An eco-friendly facility

Not only is Tesoro Escondido blessed with breathtaking surroundings, but it is also located on one of the best surfing spot of all Panama! During calm months, the crystalline water is ideal for swimming and snorkeling. If wildlife is your thing, Bluff Beach is the nesting home to 4 species of sea turtles, and the adjacent forests team with many species of monkeys, birds, butterflies and more!
New at Bluff: YOGA RETREATS
.......................SURF SCHOOL (e-mail for more information)

SURFING

The Bocas del Toro Islands are the surfing center of the SW Caribbean. Swell is produced by seasonally strong trade winds and cold fronts in the Caribbean Sea which produce potent short period swells. These swells combined with locally favorable wind conditions and a deep ocean trench which lies just offshore of these islands produce often stunning waves. The surf in Bocas del Toro consists primarily of a combination of coral reef breaks and powerful beachbreaks and is best suited for experienced shortboarders. The aqua green water color and clarity of these islands is just incredible and the lush jungle backdrop and intense Panamanian sun provides a mystical setting for your surfing experience.

Much like the weather, the surf is also unpredictable... as the swells come up suddenly without much warning, and go down just as suddenly. The surf can as easily be 1ft or 10ft. Unlike the Pacific where one is dealing with ground swells generated by distant ocean storms in the Pacific, surf forecasting is not as accurate or reliable inside the Caribbean, the swells can come up relatively quick and unexpectedly. To maximize your chances of hitting some good waves, plan on staying at least 10 days. There is so much to do, you will enjoy yourself no matter what!

Surfline.com's Caribbean charts provide a 120 hour simulation which provide short term swell forecast models.

SURF BREAKS

Dumpers - A reef bottom left hander. Steep drops and super powerful with a tube you could fit a dune buggy in. The wave is kind of short though so when you come out of the tube, you can hit the lip once or twice or do a roundhouse cutback and then the wave ends on top of a rock on the inside. You could compare this place to the heavy breaks of Tahiti. There is an inside break that is a longer ride, but not as tubular and it only breaks when Dumpers is about 7 to 8 feet. This place is one of the most popular spots at Bocas, but rarely gets over 5 people in the water at once. You can normally surf here alone with your buddies. Bring your surf booties because the reef here is pretty gnarly for getting in and out of the water. The surf can get as big as 12 feet, (better have balls of steel) but that's when the inside Dumpers starts really firing. Dumpers is a 10-minute walk from Tesoro Escondido

Punch - A reef bottom right and left break. It can get really good here, and you can get slotted in the tube on certain sections or hit the lip or do roundhouse cutbacks or airs. There are 2 or 3 different peaks you can take off from. This wave is more mellow than Dumpers and not quite as powerful, but it packs a punch anyways! Most of the less experienced surfers go out here because it is a fun wave and less dangerous than most of the other breaks at Bocas. You can usually get the place alone, but at times there are as much as 5 to 7 surfers out, depending on the day. We have surfed it as big as 12 feet. This wave holds size well. The bigger the more perfect with an incredible tube section. Punch is located about 20 minutes away, on foot, from Tesoro Escondido.

On a calm day, the crystalline waters at or around Tesoro Escondido, make it a perfect snorkel spot. Snorkel equipment is available for rent.

SEA TURTLES

THIS SECTION IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

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You may not realize that Panama has over 900 recorded bird species, 122 occur only as long-distance migrants. We are still learning about the birds around the archipelago and are happy to share them with you as we continue to explore and discover new species who either live or migrate here.

We arrived in August 2004 and many birds were migrating through the area. We lived near Bluff Beach and were able to add over 50 birds to our life list.

Among the residents here are the Red-Lored Amazon whos noisy and religious flights every day to their feeding grounds always give us a reason to smile. There are also regular sightings of Blue-headed parrots, Olive-throated parakeets and an occasional Keel-billedToucan.

We are told the Toucans are a rare find and that perhaps they are coming back to the area after being noticeably absent for a few years.

Also among the regulars here are the spectacular Montezuma Oropendola, the Golden-hooded tanager and the Lineated Woodpecker.

Of course, we love to see the snowy egrets every day whose perfectly white images seem almost magical as they fly together to feeding grounds each day and home again each evening.

And, who can miss the beautiful groups of Brown Pelicans flying in with perfect precision, their graceful synchronized flights taking them scaling just inches above the waves.

Living near the sea allows us to see the great Osprey and Ringed and Green Kingfishers diving and fishing every day.

The most common Hummingbird where we live is the Black-throated Mango who raises their babies very close to our windows.

One of our favorite birds is the Brown Booby, found on Swan Cay. We caught them nesting and raising their babies in mid March. Also on Swan Cay, you can enjoy the Red-billed Tropicbird with its graceful long central tail feathers often extending 1-2 feet in length. These Tropicbirds are not reported anywhere else on the Caribbean coast.