Is this legal?
Trip Start
Mar 27, 2004
1
4
7
Trip End
Apr 11, 2004
Contadora, Panama
Monday, March 29, 2004
The little puddle jumper we flew to the island of Contadora on was puny and scary. The only run flights in the morning because the weather makes flying unsafe in the afternoon. It was a DeHaviland Sea Otter, which I've never been in before. No fatties allowed- these seats are narrow! The baggage handling system is two locals with a wheelbarrow, and when you land on one end of the runway, you can see the other end, which disappears as it reaches the other side of the narrow island!
Some drug runner owns the biggest resort on the island and uses it to launder money, so there are no actual guests there. There used to be a 9 hole golf course, but it's dried up and out of service. With such a huge resort empty, there weren't enough guests to support many businesses. We stayed at a couple's house on one end of the island and just walked everywhere.
Contadora is a small island. Really small. Too small. We blew through all the places to eat and kinda worried where our next meal would come from. The little grocery store they have makes the selection at a corner 7Eleven seem bountiful in comparison.
The beaches are amazing, though, and the snorkeling was world class.
