R
Central American and the Carribean




Castaway Off the Coast of Panama

Islas Secas, a privately owned archipelago of 16 small islands located in the Gulf of Chiriqui off Panama's Pacific Coast, provides a total island escape--amenities included--for the adventurous beachcomber.

By Rod Lopez-Fabrega and Mary Ashcraft

With all due respect to actor Tom Hanks, his fictional experiences on a deserted island in the film "Cast Away" would have been considerably more comfortable and only just a bit less remote if it had all happened on Islas Secas, a tropical Eden off the coast of Panama.



The significant difference is that idyllic Islas Secas, a privately owned string of 16 small islands located in the Gulf of Chiriqui off Panama's Pacific Coast is very real and, thanks to the generosity of owner Michael Klein, is now accessible not just to his family and friends but to any adventurous beachcombers eager for a genuine castaways experience.



In pre-colonial times the home of a uniquely isolated island culture, the Secas have been mostly uninhabited since then except by iguanas, coatis, a great variety of tropical birds, land crabs and a veritable bouillabaisse of surrounding sea life. Except for an occasional fishing charter, no one came ashore until adventurer Linda Klein in search of clear waters and tropical solitude spent a blissful three months exploring the islands. She alerted her brother Michael who came and was entranced. He stayed for what he describes as "magical days" that included a close encounter with a breaching mother whale and her calf and days of exploring and snorkeling in crystalline waters. Michael Klein is the surprisingly young and outstandingly successful founder of Core Wealth, a hedge fund manager, and previously he was the founder of MIBEK Corporation, developers of financial analysis and modeling software and CEO of eGroups with over 50 million Internet users. He does not waste time making decisions. He learned the islands were for sale and he bought them as a getaway place for himself, his family and their friends.

Being a man of vision, Michael soon felt he could not keep this paradise all to himself. He embarked on the challenging task of turning Secas into a unique kind of resort he could share with those adventurous, ecologically aware people who have either had their fill of or on principle do not appreciate the trendy Club Meds and the glitz of the Caribbean casino scene or the pretentions of the Marrakech experience.



Inaugurated in mid-December, 2004, the Islas Secas resort is based on Cavada, the largest of the islands. A placid and sheltered bay holds the floating dock to which the resort's small boats can tie up, tides allowing. Pacific tides average 13 feet with a maximum range of nearly 23 feet, so the staff keeps a close eye on water levels when sending guests out on boating, snorkeling or kayaking expeditions. Guests first arriving by boat are met by an impressive lineup of staff including ground keepers, the dive master, kitchen crews, two chefs, and, of course, Guy and Deborah Bunting, the attractive, friendly and always solicitous hosts of Islas Secas. Guests arriving on the resort's private plane after the one-hour flight from Panama City will be carted down from the island's landing strip, carved from a high plateau, for a welcome by the Buntings and their staff.


Accommodations are in extraordinary pre-fabricated casitas that Michael has likened to Arab pavilions. These round structures, manufactured by the Pacific Yurts Company, are basically very elaborate semi permanent tents set on concrete slabs. Windows encircle the structures in order to catch gentle ocean breezes from any direction. Interiors are simple and elegant with the natural colors of the earth, wood and wicker furniture, beds covered with white quilts printed with swaying palm trees, and a romantic and functional mosquito netting over the bed, all resting on a brilliantly painted floor the color of ripe peaches. Everything else is crisp white, and in the spacious and well-appointed bathrooms shower nooks are painted in the colors of warm tropical flowers.

Each casita has its own solar collector, providing ample power for low-voltage lights, hot water and small fans located over the beds. Thanks to continuous tropic breezes, no air-conditioning is required. Each casita sits besides its own thatched ranchito complete with hammocks and seating, and each casita is surrounded by thick tropical landscaping for maximum privacy from its neighbors but with openings overlooking splendid vistas of beach and sky.



Michael's analogy of a fabled Arabian pavilion is not far off the mark, a pleasing and unexpected surprise in this remote place. There are only six casitas on the island plus one larger one that Michael uses but that is available at extra cost for guests when the owner is away. The maximum number of guests on the island is 14, though in a pinch as many as 20 can be accommodated. Additional buildings hidden in the forest house the staff, laundry and storage facilities.
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Hosts Guy and Deborah have accommodations on land, but prefer to live on their boat. Both Californians, the Buntings are real boat-based adventurers, for years having explored Pacific Islands from Polynesia to you-name-it as well as many countries in South and Central America. Now land-based with their current assignment as hosts of Islas Secas, they still live on their boat. It is anchored offshore on another bay facing the beach and terrace where the resort's dining and happy hour take place. With all that experience in fending for themselves, as boaters must do, the Buntings are equipped to handle any situation that might arise on the island and repair almost anything that goes awry.




Activities can be as varied as the guest wishes. Needless to say, Islas Secas can be a place for total escape. Guy Bunting describes it: "This is a place for someone who really and truly wants to get away. To me that is the largest draw--and if you are really adventurous, the diving is truly spectacular, the sport fishing around here is world-class, snorkeling and kayaking are steps away from your door. The ocean waters around here are not depleted just as Panama is not depleted from too much tourism. It's not a Galapagos that has been over-exploited. Basically, there's NO ONE HERE. There are NO FOOTPRINTS ON THE BEACHES."

Tom Hanks, please take note in case you want a genuine castaway experience.



An unforgettable day can be an excursion to nearby Pargo Island or Cocos Island. Early in the morning, the resort's launch will take a couple on the 15-minute ride to either island along with picnic lunches, beach umbrella, beach towels, snorkeling gear, and kayaks if the guests wish, and leave them for a pickup five or six hours later. Pargo is everything anyone has ever dreamed a small deserted island to be, and there really are no footprints on the beach, except for the ones the guests will leave. There is flotsam to examine, and you might find a "Wilson" for conversation. Mostly there are powdery sand, shells, driftwood, palms, and interesting waters to explore from a kayak or under the surface.

For the serious fisherman, the resort has arrangements with Pesca Panama, a noted charter fishing operation. At additional cost, guests can be picked up for world-class sport fishing around such famed fishing holes as Hannibal Banks. Surfers also have the option of finding challenging surf at Morro Negro, a short ride away.



After a full day of swimming snorkeling, kayaking, or fishing in the island clear waters, it could possibly be the right time to call on Mikela and visit her hideaway spa in order to calm those overworked muscles. In her quiet spa station she offers a varied number of treatments for relaxation and skin treatments from which to choose. Choices include the Essential Wave Massage, Pineapple Puff facial, Un Cafecito body scrub, and the After Sun Soother Vino Tinto.

Every afternoon at five o'clock it's happy hour on Islas Secas. It's the time to gather at La Terraza, a beachside terrace, for a refreshing drink and to meet and mix with other guests and to exchange stories about their adventures that day. Deborah and Guy host the gathering, bringing their special talent for putting people at their ease while server and bartender José mixes cooling concoctions like Long Island Tea and Panamanian Punch. With guests making their own schedules, this might be the best time and place to meet the other castaway guests.



All meals are served Al fresco on La Terraza. The branches of a spreading mango tree protect diners from the sun, and a two-foot wall separates them from the beach and the hypnotizing sounds of neap and ebb tides. Two young and capable chefs are co-rulers of the kitchen, creating Nouvelle light and Classic cuisine. Maurice Belanger has wide knowledge of Northern Italian and Thai cuisine, and Jenny D. Guerra has expertise in Mediterranean and Panamanian cuisine. Maurice, with no sweet tooth, shies away from desserts, while Jenny loves the challenge of creating new desserts. The dishes are always a savory surprise, as well as a feast for the eyes. Jenny's studies as a graphic designer before launching into a cooking career has been applied to the presentation of individual courses at the Secas table. Examples from the repertoires of these two talented chefs might be: Ceviche Islas Secas, salmon filet served over romaine with cherry tomatoes, roasted yellow peppers, Manchego cheese and roasted garlic aioli, and to end the experience, a lemon pie made with freshly picked fruit from Islas Secas' lemon trees.



Getting there is easiest of all on Islas Secas' private plane, leaving from either Tocumen, Panama's international airport or Albrook Field, close to Panama City and formerly an American Airforce base in the days of the Canal Zone occupation. Secas flights can be coordinated with international arrivals at Tocumen. However, the air transfer on the resort's aircraft is an additional $400 roundtrip from Panama to Islas Secas and back. An alternate way is to depart from Albrook Field on either Aero Perlas or Turismo Aereo, both dependable regional airlines flying 20-passenger aircraft to David as well as to other destinations inside the country. David is the closest city on the Panama mainland to the Islas Secas archipelago. From David, transfer to the islands will be coordinated for a ride of two hours or more to the resort. Transfer is on the resort's trusty but unpretentious launch, Betty la Fea. With tongue-in-cheek, Betty the Homely was named after a plain but totally dependable Spanish TV Soap opera character. It's a bumpy ride on Betty across open waters, but an interesting one that passes many other islands and mangroves along the way.



It is highly recommended that a trip to Islas Secas be combined with another week in Panama, a country that inexplicably has been much overlooked by American tourism. Since the United States officially turned over the canal, the country has blossomed. Approaching the city from Tocumen on the new expressway is a stunning experience as a modern city of skyscrapers and luxurious office and apartment buildings fans out like a Central American Miami. The city has excellent hotels, numerous fine restaurants, great shopping that ranges from splendid malls to East Indian boutiques, a fascinating pre- and post-canal history, currency pegged to the U.S. dollar, inexpensive taxis for transportation anywhere, and you can even drink the water from your hotel's taps (thanks in large part to U.S. sanitation standards established during the Canal Zone days). Not only that, but the country is home to a unique and colorful indigenous people, the Kuna Indians, noted for the magnificent molas their ladies produce. What is more, the country is stable and safe; the occasional pocket picked being the principal crime affecting tourism.

For prices, reservations and scheduling, contact Islas Secas directly at
http://www.islassecas.com/is_request.html

Or contact Islas Secas Worldwide Reservations Office (Santa Barbara, California)
Phone: 805-729-2737 (West Coast time=9am to 5pm, Monday-Friday)


PHOTO CREDITS: Islas Secas, Romar Traveler.




© 2005 ROMAR TRAVEL GUIDES