We arrived in Placencia yesterday at 5:00 after a 2 hour wait on the tarmac in Houston, thank you United Airlines. It seems the oxygen bottle for the flight crew was empty, and we waited for maintenance to bring the new bottle for an hour and a half, and another half hour for them to install. United Airlines pilot repeatedly came on and apologized for this seemingly ridiculous oversight, with phrases such as "we are very sorry for the delay, and we are highly embarrassed", which did nothing for the mood of the passengers. Even worse was the announcement for "the flight attendants please take your seats" when after another 1/2 hour we still hadn't pulled away from the gate. When we arrived in Placencia, at 3:45 p.m. it was a totally different story. We were ... read more

Another 2 days in paradise has sadly has come and gone. I don't think I could ever adequately put into words what it is like to visit Bonaire. The best word I can come up with is simple. There is no dress code; there are no schedules, only relaxation, smiles and great attitudes. I'm always asked the question, "Could you live there"? Yes, I could but never for more than 3-4 months out of a year. Why only 3-4 month? Because I always want Bonaire to be the "special place" it is and I'm afraid I would take it for granted if I lived here longer than 3-4 months at a time. Bonaire is a lush tropical paradise on a desert island. It has cactus and palm trees living side by side, and the bluest oceans ... read more

We made it!!! We arrived in Bonaire, yesterday morning at 6:30 a.m., after a midnight flight out of Houston. This is our fifth trip to this beautiful island known for it's great diving. Our good friends Dave and Donna Rink are with us on this trip, after missing a planned trip back in 2011, so we're really excited to show them all the dive sites on the island. Yesterday was a tough day, as we flew all night and some of us (like me) didn't sleep at all. To make things worse the villa at Captain Don's Resort where we are staying wasn't ready until 1:00 Saturday afternoon, so we were in our traveling clothes with no sleep all day until we finally talked the maid into letting us in to unload our luggage and get ... read more

The trip from Boquete to Boca Del Toro started at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, 3/2 and took 3.5 hours. There are no roads that travel directly to Boca from Boquete so we put our faith in Jim’s Google map directions and those of very nice Panamanian girl at one of the local adventure outfitters in Boquete. The trip is difficult to explain but I’ll try. A single lane paved road, some so potholed I was afraid we would lose an axle, some with washed out areas that would drop up to 2’, the occasional horseback rider (favorite mode of transportation in the Panama Western Highlands), a brave chicken here and there, (chickens are $5 if you hit one, $20 for a goat), and not a straight stretch of road longer than a ¼ mile without a ... read more

Wednesday - 2/28 Good news, we didn't get lost today! Of course we only went to to the beach, but we made it there without asking directions! We traveled on Tuesday from San Carlos to Pedasi, and it was slow going due to road construction between Chitre' and Los Tablas. Panama is building a new highway, which is about 90% completed, and to keep traffice at a safe pace, they have set the speed limit at 40 km or 25 mph. That added an hour to our previously planned 3 hour trip. Arriving in Pedasi we found a quiet little fishing village about a mile off the Pacific coast. It is clean, quiet, quaint and a melting pot of nationalaties. When we arrived at the B&B where we had reservations it was locked up tight, so ... read more