon and Natalia were out watching the night monkeys about a week ago. Here are a few of the photos that Ramon caught. Several nights later I was out with the puppies and I heard the monkeys moving about. They are difficult to actually see unless you take some time to find them. When I was putting the photos together I was reminded how fast life moves sometimes and that we need to slow down so that it doesn't pass us by. Actually getting to be in the presence of these monkeys is a treat. One that you don't get if you don't take the time. Have a great weekend.



[ Supplies: Ali Edwards from the kit: Bloom and Grow at Songbird Avenue. All proceeds from this kit go to benefit Autism Speaks. Orange paper by JEdwards - Everyday Challenge from Designer Digitals. Papertag from Scrapgirls. ]

Jim and Jay are out fishing today with some guests. Here are a few photos from one of their fishing trips last Spring. I was thinking about these guests over the weekend as they are all University of Texas Alumni and with the Longhorns playing football as well as they are these days I was thinking about the other people I know who would be so proud of them!

It was a glorious day to be on the water. Today’s weather mimics the weather from these photographs. We had a bit of rain overnight which is necessary to keep the vegetation in all of its splendor. The fishing group left early under clear skies. The day has been clear and warm all day. We have not seen a cloud in the sky throughout the entire day. Jay likes to call these days - Chamber of Commerce days. As if we called up the chamber of commerce and ordered one just for this set of guests. And we will do the same for you.

One of the neat things that we really like about many of our excursions is the way that our guests have an opportunity to interact with some of the local children. It is a great experience for the children and a wonderful experience for our guests. We find that the native children LOVE to have their picture taken. We take photos of them each time we encounter them on an excursion. They like to see the photo on the camera’s display as soon as it is taken. They also love to get copies of their photos that we print out and return to them on one of our trips to their village. Here are photos of children from two different villages on Punta Valiente. We generally visit at least these two villages on our excursions to Punta Valiente which include both hiking and a trip to beach.





Have a great weekend!

Enrique found this baby sloth on the jungle floor one day when he was doing some work around the property. He knows how much we like to photograph the wildlife which surrounds us so he brought it over to the main building on a stick so that we could see it and photograph it. This is closest that any of us had ever been to a baby sloth. We were very careful not to touch it - not because the sloth is dangerous, but because we didn’t want to get our smell on it. We do not know if another’s smell on the sloth would cause its mother to shun it or not, but we didn’t want to take any chances. After we took a few photos of this little guy, Enrique took him back to where he found him so that he could be reunited with his mother.

As you can tell in this first picture, Boty isn’t quite sure what to make of him. You can’t see it in this picture, however, Tres and Scott were both fascinated by the baby sloth. I think they thought they were almost on one of Diego’s adventures where they were helping the baby sloth return to his mother. Very few children have the opportunity to actually “participate” in one of those special adventures.

Coastal Conservation Corporation is responsible for protecting the turtles on several of the beaches here in Bocas del Toro. Our friends Ramon and Natalia have been caring for the turtles on these beaches for the last five years. We see them whenever we go out to the Zapatilla Cayes. They also come over to use our communications on occassion. They graciously provided us with a few of the photos they have taken over the term of their tenure here in Bocas. They have been blessed with some beautiful encounters over the years as you can see in these photos.






Two of our guests were at the Zapatillas with Jay on Tuesday. Natalia took them along with her as she did her final check on a turtle nest. There was one baby turtle who hadn’t dug himself out. They helped him out of the nest and watched as he made his way to the sea. Over 100 turtles hatched and made it to sea as Natalia and Ramon kept watch. Thank you!



I am going to update the Zapatilla Cay website and put all of their photos on the site. I will post on here when I have it completed.

Here is a short clip of a guy Jim saw on one of the islands shucking coconuts. It is so funny as Jim and Jay have been here in Panama for almost 9 years and up until a few months ago they thought you could only open a coconut with a machete. All of our employees and any other local we know use a machete to open a coconut. It takes lots of machete strikes to the coconut and then bending the machete across the coconut husk to get the nut out of the husk. And here is this guy with an ingenious little tool that lets him shuck multiples of coconuts in the time that it takes for anyone else to shuck one. This is all part of the fun of learning something new everyday!

Here is a short video I just finished on our excursion to Punta Valiente. For those of you who haven’t been here yet - this is one of our don’t miss excursions. For those of you who have visited us maybe it will bring a smile to your face to remember your trip to Punta Valiente. Have a great Friday!

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.

The resident eel poking his head out of the coral he calls home. This coral head is on the side of the dock so we check it out each time we are down there to see if Mr. Eel is out and about.

Corin as I described in the last post - was really into snakes. He and his family went fishing with Jim one day when another group was going to Punta Valiente. Corin was really bummed because he wanted to go over to the mainland where he could be looking for some serious snakes. Jay knew how important the snake hunting was to Corin and being a snake enthusiast himself, he brought back an eyelash viper for Corin to see. The snake was treated cautiously and carefully. He was removed from his mayonnaise jar home only for a few photos and then he was returned several days later to Punta Valiente with the next group.

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 ;-)

What happens when you take one very funny retired high school government teacher, one of his fraternity brothers, one of his former students, all of their spouses and a few of the kids and toss them into the Panamanian jungle on an island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea?  Oh yea - they are all Texans tambien. A rocking good time :-) 

We ended up with a group of friends (who have come together over time) vacationing here at Tranquilo Bay last week.  It was great fun.  I had an idea of what we might be in for as I communicated with them via email, but my expectations were exceeded.  We have fun with all of our guests, but this group seriously tickled our funny bones.  They began by playing jokes on us the first night they arrived and ended the week with us being in on the jokes as other guests arrived.  

One of the things I am truly appreciate about our clientele is that they REALLY are on vacation.  They kick back, have fun and forget about the every day.  Our location definitely helps people to enter this zone, if you will, but I continue to be impressed by people who can turn off and tune in to nature so that they re-enter their day to day lived recharged.

Here are some photos of one of our porch sessions.  


Singing and joking


Hook Em Horns


Chicken foot dominoes


And look at what they did to Bimini!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

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

Our little business is growing tremendously this first quarter of 2008. Our occupancy rate for the first quarter is up over 100% over last year. This is exciting, exhilarating, and a little exhausting.

Exciting because this is the business we came down to Panama to have. Watching our business grow and keeping it running smoothly gives us all a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

Exhilarating because we are participating in a group of special memories for our clients. While our clients all share a love for adventure and nature - each one experiences it differently and comes here from a different place. We are fortunate to be exposed to all of these wonderful people. It is really cool to have the opportunity to enrich their experiences while at the same time we gain insight and perspective from the encounter. We experience our place with a fresh set of senses each time a new guest arrives. To hear the way they describe things and see the delight in their faces is truly rewarding experience.

Exhausting, yes, but in a good way. We work seven days a week for many hours out of each day. As with any business as you continue to learn what it takes to make it great it takes a bit out of you. However, the upside of what we are learning and how it is getting easier each day for us and for our employees is that we are building a business that we believe will stand for a long time.

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.

Wow – so much time has passed since my last post. We decided that we needed a new look and feel for our website so we spent several months working on the whole redo. What has resulted seems to be much easier to navigate and includes many new photos. We have been blessed with a great number of clients who give us copies of all of their amazing photos and then Jim has taken thousands of photos as well. This enabled us to add almost 20 galleries. We have plans for quite a few more which will help us to display the beauty of Bocas del Toro Panama.

We have been working heavily with several government agencies doing what we can to help preserve the natural beauty of Isla Bastimentos. The government is looking at enlarging Bastimentos National Marine Park which we think would be great. It guarantees that Isla Bastimentos will have the resources and the regulations which help protect it from further development.

Recently we hosted a couple of research scientists from the Smithsonian Institue who were study the red frog population across all of Isla Bastimentos. These two women reviewed some of our photos while they were here and found one particular vividly colored katydid interesting. Jim emailed a photo of it to them and they sent it on to their expert. This expert is fascinated by the katydid and believes it to be a new species. Jim is working with this expert on a regular basis now to help him acquire whatever information he needs to further study this katydid.

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. :)

We chose not to subscribe to any television service as we have a unique opportunity to control how much and exactly what television content our children watch. We have a large library and DVD library in order to both entertain and expand our brains. However, recently we have been at a loss for new content to add to our library. There are some nights where you don’t want to read, but you would like to do something and a movie or a television show is the best fit. Fortunately for us we have so many different perspectives presented to us by our diverse clientele that we have people offer suggestions that one might not have thought of on one’s own. Last week we had a few very well traveled individuals on site. One couple has been watching a variety of courses on television on very interesting subjects. These peaked our interest as it is a great way for us to expand our horizons and add to our content library. So for now we are going to check into some history on things we would like to know a bit more about. If we like those courses who knows we might go with it. The nice thing about it is we can get the content directly off the internet so we don’t have to wait for it to make its extended journey to Panama.

How far in advance do you prepare for a vacation? We have some guests who reserve their vacation and begin planning the specifics a year in advance of their trip. We have others who want to schedule a trip about two weeks to a month out. However, most of our guests fall somewhere in the middle.

We recently had a family of four here for ten days. All vacation planning was left up to Dad. Dad is a successful, type A personality kind of guy. He begins planning his vacation for the upcoming year shortly after returning home from the current year’s vacation. So for Spring Break, he catches up at the office and then begins the quest to find the next spot he deems perfect for his family. He does a lot of research about that spot and then he lets the information simmer for a while. After it simmers for about a month or so, he fills in any missing information and goes over all of the information, at a summary level, with his wife. If she buys into the plan then he makes his reservation for the following year.

So needless to say, when I got the following email in my in box earlier this week, I was delighted as I know we had some big shoes to fill.

We had a wonderful time at Tranquilo Bay. Our stay exceeded expectations… and you know, they were pretty high. Most importantly, I want to thank Jim, Jay, Stephanie, Sabrina, Enrique, Mario, Leo, Yohani, the Hidden Chef and all the other staff for being such great hosts.

Renee, you, especially, are a saint for putting up with all my questions and quirky desires.

I am still digesting the entire trip and will be sending out a package this week. Hopefully, it will be in Texas for Jay's visit.

There are so many great memories/experiences, lobster, Zapo Beach, the dock, dolphins, tarpon, bonefish, views, water, indians, etc.... Of course my biggest disappointment was the food. Too good, too much - I am huge and almost was charged 70 cents a pound for my return weight.

Collecting my thoughts, I am, believe it or not, at a loss for words - but the main point is we had a great time, there are a lot of great places - the trick is to find both great places with great people - we found that at Tranquilo Bay....and that will be a very hard combo to replicate - and I may just want to stay with a good thing.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. I remember when I was working in Houston that I made so many different decisions each day that I wanted a vacation from decisions. We have tried to create such a place here where you can make as many or as few decisions as you like.

We ask you in advance what you are interested in experiencing once you arrive. We spend some time getting to know each of our guests upon arrival to determine which of the excursions would be the best fit for each guest and such guest’s entire party. Based upon this input and the current conditions we suggest an excursion for the entire party or for smaller groups.

We also plan our menus in advance based upon guest input. Thus after you have had an exhilarating day upon the water or in the jungle, you do not have to decide what you want to eat. We have a set menu determined for you. We post the menu each morning so that you have an opportunity to advise us if you do not want to eat what we have scheduled for the evening. In such an instance we suggest other alternatives based upon availability.

One of our guests once told me that he was really enjoying his vacation here as he got to take a break from making all the decisions. He let us make them for him. Of course, if you don’t want to take a break, just let us know that as well. We will let you continue thinking if you want to do so.

Breathe deeply. Inhale the ocean breeze. Exhale the “real world”. Inhale the sweet smell of the rain. Exhale crowds. Inhale the scents of the jungle. Exhale the concrete jungle.

I used to have a strong yoga practice when I lived in Houston. I actually began practicing yoga on vacation in Mexico. I was the only woman guest at a fishing lodge. Jim went fishing all day long and I usually hung back at the lodge. The massage therapist at the lodge taught a “pick up” yoga class for all of the female staff members. There is something about beginning your yoga practice gazing upon the Caribbean Sea. It is a memory I cherish.

Yoga just fit for me. I enjoyed it and I benefited from my practice. I unfortunately have not kept up with my practice ever since I was pregnant with my first child. I went to an occasional class following my son’s birth, but I did not have a true practice. Prior to my pregnancy with our daughter I was slowly beginning a practice here in Bocas del Toro Panama. The option to practice while gazing upon the Caribbean Sea is a strong pull for me. However my second pregnancy was a difficult one and I didn’t do any yoga during it.

Now I am reaching the end of my daughter’s first year. I feel a pull toward my yoga practice for a variety of reasons. One of which I believe is that yoga is going to be something that my daughter and I can share. My son also enjoys it even those he only tries a posture or two at a time. I would like to renew my practice so that I might benefit from it and so that I might share it with my children. Besides, breathing deeply here is easy.

We just had a family of four leave after a stay with us of ten days. I have been communicating with this family, mainly the dad, for almost a year now as they planned their Spring Break 2007. This vacation was different than they normally take and so they asked a lot of questions in advance to make sure they were getting exactly what they wanted in their vacation.

We helped them find a hotel in Panama City and also arranged for a guide to take them around the city. This makes the transition into the vacation so much easier as it is one less thing for one to have to deal with.

Once they arrived in Bocas del Toro Panama – in the rain – we got them fed the first of many meals and took them to their cabana. They got comfortable and the sun came out. They walked around the grounds to get a feel for everything, spent some time down at the dock and then came back up for lunch. After a round of questions and a great pizza, they were pretty sure they had made the right decision for their vacation. The adventure was about to begin.

Over the next ten days, they took numerous trips to the beach. They went fishing. They found dolphins. They made friends and most importantly they made memories. I am certain that the memories of this trip will last a long long time.

Water. I have been thinking about it quite a bit for the past month or so. You see we are experiencing an unusual draught these days. We haven’t had much rain for some time now. The town closest to us actually ran out of water for about three days. Not having water is scary stuff. But it is the kind of thing that you really do not stop and think about most of the time in a developed nation. Water is just there. You can turn on the tap and out comes the water.

The only time I remember being concerned in the least bit about water and access to it was when Houston was hit by a hurricane. I remember filling the bathtub with water so that we could be assured we would have water in the event the municipal utilities were harmed in any manner. We didn’t have power for several days following that hurricane but I do not remember actually losing access to water.

Life on Isla Bastimentos requires that we constantly monitor our water consumption. We have to make sure that we will have water to support our guests. Each of our cabanas is self sufficient with regard to the water supply our guests actually use. We never run into issues with consumption at the cabanas. And if we did, we can divert water from the main supply to a cabana. Instead we monitor our usage in the main building and in all of the support buildings. We have all learned to wash our hands and brush our teeth with a limited use of water.

I have learned to ration my use of water. I still have a long way to go. Water is very important to us all and yet we use and abuse it day in and day out. Where would we be without water? Exactly not a question one wants to answer.

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.

Why do we protect the environment? Each person has his or her reasons. I just read an article about how some of the ski slopes, Aspen, in particular are working to reduce global warming and do what they can to protect the climate. Auden Schendler, Director of Aspen’s Environmental Division said something that I believe to be extremely accurate. “If we protect the environment out of greed, that’s even better,” laughing “Greed works.” The entire ski industry loses if we do not learn to control our climate.

I read in another magazine a story about a woman who left her SUV running the entire time during an hour long yoga class. When questioned about why she left it running it was because she didn’t want to return to a cold car. When further questioned about whether or not she thought about how she was contributing to global warming, she replied that she didn’t believe in that stuff.

Across the globe, there are people and places which are feeling the effects of global warming today and are learning what further problems we will have in the future if we don’t do something about it. Each of has to determine what we will do and how we will do it to help reduce the speed with which global warming continues.

Can I really match my appetite for eco adventure with my hunger for maintaining balance in my life? Can I really let go of corporate America as quickly as I put on my flip flops? Is it possible to embrace living on a island and losing the “freedom” of driving a car? Can I make new friends on regular basis and feel as if I have known them for a lifetime? Can I free myself in this process?

Oh yes – all of this is possible. My appetite for eco adventure is really no different than the appetite I used to have for excitement in my job. My job now is eco adventure and sharing it with many other people. Do I maintain balance in my life? For sure. As I sit down to do my work each day I am interrupted by the ebb and flow of my children’s daily activities and those of our guests. I will admit that losing my Blackberry was difficult in the beginning, but now the thought of giving of my flip flops to go back to corporate America is laughable. I am trapped in paradise if you will. Our island has no roads. To go anywhere you must get in a boat and head to another land mass. I can’t drive a boat. So if there are no boat captains around the only way I could get somewhere else would be to head out in a kayak – self propelled transportation. New friends. We have the good fortune to meet so many different people here. I meet people from all different walks of life. Oddly enough you learn quickly that there is some interest you share which then spurs interesting conversation and quite possibly a friendship which will last a lifetime. Am I free? You betcha.

We set out to change our lives. We wanted to be able to spend more time with our families and to work for ourselves. We have attempted to build an eco adventure lodge which allows others to do the same even if only for a brief period of time.

We selected Isla Bastimentos for our location as it was an ideal location for people to experience nature at its finest. There are so many different eco systems on this island and the other islands in Bocas del Toro Panama. Multiple eco systems translates into lots of options. It allows us to present our guests with opportunities to see and experience the natural world in a sustainable fashion.

We like to celebrate what makes Bocas del Toro Panama unique. It has such amazing biodiversity. It has an interesting history. It has beautiful islands and waters. It has its own challenges and occasional discomforts, but it remains relatively undeveloped due to these limitations. If it was easy to get here or it was easy to build here then there would be a McDonalds, a Starbucks and a Marriott. Thankfully, for now, we leave those familiar brands behind when we come to Bocas del Toro Panama.

Fast forward to March 2007, we have been open for business for close to two years. Last year we experienced a tropical pregnancy and birth abroad of our daughter Boty. So now we have a beautiful eight month old daughter who is a dual citizen of both the USA and Panama., a precious bilingual three year old son and a wonderful life.

I went to the beach last week with some family and friends who were visiting. As I walked along the beach checking out the gorgeous views I realized how lucky I was. I have a very rich life even if I do not have much money in my pockets.

We have daily challenges but we face them head on and do what is best for our family and our business. We have become environmental stewards and our business is slowly becoming a success. Each day I am thankful for the fact that I met, fell in love with and married a very determined man. I am happy that he had a dream and the guts to follow that dream. I am happy that I adopted the dream. I am happy that we are raising our children in such a fabulous place and attempting to leave them an incredible legacy. And honestly, I am happy that I am just a little bit crazy.

At this point, we attempt the transition from construction to operation. Installing communications, building a website, finding employees, and establishing a client base takes time.

Setting ourselves up to have communications on a Panama island where there are no other utilities was no small feat. We researched the equipment necessary to send an Internet signal from one island to another. We determined that we would need a radio tower over 100 feet tall to clear the tallest trees on Isla Bastimentos in the line of sight from the radio tower on Isla Colon. We researched different voice over internet protocol phone providers to determine which company to use. We purchased all the necessary equipment. We had the tower constructed. We did large amounts of rework on the tower as it was not completed to our standards. We determined how the tower would need to be installed and supported. We installed the tower and hooked up all the communications equipment. The day we went live on the Internet was a really big day for us.

Next came the website – get as much information about what we have here in Panama on the web as possible. Add photos to help describe what we have created here. Given that we didn’t have any background in this area it was just another area we took the time to learn and attempt to master.

Finding the right employees takes time. They need to enjoy living in our secluded pristine environment. We have spent an extended period of time getting the right people here to help us. It will be an ongoing challenge but for now we have a good group.

Establishing a client base requires providing a good product and spreading the word. We are working on both on a daily basis.

Small bites, we are together. Are we crazy? Yes, a little bit. Are we happy? Yes. Are we tired? Yes. Would we do it again? Yes.

We begin to really see the light at the end of the tunnel however as we get closer it feels like someone pushes the light just out of reach. The infrastructure work is completed. Main dock construction begins and is completed. Finish work in all the buildings is ongoing. Stefanie and Scott move in with Jay’s parents in preparation for the move to Panama. Stefanie quits her job. We set dates for the move.

Jim comes back to Houston to collect me, Tres, Wahoo and Bimini. I am sure that everyone on the flight with us would have preferred we leave a few things behind. We have the maximum luggage and carry on baggage allowed. Bitzser the cat moves in with Jim’s stepmother Marilyn. Jim’s mom makes the trip to Panama with us so that she can help with Tres while I set up house.

Prior to our arrival Jay gets the main building as clean as possible and puts in foam mattresses and a crib for Tres. I begin the arduous task of unpacking all that has been sent to Panama. We are still operating with the small propane refrigerator and a small generator, but we are together at last. Jay returns to Houston to get Stefanie and Scott. When they arrive, we move to the regular refrigerators and turn on the full size generators.

2003 rolls along and the construction on the main building continues. We are expecting our first child in our tenth year of marriage. Interior work begins on the cabanas. Jim and Jay move in to the staff quarters building and out of the rancho – still camping but more like in a trailer rather than in a tent. Jim sleeps in the staff quarters and Jay sleeps in a tent in one of the unfinished cabanas so that they both might have an ounce of privacy. I make my last trip down to Panama before the birth of our child and then go back to Houston to do contract work. I find out I have Gestational Diabetes and must watch literally everything that enters my mouth so that I do not grow too big a baby and put it at risk. While work as a contractor was more lucrative it was also much harder. I move into a garage apartment at my in-law’s house as we think that it will be necessary to move out of Jay’s house soon after the baby is born so it is much easier to move pre baby rather than after the baby is born. James III (aka Tres) is born on November 4, 2003. We send a second container full of stuff down to Panama one week after Tres is born. The guys start on all of the infrastructure work to tie the lodge facilities together.

Somewhere along the way we have moved into the second phase – building the lodge facilities. Jim and Jay install a toilet in one of the cabanas to improve living standards a bit. The guys build pathways, five more cabanas and begin the main building. Scott Harrison Viola is born on September 6, 2002. He comes home to live with his mom and his Aunt Renée. I conveniently get myself laid off so that I will be ready for the move to Panama. My severence date gets pushed back several times as other attorneys leave or go on maternity leave. Jim has lost almost 40 pounds on a four-bowl diet and constant construction activities. They eat out of camp bowls for each meal – one at breakfast, one at lunch and two at dinner. Jim and Jay sit around in the dark and debate or come up with ways to solve the world’s problems. As they are sitting outside using a light would attract bugs so they learn all kinds of new skills which may be completed in complete darkness. Eating without actually observing your food, advanced mathematic calculations in their heads, and how to make Spam Pad Thai among other things.

2000 passes in a blur. The grounds are cleared, the Environmental Impact Study begins and the guys begin an almost five year camping experience.

2001 is used to finalize the Environmental Impact Study and submit it for approval, building a barn and the first cabana. Things move slow and take a long time. We remind ourselves we are taking small bites. We purchase materials for the other five cabanas and the main building in Houston which was a huge undertaking. Then we ship those materials down to Panama on a Chiquita Banana boat and move them out to the property. We do not have any heavy equipment. Everything must be transported by boat out to the property and moved up a very high hill by manpower.

The holiday season 2001-2002 is the last time Jim and Jay come to Houston at the same time. Trips to and from Panama are spread out thinner over the year in order to keep the project moving – we sometimes go as long as three months apart. Jay and Stefanie are expecting a child in September 2002. Questions continue – do you know what you are doing? Stefanie gets put on bed rest for the last part of her pregnancy. Day to day life can be challenging. We all deal with the issues in different ways. I do a lot of yoga, work quite a bit, have lots of migraines, discuss things with family and friends over a few adult beverages and tear out pages from magazines for the house that I will have some day. Jim and I talk about things – but we NEVER entertain the idea of quitting. Quitting isn’t an option. We have sacrificed too much and look forward to life ahead – so we push on.

In order to get approval for the project, an Environmental Impact Study had to be completed. Jim and Jay contracted with a Panamanian woman to complete the study and to document the process. She brought in experts in various fields to determine how our project would effect the area. Jim worked with the Panamanian architect to document the design of the cabanas and the main lodge building. Jay worked on the specifications of each of the infrastructure systems: water, septic and power. Stefanie and I were consulted on the aesthetics and also asked to send money.

The Environmental Impact Study is several hundred pages long. It includes information on all of the native habitat - plants, trees, birds and animals. A sociologist comes in to ask all of our neighbors about us and how they feel about the project. It includes designs and descriptions of all the buildings and all of the infrastructure systems. And by the way - the whole thing is completed in Spanish.

It takes much of 2000 to prepare the Environmental Impact Study for submission to the government. We decided early on that we wanted to do everything as by the book as possible. In Latin America it is sometimes difficult to do things by the book because the requirements are constantly changing.

We were naïve. We thought that Stefanie and I might be able to move down to a somewhat completed project within two years from once we started. Our learning process begins here. Once you think you have an idea how long something will take to complete in Latin America, double or triple that timeframe and then add on extra time as well in order to cover any complications. The things that make construction and ultimately operations a bit of a challenge are the things that make Panama and for that matter, most of Latin America, a great place to vacation - no one is concerned about time here. Time passes - there is no rapid fire pace as we are used to dealing with in the United States.

We were looking for a change in lifestyle. We found it.

Taming the jungle was quite a feat. The guys acquired and rigged up a boat before any work could begin as they needed transportation to and from the property. Jim and Jay first had to build a dock and clear a portion of the grounds before ANYTHING else could be done. The service dock was built while Jay and Jim stayed on Isla Colon and Cayo Nancy and traveled to and from the property. During such time they also acquired a second piece of land adjacent to the first piece. They built a small raised platform with a metal roof (to catch rainwater) as their home for some time to come. The Rancho housed a propane refrigerator, a propane stove, a sink, water storage, and enough space for two one man tents. Down below the platform they built an open air shower with one of the best views in the Caribbean Ocean. Notice – there were no formal facilities which meant hiking into the woods with an orthopedic potty seat and a shovel when there was business to be addressed.

Approximately every six weeks in the beginning and quickly changing to every eight weeks we would see each other. In between we would talk on the phone once or twice a week and exchange emails on the same intervals. Over time the emails stopped as when the guys traveled to town they had too much to do to wait for a computer to sit down and write. The lodge’s location is out of reach of cell phones without an external antennae so all calls were made to and from Bocas Town until such time as the guys acquired and installed an antennae. Even with the antennae the coverage was spotty so communication ran along the same lines.

So on December 6, 1999 Jim left for Bocas del Toro Panama in search of the site for the dream to unfold. He stayed with a generous Texan who had moved to Bocas some years before. Using a small boat the Texan owned, Jim checked out different spots throughout the archipelago until he came across Macca Bight – a peninsula on Isla Bastimentos. The peninsula was a ways out of town so it wouldn’t have any utilities from town, but it had gorgeous views, and put us much closer to the parts of the archipelago we would explore with our guests on our eco excursions. Jim made a deal with the man whose family had been on the land for years and years.

Meanwhile, back in Houston, I packed up our house in order to move into Jay’s house with Stefanie so that we could conserve funds and minimize expenses so that we would have more money to send to Panama. Jay resigned from his job in preparation for his pendng move to Panama. Stefanie and Jay got married and Stefanie moved into Jay’s house. I followed soon thereafter with two dogs, a cat and a house full of stuff.

It was at this time that people began to call us crazy and to wonder if we really knew what we were doing. Jim and Jay were running off to the Panamanian jungle to build a fishing camp. Stefanie and I barely knew each other and rather than living with our husbands we were living together in a small house with four animals. Thankfully, we have never cared much about what other people think. We plan, we execute, we deal with challenges which arise, and we look toward the light at the end of the tunnel. Small bites. Rather than look at the enormity of the project which included first taming the jungle, second building a lodge and third operating a successful and sustainable eco adventure lodge.

I was a senior at the University of Texas when I met Jim. He had a strong vision of what he wanted in life. He knew that he wanted to do something different and that it would be great if it could be near salt water. So you could say that I knew very early on that I was in for an adventure.

We met Jay through one of Jim’s cousins and as it turned out he had an interest in a different life as well. The three of us began talking, saving money and planning for what the future might hold. During the following years Jim and I got married, I attended law school part time, graduated and began practicing law, Jim and Jay bought a boat together to test the strength of our friendship, Jim was transferred out of Houston and we all traveled throughout the Caribbean and Central America to further solidify the dream.

In 1998 we moved back to Houston about 5 minutes from where Jay was living. Our planning took up almost all of our free time; however, Jay met Stefanie and began dating her in spite of his self-avowed bachelorism. Over time, Jay and Stefanie’s relationship grew and she was invited to learn a bit about our crazy plans.

Stefanie and I sent Jay and Jim to Bocas del Toro, Panama in October 1999 to see if it was a good fit for our plans. Upon their return from Bocas, the guys informed us that it was the right place but that it would take a bit of time to find the exact location. Panama had so much to offer: land at a reasonable price, currency on par with the US Dollar, an infrastructure much better than other Central American countries, a biological wonderland, an extensive national park system, it was beneath the hurricane belt, its people seemed to be so welcoming and a fair number of them spoke English. The four of us decided to proceed with Panama. Jim was the best person to keep the process moving. Jim resigned from his job at about the same time he had been informed that he was to acquire his dream job – business development responsibilities throughout Latin America.