Jan 12, 2025 to Jan 15, 2025: Saboga Isle

Saboga Isle is a small island among Pearl Islands off the Pacific coast of Panama. Our two hour fairy left early Sunday morning from Panama City and dropped us on a floating dock to wait for our ride to the hotel. After about 5 minutes a small boat pulled up to the dock and we were directed to climb aboard. The boat ride to Saboga Lodge was stunning- many small white beaches among thick brush and tall trees. The boat dropped us off on the other side of the island on one of those beaches, Playa El Coral, at the base of Sabogo Lodge.

Our boat after dropping us on the shore by Saboga Lodge

The lodge was very small and included both boutique rooms as well as a hostel. We met Maria, our host, who spoke very little English, providing us more opportunity to practice Spanish.

Maria brought us to our room, but the previous tenants had left with keys to both the room and the safe. She locked our wallets and passports into the staff lockers in the restaurant while we had lunch and they problem solved the locks. We had pescado del dia for lunch as well as their last two craft IPAs (which were delicious). While we were eating they replaced the doorknob on our room and switched the safe - problem solved.

After lunch we went down to the beach and then walked over to rocks Playa El Encanto. 

Filip on the rocks in between Playa El Coral and Playa El Encanto

We also went down to the beach in the evening - the lighting was amazing, the birds playful and the sunset beautiful. 

Our room was cozy and we were pleased that the AC worked really well. In the morning, coffee was served at 8am and we were ready.  Saboga island is known for a 500 year old tree, so after coffee we went on a hike to find it. After initially heading in the wrong direction, we successfully found it, courtesy of google maps. The hiking was great- lots of ups and downs and while the trails were obvious, some of it was overgrown. 

Filip hiding among the base of the 500 year old tree

After seeing the tree we hiked to Playa Largo- a large deserted beach.  It was low tide and there was a wide rocky coast at the northern end of Playa Largo. We decided that we would climb over the rocky coast to get back to our hotel rather than head back through the woods. It was further than we thought, and we were very pleased that we had our on hiking boots- it was a really fun hike.

Playa Largo

Micki on the rocks of the rocky coast in between Playa Largo and Playa El Coral

The next morning we walked to town. We took the road there and the trail back. We saw many people in town, who seemed to be sitting around doing nothing, although we later learned that it was a school holiday so that could be why. Our hike ended at Playa Grande, the town beach.

Old carriage in the middle of a roundabout on the way to the town

Playa Grade during low tide with all the boats anchored in place

There were limited options at the Koral Cafe, but our favorites were pollo con arroz and camarones con pates frites - which we enjoyed multiple times. The cafe was small so we chatted with the other guests at meal time, including a couple from Toronto (but originally South Africa) and a woman from NJ who was volunteering at Saboga Lodge for 4 weeks, but spoke no Spanish.  (We were not sure she was going to last, but gave her a ton of credit for being so far out of her comfort zone.)

Our trek back to Panama was on Wednesday afternoon and was the reverse of Sunday's, only in the afternoon. We met the boat on the beach at the base of the hotel where we dropped on the dock to wait for the big ferry. The water was a bit more choppy and the boat warmer but we made it back to Panama City in time to have ceviche at Finca Del Mar- one of our favorite restaurants in Casco Viejo.

Map of Saboga Isle