We recently had a seven-day catamaran charter at the Pearl Islands, Panama, with a wonderful Latin American family. This is the account of this spectacular adventure:
Set sail Friday at 9 a.m. Amador Causeway. Our catamaran charter at the Pearl Islands begins
35 nautical miles separate the northern part of the Las Perlas Archipelago from Panama City. After a few hours of navigation, we entered the Archipelago of Las Perlas from the north, passing in front of the Pachequilla rock and its banana harvest and then Pacheca Island with its local community of frigatebirds.
First stop: Bartolomé Island at 2:30 pm. We went on an expedition around this little island. According to the captain’s ranking, Isla Bartolomé is among his top 3. That day we spent the night anchored to the south of Contadora Island in front of La Sueca beach (nudist beach).
On Saturday we got up early and decided to move the boat a few meters from the shore at a depth of 2 meters (6.56 ft), in this way we went down to the beach while some went snorkeling from the catamaran. Subsequently, we sailed to Chapera Island, anchored to the south of the island with a spectacular sunset, while we enjoyed a gin and tonic and a variety of snacks. We were able to see what was coming with the crescent moon; therefore, we knew that on the last night of our stay (a full moon), we were going to have a simultaneous show with the full moon rising in the east and the sunset in the west.
Sunday at the beach and Monday discovering the San Telmo submarine
On Sunday, we woke up in Chapera and took the dinghy down to conquer the island’s beach while enjoying tropical fruit snacks. Later, we sailed to Vivero Island at an average speed of 8.5 knots. We gybed in the open sea with a breeze to continue sailing under sail; we lined up to enter the cove of the island’s anchorage under pure sail with the sunset in front of us. Suddenly, we caught two Spanish mackerel just for dinner! When we reached the cove we dropped anchor and, with what little light was left, the captain filleted both fish to maintain freshness and make ceviche—it couldn’t be fresher!
On Monday, we wanted to get to the San Telmo submarine at the southern end of the archipelago. The crew started the engines at 5:30 am and we made a quick stop at Isla Caracoles with its small cay. The cay began to disappear with the tide, so we raised anchor at 8:30 am and set sail to San Telmo Island. After that, we had a good sail off these beautiful and unexplored coasts. We caught a dorado and the captain filleted it and made his customary ceviche, this time with avocado. Then, we visited the San Telmo submarine and had a BBQ lunch. At 2 pm we set sail back north to spend the night south of Bolaños Island. Very good anchorage, one of the calmest of the entire trip. There was even Wi-Fi!
Amazing snorkeling and uninhabited islands: pleasures of a catamaran charter at the Pearl Islands!
On Thursday we first went to Boyarena Island, which disappears at low tide. Here, the family set the record for the best snorkeling. When the tide rose and the island gradually disappeared, we raised anchor and headed to the Mogo Mogo cove, which is only accessible with the rising tide. This island has several beautiful beaches (several seasons of Survivor have been filmed here). Its waters are calm and crystalline, and the sand is always full of colorful shells.
¡Close encounter with whale sharks!
On Wednesday, we woke up on the beach in front of Chapera and enjoyed it all day. That afternoon, another company vessel arrived so we took advantage and ordered tonic water delivery for our gin and tonics.
After lunch, we raised anchor for a long sail to Pedro Gonzales Island on the west face of the archipelago. Just after departure, we saw a fin that looked like a large shark. It moved serenely, so we approached and were surprised to see it was a whale shark. Soon more appeared on the horizon—there must have been over 50 around us.
The rest of the sail to Pedro Gonzales was pleasant under sail. Five nautical miles out, we caught another Spanish mackerel—the largest of the trip. That night we stayed in Don Bernardo cove, which offered excellent wave protection. It was a full moon night, and we enjoyed sierra carpaccio with wasabi and soy.
At dawn on Thursday, we set sail early to anchor at Isla Señora and enjoy the morning before dropping the family off at the Pearl Islands marina, where they stayed a few extra days. To sum up, an experience to never forget!
Want to see more of our adventure? Check this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsjWE-l_RB0[/embed>Follow us on social media:
