Desarrollo Bahía

The project:
Desarrollo Bahía envisions making a Tourist Destination of importance out of Isla del Rey, in the Archipiélago de Las Perlas Archipelago.

In 2002 the Government of Panama hired the German firm GATO International Tourism Organization, to prepare a Master Plan for land usage which is being used by the authorities as a guide for the development of projects in the island.

History of the territory:
There are only two Archipelagos in the pacific coast of the American Continent, Archipiélago de las Perlas near Panama and The Galapagos close to Ecuador.
Archipelago de las Perlas ( The Pearls Archipelago ) is a group of 90 named islands of various sizes with 83 first rate beaches and many tiny anonymous islands, located between 40-70 miles south-east of the Pacific coast of Panama City, Panama. 42 of the named islands range in size from 85 to .018 square miles and 48 of them from .018 to .0036 square miles.
The islands are very close to each other and most of them are uninhabited. Some of the most appealing attractions of these islands are crystal clear waters, rich vegetation and abundance of fish. They represent one of Panama’s best natural resources and offer the ideal setting for resort type tourist destinations.

Las Perlas offers a different environment to the one found in the Caribbean such as:

• Water is very transparent but of a different color; more turquoise.
• Abundance of fish of totally different species than are found in the
  Caribbean. Fishing, even in small boats, would be one of the main attractions.
• Tropical vegetation and rain forest type environment which is essential for ecotourism.
• Dozens of uninhabited islands of various sizes with beautiful desolated beaches extremely close to each other allowing visitors to easily wander from one island to the other in small boats and, in some areas, even in a sports water vehicle such as a jet sky.
• No hurricanes nor earthquakes in this area.
• Tides fluctuate up to 18 feet between low and high, twice a day. This lends to an entirely unique ambiance to the point where there are islands and sand banks that appear during low tide and are hidden under water during the high tide.
• The climate of the islands is typically tropical with a rainy season from May to November, and dry season from December to April. The temperature ranges between a minimum of 70º F and maximum of 92º F.

Past developments in the area:
The most renown of these islands is Contadora. The island is rather small but is one of the most beautiful in the Archipelago with plenty of fabulous beaches.

In Contadora there are some private vacation homes and a resort type hotel. It has a limited use air landing strip and a local airline flies there regularly. Flying time from Panama City is 15 minutes and by boat takes about 2.5 hours.

20 years ago Contadora was envisioned as a tourist destination but this goal was not accomplished since the island’s potential was not promoted properly. Some other shortcomings affecting the success of Contadora are a very short landing strip (approx. 2500 feet), shortage of fresh water, lack of a reliable electric power generating plant and a limited use marina without fuel supply installations.

Fishing around this area is moderate and there is a lack of facilities for such activity such as marinas and fueling stations.

Abundance of fish and serious fishing is found further south at the end of the Archipelago; in the Isla del Rey region, the subject of this report.

Isla del Rey
Isla del Rey is the largest of the islands in the Archipelago with 85 Square Miles of area. Air travel time is approximately 25 minutes. What makes this place unique is the availability of fresh water from wells and the fact that it is from this area that the best fishing occurs. If a fishing environment is to be regarded of importance, Isla del Rey would be the ideal place to set up fishing facilities.

The waters in the area abound in tropical game fish and are considered among the best fishing grounds in the world. Black, Blue and Striped marlins are abundant and world records have been conquered in these waters. Sailfish, amber jack, bonito, wahoo, dolphin, corvina, red snapper, tuna, mackerel, marine turtle, shrimp, giant oysters, clams and mussels make this an attraction for fishermen and divers.

Isla del Rey, being a rather large island, has a mountainous terrain a few rivers flowing across the island in different areas. The island lends itself well for eco-tourism, horseback riding and outdoor sports, year round. The lush hills of Isla del Rey provide the ideal landscape for golf courses. There are several villages and towns in Isla del Rey allowing availability of a work force.
Spectacular beaches, excellent weather conditions throughout the entire year, lush tropical vegetation and the proximity to many other islands also add to its’ advantage; although you can generalize that statement for all the islands in the Archipelago.

The Tropic Star Lodge in Piñas Bay, located on the Pacific coast of Darien, Panama and 20 miles South of Punta Coco, is considered one of the most successful fishing camps in the world. Many popular celebrities have visited this area for game fishing. Incidentally Darien is one of the jungle areas of Panama which allows further enhancement of the tourism potential of the region by lending itself to jungle day-trip activities such as rain-forest excursions and jungle cruises along the rivers that flow from the mainland into the ocean. Wildlife abounds along these river banks and deep within the forest indigenous tribes are found. In 1981, UNESCO declared this park a Biosphere Reserve for Humankind because of its extraordinary biological diversity and its incredible genetic value as well as for the indigenous tribes that still maintain and practice their ancestral customs.