THE GUIDE - The Rough Guide to Panama - page 257

TONOSÍ
Hotel Mi Valle Main square 995 8089, hotelmivalle.com . New functional hotel over-
looking the park in the centre of town offering 24 bland but clean en-suite rooms with the
usual amenities (a/c, satellite TV, wi- fi), some of which have fridges. The on-site restaurant
serves inexpensive Panamanian fare. $30
Refugio de Vida Silvestre Isla de Cañas
The $5 admission charge, payable to ANAM, is rarely collected
In the bay to the west of Playa Venao, nestled among the mangroves and a stone's throw
from the swampy shoreline, lies the long sliver of land that is ISLA DE CAÑAS , a place
synonymous with turtles , which arrive annually in their thousands, availing themselves of a
glorious 14km band of sand to lay their eggs.
Turtles are not the only attraction, however. The reserve extends into a swampy tangle of
mangroves both on the island's shore-side and along the mainland, providing roosting and
nesting sites for water birds, which can be seen close up on a round-the-island boat tour ,
which also takes in a pre-Columbian archeological site (with little to see) and a strangely
formed cave dubbed the “ casa de piedra ”. You can also partake of a couple of hours' gentle
fishing or a ride in a horse and cart around the island's beaches and cultivations - rice,
maize, banana and cocoa are all grown alongside vast quantities of juicy watermelons, which
should be sampled while you are there.
TURTLE-WATCHING AT ISLA DE CAÑAS
Five species of turtle nest on the island, the most numerous being the world's tiniest sea
turtle, the olive ridley. Their extraordinary mass nesting , or arribada (arrival), when thou-
sands storm the beach over several nights, is a sight to behold. Pacific green turtles also
nest in large quantities alongside significantly smaller numbers of loggerhead, leatherback
and hawksbill. Nesting primarily takes place between May and November, with Septem-
ber to November considered the peak months, though timing your visit to coincide with
an arribada - generally several days either side of a full moon - is tricky. The island was
designated a protected area in 1994 and many of the eight-hundred-strong population are
involved in a cooperative protecting the turtles - for which they are permitted to harvest
a percentage of the eggs for consumption and sale. Villagers also act as turtle-watching
guides ($10), an offer worth taking up if only to increase the likelihood of more eggs hatch-
ing rather than being sold on the black market. Since female turtles are easily spooked by
bright lights, it's better not to bring cameras, or torches, unless infrared; rely on the guide
and let your eyes adjust to the light.