There’s not much that can compare to the luxury of living on an island like Isla Palenque. I had an entire month to lose myself in her wild jungles all day long before coming home to a beach washed in the colors of the setting sun… to wait as the bonfire petered out and the stars began to pierce the opaque curtain of the night sky.
View the slideshow to share a few of the most magical moments from my time on Isla Palenque.
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The Girl in the Red Dress
"The Girl in the Red Dress." This image has me envisioning a Nancy Drew mystery set on Isla Palenque. And indeed there are many secrets to uncover on this island.
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Secret Cave
I won’t say much more than that this island truly rewards exploration. This is one of two tiny caves discovered during the month I spent on Isla Palenque.
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Her Natural Colour
View from Playa Palenque just after the sun finished sinking. The intensity of the colors was breathtaking – it’s worth noting that this photo was not edited or retouched whatsoever.
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Green Sunscreen
A shady shelter for the fair: the jungle filters the sun into crystalline shafts of light. Consider it “green sunscreen.”
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Punta Ballena
One of the most iconic places on Isla Palenque. The westernmost point on the island, Punta Ballena hides the setting sun at the close of each summer day. The bluff also conceals the island’s natural blowhole, where periodic blasts of ocean spray chant a call to explore in time with the rising tide.
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Hung Moon
A moonset over Playa Palenque, captured at about 6:30 as the tide was going out. You can watch a timelapse of the changing skies in my first video as Island Intern called “A Beach for the Adventurous.”
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Secret Spectrum
The mist of the blowhole reveals the secret spectrum hidden in sunlight. Nothing beats the serendipity of a rainbow for one of those magical moments in nature that put a smile on your face when there’s no one else in sight.
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Sunset After Rainfall
A rainbow isn’t your only reward for weathering the storm – the lingering clouds from late afternoon rain showers made this one of my favorite sunsets.
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Lantana Camara
One of the many medicinal plants on Isla Palenque, these Lantana Camara seem almost magical in their ability to treat all kinds of ailments.
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Rose Water
What I was going for: a silky reflection off the slowly receding waters. What I ended up getting: soaked. The waves were a little more powerful than I had anticipated. The camera was only about 2 cm above the incoming waves of high tide.
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Speed of Starlight
The stargazing on Isla Palenque is incredible. Every night I’d walk the beach at low tide to admire the sky, a glittering tapestry devoid of all light pollution. These distant diamonds reach my eyes at lightspeed… yet time has rarely felt so gloriously slow.
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Blueberry Lemonade Beach
I never tired of getting out my camera for the nightly sunset show. Sometimes deeper hues of intense pinks and oranges; other times, refreshing pastels of baby blue and yellow.
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Sun Disappearing Behind the Point
I spent my last few days on the island exploring and filming Punta Ballena, so it’s only fitting that this be my “goodbye” photo. If I had to choose a cover photo for my album of Isla Palenque memories, it would be this one.
It goes without saying that even the most stunning of these images cannot convey the island enchantment I felt when I got out from behind the lens.
Isla Palenque is one of those iconic places where you’ll never find yourself daydreaming, because the romance of your reality will captivate you from the moment of your arrival. It has been an honor (and a real challenge) to communicate the experience of living on this incredible island. Until you’re able to see it for yourself, I hope the stories and videos from my month as an Isla Palenque Island Intern allow you at least a glimpse into a corner of the world that deserves to be preserved as well as shared.
TAGS: Beaches Isla Palenque Island Intern Nature Panama Photos Slideshows
Post by Mike Corey
Meet our 2012 Isla Palenque Island Intern, Mike Corey: a 26-year-old world traveler with a background in biology and a serious yen for the wildest creatures and experiences on the planet! Discover Isla Palenque from behind the lens of this intrepid adventurer!
More posts by Mike Corey
