As I walked down the steps of the airplane I felt the strong sun, saw palm trees swaying in the breeze and smelled the fresh sea air. What a relief to not smell disiel exhuast. I walked up the stairs and down the street where I found a friendly guy with a pickup truck who gave me a lift to my new digs. After a three minute drive through curvy tree lined streets we pulled up to the inviting and quaint Perla Real Inn, which is nestled between a quite residential neighborhood and a lush jungle.

With beige stucco walls and terra cotta roofs, the inn's architecture is meant to resemble a building from colonial Spain. The owners, Bill and Jeanette, do a good job at this. With a big bell atop the entrance of the inn, I felt like I was going through the Alamo.

The Perla Real Inn has four rooms and two suites, all of which overlook a gorgeous patio and fountain which is perfect for meeting other travelers. Bill and Jeannette will make sure you have everything you need and when staying in their rooms, you will notice their attention to detail. The furniture and hand painted designs adorning white washed walls add to the charm of the place and the hand painted sink and tiles further add to the Spanish Ambiance

Bill set up a tour for me so made my way through the quite streets of Contadora for Playa Larga, where I met the bronze colored Captain Marco and his wife Teresa. They run Pearl Island Tours -an outfit which specializes in boat tours and snorkeling and whale watching trips. Our first destination was Isla Chapera which has amazing snorkeling. I saw fish that had colors I didn't even think existed. I saw a parrot fish that had all the pastel colors of a Miami hotel and a tiny fish hiding in a crevice that looked like someone splashed neon purple on him.

Next stop was Isla Mogo Mogo where CBS filmed their famed season 7 of Survivor. Mogo Mogo was where the cast played all of their games. It's a perfect location. It looks like it's in the middle of nowhere, but it's actually only only 20 minutes away from civilization. I got off the boat and did a little exploring on my own. Tiny crabs were scurrying up and down the tan colored beach and there were huge frigate birds riding on warm currents of air. The water was as clear as crystal and was so warm I could have been swimming in a bathtub. On the way back to Contadora we saw several giant sting rays swim under the boat that had wing spans of at least five feet. I also spotted a starfish, which Marco promptly dove into the water to grab.

When I arrived back on Terra Firma I jumped in a gas powered golf cart with Bill and we cruised around the island for a bit. Along the way we saw where the Shah of Iran once lived. That's one of the great things about Contadora, you can just cruise lazily around the island and go at your own pace- it's almost like time doesn't exist here. There is absolutely no rush.

After a drive around the island, I went to a restaurant overlooking Playa Galeon and ordered a plate of freshly caught Dorado, which came with vegetables and patacones. I savored my cold beer as the sun slowly dipped underneath the horizon. What a day.

The next morning I drove my little golf cart to Playa Galeon again. I saw an island in distance that looked interesting, so playing on my childhood fantasy of being deserted on a beautiful uninhabited island for a few hours; I asked a fisherman if he could take me there. He agreed. The island is called Batholome. He dropped me off for a few of hours and I was off exploring trails in the jungle. The white sand beaches were even nicer than I imagined and the water was turquoise. There were rocky crags jutting out from the island which I knew had good snorkeling. So I dove into the translucent water with my snorkel gear and saw tons of fish- giant schools of silver shimmering fish, puffer fish, parrot fish, needlefish, a couple giant ones for which I have no name for, and countless others.

The tide was coming in and it was getting too strong for me to keep snorkeling so I had to get back to terra-firma. I saw the blue tarp of my rescue boat coming closer and closer and my adventure had come to an end.

Contadora is a place steeped in legends and lore. You can see islands that are completely unchanged from the time the conquistadors first set eyes on them. I had a great time on Contadora. My recommendation is to stay at the Perla Real Inn for a weekend and experience the unspoiled beaches, beautiful sunsets, and great snorkeling before the secret gets out.

Perla Real Inn

Tel.: (507) 2-50-4095

Cel.: (507) 65-13-9064

www.Perlarealinn.com

e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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