Where has July gone?

Wow - I really try to keep things going on the blog here, but I have not done a great job this month. Things have been a bit off schedule. Here are the highlights for the days in between:

July 12 - Marilyn, Greg and Victoria - Jim's stepmother, stepbrother and niece show up for a week long visit

July 14 - Happy Birthday Jim

July 16 - All day meetings for all of the USAID funded projects in Panama and Costa Rica - I attended on behalf of BSTA

July 18 - Missy and Allison show up for their annual two week visit

July 19 - Happy Birthday Boty

So a few things - I will share many of the photos over the rest of the month.

Fun on the Internet

I was reading one of the blogs I check out on a regular basis and she had a link to a website called Wordle www.wordle.net. It makes really cool word clouds. I took the text off of our home page to see how it might end up represented in a word cloud. Here are a few of my favorites that it came up with...

Paradise the Hard Way

I can't begin to describe how cool it is to read someone else's account of what we have been up to down here for the past few years. I just read the article Paradise the Hard Way in Inc.'s May 2008 issue about how Tranquilo Bay came to be what it is today. Obviously you can't capture all of it in 5000 words or less, but the folks at Inc. did a pretty good job. We came down here and built Tranquilo Bay for a change in lifestyle. We got what we bargained for and then some. All of us share ups and downs on the island. Fortunately there have been more ups than downs. We are celebrating this article as a definite up!

We have been pretty busy over the last few months as my lack of posts indicates. I am going to try and post some of the photos from the past few months over time in order to give you a feel of what it is like to be here. We have done all the hard work for you. You just have to come down and enjoy. Give us a call - we will find the right time for you and your group to visit.

Wow!

I can't believe that it has been over a month since my last post, but alas it has. We have been busy - which is such a good thing.

We were very fortunate to really catch the attention of one of our guests during the holiday season. Bob Sutton is a professor and an author. He teaches at the d.school at Stanford and has heard a variety of stories about start up companies. He thought ours was an interesting one and he decided to tell a few people about us. He wrote to Leigh Buchanan at INC magazine. She found the story also to be intriguing and in less than one month she was here interviewing us and learning all about what it took to build Tranquilo Bay. The photographers, Rob and Brandon, followed shortly thereafter. We worked with Leigh and Ryan at INC to verify the facts in the story as it was being edited. Then we waited. Yesterday, Jay, Stefanie and Scott went to the USA to visit family and they found the May issue of INC on the newsstand. Jay tells me that he and Stefanie are pleased with the article. Jim and I are waiting for someone to fax a copy of it to us as it is not posted on INC's website just yet.

We are very appreciative of all the attention granted us from Bob, Leigh, Ryan and all the other people involved in making this article a reality. I thought that some people might be interested in getting a better grasp on what it took to build this place so we put together a new section of the website that goes through the story year by year. Each of the photos on the pages and the text blows up so that you can see them clearly and the gallery on each page takes you through the photos for that year.

Thanks to you all for making Tranquilo Bay a reality ;-)

What happens when...

What happens when you take one very funny retired high school government teacher, one of his fraternity brothers, one of his former students, all of their spouses and a few of the kids and toss them into the Panamanian jungle on an island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea?  Oh yea - they are all Texans tambien. A rocking good time :-) 

We ended up with a group of friends (who have come together over time) vacationing here at Tranquilo Bay last week.  It was great fun.  I had an idea of what we might be in for as I communicated with them via email, but my expectations were exceeded.  We have fun with all of our guests, but this group seriously tickled our funny bones.  They began by playing jokes on us the first night they arrived and ended the week with us being in on the jokes as other guests arrived.  

One of the things I am truly appreciate about our clientele is that they REALLY are on vacation.  They kick back, have fun and forget about the every day.  Our location definitely helps people to enter this zone, if you will, but I continue to be impressed by people who can turn off and tune in to nature so that they re-enter their day to day lived recharged.

Here are some photos of one of our porch sessions.  


Singing and joking


Hook Em Horns


Chicken foot dominoes


And look at what they did to Bimini!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Exciting, Exhilarating & Exhausting

Our little business is growing tremendously this first quarter of 2008. Our occupancy rate for the first quarter is up over 100% over last year. This is exciting, exhilarating, and a little exhausting.

Exciting because this is the business we came down to Panama to have. Watching our business grow and keeping it running smoothly gives us all a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

Exhilarating because we are participating in a group of special memories for our clients. While our clients all share a love for adventure and nature - each one experiences it differently and comes here from a different place. We are fortunate to be exposed to all of these wonderful people. It is really cool to have the opportunity to enrich their experiences while at the same time we gain insight and perspective from the encounter. We experience our place with a fresh set of senses each time a new guest arrives. To hear the way they describe things and see the delight in their faces is truly rewarding experience.

Exhausting, yes, but in a good way. We work seven days a week for many hours out of each day. As with any business as you continue to learn what it takes to make it great it takes a bit out of you. However, the upside of what we are learning and how it is getting easier each day for us and for our employees is that we are building a business that we believe will stand for a long time.

Heaven on Earth

I consider Tranquilo Bay to be a slice of heaven on earth. There are few places in this world where a group of people can end up and have the opportunity to participate in a dream. Obviously Tranquilo Bay is our dream. We are grateful we get to live it each and every day. However, when we get to watch other people enjoy themselves doing all of the different activities we have to offer while immersing themselves in nature it is so rewarding. It is wonderful to have a lively discussion at dinner amongst the guests we have from all over the world sitting at the table.

Here is an example of the different kinds of "thank you" we get from our clients once they return home. This one came to my Dad's house along with a favorite book of our guests' children when their boys were Tres and Scott's age. We will be reading it to Scott, Tres and Boty for many years to come.

Dear all - A belated thank you for a wonderful time at Tranquilo Bay. We loved EVERYTHING. You did an amazing job and despite the weather we had a fabulous time. Thanks for the biscotti recipe. Mine won't be as good because the atmosphere just isn't the same. For the kids, I am enclosing one of our favorite books. Hope they like it. Love and hugs to all: R, N, E, G & I

Behind every...

I am into quotes right now. They seem to help one get the point across far better than one's own words at times. This one caught my eye the other day:



It is a variation on the common theme of behind every good man is a good woman. It is fitting for our situation as we were separated by 1800 miles as we built Tranquilo Bay. I would not have wanted nor could I have completed what Jay and Jim did to build Tranquilo Bay. However, they could not have done it if they didn't have a regular influx of cash coming their way from the girls they left in Houston.

We have been reviewing our quest to build and create Tranquilo Bay recently. It is quite a gift to be able to look upon what it has become and is continuing to develop into - almost as one watches a child grow. It is a labor of love. One that has its ups and downs of course, but oh what a ride it is.

Kid Friendly

There are those hotels and those destinations which are not a good fit for people traveling with children. We are neither of those things. We love kids – we have three of our own on site. Bocas del Toro Panama has plenty of places where the kids can have a fun and safe day.

This morning I was trying to help a former guest find another place in Panama to visit next year as he and his family want to return to stay with us, but they also want to explore a few different parts of the beautiful little country. We both happened upon a few new lovely places which look great but they are not appropriate for children. One place is completely over water which is not the best location for children. The other place does not accept children under the age of 13.

There is a reason that we are right for people with kids and for people without kids. We live here on site. We have our own kids living here with us. So we know what it is like to make sure both the kids and the grown ups have a good time. We send our kids to bed early or to the library downstairs to watch television while the adults enjoy a delicious meal with white tablecloths up stairs.

So, bring the kids and have some fun.

Blogging

It makes me happy. I love that I can live in the middle of the jungle on an island in the Caribbean Sea and I can still access good content on things which interest me. In the past it was necessary to get a subscription to a magazine or to watch a television show in order to get this stuff.

Don't get me wrong, I still like to read books and magazines, but I can't load up on them these days like I could when we lived in Houston, Texas.

I have several groupings of blogs saved in my browser of places I check out several times a week for education and inspiration.

We recently had a guest stay here who is both an esteemed author and professor as well as a dad, a husband, and a nice guy - Bob Sutton. I have been reading his blog, Work Matters, ever since. Speaking with him and his amazing wife, Marina, reminded me to open my eyes to other types of blogs for both education and information. (BTW - Bob's most recent book is helpful even if you don't work in a "normal" workplace. I read it before his family's arrival based upon some information his tour operator provided to me. It is a good read!)

If I had to pick my top nine blogs as of today - they would be (in no particular order):

Soule Mama

- Amanda Soule's Blog

Angry Chicken

- Amy Karol's Blog

House on Hill Road

- Erin Harris' Blog

How about orange ...

- Jessica Jone's Blog

Work Matters

- Bob Sutton's Blog

Ali Edwards Design Blog

- Ali Edwards' Blog

Pink Chalk Studio Blog

- Kathy Mack's Blog

Sew Mama Sew Blog

- Sew Mama Sew Store Blog

11 Mystics

- Suzanne's Blog on iWeb and other technical stuff

It is not at all unusual that I begin on one person's blog and then follow the links to the next and the next and the next. I have a variety of tutorials and recipes and scrapbook ideas stored away in my favorites. I pull inspiration from these when it comes time to make something for the kids or for the cabanas, etc. But honestly, I am a lurker. I do not leave comments and I rarely communicate with the authors of the blogs. It is more like reading a book or a magazine for me. I must credit Ali Edwards for getting me started in all of this. I get a newsletter for a digital scrapbooking website called Scrapgirls (my husband loves that one) and Ali was interviewed in the newsletter. There was a link to her blog. And from there I was hooked. I only hope that someday someone will feel the same way about our blog, or trip reports, etc.

Have a great day!

Fresh Baked Goods

I used to underestimate the importance of freshly baked breads, cookies, and desserts. I have always enjoyed them, but I never realized the difference in eating these items within a day or so after they leave the oven.

We make all the baked goods we serve here on site. So that includes fresh breads, daily cookies, cakes, pies and so much more. Our guests are surprised each time they learn that we bake everything on site. To us it has become second nature to make sure that we have plenty of yummy stuff on site.

One set of guests informed me that they didn’t eat much bread but that they did prefer whole wheat bread over any other type. So the next day when we were baking our daily bread, we added a few loaves of whole wheat. Our guests were delighted to have this fresh whole wheat bread for their sandwiches and toast.

Each day we bake a different kind of cookie. These cookies are served with lunch whether you are eating on site or off site on one of our excursions. We very rarely see any cookies return from an excursion or for that matter remain on the plate following lunch onsite.

Our desserts each day are all made here. We have some tasty pies and cakes which highlight all the local ingredients such as pineapple, coconut and chocolate. It is a good thing that our property is so large and includes so many sets of stairs as it helps all of us to have an excuse to eat dessert!

Take Aways

Each day I wake up here I count my blessings. There are so many things and people who helped me reach this point in my life and for that I am grateful. This evening I have been reviewing in my head the multitude of people I have met in the last few weeks and how spending time with each and every one of them has been rewarding. One of the things that is so great about being here in Panama and running a small lodge is that we get to meet people from all walks of life with a variety of interests and experiences. It is so cool when these people come here and have an adventure together.

I try to make it a point not to ask people what they do for a living as that conversation is one they have regularly at home. On vacation in the middle of the Caribbean ocean one should talk about different things. So I thought it would be interesting to give a brief list of ONE thing that I took away from each group of our guests over the last few weeks (I obviously took away much more than one thing from each family and each person for that matter but to list all of them might become tedious for those of you reading this)

S – teenage boys are very good at entertaining 4 year old boys – thanks guys!
H – chai tea helps to make friends
M – there are good white wines
K – family trips are one of the best gifts to give and to receive
E – there are other people who like bugs and snakes as much as Jim and Jay
N – teenage girls are up for all kinds of adventure – even bat caves
S – it is possible to truly unplug and just “be” on vacation with your family
Z/C – let me sleep late and then keep me going all day and into the night
C – game for anything especially if it includes bacon, chocolate or beer!
R – children can’t learn to speak properly if they don’t actually chew their food
R – cousin in a very distant way – that whole 7 degrees of separation thing rings true
B/H – when it seems like there is more to the story there usually is

There are so many things that I learned from these recent guests. If I did list what each of these people did for a living and the accomplishments among them I would go on for days. Suffice it to say that our guests accomplishments far outshine ours yet we can all spend a bit of time here together and have a great time doing so. Thanks to all of you for spending some of your precious vacation time here with us!

New Year's Eve

What do you do to prepare for the new year? Do you take the time to reflect on the past year or do you focus solely on the upcoming year?

In the past I have never had a "formal" approach to the new year. This year I decided to reflect a bit and to look forward as well. Today - the reflections.

I am pleased with our accomplishments in 2007 as an organization and as a family. Our little company is growing steadily. We are a good corporate citizen and neighbor to our adopted community. We have enriched the lives of our guests - giving them a respite from their crazy day to day world.

Our children continue to grow strong and learn more about the natural world surrounding them on a daily basis. They are a loving bunch and enjoy each and every day.

I think the best way to summarize my thoughts is to say that when I think about the year 2007 it brings a smile to my face :)

Happy New Year!

Divertido

So the cook is on vacation. I originally thought this was going to be a bad thing. However, I am having a good time on my mini vacation back in the kitchen. We are eating a different menu to some extent due to the cook’s absence as I cannot cook some things the same way she can. There is no reason to subject our guests to my version of something if it is not going to compare to what the cook makes on a regular basis.

So instead I am making things that I do well. The menu is much more like going to a friend’s home for dinner than it is like going to a restaurant. Under normal circumstances our dinners resemble a dinner party that has been catered by a good catering company. We have a set menu that we post each morning (we do all of our menu planning in advance based upon guest input regarding food preferences and allergies prior to arrival) so that we have the day to make changes if necessary. Everything is cooked and served fresh each evening. We enjoy a variety of conversations as we generally sit at a community table or tables depending upon the number of guests on site.

This week we have a few things which are cooked in the oven instead of a la minute. I am not as good a protein cook as is our cook. However, we are a Bocas del Toro hotel and our guests do deserve tasty and nutritious food so we are doing the best that we can. So far I don’t think anyone is disappointed. And I get to have a little bit of fun.

Today

My son has a book by Jaime Lee Curtis called “Today I Feel Silly.” The book is all about moods and it is intended to teach children about moods and how they come and go. My son has another book that is entitled “When I Miss You.” That book is of course about learning how to deal with people leaving and being alone and what you can do to manage the time until they come back.

This morning one of our long time employees left to pursue another opportunity. We will all miss her. She was a sweet girl who took very good care of all of us and of our guests. She will be an asset to her new employer.

My son is a bit sad as he is rather attached to this employee. She has been with my son for almost two years of his three and a half years. She helped him to learn Spanish at a very early age because my son wanted to be able to speak with her.

One of the things we learned early on as a Bocas del Toro hotel is that we will have many employees over the years. However, one thing is for certain, some are more special than others and today one of our favorites has graduated. We are all a little bit sad, but we know what we can do until the next time we see her.

Time Flies

Wow – so much time has passed since my last post. We decided that we needed a new look and feel for our website so we spent several months working on the whole redo. What has resulted seems to be much easier to navigate and includes many new photos. We have been blessed with a great number of clients who give us copies of all of their amazing photos and then Jim has taken thousands of photos as well. This enabled us to add almost 20 galleries. We have plans for quite a few more which will help us to display the beauty of Bocas del Toro Panama.

We have been working heavily with several government agencies doing what we can to help preserve the natural beauty of Isla Bastimentos. The government is looking at enlarging Bastimentos National Marine Park which we think would be great. It guarantees that Isla Bastimentos will have the resources and the regulations which help protect it from further development.

Recently we hosted a couple of research scientists from the Smithsonian Institue who were study the red frog population across all of Isla Bastimentos. These two women reviewed some of our photos while they were here and found one particular vividly colored katydid interesting. Jim emailed a photo of it to them and they sent it on to their expert. This expert is fascinated by the katydid and believes it to be a new species. Jim is working with this expert on a regular basis now to help him acquire whatever information he needs to further study this katydid.

Ouch!

I just fell down the stairs for the first time in a long time. I had forgotten how much it smarts.

When I first moved to Bocas del Toro Panama, I used to fall down the stairs all the time. Something about living in the rain forest means that it rains. Rain means things get wet. Flip flops and wet stairs are not a good combination. One false foot placement and you hydroplane. Hydroplaning on stairs – not a good idea.

Over time you learn to a) wear different types of shoes with more traction when it is raining, or b) watch where you put your foot when you are walking and it is raining. Then inevitably, you return to day to day life and think you know all there is to know about the workplace hazards and you screw up.

Today, I was carrying a bag of laundry, that literally was bigger than me, down the stairs in the rain wearing flip flops. My husband had just informed me that we have sufficient water to do several loads of laundry without decreasing our water supply so I jumped at the chance. Instead of waiting for one of my employees to return to work to help me carry the bag of laundry, I picked up the bag and headed down the stairs to the laundry room. I made it most of the way down the stairs and then I was down. I don’t even know which step was misplaced in my descent, but what I do know is that I am going to be reminded of my stupidity for an extended period of time.

The hematoma that is blossoming along my lower back and the stiffness associated with my tensing up as I fell will serve as gentle reminders to me not to be so dumb for some time to come. And then some months down the road when I have forgotten about this fall, I will do it again.

Personal Space

I think everyone can benefit from adequate personal space. But what is adequate? When you are on vacation, you may require more personal space than normal because you are attempting to relax and enjoy yourself. You may choose to sit and observe what is going on in your immediate surroundings more than you do at home and thus you want and require more space than usual.

On the other hand, so many people have so much space these days that they may decide that what they want is personal service and privacy but that they do not need large amounts of space to fill such requirements.

Our cabanas are about 425 square feet. They are a good size to ensure that you have plenty of space for your needs but they are not so large that they infringe upon the beautiful natural surroundings. We have built them so that each one is private and allows you to return to your senses. Here in Bocas del Toro Panama, we have an arranged marriage of sorts for you – you have your own sanctuary with its creature comforts in the rain forest on an island in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. Your cabana and the entire eco adventure lodge combine together to give you all you need to walk away with a fresh take on the good life.

Content

We chose not to subscribe to any television service as we have a unique opportunity to control how much and exactly what television content our children watch. We have a large library and DVD library in order to both entertain and expand our brains. However, recently we have been at a loss for new content to add to our library. There are some nights where you don’t want to read, but you would like to do something and a movie or a television show is the best fit. Fortunately for us we have so many different perspectives presented to us by our diverse clientele that we have people offer suggestions that one might not have thought of on one’s own. Last week we had a few very well traveled individuals on site. One couple has been watching a variety of courses on television on very interesting subjects. These peaked our interest as it is a great way for us to expand our horizons and add to our content library. So for now we are going to check into some history on things we would like to know a bit more about. If we like those courses who knows we might go with it. The nice thing about it is we can get the content directly off the internet so we don’t have to wait for it to make its extended journey to Panama.

We aim to please

How far in advance do you prepare for a vacation? We have some guests who reserve their vacation and begin planning the specifics a year in advance of their trip. We have others who want to schedule a trip about two weeks to a month out. However, most of our guests fall somewhere in the middle.

We recently had a family of four here for ten days. All vacation planning was left up to Dad. Dad is a successful, type A personality kind of guy. He begins planning his vacation for the upcoming year shortly after returning home from the current year’s vacation. So for Spring Break, he catches up at the office and then begins the quest to find the next spot he deems perfect for his family. He does a lot of research about that spot and then he lets the information simmer for a while. After it simmers for about a month or so, he fills in any missing information and goes over all of the information, at a summary level, with his wife. If she buys into the plan then he makes his reservation for the following year.

So needless to say, when I got the following email in my in box earlier this week, I was delighted as I know we had some big shoes to fill.

We had a wonderful time at Tranquilo Bay. Our stay exceeded expectations… and you know, they were pretty high. Most importantly, I want to thank Jim, Jay, Stephanie, Sabrina, Enrique, Mario, Leo, Yohani, the Hidden Chef and all the other staff for being such great hosts.

Renee, you, especially, are a saint for putting up with all my questions and quirky desires.

I am still digesting the entire trip and will be sending out a package this week. Hopefully, it will be in Texas for Jay's visit.

There are so many great memories/experiences, lobster, Zapo Beach, the dock, dolphins, tarpon, bonefish, views, water, indians, etc.... Of course my biggest disappointment was the food. Too good, too much - I am huge and almost was charged 70 cents a pound for my return weight.

Collecting my thoughts, I am, believe it or not, at a loss for words - but the main point is we had a great time, there are a lot of great places - the trick is to find both great places with great people - we found that at Tranquilo Bay....and that will be a very hard combo to replicate - and I may just want to stay with a good thing.