Report courtesy of World ARC 2010-11 boat Crazy Horse

We visited 3 of the more than 200 Las Perlas Islands located 30 miles south of Panama City. The first we visited was Isla Contadora. We anchored near the airport off the south side of the island after attempting to anchor off the north side, which was bumpy and unprotected. Bill and I never ventured ashore since we were decompressing after all the excitement of the Panama Canal and Panama City..

The Panama Canal is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Construction of the canal was one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken. It has had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. A ship sailing from New York to San Francisco via the canal travels 9,500 km (6,000 miles), well under half the 22,500 km (14,000 mi) route around Cape Horn.

San Blas, an archipelago of nearly 400 islands, runs along the Caribbean coast of Panama, and is the first port of call for the World ARC 2012-13 yachts after their start from St Lucia.