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Hidden Gems: Islas Secas
WORDS: EMMA AL-MOUSAWI | IMAGES: ISLAS SECAS
Known to some as the Lost Coast, Panama’s Gulf of Chiriquí remains a wild stretch of Central America’s eastern tropical Pacific. A landscape of dozens of islands sewn from ancient volcanoes and some of the richest virgin coastal rainforest in the region, it’s a world unto its own, thanks to its isolated position and topography unfazed by El Niño’s colder winds. Amid endless vines and palms hide rare scarlet macaws and crested eagles, while beneath its waters lies a marine highway of migrating humpback whales, drawn like a magnet thousands of miles from the icy Antarctic Peninsula. In the centre of it all, around 32 kilometres from the sparsely populated mainland, you will find Islas Secas, a 14-island private archipelago and one of the world’s most exclusive resorts.
An off-the-grid escape, Islas Secas started life in the early noughties as a no-frills fishing lodge. With a name that translates to ‘Dry Islands’ due to the archipelago’s low tides, the last human habitation here prior to that is thought to be more than 600 years ago. Bought by American billionaire conservationist Louis Bacon in 2009, the hedge fund manager transformed it, unveiling a dream-like tropical playground in 2019.
The antithesis of over-the-top opulence, this is assured, laid-back island luxury and the kind of place you can go barefoot to dinner whether you’re having the intricate five-course tasting menu or a hamburger. Staff know first-time visitors by name, welcoming them as if they’re returning home. And like at home, your cash is not required. Everything is included: from Champagne to spa treatments and yoga, to PADI certification.
Despite being made up of 14 islands, only two can be accessed, reserving the rest for nature. Bacon plans to keep it this way. Committed to only developing 25 per cent of the Islas Secas archipelago, he has set about an ambitious programme of research and conservation through his privately funded Islas Secas Foundation. The 100 per cent solar-powered destination is contained within the rainforest-blanketed Isla Cavada – the largest of the 14 isles. Only guests who are staying at the resort are permitted to moor within Islas Secas’s conservation-status waters, after which they are ushered onto a tender and whisked to
their stay.
Isla Cavada
Eight standalone villas are dotted around 418 acres of thick flora, making it easy to go days without seeing anyone, if you choose. These range from tented casitas high in the hills to the newly unveiled four-bedroom, four-bathroom Casa Cavada, a 8,300sq ft indoor-meets-outdoor expanse with cavernous ceilings crafted from sustainable eucalyptus, glass and coral stone. It has its own beach, a Chef-manned kitchen and cliffside infinity pool, as well as a wraparound ocean-view terrace with Swarovski telescope for spotting whales and stargazing. The island’s watersports centre has a wide selection of slow- and fast-paced methods of exploring the island landscape, be that fishing for big game, exploring some of the 20 dive sites or zooming above the surface on an e-foil (an electronic hydrofoil surfboard).
On land, meander beneath the canopy on a guided birding trail as rufous-tailed hummingbirds gather pollen and black hawks glide overhead or take one of the hiking paths to secluded beaches. These can also be accessed by boat or kayak, and if you pack a walkie talkie, you can radio to have a gourmet picnic delivered.
Thankfully the food at Terraza – Islas Secas’ vaulted thatched-roof restaurant – is excellent, as there is nowhere else for miles. Dishes change daily and range from casual, such as Wagyu tacos, to a wine-paired five-course tasting menu with plates such as snapper ceviche with passion fruit foam. Next door, a Hemingway-inspired bar mixes bespoke cocktails to taste, while a basket of complimentary cigars sit on the side, should the mood take you.
Isla Pargo
Isla Pargo, Islas Secas’ other land-accessible island, provides a chance to live the ultimate castaway-but-upscale experience on a white-sand beach backed by dense jungle. Completely undeveloped (apart from a WC), it’s a place for lobster beach barbecues, snorkelling in clear waters to spot leaping mobula rays or sipping from an ice-cold coconut.
Isla Coco
A marine safari on board Isla Secas’ 50ft Maverick Superyacht with Conservation Manager and biologist Beny Wilson is a must. Circling the outer islands is a chance to get up close to some of the archipelago’s 114 bird and 12 mammal species. Northerly Isla Coco is a protected bird sanctuary, hosting Panama’s second-largest colony of frigatebirds, whose wingspan surpasses two metres. However, not all of the action is above land, with diving in the southeast corner of Isla Coco an opportunity to swim alongside parrotfish, stingrays and hawksbill turtles. The lack of any other boats is noticeable. The only time the waterways are busy here is summer – and not with boats, but whales. Between July and August, it’s not unheard of for the yacht to be surrounded by humpbacks, some weighing up to 40 tonnes.
Beyond Islas Secas
An hour away by boat lies UNESCO World Heritage Coiba National Park. A little-known gem, it remains largely under the radar despite being one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet. Incorporating Isla Coiba – Central America’s largest island – as well as 38 smaller isles and surrounding marine areas, the uninhabited park spans more than 430,000 acres. Sheer isolation and Isla Coiba’s past as a penal colony between 1919 to 2004 has meant it has remained predominantly untouched, allowing a plethora of birds and endemic mammals, such as the Coiba island howler monkey, to thrive. Diving here is a particularly rewarding experience. The smaller Canales Islands are renowned for sharks (there are 33 shark species in Coiba including tiger, hammerhead and whale), while Isla Granito de Oro is known for its vibrant coral gardens.
