Places to stay
Dear Luke and Leia,
We are surviving in the Pearl Islands these next few days….
Surviving? Yes, because this is where the some episodes of the hit television series “Survivor” was located. So naturally with your dad visiting, we had to see what it was all about. We had heard that Isla Contadora is beautiful.
Planning the trip and seeing the options available we decided to use both forms of transportation to Contadora, by boat and by plane.
Getting to Contadora by boat
The boat leaves from the dock on Amador and is a large catamaran with indoor and outdoor seating. The ride was smooth and rather fast as boat travel goes, taking about 2 hours. We made a short stop at Saboga, a neighboring island, and then continued on to Contadora where tenders took us ashore.
Our hotel in the Pearl Islands
We were met by the hotel staff and taken directly from the airport to our hotel. The hotel, Villa Romantica, is located on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Palm trees and a rocky cliff off to our right added to the island’s mystery.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the hotel grounds and beach area near Villa Romantica. I loved the rocky jetty and the cave the pounding surf created in the cliffside. We saw numerous crabs of all different colors grasping the rocks for dear life and the sea pummeled them.
Touring Contadora
The next day we rented a modified golf cart and drove all over to check out the island. The island is not too big, but it took us all day because we wanted to see everything that Contadora had to show us.
Pearl Islands to Panama by plane
After a restful morning, we were shuttled to the island’s small airport for our short 20 minute flight home. The small plane was loaded and off we went. The views from the plane were wonderful, both seeing other small islands of the Pearl Islands and finally the city of Panama.
We had a great time. Is that something you might enjoy sometime? What part would you enjoy the most?
We really miss you guys. Hope you are doing well in school.
Love,
Nana and Pap
P.S. – Here’s a great video of our hotel.
♥
This looks like a fun visit, nice and laid back. Love the Survivor reference. We’re big fans of that show. 🙂
Hi Karen, Fun? No way, it was heavy exhausting work taking photos of the beauty while enjoying the surf, sun and a few glasses of Sauvignon Blanc chilled to a nice 45 degrees. I mean things were very difficult at the restaurants because of all the fresh fish choices, I sweated making the wrong choice. Might need another workout like that very soon.
I had to laugh when I saw the title of this post. Then, I took a look and noticed how well you guys “survived” the situation. One of the things I regret of my visit to Panama was not visiting any of the islands. This one looks so beautiful.
Haha – yeah, Ruth, we were really “roughing it!”
I can sympathize about your regret. We lived there for 2 1/2 years and the San Blas Islands are still on our bucket list.
After seeing the Pearl Islands on Survivor, it’s hard to imagine it as a place that real people visit. Thanks for sharing your experience on #theweeklypostcard
Jennifer, what is really cool is when you are up in the plane, you can see all the small, dense tropical islands around where the contestants would have lived, but the luxury of the hotels where the camera crews and producers would have stayed. Nice place to work I’d say.
That was cool you got to travel to one of the Survivor locations. Such beautiful beaches and views, but I think I wouldn’t be able to take a plane as small as that.
I rather agree with you, Constance, because I dislike both crowds and heights. It helps that the flight is only 15-20 minutes long. Many people prefer to take a boat, though. Both ways, I always take medication because my tummy gets queasy easily.
Contadura looks very beautiful. Love your photos.
It is a pretty island, Lyndall. I’m sure the others are just as pretty. It’s too bad they are so hard to get to or we’d have seen them as well.
What a beautiful island! And that view of the island is absolutely gorgeous! And small planes like that always look so cool! I mean just look at that view! Great post! 🙂
I love to fly, so a small plane was perfect to take closer photos. As for the island, I must go back. There are several others in the chain that you can visit by boats from Contadora. I sure did need more time in those islands and also a different date so I can whale watch as well. Thanks for your very kind words.
Gorgeous pictures! Although I love the sea so much so I’m definitely biased. 🙂
Thanks, Liz. We have been there twice and both times the views were spectacular.