A different spin on SuperBowl Sunday

Here are just some of the photos Jim took on the little boy's first trip to Punta Valiente. It was Martin's first trip as well. They all enjoyed the body whomping as the kids call body surfing. The swell wasn't much to ride that day but everyone had fun. The kids made some new friends and everyone had a great experience.

January 2010

January 2010 was one of the busiest months ever here at Tranquilo Bay. We had a large group that liked to get up with the sun and return at dark. We had many different couples coming to see what the Panamanian jungle had to offer. We had a few families onsite to see our beaches. We had an individual traveler who has become a pen pal to Tres and Scott since she left. It was a great month.

2009 Fourth Quarter

The months in the fourth quarter are usually a bit slower pace. The archipelago slows down until the USA Thanksgiving holidays begin. Things pick up a bit at that time. Come the December holidays things are going full pace yet again.



October 2009

We watch the orthoptera as they make their way out of the trees.



November 2009

Local children in school enjoy it when our visitors stop off at their classroom to learn a bit with them.



December 2009

Watching nature continue on its yearly course - the same as it ever was. December is a good month for most activities. The surf picks up again.

2009 Third Quarter

Friends, family, wildlife. We experience them all during the third quarter each year. Surfing is up during the summer months. Fishing starts again in September. All of the adventure activities are available throughout these months.



July 2009

Many of the beautiful natural attractions that can be found here in Bocas.



August 2009

Family adventures before the children return to school for the Fall.



September 2009

Quiet days with very few people on the islands. Hatching turtles.

2009 Second Quarter

Our second quarter usually includes a lot of fishing. This quarter was no exception. We caught a large number of fish. We saw sea turtles. And we did all the regular fun stuff.



April 2009

Life in paradise - just an example of what awaits.



May 2009

Fishing, turtles, all kinds of good stuff.



June 2009

Not many photos as we were closed for the first three weeks for our annual trips to the USA.

2009 First Quarter

January 2009

All the usual things: beach combing, birding, hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, swimming. Surfing is typically good in January, but we didn't have any surfers this January.



February 2009

We had a celebration of the natural life around us. These are all of the photos from the blog posts that month.



March 2009

Spring Break for many different groups. These photos are also a combination of the blog posts for March.

2009 Year in Review Week

People frequently ask us when they should come to visit us. It truly depends upon what you want to do and when you can get away. Our weather doesn't change very much throughout the year. Our temperatures remain the same. The biggest difference is between rainy season and dry season. However, even that is no longer dependable. Our weather patterns, just the same as everywhere else, are changing. Months that used to be rainy are not so much any more. One of the best suggestions I can make is that you take a look at the things you want to do and when you can get away.

We have month by month photo galleries beginning in July 2007. I try to take a good sample of what we did in those months to include in the gallery. Look at the month you think you can get away. Does it include the activities in which you want to partake? Yes, great. No, that doesn't mean that activity is unavailable in that month, it may mean that we didn't have anyone that month interested in the same activity. It may mean that the weather conditions didn't support it. It may mean we just didn't get any photos for one reason on another. So ask us about it.

I am going to review each of the quarters and months this week to give you an idea of what we did this past year. Let me know if you have any questions.

Jam Sessions

We have a good friend, Martin, who comes to stay with us each year. He is from South Texas, but he spends about 2 months each year in Bocas. During his Bocas time he comes out to stay with us at least once. This year he came out for a few days in December and then again in February. One of the annual highlights of his stays are the jam sessions. This year, Tres wrote a new song for the group. I didn't have my camera for each of the sessions, so these are an example from one of the short morning sessions. The last few nights of his stay, all of the kids, Jim and Martin were in on the session. Tres was on the drums. Scott was on the harmonica. Boty was playing guitar with Martin's help and Jim was also on guitar. There were other sessions when Boty was playing the harmonica (really well, actually). It was a lot of fun. So whenever you visit, take one of the guitars down and play a while.

My friend Chrystel

My friend Chrystel is not going to return to Panama. Her body was positively identified yesterday afternoon in Haiti.

I can’t imagine what Eric, her fiancé, is going through and has been through these past few weeks. I can’t imagine what Chrystel went through immediately following the earthquake. I can’t imagine what all of her family and friends are going through around the globe.

I can tell you that it has been uncomfortable for me, but so what. I am a bystander to some extent and if I could do anything to take away any of their pain and suffering I would gladly do so.

Ironically, I only knew Chrystel for about a year. It was a very intense year, but still only a year. She came to Bocas del Toro to work on an USAID project designed to create and implement a destination management organization for the archipelago. She accomplished her goal. She met, fell in love, and was engaged to be married to Eric.

We were smitten with the idea of a destination management organization for Bocas so we began working with Chrystel early in the process. She ran into a fair amount of resistance and encountered more than a fair share of challenges, yet she proceeded. That is the kind of person she was. Dedicated. Stubborn. Giving. Complicated. Real.

She was in Haiti on a similar tourism project. It was just getting started, in fact I believe she had only arrived in Haiti the same day as the earthquake. It isn’t fair, but as we all know, life isn’t fair. She is only one of the people that this natural disaster has taken from us. There are many other people whose lives are forever changed based upon this earthquake.

So what do we do? We remember the lessons we learned from these people. We remember why they crossed our paths. We remember them. We do all of this in whatever way works for us.

Chrystel – I will miss you. I will remember you each year as I light my candle on my birthday cake - January 22 is our shared day. We would not have our fledgling organization (BSTA) if it wasn’t for you. Thank you for crossing my path. Thank you for pushing me to work on these issues. Thank you for being an example to us all.

Scott's Words on Surfing OLS

Tres' Take on the last OLS Session

So here is Tres' take on his session at OLS the other day. We will hopefully have Scott's take on it tomorrow.

Surf session at OLS

So yesterday, Jim and Jay loaded up the boat with Scott and Tres, Stefanie and Patrick, some friends and a few surfboards and headed into town. We had a family to pick up in town later in the afternoon so they had enough time to get in a few hours with the boys at OLS. Stefanie, Patrick and Gina all went to town while the boys surfed. Boty and I enjoyed a few hours here at TB on our own. The boys had a marvelous surf session. It is so cool to see how they are growing stronger and picking up new skills. You can tell by the looks on their faces how much fun they are having. See for yourself!




Tres learning his style.



Brandon showing the little kids how to do it.



Scott on one of the many waves he rode standing tall.



Apparently having the tongue out of your mouth makes it easier.



Brandon again. Jim has learned a few new tricks in surf photography. I think I may need to buy him a helmet.



Almost up. Tres was standing up and then attempting to jump and do tricks just like he does on his surfing game on the iPod.



Scott taking a breather in between sets.



Pure determination.



No - they didn't have any fun.