Monday, February 18, 2013

Cébaco Island Panama

Cébaco Island, located in the Gulf of Montijo, is another example of the magnificence of the Almighty. This place of our country is the perfect escape from the world and enjoy the incredible din that the silence of nature can give.

Facing the small island governor , Cébaco impressed us from the beach sighted from Reina, awesome, sovereign, is the third largest island in the Pacific after Coiba and Isla del Rey.

It is a very quiet and peaceful and simple people. There are miles of pristine beaches, with subtle waves, the sound of the waves as they returned exudes an indescribable noise of rolling stones. The dark sand makes a dramatic contrast with the blue sea and look beautiful shells.

On the island you can perform many activities, such as hiking hiking as there are countless trails, diving, camping, snorkeling and surfing. Or you can just do nothing and relax in a hammock under coconut if you can not bring your own or rent to borrow premises.

The population is engaged in agriculture, livestock, fisheries and handicraft trade activities. Considering that it is an area developed there touristically abarrotarías good well stocked, mainly in El Jobo

Land speculation is evident here. Our guides tell us that many people sell their possessory rights to foreigners at bargain prices, leaving them landless and working for them which I bought. We even have to significantly scale tourism projects about to be installed on the island.


At the junction with the road to Playa Reina is the well-stocked mini countryman Super Catival Solis. If you forgot to buy something in Panama and arrived at Santiago and again you forgot sure to find it here.
since medicines, water, flashlights, shoes, sandals or candles.

For the brave

At eleven o'clock we take a panga dinghy from Playa Reina. We depart from the Port of the Brave at the mouth of Black River. At the port is so called because it is difficult to start from here in the rainy season, so it gets rough sea at this point. It is also the port of the lazy, which is quieter to go in the rainy season.

Crossing to Cébaco is an adventure. It is necessary to wait for high tide to cross the merciless waves of Playa Reina, rising in the Black River. We must also return at high tide calculates that if you are spending the night in Cébaco, you come and go in three hours or otherwise wait a few hours to next tide.

The canoes are mostly single-engine, without lifeguards. You have to be very careful that the wind makes waves are majestic and given the poor security there in the boats, can be a lethal combination. If you want to be safe, bring your own lifeguard.

Do not forget to talk to the boatman to know what time you return to the mainland, otherwise you will have to wait for the next high tide that lets you enter the Black River.



We took about 30 minutes to Platanares , on the north side of the island, facing Mariato. This is a small town, no streets, no sidewalks, with cement or wood houses, tin roof, and slightly separated from each other. Platanares has a primary school and a community center and a public phone booth \.

Here you may find you staying local we must ask and agree on a price if applicable. You can also camp in the town or along the beach, where you can find wood for a campfire. No drinking water, here people use water from wells and streams. There is a well stocked grocery store on the edge of the beach where you find ice cold sodas, snacks, and food drives.

No organized tourist services, but you can get guides speaking directly to the people. Mr and Mr Audilio Evangelino, our guides, we cooked both breakfast and lunch-strokes dinner. Here for electricity used solar panels and gas coolers are.

Cébaco is an elongated island, with beaches everywhere. The beaches we visited on the north coast, which is what is facing the Gulf of Montijo, are coarse sand, with gray stones and shells and rocky shores. Playa Grande, on the southern coast, is fine-grained sand and white.Most are defined by land with coconut trees along the beach. Its waters are calm, but it depends on the season because, according to our guide, in the rainy season there are more waves and the sea is restless.

There are several beaches on the north coast of the island which can be reached from the town of Platanares and following the path that goes to the community of El Pajal which is on the east side of the island. The first is the Balso beach , with greenish waters and dark.The most interesting thing is at this beach are some troughs freshwater rock, ideal for cooling off and remove the salt. They had good water level even though we visited in the dry season.

Nearby we saw vegetation typical of coastal and transitional areas to the mainland as coconut palms, mangroves, almond, some bromeliads in trunks. We found cockroaches limpets and sea (mollusks) attached to rocks.

Walking along the north side

On the north coast of the island, also on the trail El Pajar ischaperno beach . This beach is a continuation of the beach The Balso, with fine-grained sands and coarse, grayish, the coast is sandy. Also saw mangroves coconut, almond tree and thought it might be the belly (Pseudobombax septenatum , we did not expect to find in an area so close to the coast. We also found a palm called maquenca that is ideal for home, our guides tell us.Chaperno beach is followed to Divorce beach , calm water with little waves.

A few minutes by boat from Platanares, from the beach Los Lagartos, is the town of Los Almácigos , a town like Platanares.There is a beach with coarse sand, gray, with coconut trees all along. Here you can also camp in the town or along the beach. The beach is not very flashy, but the waters are calm and with little waves.

From The Almácigos you can walk along the coast to the town of El Jobo. On the way is the beach El Roble with a sandy shoreline, no waves and
vegetation typical of coast and sea level as coconut, almond and "naked Indian"  Bursera simarouba .

The Jobo is the most developed village we visited on the north coast of the island. Its infrastructure is very different compared to other small towns, with cement sidewalks, houses and tidy block of wood with zinc roofs and shingles. Here are the Dolphin Cabin , quite simple. Prompt for Sr Herlis Streets tel 6469.3495. Residents also offer accomodations (ask). There where camping either in town or along the beach.

Fresh water here is very good, from wells and mountain. So much so that, as we have the people, hence carry water to Governor Island . There are several grocery stores, a school and community center. You can get ladies to cook if you want to eat a local dish.

On the beach there is a community area where you can observe the turtle nesting without any problems. Some residents have taken courses with IPAT tourism and tours can be arranged. In the cabins Dolphins also organized tours. We recommend speaking with residents to have multiple prices.

Pacific Reef

In other sections of this coast corals are present, such as in La Pita beach where we had the opportunity to snorkel. This beach is good to practice this sport, with good visibility. There are spots where we find even more variety of colorful corals on the beach.Corals as "staghorn" are common, and appreciate colorful fish.

A beach can be visited The Pita asking a boatman of the people of Jobo a ride. It is just 10 minutes away from this town.

There is an area called Caleta Cayman , southwest, where you can see even better coral reefs and beaches for surfing. Within walking distance of 2 hours from the town of El Jobo using theNaranjo trail or by boat only 20 minutes from El Jobo.

Way south

For the town of Los Almácigos there is a path that starts at the side of the school. This trail crosses the island to the south side to get to Playa Grande , the largest we visited and very different to the beaches on the north side. This trail takes about an hour and a half walking unhurriedly. Playa Grande has waves of considerable size, producing a sound that echo what we heard from the trail warning us that we were close.

A breathtaking view of the size of the beach which alludes to his name is observed at the end of the trail. The waves are about 2 meters and our guides are in rainy season get even higher. In this great beach living gulls, hawks scavenging crabs in number, typical of fine sandy beaches.

The turtles come here to nest, although not very common to observe and dogs and people usually grab the eggs. Here is the mouth of the river waters flowing Mangotal sea even in the dry season, ideal for a freshwater dip.

The routes of the people

These are some trails we recommend for an afternoon of hiking  and beach.

The Path The Haystack leads to the beaches of El Balso, chaperno, Divorce. Exits from the town of Platanares and takes about half an hour from the coast Platanares up at a normal rate. The terrain is quite slight slopes and ground. Passes through the wildlife reserve community of Divorce.

The Path of the Almácigos leads to Playa Grande. Exits from the town of seedlings, and starts down the right side of the elementary school from where you get a breathtaking view of the coast. To get to school you have to climb some stairs from below seem endless.Take this road about 1 ½ hours at a moderate pace to get to the beach. Is ground with rocks and soil to his home the rest of the trail has some steep mainly at the start, but nothing to worry about. This trail crosses the island from north to the south coast, passing through the town of El Centro and the old airport where the road is flat.

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