Happy Birthday Ramon!

This is a photo Natalia took of Ramon with Jay's mom, Marge. They enjoy an afternoon chat most days. Happy Birthday to Ramon!

Hanging Sloth

Spider & Grasshopper

So, we know that a spider isn't an insect, but these two photos belong more together than any of the other photos that Gabe took, so we grouped them together.

A few flowers

Small Reptiles

Meet Gabe

Meet Gabe. Gabe’s parents came down with him at the beginning of July. This photo is from their last night here.

Gabe is spending about 6 weeks with us as an intern this summer. He is interested in learning a bit about what it takes to physically run an eco lodge. So far he has helped us finish organizing the contents of the container, he has gone on excursions with guests, hauled supplies up the hill, and entertained the children in one form or another. His big assignment is related to the big pile of steel you saw last week.

Gabe likes to take photographs. This week we are sharing a few of his photos with you.

Looking for a chef/cook

We are looking for a chef/cook. Our current cook has decided to go to work in his family's business. Leo has been with us in our kitchen for over four years now. He originally worked with his sister as the second in line and has been our head cook for almost a year. He is leaving effective June 2011, as such, we are looking for someone, preferably a Panamanian woman, to begin working with us as soon as possible so that the two people can work together for a period of time.

Position:

This position is responsible for managing the kitchen and meals in their entirety. Menu planning is not the chef's responsibility; however someone with the right experience may have this responsibility. Breakfast, lunch and dinner for up to 20 in the dining room and up to 8 staff each day. Our hotel is secluded – access to other islands is limited. Approximately 8 other staff members reside onsite in the staff dormitory. Our boat goes to town twice weekly for supplies, etc.

Due to our secluded location and since our staff is housed on the premises, the environment is very much like being on a ship. It is vital that our chef is secure, friendly and teamwork oriented. It is key that our employees get along with others well, both guests and staff. We need an individual who is healthy and highly dependable. English is not necessary (we have this job description in Spanish if you need it). We prefer a Panamanian for this position. This position calls for an individual who is professional and presentable. The chef position is a challenging yet rewarding one. Split shifts combined with the limited vacation schedule require a self-starter who is dedicated and remains focused on the job.

Because of our location, it is very difficult to replace any of our crew. We do expect a commitment from our employees to stay at least a year. It is important that our applicants understand the operation and what responsibilities will be required of them. Under normal circumstances, our staff works a six or seven day week for five weeks with a week off at the end of the five week period. This schedule is dependent upon guest reservations. It is possible during high season that the leave week be delayed due to guests on site.

We do not allow “partying” or dating within the staff living on site. We require that all staff abide by posted rules and regulations.

Compensation:

The salary will be between $500 and $1000 a month and is completely dependent upon the applicant's experience, etc. We are only hiring Panamanians for this position. We pay transportation costs to and from this person's home at the end of the five week period by bus. After a three month temporary period, we pay all social security and other governmental requirements. The person who fills this position will live on site. On site all meals are provided. Personal expenses are limited to mobile phone and personal toiletries. We do have internet and phone access which are available to this person during their off hours until 10:00 pm each night. Under normal circumstances there is a second person in the kitchen to help this person with meals and an additional person to assist with dish washing, etc. following each meal. We need a person who is ready to work and does not have specific lines set as to what is and is not a part of the job. This position is a great one for someone who thinks they are ready to have their own restaurant but do not yet have the funding to do so. This position allows someone to save money as it is impossible to spend money here. We do not require someone with experience. We will manage the responsibility level based upon the applicants and the ultimate hire.

If you know of anyone who might fit this position, please have them contact me at info @ tranquilobay .com. Thanks.

Farewell to Nuri (& Leo)

Nuri has been a blessing to us. She has been at Tranquilo Bay since January 2006. She is an amazing woman. Many of you that have visited us here have heard her story. She brought her daughter here with her when she first came to work for us. Several months later she used all of her salary to purchase a plane ticket for her brother to join her in Bocas. We were not sure we would have work for him, but we told her he could stay with her until he found work. Leo joined us our here in April 2006. He and Nuri were our kitchen for a long time. The two of them have since continued to do wonderful things for their family. They have paid for two sisters, a brother in law and two nieces to move to Bocas. They have opened a restaurant in Bocas: Sabor Caribeno. Leo left us in February to go work the family restaurant. Nuri is leaving today.

We have a new chef, Eric Troya, who joined us at the beginning of April taking over the kitchen. Eric has an immense amount of experience and is a great chef. He and Nuri worked the kitchen together for the past month in order to have a smooth transition.

This blog post has a photo of both Nuri and Leo with some of the Athleta crew. It was extremely unusual for them to come out of the kitchen to take a photo as they are both shy.

We have been extremely fortunate to have a great kitchen staff and we know with Eric we will continue to have many a great meal come out of our kitchen. Thanks to you all for your time and energy. We will miss those of you who are leaving or have left, yet we will stay in touch. Good luck with the new restaurant!

Happy Belated Birthday to Nuri

Nuri is our wonderful cook. She and her younger brother work together to make all the delicious food we have here at Tranquilo Bay. She is a remarkable person. We are so fortunate to have her here.

Baby Sloth

Enrique found this baby sloth on the jungle floor one day when he was doing some work around the property. He knows how much we like to photograph the wildlife which surrounds us so he brought it over to the main building on a stick so that we could see it and photograph it. This is closest that any of us had ever been to a baby sloth. We were very careful not to touch it - not because the sloth is dangerous, but because we didn’t want to get our smell on it. We do not know if another’s smell on the sloth would cause its mother to shun it or not, but we didn’t want to take any chances. After we took a few photos of this little guy, Enrique took him back to where he found him so that he could be reunited with his mother.

As you can tell in this first picture, Boty isn’t quite sure what to make of him. You can’t see it in this picture, however, Tres and Scott were both fascinated by the baby sloth. I think they thought they were almost on one of Diego’s adventures where they were helping the baby sloth return to his mother. Very few children have the opportunity to actually “participate” in one of those special adventures.

James

Okay, so James isn't family, but he sure seems like he is. He has been a friend of our since the boys got down here in 1999. He spends one half of his year in the USA or traveling and the other half of the year or so he spends here in Panama and traveling throughout Latin America. When he is in the country during high season he comes out to Tranquilo Bay to help us out. He is an excellent guide and a great friend.

Dionicio

Dionicio is one of our newer employees. He works on the grounds around Tranquilo Bay.

Mario

Mario has been with us for over four years now. He is from Salt Creek. He works on the grounds and helps out with the excursions from time to time.

July

This is July. He has been working with us for over four years. He works out on the grounds, goes with guests on nearby excursions.

Enrique

Enrique has been with us for about 2 years. He and July are brothers. Enrique captains the boat for us and he also just completed WFR training.

Lucy

Lucy has been with us since last November. She is also from Valle de Anton. She works in a variety of roles here at Tranquilo Bay.

Leydi

This is Leydi. She is from Penenome in Valle de Anton here in Panama. She works in variety of capacities here at Tranquilo Bay. She has been with us for over a year and a half.

Yohany

Yohany has been with us for several years now. She works in a variety of capacities. She is working her way into other roles as she learns more and has more experience.

Leo

Leo is from Columbia. He has been here at Tranquilo Bay for over two years now. He works in the kitchen with his sister Nuri as well as out and about around the grounds here.

Nuri

Nuri runs the kitchen. She makes all of the delicious food which we eat here on a daily basis. She and her brother Leo work well together.