Patience

I am working on updating the blog to a format that other people can contribute to as well as that can be updated when I am away from my computer. It has been a challenge for me, but I think I am in the home stretch. So you will see two blog pages here until I get it all straight. I am trying to keep them consistent. We are up for a picnic at the dock. The sun is just blazing. Where is the rain in the rainforest? Have a great Sunday.

Kindergarden Graduation

Tres and Scott graduated from Kindergarden today. They had an open house in the classroom for all of the employees to stop in and see what all they have done over the last year. It was impressive. Here is the puppet show that they put together as their graduation project. Pretty cool.

Rough

Just one of the things our yellow lab team gets to do on a regular basis. Play in the field amongst all the trees and wildlife. Tough Life!

Bimini

Bimini is the queen of our yellow labrador team here at Tranquilo Bay. She will be fourteen years old in September. So technically she isn’t a puppy anymore, but she is definitely a puppy at heart.

Luna

Luna is one tranquilo dog. Natalia got down on her level to snap this photo. Priceless!

Puppy training

The tail end of a puppy training session. They are doing so much better after a few weeks with Miss Gina! Yea.

The Knot

The Knot Magazine has its annual 50 best honeymoon spots included in its national Spring Summer 2009 issue. Tranquilo Bay was featured in the section of 10 Best Bargains.

Bocas del Toro: Why? The archipelago is more quiet than Panama City and makes a great outpost for exploring nearby islands. Where to stay? Tranquilo Bay is a chic eco-lodge in the middle of a rainforest.

Check it out on news stands now!

Interesting grasshopper

Here is a grasshopper type insect that Ramon encountered at the Chocolate Farm. His coloration is very interesting.

Green frog

Another photo of the precious green frog we find at the chocolate farm.

Can you see the ants?

Red Frog

This is the same frog our guest was capturing on his camera in the last post. These frogs and all of their different characteristics never cease to amaze me.

Photographing a frog

One of our recent guests getting a photo of a red frog. The frog itself is cut off here, but you can see it in his camera display. Pretty cool.

Moth in action

This moth was caught in action.

Orchid

Here is a lovely orchid that Ramon snapped a photo of not too long ago. Such a wonderful specimen.

Going back to TB

Ramon caught this photo of several of our guests leaving the Zapatilla Cayes a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful day. Everyone had a lovely time.

His and Her Styles at the beach

Zapatilla Cayes - Beautiful

Who would ever want to leave here? This is a photo Ramon captured of the Zapatilla Cayes. It is our favorite beach. As part of the Bastimentos National Marine Park it is only inhabited by park rangers, turtle scientists and a few overnight coconut farmers. Since they are part of the park, they will never be developed whatsoever - which is wonderful.

Dirty dogs

Well, let’s just say that this Tranquilo Bay teacher is spending most of her time gettin’ dirty…either with two rowdy boys or with two rowdy pups! In addition to working with the boys, I have taken on training Tranquilo Bay’s 7-month-old Labrador pups, Tex and Fula. Almost every afternoon, I a don my “let’s get dirty” uniform and off I go with two lively pups and a chacara full of training treats.

To burn off some energy first we head to the trail so the pups can run, jump, swim in the creek, spar, and roll in the mud. All actions repeatedly enjoyed in random order. I do have to give the pups credit for never running off. If they have rambled too far ahead and can no longer see me, they pause until I catch up or turn back to see where I am. For this, they receive one of many treats. After our hike, we romp around the TB grounds to burn off even more energy. This is where the pups are practicing the “Leave It!” command for when they are tempted to munch on their favorite fruit, pifa, a type of palm fruit. If they eat too much of these goodies, the digestive results are not pretty!

When my 3-year-old Lab is in the mood to tolerate the pups, she tags along for some treats as well. Luna has been very helpful in teaching the pups “Down”. When Tex and Fula saw me giving Luna treats for lying down, Tex picked up on this quickly and went down for a treat too. Fula reluctantly obeys the command for “Down” and with all her hyper energy she cannot hold it down for too long.

The pups will be heading to David to be spayed and neutered sometime in the near future, so I have been training them to walk on the leash. Tex, the more calm of the two, heels very well and Fula is following along much better than expected. So, at this point the pups are practicing to follow the commands: Come, Sit, Down, Off, Leave It, Stay, Heel, This Way, Wait, and Kennel Up.

Tex and Fula are super smart, playful and sweet. Both should have their good doggie manners in place soon so that our guests can enjoy them too! They are special additions to our Tranquilo Bay Yellow Labrador team.

Dramatic

There may be many different ways to describe a leaf that is much taller than I am, but at least one of those ways is dramatic.