Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.   Anita Desai

July 1, 2009   Woes Begone

This morning the cold reality hits us.  We either get this generator running or head to Colon, approximately 90 miles away, to Shelter Bay Marina, where we can plug into 110 electricity.  Meanwhile, since it's been over 36 hours since our refrigerator/freezer has been cooled down, items in the freezer are beginning to thaw.  Louis and Julie on s/v Simpatica offer their portable refrigerator/freezer cooler that runs on 12 volts.  So, we offer them our icemaker to use in exchange.  They happily agree.  Cool.  So, after filling it up with our freezer items, we can't run it on our system, because our batteries are run down.  Phil on s/v Wandering Star and the crew on Fantasy have motored over to Porvenir to do business with the Port Captain, but tell us to meet them back in the East Lemmons this afternoon and Phil will then take a look at our generator.  So, we motor back over and even though that charges our batteries up, the portable  freezer/cooler still does not have enough juice to run.  Simpatica follows us over as well and when we set anchor, we take the cooler back to Louis so he can plug it in on his boat.

The Kuna women wear "wini" beads on forearms and lower leg

After replacing the starter, and still no luck, phone calls are made to James, the technician, at the Northern Lights dealership in Florida.  Phil talks to James and explains the situation.  James, then gives Phil, three places to look for the problem.  Of course, it's always the last place they look.  In the junction box, where the relays are located, there is a reset switch.  Phil takes it out and it is damaged on the bottom of the plug, like it has been overheated.  Luckily, over these past few months, we have many spare parts onboard and one of them happens to be a new reset switch.  The new switch is then installed, and voila.  The generator is up and running with all gauges working.  What a relief and what a godsend Mr Phil is with his generator philosophy!  Louis brings over a bag of ice and we celebrate with a rum and coke. Actually, several.

Happy 4th of July

We have sinced moved back to the East Cocos where the action is for this Independence Day.  There are about 12 boats anchored here and we all gather on the island at 3pm, bringing our dish to share and our meat to grill.  Last night, there was a big storm with a lightning show that was better than any fireworks display.  Streaks of lightning filled the sky for several hours and thunder boomed so loudly that it sounded like a big bass drum, but there was no parade.

July 6 - 8, 2009   Our First Charter

Yes, we decide to be employed for a couple of days and take on three people who are a part of a group of ten.  The other seven are on another boat named Minorca with Captain Chico.  This group works for KLM airlines,  the whole crew from Captain, Co Captain and flight attendants.  They are on leave for five days in Panama City and have decided to have some fun in the San Blas islands for a couple of days.  We pick them up in Nargana at the small airport there at 8 am, where Aaron greets our three people and dinghy them and their luggage back to Blow Me Away.   For the next two days, Andrew, Peter and Alexandria are given the royal Blow Me Away treatment. Snorkeling, sailing, sighting dolphin on our bow wave,  an island cookout, lobster creole for dinner, and happy hour with rum and coke and best of all with lots of ice!

   July 11th  It's off to Sapzurro

Our three month visa is up, so we have to check out of the country for at least three days before we can receive another three month visa.  We decide the best way for us to do this, is to head for Sapzurro, Colombia, which is located about 90 miles further east on the border of Panama and Colombia. S/V Lizzy Jean, with Paul and Rob onboard, are coming along with us and their plan is to head for Cartagena once they reach Sapzurro.  So after a restful few days, we are ready to go.

We depart the Eastern Cocos Banderos after waiting until a squall passed thru which made us get a late start, 930am, so we only made six miles to the tiny island of Isla Tigre. Lizzy Jean  is an Erickson 30, a much smaller boat and a wee bit slower. There isn't a good anchorage from this point until 20 miles further so we tuck in and hopefully get an early start tomorrow. The sahlia (chief) of the island and his assistant paddle out in his ulu and collect a $5 anchoring fee from us. Our dinghy and Lizzy Jean's are stowed properly. Ours are up on the davits and well secured and Lizzy Jean's is on deck, the motors are stowed on motor mounts on the aft, so it is not an easy job to get our motor car out on the water. We stay onboard the rest of the day and rest. During the night, we get hit by a small microburst, a water tornado, which hits us with approximately a 60 knot wind and only lasts 5 seconds. It lays us almost on our side, and thankfully, our anchor holds and the storm passes, but not without making some noise. Big booming thunder and a lightning show with a lightning strike close by that shakes the boat. No damage to our boat or Lizzy Jean, all electronics onboard working.

July 12th  On to Mono Island

We depart Isla Tigre at 9am. We follow Lizzy Jean out the south channel and the northeast swells are around 4-5 feet with winds of 10 knots out of the east-southeast. We raise the main mostly to stabilize us. The swells hit us on the side, and so the rolling motion of side to side gives everything down below a good test of how secure it is, that is if it stays in place and not wind up on the floor. The cutting board slides out and other small stuff takes a trip to the floor, but all in all, things are for the most part secure. We stop at Aridup, at noon, where we have heard that snorkeling the reefs is a definite stop, so since we are way ahead of Lizzy Jean, (by 1 1/2 hours) we anchor in 30 feet of water and take a swim off our boat. The visibility is poor, but the reef that is closest to us, is interesting enough and the water feels great. Refreshed and back onboard, we raise anchor and get underway just as Lizzy Jean passes us by.  We catch a 20" wahoo while motorsailing. Yippee, fresh fish for dinner. By 330pm, we are anchored at Mono Island, a small bay that is well protected, but a bit rolly. Since we are close to the mainland now, the water is not clear, but has the color of lake water. There is no wind and it is stifling, so we both take another swim to cool off. Lizzy Jean rows over for dinner, my special Thai Curry Fish dish. It's worth the row, they say.

July 13th  Next stop, Isla Pinos

We get an earlier start today, up anchor at 815am, and the trip today is 25 miles to Isla Pinos. We head offshore instead of taking the inside passage. We will make better time. At 845am, we are sailing. The winds are out of the northeast 10-15 knots, and that persistent northeast swell is still making its presence known. A pod of dolphin, about 30-40 of them, come up and stay on our bow for what seems a long time. I get some video of the dolphin swimming in our bow wake. Awesome. They turn off and find Lizzy Jean and do the same thing. The wind dies at noon, and the seas are bigger, 10-12 feet. This is not fun at all. The swells hit us broadside and with no wind, the boat really rocks from side to side. We can see the reef which extends out along the coastline on our starboard side. We notice the swells are noticeably bigger closer to the reef. At times, the reef ends, and the swells lessen. As we approach our destination, and have to make a turn so that the swells are now hitting us on our stern, we surf thru the channel. The depths go from over 150 feet to 28 feet and the pucker factor is in place. Aaron bears off and we find deep water as it should be. As we get closer to the island, Isla Pinos is called Tupak in Kuna, which means whale; and it is indeed a shape of a whale! Once in the lee of Isla Pinos, the water is clearer and smooth. We anchor past the tiny village and take a swim. Lizzy Jean arrives an hour later and all of us agree that we are staying here tomorrow to rest. Paul and Rob say that their boat is a mess, a gasoline spill and stuff down below everywhere. They are still learning, having just purchased the boat 9 months ago and this is their first sailing experience. We keep giving them our sage advice and they are so appreciative. The Chief and assistant, Hugo, come out in an ulu and collect a $8 anchoring fee.

July 14th   A day of rest

It's a lay day and much needed. Muscles are sore and tired. At 4am, a squall hit with winds over 30 knots. We dragged anchor since the holding is eel grass, not the best. Lizzy Jean drags as well. Paul comes by later and gives us a lift into town. Not much of one and few children. We find Hugo and place an order for dinner. Choices are pulpo (octopus), fish, or tiny lobster. Three orders for pulpo, and Rob wants the lobster. We check out the island and take a beach stroll in the afternoon. Paul has his metal detector out and sweeps the beach area looking for lost treasure. At 5pm, we arrive at Hugo's hut and the table is prepared with food; coconut rice, patacones, (fried plantains) and one bowl of octopus in a red sauce and the a smaller bowl of the tiny lobster dish. The hut has no breeze and Hugo sits in his hammock behind us rocking his little baby boy while we eat. The octopus is really tender and flavorful. This is our first time eating octopus. We each try the lobster dish, and it's okay. The octopus, I think, is better. After dinner, Hugo takes us on a tour of the village and shows us where they catch water off of the mountain.

July 15th  A day hop to Nianega       

 Up anchor at 9am, and follow Lizzy Jean, since they have better charts of the area than we do.( a program called Sea Clear and when used with a GPS puck,  will enable you to see your position on Eric Bauhaus charts, who is the author of the Cruising Guide to Panama, charts. It's a free program that can be downloaded online. The GPS puck can be bought on Ebay or Amazon.)  Once out of the lee, the swells are still up, and we motor 5.5 miles over to another island chain called Suledup, setting anchor right off of the airport runway, an area called Nianega. Good holding in sand and well protected. Rob is not feeling well this morning and so Paul takes a dinghy trip with us and we check out both island villages that we are anchored in between. There are lots of children and friendly smiles greet us from shore. The children wave to us and say" hola hola" (hello,hello) over and over. Paul says this is like an UNICEF commercial. There are three villages within the five mile span on this island. At 4pm, I am not feeling well and lay down. The next four hours are brutal, and all night long my joints ache horribly. I can't keep anything down, so I can't take any medicine. Aaron is busy passing out candy to all the children who paddle up to us in their ulus. At one time, there was six ulus around us. It's lost to me, sadly, but Aaron takes a lot of pictures.

July 16th  Down and out in Nianega

I am weak and exhausted. And find out that Rob has the same symptoms. Aaron has a spell of diarrhea and Paul gets sick too but not nearly as bad as Rob and I. So, I think that we got food poisoning from the Kuna dinner of octopus and lobster or the sanitary conditions of the kitchen were not as clean as we are used to. We rest all day, but many ulus with children come back and ask for more candy.  As Aaron and I sit in our cockpit, later on in the day,  watching the ulus pass by, we hear a man and woman singing, and as this ulu comes closer, we can see an older man and his wife, singing a song as they paddle along.  The singing is also interspersed with a cute giggle from the wife.  Now, isn't that what love is?

 July 17th   Puerto Escoses, a Scottish port

Anchors up at 1100am, and motorsail over to Puerto Escoses, 7.3 miles away. It's a big bay with mountains all around with a small fishing camp on shore.  The Kunas from Suledup come here to hunt and gather.  Paul is so excited about exploring the old remains of Fort St. Andrews, a Scottish settlement, 1698-1702.  Here's a brief history: In 1698, William Patterson, cofounder of the Bank of England, organized and financed an expedition to establish a settlement in this bay.  The 1300 Scots that built Ft. Andrew, of which today only a few ruins remain, ended up having a terrible time.  Faced with starvation and disease after two years, the remaining Scots returned to their native homeland.  Just after they had left, a fleet of reinforcements arrived from Scotland and made a second attempt to survive.  Sadly, they suffered the same fate and Ft. Andrew was given up for good in 1702.  Of the nearly 3000 people involved, over 2000 died. Paul has done research before their trip via the internet and has old maps of the area. Tomorrow is exploration day ashore. We pay another anchoring fee of $5. I am still not feeling well and stay onboard. This is a beautiful place, but with the NE swells it is rolly.

July 18th  Bagpipes and a wee bit of dram

Fort exploration day.  We take both dinghies over to the small sandy beach area close to where the fort once stood. We disembark and can almost faintly hear the bagpipes announcing our arrival. It's hot and sultry and as we enter the jungle following Rob with his machete, hacking away the tropical plants in our way, while Rob with his metal detector sweeps the ground and documents it all by video cam. There is somewhat of a path and find a huge pile of coconut husks. The Kunas harvest the coconuts for sale. On we go deeper into the jungle, watching for spiders and snakes. We walk for about 20 minutes discovering no fort remains. Disappointed, we turn around and head back. Rob's last name is Scott, and that's as close to Scotland we get.  Paul gets a huge hit on his metal detector and I help him dig for the treasure. It's an old old hinge and Paul is so excited about his find.  I can understand how the Scots had such a hard time growing anything.  The soil is poor and it is laden with roots upon roots.  Once back at the beach, we immediately take a swim to cool off.

Tonight it's pizza and movie night onboard BMA. I make a couple of supreme pizzas and Paul brings over his computer and we watch Slumdog Millionaire in the cockpit. Great movie and great pizza.

July 19th   Onwards to Sapzurro

Weather predictions call for the seas to be much calmer today and winds of 15k, so we up anchor at 8am and make our way towards Sapzurro. It's 20 miles further away, along the coastline. The mountains are so green and there are islands dotting the coastline. We head offshore, 3 miles, and where is the wind? 5-10knots maybe, so we motor. I catch a 36 inch shark off of Cape Tiburon (Cape Shark, appropriately named!). He doesn't put up much of a fight as I reel him in. Aaron gaffs him and I pour rubbing alcohol in his mouth to kill him quickly. We tie him off onto the stern rail. Shark is good eating, but hard to clean since their skin is so tough. The seas are much calmer. We head to our waypoint off of Sapzurro for our approach. There are no buoys marking the channel and the seas are on our aft. We can see the reefs on both sides breaking. We douse the main and motor on into the bay. There are only three other sailboats here all tied stern to a tree. We have never done this maneuver before and it's not without some stress that we get ourselves situated to drop the anchor and back in towards shore. Our depth meter shows 10 feet, so I swim ashore with a stern line and it's not long enough. Aaron lets out more chain and the depth is now 8 feet and still the line is too short. Aaron swims ashore with another line, ties the two together, ties it to a palm tree and now we discover that we forgot to set out the swim ladder. Luckily, I am able to pull myself up high enough to the step we have out which is about 3/4 of the way up, and climb onboard. We whistle to get the attention of a couple of local boys who are out in their canoe fishing.  They paddle over and our greeted to a shark surprise.  We give them our catch and huge smiles appear on their faces.  Paddling as fast as they can back to shore, they both have to help one another carry the shark home.  I bet their Mom and Dad are happy for the gift! Lizzy Jean arrives and after anchoring come over to celebrate our successful trip. Out comes the magic bullet and pina coladas are served up. Paul and Rob treat us to dinner ashore. The tiny town is quaint, small and has a sidewalk down the middle business district. It's a welcomed change from the Kuna villages. We find a restaurant that serves us fresh red snapper. I find a local who will take us in his panga (big canoe) over to Capurgana, where we have to check into immigration tomorrow for 50,000 pesos. Manana is another day................

July 20th   Colombia Independence Day

From our deck, we can see the public dock lined up with men in uniform.  The military green are on one side, while the men in blue, the navy boys, line the other side.  A brief ceremony is given, minature Colombian flags are passed out to the crowd, and since it is a holiday, the immigration office is closed.  So, we make plans to have a panga pick us up at our boats tomorrow to make the 10 minute trip over to the next bay, where the city of Capurgana is located.  We check out the tiendas and take a stroll along the beach, not much action here. This is  a very laidback town.

July 21st   Check in and check out, Capurgana

The panga promptly picks us up at 9am, and the trip over is short.  Capurgana is a more modern town, several hotels line the beach, waterfront restaurants and shops, definitely more to do here than sleepy Sapzurro.  Colombians visit here on holiday.  We ask directions to the immigration office, where a nice gentlemen helps us with our passports.  Paul is fluent in Spanish and so, he takes over the job of speaking for the whole group.  In only a half hour's time, we are checked into Colombia and that same day, we are checked out.  He does us a favor by doing this, so that we do not have to make a return trip tomorrow.  We plan on leaving Sapzurro tomorrow and head back to the San Blas.  We walk around the town to check out if there is anything we need in the way of supplies.  The exchange rate is 1800 pesos to the dollar. That's a surprise. When we left Cartagena back in March, the rate was 2542 pesos.  We spy a restaurant that advertises hamburgers, but it is closed.  Determined now to enjoy a cheeseburger in paradise, we finally find a small restaurant that serves up a somewhat tasty burger.  It leaves a lot to be desired, and not what we had in mind.  What was that meat, horse? At 1pm, we head back to the dock, and with our meager supplies in hand, we are motored back to our boat.  Later that afternoon, Paul and Rob pick us up in their dinghy, (our dinghy is still secured), and we hike back into the jungle to the waterfall.  Louis on s/v Simpatica, told us to definitely seek out this waterfall, and glad that we found it.  The water falls from about 40 feet up, and it is the best cold shower that we have had in a long time.  Too bad we forgot the shampoo!

July 22nd   So long to Sapzurro and Lizzy Jean

Last night we had Paul and Rob over for a farewell dinner and drinks.  We have certainly enjoyed their company and wish them well as they continue on their journey to Cartagena and beyond.  With last minute goodbyes, and books traded, we motor out of Sapzurro and head west.  Once offshore,  we find that the wind is right on our nose!  Why is it that whatever direction we are headed, we are met with noserlies?  Aaron decides to put out a trolling line, and within 30 minutes, we have caught another shark. Luckily, this time, as Aaron reels him in, the shark throws the lure and gets away.  Aaron decides that fishing off of Cape Tiburon is just what you expect, so we decline to prove it otherwise.  We motorsail the entire way back to our favorite anchorage, so far, to Nianega and spend two days here, kicking back and relaxing; an entire anchorage to ourselves, well, except for the curious Nubudupians who love to visit.  Nubudup is the island closest to us and so we have met quite a few Nubudupians( go ahead, it's fun to say!)  We try and try to tell the Kuna people not to let their ulus touch our boat, since when they do hit, they  mark up our newly painted sides with black tar.  Not a good thing.  We take a dinghy ride and visit the island of Nubudup and our met by curious children on the dock.  I give them some candy and they love to pose for pictures.  We are escorted around the island by two young men who had stopped by our boat earlier in the day, and we meet a group of women who are busy sewing molas, the movie theater which is currently showing Superman 2 for .25 cents, pigs in pens on stilts, and we buy a whole chicken for $9, that is more expensive than what we are used to, but we are where we are.  We also went snorkeling out on the outer reef and to our disappointment and dismay, we do not see any fish, and the reef is dead.  This area has been fished out and it is sad to see.  What is the next generation going to feed itself?

July 25th  Back to Isla Pinos

Time to move on and we see that when we arrive back to Isla Pinos, (the scene of the muy malo dinner experience), Dean on s/v Blue Fox and Don on s/v Windancer are anchored here as well as two other boats.  Don paddles up to our boat in his kayak with his skipperjack dog named Maya, and gives us the update on the San Blas news.  We have been out of radio range for the past two weeks and have enjoyed the break from the daily cruiser radio beat.  After Don leaves, Dean comes by for a quick visit and informs us that the nice couple aboard, s/v Windancer, (another one) has invited everyone over for happy hour at 5pm.   The gracious hosts, Lenny and Sue, and Steve and Connie on s/v Better Days have just made the crossing from Cartagena and are headed the same direction as us.  Since, we were in somewhat of a rush on our way to Sapzurro, we want to take our time and visit some of the more interesting villages on our return. 
 
July 26th   Leisurely sail to Ustupu

With our flotilla, s/v Windancer and s/v Better Days, in our wake, we press onwards to the island of Ustupu, a two hour motor ride.  This is the largest island in the whole Kuna Yala region.  We spend the rest of this Sunday onboard resting.  The Chief and assistant motor out to us, (they are in a real dinghy) and collect an $8 anchoring fee. (These anchoring fees are adding up!)  On Monday, we take a tour of the island, walking around for a couple of hours and discovering what is here.  There are quite a few tiendas, selling the same items.  Much needed at the moment, a hand weaved fan is bought for .25 cents.  Digicell phone cards can be purchased and fresh baked rolls.  We also meet a young man from Italy, Paulo, who is here for six months, studying and writing his thesis on the life of the Kuna Indians.  He shows us a hut where molas are displayed and we meet the entire family.  Grandpa is sitting in a small courtyard, weaving a basket, while Grandma is busy in the kitchen.  The three younger ladies, daughters and daughter in law, show us their molas, jewelry, and upon leaving, we are each given a small basket as a gift. 

 In the afternoon, a dinghy river trip is in order, up the Sugandi River.  There are a bunch of dead treesin the water, some floating, others standing upright, which marks the mouth of the river.  We slowly motor thru the muddy water and discover that there are gravesites on both sides of the river.  The graves are covered by a open thatched hut and personal items of the deceased are hanging from the rafters.  We go as far as we can which is a couple of miles before the river becomes too shallow.  Lenny and Sue and us take a walk thru the jungle to see if we can discover where the water pipe originates.  After walking for a half hour and no luck, we turn around and make our way back to our dinghy.  We each then, take a turn taking a quick rinse at the waterpipe and it's so refreshingly cold. This is where the villagers of Ustupu get their freshwater. The Kunas also up this river have farms in which they grow bananas, limes, papayas, pineapple and mangos.  On their way home back to Ustupu, the Kunas  come by our boat and ask if we would like to buy whatever fresh fruit they might have harvested.  Pineappples are $1 or 6 mangos for $1. 

July 30th  Next stop, Mamitupu

This is a small anchorage and a small island.  We notice that half of the island is not populated and find out that the Kunas believe that an evil spirit lives there and so they leave it alone.  The six of us try to visit the island, but are met by a young Kuna man who tells us that his island is under volunteered quarantine due to the illnesses that are occurring in other villages.  No one can visit, not other Kunas from other villagers, or the Colombian trading boats, who supply these islands. He says that for three months, while under quarantine, they have decided to go back to the traditional ways, and one way is for the fishermen not to use their outboard motors.  I think it is a very proactive step for the congresso of this island to do this.  We are told that we can walk around the island just off a ways and so we do.  Strangely enough, we discover about a dozen small 6 X 8 pens all on stilts, housing a pig in each.  A Kuna family is taking care of them and they say that all the villagers take turns in doing so.  Since the area is becoming fished out, the Kunas are now having to supplement their diet.  Again, I think this is another good idea, on raising pigs away from the village. Paddling out in his ulu, we meet Pablo, who married an Englishwoman some years ago and they own the land at the very tip of the island. He makes coconut soap and so we buy a couple of bars.  He speaks a little English and invites us to his home, which is not under quarantine.  We politely decline, not wanting to take a chance anyway. 

July 31st  Atchutupu, Bless you

 Upon anchoring, and for the next several days, we are constantly visited by curious Kunas who paddle up to our boat, and hang on to the toerail and look around.  Kids ask for candy, bastia in Kuna.  I am all out of candy, but Connie has all kinds of goodies and hands them out to the children.  This causes even more ulus to come out for a visit.  Connie, a former schoolteacher, loves kids and the kids all love her.  As we take a tour and visit the island, Connie always meets a special child who holds her hand the entire time.  As we stroll thru the village, molas are being held up by the Kuna women.  I have bought so many molas, but can't resist in buying just one more. I ask if I may take a picture of her with her mola.  Amazingly, she says yes.  Most of the time, the older women do not like having their picture taken.  They think that their soul will be offended.  Absolutely, don't want to piss off the soul!  Atchutupu, has a resort on the next island close by, Dolphin Island Resort, and after visiting it, we decide to go ahead and come back for dinner.  A night out on the town!    

The evening dinner hour approaches and we dinghy to the resort.   We are met by Plinion and Enrique, who work for the resort.  It is a small place,  maybe eight cabanas in all, but very clean grounds and as I walk by one of the huts, I notice a kingfisher sitting on top of the thatched roof watching us.  The restaurant/bar is in a large separate hut with a concrete floor with the bar area in one corner and the kitchen off to the side.  There are three tables set up,  we meet a couple from Cartagena, and three women from Spain.  Beginning with a cup of soup, the main entree of either fish, chicken, or shrimp, with rice and a salad, and ending with a fruit cup and a cup of coffee, the price of $18 was a bit on the high side, but knowing where we are, it's reasonably affordable.  Afterwards, a traditional ceremony was given which included three dances.  The men blow into a set of pipes, while the women shake maracas.  The first dance was the Deer dance, followed by the coming of age puberty dance, and ending with a tribute to the Kuna way of life.  It was a very interesting evening and on our way out, we caught two more geckos to take home.