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.