Tag Archives: Archipielago de las Perlas

Birds enjoying a day at the beach

Las Perlas Archipelago: Part II

The beauty of the Las Perlas Archipelago is that if you don’t like one island, you can easily move to another. Isla Pedro Gonzales was lovely, but with the odd rubber smell and loud music we decided to move to a new island. Isla Viveros lies only 8-miles away from Isla Pedro Gonzales so we motored on over. Our friends on “Breakaway” told us to stop short of Isla Viveros at a set of small islands called Isla De Feunche.

At first, it looks like 3 small islands, but in reality, it is one island. During high tide, the rocky path  between each rock is covered by water, but you can see the path during low tide. Sunsets were stunning here!

The beautiful islands of Isla de Feunche

The beautiful islands of Isla de Feunche

Another blissful island, isolated, serene, gorgeous, and full of wildlife. We had it all to ourselves and enjoyed every minute of it! We took the SUPs out and paddled to the main island and enjoyed the beach, skipping rocks, collecting treasures, and playing with the fish.  This is a gem in the Las Perlas Archipielago.

IMAGE: Top Sugar Shack at the anchorage by herself, Middle: Our SUPs hanging out by a tree, Bottom: Matt watching the stingrays in the shallow water.

A day at the beach...

A day at the beach…

You can almost make it around the entire island…

IMAGE: Top: Matt claiming a spit of sand & a heart rock, Middle: Climbing over rocks exploring the island, Bottom: Me on my throne and rocky shore.

Isla de Feunche

Isla de Feunche

We received word that our batteries arrived earlier than we expected so we had to rearrange our Las Perlas schedule a bit. We were heading to Isla Bayoneta forcing us to leave our little piece of paradise – we loved Isla De Feunche!

Bayoneta is sandwiched between Isla Malaga and La Vivienda. We heard that it was a really pretty, quiet island. It was a nice anchorage, but with another boat already here we decided to go somewhere else. Way too crowded. (Yes, we are a bit spoiled)

We had a few choices of where to go next. We could return to Contradora where we’d have wifi (always good), go to the Eastern side of Mogo Mogo, or go to a new island called Isla Pacheca. As we motored north, we decided against Contradora as we had already been there. We swung into the new anchorage at Mogo Mogo which was pretty but crowded with 4 boats. So, we continued on to Isla Pacheca.

Really pretty anchorage, no other cruising boats, pretty little beach, and well protected from the sea. When we arrived, there were several fishing boats cleaning their days catch, but as the afternoon progressed, more boats arrived. Not a big deal as we knew they would leave, but there was a horrible fish smell and tons of birds.  The birds are wonderful, but the bombs they leave are not.

Isla Pacheca beautiful, but a place where local fisherman go to clean their catch.

Isla Pacheca beautiful, but a place where local fisherman go to clean their catch.

We spent more time cleaning under the boat. Matt got the hooka out and cleaned the Starboard hull (below the waterline) and replaced both sets of small zincs which were shot to hell.  Image below shows two small zincs and one new in the middle.  We got our money’s worth for sure.

Old and New Zincs

Old and New Zincs

While Matt was under the boat, I scrubbed the teak on both sets of sugar scoops. We had applied several coats of stain over the years. It was time to strip the wood back and either reapply the stain or apply an oil to protect the wood from the harsh sun. First step, is cleaning the dirt and stain out of the wood.

We got up early, pulled anchor, and were on our way by 0600. Our goal was to be at La Playita by 12n which would give us 6 hours to travel the 40+ miles. We will collect our batteries, clear out of the country, do laundry, and a few more provision runs. Hopefully, we can get out of there within a few days.

The Las Perlas chain has been a delightful experience!  So many beautiful, tranquil, and untouched islands.

Passage from Las Perals to a Playita:

  • Uneventful, luckily
  • Few dolphins came to play with us
  • No fish jumped on the hook
  • No whale sightings
  • Very litle wind
Rio Cacique Adventure with "BreakAway"

Las Perlas Archipelago: Part I

The Las Perlas Archipelago were calling to us, but we were stuck in a routine and had a hard time getting motivated to leave.  It was a decent anchorage, we had lots of cruiser friends around, knew the transit system, and all the best happy hours, and wifi spots.  But, Sugar Shack was a disgrace!  She was incredibly dirty from all the muck in the water and it was truly embarrassing.  However, the water was nasty and neither Matt nor I wanted to get in to clean the boat.  Over 3 weeks later…

First things first, pressure wash the chain and bridle as it comes up to try to remove one layer of growth.

Pressure washing the anchor chain

Pressure washing the anchor chain

The 44-mile trip to Las Perlas Archipielago took us about 5.5 hours.  We were able to fly the spinnaker for about an hour before the winds completely died and forced us to motor.  But, like our previous trip, we saw lots of fabulous sea life.  The first time we made this journey (with Wayne, Heather, Michael, Stacy, and Gene) we saw whale spouts.  But this time we actually saw  a bit of the whale’s body and their huge tales.  Plus, there are lots and lots of birds.  I love it when they take up residence on a floating piece of wood.

Birds hanging out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Birds hanging out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

During our last visit to the Las Perlas Archipelago, we visited 3 islands: Isla Contradora, Isla Chapera, and Mogo Mogo.  We had planned on returning to this area as there are over 220 islands that make up this archipelago.  Unfortunately, we only have 10 days to explore the Las Perlas Achipelago as our batteries are scheduled to arrive mid-April.  We decided to start at the southern end of the chain and slowly work our way back toward the northern end.  So, we headed to Isla Del Rey, the southernmost island in Las Perlas.  The 33-mile trip took a little under 5 hours to motor (zero wind).

Originally, we were going to anchor at Concholon Bay, but we changed our minds once we arrived, as it was really rolly.  It took us less than an hour to round the tip of Isla Del Rey, arriving at Punta Cocos.  This bay had a stunning, extended beach and an old Navy outpost.  Not long after we anchored, friends on “Breakaway” arrived (we had not seen them since La Playita several weeks ago).

This crazy ramp moves with the tides (low tide below) and leads up to the Navy outpost.  The small Navy boat is at the dock while the large Navy boat is below.

Ramp to Navy Facility and Navy Boat Keeping Us Safe

Ramp to Navy Facility and Navy Boat Keeping Us Safe

At the eastern end of the bay is a sunken fishing boat or pelican residence.

Sunken Fishing Vessel at Isla Del Rey

Sunken Fishing Vessel at Isla Del Rey

The next morning, we picked up “Breakaway” and headed toward the dock. We had hoped to walk around the World War II airfield and outpost, but the working Navy facilities wouldn’t allow it.  So, we changed course and walked the long and beautiful beach.  Lucky for us as we found a mango tree that had gifted us with several ripe mangos!  Sweet!

Matt enjoying some solitude on the beach

Matt enjoying some solitude on the beach

Later in the afternoon, we each headed to Rio Cacique, the next bay over.  Our guide book mentioned that we could take the dinghy up river.  Just before high tide, “Breakaway” came by to pick us up. A sandbar blocked the entrance so we carried their small dinghy and outboard to the river bank.  It was pretty shallow, but we were able to paddle up river with the current to admire the beautiful, partially submerged mangroves and rainforest in total silence.

Rio Cacique Adventure with "BreakAway"

Rio Cacique Adventure with “BreakAway”

We had sundowners on “Breakaway” and said our goodbyes as they are heading to Ecuador and we are heading back up the Perlas chain.

On the way to our next destination, we passed by Tres Pilares de Arroz (three pieces of rice) which made me crack up!  Who gets to come up with the names of these islands?  Probably the same creative people who come up with nail polish names.

Rio Cacique Adventure with "BreakAway"

Rio Cacique Adventure with “BreakAway”

The next island we motored to was Isla San Jose.  This is the second largest island in the Las Perlas chain and is privately owned.  The owners house is located in Isla De Olega Bay which had one large house and several cabins in the surrounding forest.  In the bay out front were three fishing boats of varying sizes.

Owners residence at Isla De San Jose

Owners residence at Isla De San Jose

We anchored at Ensenada Playa Grande and had the entire bay to ourselves – it was so picturesque.  The water is pretty clear, which meant it was time to clean the water line!  Matt grabbed the scraper and one SUP while I grabbed a scrub brush and the other SUP.  He attacked the outside hulls while I hunkered down and worked on the inside of the hulls.  This was a multiple step process.  First, we got the top lawyer of growth and grime off with the scrubber and scraper, then used a cloth to muscle off the remaining soft filth.  Next, we rubbed “On & Off” which is marine grade hull cleaner to try to remove the yellow tint and bring back the white fiberglass.  We finished the starboard side, but ran out of energy for the port.  Still need to hit the port with On & Off and then she will be sparkly clean.

Cleaning the water line of the boat

Cleaning the water line of the boat

We also cleaned up the stainless on the boat using ospho.  The rust accumulates very quickly which requires cleaning the stainless steel (all pad eyes, stanchions, blocks, locks, and lines) every 6 weeks.  Before and after photos below.

Cleaning up the stainless on the boat

Cleaning up the stainless on the boat

We didn’t spend all our time cleaning, we did enjoy the shore as well.  This was such a beautiful and tranquil anchorage!  The beach was gorgeous, with a tint of red from the neighboring rocks and corals.  The shore was peppered with sea shells and tracks from birds and a gator!

We did have to pull Sweetie up pretty far on the beach and then the tide went out…

Sugar Shack and Sweetie enjoying a piece of paradise

Sugar Shack and Sweetie enjoying a piece of paradise

Image: Top row: red tinted sand and red cliffs.  Middle row: Sweetie on shore and Sugar Shack alone at the anchorage.  Bottom row: delightful untouched beach and gator tracks.

Isla San Jose anchorage

Isla San Jose anchorage

Each night we were gifted with a beautiful sunset.  This doesn’t suck!

Breathtaking sunset

Breathtaking sunset

After a few days we pulled ourselves away from this paradise and moved to Isla Pedro Gonzales.  It was a short 11-mile motor, with no wind.  We anchored in front of the little village which consisted of about 100 colorful homes that housed the 500+ villagers. There was not much to do onshore other than walk around greeting the locals who were trying to enjoy their Sunday afternoon.  We made this a lunch stop without the lunch…

Pedro Gonzales and the colorful houses

Pedro Gonzales and the colorful houses

Stay tuned for more on the Las Perlas Archipelago ….

Sugar Shack Visits the following Islas within Las Perlas Achipelago:

  • De Fuenche
  • Bayoneta
  • Pacheca
Isla Chapala Amazing Rock

Balboa Yacht Club to Archipielago de las Perlas

We had a full boat with 7 people and needed to take them to an island.  So, we decided to head toward Archipielago de las Perlas.   The Pearl Islands is a group of 200 or more islands and islets lying about 30 miles off the Pacific coast of Panama in the Gulf of Panama.

The weather report showed it being  a downwind sail for this 40-mile journey, but Mother Nature had something else in mind.  We started with the wind coming from 90-120 degrees at 15-18 knots.  So, we put up full jib and main sails which gave us 5-6 knots of boat speed.  An hour later, the wind shifted and came from 120-180 degrees at 12-15 knots, which is a great kite run.  So, we hoisted up “Big Bertha” (our large spinnaker), brought in the jib and flew the main and spin for a few hours.

Big Bertha makes a splash with our friends.

Big Bertha makes a splash with our friends.

On the way, we spotted a few whale spouts.  We thought they were dolphins at first, but the giant water spout was a dead giveaway. Unfortunately, they were too far away for us to capture on film.

The wind died down again and we had to take Bertha down and motor sail with just the jib.  We arrived at Isla Contadora which is the most developed island in the Archipielago de las Perlas.  It has an airport, ferry dock, desalination plant, power plant, and eateries.  Evidently, Panamanians come here to holiday.

We picked up one of the moorings, set out our boat toys and enjoyed the day. We had lots of entertainment including incoming and outgoing planes, skydivers, and a helicopter landing on a yacht.  Evidently, we picked up a mooring right under the flight path so it gave us a great view (almost as good as St. Barths).   Our neighbor, Samara, a 75’ power cat had a helicopter on its stern.  The helicopter arrived in the morning and left in the evening – delivering various guests.

Samara yacht has its own helicopter

Samara yacht has its own helicopter

After several days on the boat, we decided to take everyone to shore for a little exploring.  We have to step foot on at least a few islands in the Las Perlas chain.  There is a long sandy beach that needed to be walked on and a bar with our name on it.  Without planning, Stacy, Heather and I managed to color coordinate with each other (and a flowering plant).  We stopped in for some cold beverages at the Villa Condessa del Mar beach bar and enjoyed some super-fast wifi.

Image: Top left Sugar Shack with approaching plane; Sugar Shack in the background with our brand in the sand; Middle: Stacy, Heather, and I; Bottom: Stacy and Gene below a large mountain home, and Heather and Michael on a rock in front of Sugar Shack.

Isla Chapera is a neighboring island in Las Perlas with a bit of a checkered past.  Click the Isla Chapera link to find out why. We decided to explore it so we packed a cooler and made the 1-mile journey in Sweetie to the next island.  It was a stunning landscape with the beach, tall rocky mountains, and huge trees.  There was this amazing rock that had a beautiful display of layers of stratigraphy.

IMAGE: Top: Stacy, me, and Heather with Matt on top of the rock and Wayne and Michael on the right; Middle: Heather, Matt, and Michael enjoying the water; Bottom: Matt conquering the rock and playing hide and seek.

Isla Chapala in Las Perlas

Isla Chapala in Las Perlas

We walked around the corner of the island on the rocks before heading back to the beach area.  It was really pretty to see the changes in the rock from years, probably decades, of being in and out of the water.  The tides rise 5 meters (yep, 25’) daily. Pretty amaze balls.  We encountered two fisherman who brought back their fishing net to the beach to unload the fish into their fishing well.  In 15 minutes they caught dozens of these large orange fish – do you know what they are called?

After returning to the boat, Matt put out the SUP boards, floaties, and Peggy Sue.  And it was time to play!  I shared my prior experience of trying to mount Peggy Sue which was challenging to say the least.  She is slippery when wet.  Being the brave one, Stacy went first.  After two attempts and fails, I went, and failed.  Finally, Heather decided to show us how it’s done.

Not to be outdone, Stacy and I decided we needed to get on with Heather.  Stacy hopped on and toppled everyone over.  Heather got on again first, then I joined her.  Now, all we need to do is add Stacy.  Unfortunately, her foot slipped and we all went in the water. Rinse, repeat. Heather, first, then Stacy, then me last and SUCCESS!

It was incredibly funny trying to get on Peggy Sue. In fact, it was so hilarious that we forgot just how cold the Pacific water was – much colder than the Atlantic at 72◦.  We wore ourselves out, enjoyed the sun.

Matt enjoying some down time.

Matt enjoying some down time.

A tasty pulled pork dinner with homemade buns and a night of dominoes.

We had planned to leave the next day to either head to either the other side of this island or a different island within the Las Perlas chain.  But, that was after everyone woke up, had breakfast, and enjoyed a leisurely morning.  However, around 0630, a fishing boat came by screaming “hola, hola, hola.” So, I went outside to see what he wanted.  He told me that we were in the middle of the flight path and had to move in 15 minutes.  I tried to tell him in Spanish that everyone was sleeping and we would move as soon as we could.  After all we had been here for 2.5 days already and didn’t have a problem.

A few hours later, another official looking boat came up with a super nice woman named “Adrian.”  She was incredibly kind and so pleasant!  She asked us to move as soon as we could, in English, and informed us that their largest island transit plane was due to arrive soon.  She also said that most of the moorings are owned by home owners who use them on the weekends.  As we were chatting, a military boat with 3-armed militia came up and “encouraged” us to move.  Ok, ok, we got it!

Military and Adrian trying to get Sugar Shack to move

Military and Adrian trying to get Sugar Shack to move

We pulled up anchor and were escorted, by the military boat to another mooring.  45 minutes later a pretty large mega yacht started hovering around us.  Humph.  After about 30 minutes, they grabbed the mooring next to us.  Another 30 minutes later, their dinghy came over and informed us that we are on their mooring ball.  Drat, what are the odds!  They were very pleasant about it and let us finish breakfast before we moved again.  In our defense, the moorings are not marked “private” nor did they have names written on them.

So, we picked up anchor and moved to the other side of Isla Contadora.  It so happens to be the other side of the airstrip.  However, we anchored off to the side of the flight path this time.  We made our way to shore where there was a lot of activity.  A hotel sits atop the cliff and overlooks the beach below.  We learned that they were hosting a jump fest called Pepe’s Island Boogie.  where you could jump out of a plane and land on the beach for $300.  That explains all the jumpers that fell from the sky every few hours – they were extraordinary to watch!  We walked around the The Point Hotel, had some beverages and watched the jumpers.

Of course, the boys had to chat it up with the jumper that landed as we were pulling Sweetie up the beach.  Evidently, only the organizers or instructors could land on this beach as it was a challenging descent.  Everyone else landed on the next beach over.

Michael and Wayne chatting with skydiving instructor

Michael and Wayne chatting with skydiving instructor

IMAGE COLLAGE: Top: Isla Contadora w/ Isla Chapera and Peggy Sue behind Sugar Shack.  Middle: Group Photo: Wayne, Stacy, Gene, me, Matt, Heather, Michael and Heather enjoying the princess seat.  Bottom: Stacy and Gene at bow and Stacy and I w/ jello shots.

Isla Contradora exploration

Isla Contradora exploration

It was time to send Stacy and Gene off.  They hopped on the Ferry Las Perlas which will take them back to Panama City where they will stay in luxury at the new W Hotel and then fly out of Panama City the next day.

After they left, we motored to a anchorage between Isla Mogo Mogo and Isla Chapera.   It is rumored that the TV show Survivor filmed on these islands a few years ago.  The rest of the day, we took it easy, had pork chops and spicy corn for dinner and called it an early night.  It was a quiet anchorage, but a wee bit hot at night when the wind died.

After they left, we motored to an anchorage between Isla Mogo Mogo and Isla Chapera.   It is rumored that the TV show Survivor filmed on these islands a few years ago.  The rest of the day, we took it easy, had pork chops and spicy corn for dinner and called it an early night.  It was a quiet anchorage, but a wee bit hot at night when the wind died.

Michael enjoying a cool breeze under Sugar Shack

Michael enjoying a cool breeze under Sugar Shack

Las Perlas Islands Visited:

  • Isla Contadora
  • Isla Chapala
  • Isla Mogo Mogo

Up next we travel to La Playita and say goodbye to Wayne, Heather, and Michael.