Group of islands off of Panama
Location of the Pearl Islands (Archipielago de las Perlas) in the Gulf of Panama
The
Pearl Islands
(Spanish:
Archipielago de las Perlas
or
Islas de las Perlas
) is a group of 200 or more islands and islets (many tiny and uninhabited) lying about 30 miles (48 km) off the
Pacific
coast of
Panama
in the
Gulf of Panama
.
Islands
[
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]
San Miguel,
Isla del Rey
The most notable island is
Contadora Island
(or Isla Contadora in
Spanish
), known for its resorts. Contadora was said to be used by the
Spanish
conquistadors
as a stop for taking inventory of booty prior to returning to Spain, hence the name (
contador
means counter or bookkeeper in
Spanish
). Contadora is a resort island, with many homes owned by wealthy Panamanians. There are a large hotel and other cabins available. Most of the resort workers live on nearby Isla
Saboga
.
In 1979, the
Shah of Iran
briefly took exile on Isla Contadora. Domestic airline
Air Panama
no longer runs daily flights between
Panama City
and Contadora and
Isla San Jose
, however between ferry and flight options many of the islands are easily accessible.
The largest island, at 234 square kilometres (90 sq mi), is
Isla del Rey
("Island of the King"), its name probably referring to Christ the King rather than to a secular king. Isla del Rey has several towns, most notably San Miguel. It is easily larger than the other Pearl Islands combined, and is the second largest island in Panama, after
Coiba
.
Other islands in the archipelago include Bolano Island, Buena Vista Island, Cana Island, Casaya Island, Chapera Island, Chitre Island, Cocos Island, Espiritu Santo Island, Galera Island, Gallo Island,
Isla Gibraleon
, Isla Bayoneta, Lampon Island, Marin Island, Mina Island, Mogo Mogo o Pajaro, Pacheca Island, Pachequille Island,
Pedro Gonzalez Island
, Puerco Island,
Isla San Jose
, Senora Island, Vivenda Island, and Viveros Island.
The island of Galera has a facade of very tall coconut palm trees and a white sandy beach. Strong currents, combined with shallows and jagged reefs surrounding the island, make navigation near the island perilous.
History
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Three million years ago the
Isthmus of Panama
was created. Until then North and South America were divided by sea. It was the biggest and reportedly the most significant geological event in 60 million years. Prior to that date as the Earth's plates had begun to join the Pearl Islands were created and they emerged from the sea. On
Contadora Island
and other islands in the group
pre-Columbian
artifacts have been found.
The biggest island is
Isla del Rey
where more than fifteen pre-Columbian recognised archeological sites of the “Cuevas” and “Cocle” cultures have been identified. However none of the original population remain.
The islands were first occupied by native populations who were (with their leader Terarequi) wiped out within two years of the islands' discovery by the Spanish. Spaniard
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
named the islands Pearl Islands on his discovery of them in 1513 due to the many pearls which were found there. Another Spaniard,
Gaspar de Morales
, murdered 20 local Indian chiefs not long after and gave them to his dogs to tear to pieces. The Spaniards then needed workers to harvest pearls and imported slave labour in the 16th century from Africa whose descendants now live on the islands, particularly del Rey.
The Islands were frequently used by pirates in the years that followed and were relatively undisturbed until the 1960s and 1970s when the building of the resort on Contadora took place to which the Shah of Iran retreated in 1979.
Sustainability
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]
The Chamber for Sustainable Tourism Las Perlas aims to preserve the islands' delicate ecological balance.
Publicity
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]
The Pearl Islands are a popular location for
reality TV
programs, particularly
Survivor
.
The American edition
has had 3 seasons (namely
Survivor: Pearl Islands
,
Survivor: All-Stars
[1]
and
Survivor: Panama
) set on the islands. Season 2 of the Israeli version of the program (titled
Survivor: Pearl Islands
), season 1 of
Survivor South Africa
(titled
Survivor South Africa: Panama
), season 4 of the French edition (titled
Koh-Lanta: Panama
), season 3 of the Bulgarian version (titled
Survivor BG: Pearl Islands
) and Ukrainian versions of the show were all set on the islands.
Other programs, namely
BBC
TV series
The Real Swiss Family Robinson
, the British TV series
The Island with Bear Grylls
(which used the islands of
Isla Gibraleon
and
Isla San Telmo
) and season 1 of the
Dutch
television series
Adam Looking for Eve
used Mogo Mogo Island as location. The
third season
of
The Challenge: All Stars
filmed its final challenge on
San Jose Island
.
[2]
See also
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]
References
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]
8°20′N
79°07′W
/
8.333°N 79.117°W
/
8.333; -79.117
