Sea Beans in Panama: The Smooth Brown Drift Seeds Found on Our Beach

A guest walking the beach of our snorkeling adventure

To many, walking the beach is peaceful, meditative, and relaxing but, if all the random thoughts firing between the ears were heard out loud would we sound at peace, like a comedian, or totally gone mad?

Rapid fire thoughts of pure randomness a.k.a. transient hypofrontonality. Time to solve a conundrum of life or make a decision you've been wrestling with, all while your eyes wander over the animal that just scuttled beneath your feet, the beautiful bird flying overhead, or the waves you wish you were out surfing. And then - wait - a whole bunch of round brown seed-looking things.

Mucuna - The Sea Bean

I wondered the same thing and while adding library book renewal to the list of things to do and thinking about catching that wave out there, those seeds were all over the beach. It was a serendipitous moment: small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, hard as a rock and a perfectly smooth surface to paint: I thought BADGES!! Yes, I was a girl scout. It was the moment I thought about all the kids that would one day be romping through our little jungle eco resort firing away questions about the surrounding nature.

Share. Educate. Inspire. and Stoke: The acronym and the guiding principles for everything we do with guests of our eco resort - especially the young ones. When I saw these sea beans, I knew that a. I needed to figure out what they were, and b. that they were perfect for painting on to create badges for kids to earn as they learned about different parts of our surrounding eco system.

Mucuna Vine Seed Pods

Sea bean, hamburger seed, or ojo de venado (deer eye), this seed comes from inside a spiky pod hanging from a jungle vine that winds itself around trees. Aptly named as a bean; it belongs to the legume family . The seed pods are covered in spiky hairs that act as a protective barrier for those thinking of harvesting the beans inside. Those hairs, much like many plants in the jungle, can easily penetrate the skin causing an irritating rash.

Once they dry out in the sun for a while, the pods open allowing the seeds to drop to the ground and be carried away by a stream where they find their way to the sea and float their way to our beaches to be picked up by curious beachcombers.

A recent guest earning his tree badge in his adventure book

This seed is highly valued not just by the kids of our resort but for its medicinal and nutritional properties. Native to the tropics, these seeds are commonly seen on the beaches all year here in Panama. The seeds are so durable that they will float out in the ocean along currents to remote destinations of the world so now, if you happen to see one in Alaska, you can think of us in Panama and just how far that little seed has traveled.

Speaking of kids and traveling, it's time to think about where to go when school is out for the summer! Whether you just need to take a break from the school year, are celebrating a graduation, or bridge a gap (mud season) between winter and summer, we would love to host you and your loved ones here in Panama! If you want to learn more about what a family trip is like with us, read this beautifully written story in BC Parent.

With love from Panama,

Cari and Ryan Mackey

Owners & hosts