Hola to the Banana Republic

What makes a banana republic?  It was once a very cool travel store...very cool.. Those of you who remember the Khaki jacket....yes, I wish I had it back.  Maybe it's a rhythm that comes from the culture and it's close love affair with water.  I'm just not sure....  Today was exploring the town of Bocas  and the multitude of small hotels planted around the city.  No guidebook could to this justice.  There are so many and most are quaint and wonderful.  None more than my crib, the Cocomos.  Last night I talked to a 23 year old restaurant owner, a young lady who was brought to Panama by sailing partners nine years ago and a cheeky Spanish bartender named Jaime who makes a killer Martini.   Ok?  Question.

What makes us afraid to travel?  What is it?  Time?  Security? Money? Bacteria?  (yuk).  Tell me.  I will be holding a contest and sending a prize.  From Panama of course.

PLEASE PLEASE  think about "Sliding in Sideways"... Tell me if you haven't heard that one...

Ciao from the Banana Republic,

Miles

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Live from the Cocomo, Boca del Toro, Panama

I just got here a few hours ago and think I have found one of those places....you know what I am talking about...one of those places that seems to have this immediate feel to it. The same as you knowing that this guy or gal was the one....at least that time...

A small fishing village was it's past. now it is fast moving toward something completely different. I have felt the charm and wonder in this place in just the first few hours. It seems to be on the backpackers trail which is crazy to me but true. With that fact you find odds and ends of youth that are extraordinary. I will share their stories in the coming days...if I decide to get out of bed.

The hotel is amazing. a cluster of clapboard rooms over the ocean. Nothing can come close to drowning out the sound of the waves hitting the foundation of my room. It's amazing. So please take a minute to join me in celebration of the that simple but amazing fact that these places still exist.

Enjoy,

MIles

Live from the Cocomo, Boca del Toro, Panama

CHOICE......we all have it and we all make those decisions that determine what happens to us in our lives. What is often overlooked is the size of decisions that propel us into the void. Most of the time they are tiny seemingly inconsequential choices about what to eat, where to spend that precious moment of free time, or the choice to sit it out or dance. All of them small in their own right but put together draw the line of your life.

Sitting yesterday at the airport I noticed one of those choices. I couldn't help but wonder how confusing it would have been if Mayo was allowed to participate. Or maybe this gave the appearance of choice but in reality was no choice at all? HUM. So next time you want to get somewhere other than where you are now....remember this.

It's the tiny choices we make everyday that either propel us toward our dreams or push us away from them.

Author...me of course.

Enjoy the ride,

Miles

Downtown at the Denver Diner

Every city has it's late night hotspots. Austin used to have Katz's now locked up, and the Magnolia. Baton Rouge had the funky waffle house on the highway which for a long while was one of my personal favorites. Of course its hard to beat the Clover in the Quarter in New Orleans if you think about characters. Even the little places have their entries. How about the Dairy Palace in Canton? Really the food is good all over the place but the thing that sets them apart are the folks inside. Clientele as they say. The wide variety of cuisine can be mind numbing late at night with just a hint of peach vodka circulating the medulla. My personal favorite these days is the steady eatery.... The Denver Diner. The DD has the prerequisite 285 menu items from meatballs to grits. Numerous street characters come in and dine day and night and the wait staff is bitchy enough to scare just about anyone. If you get a chance and you're hanging around near downtown Denver on some snowy night head on over to Colfax and get a cup of joe and a triple decker club with extra cheese. Go on I dare you....

Miles

it's all in the Plan...Mutate or Die

We have all enjoy a bar napkin romance or two in our lives...Ok. maybe not. But today I submitted the plan for this years LOVE CABANA. Credit to the ever creative JL for her last years artistry on the Pharaoh boat. I am hoping the DMV hotties will approve the design of the Cabana and all attached info. What do you think? The beast sits quietly outside the villa waiting for the makeover. I just hope I can figure out the details of getting it there. Prior to Burningman I do see the LOVE CABANA making a trip down Congress in Austin. Make your reservations now... The word will get out.

Enjoy the ride,

Miles

Let the Games Begin....NOISE is back

Hola my fine friends.

It's taken a few months and some motivational tapes but I am back. The Blog and one photo a day has returned. I doubt that I will have a photo for you every day as that was one of the hardest things I have ever done... but I will do my best and for sure there should be some interesting journeys in the "Slow Dance Around the World".

The HQ these days is the porch of the Villa HIlla as it has been off and on over the last couple of years. I am using new software to try and get out to the world what crazy things are going on, So this time you actually have to confirm your my email to you. You also can subscribe directly to the blog through the website. There are some new things on the website so jump over and take a look. Please tell your friends about the blog and have everyone you know become a subscriber and follower. Won't they love you for that one.

So, here is what is coming up....

A trip to Boca del toro, Panama
A road trip to photograph the Bears of McNeil River Alaska
A crazy NOLA trip
Burningman
An african photo safari
Bullfighting lessons
Ultralight airplane lessons
Ecuador
Dogsledding
The Terlingua Chilli Cookoff
The Texas Water Safari
A few tennis tournaments sprinkled in..

And a bunch more.....that just fall out of the sky.

So, new websites going up

The Rogues Club- a site about reinventing your life
La Encore- the photography site about beauty over 40
One More MIle Travel- the site about road travel in the US.

I will be back on Facebook under Miles Hill. If you haven't friended me there you will have to "get r done".

So Please spread the word and stay tuned.

Ciao,

Miles