Running

Danielle was running along the jungle’s edge. Not an easy thing to do when you are not familiar with it. She was such a good sport. Trying to run without encountering a root of a tree or some other kind of hazzard. Rachel is certain that we can set up some kind of obstacle course similar to one of the new runs they are offering in the USA. Bring it on. We can do it.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

What?

I am not sure what is going on in this picture. It is definitely precarious. I am certain there was no danger in this situation as Jim took the photo. But what is happening?



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Jungle Filming

Filming in the jungle is an experience. The jungle envelops you. It is both dark and cool in the middle of a tropical day. It is definitely more challenging than other locations. But oh the things that you can see in the jungle. One of our naturalist guides went along with the group for the shots. Natalia and Beth were checking out the birds and many of the other natural wonders of the jungle. A little beneift for the day.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

A Little Bit of Free Time

This was the day that the second set of athletes arrived. They were on the morning flight to Panama City which leaves Panama City at 6:45 am and arrives in Bocas at 7:30 am. After making their way out to Tranquilo Bay and getting everything settled they had a free afternoon. Many of the crew members wanted to get on some waves. So off they went. Some of the crew were beginners and others have been at this for a lifetime. Those with experience were passing on their knowledge to the newbies. It was a great afternoon to give it a try.

Then there were the others who chose to take the afternoon to walk around Bocas Town and snap photos or shop for souvenirs. Each person took the afternoon to enjoy a little time in paradise.

We were glad that everyone had an opportunity to have some fun as this group works hard. It is nice to have a chance to work in paradise, but it is also imperative that you take the time to enjoy it.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Kitchen Crew gets a Photo

This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Fly on the Sand

I have seen this set of photos many times as I have prepared all of the documentation for this blog series. Each time I stop and I look at the series and I wonder what made Jim capture it on film. Then I wonder what were they talking about. I could ask Jay. He might remember. I could ask Rachel. I am sure she would remember exactly what it was, However as a person on the outside looking in, it really just looks like it was a good conversation. One that would have been fun to over hear. Don’t you think? Maybe it wasn’t anything. But it looks like it was.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Behind the Scenes Week One

Most people on this shoot were taking pictures of everything and everyone on the crew as well as the normal things that tourists snap here in Bocas.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Now that is a Team Player

Ben was brave enough to make the drive down the hill at La Escapada in the back of the truck. I am betting he will not do it again. He says the basic going down wasn’t near as bad as the backing up to turn and get completely down the hill.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Waiting for Dinner

Corinne and Jenn with Tres and Boty - all smiles.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Locations on the Outer Islands

Again, we wouldn’t have been able to make this happen without a little help from our friends. We visited Hotel Macca Bite, Casa Cayuco Eco-Adventure Lodge, The Villas on Playa Paraiso, Crawl Caye, Cayo Agua and Isla Popa. We also made a day trip out to Bastimentos National Marine Park. All of our surfing was done close to Carenero. Thanks to everyone for helping us make this happen for Athleta and Bocas. We truly appreciate it.





This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Locations in Bocas Town

We could not have made this photo shoot happen without the assistance and cooperation of many different businesses and people on Isla Colon. We were unable to get photos of each and every location used for the shoot, however a quick look through the book shows the diversity of locations throughout Bocas del Toro that were used for the shots. Bocas del Toro has definitely benefitted from this experience. We appreciate everyone’s help.





Here is a list of the merchants and people on Isla Colon who helped us (if I missed anyone I am truly sorry). I have attempted to include a link where I could.

Barracuda
Bocas Sustainable Tourism Alliance
Bocas Yacht Club & Marina
Drink Stand
Gran Bahia Hotel
Gran Kahuna Hostel
Hostal Heike
Hotel Casa Max
Ixa’s Bicycle World
Kiwi Dave Gillingham
Lili’s Café (Facebook link)
Princess Lauren
Sabor Caribeño
Shave Ice Cart
Starfish Coffee (Facebook link)
Super Gourmet (Facebook link)
Tropix Surf Shop
Ultimate Refugio
Yudy Mendoza

This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Surfing Sessions

Holly Beck and Corinne Gold worked with Agustin Munoz to get some great surf shots. Holly named the spot "OLS" or Our Little Spot. The group went looking for bigger waves, but this location worked best for what was needed. It happens to be where our kids go surfing on a regular basis. A great location for the land shots and for Agustin to get close to the ladies surfing in the water.





This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Daily schedule - Part Two

ACTIVE. This crew was active from before the first light of day to well after the last light of day. Here near the equator in Panama, we have light for about 12 hours each day. the sun begins peaking across the horizon around 6:15 am . the sun begins to set around 6:15 or 6:30 pm each night. our moonrise is sometime after 9:00 pm each night. Travel after dark is limited as it isn’t particularly safe. So we had to make sure the teams made it back to our part of the archipelago before complete nightfall. Transfers between Tranquilo Bay and Macca Bight were fine as we had the entire route marked for safety.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Daily schedule - Part One

A photo shoot is not for the faint at heart. It is a new adventure each day based upon a change in scenery or challenges posed by the location or weather. Athleta photo shoots are for athletes. Look at the schedule they had each day. The schedule was different only on the days that the crew arrived or we changed groups of athletes.

4:30 am - Tranquilo Bay staff preparing meals, boats, etc. for the day.
5:00 am - First call for hair and makeup at Macca Bite
5:45 am - Last call for coffee, get to the dock
6:00 am - Boats pull away from Tranquilo Bay
6:15 am - Boats leaving Macca Bite for location, breakfast on the way or whenever you get a chance on site
7:00 am - Shots underway at first location for day. Some days it was one location for the morning, some days it was several in the same general area.
12:00 pm - Lunch time. Working on getting things set for days to come.
1:00 pm - Rest or move on to the next location for the day.
2:00 pm - Shots underway for the afternoon location.
6:45 pm - Packing it up to head back for dinner at Tranquilo Bay
7:30 pm - Dinner at Tranquilo Bay. Internet, phone calls, etc. Update the boards. Next day’s plans.
9:00 pm - Macca Bite crew is home and trying to get to sleep. Tranquilo Bay crew is preparing for the next day.

Much planning and preparation was completed before the crews ever showed up on site. Huge notebooks of shots & clothes, etc. are assembled so that each page of mulitple catalogs as well as many of the different online resources would be properly photographed. Athleta is running as many as three crews a day in order to capture these shots. These crews work hard to make the most of this two week period in order to produce a quality product. It was special to get to be a part of the process.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Upsetting Turtle News

Photo Taken April 14th 2010 by Ron Dennis.

Survivor´ is building on the sands at Bluff Beach for another filming of the "Reality TV" show. Turtles are nesting nightly at Bluff Beach. It's leatherback turtle nesting season! A group of us are fighting for the turtles. If you want to send an e-mail showing your own outrage, please send it to info@discoverbocasdeltoro.com and we will make sure it gets seen.

Cast of characters - Week Two Athletes

These ladies are also athletes and were up for any adventure thrown at them. Danielle Halverson is a heptathlete. Juliane Rossi practices yoga. Drisana Carey plays volleyball and practices yoga. We were super fortunate to spend some time with these women.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Cast of characters - Week One Athletes

Each of these women that came down for this adventure is an athlete of some sort. Jennifer Widerstrom is an American Gladiator. Holly Beck is a pro surfer and a videographer. Annalaina Marks plays water polo. Corinne Gold is a surfer and a great photographer.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Cast of characters - The Dude

James was the man for Tranquilo Bay at Macca Bite. He is a dear friend of ours and has been for some time now. He helps us out as a guide over the holiday season each year. Some years he hangs out a bit longer. This year he stuck around to help us with the photo shoot. We are so grateful that he did. He took care of everyone and every thing over at Macca Bite for us. He is awesome. We love him.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Cast of characters - Stylists

These ladies were up before the sun working with the athletes in preparation for the morning's shoot. Then they worked with them all day long in and out of the sun until the last light fell. It was great to have them around for a few weeks sharing adventures with them down here in Panama.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Cast of characters - Surf photographer

Rachel was trying to find a surf photographer to help with the water shots for this photo shoot. Jim helped her to find a few people and to look at a variety of websites. They review the work and decided to work with Agustin Munoz. (and here) It was nice to work with him. His shots are amazing.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Cast of characters - Photographers

Athleta has been working with Adamski Peek and this group of people for some time now. They come together for different projects around the world. We can see why. They work really well as a team. They are both serious and fun at the same time. And they take great photos.


This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Cast of characters - Team Athleta

These are all of our new friends from Athleta. Most of our photos of the photo shoot are truly behind the scenes catching people in action, so finding good photos to identify each of the players was a group effort. I drew from photos from everyone on the crew (with their permission of course) to create a "yearbook" of sorts for the group. Rachel is / was our main contact. The rest of the team we met for the first time when they came down for the shoot. We enjoyed working with each of these people.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

End of First Grade Party

Gina and the boys have had to reschedule this party several times now due to Tres' previous bugs. Now they were ready to go. It was a fancy party. We had refreshments: Citronella tea (a story in and of itself), pineapple punch, shortbread cookies, lollipops and jellybeans. We saw some of what the boys do in school each day and then they gave us a great puppet show. So for those family and friends near and far unable to attend today... see for yourself!



Please forgive the quality of this video. We are working with the little camera right now as we have been unable to send the G10 to the USA for a onceover since it went into the ocean. We miss it!

Daily Commute

We spent a lot of time on or around boats during this photo shoot. We explored so many parts of the archipelago and to do that we travel by boat. We had many glorious days full of sunshine. We had a few rainy days. It is amazing what a beautiful athlete can do for a plastic bag or a tarp. These girls were troopers. Up in the morning to catch first light meant being ready to leave the dock before the sun was in the sky. Catching the last light each night required some travel at almost dark. We made sure travel was safe, but we all had some really long days.

Traveling by boat between Macca Bite and Tranquilo Bay was a daily task as all of our meals were at Tranquilo Bay. James set up reflectors along the way so that he could see each of his markers no matter the conditions. Athletes, photographers and stylists snap lots and lots of photos.





This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Accommodations - Tranquilo Bay

All of the photo shoot was managed from Tranquilo Bay. It was the communication hub among a variety of other things. Our radio was extremely active during the shoot. We had crew staying here. We had all of our meals either onsite or prepared here. We did all of the jungle shots at Tranquilo Bay. Our cabanas made it into a few shots. And no one will ever forget the extremely tall chin up bar.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Accommodations - Macca Bite

Due to the crew size, we needed to find additional accommodations for part of the group. So, about a five minute boat ride away from Tranquilo Bay is a place called Hotel Macca Bite. We worked out a deal with them for the crew to stay there and eat all meals, etc. at Tranquilo Bay. It was also a great place for some of the photo shoot as you can see here.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Moving around the archipelago

Tranquilo Bay is located on Isla Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro, Republic of Panama. Most of the province of Bocas del Toro is an archipelago of over 60 islands. So getting around means traveling on boats. Planes land on the main island of Isla Colon. We transfer guests from Isla Colon over to Isla Bastimentos to stay with us here at Tranquilo Bay. All of the gear for the photo shoot was transferred by land. The van landed at La Escapa Eco - Lodge which is owned by our friends Ron and Kyleen. Our boats and staff met the crew which travelled with the gear in the van and moved them over to Isla Bastimentos. Some days it is sunny and super gorgeous. Some days it rains. We are in the middle of the rainforest, so it happens. You just have to be prepared. And we were.




This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Arrival

Planes, vans, vans, planes, trucks, boats & manpower. Moving a crew of 20+ people and all of their gear around Panama is occasionally challenging. However, it is always interesting and usually a lot of fun. Rachel, Steve, Fernando, and James Beal arrive with all the gear after a long drive from Panama City. Steve Nohara got this great photo of Rachel on the ride from La Escapada to Tranquilo Bay.

DAY ONE: ATHLETA CREW AND PHOTOGRAPHERS ARRIVE
DAY TWO: TALENT AND STYLISTS ARRIVE
DAY THREE: PHOTO SHOOT BEGINS



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Preparation

Make reservations. Make more reservations. Purchase stuff. All the same as what we do on a regular basis, but multiplied due to the number of people involved. And with a crew of 20+ that is working, there are special needs to be met. Tables, dietary requirements, first light, last light, getting people and gear from one place to another. Logistics in the tropics - not easy, but it can be done.

Accommodating a group of 20+ people who are working is a bit different than taking care of people who are on vacation. Most of our guests when they arrive have about 30 pounds worth of luggage and are moving at a slower pace because they are on vacation. This group had much to accomplish in a relatively short period of time. We did everything we could to make it as easy on them as possible. We had a service meet them at the gate when they arrived in Panama City to help them through Customs and Immigration. We had our transportation provider move them and their stuff throughout the city. We made all the airline and hotel reservations. We rented a van to bring all of the heavy equipment, etc. to Bocas. This group was traveling with far more than the domestic airplanes could handle as cargo. We transferred the people and stuff from airports and the mainland to get out to the archipelago. Then we made sure they had a nice place to stay and some delicious meals to sustain them. And this was before any work began on the photo shoot.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.

Karma

Karma is not fate, for humans act with free will creating their own destiny. If we sow goodness, we will reap goodness; if we sow evil, we will reap evil. Karma refers to the totality of our actions and their concomitant reactions in this and previous lives, all of which determines our future. The conquest of karma lies in intelligent action and dispassionate response.

So my theory is that when my friend Cindy told me about a company called Athleta and I decided to buy some of their clothes for life down here in Panama I must have set something in motion.

When I got an email for a photo shoot here in Bocas del Toro, I didn’t see the whole picture at first. I answered it just as I do any other email for prospective guests. Then I realized we could make it work for this large group by setting things up with another hotel nearby. Fortunately, Athleta found that what we could offer to them was a great match.

I haven’t spoken to my friend Cindy about this photo shoot. I think she is going to be happily surprised to see what she set into motion.

Thanks Cindy and thanks Athleta. We really appreciate the opportunity. And we look forward to doing it again.



This post is in our Behind the Scenes series for the Athleta Photo Shoot for their Summer 2010 catalogs shot here in Bocas del Toro in January 2010. It was both an honor and a lot of fun to be a part of this process.