Written From Boquete in the Province of Chiriqui

Hola All!

These are all photos of Punta Linda in Progress.

Thanks to Eric for dragging the camera up and down the mountain all day!

Eric will fill in the story detail later when he gets back to civilization

This is Justo our foreman and interpreter

At the entrance - water everywhere

Where is Tarzan for these vines?

Traveling alongside the stream

We rented a house at last and moved to the mountains for the summer and the internet. Finally unpacking our belongings.We are just settling in to Boquete, more or less - I am sitting at the computer with a jacket and hot coffee. Typically it is sunny in the am and the weather changes many times in the day. Very dramatic looking weather and spring like climate year round. Temperature ranges from 65 - 75 daily and the mist rolls in over the mountains frequently and turns to rain.

Eric spent the week in Punta Pena working with 6 Indians and a foreman / interpreter working on the birding & walking trails for Punta Linda and I worked unpacking all our possessions from after Eric hauled them in from the trailer over the weekend. We are working to get Punta Linda to a point where we can ask for investors, share the vision and get the capital to complete the Park. "The World Famous Punta Linda Adventure Park and Canopy Tour" will definitely take more money than we can pull together on our own to make it as spectacular as we want it to be. The canopy Tour will turn Punta Pena into a destination and we are confident with some additional backing it can be done.

One of the workers with the favorite of digging tools

Eric left this morning to go back to work on the trails some more and will return to me in Boquete on Friday. We hate the separation but right now it is necessary so I can be here with internet in a place where I can market the sale of our properties. We are also looking into what other small business we could start here with limited capital outlay and so we am researching a couple of ideas. Boquete is a little seasonal but also has many expats who live here year round. People visit mainly for outdoor adventures such as whitewater rafting, hiking, zip lines, hot springs and birding.
Our little house has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and one bath has hot water so life is good!

No AC needed here at this elevation. We are surrounded by lovely mountains and only 30 minutes to David for all shopping, medical, airport (soon to be ionternational airport) etc. Black volcanic dirt here, lush and everything grows. Coffee, orchids, fruit including oranges, grapefruit and fantastic mostly organic vegetables are readily available and still fairly inexpensive. Prices are rising here like around the world but here it is more affordable to eat than many places. Just don't want to drive around too much as that would blow any budget. You can get a good "tipico" lunch with soup, meat rice and beans for around $3.

Our foreman gets paid so very little and has an 8 page resume ranging from Morse code to supervision of many employees to assisting Americans during the time of Noriega. His recommendations from US military honchos could not be more impressive and he is just what we needed to get this project going. The Indians who are Nogle Bugle and walk 2 hours to get to the job. It is a different world for sure. This past week Eric discovered that even though the workers were told to bring there own lunch; they did not have it to bring. Most have families have many children to feed and so this week there will be a cook hired for $5 per day, pots are bought and she will feed them all with some chicken feet and rice, corn and beans. Additionally 6 more guys will start this week - they are happy to have the work and the pay is what they are used to getting. Lunch is a bonus. As it turns out they are good, hard workers, they come with a "chief" since some of them only speak their dialect and he speaks the dialect and Spanish and is trying to learn a few English words from Eric. Having had much experience carving out communities (they are primarily nomadic due to their hunting lifestyle) these men are experts at thatched roofs, chopping trails with machetes, recognizing and killing poisonous snakes and bridge building with natural materials. When they finish the trails anyone will be able to hike up to the top for the Caribbean views, access all the creeks and mini waterfalls and enjoy the birds from trails that will not require perfect health and incredible stamina to use.

The Invitation

We have the spare room available for visitors and there is so much to see here. White water rafting, kayaking, hot springs and much more. Not to mention Punta Linda and the islands of Bocas!

Here is Eric's Crew week one!