Clements Bird List - 296 and counting

Ramon and Natalia spent a week on the mainland checking out some different locations. During their stay they spotted a large number of additional birds. Natalia is working on a description for each of the locations that we will put out shortly. After their recent excursions, our bird list is up to 296 species spotted at Tranquilo Bay and on our excursions. You can find the list on our website.

These are the three primary books we use in helping us to identify and study the species here on the Western Caribbean Slope:



The first paperback edition of "Birds of Panama" book - 1992 edition.



December 2010 publication date.



The most established resource on the taxonomy and biogeography of birds for the world birding community, The Clements Checklist is the official world checklist of the American Birding Association (ABA) and is used as the authoritative reference in the birding competitions and listing activities of this preeminent North American organization for serious birders.

Giant Grasshoppers

We have our friends the giant grasshoppers around here right now. They are flying about and making their home anywhere they please. For whatever reason, Jay had a family hanging out in between the screen and his window for an extended period of time. They are gorgeous to watch both at rest and in flight. Here is a great photo Ramon got of one at rest.

Reflections # 1

Ramon and Natalia have been reviewing all of their photos as we work to update the photo galleries. They have so many beautiful photos. Some of them do not belong in a particular gallery, but they represent the beauty of Bocas del Toro in so many ways. One specific set of photos that Ramon has pulled together are a group of shots of some kind of reflection. This is the first in a series of photos. Enjoy.

Good examples of sustainability

Conservation of our natural resources is an extremely important issue world wide. Each of us is responsible for taking care of the earth in some way or another so that we may pass it on to the next generation and so on. Obviously with our business based upon eco adventure we are concerned about these issues. We subscribe to a variety of publications and are members of different groups which work to support the earth and all of its inhabitants in one way or another.

I recently came across two different initiatives that I found compelling. One was an interview that the Adventure Travel Trade Association did with Neil Rogers of Francis Ford Coppola Resorts. I have never personally visited any of the Coppola family's resorts, but I have studied them a bit. As we were developing our business here in Panama we researched throughout Central America for businesses which had a like-minded outlook on sustainable tourism. We studied each of these businesses and took away pieces of information that might help us as we developed our own lodge. This article gives a brief look into many of the issues facing sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism can be a challenge and a blessing no matter where the business is located.

The second initiative I encountered over the weekend was one put out by The Nature Conservancy. TNC has a new campaign called Use Your Outside Voice. Now, as a mom of young children I thought I knew all about "outside voice", but apparently I was a bit off. TNC has put together a campaign to have people speak up for nature and is calling it Use Your Outside Voice. This appealed to me. If each one of us would do something for our community a long the same vein as we do for our children's schools or our other affiliations then we would be able to make a difference. One of my children's favorite stories is Dr. Seuess' The Lorax. Our children received it as a gift from our dear friends David and Linda Cerutti. The Lorax speaks for the trees. More of us should speak for the trees. Maybe this campaign by TNC is your chance to speak up a bit.

Living in the Jungle - Gabe's Point of View

Living in the remote jungle of Panama is very interesting. Every day is a new day. I never know what animals I might see. No matter what the weather, I always find something to catch my interest. One day it is sunny and I can go fishing, go hiking, and take photos and another day it can ran all day so I sit inside and listen to the thunder and watch the lightning bolts. Indoors or out, there is always something to do living in the jungle.

I can watch the hummingbirds bathe themselves. I can watch and listen as a mangrove tree falls down slowly. The cracking and breaking of branches is really cool to listen to as the tree slowly makes its way down and the forest goes through its life cycle. One of my favorite things to do while out in the jungle is to listen to all the different noises coming from the jungle plants and animals.

Here are a few of the photos I caught last week.

Unique Hibiscus

Natalia was out working on the grounds last week and she encountered this hibiscus. The plant itself had all white flowers except for the one flower that is pink and white. She came back to the lodge and did some research on it. Some hibiscus plants have flowers that change colors throughout the day from one color to another during the flowers' life cycle while others stay the same color all day long. This plant's flowers stayed the same color all day long, but had this one special flower. As far as we know there was no hybridization of this flower so whatever is happening or happened, Mother Nature is doing on her own.

Bizarre Airfare Deals & New Flights to Bocas

When you begin to plan your vacation to Panama, you should consider looking around at the different airports within a reasonable area of where you need to depart from and return to on your trip. A good example is travel from Texas to Panama. Continental Airlines has several non-stops each day traveling in and out of Houston, Texas. Certain times of the year, you can get a better price flying out of San Antonio rather than from Houston. For example, if you fly from Houston at the end of October to Panama round trip the airfare is $660 per person. If you fly from San Antonio it is $457 per person. Why a $200 difference when you are taking an additional flight and then getting on the same flight to make it to Panama? I can't tell you. My best understanding is that they have more competition out of San Antonio. The flights from Austin are about the same price as the flights from Houston and in some instances they are more expensive.

On a separate note, Aeroperlas has begun flying from Tocumen International Airport to Bocas. There are two flights a day from Tocumen International Airport over to Albrook Airport and then on to Bocas. The flights are the same price as the flights from Albrook to Bocas and it takes a step out of the transportation process because you do not have to arrange for ground transportation to get from the international airport to the domestic airport in Panama City. The flight leaves Albrook for Bocas around 3:00 pm each afternoon. Each morning the flight leaves Bocas for Panama around 8:40 am to then be transferred over via airplane to Tocumen by 11:00 am. You cannot book these flights on sites like Travelocity just yet, but we expect it to be available to you in the next few months. You can book these flights from Aeroperlas on www.aeroperlas.com

Travel to and from Bocas del Toro and Panama is getting just a bit easier. Why don't you check it out for yourself? And you might find a less-expensive fare if you poke around a little bit.

2011 Winter Migration: Red-eyed Vireo

Natalia saw a Red-eyed Vireo on the morning of July 30, 2011. She was able to capture a few photos of the bird making its trek across Central America on its way to South America. The Red-eyed Vireo is one of the most common songbirds breeding in the woodlands of eastern North America so much so that the it is more often heard than seen. Here you can find more information on this bird.

Best Views from a Hammock

Just in case you missed our post on Facebook last week, Tranquilo Bay was recently featured in a slideshow on Frommers.com about 8 great hotels with wonderful views from their hammocks. Hammock time is one of the best ways to pass a bit of time in the tropics. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting a tropical area. A nap in a hammock is a super sweet treat. Check out the entire slideshow here. Tranquilo Bay is the fifth hotel in the slideshow - you can't miss us.

Oreba Chocolate Community

We went with a family over to Oreba Chocolate's tour in March. The family was so taken with the experience they wanted to send something back for the community. We asked the Peace Corp representative what would be a good gift for the community. He told us that the kids were really into playing baseball. The family sent a set of gloves for this community and for another community where they kayaked here in Bocas del Toro. This video is from Adam, the peace corp representative, showing a few of the kids playing catch with the gloves. It was perfect timing - we brought the gloves back in our container in early July just in time for the children to begin their baseball season. The village in conjunction with several other indigenous villages has a league for the children.

For more information about Oreba Chocolate and its tours, check them out on Facebook.

Gallery Updates: Arachnids

As we make our way through all of the photo galleries, we plan on updating a mix each week. This week it has been Birds, Beaches and now Spiders. The Spider page is not one that will attract each person who is visiting Bocas del Toro or those who have been here before either for that matter, however, there are a number of people who are extremely interested in the arachnids. Thus we have the information available.

If you asked anyone with whom I grew up if I would make my home in the jungle one day, they would answer unequivocally "no." Yet, here I am. And I love it.

When I first arrived here in the jungle, I was not particularly happy to share my space with spiders. I have since gotten over it. I see the beauty in many of the spiders and in the webs that they weave. Now, I still dislike walking into a spider web and will avoid it if at all possible. I get all sticky and the sider must begin its work yet again.

Take at look at this gallery. Natalia Decastro Gonzalez has curated a nice set of eight legged creatures here in the jungle.

Gallery Updates: Beach Excursions

More updated photo galleries with some great shots that our staff have snapped here in Bocas del Toro. Check out the updated Beach Excursion Gallery with some shots of the lovely beaches here in Bocas del Toro on some of our glorious sunny days.

This one might be my favorite from the gallery.



Zapatilla Cayes - Ramon Fernandez Frances

Gallery Updates: Birding Excursions

We are updating our photo galleries with some of the wonderful shots that our staff have collected over the past few years. We have just updated the Birding Excursions Gallery with close to a 100 photos of birds you can see here on the Western Caribbean Slope. We have many more to include and we will add them in time.

Here are a couple of the photos that really caught my eye out of this gallery. There are many more - take a look yourself.



Blue Dacnis (male) - Ramon Fernandez Frances



Broad-winged Hawk (adult) - Natalia Decastro Gonzalez