On any Sunday...

Here are a few photos Ramon and Natalia took last Sunday at the Zapatilla Cayes.

Seedlings

I asked Gina, our wonderful teacher, to share some of her experiences here at Tranquilo Bay with us. Here is one of her stories.

So, here goes the first entry of the life and times of the Tranquilo Bay teacher, the best job I have ever had the pleasure of holding...sorry the position is taken!

When I began teaching at Tranquilo Bay in March of 2008, we started working on Kindergarten material since Tres was 4 and Scott 5 years old. In August, we were studying parts of the plant. Tranquilo Bay is blessed with a beautiful and vivacious jungle setting, so we just naturally began to learn about our surroundings. I remember in elementary school an “experiment” of sorts where I placed a few popcorn seeds in a dampened paper towel and then shoved the towel into a clear plastic container to watch the roots grow. It was fascinating to see the roots do their thing. I thought Tres and Scott might enjoy this too, but with a twist to the original experiment.

As we wandered around TB grounds during recess we chose a few blue seeds from a heliconia plant and then other seeds from a mystery fruit found decomposing. We created a comparison experiment to see which seeds would grow best: by planting some in soil and others in a dampened paper towel. We put these samples in recycled clear plastic peanut butter containers. TB is great about reduce, reuse, and recycle. All the vegetable scraps from the kitchen are processed to create super rich beautiful black compost, so we put this to good use. As the smart boys predicted, the lovely composted soil produced the healthiest little seedlings.

Nevertheless, Tres and Scott were enamored with these plants. I never expected such a response. Each morning on our arrival to school it was the first thing to do: check on the plants! So Tres and Scott bonded quickly with their seedlings and became very attached to them. We nurtured our seedlings and transplanted them into larger containers. While they did their growing we practiced many scientific skills such as measuring their weekly doses of water in milliliters, measuring their heights in centimeters and creating a table to chart their growth, making observations on their happiness and changes, and finally creating a bar graph showing their progress.

It was November and time for me to take my birthday vacation. I would be away from TB for 5 weeks. (Gosh, I love teacher perks!) I felt the plants would suffer without me around to regulate watering and they were sufficiently big enough for transplanting to the big world of Tranquilo Bay grounds. During our recess, Tres and Scott carefully scouted out their planting sites. The next day we returned with fresh compost for enriching the plants’ new homes, a shovel, our plants and a couple of large straight tree limbs to mark their location. I did most of the sweating by digging the holes and for some reason the boys did not feel like getting dirty that day, so my nails took a bit of punishment as I showed them how to mix the compost in with the existing soil, remove the plants from their plastic containers, place them in the soil (but not too deep) and cover up their roots just right. I was planning on Scott and Tres doing all the dirty work, so I hadn’t brought any gloves. Next time!

So, every once in a while during “recreo” we wander over to see how our first transplants are faring….and above the banter between Tres and Scott debating over which plant is whose, we all agree that our plants are very happy and healthy. A lovely addition to the beautiful gardens of Tranquilo Bay.

Needless to say, these little seedlings have led to something much bigger than I expected. Now, we are growing all kind of things….any seed we spot, which is a lot around here, the boys want to plant. We have a lovely avocado sapling sprouting new leaves and reaching higher every day. Since the boys are so into growing things and I am craving a larger variety of veggies in my life, I bought a bunch of vegetable seeds on my way back form my birthday vacation. Through some sort of inspiration in having my own garden, about two years ago I purchased a book about organic gardening. Now, I believe I may have a real reason to crack its spine.

I myself grew up on a small farm in Tennessee and spent much of my time outdoors wandering around, so I suppose this is one of the reasons I love it here so much and enjoy spending time in nature with Scott and Tres. While growing up, we had a nice sized garden. At Tranquilo Bay, due to our somewhat isolated spot on Bastimentos Island, our supply of vegetables is carted a long way over the mountains, the variety a bit on the low side with some chemicals used in helping them do their thing. So….just last week, the boys and I scooped up some rich composted TB soil and planted seeds for spinach, mustard greens, and chives. For watering, Tres and Scott used curled up banana flowers that made perfect bowls for giving our veggie seeds their first drink. Now the anticipation of our newest seedlings has begun…. I’ll keep you posted.

Los Buzos

We had the opportunity to meet three members of a family of four who are running a family oriented beach resort and sport ranch on the Azuero Peninsula on the other end of Panama. They came over to Tranquilo Bay to meet us and learn more about our business. It was really interesting to learn about what the Palmer family is doing over at Los Buzos. The have secured a large tract of land, built a set of homes and a hotel for rental. Now they are in the process of developing their activities. While we haven’t seen first hand what it is they are doing, based upon the photos, etc. it seems as if they are on the right track.



Los Buzos is a five hour drive from Panama City or a one hour flight. They arrange for charter flights for guests out of both Tocumen and Albrook airports. They are on the Pacific Ocean and have a completely different climate than we have over here in Bocas del Toro. Right now they are in the middle of their dry season. It really is dry there. The last rain they had was at the beginning of December. We rarely go for a few weeks without rain let alone almost two months. The terrain is extremely picturesque. Both fishing and surfing are great according to many of our friends and colleagues here in Panama.

It is nice when you see other families or groups creating some place where you would like to go visit. It works out even better when one of our guests is looking for a place to go (in addition to Tranquilo Bay) on a vacation to Panama. We will definitely be making a trip over to Los Buzos at some point to check things out on our own. Meanwhile, you can check them out here: www.losbuzos.net.

Have a great week.

Wise Words

We had several groups of wonderful families here over the holidays and right into the New Year. Each of the families were truly spending time together. They went on excursions together, they ate meals together, and the spent time together in close proximity for their time here. Some of the families were traveling with older children and had more than one cabana. Others were traveling with younger children and all fit into one cabana. We had couples here amongst it all as well. Just because you don’t have children doesn’t mean that you aren’t a family. Two things come to mind when I think about how our little piece of paradise affects people.

First, a loose quote from one of our guests.

She said that even though all five of them were in one cabana and it was a bit tight, this vacation allowed them all to pull together again. At home, her husband travels and works long hours. The two older girls are in school all day. The baby has her moments to do her own things. Mom manages the house and the family. Here they were just together. No other responsibilities to manage. We took care of their meals, their transportation, and their lodging. The only thing they had to do was be together. They truly reveled in being together.

The second is a portion of a dialogue by George Carlin.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say,

"I love you"

to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

We all live busy lives. It is difficult to remember to just “be” with our family in our crazy every day lives. Sometimes a vacation is a great time to reground your family, whether it be you alone, you and your spouse or partner, or your entire family unit. Happy Saturday!

Then and Now

I have been working on updating the website a little at a time since the first of the year. I noticed that the About Us page was a bit dated. Here is what has been on the page for about a year and a half now:



Here is what I have prepared to put on the site later this week:



Some things have changed and some have stayed the same. The same goes for everything around here. Our surroundings and the things that we love to share with our guests remain the same. We have added some different guides and our wonderful teacher. Jay and Stefanie had another child - Patrick. Scott, Tres and Boty continue to grow, learn and change. You can see hints of Tex and Fula in one of the pictures of Jim with the kids. It is hard to capture all that we are in one set of photos. I think that this one has done a pretty good job of it. We are all working towards keeping Tranquilo Bay the same - a little piece of paradise.

Wildlife Watching

I subscribe to an email publication entitled Green Lodging News. The publisher pulls together a variety of “green” topics and provides them to those who have subscribed to his newsletter as well as on his website. The weekly newsletter arrives each Monday morning. Some weeks I get a lot of information out of the newsletter, others not so much. This is largely due to the expanse of his market. He is pulling information together for everyone in the lodging industry. Not just little guys like us.

However I found today’s newsletter very interesting. He highlighted a study entitled

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, "Wildlife Watching in the U.S.: The Economic Impacts on National and State Economies in 2006”. You can download the study from a link on his

website

. The information included in the study was fascinating. It is one of those things that you have a gut feel that there are “lots” of people out there who are interested in observing nature and wildlife, but when you can get concrete numbers it makes it all the more fascinating. Here are a few statistics from the report:

• 71 Million people in the United States of America participated in some form of wildlife watching in 2006, which equates to roughly one out of three Americans 16 years of age and older.

• This 71 million wildlife-watching participants is more than four times greater than the attendance of all National League Football teams during the 2006 season.

• Wildlife-related expenditures in 2006 were $45.7 billion.
  Expenditures on wildlife watching are equivalent to the amount of revenue from all spectator sports (football, baseball, and other sports), all amusement parks and arcades, casinos (except casino hotels), bowling centers, and skiing facilities.

• Expenditures rippled through the economy generating $122.6 billion in total industry output and 1,063,482 jobs. The more than one million jobs supported by wildlife watchers are almost three times the number of people who work for United Parcel Service in the U.S.
  $9.3 billion in federal tax revenue and $8.9 billion in state tax revenue
  were generated from these activities.

The summary of the study is as follows:

“

Wildlife-watching in the U.S. has significant economic impacts at the local, regional, state, and national levels.

In 2006 it generated $122.6 billion in economic output, 1.1 million jobs and $18.2 billion in state, local, and federal tax revenues. Wildlife watching’s continued popularity gives evidence to the importance that people attach to diverse, accessible and robust fish and wildlife populations. The magnitude of its economic impacts prove that wildlife watching is a major force, driving billions in spending around the country. These economic impacts can be the life-blood of a local economy. Rural areas can attract thousands of wildlife watchers each year, generating millions of dollars.”

Now, how to translate the impact of this information for other locales...

Panama Surprise

We were included in this month’s Coastal Living which went on the news stands earlier this week. There are photos available online here, however they are not the same photos included in the article. The article is not yet available online so if you want to read it you need to go find a copy of the magazine. This one is much easier to come by than the Conde Nast Traveller as it originates in the USA. This is the first article we have seen which focuses specifically on Isla Bastimentos. Bastimentos is special in our archipelago since it is home to so much of Bastimentos National Marine Park. The author splits his time between La Loma Lodge and Tranquilo Bay. La Loma is a beautiful place on the other side of the island run by some friends of ours. Thanks to both Jeff and Shelley for their kind words and beautiful photos!

Conde Nast Traveller Photos Online

The photos from the article in the December 2008 issue of

Conde Nast Traveller

are now online. Conde Nast Traveller says that Panama is where to go in February. We personally believe that Panama is where to go any month of the year - however admittedly we are a bit biased.

You can access the

photos

here.

Photo One is of Punta Valiente. Punta Valiente is one of our favorite excursions. The trip to the indigenous village which is surrounded by exquisite nature is just amazing.

Photo number five shows Beau (Jim’s youngest brother) and Mary Katherine at the Zapatilla Cayes just after they got engaged. Perfect timing!

Photo number eight shows Gina (our teacher) walking down the stairs with Heather, a friend of hers. Heather works her in Bocas with the indigenous women.

Photo number nine shows two guys kayaking off of the Zapatilla Cayes. It is the perfect uninhabited Caribbean island.

Photo number ten is a Ngobe Bugle house in Punta Valiente.

And the

Panama Travel Guide

is here. For some reason the Panama Travel Guide has not been updated with the information from the article. The latest information with regard to the places in the article is found with the story which isn’t yet online. I will post once it makes it online.

Happy New Year!

We hope that you all rang in the new year as you like to do so. We had a lovely dinner with our guests. After dinner we had several different games of cards, dominoes, and lively conversation. We took a swing at a pinata full of chocolate. We went from the youngest person and worked our way up until all of the candy had emptied out of the pinata. From there we made our way down to the dock and had a wonderful fireworks display courtesy of James. (Video sometime soon) Following the show some people stayed up and others went to bed.

This morning we have had a slow start. We will have a traditional southern (as in Texas) meal today for New Year’s Day. Our children get to take a crack at their own pinata and our guests are enjoying various activities.

We appreciate each and everyone of you - those that stop by the website, those that hope to come to see us some day, those that have been here, those that we work with, our friends and our families. We wish you all a new year full of wonder!