Updated Tranquilo Bay Website

I just wanted to point out that we have updated several of the pages on the website to include videos where appropriate. The pages with videos currently include:

Accommodations

Beach Excursions

Beach Hiking

Diving & Snorkeling

Fishing

Kayaking

We are continuing to take video footage and will add more video to the site as we develop it. Have a great week!

New fishing websites

Here are a few new websites to which we have made contributions. Content is supposed to be added on a semi-regular basis. We will be fishing next week with Jim’s older brother. So if we get any new photos that help with the content of the sites we will be sure to send them along. Have a great weekend!

Origin of the word: Banana

We find ourselves reading and/or researching different things that affect us down here in the tropics so I decided that it might be a good idea to share some of the information we find as these little tidbits are interesting in their own right even if you don't live close to the equator.

I am currently reading "Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World" by Dan Koeppel. It is a fairly recent book that I picked up when were in Houston this past summer. One of the interesting items he found in doing his research for this book is that to follow the journey of the banana it is much easier for archeologists, historians, biologists and authors to work with linguists. Why? Because it was easier to trace the words that each culture used to mean Banana that it is to trace the fruit itself.

The words used in the far east to mean banana are very different than the word we use today. The words used in Hebrew, Latin and many other languages are also quite different than we use today. The word that we use today, Banana, has its origin in the Arabic word banan. Banan translates into English as "finger."

Bananas are harvested from the plant as a rack. This rack is then separated into hands. The bunch of bananas you buy in the grocery store are a hand of bananas. The individual fruits are the "finger" of the plant. Thus the Arabic word for finger has come to be our word for this delicious fruit.

Bocas del Toro Beaches

Back to a video. Here is a video of some of the beaches we visit here in Bocas del Toro Panama on our excursions. Each beach has its unique characteristics which makes it special. Two of the beaches are on small islands which you can circumnavigate in less than an hour. Certain beaches are only accessible during the months of the year when our waves are especially low. One beach is part of an indigenous comarca. It is one of the longest stretches of beach here in Panama. We have a full menu of beaches such that you can select a different one each day or stick with your favorite. It is entirely up to you.

Sea Turtles

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.

Happy 6th Birthday Scott!

Facility Tour

Here is another one of the vidoes I put together which gives you an idea of what the boat ride out to Tranquilo Bay is like as well as giving you a feel for walking around our grounds and into one of our cabanas. It is so difficult to give you an accurate feel of the enormity of the jungle and what it is like to be inside it. It is an amazing experience. I will attempt to put it into words for you.

When you step into under the canopy of the jungle, the temperature immediately and noticeably drops. You feel a calm pass over you as if you took a deep breath and shook out your shoulders and there was no need to do either one. The green you see all around you - above, in front of, behind and below you. There is life all around you. Plants, animals, insects and bugs all coexist in this environment. We are all familiar with how difficult it is to calm a crying newborn baby - sometimes no matter what you do, you just cannot calm them down. The jungle does not fail. It can calm even the most disturbed baby just by welcoming the baby into its arms.

We live in the jungle. Some of our facility has been carved out of it, but the jungle is never far away. You can walk on one the pathways to get to the cabanas and you are in the middle of the jungle. You can go on one of our trails and you are in the jungle. However, one of the wonderful things about being here in Bocas del Toro, Panama is that we are also on an island in the middle of the Caribbean. So we have the crystal clear waters and beautiful beaches. Since we are in an archipelago we also face the mountains which house the volcano that made this amazing archipelago so many years ago. All of these things come together here at Tranquilo Bay. How very fortunate we are.

PJ Viola Update

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