Environmental Impact Study

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

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.

And so it begins

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.

It all began with a dream

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.

volunteer repair work @ bastimentos national marine park

Tranquilo Bay volunteered to do some dock repair work at Bastimentos National Marine Park. In recent months, in two different places, trees had fallen across the elevated wooden walking trail named Sendero Interprativo El Boque Detras del Arrecife on Zapatilla Key (translated as forest path within the coral reef). With permission from Hernandez Bonilla, ANAM’s Chief Park Engineer (which makes him the head of all protected areas here in Bocas del Toro for Panamas equivalent of the EPA), and coordination efforts from park employees, Blanford Constantino, Samuel Jimenez and Richard Hinz the date was set to make the repairs.

Our employees, Enrique Robinson, July Robinson and Adalberto Baker gathered up the necessary tools to fix the broken walkways and we set off in one of our boats for the Zapatilla Cayes. Upon arrival at the park we were met by Samuel and Richard. Samuel went about his regular duties of collecting park entrance fees and Richard accompanied the volunteers and helped with the repairs.

The first damaged spot was the worst. Four posts had been driven over a foot down into the soil by the weight of a fallen tree. Two car jacks had to be used to return them to the correct level. The lumber that was used to make the walkway is called Nespero. This is a particularly hard wood and much time was spent just pulling nails out of it and putting new ones in. About six nails were bent to each one that got put in. The first repair was finished at about 12:30 pm.

No one had expected the job to take so long and we still had another spot to fix. Coconut milk and coconut meat served as lunch.

The second damaged area was not as bad. Only two posts had been pushed down by a second fallen tree. The pulling and driving of nails was still a problem, but in the end the walkway was returned to its original state.

The crew packed up and headed back to Tranquilo Bay at about 4 pm.

Mr. Bonilla was coming out the following day to meet with his employees and have a look at the repairs.