Isla Iguana

By Allison Weiser Guinn

After living in Panama full time now for three years, there are still a few areas in the country I have not visited completely. By completely, I mean that while I have taken a road trip to Pedasi, Panama in the past, I was only in the town for twelve hours, and Isla Iguana has been on my list of places to go, see and visit for the day.

Approaching Isla Iguana

Isla Iguana is a small island located off the eastern coast of Panama in the Azuero Peninsula. During WWII, the US Army used the island as a bombing range. To clear the area, 2,000 bombs were stuck in the surrounding coral reef. It is a good idea to stay on the trails here, because there are still holes in the ground from the bombs, and most importantly, there is thought that there may still be undiscovered, undetonated bombs.

Crater from WWII bomb

A settler in the 1960’s planted non-native exotic plants that still inhabit the island. Having been declared a wildlife sanctuary almost 40 years ago, it protects tropical fish, marine birds (famous for its frigate colony) and a large coral reef. It is a 136-acre reserve surrounded by the oldest coral reef in the Gulf of Panama (500 years old) that extends 37 acres. This makes it one of Panama’s biggest reefs. Isla Iguana is popular with snorkelers because there are over 200 species of fish and 12 types of coral, but El Niño has not been kind and has done some damage to these in the past few years.

Isla Iguana is a short twenty minute Panga boat (an open, outboard-poweredfishingboat)ride from Pedasi. The boats leave from Playa Arenal.Once arriving to the island, there is a fee of $4 for residents of Panama or $10 for non-residents. A ranger will walk around checking ID’s and collecting the payment.

Playa Arenal

There is a small ranger station, restrooms (port-o-potty) and an east to west hiking trail. The island is not true to its name, or it was not the day I visited, in that I saw three large iguanas along the driftwood and edges of the dense brush, many small iguanas ran along the trail, but mostly this island is packed with hermit crabs. They are everywhere! The iguanas are not as rampant now, I was told, because of the recent drought and the many trees that have had to have been removed or that have died in the past few years.

Iguana

Seeing these few iguanas, the astounding number of hermit crabs and snorkeling are the main events at Isla Iguana, but this time of year there is also hope of seeing the migration of humpback whales.Isla Iguana has two beaches. Playa El Faro is found by walking the trail to the other side of where the panga boats drop off passengers.

Playa El Faro

Playa El Cirial is a long, white sandy beach on the west side of the island with the best snorkeling. Low tide proves challenging though, because there is perhaps only six inches between the snorkeler and the coral. The ocean bottom is also extremely rocky. Once the tide moves in, sea turtles and plenty of fish can be seen hiding among the coral that appear like wheels of cheese in different sizes.

Captains of the panga boats can be hired directly from Playa Arenal. Cost can vary , depending on number of persons in the boat; the least expensive is $10/person. It is recommended to bring plenty of sunscreen (especially without a beach umbrella), water, snorkeling gear and bug repellant (if walking the trails). There is not a fonda (small restaurant) on the island, there are not any trash cans (trash is to be taken away with you), so it is best to pack a cooler as well. Also, remember to bring cash and ID.

Isla Iguana is yet another one of Panama’s treasures that should not be missed when exploring the country. From Panama City, Pedasi is about a five-hour drive. The best idea would be to find lodging, spend time exploring Pedasi, and spend a half to full day on the island snorkeling, swimming, walking the trails, watching the hermit crabs and iguana and embracing another beautiful day in Panama.