From Sea to Sea

Its been a long time since we've updated this blog.  We've been pretty busy with visiting friends and family and getting the boat ready for 8 months across the South Pacific.  So now that we are getting ready to leave Panama for the Galapagos and points south and west, here is a bit of a catch-up.

We left Bocas mid-October, headed for Shelter Bay Marina, via the Escudos de Veraguas, a group of islands with fascinating topography. Little cupcake islands sprouting out of the water and twisting channels and chasms under limestome cliffs.  The same thing underwater made for some interesting snorkeling. Lots of invasive lionfish again - Derek managed to reduce the local populatoin significantly, if temporarily.  Also speared a small barracuda which fried up nicely! 

Couldn't resist....

You know what they say about people looking like their pets...?

Some pretty active squalls with major lightning as we approached Colon.  Best to dodge these ones.

Here is a picture of our radar screen showing us escaping from our anchorage (lower center) and scooting out between two nasty squalls.

Much more peaceful up the Chagres River where we spent 4 days relaxing, exploring and resting up before hauling the boat out at Shelter Bay and tackling the large list of jobs necessary before heading into the South Pacific. The Chagres river was dammed to create the Gatun Lake which supplies the immense amount of water for the Panama Canal.  About 180,000,000 gal of water flow out of the lake with each group of vessels (one lock full) passing through the canal's six locks.  The Chagras is navigable for about 10 miles below the dam.

A peaceful evening on the river.

We paddled up several of the side channels of the Chagres looking for wildlife.  Despite rumours of monkeys, crocodiles, toucans, and even jaguars, we didn't see anything other than flocks of rowdy parrots and a few lizards sunning themselves.

Finally, some wildlife!  The dock crew at Shelter bay Marina - on Halloween.  We scrambled around and created costumes for ourselves in time to join the party two hours after our arrival.  Cathy went as Neptuna and I was a Mola mola (Pacific sunfish, represented by a mola stapled to my shirt front and back).  Something got lost in translation and Cathy was referred to as "Queen of the Tuna", and I was Mola Man. Luckily we don't have any pictures to remind us!

Out she comes!  Now the work starts.  Was supposed to be 7-10 days.  A few unexpected problems cropped up (surprise), like worn bearings in the saildrives needing parts to be flown in from Miami, delays to the painting schedule due to torrential rain etc....   3 weeks later we were finally done, in all respects.

This is the seal that goes around the saildrive leg and keeps the ocean out of the boat.  We knew it was leaking a bit and it was the reason that our haul out was mandatory.  But we didn't realize how badly the rubber had disintegrated.  The engine manufacturer, Yanmar, say to replace every 2-3 years.  On the internet, there are all sorts of comments that you can let it go for 7 years, maybe even 10.  I think we're going to follow the manufacturers recommendations on this from now on....

Our friends Jim and Linda from Victoria.  This is a shot of them on one of the two sunny days they had during the two weeks they were with us.  They arrived in Panama to find the country in a state of disaster due to horrendous rain storms; there were multiple deaths due to slides and flooding and the canal was shut down for only the second time since it opened in 1914. All the roads in and out of Panama City were washed out and we were in Shelter Bay on the other side of the isthmus. The plan had been to sail to San Blas and meet them there. But no one was going anywhere - except by helicopter.  Our cruising friends Randy and Lynn of High States, had wound up in a situation where Lynn was stuck in a hotel in Colon, and unable to get back to Randy on the boat at Shelter Bay as the roads were out and no estimate of when they would be repaired. So they decided to hire a chopper and since it had to fly from Panama City anyway and Jim and Linda were stuck there....  So a dramatic start to Jim and Linda's tropical vacation. 

Jim and Linda trying to be tropical.  At least it wasn't raining when this picture was taken!  We finally got to the San Blas islands, sailing through 30 knot squalls and 12' seas, a bit of a rough introduction to the cruising lifestyle - especially for non-sailors.  But they seemed to enjoy the adventure!

Had to visit the monkeys at Linton. They liked the grapes we offered them better than the apples last year.

Back at Shelter Bay ready for our transit of the Panama Canal - and Christmas!   Had a Christmas Party dinner at the Marina restaurant, sponsored by the marina and supplemented with goodies from the cruisers.  A good time, even if we didn't win the Christmas light contest....  Note the plastic covered tires hanging from the rail prior to our transit of the Canal.

Getting the lines ready as we head towards the entrance to the Panama Canal.  We have taped pieces of foam and surfboards and any padding we can fins to the hatches, windows and solar panels so that when the "monkey fists" (lead weights knotted into thin rope covers) are thrown down to us in the locks, they don't break anything.

Heading into the first lock behind a cargo ship.  Cathy's delicate hand on the engine controls as we maneuver ourselves and the 50' monohull were rafted with into the chamber.

The canal operators refused to allow us to tie "centre chamber", as contractually agreed, and insisted we and the boat we were rafted to, tie alongside a tugboat.  This eliminates our control and subjects us to far more turbulence, plus they were impatient , so opened both sets of culverts to double the volume of water flowing into the lock.  The boiling water pushed us around incredibly, stretching our 3/4" lines to 50% greater than their originals length. At one point our starboard transom was less than a foot from the concrete wall of the lock.  Thanks to Cathy's excellent driving, we came through unscathed!

Relaxing after the ordeal.  Tristan had flown in from Victoria to join us (with 3 hours to spare) for the transit and to spend Christmas with us. Great to have him along for the adventure!

After spending the night on a mooring in the lake, we were joined by our favourite canal advisor, Elvir, whom we had met the previous year when we went through as crew on a friend's boat. When we called Elvir ahead of time and told him we were taking our own boat through, he arranged his schedule to be with us. It was great to see him again!

Early morning (6:30) after a peaceful night spent on Gatun Lake - in the middle of Panama's continental divide, midway between two oceans and two continents, at 80' above sea level in a sailboat!  Pretty amazing!

Making our way through the muddy brown water, dodging the larger mats of vegetation that had been washed down from the surrounding hills by all the flooding of the previous 2 weeks.

Three amigos.  Derek first met Jim back in Grade 2 on Saltspring Island.

Tristan tending one of our lines as we lock down to the Pacific side.  Its critical to maintain the right tension on the lines so that we stay in the middle of the lock and don't crash into the walls or pull a cleat out of the boat (it has happened).

The gallant crew who shepherded Idyll Island safely from the Caribbean to the Pacific.

Back in our home ocean. Bridge of the Americas ahead of us.

Idyll Island anchored off Panama City.  Another ocean awaits!

Bocas!

We arrived in Bocas del Toro, Panama at the beginning of July and immediately felt right at home.  The layered mountains (OK, tall hills), of the Central American cordillera, often shrouded in clouds and rain, the numerous islands and bays in protected waters, reminds us of parts of the BC coast. But maybe that's just because its been so long since we've been home!  The 32C water temperature is a nice bonus.  Sometimes even a bit too warm - not that we're complaining!
Given that this is the rainy season, we have been surprised by how pleasant it is here in Bocas. We had expected lots of bugs and endless days of rain and cloud, and lots of stinging jelly fish among the numerous mangrove islands and lagoons.  But the bugs really have not bothered us on the boat at all, though the no-see-ums, called chitras locally, can be a bit vicious ashore in the evenings. We have had rain and/or overcast skies only about 1 out of 4 days (and some spectacular lightning shows, after all we are in the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone, Toto), and the "stingers" have only been occasional and easily avoided. So we are liking this place. Like they say, "Its Better in Bocas!".

Cathy and Kathy (from s/v Makai) paddling among the islands and looking for good snorkeling spots for later.

Cathy paddling again. This time up one of the many rivers that run into the Bocas area.

 

We've made it about a mile and a half up this rio past two fincas (farms) cleared out of the jungle by the local Indians.   Gotta duck to avoid the overhanging trees (not to mention that there are huge spiders in those trees!).  Wish we could see the birds making those exotic calls.

Time to get outta that jungle (and away from those spiders!).

Went for a walk with friends on a large eco-estate created by a Texas millionaire.  Unfortunately he died a few months ago, but the estate manager was very welcoming and encouraged us to wander about on the miles of chip trails that they have cut through the jungle. It's like a tropical park - beautiful.  We saw many of these little green guys as well as smaller blue ones. Supposedly they have poisonous excretions on their skins - so look, but don't touch....

Bright splashes of flowering trees contrast with the multi-green jungle foliage.

Anchored with friends in one of the lagoons.  The owners of the house from which this picture was taken were cruisers themselves until they found this property and built their home in the jungle. They are very supportive of cruisers and provide free wifi and invited us up for sundowners. Thanks Carl and Mary!  And Juanita for the dinner!

Our friend Fred on Makai. Little Rohilio would paddle out from the nearby village multiple times a day to ask us if we had anything for him.  We gave him some paper and pencils but he wanted hats and clothes and money or anything else he spotted on the boat. When we didn't give, he eventually stopped begging.  Obviously there had been some positive reinforcement somewhere along the way.  Unfortunately when we visited a few weeks later, he had a couple of friends along in their ulus (dugout canoes) and they got organized and distracted us while one of them stuck his arm through an open (but screened) porthole to see if he could grab anything of value. They managed a paperback book from us and another from our friends' boat, which we only discovered after they had paddled away.  Being that they were 11 or 12 year old boys it was probably more of a dare than anything, and must have been very disappointing that the books were in English - with no pictures!  Nonetheless, not wanting this to escalate and potentially cause more trouble for all parties concerned, we contacted the village's Peace Corp worker (Michelle) and she paddled out with the school teacher the next day to talk to us about what had happened. Rohilio then had to paddle out, dressed in his good clothes and return the books and apologize. Evidently, when he returned home, he packed up his little backpack and was ready to leave the village!  Interesting and often challenging dynamics between the indigenous populations and the yachties, who appear to them to have unlimited wealth.  Makes one think....

And indeed we often do feel like the luckiest people on the planet!  Relaxing on the front porch with Fred and Kathy.

Our son Tristan and his good friend Dave, down for a visit from Victoria.  Life is good!

 

Wake boarding on a surfboard (thanks Fred!), behind the dinghy.

We all had a turn. Thanks to patient coaching and towing by Tristan and Dave, Cathy and I both managed to get up - in style! Unfortunately it is off season for surf but we did take a lesson and have both been up and actually surfing a few times.

Tristan and Dave loved spearfishing and each of them managed to bag a lionfish. Not only is it good to reduce the population of these invasive and voracious predators, but they are damn tasty, if a little tricky to fillet with those toxic spines - he snipped them off with wire cutters.

A mixed bag.  All tasty - the parrotfish were probably our favourites from this selection. Which is not a bad thing as there are lots of parrotfish around.

The invertebrate life in the shallows is amazing, making for some of the best snorkeling we have experienced.  Usually brittle stars hide during the day in crevices and under rocks, but here there are millions of them twining around brilliantly coloured sponges and tunicates everywhere, all the time.in these little undersea gardens. 

A magnificent feather duster worm 4 inches across.

 

More brittle stars and sponges.

The boys relaxing after a hard day of snorkeling and boarding.  

Ab Ripper X!  Can't let those six packs ruin the six pack.

Yes, it is the rainy season.  2" in 12 hours.  The longest and heaviest stretch of rain we've had here.  Usually its over before you can even get the soap rinsed off!

Visited a local cacoa (not coca) farm run by two gringos Dave and Linda.  The pods grow straight off the trunk of the trees which thrive under the canopy of a myriad of tall jungle species.

Wait a minute, this doesn't taste like chocolate! The flesh inside the pod is quite tangy and refreshing, almost astringent.  The actual cacao seeds are just big, dark brown seeds that need to be processed before they become anything like chocolate.

First, its all fermented for a couple of weeks.

Then the seeds are dried for several more weeks.  The next step is to roast them carefully (here they are turned by hand in a drum over a propane flame), before grinding and extracting the chocolate liquor to be used in your favourite cake, sauce, brownie or bar.

Looks like this guy could use a cup of hot chocolate - or maybe a double shot of espresso! We were able to bring the dinghy right up underneath this sloth who was huddled in the rain in a mangrove tree about 6' above the water.

The 1/2 lb Riptide Burger.  $6.50 with fries. $3.50 for the 2 liter pitcher of ice cold draft. Together, priceless.

 Waiting for drinks and food and another night of fun at the Calypso Cantina with the crews of Baros and Salida!

Dylan and Darian put on a hot show!

Waiting for the chicas.... on one of the gorgeous outer cays.

Cathy cuddling a kinkajou. It was rescued as a baby with a broken jaw and raised by the couple who own the Cosmic Crab Restaurant.

Vacations have to end some time (or not).  Farewell dinner at the Cosmic Crab in our own little floating dining room.