Pearl Islands “Survival”

After breakfast in the hotel, we will head to Panama Vieja's ruins, on the edge of the city, dating back to the 17th century. We will then head off to visit the famous Panama Canal, an incredible feat of engineering, one of the greatest and most expensive in history. We will stop at the Visitor’s Centre of the Miraflores Locks, where we can appreciate the ships sailing along the canal. We will head to the Amador Causeway, offering one of the city’s most impressive panoramic views of the canal. We will then stop off at the Mercado de Abasto market, which is the city’s largest fruit and vegetable market and where the countries best products arrive. We will then enjoy lunch in a typical restaurant of the seafood market, where of course, the menu is the catch of the day. We will finish the tour in the Old Quarter of Panama City, the UNESCO World Heritage site of San Felipe.

Bright and early, we will head to Amador Port to take the ferry to the Pearl Islands. Our expert survival guide will be waiting to brief us about the next day’s programme. We will then have the rest of the day to explore Contadora island and do some snorkelling!

Today we change islands and after breakfast, we will head over by speedboat to The Pearl Islands. When we arrive, we will head along the remote, spectacular beach to choose the best campsite for the evening and a place to string up our hammocks. We will then start building the communal beach shelter where we will cook and eat together with the other group members. In the evening we will have enough time  for  a  well-deserved  sunset swim. After our swim, its dinner time and we will cook on an open fire as we pass the bottle of rum around.  The chirping cicadas, rustling palms and gently crashing waves will offer the perfect backing track for a peaceful night’s sleep.

As we reconnect with our circadian rhythm, waking up at sunrise, we will prepare our breakfast. We will spend the morning learning different fire-making techniques and we ill learn all the theory of fire itself. We start with how to make fire using flint. We will build our own bow drill to create friction fires and by using a bamboo fire saw. In the afternoon, we will head out fishing to catch our dinner for the day using these ancient primitive techniques we have just learned.

Today is an amazing day for the survival techniques required to live on a deserted island! We will learn how to turn seawater into drinking water, extract water from plants, break into a coconut, identify wild edible plants, and other important survival tactics in the wild. We will then learn how to make a basic bottle line to catch fish so that when we return in the afternoon, we will have plenty of fresh fish to cook for dinner! We will also learn how to prepare the green coconuts, pineapples and some Panama rum, to make the perfect authentic piña colada to accompany our evening beach games before we head into isolation tomorrow!

This is the day that the guides leave us to our own devices and we can use our newly learned skills, with just a small set of useful aids to help us, such as a satellite phone, some fish hooks, a medical kit, knife and a machete. You will all now have to work together to build shelter, gather firewood, get a fire going and find food…. From this point onwards....you’re on your own!

This is the day that the guides leave us to our own devices and we can use our newly learned skills, with just a small set of useful aids to help us, such as a satellite phone, some fish hooks, a medical kit, knife and a machete. You will all now have to work together to build shelter, gather firewood, get a fire going and find food…. You’re on your own!

The rescue party will arrive in the form of speedboats, full of ice-cold drinks and fruit. We will take you back to the Mar y Oro Hotel, where the castaways can enjoy one of the most rewarding showers of their life before enjoying a full-on hearty breakfast. In the afternoon, we will head back to the mainland of Panama City for a well- earned final evening of celebrations!

Today is the final day of the tour and we will head back to the airport of Isla Colon for flight to Panama City for your international flight back home or on to your next exciting destination