Circumnavigating the Las Perlas archipelago in Panama

We are sailing again! It had been over 4 months since we’d sailed, having spent 2 months in the US and 2 months at a dock. Once the sails were full of wind, the bow slicing through the sea, we were back in the groove.

Las Perlas get their name from the Spanish who discovered an abundance of pearls. They brought in slaves to harvest them. The descendants of the slaves are now the primary inhabitants of the islands, although some islands have been developed into tourist destinations from Panama City.

There were reasons to avoid Las Perlas, as their reputation has been recently marred within the sailing community. In 2023, two sailboats were assaulted and robbed in the vicinity of San Miguel, a small village on the north side of Isla del Rey, the largest of the islands...

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