Kitchen platform One platform is dedicated to cooking, eating, and socializing. There is a large farm style table that seats 14; the table and benches were built by our great buddy Johnny Bates from upcycled oak gymnasium flooring from the Panama Canal Zone. The kitchen itself has pretty much everything one needs to prepare great meals. We start every morning with fantastic Boquete coffee, so you know we have a coffee grinder and French press! The kitchen platform includes a living area with couches and chairs for hanging out, hammocks for more hanging out, board games and books. It is a great space for playing games, bird watching, enjoying the sunrise (where else can you see it rise over the Pacific), star gazing, and just shooting the breeze.

Sleeping platform The second platform is for sleeping and relaxing. Solitude is possible. There are no walls (except for the bathroom) as we did not want to compromise the vast open space. Instead, we built fully screened sleeping cubes -- an idea born but never utilized when we built BirdHouse (102 Gamboa). Each of the three cubes is a small, cozy world to itself: full mattress so two sleep comfortably, ample storage, fans and lights for late night reading and cool sleeping. Full screening keeps the bugs away, but insects are rarely a problem given the ocean breezes and the height of the platforms off the ground. The cubes are on wheels and can be moved to wherever you want to sleep (but not as easy as it sounds here). Each cube comes with a ladder that permits access to a sleeping space on top for a “second story view” over the treetops.

Bathrooms Each platform has a spacious bathroom with shower, toilet and sink. And each toilet has a view; you can see out; no one can see in. We salvaged the toilets from the Scottish Rights Temple in Ancon, part of the old Panama Canal Zone. Toilet paper holders come from the old Ancon Morgue. We stored them for 15 years or so…awaiting the right place (they will test your mechanical aptitude). Cool well water supplies the simple showers. Mind you, our water pump is electric; if the electricity fails (rare) you will quickly run out of water until power is restored.

De-sanding station One of the BEST features of the Rio Mar surf platforms is the de-sanding platform at the base of the hill. Bring your surfboards, boogie boards, snorkels, masks, buckets and towels and deposit everything here. The impressive pressure of the showers will remove every speck of sand from you and even exfoliate if you so desire. A perfect stopping place as you make your way lazily up to the platforms.

Fruit trees and herb garden As you walk the pathways and the property we have many native tree species and fruit trees that can be bountiful during their season: limes, oranges, grapefruit, tamarind, maracuyá, rose apple, papaya, guanabana, pineapples and bananas. If the fruit is ripe, it is yours to harvest and enjoy! We have a kitchen herb garden with lemongrass, tropical basil, and other local plants. The same ‘rules’ apply.

Composting Fence/Gates Our front gate is embedded in a composting fence – unusual and pretty interesting if you enjoy design. If you are so motivated, feel free to dump leaves into it, otherwise it is just kind of cool to think about. The idea came from a smaller version at the California Academy of Science. We close the gate in the evening and when we head to the beach en masse, but generally only lock it when we leave, but gate behavior is up to you.