In the News: Pirates on the horizon

Vanessa Woods, who visited with us last month, published an article about her stay in Bocas del Toro and Popa Paradise.

The piece was originally printed in the Weekender of the Sydney Morning Herald, one of Australia's largest newspapers (where Ms. Woods lives).

Click here to read the full article.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/pirates-on-the-horizon-20100218-oh31.html

Service....

The title of this post has nothing to do with the core value of our resort, yet everything to do with its other, more athletic connotation.

Volleyball.

Everyday between 4 and 6pm, weather permitting, you can find many of the staff playing volleyball. Starting with Chef Ben's insistence to have some kind of athletic pursuit (other than surfing), the staff constructed a volleyball court, on the grass behind the beach. Complete with sand lines and a service box, we now had no excuse not to play.

And so it began, and I tell you, it is one of the best staff morale boosters we have ever undertaken. The laughter and smiles that I witness when we play volleyball are something I will remember long after I leave this place. The staff just seem to let their guard down completely, and as many of the players are indigenous Ngobe indians, the dominant trash talk is in Guaymi, their native languafe, a spectacle in and of itself.

Volleyball is a popular sport among the Ngobe communities and many of the communities have their own volleyball court. Well, word must have got out that we have our own, because last week we had two "home" games. At 4:30 a boat load of Ngobes from another community on our island showed up to play us at volleyball. I'll only say it was evenly matched.

On your next trip to Popa, bring your skills and a healthy sense of humor, and remember this is Barefoot Luxury, so no shoes!

Employee of the Month: January

Living on an island, with no roads mind you, your boat is the only connection to the outside world. By extension, your boat captain becomes your right hand man. It takes a lot to go above and beyond what our boat captain does daily: safely and comfortably navigating the mangroves, reef and islands to carry our guests to other islands, beaches and back and forth to the resort. Yet, Gumercindo Julian, our Head Boat Captain, did just that in January, he rose above and beyond his daily duties to deserve recognition as Employee of the Month.

Gumey, as he is affectionately called by staff and guests alike, has been with Popa Paradise from the beginning. He was born next door to the property and his uncle owned the land that now belongs to Popa Paradise. Gumey still takes up residence right next to us as well as his extended family, who live in a series of houses, many guests have seen when kayaking out in front of the resort.

Gumey started out as a day laborer and it can be said that he is Peter Winn's (owner) oldest friend. Gumey started out laying cement pathways and mixing concrete, then moved on up to manning the 55-foot cayuco (dugout canoe) that brought supplies to the island in its beginning stages. He graduated on to the 23 foot-panga that he can be seen driving today. His efforts of self-improvement, culminating with his receival of his boating license, recognizing his safe boating and navigational knowledge, make him a real asset to the resort.

Gumey is one of the most recognized of the staff, as he is the first face that usually greets people as he picks them up in town. He also takes guests on trips and his smiling, laid-back nature, always puts our guest at ease. He has an incredible knowledge of the reefs and channels that surround the archipelago, and is one helluva fisherman. If he says its not a good day to fish, I don't even think twice. If I see him walking out with his hand-line, I know I better get my rod.

What really set apart Janaury from other months, was Gumey's incredible dedication. He worked 31 days straight, getting up early in the first week of January to finish the fishing season off with guests, and then working straight up until sometimes 6:30 at night. Twelve hour days were the norm, as we were extremely busy and down a second boat captain, so I was making trips alongside him on our other boat. Gumey never once complained and dutifully had the boat on the dock every time I asked him, five minutes early than requested.

His dedication, work ethic and ever-present positive attitude earned him his Employee of the Month status and every member of the staff thought he deserved it. Congratulations Gumey!

Fly With Paradise

Paradise Air and Popa Paradise Beach Resort are teaming up for a great raffle and giveaway.

Coming soon, we will be giving away a free 3-day, 2 night stay at Popa Paradise Beach Resort, along with a free roundtrip charter flight from San Jose, Costa Rica.

Paradise Air is a high-end provider of comfortable and safe air charters from Costa Rica. Stay tuned to their website for more details.