Perilous Las Perlas

I woke at 06:00 and went on deck to savour the dawn. We were anchored close to a sandy beach in a rocky cove with two other boats, on a channel between two islands. The tide was flowing fast, kicking up a chop just offshore.

Then to my horror I found that our dinghy had vanished leaving only the painter hanging in the water! An awful déjà vu from the time in the Scillys when I hadn't made fast properly and the same thing had happened. This time it was Mark's turn to wonder how his knot had unfastened.

After much searching with binoculars Justin spotted the dinghy across the channel far away on the other island, and Emily bravely paddled her board across a strong current to get it back.

Late we went back across to Mogo Mogo island to explore. It was where Bear Grylls' Survivor series is filmed, and on a narrow strip of land between two bays we found a shelter and rudimentary furniture from the camp. The great sweep of white sand was enchanting, but the forest edge was full of plastic flotsam and jetsam. Quite a lot seemed to relate to the Survivors' camp and we were disappointed that they hadn't cleaned up properly. But it was a lovely beach and Emily and I swam and enjoyed the cooler fresher water of the Pacific.

Looking back at the trees it was lovely to see many of the tall silver-limbed trees bare except for a full bloom of pink flowers. The sand was curious because one sank a couple of inches into it. Strange tracks like ornately patterned bike tyres came out of the leaf litter to the debris at the high tide mark. Later I spotted the animals that made them as hermit crabs lugged their various shell homes around.
Once the tide fell a bit lower we navigated down the island chain to a new cove.

Tin Tin moored off Isla Casaya, Las Perlas Islands