ADVENTURE TIME ON ISLA OTOQUE, PANAMA
I don’t have too many vices, but my latest bad habit is too much TikTok. As embarrassing as it sounds at my age, sometimes my scrolling turns up some really interesting things like my latest excursion a couple of hours outside the city. I had never heard of this place, but there it was in my feed. I was hooked watching the colorful panga motoring toward another Panamanian Pacific paradise with dolphins playing in the wake, humpback whales breaching and gorgeous, crystal clear water. I’ve also been looking for another place to hit the beach and snorkel. It’s adventure time on Isla Otoque, Panama.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Even though you will depart from Punta Chame, Isla Otoque is part of Panama province and actually belongs to Taboga. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t know what exactly to expect, because there’s not a lot of information out there. There are two small towns on Isla Otoque: Otoque Oriente y Otoque Occidente. With an estimated 200 inhabitants, this small island’s population survives mainly by means of fishing and agriculture. A trip to Otoque is an experience from beginning to end.
Tours to Otoque normally depart from Punta Chame around 8 a.m. and offer a wide variety of activities: whalewatching, dolphins, fishing, birding and snorkeling. The company I used offered all of these activities, but were somewhat lacking in organization. Would I do it again? Yes, I’d love to come back with a better camera to take pictures of the amazing wildlife we encountered. I might just try another outfitter.
OUR DAY
I organized a group of friends from my hiking group to come along on this adventure with me. We arrived at 7:30 to catch our 8am boat at Punta Chame. Our boat was a standard panga that’s the mainstay in Central America for getting around on the water. We headed out over some pretty dramatic, rough surf that nearly tossed one of our guides overboard. We were soaked instantly, but it was kind of fun. The trip from the mainland to the island is about 25 minutes. As we approached land, the people on the right side of the boat were lucky enough to see a juvenile humpback whale breach–twice. We were off to a great start.
As we drifted past the sleepy little town of Otoque Oriente, we imagined what it would be like to live in such a remote spot. We all agreed it would be quite a challenge. As we rounded the island, we slowed down to check out numerous types of marine birds perched on the rocks. We were all really stoked about getting to see a few blue-footed boobies. We also saw brown boobies and numerous frigate birds circling overhead. The scenery was stunning with deep teal water contrasted against the rusty colored rocks and bright green tropical vegetation.
We continued on down the coast where we spotted more birds, cool rock formations and seaside caves. The landscape was really amazing. Around 9:30, we pulled into a little cove with beautiful turquoise water and got out to snorkel while we waited on the tides to go out, so we could head to the beach. The visibility was excellent, but there weren’t any interesting fish to see, just some brown ones that blended in with the rocks under the water.
After snacking and chatting, we pulled out of the cove to head out into the ocean looking for dolphins. We were really lucky to get to see numerous playful “pantropical spotted dolphins.” They were pretty small in comparison with the bottlenose dolphins I’ve seen in the past, but they were so fun! They jumped alongside our boat and a couple did really high jumps out of the water like acrobats.
Eventually we arrived at the “beach.” We were told it would be a white sand beach, but according to our captain, the tide was still too high. I asked how I would get to the trail for thie lighthouse from the beach and he decided that going there was a good idea instead to kill the time until the tide got a little lower. I didn’t realize the trail wasn’t where we were parked. I’m going to say that climbing to the lighthouse is not for the average tourist. It is perched on top of a rock in the water and the trail starts with a cement slab at an 80 degree angle with nothing to hold onto for a good 15 feet or so. It’s really kind of crazy, but the views look spectacular.
HUMPBACK WHALE SEASON
From July to October the Pacific coast of Panama is calving central for the myriad of humpback whales that migrate from the cold, southern waters of Antarctica to give birth to their young. This makes for excellent sighting opportunities off of Otoque. There was a mother and her calf feeding and breaching not too far off the coast, slapping their fins against the surface of the water. We kept our distance so as not to disturb them. It was really cool to see their behaviors as we waited for a little beach time or at least some time to stretch our legs.
WATER SPORTS
Based on our trip to Isla Otoque, there isn’t a real beach here. Apparently, they have removed much of the white sands from this island to create the beaches of Taboga. Here, the shoreline is rocky, but very beautiful. I would come prepared for biding and whale and dolphin sightings and not so much a day at the beach or snorkeling. The water is pleasant for a swim. The clarity was excellent and the temperature was perfect, but I didn’t see any tropical fish like I had hoped.
TOUR COMPANIES
I would recommend doing your research if you choose to do a tour on Isla Otoque. The area is beautiful with its abundant wildlife, but at the end of the day, I would go with a different company. Their communication was wonderful, but they did not have enough drinks for each person on the boat, they seemed to give up on providing certain experiences like time onshore or more snorkeling time without communicating with us and, in the end, the boat did not make it back to the place where we began our tour because of mechanical issues with the boat. They had to be towed in the rest of the way while we walked down the beach back to our cars. It was, indeed, an adventure.
I have found the following provider on Instagram: islaotoqueecotours.
GETTING THERE
You will be leaving from the shores of Punta Chame. It’s a little tricky to find, but there is parking on above the beach.
WHAT TO BRING
- Sunscreen the sun here is intense. Make sure you apply reef-safe sunscreen if you plan on swimming.
- Bathing suit and a change of clothes. Even if you don’t plan to swim, the ocean spray is intense.
- Quick dry towel I love mine. It’s so compact and lightweight, taking up much less space than a beach towel.
- Snacks and water as I mentioned before, our guide said he would provide waters, sodas and snacks. He didn’t have enough for everyone on the boat, so bring your own just to be on the safe side.
- Camera with a good telephoto lens both of my good cameras are currently in need or repair, but when I saw the blue-footed booby, I really regretted not having one ready to snap some better photos.
THE MOST ADVENTUROUS OF DAYS
I’m not a high-maintenance person–at all. Most of us on the trip are pretty easy going people in general, so I think if you come looking for a true adventure, you will not be disappointed in the scenery, the wildlife and the crazy memories that you will make on a journey to Isla Otoque.
Where has your craziest adventure been here in Panama? Comment below!