Las Perlas

Las Perlas islands are a stark contrast to the busy life of Panama
City. Tropical dry forrests skirted by rocky shores, and only
sparsely populated by small fishing villages, you can really get a
sense of being alone on a deserted island here.

One of Isla Bayonettas protected leeward beaches

These islands were once the domain of an indigenous tribe of skilled
pearl divers under the rule of "King Toe". This all tragically
changed in 1515 when Gaspar de Morales and Francisco Pizarro arrived
in the islands and conquered the people. It appears that the
indigenous population did not survive this encounter.
The islands on the other hand, seem to have been left alone, with only
a hand full being inhabited. Small plots are cultivated by locals, as
well as subsistance fishing at the villages.
Pearls are still illusive here, but gorgeous shells and sea beans are
abundant. Brightly coloured scallops, cockles, and cowries can be
found on many of the beaches, especially the western side of Isla
Bayoneta (if you don't mind some surf and the brutal equatorial sun
bearing done on you).
We found far more sea beans on this beach than we have in Kuna Yala
and all the Caribean islands combined. They come in three distinct
forms, with a wide range of sizes, shapes, and colours. You'd
struggle to find two exactly the same. On Bristol Rose, we polish
these sea beans while underway.

The real draw to these islands for me, has been it's past use as the
location for the filming of Survivor: Panama. Ever since I began
practicing primitive skills, I have inevitably been approached by
friends and family suggesting I should go on Survivor. This is
probably the closest I'll ever get, and it's an opportunity to visit
the exact location to test my skills against their experience.
My challenge was to be dropped off shore of Isla Mogo-Mogo amoungts
the submerged rocks and shoals, swim ashore with only a knife and
build a fire before the sun went down, using only resources I could
find on the island.

Video of this challenge to be posted soon.

Isla Mogo-Mogo's leeward beach


Scouring the tidal pools at low tide

Isla Mogo Mogo also provides me an opportunity to try out some seafood
that lends itself perfectly to the coastal or island primitive. Tidal
rockpools are an extremely common feature of these islands, where the
tides can drop as much as 15 feet. This opens up a whole range of
food that can be easily collected, from simple snails to crabs and
fish. One such organism is the humble limpet (Order
Archaeogastropoda). The variety we found was quite large, up to 2
inches in diameter. These shells can be collected by using a rock to
either push firmly at their sides until they dislodge (or strike them
carefully in the same place, be careful not to crack their shells).
Place them on a broad, flat rock and cover with hot coals. Their
shells will actually steam them. Once cooked, remove their shell and
the bubble of guts on top and eat the chewy disc that is left. I found
these to be surprisngly good and tasted like BBQ octopus, and not at
all fishy as I anticipated. They're also a safe and very abundant
food source that can be collected with minimal effort. These can be
found worldwide in varying forms, and make up the bulk of shells found
in middens in the UK.

I have thought of possible ways to make them more tender, and the use
of an Umu or Pit Oven may produce a more tender result, but this
method would not be justified by a few limpets. You would probably
want to deshell a few and place them in with fish, clams, and anything
else you have to cook. There is interest on our boat amoungst the
crew to try this method at the next beach BBQ.

Adult Female Frigate Bird