The well drillers have struck water! There's so many natural springs and surface water everywhere that we thought it would be a piece of cake - but you never know about water. Sometimes it's like finding a needle in a haystack. This is the first of probably 3 wells that will support the entire neighborhood. Speaking of water, rainy season in Panama has come on like a freight train - let's hope mother nature slows down a little. We need to dry out and regroup!

Two blogs in one day - I'm on a roll! Another big undertaking over the last 3 months has been the building and planting of the flower beds in the lower park area. It took about a month to build the rock walls and terraces and to bring in truckloads of good dirt from El Valle. Seeing as we started during the dry season to get a jump on things, there was not only all the work of finding, buying, transporting and planting everything but there was the constant necessity of watering! Many thanks to Daniel from El Valle coming in as our head gardener but also to all the machete crew for their diligence in making sure to water while mother nature was taking a break.

Hello again from beautiful Panama. Rainy season has begun and although it wreaks havoc with road work, it tends to encourage plant life to flourish! Always a trade off. So today I want to share with you a few photos of our continuing progress with all that's organic! The journey has been ongoing for awhile - looking for nurseries, "viveros" to buy plants as well as ideas for building a nursery at Las Cascadas. A few "raw food" friends of mine helped with the initial finding of various organic farms all the way from Rio Hato to El Valle to Capira. There are numerous people here interested in sustainable agriculture and clean food sources. One seen here is Vivero Oasis near Rio Hato which is run by Rodrigo, originally from Brazil. Thank you Rodrigo for all your expertise and to the gang for all your help with plant shopping - Beth, Natalie, Tamara and Steve!

Well, lots of work going on here! Here's some photos of the improvement and re-alignment of the main access road to the subdivision. We've brought in well over 1,000 yards of "tosca" (large gravel) and have had heavy equipment cutting new road sections for 2 months. We've had our challenges but it's all coming together! The road is straighter, the grade is better and the ability to see an overview of the entire neighborhood as you approach it is really fantastic. It takes a lot of coordination and dedication to move mountains (literally) and I want to offer my special thanks to the major players in this endeavor - a few of the hard working men above - Miguel, Francisco, Martin, Choli and Kike! Muchas gracias mi amigos...