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PEARL ISLANDS (ARCHIPIÉLAGO DE LAS PERLAS) In the Pearl Islands, the Survivors must share their living space with myriads of insects, mammals, birds and sea creatures. Although the castaways will be able to find food, water and the means to build shelter in their island environment, they will also face many dangers, including poisonous plants and animals, predators, changes in weather and, perhaps most treacherous of all, each other! Situated in the Gulf of Panama about 50 miles southeast of Panama City, this archipelago comprises about 183 islands. Many of these are tiny and largely unexplored, but in general, the islands are characterized by rich soil, lush foliage and abundant wildlife. The climate is tropical, with high humidity and a rainy season lasting about nine months. June and July are the hottest months, with high temperatures reaching from 77° F to 86° F. The Pearl Islands, named for the abundance of pearls found in the surrounding waters, were discovered in 1513 by the Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa when he crossed the isthmus of Panama and first beheld the Pacific Ocean. The islands became a haven for european pirates, who were attracted by the pearls and the proximity to rich Spanish settlements and ships ripe for plunder. |
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BUILDING A SHELTER The best place to build a shelter on the island is highly elevated and well away from the beach, with no loose soil or rough ground. The ideal finished shelter is open on all sides, with a water-resistant roof and a bed raised off the dirt floor. Once it is built, the shelter should be carefully maintained and repaired daily. Clean the area of all sticks, rocks, leaves or other debris to ensure that no animals can nest there. Select four bamboo support poles and place them upright at the corners, ends buried deep in the ground, for stability. For the roof, first use a few bamboo poles to build a horizontal lattice across the tops of the support poles. Cover the lattice with palm leaves, split in half lengthwise and placed close together, overlapping like the scales of a fish. The more leaves you use and the closer together you place them, the more water-resistant your roof will be. Be sure to construct your bamboo bed so that it is raised several inches from the bare earthen floor. Never sleep on the bare ground--ever! |
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PLANT LIFE POISONOUS PLANTS Most of the poisonous plants on the Pearl Islands look as though they could be eaten. The Survivors should have little trouble recognizing the poisonous plants, however, because they secrete a milky substance. Poisonous plants include falsa mora, a tree with fruit resembling dry, crumbly raspberries; manzanillo, whose fruit looks like tiny, berry-sized green apples; mushrooms, either on trees or on the ground; almendros, fruits that turn yellow-green when ripe; frijolillo, a whitish, bean-like seed encased in a spiked shell; Memeisillo, tiny fruit that ripen to an orange color; and the fregaplato, whose fruit resembles a tiny, hard, yellow-red tomato. EDIBLE PLANTS Of course, not all Pearl Island plant life is poisonous. Two of the most commonly eaten indigenous plants are the lemon and the young coconut or pipa. The pipa is a largish green oval-shaped fruit. The skin can be cut away with a machete; once you reach the center, the liquid there is delicious and nutritious, an excellent way to cleanse the kidneys. If the pipa is left to dry out, it becomes the coconut, which has a hard shell that, when burned, wards off mosquitoes. |
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ANIMALS On the islands, there are a number of dangerous animals that could cause problems for the Survivors and should be avoided. Mosquitoes are not only a nuisance, but can also transmit such diseases as Dengue Fever and Malaria. If insect repellant is not available, a good way to avoid mosquito bites is to locate and burn a termite mound, which produces a smoke that wards off the bugs. There are a number of poisonous or dangerous marine animals in the waters surrounding the islands, including blowfish, pufferfish, jellyfish, sharks, barracudas, eels and stingrays. Blowfish and pufferfish are both inedible, while the other animals are too dangerous to approach or consider as food sources. Touching or stepping on coral should also be avoided due to the injuries it can cause. There are a few edible animals on the islands, such as the iguana, the hermit crab, the colored crab and the zinga crustacean. |
