Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Instead of hoping to resist the temptation to use these items, just leave them behind -
your eyes will adjust to the moonlight and you can take plenty of mental pictures.
mended turtle and general ecotours of the reserve by boat, paddle board or sea kayak, the
latter two being fun alternatives for exploring the waterways. You can also arrange turtle
tours through the Pedasí branch of ATP.
There's a small restaurant on the beach as well as some nameless
cabañas
(per person
US$20) if you wish to stay on the island. Bring a mosquito net and lots of insect repel-
lent, long pants, a windbreaker or bug jacket and mosquito coils if you have them.
To access the island, a bus runs from Pedasí to Cañas (US$2, 45 minutes) at 7am and
noon. From here, take a Tonosí-bound bus, which stops in Puerto de Cañas (US$1.50, 30
minutes). If this sounds like too much work, coordinate a guided trip with your hotel in
Pedasí or at Pedasí Sports Club (
Click here
).
If you are driving, the turnoff for Isla de Cañas is easy to miss. It's beside a bus stop
on the south side of the Carretera Nacional, 6.5km west of the turnoff for the town of
Cañas; next to the bus stop there's a brown-and-yellow sign that reads 'Bienvenidos Isla
de Cañas via Puerto 2.5km.' The bus stop is served by Toyota Coaster buses that travel
between Las Tablas and Tonosí hourly from 7am to 4pm.
From the turnoff, a 5km drive or hike on a dirt road takes you to the edge of a man-
grove forest. There's usually a boater there who will shuttle you to and from the island. If
there's no boater to greet you, find the truck wheel hanging from a tree at the mangrove's
edge and hit it hard five times with the rusty wrench atop it. If the sun's out and the tide's
up - if there's water in the mangrove - a boater will fetch you.
Once you reach the island, you will be approached by a guide. As a rule every foreign
visitor must be accompanied by an island guide. Paying local guides provides a worthy
local alternative to inhabitants selling turtle eggs on the black market. As it is, about half
of the eggs that are laid on the beach are dug up and sold illegally in Panama City - the
other half are placed in hatcheries to ensure survival.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Macaracas
POP 1900
Forty kilometers southwest of Chitré, the tiny town of Macaracas is the site of an annual
festival folklórico
( January 5 to 10)
, highlighted by dramatic theater performances in-
cluding the popular story of
The Three Wise Men
.
