Through the Eyes of Mia: Cruising the Islands of Las Perlas

It’s amazing how many totally different experiences you can have in just one week….

I feel I’m in the middle of some really great adventure story – and hey – I am!! It’s actually happening. I have to pinch myself now and then to believe it.

I’m trying to get it all down in my journal – been writing a lot lately…. Every day new things happen. It’s still new for me to be living on a boat – I must say I like it – most of the time!!

We, Mike, Tom, Louise and I, spend some wonderful days in the Las Perlas – a group of paradise like islands 5 hours sailing from Panama City. We came there by night – all dark, no moon, - and almost crashed into one of the other boats anchored up in the little bay. They had no anchor lights on and it wasn’t until Mike flashed a spotlight on them that I actually saw them…. Wow. A little excitement in your daily life!! Right: Tom, Louise, Mike, and Mia

It was great to wake up the next day and look upon the beautiful Isla Contadora. It was just ‘how it looked in the brochure’!! White sandy beaches and palm trees.

Actually, our days in Las Perlas could, for most parts, easily be put in a brochure!! We were snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, exploring little islands, having fun and playing. Each day in a different bay, each day sun and blue sky – great!!

But….Some things were NOT like in the brochure. For example: I never read anything about any kayak-muscle…. Never knew I have one. But after kayaking half way around Isla Contadora to get Mike and WanderLust to come and rescue Louise and Tom, who were floating in the dinghy halfway between Contadora and Bartolome because the dinghy motor broke down,…. Hmm – believe me, I do have a kayak muscle.

Another experience to be added on the list of ‘not like in the brochure - excitement in your daily life’ is this one: Anchored up in a beautiful little bay on the Island Pedro Gonzales we had all just said goodnight to each other and gone to bed.

Suddenly things started falling off the shelves in port side – ‘strange’ I thought, ‘they don’t normally do that’. I closed my eyes again. Then a few seconds later I felt the whole boat just leaning more and more to starboard side….

‘WHAT on earth is going on….?’ I heard myself and the others say - louder and louder as the boat kept leaning and leaning. A couple of minutes later we were all out on the deck, finding ourselves on the boat actually lying on its side!! And the water, which was 20 feet deep when we anchored, had now fallen down below 0,1 feet…. That’s what you call LOW tide!!

So what else to do but yell ‘LAND OHOY’, have a glass of red wine and sit back and talk on the railing, laugh about the situation and just wait for the water to rise again.

Crazy, and a great experience at the same time.

After the wonderful Las Perlas experience, we set off for the Galapagos Islands!! And this is where we are right now – on our way – in the Pacific Ocean – sailing on this beautiful boat WanderLust.

So far it’s been great AND a challenge. I have never tried to sail for so long before; it takes both a good stomach and good social skills. I personally think we are doing very well, all of us. I don’t know what the captain and my fellow Payasos (clowns) say to that. But I must say – I like it!!

One of the greatest experiences has been to see dolphins and whales!!!! I have been dreaming of that for so long – and now it happened. It’s hard to describe the feeling – but imagine a flock of maybe 40 dolphins swimming with the boat – playing and jumping in front of it, like they were having a challenge ‘Who dares to swim closest to the boat?!!’ Or two whales that blow and show their giant backs near the boat. It’s amazing – and I can only say FANTASTIC!!

Among other things we have been spending our time on while sailing can be mentioned; eating delicious fresh cut tuna with Wasabi, soy sauce and lime juice, having dancing contests on the deck, watching the moon and the stars and the oil pressure on our shifts at night and once in a while asking: ‘Are we there yet??’

It is amazing to have this experience. Sailing the Pacific Ocean, we soon will cross the Equator, going to the Galapagos.

Pure Luxury and; I like the fact that not everything in my life is ‘how it looked in the brochure’!!

The thing is that I’m very happy with the way things look as they are right now!! Right: Louise and Mia