Dolphin Island Lodge is located on Uaguitupo Island, a private Island directly across from the indigenous Kuna island community of Achutupo. Known locally as the Uaguinega Ecoresort, the name derives from the Kuna language, where Uagui means dolphin and Nega means house. Together, therefore, it means “The House of the Dolphin.” During certain times of the year you can catch a sight of dolphins, and with some you luck you might be able to admire them.
It is a 45 minute flight from Panama City to Achutupu airport, which is hardly Heathrow, with only a tiny landing strip with a wooden hut!!
You are them met by by your Kuna guide, who will take you on a short trip in a motorised dugout canoe to the lodge itself. If you don’t like small boats, and don’t fancy the idea of a dugout, this trip is all of three minutes!!!
It doesn’t take long to feel you are miles away from civilisation.
When you hear the words eco resort, it may be a put off, because our only previous experience had involved worms, and I won’t tell you what they did, but if you go prepared mentally then what you will find is a Robinson Cruso castaway style, quite basic but very comfortable, vacation.
Check out photographs at http://www.worldwidevacationspots.com/articles/17/1/San-Blas-Islands-Dolphin-Island-Lodge/Page1.html
The Lodge has 11 cabins, which are pretty basic, and have electricity from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. after which an emergency lamp is provided.
The 3 junior suites are a great deal more comfortable and more suited for those of us who have outgrown our enthusiastic eco-warrior youth, and now like some home comforts!! They are equipped with solar panels to provide electrical energy through the night. The island not being very large is almost all given over to the resort, apart from a few staff huts.
It is all very attractive with a mix of palm trees, grass, and the cabins, which are right on the edge of the sea. In fact the sea is so close you almost feel it!! You can sit on the deck in a hammock and totally relax to the sounds of the sea.
Each hut is equipped with a proper flushing toilet, and a semi open air shower area, but it is cold only as there no hot water here. Cold showers don’t seem so bad with a hot sun. You won’t find any air conditioning either although there is electricity for lighting,so keeping the doors open at night is a ‘must do’ but if there is no breeze, then it could become unbearable.
There is also an open air dining area right next to the sea, where all the delicious meals are taken. There is tons of fresh fruit, and all the gorgeous seafood is freshly caught, in fact you can see the Kuna fishermen arriving with their daily catch.
There is a small shop run by local Kuna women, where you can buy local handicrafts, and if you cannot bear to be completely separated from your emails, then there are internet facilities.
Other things you might wish to do is to visit a larger Kuna village a three minute boat ride away, or visit a nearby deserted island with a beautiful white sand beach.
The whole thing is almost like a scene from South pacific except it is in the Caribbean, but it is like turning back the clock to a time where ultra modern full facility hotels were still a nightmare, sorry a dream!!
Go see it now and experience it whilst you can.
Word count: 598