Accommodations and Food

Uaguinega Ecoresort, also known as Dolphin Island Lodge (tel. 263-7780 or 263-1500, www.uaguinega.com [1], starts at US$180 s, US$280 d, US$375 t, including all meals and a daily boat trip), is in some ways a good blend of the other accommodations in the archipelago. It offers seclusion and comfortable accommodations, yet there’s an interesting Kuna village just minutes away on Achutupu [2].

The only thing on Uaguitupu (Dolphin Island, pronounced “wah-ghee-TOO-poo”) is the lodge and quarters for the staff. The lodge’s name, Uaguinega (WAH-ghee-NEH-guh), literally means “dolphin house.” It consists of large, attractive, and comfortable bungalows and a common dining area.

The bungalows have hardwood floors, cold-water showers, sinks, and toilets. Most have a back porch right on the water, where you can lie in a hammock or write postcards at a little table.

Uaguinega has the distinction of being the first hotel in the archipelago to offer its guests satellite Internet access. Some may hope this experiment fails, as one of the delights of Kuna Yala [3] is feeling entirely cut off from the rest of the world.

The open-air dining room is on the northern edge of the island, looking out on open sea.

The lodge is owned and run by a Kuna family called the de la Ossas, and service is personal and friendly. One of the sons, Horacio, learned English during a three-month visit to the hippie enclave of Bolinas in Northern California, which he found a fascinating anthropological experience. (He thought it was muy interesante that there are 60-year-old North American women who smoke marijuana.)

The owners of Uaguinega have opened a somewhat more upscale sister hotel, Akwadup Lodge (tel. 396-4805 or 396-4806, cell 6105-9441, www.uaguinega.com [1], US$199 s, US$350 d, US$450 t, including meals and daily boat tour). It’s on the small island of Akwadup (OCK-wah-doop), about a 10-minute boat ride away from Achutupu [2]. This one consists of half a dozen thatched-roof, wooden-floored cabins on pilings right over the ocean. Each has mosquito netting, a ceiling fan, a terrace with hammocks, private bathrooms, and 24-hour electricity. There is also a bar/dining room. Rates drop around US$25 per person after the first night, depending on group size.

The newish Dad Ibe Lodge (cell 612205448 or 6784-5978, www.dadibelodge.com [4], US$110 s, US$180 d, US$240 t, including all meals and a daily boat tour; there’s a one-time charge of US$10 for first night) consists of three substantial cane-walled, thatched-roof cabins on a small private island about 10 minutes by boat from Ailigandí. Dad Ibe (dodd-EE-bay) appears similar to the other “upscale” accommodations in the archipelago: relatively comfortable but still basic cabins on a small private island.

Cabins are over the water, with balconies and private bathrooms with flush toilets. There’s an open-air dining room above the water. Those enticed to the place by promises of such things as “decorator-appointed luxury beachfront cabins” will likely be disappointed; some have been. Tour possibilities include two nearby uninhabited islands with beaches and a visit to the village on Ailigandí or the mangroves around it.