After weeks in Panama City trying to get the boat prepared to cross the Pacific we needed a break. We’d been tiring of the difficult dinghy situations, constant soot on the boat from the city, and discovering new things to fix or replace. It’s been quite some time since we’d been someplace fun with clear water!
As it happens my parents were coming down to visit for a week. Will had also been back in the U.S. doing an internship in yacht design and everyone was arriving on the same day. Originally we’d planned to meet everyone in Costa Rica, but some additional repairs needed in Panama ended those plans and everyone redirected flights to Panama City instead.
About 30 miles from Panama City lies the Las Perlas archipelago, a group of over 100 largely undeveloped islands with clear water and air. We’d been hearing about these islands for months and were quite jealous of friends that had escaped the city on occasions while we were laboring with broken generators and tracking down parts. So once we had collected all of our travelers, off we went!
The trip to the islands was spectacular. We spotted several whales on the way – a pair of Minke whales and what we believe to be a Fin. Frigate birds, pelicans and the occasional booby accompanied us the whole trip, and we were even treated to a visit from a small pod of dolphins. By the time we were breathing the clean air and admiring the sparkling waters off of Contadora island our spirits were much restored.
It is true there is not much out here. I am posting this in via Single Side Band, as we’ve not been near a Wifi signal or reliable cell tower for four days (that also means you have to wait for the pictures). We’ve had as many as two other boats in our current anchorage. But it has been lovely.
Our first stop was at Contadora island, one of the more developed islands in the archipelago. “Developed” in the sense that there are actually roads, houses, and some small resorts. It still is a very small place with not much more on it than a little shopette and some small restaurants and water sports concessions. There are lovely beaches, however we found the water there contained some sort of small stinging creatures so we didn’t do a lot of swimming. We suspect this was a short seasonal outbreak as we talked to some people that were here a day or two previously and they didn’t mention anything.
After a two nights at Contadora we moved down the East side of the island chain to Isla del Espiritu Santo, an anchorage between the aforementioned island and Isla del Rey, the largest island in the group. While Isla del Rey is the largest island by far, it isn’t the most developed. There are four villages on the island, the cruising guide characterizes one of them as “having a phone” so you can sort of guess they are pretty remote.
This is a stunningly beautiful and remote spot. The water is clear, but not quite crystal – we suspect because of some nearby rivers and mangroves. At low tide numerous beautiful sand beaches are uncovered. Fish and birds abound here, and the occasional local fishing Panga makes its way by. There are no buildings, no roads, to cell towers. At high tide we took our dinghy exploring up the little river into the mangrove jungle. Ibises, fish, and bird calls were the only things breaking the silence as we paddled the dinghy quietly up stream.
Today we are leaving this idyllic spot to head back to Panama City to say goodbye to my parents and get back to work. But we’ve enjoyed being able to breathe the clean air and admire the beauty for just a little longer.
