ISLA CONTADORA IN THE PERLAS ISLANDS IN PANAMA

We had barely left the anchorage in Las Brisas we saw humpback whales, wow, didn’t know they are here in Panama.

It was a beautiful day and the occasional humpback whales breaching added to it. We had a good start but the closer we go to the island we encountered an awful current against us, we were motor sailing with 1.9 knots and sometime even less through the fairly calm water. Our ETA showed way after dark, not good. Then thunder clouds popped up out of nowhere, there was no way to outrun them with that speed. We did watch on the radar how they approached and a little change of course help a little, we didn’t get the brunt of the storm and we missed the lightning bolts by a mile but boy did it rain.

As we got closer to the islands the current disappeared, guess it was tidal change and we did drop the anchor at 4 pm. This is a whole new ballgame learning to anchor in 14 to 18 foot tidal changes. It was just a little passed low tide so we dropped the hook in 15 feet of water to be safe.

It felt good to be in our style and environment again, at anchor in front of a beautiful island with beautiful beaches. Although the beaches are enormous at low tide and disappear at high tide.

Our first sunset was beyond spectacular and we had a calm night. It started to get a little bouncy in the morning and a fresh breeze headed out way from the North. 

We met Giny at 8am at the Executiva beach, which is the most favorite swim beach on the island. It was a happy hello and 5 minutes later we arrived at her house where Werner happily greeted us as well. My laundry went into the machine and there we sat for hours just chatting. We had to keep an eye on the tide so that the dingy will not float off. Wheels on the dinghy here are a must and it can be quite a long tow up the beach or back into the water.

Playa Executiva seems to be the favorite of all beaches

This guy takes his dogs for a swim every day

View of the nicest hotel on Contadora from Paradsie, unfortunately
the owners just closed it down and it's up for sale

When we returned to the boat it was pretty rough. Our neighbor we noticed dropped his mooring and moved around to other side. Looks like he had been here for a while and so we pulled anchor and followed to the other side which was not affected by the rough swells. We met Cristo a few days later and he did tell us that when he moves for us to follow, thanks bud and that’s just what we did in the 3 weeks we were on the island. Sometimes it seemed we did the yo-yo back and forth almost daily.

Second time in Executiva in the  morning I noticed a juvenile pelican trying to eat algae off the hull on transom. It kept looking up at me and talking to me. Then when it was along side boat:

This time of the year the South side of the island is unpredictable as tropical waves and weather out of the East can hit at no notice and make it downright dangerous. We were caught in one and had a very rough night, when the sun peeked across the horizon we noticed we were dangerously close to the rocks behind us. Not because we had dragged but do to stretched out chain and low tide. We pulled anchor ASAP and did the yo-yo trip back to the North side for a day it seemed.

 

The south side of Contadora

Mar & Oro Hotel best place to get ashore, or shall I say least challenging

 
  

  

  

  

Saboga Island in Background

  

We had a great time catching up with Giny and Werner, had them over for dinner and some dinners were spend in their house but that always depended on the tide. A couple of times it was such high tide the waves were breaking ashore on the south side we could not attempt a dinghy landing without getting turtled, meaning capsizing dinghy including us, so we would cancel our visit ashore. After about 8 days of yo-yoing we finally had a very calm night and slept like a logs.

 

8 bucks for this  nice Dorado from local fishermen

Made Hawaiian Poki

The view from the anchorage was on

Caught 7 of these huge trigger, 1 was hooked the others broke the hook

either side breath taking and I almost refused to go down below at any time there could be whales breaching out of the water. We had no idea that the whales are here in Perlas. Every June to around the 15^th of October these giant mammals migrate from the North and the South some 3000 miles to the Las Perlas Islands to give birth and mate. They give birth in about 30 to 40 feet of water that would be where we are anchored.

  

Blue footed boobie

Dolphins were a daily sight as well

We had a mama and baby surface about 60 feet next to the boat and there was one that stayed about 300 feet behind our boat in shallow water. She stayed at same spot for a long while. I watched her intently and wondered what she was doing then all of a sudden a tiny fin popped up on the surface as a new born baby took its first breath, wow. I witnessed the birth of a baby hump back whale how kewl is that. Immediately the mom’s pectoral fin came out of the water and gently she rolled around then the baby was surfacing, mama rolling around the baby, baby surfacing and slowly disappearing out of my view. Wow. Did you know that their flukes/tail is like the finger print for us, for dolphins it’s the dorsal fin.

One evening I sat on the bow watching the sunset and one hour after dark heard the PFFFFFF breath of the whales. At the same time the phosphorescence was playing with the mooring line it was magical. Another PFFFF and PFFFFF noise much closer now and then the magnificent humpback whales back illuminated with the phosphorescence as they glide about 60 feet in front of the bow of Paradise into the current. Couldn’t stop smiling and stayed positioned on the bow for hours until my eyes could not stay open anymore.

Giny and Werner hadn’t been in the States in several years and needed to go back for some medical check ups, problem is finding house sitters. When we heard that Sid and I looked at each other and at same time we said: “we can house-sit for you”, we are here already. So after a little over 3 weeks in Contadora we pulled anchor and sailed to San Carlos to the new Vista Mar Marina. We had a wonderful sail and at one point Sid said: "I see 3 boats on the radar but visually can only see 2?" He was right, so we kept looking for a 3rd boat. I was on the helm when I all of a sudden saw a big lancha's bow shoot way out of the water and pointed at it saying there it is. But as I said there it is I realized it was a breaching humpback whale wow. He came by us fairly close continually jumping way out of the water wow. 

The closer we got the marina the better the sail was and the water flattened to a mirror. 

Whale Splash

Sid trying to spot the 3rd boat

Paradise found her new home for the next 3 months of which we will be in Contadora for 6 to 8 weeks. We moved lots of stuff off the boat into the house already, in regards to my frozen stuff, seasonings and my sewing machine as I will sew projects especially a new sun shade.

The marina is not quit full yet but word goes around that it is a reasonable marina. Our monthly bill at Shelter Bay was $ 866 including electricity, expensive for a 36 foot boat.  At the Vista Marina if you pay 3 months in advance which we did we paid pretty much what we paid in 1 months in Shelter Bay but we get 3 months. Amazing. For electricity they also charge ½ than Shelter Bay did. It’s a little rolly but we felt comfortable leaving Paradise in this marina. Well, lets see when we return to her LOL.

View from Dock

Approaching thunderstorm

It's nothing to see 60 fishing pangas come and go from this beach.
Here you can buy fresh fish all day long

On the 28^th of June we rented a car and drove out to Shelter Bay Marina to pick up our sunbrella fabric and any other thing we needed for the island life. We also collected our money for the outboard we sold and did ask the marina office why we had not been billed for our storage. We were told that we had a pending issue and they put it on hold for that (they are working on our refund money they still owe us, and we have left the marina several months ago). It was great to see Carol and Greg, by the way Carol is working the store again and has turned it into the Gourmet Tienda it used to be when she ran it a few years back. There were no other cruisers there from our time, all had left and the rest were spending rainy season in the US.

We drove back to the boat and left early in the morning to Panama City with all our stuff to bring to the island. Did the needed shopping, LOL, ran out of room in the car and had to drop all off at the hotel before shopping for some more, plus returning the car. Back in the hotel we had to pack and label everything. Sid got firsthand knowledge now what Deb and I do when we are in town. It was funny I felt like being with Deb in town, except this Deb had a mustache LOL.

  

Anita, Teri and friends had moved already into the hotel and so did Melania. Yes they all came to see us take off for the ferry to Contadora. Ida joined us later for dinner. It was a fun evening, everybody enjoyed it.

6 am Sugar the bellboy knocked on the door and took all our 2 hotel carts full of stuff down stairs and into the hotel bus and shuttles us to the ferry just down the road.

Before everything goes on the ferry they check every bag and every package. We had 12 boxes and suite cases so they charged us extra per bag. The ferry left on time and we were told that if the Captain spots dolphins or whales he will stop so that we can take photos. We were gone but 10 minutes when he slowed down and we had whales right next to us, so kewl. The ferry by the way is superfast, does up to 26 knots and is comfortable. 1 ½ hours later we arrived in Contadora. We had soooo much stuff that the truck that drives all luggage up the beach to a receiving area, kept our stuff on truck and drove it all directly to the house, just on time before a major thunderstorm hit.

 

First dinner was a party with Giny and Werner's friends

Sid grilling the lobster and Werner cutting his fresh baked bread

  

Giny

Road to house

View from Patio

  

Kitty, Browny and Elisabeth, 3 cats to feed, cuddle and schmooz up

  

We were moved in and spent a wonderful week with Giny and Werner getting to know the house and still catching up. They are the nicest couple. I don’t think I have mentioned yet that we met them in 98 in the Sea of Cortez at Thanksgiving in Agua Verde. Neither one of our two boats had a Thanksgiving Turkey and barely any veggies and since I had just caught a nice size cabrilla we invited them to a Thanksgiving Fish dinner. While in Mazatlan months later we celebrated Xmas and New Years together and stayed in contact ever since and here we are house sitting while they are in Oregon with family and friends doing their doctor visits.

But the CLOD life I will save for later as we are still here enjoying this different Paradise.