Having never visited Isla Boca Chica, Panama, I felt as though I had as a result of developing web content, imagery and design, for a client of mine who had purchased a piece of island in Panama and required some communications and marketing assistance.
January in Edmonton, AB...hmm, not exactly tropical. Most imagery = -30C, icy, frigid, frozen, numb, winter white, completely-enervating-impassable-and-iceberg-like-blocks-of-ice-third-world neighborhood roads, so transporting myself to the tropics - at least in my mind - was the next best thing. Walking through white, granular sand, basking in the heat of the sun while drinking mai-tais and pina coladas on the beach enabled me to immerse myself in said locale.
Mango Bay is actually a name that we created as it seemed to resonate with Canadians far away. The villas are located on Isla Boca Chica, Panama.
As I continued to develop content, it became clear to me that my fictitious life in Mango Bay was beginning to creep into my life in Edmonton. One day, I bought a case of mangoes, (not kidding and only from Costco, of course, and there are mango trees on the island), and tried a variety of recipes ranging from smoothies to stir-fries. Other ingredients of prominence in the household included coconut milk, fresh fish, and salads. Burnco was next on my list for a truckload of sand, but changed my mind at the last minute...didn't know how the truck would be able to navigate our completely-enervating-impassable-and-iceberg-like-blocks-of-ice-third-world neighborhood roads.
For a time, I felt warm - even remotely. In the end, I was happy to create something that reflected that warmth and was content with hot chocolate by the fire with my kids.