I was a lucky child: I had a treehouse. At times, I wish I still had one. The escapism that a treehouse affords is incomparable and there is something about being held high above the ground by massive living things that really connects you to nature, makes you feel like you’ve entered another realm of existence where anything is possible. My treehouse as a child was basically a platform with a glorified doghouse, barely able to fit three eight year olds and painted with leftover house paint (half of it anyway…we ran out). It was gorgeous.

I have matured and so has the treehouse. There are firms dedicated to designing and building risen retreats. And many hotels have realized the value in the magnetism of the sleeping amongst the leaves. Here are a few of my favorites in just about every continent in the world:

CHINA: Sanya Nanshan Treehouse Resort and Beach Club

LAOS: The Gibbon Experience

INDIA: Safari Land Farm & Guest House

AUSTRALIA: Daintree Eco Lodge & Spa

US: Ceder Creek Treehouse

BRAZIL: Ariau Amazon Towers

At Isla Palenque, we are attempting to capture the mysticism of the childhood treehouse, but with the luxuries we have grown accustomed to. Stay tuned as we release our plans for the Canopy Homes, an opportunity to have your own escape.

In Panama the car horn plays a HUGE roll in driver etiquette and survival.

The Happy Horn 1: This is a friendly ‘I want to be your friend’ little toot of the horn, usually accompanied by a smile and a happy wave.

The Happy Horn 2: Cab drivers have mastered this one – they use it every time they drive towards a pedestrian – an effective marketing plan.

The Toot-Toot Horn 1: Use this when entering an intersection – who knows what might lay in wait around the corner!

The Toot-Toot Horn 2: Use this when you move into the lane beside someone – you never know, the driver at your side might not have seen you!

Laying on the Horn 1: Don’t take it personally, but if you do something outside of Panama driver etiquette you’ll have some good Samaritan taking on their civil duty laying on their horn frantically waving their head and arms at you. You also get to lay on the horn if someone stops in front of you, maybe to drop a friend off … great stress reliever!

Laying on the Horn 2: When in rush hour traffic it comes in handy when someone tries nosing their way into your spot! This lets them know that you are onto their sly little maneuver.

Laying on the Horn 3: The get out of my way horn used to warn a leaper (pedestrian) trying to cross without a crosswalk.

Laying on the Horn 4: Why signal when you can honk!

LESSON LEARNED: When you are driving in Panama don’t be shy and do use your horn. This is part of the culture and is the best way to ensure your safety and the safety of those around you…. and for those of us that do not speak Spanish, the language of horn honking is universal – and so much easier to learn!

Happy travels!

Gutenberg Press

The press was one of several in a huge warehouse that smelled delightfully of new ink; the way a brand new book smells when you open it. Our pressmen were a couple of serious career guys who are real craftsmen. They stand all day at this press, tweaking the percentages of each color until the printed sheets match our photo proofs. Once each 16-page sheet was perfect, I would sign it with a flourish and they would begin to run the thousands we’ll need for the brochure while I waited to do the next sheet. Since ours is a big, 56 page book rather than a typical brochure, I did this 4 times as the day went on.

I know the print industry has suffered in the electronic age — and I’m all for progress, don’t get me wrong — but I hope there will always be a place for this kind of artful process that produces something tactile and glossy; something that makes you want to sit in an armchair and turn its pages.

Modern Press

1. Natalias – Natalia has a gorgeous collection of Modern and Antiques. Shopping in her store is a joy as there is always something around the corner to discover. Her and her husband do a lot of importing stuff from Africa and Asia, so there are some very unique pieces. It’s not the cheapest, but you’ll find great stuff. She also makes a killer Frozen Tea. Location: in San Francisco.
2. Conway Design Outlet – Hands down the best place for furniture in Panama if you’re trying to balance cost and style. They have a lot of inventory and prices are reasonable. A lot of their furniture is made of heavy dark woods, which work well for a tropics feel. You have to dig through a lot of crap, but there are great accessories and linens. Location: go to the Milla 8 Outlet near the Corredor Norte which is huge and has 15% off everything.
3. Banyan Leaf – one of the more popular upscale furniture stores in Panama. Most of their stuff is imported from Asia, so if that look interests you, you’ll love Banyan Leaf. Not the cheapest, but high-quality. Location: Bella Vista
4. Tropical Design – This store leans more toward the traditional and carries mostly US items. Location: San Francisco.
5. Raffia – This small store has a decent selection of quality goods that are mostly imported from the US. The buyers have a good design eye. Location: San Francisco.
6. Bali Design – This is a warehouse filled with stuff import from Asia. Again, it’s definitely a distinct look, but the prices are worth the 45-minute drive if you’re into it. Location: On the Interamericana in Chame.
7. Breebart – If you love the Kuna Yala Molas but think they lack the design savvy you are looking for, seek out Helene Breebart who employs many Kuna women to sew custom pillows, blankets, etc. The color palletes look a bit more modern and you can choose your favorite pattern and customize sizes. Location: Obarrio
8. Filamento – A new branch of the popular Guatemala business, this store offers goods on the masculine, old-English side. You’ll find oak woods, leathers, animal hides, etc. Location: San Francisco.
9. Antiguades en Capira – I’m not sure of the name of this place, but you can’t miss it. They have quirky antiques and amazing prices on natural wood furniture. They are skilled craftsman and will custom make something for you. Location: On the Interamericana in Capira (30 minutes from Panama).

This is very exciting for us. Why we’re so excited might not be obvious to people who aren’t in the hotel industry, and I’m sure that not many of you have heard of West Paces. But the general public is beginning to hear about their two up-and-coming brands, Capella and Solis. And a careful look at the Wikipedia entry for Ritz-Carlton reveals the caliber and pedigree of the people who will be managing the Resort at Isla Palenque.

Both Amble and West Paces believe that it is best to keep The Resort at Isla Palenque as an independent hotel: the island itself and our mission for its development are too unique to fit into any existing brand. But the same sense of personalized service and expertise that West Paces brings to their brands and other managed hotels will be brought to Isla Palenque, ensuring a level of quality that, quite frankly, no other resort in Panama can boast. So yeah, we’re pretty excited.

More information will come over the next couple of weeks about what this means for the resort, our hotel guests, and our homeowners. But I thought that those dedicated souls who are reading our blog might appreciate the inside scoop before it really becomes public…

We’re really happy that the Times approached us for this feature. My thanks go out to Nick Kaye, not only for finding us and choosing us for his column, but for being so genuinely interested in a new company that is striving to make something unique and special that benefits both people and the planet. Thanks, Nick!

A typical day at Carnaval consists of waking up around 10am, frequently on an air mattress in a rented house since lodging in Las Tablas is virtually non-existent, and heading to the city’s central park, the scene of the battle. Each of the two streets have two insanely decorated floats made of painted Styrofoam, feathers, sequins, etc. Each street has a queen and a cadre of other younger queens-in-training placed on the floats who stand and relentlessly wave in time with the music, occasionally blowing a kiss. Following the floats is a trailer filled with about 30 musicians, all percussion and horns, belting out traditional, fast-paced tunes. This display continues for several hours.

Surrounding the park is scaffolding structures that hold DJs and speakers, blaring anything from more Caribbean-style beats to modern-day dance music. After the parade, people dance in the streets while water trucks spray the crowds until everyone and everything is drenched. Around 4pm, you go home for a disco nap, grab some traditional Sancocho (chicken soup) at a temporary restaurant and head back to the park around 10 pm to repeat the parade (with differently themed floats) and enjoy the fireworks until 4am. This goes on for FOUR days. Oh, and I forgot to mention the key ingredient: lots of alcohol. Although very fun, I only survived one day and two nights before deciding that I had spent sufficient time in Las Tablas to consider myself experienced in Panama Carnavales. Next year, you can find me on Palenque.

This fact surprised me back in 2007 when I was first researching Panama. And I still don’t fully understand why — wikipedia’s entry on hurricanes is too long and specific for even my dry, technical mind to have read closely. But one graphic alone illustrates why: this beautifully detailed map, which shows the tracks of all hurricanes between 1985-2005, shows that, in the Western hemisphere, hurricanes never form below about 8 degrees north and always move west or northwest. (Another Wikipedia map shows the data from 1945-2006, which has a larger, and therefore more convincing, data set also shows Panama’s “invulnerability” but isn’t as large or cool looking as the first, so we’ll just stick with it.)

Above is a zoom-in of the map, showing Panama’s freedom from hurricanes. It and Costa Rica are the only two countries in the region that can boast this kind of safety: The Pacific coast from Nicaragua up to the southern half of Mexico are relatively safe, due to the way hurricanes track W or NW. But even they aren’t as safe as us. And of course, the places most famous for paradisiacal vacations (the Caribbean islands, the Gulf coasts, even Puerto Vallarta and Cabo) can be seen from the map as incredibly hazardous places to be building a resort.

While freedom from hurricanes isn’t the only reason I was interested in Panama, it did provide a big plus: that’s one risk, at least, that I can check off my list and not worry about. Same should go for homebuyers – I’m not going to tell you not to buy a home in Mexico or the Virgin Islands, if that’s where you really want to be. But if you’re already considering Panama, add “no hurricanes” to the list of advantages the country offers, along with a great economy, stable political system, solid infrastructure, lots of natural and cultural diversity, etc.