Finishing up in Bocas Del Toro, and onwards we go

PHOTO ALBUM LINK —->> https://photos.app.goo.gl/uDXDCXFNPvRnvj1r7

Awaiting the weather window

We needed in order to head to Shelter Bay we kept busy with our boat chores

and walks whenever possible. The weather was mainly cloudy, rainy, windy and the seas were very high, good for the surfers.

One of the first chores was a visit to the dentist….I had a broken crown on a molar. The dentist informed me that the rest of the tooth had to come out. Off to Bocas we went 2 days later for me to have the tooth pulled. To say I was worried is an understatement.

I really, really dreaded it. In I went, climbed into the dentist chair, received my needles and waited. The dentist was back shortly and off to work on my mouth he went, a few crunching feelings and sounds, lots of suction and it was over! I couldn’t believe it only took 10 minutes at most and all was finished.

Polo Beach area

We had a wonderful walk with Maddy and Roy, setting off up the Red Frog hill, uphill to the look out at the top. Next heading along the trail that borders the jungle.

There we saw a delightful troop of monkeys, the regular Caspian, mothers with their babies and the adolescents leaping from branch to branch.

We turned right at the bottom of the hill and followed the lane that runs through the jungle, passing caves and streams till we reached the caretakers cottage at the end. Along the way we could see that someone has started felling the teak forest.

We had been told that it might happen, it was sad to see all the under brush cut and the beginning of the trees being felled. I seemed to attract the horseflies, for some reason that day I was very attractive to them and consequently got several bites.

From the caretakers cottage we followed the shoreline trails to Polo Beach. There we saw and spoke to Polo. He is a local that has had a hut there for 70 years, so he told us, he offered fish and rice to eat plus coconut water.

We continued on along the trail till we were back on the Red Frog Lane. It was a wonderful walk.

Saigon Bay, shopping, friendship rock and finding new trails

As we were no longer Red Frog marina guests we could not use the shopping water taxi. Instead we anchored in Saigon Bay and shopped in the afternoon at the grocery there.

The following day we used their dock and walked into town via the paths and lanes between the houses. Our first stop being JJ’s for breakfast.

They make the most wonderful breakfast sandwiches. After breakfast as we were continuing our walk further into town I found a painted stone tucked away on top of a boat trolley. Being Valentine’s Day it was painted with a romantic theme. These friendship rocks are very popular in Bocas as there is a lady who paints them and hides them away for folks to find. Most store keepers have a display of rocks they have found. I was just sooo happy to find mine!!

Kindness rocks are painted rocks that are decorated with positive and uplifting messages and then placed somewhere in the community for others to find. The mission of the Kindness Rocks Project is to have these simple acts of kindness connect communities together and uplift individuals.They tend to be smallish stones hand-painted with designs and such intended to be given to somebody special.

Someday I too will paint a few!

Our next stop was the bakers that sell the best bread ever. Their sourdough is wonderful!

Into Bocas town – Colon we went, the roads are a right mess. For some reason using goodness knows whose logic, the powers that be, are ploughing up the streets and trying to put in enormous piping to be used as drainage.

The problems with this is that the town’s roads are maybe a foot above sea level. When the tide is high the gutters are full to the brim with sea water and muck and when it rains, which is often the roads were already flooding. So how can you drain water from sea level to pipes under sea level into the water that is sea level?

Add to this the sewage that is also being sent from every building into the gutter/piping system…..Does not make sense, it defies logic….. Meanwhile nearly everywhere is muddy, sewage, smelly water. It used to be such a pretty town.

After our shopping we walked back to Saigon Bay via the cemetery and beach. This is one area not affected by the mess being made. We had never thought to walk this trail before and we found it much nicer than the paths. We found the graveyard to be quite sad and neglected, but peaceful. The beach area is very plain, but again quiet.

On another shopping trip we went by water taxi from the anchorage at Red Frog. The fun part was the return when the water taxi had to drop off the passengers to different stops in Bassi Town.

This is a small town on Bastimentos which is primary populated by folks of West Indian descent so it is very colourful.

Visit to Dianne and Howard’s new property.

We had bumped into friends Dianne and Howard who used to be in Red Frog marina. They had sold their boat and the last we had heard they were looking for property. They wanted to set up a research station for visiting scientists. They told us that finally they were moving into their property, a hotel. They asked us to visit and we jumped at the opportunity. The following Monday we went in the dinghy to the very far end of the Red Frog anchorage and across to the shore of Bastimentos.

There we found them working with their workers to repair the landing dock and walkway.

Dianne told us where the trails were that we could follow, and off we went for a walk around one side of there property. We were accompanied by one of her little dogs, a spaniel that they had adopted from the city. It was a lovely trail that took us about 40 minutes looping around and back.

We saw monkeys a wonderful butterfly which I believe was of the genus Caligo, nicknamed the Owl Eyed butterfly, Plus several large spiders hanging in the brush, which at home are called Silk spiders.

Following the walk we went into the house near the dock where Dianne and Howard were presently staying. It was just lovely!

The quaint decor, the whole set up and the view. We all sat on the porch and believe it or not….Dianne served us a wonderful lunch of spiced pumpkin soup, homemade bread and cheese.

After lunch they took us on a tour, we went up to the hotel building. The pool deck was again very prettily set out with wonderful views.

Up to the hotel level we went and onto the porch/bar area. The views were stunning, we could see Aeeshah way down in the anchorage. Again I just loved the decor, so quaint!

Next stop was down to the ground level and out onto another dock area by the mangroves. All along the way Howard and Dianne explained their plans for the future. They are very excited about their new venture, which to us sounds amazing!

A visit to the Darklands

When I was in getting my tooth removed John met Chris. He is the chef and manager at El Capitano A small resort with a restaurant in the Darklands area. Chris invited us to anchor off and go ashore for dinner.

We I turn asked Roy and Maddy if they were interested in going with us. So about a week later, once my tooth was on its way to being healed, we all set off towards the Darklands.

We found the place and anchored off. It really was a small rustic resort, but its reputation was for excellent food. On our second night there we went ashore for dinner.

The menu is a set one and that particular night we had a delicious meal of Mai Mai in a creamy sauce, along with an excellent salad and a baked potato. Dessert is included and our dessert was decadent passion fruit creamed cake, made with real fruit, just amazing.

While in the Darklands area we went for a bit of a dinghy explore around the bays and shoreline of San Christobel and mainland Panama. It was wild, mostly untouched, mangrove with jungle behind.

There was a settlement on the mainland side which looked to have a muddy track so maybe a way to get to a road from there? There were also some larger sized properties which looked to be doing some farming.

A Bocas Marina swap meet, our last Red Frog walk and saying goodbye

For the first time we went to a Bocas Marina Swap meet. We took the dinghy across as it was a very calm day. John was hoping to pick up some secondhand gear for the boat…well he scored big.

He found a Victron battery charger 60A for sale. It was 1/3 of the price of a new one plus it was virtually brand new, having hardly been used. John had been upgrading our whole charging system to Victron plus rewiring the lot too. He was well happy!

Our last visit to Red Frog was to have a walk. We met up, quite by accident with marina friends and they had Jungla with them.

We really enjoyed the walk, caught up with the news/gossip, saw monkeys and they even saw a boa.

John then went into the marina to enjoy a going away do for the marina boss Deci. Following which we went in to the marina and said good bye to Yvette, Koos and Jungla.

Jackanally’s

And off we went first to Jackanally’s. There we anchored and were joined by other friends on their boat. It was a delightful anchorage.

A wonderful breeze blew, the water was calm and it was totally peaceful. We enjoyed a great dinghy exploration around the mangroves, saw what was there, said good bye and then set off for a night at Escudo de Veraguas.

Escudo de Veraguas

“With only three square kilometers and located in the province of Bocas del Toro, is this small Panamanian tropical paradise. It is considered the habitat par excellence of the pygmy three-toed sloth. Despite little interaction, the sloth is critically endangered. It is also home to the red and blue arrow frog.”

“The Shield of Veraguas is located in Bocas del Toro, not in Veraguas. Belonging to the province of Bocas del Toro, due to a feature defining the region, the Shield, is a completely virgin island, inhabited by the few natives who inhabit it, and by a small handful of huts that serve as refuge for fishermen who come to this area, where fish is abundant and nature is exuberant. Despite belonging to the province of Bocas, this island is, for all intents and purposes, an autonomous Ngäbe-Buglé territory.”

We enjoyed a sail to the islands and anchored off in the sand behind the large sand bar.

It was just there, no other cruising boats. Not long after we arrived along came a few fishermen in a long cayuka. They had a load of lobsters, John bought a few for our dinner, we chatted and off they went.

The sunset wasn’t a grand display, some lovely clouds of which the patterns were unusual.

The full moon lit up the sky, it was spectacular! We had a very enjoyable evening and a peaceful night.

Our plan for the next day was to circle the whole of the isles, explore all the bay’s and inlets and then sail for Colon – Shelter Bay, later in the afternoon.

Our explorations were wonderful. I really do not think there are adequate words to describe the sheer beauty of these isles. They are totally unique by the way they are created, the way the erosion has formed them, the contrasting colors and textures of the scenery.

There are dozens and dozens of tiny isles, inlets, water ways between, around each corner is another spectacular scene.

Nobody live there, but there are small fishing camps and some are used to cater to day tourists.

Once we had circumnavigated the whole area we walked the beautiful beach of the sand bar.

There was much drift wood and other vegetation from the mainland Panama. Surprisingly for once not too much plastic. I found the horse flies really bothersome, they ignored John, but just kept after me.

We enjoyed a wonderful 24 hour stop at our Escudo de Veraguas anchorage. Up came the anchor in mid afternoon and off we set for Colon, the entrance to the Panama Canal and Shelter Bay marina.

The passage started off as quite comfortable, unremarkable, but by about 8:00pm the predicted weather deteriorated. We ended up with increased winds, up to 20kts, at times nearly on the nose, with seas that were also varying in direction with chop on top. In other words it was a nasty night passage. Thankfully John managed most of the night hours, as I felt dreadful.

We finally reached the entrance to the canal where the anchorage is located. We dropped anchor, John went for a shower and crashed out. I spent several hours picking up everything that had been thrown all over the place by the rough seas. Thankful we were in and able to rest till the next day.