After seeing most of Costa Rica’s coastal areas it was time for us to sail on to Panama. Prior to leaving Golfito, we provisioned the boat and said goodbye to our friends at Land Sea Marina.
Western Panama was a delight. The water was clear and warm and the snorkeling and fishing were great. The area was extremely remote and mostly pristine. After enjoying western Panama we rounded the dreaded ‘Punta Mala’ and landed safely in the Pearl Islands smack dab in the middle of the Gulf of Panama. We spent a few weeks poking around the islands and relaxing before heading off to Panama City to meet up with Carrie’s parents and brother.
It took a little longer than a ‘three hour tour’ to get to our first stop in Panama, Isla Gamez. It was an overnight passage in extremely calm conditions. After a few days at Isla Gamez we sailed a short distance to Isla Cavada in the Secas.
Isla Gamez was a beautiful little island. It was not much bigger than the picture and uninhabited. Gary and Celeste of Sol Surfin’ and Carrie nearly swam all the way around the island.
Carrie on Isla Cavada in the Secas ready to do some exploring!
The tidepools on Isla Cavada were fun to explore. We saw small fish that would leave the tidepool and cross a large stretch of rocks and sand to get back into the ocean. They were very quick and wouldn’t believe us when we said we weren’t going to eat them.
The Secas Islands, including Isla Cavada, are privately owned by Americans. They have constructed 7 yurts (tent-like buildings) and rent them for $1,000/night to very rich people who want to get away from it all. We were allowed to walk on the beaches but were asked to leave if we saw any guests.
We took a hike on one of the other islands in the Secas chain and ran into this fellow. Here leee-zard, leee-zard!
Some of the barnacles grew to about the size of a McDonald’s hamburger patty.
We had great luck fishing in Panama. In fact, over the 5 week period between shopping opportunities, we did not run out of fresh / frozen meats because we ate so much fish.
Here is a Big Eye tuna caught off Isla Medidor. We caught 2 of these big guys. They are very tasty!
Our biggest catch to date was a Jack Cravalle. Pat had a heck of a time reeling in the strong, large fish. Unfortunately Jack Cravalles are noted for tasting terrible so we didn’t eat him.
A sierra caught in the Perlas Islands. Very yummy, but watch out for the sharp teeth!
Terra Firma and Slip Away at anchor
Isla Medidor was an interesting but creepy place in an evil scientist sort of way. We nicknamed it the Island of Dr. Moreau. There actually were a few scientists running around the under-construction island associated with Liquid Jungle Labs.
Well, we went ashore not figuring to get very far before being asked to leave, but we actually made it to the very top of the island where a large and impressive structure was being built. The head of construction stopped us and asked if we were scientists to which we replied, ‘This is a very impressive structure.’ He expounded a little on the construction then asked us to wait a few minutes until the crew broke for lunch before we explored the site and also to be careful. Woohoo!! Permission to explore!
We waited to the side of the site anxiously anticipating lunch hour. Just before the designated hour a man, let’s just call him Mean Man, arrived on an ATV. He asked if we were from the sailboats to which we replied, ‘Yes. I mean no! We are scientists!’ Well, he saw through our little lie and told us, ‘The owner does not want you here. Leave now.’ Drat!
Construction workers carrying bags of black sand up to the monorail station. A monorail was used to transport the construction materials and top-seeded female tennis pros (more on that below) to the top of the island.
The construction site at the top of the island. Maybe we should have worn pocket protectors and interjected ‘PV=nrT’ and the quadratic equation every here and there, then Mean Man might have believed we were scientists!
That evening the owner, a top-seeded female tennis pro and a bevy of helpers arrived on a cross between a luxury yacht and research vessel, which was probably pretty close to what it was.
We caught a glimpse of the owner and top-seeded female tennis pro as they were ferried from the yacht/research vessel to the island in order to check the progress of construction.
Well, Pat is pretty sure the woman was one of the Williams sisters. She was over 6′ tall, darkly complected and dressed in very fine, very tight clothes. Not the least notable being the knee-high, zip-up, leather boots. Perfect for a beach landing in a dinghy!
Once safe and dry on the island, the owner hopped on an ATV and the top-seeded female tennis pro was ushered to the monorail. Keep in mind, this is nothing like the monorail at Disney World. No air-conditioning, no seats, no roof and no sides for that matter. Maybe she was served champagne so she wouldn’t feel so much like a bag of sand.
Roads for the ATV’s wound through the jungle on the island.
A construction worker unloading bags of sand from the monorail.
As far as we know, we departed Isla Medidor without having undergone any scientific testing or alteration ourselves. Well … we are pretty sure. It is still difficult to explain the craving for lightly salted grubs ….
Next stop was Bahia Honda where we were greeted by the very friendly Domingo. Domingo was the man in charge of the finca (large farm) in the area. He came to the boat with fresh fruit, cilantro and hot and sweet peppers and gladly exchanged them for clothing, school supplies and canned goods.
Here is Domingo with a bunch of super-yummy bananas.
Domingo’s son, Kennedy, visited our boat with his wife and daughter. He was fascinated with the sailboat and the sails in particular.
A local boy with an iguana. Not sure if the iguana was made into dinner or sold to a pet store.
Our last view of Western Panama, sunset in Ensenada Benoa.
The journey between Western Panama and the Perlas Islands was spirited and tiring. We made two day-long jumps to get from Bahia Honda to Ensenada Benoa. Ensenada Benoa is the waiting room for making a passage around Punta Mala and on to the Perlas Islands.
We left Ensenada Benoa at 0430 in the morning to be at Punta Mala for daybreak and high tide. As it turned out we had very favorable conditions right at Punta Mala. We experienced an uncomfortable ‘washing machine’ ride for about the next 30 miles and the hair on our necks rose every time a huge freighter would get within a few miles. We had planned to make it to Isla San Jose in the Perlas just after sunset and before moonset, but due to extenuating circumstances, we arrived about 5 hours later than anticipated in pitch blackness with noticeably more wind (25kt range) than earlier in the evening.
We guided ourselves to the invisible island and rumored anchorage with the aid of MaxSea (navigational software) and radar. The anchorage is about a mile wide and a mile long. When we awoke in the morning, we found ourselves 1/2 mile from the nearest piece of land or rock. You just have to love electronics when they work!
Isla San Jose in Las Perlas. This island is privately owned by a German who keeps a camper on the island. He flies into his private airstrip, gets into the camper and drives somewhere on the island. From what we hear, the owner was in road construction, so he had a crew sent to the island to build roads for the camper!
We ran into friends Brian and Marilyn on Icarian at Isla Bayoneta. We went exploring the north end of the island with them. We found a rough and rocky shore with beautiful vistas.
A little farther north, we stopped at Isla Contadora. This was the first stop since Golfito, Costa Rica where there were stores, restaurants and people. It was a little bit of a culture shock, but we quickly adapted to the conveniences.
Here is Terra Firma at anchor as viewed from Hotel Romantico (no, I am not making that up!).
We hung out with some old friends and made some new friends while at Contadora.
A cool castle being built as a vacation home.
We still had about a week before we needed to get to Panama City to meet up with Carrie’s parents and brother, so we explored a few more islands in the Perlas. One of our favorites was Espiritu Santo.
Here is our private beach on Espiritu Santo. It is open from low tide to a quarter ’til high tide every day.
A not-so-lucky, or maybe not-so-good, captain lost his vessel on our private beach.
Isla Mogo Mogo of Survivor fame. Filming of Survivor was in progress while we were there. The group using the set was rumored to be from Argentina, not the states, sorry!