Opportunity

We are a fortunate group of people. We try to make the most out of every opportunity. We have found that opportunity presents itself o us on a regular basis.

One day the opportunity may be to put our guests onto the best waves Bocas del Toro has to offer that particular morning. To rise to meet that opportunity we need to be prepared - we have to know our available options, judge based upon the conditions and then make a call.

Another day our opportunity might be to make every one of our guests feel welcome. One family might want to go snorkeling and another couple might want to go kayaking and then a third group may want to hang out, while one child would love to go fishing. It is our responsibility to make all of these things happen. We do so with a smile upon our faces because it is completely within our abilities to make each of these things happen for each of our guests.

The best quote I have found which sums up how we approach our business and our lives is this one:

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.

Kid Friendly

There are those hotels and those destinations which are not a good fit for people traveling with children. We are neither of those things. We love kids – we have three of our own on site. Bocas del Toro Panama has plenty of places where the kids can have a fun and safe day.

This morning I was trying to help a former guest find another place in Panama to visit next year as he and his family want to return to stay with us, but they also want to explore a few different parts of the beautiful little country. We both happened upon a few new lovely places which look great but they are not appropriate for children. One place is completely over water which is not the best location for children. The other place does not accept children under the age of 13.

There is a reason that we are right for people with kids and for people without kids. We live here on site. We have our own kids living here with us. So we know what it is like to make sure both the kids and the grown ups have a good time. We send our kids to bed early or to the library downstairs to watch television while the adults enjoy a delicious meal with white tablecloths up stairs.

So, bring the kids and have some fun.

Blogging

It makes me happy. I love that I can live in the middle of the jungle on an island in the Caribbean Sea and I can still access good content on things which interest me. In the past it was necessary to get a subscription to a magazine or to watch a television show in order to get this stuff.

Don't get me wrong, I still like to read books and magazines, but I can't load up on them these days like I could when we lived in Houston, Texas.

I have several groupings of blogs saved in my browser of places I check out several times a week for education and inspiration.

We recently had a guest stay here who is both an esteemed author and professor as well as a dad, a husband, and a nice guy - Bob Sutton. I have been reading his blog, Work Matters, ever since. Speaking with him and his amazing wife, Marina, reminded me to open my eyes to other types of blogs for both education and information. (BTW - Bob's most recent book is helpful even if you don't work in a "normal" workplace. I read it before his family's arrival based upon some information his tour operator provided to me. It is a good read!)

If I had to pick my top nine blogs as of today - they would be (in no particular order):

Soule Mama

- Amanda Soule's Blog

Angry Chicken

- Amy Karol's Blog

House on Hill Road

- Erin Harris' Blog

How about orange ...

- Jessica Jone's Blog

Work Matters

- Bob Sutton's Blog

Ali Edwards Design Blog

- Ali Edwards' Blog

Pink Chalk Studio Blog

- Kathy Mack's Blog

Sew Mama Sew Blog

- Sew Mama Sew Store Blog

11 Mystics

- Suzanne's Blog on iWeb and other technical stuff

It is not at all unusual that I begin on one person's blog and then follow the links to the next and the next and the next. I have a variety of tutorials and recipes and scrapbook ideas stored away in my favorites. I pull inspiration from these when it comes time to make something for the kids or for the cabanas, etc. But honestly, I am a lurker. I do not leave comments and I rarely communicate with the authors of the blogs. It is more like reading a book or a magazine for me. I must credit Ali Edwards for getting me started in all of this. I get a newsletter for a digital scrapbooking website called Scrapgirls (my husband loves that one) and Ali was interviewed in the newsletter. There was a link to her blog. And from there I was hooked. I only hope that someday someone will feel the same way about our blog, or trip reports, etc.

Have a great day!

Fresh Baked Goods

I used to underestimate the importance of freshly baked breads, cookies, and desserts. I have always enjoyed them, but I never realized the difference in eating these items within a day or so after they leave the oven.

We make all the baked goods we serve here on site. So that includes fresh breads, daily cookies, cakes, pies and so much more. Our guests are surprised each time they learn that we bake everything on site. To us it has become second nature to make sure that we have plenty of yummy stuff on site.

One set of guests informed me that they didn’t eat much bread but that they did prefer whole wheat bread over any other type. So the next day when we were baking our daily bread, we added a few loaves of whole wheat. Our guests were delighted to have this fresh whole wheat bread for their sandwiches and toast.

Each day we bake a different kind of cookie. These cookies are served with lunch whether you are eating on site or off site on one of our excursions. We very rarely see any cookies return from an excursion or for that matter remain on the plate following lunch onsite.

Our desserts each day are all made here. We have some tasty pies and cakes which highlight all the local ingredients such as pineapple, coconut and chocolate. It is a good thing that our property is so large and includes so many sets of stairs as it helps all of us to have an excuse to eat dessert!

Take Aways

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

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

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

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