Isla Iguana, Panama ~ Day 24 and I’m Ready for the Roundup

Today’s blogging challenge is to publish a roundup post that links to posts on at least three other blogs, and tell why y’all should read my recommendations.

This one is any easy one; first, my explanation of why you should go to the other sites and read is because; frankly I think there is some wonderful information written.  And today for those of you who are suffering through a not so nice spring, I’m going to take you on a tropical tour of one of my favourite places that is a little slice of paradise and is only a mere 15 minutes by boat from our little house in the campo.  I know you’re jealous, right?

My friends Kris (who I’d spent time with twice before) and Holly (who I met for the first time) came for a two night visit on their way to the city. Both are friends that I’ve made through the blogging community.  Not to be missed even on a short stop, weather permitting is Isla Iguana.  I did a post last year about another beautiful day on the island.  Surprisingly, looking back the weather then, as yesterday, started out quite similar, but yesterday we had a few sprinkles and then the clouds skedaddled to leave us with a brilliant blue day.

Two iguana buddies on the walking path.

Gray morning sky.

Our boat.

Later in the now blue-sky day.

The Frigate Bird nesting area.

There’s a birdie in the tree!

This was friends Holly’s first time on the island and she can’t wait to get back again.  Here   is her post about the day.  I have to say that Holly’s personality is very similar to the way she writes and she and I hit it off right away.  Holly’s daughter is coming for a visit and  they’ll be seeing each other for the first time in almost a year.   After having a little mom and daughter time in the city they will be travelling back to Holly’s and her husband Scott’s home in Bouquete .

This trip was mi amiga Kris’ second time out to the island.  Kris and her husband Joel live in David.  Her first post about her adventure can be found here.   She took so many pictures this time that I think she’s still editing them and trying to figure out how to post them using her new IPad.  In any event, I’ve seen them and they are spectacular once again.

I found this interesting take on a Travellerspoint Blog.  The post is about our district written by thonyc1968. I didn’t know what Travellerspoint was so I had to do some research and found that it is a social networking site for people who want to learn from or share experiences with other travellers.  You have to be a member of the site to take part in the forums, blogs, photo galleries and travel guide.  I’ve already got enough on the go so I decided not to explore the site any further.   In any event click on the link to take you to Thony’s article about our little town, the pictures are pretty good and if you want to explore Travellerspoint further, go ahead and join.  FYI, I believe the lodging Thony writes about in Venao was probably Eco Venao and you can click here to see more information about it.

One thing of note about the trip to Isla Iguana is that the cost of the boat ride has gone up to $70.00.  This is understandable as the cost of living and of gasoline has risen.  Many people will get together to split the cost of the boat but we went with only the three of us.  There was only one other couple at the island when we arrived and two other boats that pulled up to the beach later in the morning.  Our boat captain told us that often he will not work for several days at a time.  This got me thinking that maybe it’s o.k. to only have a few people on the boat and pay a little more.  This means more boats will be taking people across.  It probably isn’t the most environmentally savvy way of doing things but it is a way of contributing to the community and provides more employment for the local captains’ during the slow season…in the campo.