Here is a short clip of a guy Jim saw on one of the islands shucking coconuts. It is so funny as Jim and Jay have been here in Panama for almost 9 years and up until a few months ago they thought you could only open a coconut with a machete. All of our employees and any other local we know use a machete to open a coconut. It takes lots of machete strikes to the coconut and then bending the machete across the coconut husk to get the nut out of the husk. And here is this guy with an ingenious little tool that lets him shuck multiples of coconuts in the time that it takes for anyone else to shuck one. This is all part of the fun of learning something new everyday!

Tags: Bocas del Toro Panama, Excursions, Coconut, Food, Beaches, Islands

Here is a short video I just finished on our excursion to Punta Valiente. For those of you who haven’t been here yet - this is one of our don’t miss excursions. For those of you who have visited us maybe it will bring a smile to your face to remember your trip to Punta Valiente. Have a great Friday!

Tags: Excursions, Indigenous People, Panama Hotel, Bocas del Toro Panama, Beaches, Hiking, Animals

We have updated all of the photo galleries with photos from the past year. Here are a few of my favorite new ones:







We are unable to include all of the photos we have taken or that our guests have provided to us. Each one of these has a story - they all bring a smile to our faces when we see them. We hope that they do the same for you. We also hope that they help you get a feel for what it is like to spend some time with us here in paradies.

We have broken down some of the larger categories into sub categories so that you can see an example of the diversity that we have down here in plant and animal life. This link takes you to all of the plants which you can use as a jumping ground to get to different plant types. This link takes you to the animals for all of the different types of animals we encounter on our excursions. This link takes you the entire group of photo galleries. Spend some time checking them all out.

Tags: Panama Hotel, Plants, Animals, Excursions, Bocas del Toro Panama

Jay is working with his boots as he is about to go on a hike up the hill at Punta Valiente. The next photo is the local boy who served as a guide for the group on this particular trip. We try to engage a different guide each time so that we learn something new and the entire village benefits from our visits.

Tags: Indigenous People, JHV, Excursions

Here is a photo Jim grabbed of Mel while he was kayaking near the Changuinola River towards the end of their trip. We had a wonderful time this day as we do every day.

Tags: Kayaking, JLK, Guests, Excursions

This little girl insisted on wearing our guest's hat and sunglasses. And well - she looks pretty good.

Tags: Indigenous People, Excursions, Bocas del Toro Panama

Kayaking along the rivermouths - you will encounter a variety of things. Here are a few examples.

Tags: Bocas del Toro Panama, Excursions

Corin as I described in the last post - was really into snakes. He and his family went fishing with Jim one day when another group was going to Punta Valiente. Corin was really bummed because he wanted to go over to the mainland where he could be looking for some serious snakes. Jay knew how important the snake hunting was to Corin and being a snake enthusiast himself, he brought back an eyelash viper for Corin to see. The snake was treated cautiously and carefully. He was removed from his mayonnaise jar home only for a few photos and then he was returned several days later to Punta Valiente with the next group.

Tags: Bocas del Toro Panama, Excursions, Reptiles & Amphibians

Here are a couple of pictures of the green and black Dendrobates we see on the mainland at Green Acres Farm which is the home of Cerutti and Family Chocolate.




David has the frog on his finger to give you an idea of its size.



Here is a close up of the little guy in his natural environment.

Tags: Excursions