Holiday Wrap-Up

Christmas and New Year's Eve was a blast this year! We were fully-booked (which means, 42 people), yet the staff stepped up to the plate and made sure that every guest experienced the same level of attention people normally get here when it is not so busy. It was a challenge meeting so many different people's needs (including a family reunion of 14 people), but the great personalities that we shared our holidays with, made up for it.

Our staff lives with us on the island and we often refer to them as our extended family. So it was on Christmas Eve, the traditional celebratory day in Panama, that we had a second seating for dinner. The first was at 7:30 for the guests and then at 10:30, the staff came down to enjoy a roast pig, with all the trimmings with us. Then at 11:30, a tanned, younger Santa Claus made an appearance and handed out gifts to all of the staff. Following a big toast at midnight along with a few hearty guests who were enjoying some drinks at the bar, we continued with a Secret Santa. Each of the staff presented one other staff member with a small gift. It was so cool to see the creativity that went into their presents and brought us all closer on a day when we were all separated from our families.

During the busy period, we had a masseuse on-site who kept people relaxed (I am waiting for my massage, as soon as I get some down-time). Junito, is a Bocas del Toro local, who came out to give massages and on some of our busier nights, helped out by serving some killer cocktails. We are now happy to say, he works for us as our full-time bartender, still able to give incredibly relaxing massages on the side.

We rang in the New Year's with a delicious six course dinner provided by Executive Chef Ben Jones. My mouth still waters at what the guests and I enjoyed that night: King Crab salad, yucca gnochi with a pesto cream sauce, mushroom streudel with blue cheese fondue, filet mignon with fried shallots and yucca puree, a mango sorbet intermezzo, and a flourless chocolate torte with ice cream. Everything was made the day of, including the pasta, the chocolate itself (from cacao), the sorbet and the ice-cream!

We couldn't wait until midnight, as everyone had been busy island-hopping on day trips earlier and were tired, so at 10:38 we rang in the New Year with a 10-minute firework show and champagne toast! For an amateur show, we pulled off a pretty grand finale for 2009, in my humble opinion. Katie and I and a few of the staff rang in the real New Year at midnight, watching the ball drop in Times Square.

Throughout the whole time we had the large crowd, we had boats going back and forth to town to pick up and drop off guests, guests enjoying the beauty of Bocas on day tours to see dolphins, go snorkeling or hiking in the jungle. We also had some fishing enthusiasts who got up everyday at 6am to fish with Gumey and Martin, reeling in some delicious mackerel and barracuda that was brought out in creative dishes prepared by Chef Ben.

The weather was unusually cooperative and we are still in the middle of a three-week long dry spell. While I fret about the level of water in our storage, the guests are thoroughly enjoying the three-weeks of sunshine!

From all of us here at Popa Paradise. we wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year. Feliz Ano Nuevo!!