Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Isla Saboga
Just across from Contadora lies the slightly larger
Isla Saboga
, whose four hundred inhabit-
ants populate the main village,
Puerto Nuevo
, perched on the hilltop above the main pink-
shell beach, spilling off a central paved path. Many villagers commute to Contadora to work;
others fish and ferry tourists in their boats or carry out subsistence agriculture. The island's
eighteenth-century hilltop
church
- one of the few traces of Spanish occupation left in the
archipelago - is worth a quick peek inside before you head across to the delightful
Playa En-
canto
(idyllic before the ferry disgorges the tourists at 10am), where the multi-million-dollar
development started in this area has yet to secure its stranglehold.
At low tide, it's an exciting two-hour scramble south over rocks and across coves to the soft
salt-and-pepper expanse of the island's premier beach,
Playa Larga
, from where you can
hike down a dirt road back to the village in under half an hour.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: ISLA SABOGA
By boat
A 10min boat ride from Isla Contadora's Playa Galeón costs $10 for a single pas-
senger, less for more people.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Beach Club
Saboga Playa Encanto 399 6535.
Catering mainly to wealthy day-trippers and
weekenders from Panama City, this raised-deck
rancho
at the back of the beach offers a small
bar menu ($5-30), pricey cocktails and superlative sea views.
Daily 10am-5pm.
Señora Mare's
Village centre 6641 0452.
The war
m
Señora Mare offers a handful of
clean, simple double and single rooms with ceiling fan.
$25
