The Pearl Islands are a group of over 200 islands and islets, most of which are unnamed and uninhabited. The area is known for its fishing and marine life, and adventure travelers come to enjoy the secluded islands and deserted beaches.
Isla San José is a private island and being 43.5 sq km, is the second largest of the Pearl Islands. There is only one hotel with 14 guest rooms on the island, which gives it a wonderful remote feel. The beautiful forested island is mountainous and rugged, with multiple white-sand beaches and coves, as well as a myriad of birds and land animals such as tortoises, wild boars, goats, and armadillos, to name a few. Isla San José has an interesting history and was formerly used as a testing ground for chemical weapons by US, Canadian, and British forces. Today, the waters around Isla San José remain a prime spot for fishing, and the underwater marine life is impressive as well.
Our trip to Isla San José started out with an adventurous ride in a small Cessna Caravan plane from Panama City to the island, and terminated with a soft landing on Isla San José's dirt landing strip. We found it interesting that while checking into our flight, Air Panama made quite a stink about Greg's fishing tackle and reels, and requested him to take out each and every item for inspection before allowing them to be brought on the plane. Yet, once we boarded the plane, literally within seconds, the engines were fired up and the pilot took off, without anyone even greeting us or telling us to put on a seat belt. In fact, Tutu's seatbelt turned out to be malfunctioning and became unlatched at any small tug of the belt. Once in the air, the pilot used a piece of newspaper to shield the sun from shining in his eyes and help with the glare. I was about to offer him my sunglasses, but then decided against this option, thinking that I didn't want to distract him and figured that he knew what he was doing. Needless to say, while the plane ride was exhilarating and it was fun to see the beautiful islands below, I think we were all quite relieved upon our safe landing. After having lived in Panama for over 9 months now, it is still somewhat perplexing to me how Panamanians at times go to such great efforts to enforce some rules, yet seem neglectful of others. To most of us, safety on an airplane (including asking passengers to utilize seatbelts and to make sure these seatbelts are functioning) would be a priority, yet in our experience with this particular flight, this was definitely not the case. It's all part of the adventure...!
Our time at Isla San José proved to be a wonderful treat. The island is beautiful, the beaches and coastline views are stunning, and it was fun to see the goats, armadillos, javelinas, and numerous beautiful birds. Upon our arrival we were the only guests at the resort, so it was a special treat to spend our first day and evening on the island and have it all to ourselves! Our subsequent days were spent lounging and reading books by the pool, exploring the beach, looking for shells, snorkeling, fishing, kayaking and playing dominos and card games in the evenings. One day we even explored the island on ATV's!
Best of all, was our quality time spent with Tutu and Papa. We are a very large family, and Tutu and Papa have 7 adult children and 6 grandchildren. When we are all together, there are 18 of us. What a treat is was to spend 6 wonderful days together and have them all to ourselves - we felt spoiled! We are so grateful they were able to take the time out of their busy lives and schedule back at home and come to Panama to visit us. Our memories and time spent together will be treasured forever!
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| This was Monica and Matt's first time flying on a small 14-seater airplane. So much fun to ride right behind the pilots and watch the scenery below! |
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| Flying over Isla San José, one of the many Pearl Islands off the Pacific coast of Panama. |
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| We've landed... Bienvenidos a Isla San José! |
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| As we're driving from the landing strip to Isla San José's only hotel, Hacienda del Mar, we come across this group of wild peccaries. |
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| The beautiful beach at Hacienda del Mar |
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| Hacienda del Mar's cliff-top wooden and bamboo cabins overlook the beautiful waters below. |
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| A view of the beach from our cliff-top cabin |
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| The lodge at Hacienda del Mar |
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| I spotted this miniature octopus (about 2 inches in diameter) during a beach walk the day we arrived. |
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| Beach Crab |
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| Monica and Matt head out for a swim. |
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| The beautiful beach at Hacienda del Mar |
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| Toucan |
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| These colorful guacamayas (macaws) could be seen and heard each day while we were on Isla San Jose. |
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| The colors on these macaws are spectacular! |
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| Monica and Matt found a rope swing - fun! |
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| Each afternoon Greg fished off a kayak. He caught this pargo early in the trip, and the kitchen staff cooked it up for dinner - delicioso! |
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| Beautiful Flowers |
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| tortoise |
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| Isla San José is filled with tons of mango trees, many of which were flowering and abundant with fruit. The bright yellows, oranges, and pinks on these flowers are really beautiful. |
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| Lots of Mangos |
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| I was barely able to capture a photo of this armadillo before it scooted off... |
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| One of the highlights of our time at Isla San José was exploring the island on ATV's. |
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| Matt and Greg are loving a great ride. |
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| Several dirt roads weave through Isla San José's dense forest, many of which lead to beautiful beaches. This picture was taken while riding one of the ATV's. |
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| After a nice ride through the forest, we ended up at this long expansive beach. |
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| Tutu rides her ATV on the beach. |
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| Monica and Papa |
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| At one point during our ride we came up against a giant tree stump that was blocking the road. We were all thinking, "Okay, looks like we'll need to turn around..." We were wrong. Our guide skillfully guided each of us (and our ATV's) up and over the tree stump. It's Tutu's turn this time! After having lived in Panama for 9 months now, I've grown accustomed to the attitude of most Panamanians in situations such as these. When a challenge or obstacle arises, there always seems to be a solution, and most Panamanians have an attitude of, "No problem, we'll take care of this". It is very refreshing, and Panamanians seems to be extraordinarily resourceful and creative. |
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| One of the many beautiful beaches we discovered during our ATV ride. |
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| We ride our ATV's up towards this cliff. Matt and Greg admire the beautiful view. |
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| A beautiful view below... |
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| The scenery and gorgeous coastline was breathtaking. Riding ATV's proved to be so much fun and a perfect way to explore the island. |
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| Christina, Greg, Monica & Matt |
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| Beautiful water below! |
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| We spotted several goats during our ATV ride. |
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| It's the dry season in Panama, and the roads are quite dusty. As you can see from this photo, we were absolutely filthy after our ATV ride. |
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| Time to jump in the pool after our ATV ride! |
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| A great view from Tutu and Papa's nearby cabin at Hacienda del Mar |
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| There are dramatic tide fluctuations at Hacienda del Mar, and each day we looked forward to seeing the changes. Although the water wasn't super clear when we were there, the snorkeling was fun and we saw many colorful fish, stingrays, beautiful shells, and even an eel. |
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| Another beautiful view from Hacienda del Mar. |
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| Vibrantly colored crab shell |
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| Beautiful Flower |
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| I spotted this spiny-tailed iguana just outside our cabin door. |
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| Spiny-Tailed Iguana |
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| Tutu and Papa enjoy some hammock time. |
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| I enjoyed exploring the island by taking early morning walks before breakfast. During one of my walks I spotted these two goats - precious! |
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| One of my early morning walks ended at Playa Escondida, a nearby beach known for having good snorkeling. Just as I stepped foot on the sand, I spotted this crocodile, who quickly slithered into the ocean water. Until then, I didn't know that crocodiles could swim in salt water... |
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| One of the trees I passed on my morning walk was covered in these green spiky balls - so interesting! |
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| Later in the day, Papa and I enjoyed snorkeling and combing the beach for shells at Playa Escondida (Yes, this is the beach where I spotted the crocodile earlier that same morning!). Greg, Matt and Monica kayaked from Hacienda del Mar to Playa Escondida to join us. |
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| A view of our cabin at Hacienda del Mar |
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| A view from our cabin at low tide. |
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| Papa on the kayak One afternoon Papa, Greg, Matt and I decided to kayak over to a nearby cove to do some snorkeling - super fun! |
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| Greg and Matt do a little kayak fishing along the way. |
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| We paddled our kayaks up to this gorgeous cove. |
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| Papa and I had some of our best snorkeling around these rocks at this beautiful cove. |
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| Matt and Greg take a break from kayaking to hang out at our newly discovered beach. |
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| This particular toucan, whose name is Lucas, loves hanging out at Hacienda del Mar, especially around lunchtime! |
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| Monica |
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| Tutu and Papa |
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| Seafood is abundant on the Pearl Islands, and we enjoyed this paella one evening for dinner. |
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| Christina and Papa |
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| Christina and Tutu |
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| These beautiful birds were seen each morning at breakfast time. |
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| Colorful Orchids |
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| Monica and Tutu |
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| Matt and Tutu |
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| Shells collected during our stay at Isla San José |
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