Parida Islands - first group in Panama

Gamez Island, Parida Archipelago, Panama

We left Golfito, Costa Rica at the end of July.  I had very little time to prepare once Courage decided that we should leave that evening for Panama.  We thought we’d be out for maybe 2 weeks before getting back to mainland and another store.  We ran to the local fruit and vegetable stand (pretty nice large store, but only fruit and vegetables).  We bought $106 of food.  I went by a

Panaderia (bakery) on my way walking back to the boat, so bought some bread, rolls, and cookies as a bonus, and we were off.  No cans, boxes, or other supplements.  Fortunately we did have a reserve on the boat.

We left during a thunderstorm in the evening.  Beautiful evening, but couldn’t see a thing!  By morning we arrived at a gorgeous set of islands, the Parida Islands.  We were aiming for a little harbor that looked very protected, but as we rounded the corner and saw the little fishing village on a dark sand short beach and also saw the most gorgeous large white sandy beach lined with palm trees and green waters.  We aimed right on Gamez Island and didn’t regret it.

  

We were anchored so close that the kids could swim to the beach. The water was so clear, we had fresh coconuts, and we could walk across the island to the other side.  Cassidy kayaked around the island in about an hour.  

We bought some lobsters from a local guy that came by on his kayak; not so much that we wanted lobsters, but thought we’d support his efforts.  









During a couple of days, we had tourist boats coming by for a few hours each day.  It was fun to meet the people.  One group was studying tourism.  They loved watching the kids swim since some of them couldn’t swim even as adults.  We made a campfire and shared marshmallows with them to roast and brought our paddleboard out for them to try.   They were trying to take a picture with Vitality (it seems that everyone in Central America likes pictures with the blond kids), but she was too shy and scared, so we traded out Innocence who loves the attention.  It seems they just wanted a blond kid.  We spent a few days at this island, ideal pictures and a wonderful time!!

We headed out to a nearby island, Bolaros, which was also quite nice.  Courage found a large bamboo pole and was able to shake and twist free a fresh coconut from out of the tree.   We sat under the shade of our umbrella and I took some ideal pictures again.  

The kids had gathered 4 beautiful crabs with purple pinchers, orange legs and black bodies.  A tourist group came through.  One guy was from Santa Barbara and studied crabs, so showed us how to tell if they are male or female based on their abdomens.

In the afternoon we went for a cool-off swim.  I don’t know if I can explain this, but we had a good laugh at my expense.  We were body surfing waves and I jumped forward as the wave was breaking behind me in order to catch it with some momentum.  There was a large undertow and the wave basically stopped in its tracks as it approached me.  I on the other hand got the momentum I was looking for and plunged forward doing an immediate belly flop right onto the sand.  I was laughing so hard I couldn’t get up before the next wave broke over me.  Cassidy had a good view as my witness.

Shannon