Isla San Jose

Unlike its neighbor to the North, Isla Pedro Gonzales, that has been slated for major development (next blog…), Isla San Jose is all about conservation and stasis.  Don’t even expect to have cellular phone reception: you’re off the grid.  The island is the private property of the head honcho at Air Panama and Novey stores.  It's private, exclusive, almost lost, and the owner is planning on keeping it this way. 

He has populated the island with pigs and wild game.  He also has started a breeding program for macaws: some 18 macaws now roam the property.

Here are the anchorages we visited...

CASCADE – 08*16.263N – 079*04.776W - Finding fresh water in Las Perlas, especially during the dry season, can be a challenge.  But the CASCADE anchorage on the east coast of San Jose, north of Punta Cruz, is the most consistent source of water.  Just bring your dinghy under the waterfall that drops right into the little bay, and fill your jugs, do your laundry, take your showers.  During the rainy season, be ready for a drenching experience.  Then, take your dink and troll the rocks just north of the cascade: red snappers might just jump on your lap!  We hooked up 5 red snappers in 20 minutes.  Careful, though, this anchorage not to try with northern winds. 

CASCADE SOUTH – 08*15.900N – 079*04.375 – Another pristine anchorage, well sheltered from the south winds and SW swells, with good holding.  Like CASCADE, this anchorage is not advisable in northern conditions.

ENSENADA GRANDE – 08*14.924N – 079*06.056W  -  This is a no-brainer.  Enter the bay and plop the anchor in the sand: done!  We tried to anchor in the northern part of the bay, close to the house on top of the cave, but we only grabbed rocks, retreating to the deeper part of the bay.  Snorkeling the rocks close to shore is surprisingly beautiful.  At first, I thought that white tires had been stuck into the sand, but I soon realized it was a particular coral formation like none I had ever seen before.  Snappers, groupers and amber jacks peer from deep under the rocks and within the crags and fissures, patiently waiting for us to disappear.  

No matter, JP managed to snag a 14-lb snapper. 

 Isleta Chepana is a tempting snorkeling spot but the currents are very strong: better to troll or bottom fish.

           

 Above Punta Popa de Barco stands a small cottage, above a cave entrance.  This is the guard’s home.  Does he want to fish?  He just drops a line from his patio, right into the currents that ripple at the cave’s entrance.  Take the dink and check it out!

 Ensenada Playa Grande is the launching point for fishing expeditions.  The mother ship Mama Nono remains stationary with her 4 anchors, while the sportsfishers Picaflor and Hooker take guests out on fishing trips.  

Where are the guests coming from?  Either they flow into Punta Cocos and are zoomed to San Jose, or they are guests at the fabulous Hacienda del Mar.

HACIENDA DEL MAR – HOTEL anchorage – 08*13.317N – 079*06.467W – The short trip (less than 5 miles) from Playa Grande to Hacienda del Mar, going around the Tree Rice Pillars, is one of the prettiest we’ve had in Las Perlas. 

  

Black volcanic rock formations jut straight up from the blue sea, washed with foam as wave trains crash against their sharp flanks. But beware the uncharted rocks at 08*12.50N – 079*05.50W– Give the rocks a very wide berth and enjoy the changing view with every point of sail.

  

Anchor in the bay, just east of the Mono Ahumado, a funky rock that looks like a monkey, eyes and all, its tail a trailing chain of rocks unveiled at low tide.

        

 Finally, take your dinghy to shore and explore the sensational Hacienda del Mar.  The views from the top are exquisite.  Have a beer or have dinner ($15 for a fish entrée) and enjoy the company of Lucas, the resident toucan.  

S.W. Anchorage – With the northerlies blowing steadily in the 20-kt range, we decided to check out the southwest anchorage.  The unforgiving coast, rocky shores and the absence of any sand or beach presaged what we soon found out: no way to grab bottom on this rocky bed.  But there was a plus to the currents swirling around the deep bay: a cierra (Spanish mackerel) bit our hook!

ENSENADA de BODEGA – The ultimate anchorage on the west coast, Bodega is not a good anchorage in northerly conditions.  Yet we’ve had excellent reports from cruisers who hunkered down during the wet season when easterlies are the prevailing winds.  We passed… and went right up to Pedro Gonzales, skunked the rest of the way.

The area of Isla San Jose is excellent fishing most of the year.  However, we are in the middle of the dry season (Dec. 15 to end of March.)  The water is still cold from the Humboldt Current, the red tide is slowly dissipating (and it’s sure clear on the west side of San Jose), the upwelling is coming to the end and the fish should start biting again… soon… very soon!

Until then…

dominomarie