Travelling

One of the advantages of working in the tourism sector is that you get to visit places for work that other people visit for holidays. And you might be one of the first to be there. At the moment we are looking around in the area for people/organizations with whom we can join collaborate. We prefer to work with community initiatives. Last week we visited a small association on ‘Isla Gobernadora’.

Isla Gobernadora is an island situated on the western side of the Gulf of Montijo, close to Santa Catalina (which is on the main land). The association on Isla Gobernadora is supported by a Peace Corps Volunteer. They are almost ready to receive visitors, but no-one knows about their activities. The association does not have the capital to send the boat to Santa Catalina to try and lure tourists to their island. That would be difficult anyway because none of the members speaks English and few tourists speak Spanish. There are quite a few tourists in Santa Catalina because it is one of the best surfing spots in Central America.

But now we can tell you from experience that it is worth your while to go to Isla Gobernadora. It is a fairly typical tropical island with coconut palms, fishing boats, deserted beaches, jungle and one public phone that is often out of order. The people are very friendly and take life one day at the time. Many inhabitants have changed from agriculture to fisheries because that means they only have to work when they need money and the work isn’t so heavy. It is, in other words, a very good place to de-stress in a hammock.

A double room at Mario’s costs seven USD (special offer for us) and the only functional restaurant prepares chicken or fish for 1.5 USD. If you want to eat iguana (bred by the restaurant owners) you will pay more, but hey, at least this delicacy(?) is available at the island! So, despite the relatively expensive trip (30 USD for the boat, but it takes up to 8 people, so if you are with a group, it only costs 3.5USD/person) staying at Isla Gobernadora can be relaxing as well as cheap.

But, like we said, few people get there because it is not mentioned in any guide. And, contrary to their claims, many backpackers are not adventurous at all. So far not one has had the bright idea to rent a boat and have a look at this beautiful island right under their noses in stead of slavishly following their travel book.

That is a problem that we will also have to solve. How do we get people to visit our place without having to wait for the next edition of a travel guide to appear? What we will try is to organize regular transport from Santa Catalina to our place. Many tourists already visit Santa Catalina and this way they get to see the Gulf of Montijo and they do not have to go back the same way they came. On top of that, they can drop of at Isla Gobernadora before continuing to our place (or to Santa Catalina). We plan to organize two trips per week during the coming holiday season and see how it goes.