We departed Coiba Island Wednesday morning. After 30 hours of cruising, we arrived at Isla Contadora in Las Perlas Islands, Panama. Las Perlas is an archipelago of about 200 islands big and small and numerous reefs and beaches, but only a few population centers. These islands are 40 �- 70 nm from Panama City. Contadora is supposedly the most developed island in Las Perlas. We stopped here because we needed a few provisions after being out to sea for over a week. Well, there is no dingy dock, but we managed to moor our skiff on a mooring ball and received a panga ride into the beach to do some shopping. The entire quaint village encompasses about 200 yards. The size of THE tienda (store) was about 15' x 15'; maybe ten, five-foot shelves. The #1 item on our grocery list was coffee; none. (We are now rationing out the coffee beans)! The only items on our list we were able to obtain were water, beer, and a bag of pretzels. Not being able to find lettuce or veggies for dinner, we stopped at the one (of 2) restaurants in town. Happened to be a German menu; who would have thought? Excellent food in a beautiful setting (outdoor restaurant), but we probably shouldn't have taken the extra time.......

Note: Las Perlas Islands is where the 2006 Survivor TV series was filmed. Contadora was where the 400 TV crew members were housed. The outer island of Saboga, Chapera, and Mogo Mogo is where the actual filming took place.

NOW this is when our own �"Survivor�" episode begins. After picking up our few groceries and having a bite to eat, we proceed back to the beach where our panga driver was supposed to be waiting to take us back to our skiff which, remember, is on the mooring buoy out in the bay. Nope, no panga driver; no one on the beach, it's beginning to get dark, and it's blowing about 25 mph. BUT there was a dive skiff moored close to shore. We managed to find the divers belonging to the skiff and explained our situation as best we could in half Spanish, half English. �"No problemo!�" BUT he doesn't have a key to his skiff with him. The skiff is tied to a long rope which is secured to a mooring buoy. Four-foot waves are crashing on the beach and we have to walk out to the dive skiff to climb in; fortunately, this water is WARM! We were in water up to our waists, but the five of us somehow managed to get in the skiff; it was quite the site! Now we're in the dive skiff, the diver asks for our skiff key, he puts it between his teeth and dives in. He swims out to our skiff, starts her up and comes back to retrieve us. We all manage again to transfer skiffs in high seas, maneuver quickly away from the dive skiff, and our diver jumps back in the water and swims back to his boat! We all send out a big cheer and we're on our way back to Chinook which is moored on the opposite side of the island. Fortunately, our �"Survivor�" episode doesn't end with eliminating anyone!

Today we will depart for mainland Panama. Marinas are few and far between in Panama. There are basically only two marinas, which are very close to one another, but they are both full to the max right now. We are going to anchor outside them with hopes of an opening in the near future. Bill and Rory fly out on Sunday so we want to get closer to Panama City. We will greatly miss our fun, adventurous friends!