March 2011:

First beam goes up and our first backpacker helpers.

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26th Jan 2011 – I’m about to go to Colón and buy the toilet which we’ll take along with some cooking equipment for our first expedition.  We leave with the Darien Gapster on the 29th and this time we’ll be taking with us Stuart & Daniela a couple who are coming to work with us and oversee the new project.  The plan is to recruit a few extra hands and get stuck into cleaning the place up, put in the toilet, plumb the shower and create some construction for privacy around them.

These were the foundations we started with….

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VOTE FOR THE NAME OF OUR FUTURE HOSTEL:

1 – Buena Honda (translation = good vibrations)

2 – The Crazy Bee (Being in La Miel.  Translation = The Honey… bees,,,,honey)

3 – The Sweet House / Sweet as / or just … Sweet!

4 – Birds and the bees.

At the bottom of this page is a box for comments.  Please vote for one of these hostel names or feel free to add your own suggestion.

About the area:

Capurganá – A bustling little village where the boats arrive from Turbo.  You can find a variety of places to eat, a wide range of accommodation, and maybe even a bit of night life.  Then. . . 15 minutes by launch(boat) or an hour trek you have. . .

Sapzurro – Here you have a relaxed bay with a good anchorage for sail boats.  The village is chilled and the beaches are beautiful.  After Sapzurro, 20 minutes walk over the hill you have. . .

La Miel – The epitome of white sand, crystal clear water, Caribbean beach heaven.  There is a small village here but mostly its just coastline, with some small shanty places selling beer and seafood on the beach.   Then. . . just on the other side of the village you’ll find. . .

The cool part about all these places is their anonymity.  At the moment they are a holiday destination for Colombians, mostly people from Medellin.  It’s way off the gringo trail,,, there are no roads,, no cars,,, just donkeys and horses.  The area only got the green light for safety from travelers guidebooks within the last few years.  This is uncharted paradise in a country emerging from it’s dark past and finally getting a chance to show it’s true colours.  We want people to come and see it. . . and. . . we want to preserve it.

CALL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL VOLUNTEERS:

One big problem with our beach and all of San Blas is the amount of rubbish/trash floating around in the water and landing up on the beaches.  This is a result of a remote area with no education on, nor systems for, waste disposal.

We’ve realized that we are in a great position to A: be effected by this problem, and B: do something about it.

Our plan for this is to:

1:  Educate ourselves on ways to recycle and reuse in such a remote area.

2:  Clean up our area and put in systems for recycling.

3:  Use these as a source of education for local communities.

4:  Start an NGO and spread our work throughout San Blas.

What we need at the moment is information, ideas and connections to do with recycling and reusing, particularly plastic and rubber.

Please write to us if you have an idea that might be useful to us or if you would like to be involved in the project.

Investment:

There are also investment opportunities for people interested in living in this part of the world and starting chilled business ventures.  The area is perfect for kayaking and diving, and there is an uncharted jungle behind us with endless possibility for ecological study and tourism.  Also, with it’s remoteness our beach could be an ideal sight for a retreat.  Our idea is to keep it tranquillo.. no big hotels!  We want to create a kind of community feel.  If your interested. . . come check it out!!