Aeeshah

 

PHOTO LINK—>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/6D75Lt9CtxEkBREU6

Last few days

As our last few days counted down we were manically busy:

There was the forward cabin and head to have ready for guests. These areas are usually Chico’s domain and storage for all that we have, but seldom use, but might need, so we keep. The forward cabin was made into a double bed area.

There was all the grocery shopping to do for the breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks that I anticipated having to make. We did a massive shop with our friend Harm

Next there was preparation and cooking of the food, plus the storage of it all. 

John was cleaning the exterior of Aeeshah, getting rid of the grime that had accumulated from being in a marina too long. Plus he got rid of all the unnecessary stuff in the lazerette to make way for all that needed to be stored there for the crossing. 

Aeeshah had to have her bottom and running gear cleaned. We had the local diver do that due to the crocodiles that are see about the marina.

The engine was checked cleaned and checked again. We filled up with fuel and water, all the covers were removed and stored, I cleaned the cockpit and throughout the boat, the laundry was all seen to, absolutely everything we could think of was prepared just in case….

oh and we managed a few short last walks to see the howlers and the Montezuma Oropendola my favorite birds. 

On the 8th April:

Our lines and fenders arrived. There were 4 huge, thick blue lines, standard for sailboats to use while crossing. Plus, 8 very large, round white buoys again the must to cross with. These were put on the foredeck ready for the passage. 

9th April, day before:

By 2:30pm I was showered, and ready.

1st to arrive was Santiago our professional line handler. We had seen him leave on another boat, had heard he was excellent and so requested if possible for him to be our professional line handler for our crossing.

Next to arrive was Madeline and Roy. These are friends we have known for a number of years, from our times in the Rio Dulce.

Everyone got settled, John got showered and out to the anchorage we went. Our reason for being in the anchorage was basically convenience in the morning. It meant we could get up just a bit later and didn’t have to navigate the chanel out of Shelter Bay marina in the dark.

In the anchorage we all chatted and relaxed. For John and I it was the 1st little bit of relaxation we had had for several days. Chico was happy as we were back at anchor and he was able to roam the boat. Plus he was receiving lots of attention.

I had made a western style cottage pie for dinner, plus a Ceaser salad which we all enjoyed at about 6:30pm. By 8:30 we all had headed to bed, Madeline and Roy up forward, Santiago in the main cabin and us aft, I believe everyone had a good night’s sleep. 

10th April, Panama Canal day

Of course, as normal, I was awake before the 3:30 alarm, got the kettle going and the 5 mugs set out. By 4:00am we had all arisen, had some of our teas or coffee and were more or less ready for our advisors’ arrival. (We had agreed to allow a trainee advisor, plus a regular advisor for our crossing).

They arrived on a tender, aka pilot boat, which came as close as possible without coming alongside and they jumped aboard one after the other. Both were large men with their bags and gear the cockpit was now crammed full. Up to the bow I went and brought the anchor up. And off we went heading towards the 1st locks beyond the bridge.

Off to the 1st lock

It was still quite dark as it was so early, but this means nothing when it comes to shipping and the canal, its a 24hour operation. Us sailboats are just trivia added on to use up the tiny bit of space left in the lock. I learned that when heading to the Pacific the ship enters the lock 1st then the small craft fill the space behind the ship. 

There were 3 of us sailboats, Aeeshah being the largest we were to be the middle boat. On our right was the little French boat and on our left was Sunny Spells an Australian sailboat.

Our friend Harm was a line handlers on Sunny Spells.

Our pro line handler Santiago was the organizer for us, he saw to the fenders between Aeeshah and the other boats. He was just marvelous, checking and adjusting with meticulous care. By the time we were all tied up together the ship was inside the lock. 

The ship was attached by massive cables/lines to the mules at the upper side of the lock walls.

John had to steer all three boats inside. He did not find it easy, often what the advisor said did not match up with what he felt needed doing, the speed too much or too little. However he was very careful and in we went.

Ascending the Gatun Locks

Once we were inside the men/dock hands, way up on the top of the walls threw the monkey fists attached to the lines to the outer 2 sailboats. 

A monkey’s fist is an iron ball attached to line covered in dark paint. You would not want to be hit by one. Further on we saw where the men had to practice and train their throws. It really is quite a challenging height/drop. (see below)

The large blue lines are attached to the line from the monkey’s fist, which are then pulled by the dock hands up to the top of the lock.

The line handlers which were at the 4 corners of us 3 boats then had to loop the lines across the cleats. They could not tie them but had to keep them tight by constantly adjusting the tension as we were raised.

The gate leaves close and up we very very slowly go to the top of the lock by the rising waters. Being the middle boat we were left to watch. 

“All gate leaves are 64 feet wide by 7 feet thick. However, they vary in height from 47 to 82 feet, depending on their position. For example, the Miraflores Locks lower chamber gates are the highest because of the extreme variation in the Pacific tides.”

So we were about 30 feet higher when we reached the top of the 1st lock. Next step was that the ship moved ahead by a slight excelleration and having the mules pull it into the next lock.

The dock hands followed with our lines while John steered all the boats ahead. The lines were again secured to the walls that were way above us. Once again the lock was gradually filled with water.

They actually use the water from the neighboring lock and you can see the ship on the other side facing the other direction – towards the Atlantic.

Again we finally reached the top and the gates opened for the ship ahead of us to move ahead into the 3rd and final lock on the Gatun side.

Behind us we could see the next ship moving into place ready to move up. Once in the 3rd and final lock the whole process was again gone through.

“The original Panama canal locks are named the Gatun, Pedro Miguel, and Miraflores locks. The new locks, which were added as part of the expansion of the Panama Canal between 2007 and 2016, are named the Gatun East and the Miraflores West locks. The original locks measure 1,000 feet long, 110 feet wide, and 42 feet high. The new locks are larger, enabling larger ships to travel through the canal. They measure 1,400 feet long, 180 feet wide, and 60 feet high.”

Looking at the sheer size of the gates/leaves, knowing the age of the locks, seeing the old riveted steel, one just has to be in awe of the whole Panama Canal.

And yet meanwhile we had parrots flying overhead and egrets fishing from the lock gates. 

How was Chico doing?

He had been in his cat box, but it was stinking hot in the locks. I let him out and he had to find space in the cockpit. Poor guy was panting badly. Not a happy fellow. Eventually Chico managed to cool down and was able to watch the procedure and wonder just what we were up to.

Gatun Lake and across

We finally emerged into the lake, the Gatun Lake and it was then that I was told to go below and make breakfast. I was required to make a full hot breakfast for the advisors and line handler. My meal of choice was scrambled eggs with cheese, breakfast sausages and sliced stick loaf. Making for 7 adults was quite a huge task and a very hot job. It was served and eaten in no time. Everyone was very hungry having been up for nearly 5 hours. Madeline and Roy very kindly helped me with the dishes.

Crossing the lake we had several huge wakes from tugs and ships. Aeeshah rolled and crashed about, my teapot smashed in the galley sending tea everywhere. Coffee was spilt in the cockpit and the advisor lost a cup over board.

The lake it self was quite ordinary, I thought. It sits approximately 26m (85ft), above sea level, it forms a major part of the Panama Canal, carrying ships 33km, (20 miles), of their transit across the Isthmus of Panama. It was created June 27, 1913 when the gates of the spillway at Gatun Dam were closed.

We took just over 3 hours to cross the lake. The entire time the advisor trainee was hounding John about speed saying we would not make it in time to get into the lock with the ship we were booked to cross with. John did his best to nurse our old Perkins, going at 6.5kts which is .5 of a knot more than we ever motor at. One of the other sailboats had fallen behind and the Aussie boat had raced ahead. We did what we could and I began to resolve myself to a night in the lake.

Once we reached Gamboa mooring area where we would have to stay for the night our advisor told that we could continue, he had worked out for us to tie to a tug…… , (which by the way never happened).

I was then directed to make lunch for everyone. Now the instructions I had received was for 1 cooked meal, which I understood to be dinner, which I had served the night before. 1 cooked breakfast, which I had already cooked and served. And for a lunch, for example a large sandwich. I had large baps with ham and cheese or turkey and tomato on the menu. However, the main advisor, who had done nothing but doze phoned the agent and complained that he did not want a sandwich. He wanted a cooked lunch! So we were threatened with a $400 fine unless I produced a hot lunch for the 2 advisors. Sour grapes!

I luckily had a solution, left-overs from the previous dinner. I headed up the rest of the western style cottage pie in the microwave and threw some dressing on romaine topped them both off with fancy toppings and passed it up to them. No complaints were heard.

The rest of us enjoyed the large baps with ham and cheese or tomato and chicken. For dessert I sent up a packet of cookies, a container of granola bars, grapes and a whole chopped pineapple, plus peanuts for good measure. Sure enough by the near end of our canal crossing it was all more or less polished off, mainly due to our advisor’s hearty appetite. 

Well, we finally arrived at the Pedro Miguel locks only to be told we would have to wait, yes, wait, so much for the rush….

Pedro Miguel lock

There we waited while the sky filled with  dark clouds, the rain held off right up until we were in the 1st lock the Pedro Miguel lock and then it blew, thundered and flashed lightening.

John was in control of all 3 boats again, but found it quite chalenging. Then we found out why the steering and control was difficult….one of the other captains was playing with his throttle…..… As soon as he stopped buggering around the boats were soon straightened up by John. Before that the French boat on our other side was precariously close to hitting the lock wall.  

This time in the locks the sailboats were ahead of the ship.

We had the huge, red Atlantic Journey a chemical tanker behind us.

The dock hands walked us forward, the line handlers released the line as we slowly decended. Yes, this time the water went down sending us down 30 plus/odd feet. 

Miraflores Lake and Miraflores locks

Upon exiting we had to cross the Miraflores Lake an expanse of water leading to the next set of locks the Miraflores locks, where once again the whole process was repeated. In, tied, walked ahead, attached, ship inside, lock leaves shut, water pumped, down another near 30 feet.

The final lock was adjacent being Miraflores 2nd lock. Once again we were walked in by the lines as John slowly motored, and again attached by the dockhands. 

We could see the final level below us over the lock doors. It took an age for the water to be pumped out before the lock doors could be opened for the final time. 

Out to the Pacific Ocean 

And there we were heading to the Pacific. We made our way down river first passing river banks where swimming off shore we saw crocodiles. On the river banks we saw deer which the crocs were stalking for their dinner.

In view came the huge docklands where the ships are served, under the famous Bridge of the Americas and to the Balboa Yacht club.

By this time it was late evening, coming up to 7:00ish. The tender arrived and took the advisors, next a smaller boat arrived for Santiago, the lines and fenders and it was all over. 

I for one was exhausted, it had been a very, hot, long, day, plus eventful, with excitement and anxiety a true mixed bag of a 16 hours awake. One day not to be forgotten by any of us.

Ashore for dinner we went, getting a ride to the dock. The Balboa Yacht club serves a very nice dinner, but John and I just shared a pizza. Back at the boat we all headed to bed. 

A Huge Thank you to Madeline and Roy for their help and good humour!!

Early the next morning, right after a cup of tea we moved to the La Playita anchorage. It had been a very folly night with all the wakes from the tugs, tenders, etc. After breakfast Maddy and Roy were off.

 

 

PHOTOS—->>>  https://photos.app.goo.gl/79LaY1JWz4gBkfvB6

The Shelter Bay Marina

Being in Shelter Bay is a whole different world than Red Frog. On the day we arrived there was literally a queue waiting to enter, the marina was incredibly busy. So many cruisers leaving for the canal transit or entering the marina after a crossing from all parts of the world. There are many folks from all parts Europe, South and North America  and other distant areas of the world. 

Shelter Bay Marina offers a lot to its residents. There’s a good restaurant, a library/sitting room, laundry facilities, a store and a twice daily bus to get to the stores in Colon.

Checking in for the Panama Canal 

We had been under the impression that one had to be here, in the marina, to get the boat assessed, measured and checked for the crossing. However, we found out that was no longer the story, times have changed. Nowadays, you have to contact an agent, and then it’s a do it yourself job. I contacted Erick, who is one of the Panama Posse agents.

Panama  Posse is a group we have been subscribing to for a few years. Through them we get great advice from other cruisers, good suggestions of what to do and where to go, and importantly discounts on marinas and such. 

After contacting Erick with our request, he got right back to me and said the sooner I get all the info to him the sooner we would cross. That there were bookings for the forthcoming month, so the sooner the better. 

The paperwork proved to be very detailed, but by the day’s end I had it all completed and submitted. One day later, Eric got back to us with the date: April 10th

We had nearly 6 weeks till we crossed, plenty of time to get ready plus enjoy the area.

Shelter Bay marina is situated where the old Fort Sherman USA base sat, on Toro Point at the Atlantic, (northern) end of the Panama Canal, It is directly opposite Colón. Adjoining the marina is the 14,000 acre San Lorenzo National Park, one of the premier birding locations in the world.

Fort Sherman was the primary defensive base for the Atlantic sector of the Canal, and was also the center for US  jungle war training for some time. The base was turned over to Panama in 1999. The old base buildings were and are, abandoned, left, neglected, falling down with jungle trees and vines growing over and out of them. This makes it an exciting area to explore, poke around and spot birds and wildlife. There are still various pathways and old roadways that are somewhat over grown, or totally over grown. 

We took advantage of the area taking daily walks around the old base, around the derelict housing estate, pathways and byways enjoying the birds and animals we saw which also appeared to enjoy the ruins and the 14,000 acres of the surrounding trees. 

We also resurrected our bikes. Both of us enjoy biking and the nearby roadways leading to Fort Lorenzo, several beaches and old trails.

We have seen Howler monkeys, Spider and Capuchin monkeys, in the trees.

On a normal day the howlers can be heard from the marina. One howler that I spotted lying on the branch had nasty boils, that looked almost like smallpox around its neck. I thought that the holes were wounds from fighting – bites inflicted by others, but using google I found out they are from Bot-flys.

There are many coatis these are The white-nosed coati, also known as the coatimundi,

is a species of coati native to Central America and as far north as the southwestern United States. They roam around in family groups throughout the jungle. We have spotted them on many of our walks. 

I find my favorite birds to watch are the: Montezuma Oropendola –

A spectacular, very large, mainly ‘blackbird’ with splashed of yellow and red more common in tropical lowlands. It favors forest edge, open woodland, plantations, and semi-open areas with trees; colonies of large pendulous nests adorn tall trees.  

Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange or red. The species in the family vary widely in size, shape, behavior and coloration). Both the English and scientific names of this species commemorate the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II.

They weave their nests which are hanging from Royal Palms growing between the old homes in the old housing estate and along one of the roads. One colony of birds I watched build new nests from scratch. They literally took just a few days to intricately weave a wonderful new hanging nests.

And of course we have spied many other beautiful birds. Getting a photo is very challenging

In one of the old buildings we saw bats roosting.

We were trying to get through the building when we disturbed the bats. They then obliged by posing for a photo. 

There are also old army batteries throughout the area.

Some have been adorned by graffiti, most are very dingy and ghostly. From the one behind the marina we were able to slip and slide down a steep slope to a small beach. Looking out we could see the enormous ships sitting idle waiting for a passage through the very busy canal to the Pacific Ocean.  

In yet another area we find the old jail. It is back in a distant part of an army battery, behind what we think was a power station. The prisoners long gone, the rooms bare.

On the bus ride to the grocery store

one of the most shocking sites is the Colon prison, built in the 1800s as the old city jail. Yes, it still houses prisoners, even with busted out windows, parts of the roof missing and other parts looking ready to fall in.

And there are no facilities, the food must be delivered, in clear bags, by family or friends. Laundry and such must be out sourced, the place is just a long term holding facility. A dreadful, haunting place. In fact most of Colon is very run down, trash ridden and ugly, with a terrible reputation for violent crime.

Our bike rides

started out as gentle, short rides to get adjusted to the saddles plus using different muscles  that hadn’t been exercised in a while.

Having researched the roadway cutting through the San Lorenzo National Park and leading to the old Spanish Fort San Lorenzo I found there were several old lanes and pathways leading into the jungle. Each one looking to be quite an interesting journey. We decide to bike to each one and see where we found ourselves.

The first being: Devil’s Beach

The roadway which leads to San Lorenzo is newly paved and so nice and smooth, is mostly shaded by the jungle on either side. It is a very, quiet, roadway, traffic is a rarity, as it only leads to the old Spanish fort San Lorenzo at the mouth of the Chagres River. The whole area being the San Lorenzo National Park means there are miles and miles of wild land in fact, as mentioned 14,000 acres of protected area around you. 

Along the way we are lucky to hear the Howler monkeys in the jungle and then to spot them in the trees above the roadway. Of course we stop for a photo op, but snapping monkeys is not easy. 

We next stopped  at the bridge next to where there is a ranger station. Looking over the edge, John spots a large terrapin swimming slowly upstream. 

Down the trail to the Devil’s beach we bike. The beach we find is unfortunately littered with debris. Fishermen wade in the shallows casting rods and nets. Further out are the many ships awaiting their turn to pass into the Pacific. Overall it was an enjoyable ride.

Our second expedition was: Sendero Punta Bruja

Taking the same roadway towards San Lorenzo fort we find that after the bridge where the rangers are located, the roadway is a gradual uphill slog…. That uphill climb went on for quite a long way, actually all the 3 plus kilometers of roadway was a slow uphill. 

We both took our time and finally we were at the entrance of the trail. John was sure he could ride the trail, but I was doubtful, however I tried. The beginning part wasn’t too bad but as the trail started going downhill over some rugged terrain I gave up, so we left our bikes by the side and commenced to walk. 

I guess we had thought it would be a short hike, but by the time we got to what appeared to be the end we had covered just over 2.2k. And I’m pretty sure we went the wrong way…..we followed the pathway to the shoreline of a mangrove bay where there was just nothing to see. I was positive we should have turned off onto a bridge I had seen as we had passed.

We were both hot, quite tired and needing more water to continue so we set off back to the marina. The good part was once we trekked back uphill, me pushing my bike, to the roadway we had a wonderful amazing downhill ride back.

Our third venture was a second visit to Sendero Punta Bruja this was the following week. 

Once again we pedaled/slogged uphill for just over 2k. I think what makes the uphill more difficult is that much of the road is straight so you see way off in the distance where you are aiming for.… Anyway, we got to the pathway, I locked up my bike, and I commenced to walk, John rode off on his bike to where the bridge was located. He then parked and off we walked.

Following a shaded pathway enjoying a very shady jungle hike

Climbing up the hill on the other side and following another trail through some attractive woodlands until finally emerging at a beach. 

It was quite a surprise, the beach was huge! The tide was way out and all the shallows were exposed, plus, nobody was there.

We enjoyed exploring the beach and walking along the rocky shoreline into the adjacent rocky beaches. 

This time the ride was well worth the walk through the jungle and discovering the beach at the end.

The walk back through the jungle was very, hot and so the downhill glide all the way black to the marina was amazing!

Our fourth bike adventure: Sendero Las Tres Torres 

Sendero Las Tres Tires was to be our next outing, once again along the quiet roadway to Fort Lorenzo. On yet another lovely day we again set off to see what we would find along the Sendero Las Tres Torres pathway. All the way uphill we both rode without stopping! We found the roadway continued as an uphill climb until finally we reached the Sendero Las Torres trail markers.

Off we strode, however the trail became increasingly over grown. It became just too overgrown to continue safely as there could easily be snakes hidden in the brush. We had to abandon our trek.

Just down the road a bit further from there were some old US army barracks which we then aimed for. However again we were disappointed to find gates locked stopping any entry by the public. Back to Aeeshah we headed, again a wonderful downhill for half an hour. 

Our fifth venture: Sendero Cerro El Pavon 

Our next major outing, this time armed with ice teas, snacks and extra water was to Sendero Cerro El Pavon. The little info I was able to get promised a long forgotten US army look-out tower. Once again we assaulted the long, straight uphill slog. Once reaching the same stretch of road as the gated barracks we found there was a downhill ride that wound around, straightened out again went uphill and there we found the trail head to Sendero Cerro El Pavon. 

Off we set, this time the pathway was quite clear and free of most undergrowth. We wandered under some lovely bamboo clumps, through some huge jungle trees and the uphill until ahead we spied the tower in a clearing.

The odd thing was there were picnic tables that must have been provided with the anticipation of walkers arriving. They were plastic and had sort of melted from the heat. Before climbing the tower we relaxed in the shade enjoying some of our iced teas, phew! What a relief! 

Up the very rusty tower we found the breeze! What a wonderful sensation to feel the breeze when you are well and truly hot and very sweaty. The view was across the jungle to the Atlantic on one side, just off in distance we could see images of the ships.

The rest of the view was across the jungle, trees, trees, and more trees. There was a bee “hive” built just under the top step. These bees were quite small and not at all aggressive…. I think they were what is called the stingless bee.

Once down we drank the rest of our iced teas and then set off for the hike back. Again, the jungle was lush and lovely, but hot and sweaty.

Once on the road we faced a steeper uphill till we got to the battery entrance and then a wonderful, smooth, mainly shaded, downhill glide back to the marina and Aeeshah. 

Boat work

Between our weekly shopping excursions into Colon, our daily walks or rides we have both been busy with repairs and upgrades. My main one was sewing seat covers to replace the old and hand stitching the sail cover. Its stitching had rotted by  sun exposure, we did not want the difficult task of taking the cover off as this entailed taking off the main too. We prefer to leave that till cooler months ahead. 

John had a major challenge with the water maker. The lift pump would not run and after stripping it down countless times, ordering new pieces he ended up making a new part himself a tiny little piece and voila! The water pump now works so the water maker works, and we need it where we are headed.

John also is upgrading all the cleats in preparation for our canal crossing. And he has installed a new inverter. Our whole capacity for solar has been upgraded due to new charge controllers so the inverter was the next obvious upgrade. 

Surprise visitors

The marina is always manically busy with boats coming in, boats leaving, visiting, provisioning etc we had several different neighbors with in the few weeks of being here. So when our dock mates of 10 days said they were sailing to San Blas for a week or so we didn’t expect to have a boat next to us till their return. Imagine my surprise when just after they leave I return from the laundry to find another boat next to us…..but, not only that, it was friends from the years before.

Miles and Barb with their friends and helpers Kent and Elli. All of whom we had been dock mates with in the Sapordilla Lagoon marina the Reserve in Belize. We had several catch up chats during the day and wonderful dinner out together that night. Our other neighbour Harm came too. Dinner was good and the company excellent. Off they headed the next day.

Our sixth challenge is to ride the entire way to Fort San Lorenzo, walk around the old Spanish fort, and ride back via visiting Playa Tortuguilla.

Good Friday was the day for our final bike challenge. We set off up, up up the same long uphill stretch, stopping for water at the regular place by the Sendero Punta Bruja trail head. Continuing uphill, until finally we hit the downhill just before the trailhead to the tower. From there it was all new roadway which was undulating, slight uphill steep downhill, until finally we came to the entrance to San Lorenzo Fort. There was a chain across the entrance, we guessed due to the public holiday.

Second best choice was to continue down the road to the slipway, which we did. At the slipway we could see our friends Roy and Madeline’s catamaran anchored a little ways upriver on the Rio Chagres.

There were several locals there enjoying the day off by fishing. Plus ospreys showing off their fishing skills too.

Across the water was the San Lorenzo fort which we had visited 2x before during other visits. After a bit of a break we set off to:

Visit the nearby Playa Tortuguilla. 

Of course we had an uphill ride back towards Playa Tortuguilla. For me this meant several stops to catch my breath and regain my mojo to continue my uphill fight.

At Playa Tortuguilla’s entrance we locked the bikes and set off down a shaded lane. All along the way we had a small river running alongside in a gorge. In the trees above we encountered many howler monkeys chillin’ in the branches. They gazed down at us as if to say, “silly humans walking in this heat!”

The lane was a good mile walk to the beach, upon arriving we found many locals cars parked in the bushes and the locals enjoying their Good Friday on the beach. It wasn’t a very special beach, but we crossed it off our list. 

Back up the trail we mounted our trusty bikes and headed off in the direction of “home’, uphill yet again. Close to the towers trail head we stopped at another trail, this one indicating there were battery ruins to visit,

Bateria Mackenzie.

The perk with this trail was it had a concrete pathway running alongside it. The pathway made it much easier riding, after 10 minutes we were there…..to fine there was a tumbled down building and what appeared to be a homemade firing range.

Oh well, been there done that, we headed for Aeeshah. Yes, some more uphill which again I managed and then the wonderful, refreshing, glide downhill back to Aeeshah and the marina.

We had ridden a total of 12 miles plus had a 2 mile walk, not bad for us old guys.

Chico’s news

Nothing really to report for Chico, except, he’s been really really bored in this marina. So he has taken up helping me with my work on the computer. 

“A meaningful life is not being rich, being popular, being highly educated, or being perfect ….. It’s about being real, being humble being strong, and being able to share ourselves and touch the lives of others.” – unknown

 

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. 

“Live a life full of humility, gratitude, inellectual curiosity, and never stop learning.”

-GZA

Thank you for life, and all the little ups and downs that make it worth living. – Travis Barker

 

 

PHOTO ALBUM–>>  https://photos.app.goo.gl/cYdoScw75YnFG7Be8

January 2024

The New Year arrived quietly for us. May came to stay for the night with us. I had made split pea and ham soup which we enjoyed and had an early night.

Walks

The weather had been terrible, cold, grey, and cloudy, but we did have an occasional sunny day.

On one such day we went for a walk with Winter, Kate and May along the Southshore coves and the dunes. We set off above the coves along the trail above the beaches and then returned along the coves and rocks dividing them.

May loved the rock climbing and so was very happy to scramble up the steep sides. 

Boston again

John had to return to Lahey Hospital in Boston to have the stent and the remains of 2 stones removed from his bile duct. This time John arrived with a black eye, which he received when playing with Eve.

Once again we flew Bermuda Air. It really is a wonderful airline, with roomy seating, great staff and easy no fuss boarding. Again, we stayed at the Hyatt House hotel. The day after we arrived I took John to the endoplasophy department where he had his proceedure. I assumed he would be at least half a day, but no, he was all finished before lunch time and ready for me to collect. However he had to rest for the remainder of the day, which we both found very boring.

For our last day we were lucky that it wasn’t too cold and we were able to walk about the area, but again a very mundane day. We walked every strip mall in the area. We visited every shop that looked remotely interesting and people watched, managing to stay out until 2:30pm

A stay at Gavin’s

We were staying at our son Gavin’s house for the last part of our Bermuda holiday. This was lovely as we had time to catch up with him and Katie and see more of the girls.

On our last day all of the young cousins were at Gavin’s to say goodbye to us.

And Quest finally took off bike riding. He was very so proud to finally be able to ride with the group.

Off to Panama

5:00am we left for the airport and by 3:00pm we were at our hotel in Panama City. This time we stayed at the Raddison right beside the Panama Canal. It was a completely new area for us and really quite impressive. Our room looked down on the canal itself and we could see the Bridge of the Americas with the ships passing underneath.

That evening we went to what turned out to be the local yacht club for dinner and a few drinks.

Again there we could look right out at the canal and watch the shipping. Some of the ships are absolutely ginormous!

The following day our flight wasn’t until 1:00pm so we enjoyed a great breakfast at the hotel and then walked around the area. As it turned out the whole area is parkland and the peninsular makes for interesting walking and exploring.

There are ruins from the Americans that had a base there, playing fields and even a Garden of Biodiversity park, plus by following the Amador Avenue.

One can walk all the way to the Nature Center Flamenco Island and Perico Island. We will definately return to the Raddison.

 Back in Red Frog

Our flight back to Bocas is always on a small plane which takes just under an hour and flies just above the clouds. 

Back at Bocas we were fortunate to easily get a mini van type taxi to the Basimentos launcha water taxi dock. Back at Aeeshah it was as if we had never left. Chico greeted us with affection and quickly let it be known he was after his dinner.

Walks, friends and seas

We were soon back to our regular routine of out for morning walks and then working on getting Aeeshah ready to leave.

Vet Gloria very nicely agreed to come to the marina to give Chico his annual. Well he was not a happy cat when he saw and felt the needle….which he had to have 3.

He has recovered now. Thank goodness he is vetted for a whole year now.

The walks were wonderful, normally we would head up the steep lane to the top of the hill.

We check the view, down one of the tracks to the shoreline by Red Frog beach. We survey the beach and walk out to the miramar where we see the surf.

Recently the surf has been thundering ashore, my photos do not do it justice, seas of over 13feet breaking on the rocks. The spray in the air all around the beach, red warning flags fly to warn folks not to swim due to the surge and rip currents.

Finally we spied the monkeys. The first time they were in the trees along the side of the marina Lane. There seemed to be mainly mothers and babies.

The babies were all over the place, never sitting still simply scurrying from tree to tree limb to limb, jumping crazy distances.

The second spotting was from the pathway that runs along side the dense jungle. These guys were more mature, quieter, one just sat and watched us almost as if studying our faces.

On the Friday evening we met up Madeline and Roy and walked to the Point for dinner. It was a lovely evening. The dinner was excellent as usual.

Out to anchor

Just under 2 weeks after we returned we headed out to anchor. We kept our dock space so as we could still go ashore for our walks and also use the shopping boat as we still had some chores in town. For me the biggest chore was visiting the dentist about my broken crown. BUT that’s for next month.

 

 

The PHOTO ALBUM–>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/waDNBesr8MMUdDza6

Home to Bermuda for the Christmas festivities, family time and ……

Our journey back to Bermuda took us a few days of travel, but all went smoothly and finally at just after11:00pm we excited arrivals and saw our driver Atiba awaiting our arrival.

The first week was taken up with doctor appointments and such, just boring appointments we had to keep.

We were also invited to all of the younger grandchildren’s Christmas concerts, of course they were all at the same time. We ended up attending Quest’s..

We also had several evenings of baby sitting and a morning feed of Jessie.

We were starting to catch up with all the maintenance around the property. John was painting the exterior, I was revamping the Airbnb interior. All was good at home, we were also enjoying time with the family…..

Then Everything Changed

Saturday morning John had a very bad spell, he suddenly was in excruciating pain, in his left upper chest. I thought he was having a heart attack. He was in incredible pain, I rushed him to hospital. (Mistakenly arriving at the old emergency entrance). I got him inside where he basically ended up on the floor. Luckily a security guard quickly secured a wheel chair for us and off I rushed pushing him along corridors to the new emergency department where I’d never been.

Once there they put him right on a bed straight away knew it was gall bladder issues. He was hooked up to several intravenous drips, one for fluid, one for antibiotics and then there was pain meds too. He was attached to a heart monitor, and examined by an emergency doctor.

He was cc-scaned and everything pointed to gall bladder issues, but also bile duct. He could not eat or drink as this would stimulate the bile duct and it could be life threatening. It was determined he had to be flown to Boston’s Lahey Hospital for immediate surgery.

However we found out this takes a bit of time because 1st the plane with medical staff has to be flown to Bermuda. I went home to pack and await a call. Saturday night passed, and then we were told that Sunday midday was when the plane would arrive. The ambulance, stretcher and medical staff arrived and off we headed to the airport. 

The staff were lovely folks we chatted the whole way to the airport. They actually had travelled all over the world for medical emergencies.

We were loaded aboard a jet, there was room for just us the doctors and very little luggage. We only carried an overnight bag and a backpack plus winter coats we had been loaned by Chrissie and Ruben as we didn’t have any. (John didn’t even have shoes on, just a hospital gown and socks)

Boston’s Lahey hospital. 

There he was found to have a blocked bile duct and a gall bladder brim full of large stones.

During the week at Lahey his bile duct was partially cleared  of 2 huge stones and a stent put in. In a second operation his gall bladder removed. He received wonderful care and basically had a really good tune up.

Meanwhile I spent my time traveling between the hospital, hotel, mall and grocery store. It was as expected very cold so I spent minimum time outside. Luckily the hotel supplied transport via a free shuttle.

Homeward we were after a week in Lahey, but we have to return in the New Year for the final clearing of the bile duct.

Back in Bermuda

John was to relax and lay low for a week or so after our return, this coincided with us have May and Quest for some of the time that 1st week back. 

John enjoyed taking them to the play ground while I got on with jobs around the house.

We went to dockyard another day. May and Quest wanted to go to the trampoline park. This was a 1st time experience for us. The place is quite large and full of equipment to jump on, has dim lighting and there is music on a repeat cycle. The kids had a blast!!

They showed us all their moves and then played with all the other children that arrived. An hour was more than enough time spent there, both of them were shattered from all the action.

We strolled around dockyard and headed to lunch. It was a very pricy lunch! Bermuda is just too expensive.

Next stop was a playground then Fort Scaur before we headed home.

Chrissie and I got together for our regular baking of mince pies and sausage rolls. I had previously made the pastry so on the day I just rolled it out. We made dozens of each, most of which were shared with the family.

Another day we met up with Gavin, Lilly and Evie to walk along the dunes and south shore beaches from Warwick Long Bay, which is close to our house all the way to the end of Horseshoe and back.

It was a wonderful walk, very few folks about and the sky was mainly blue with lovely clouds.

Christmas and Boxing Days

These days were family days, Christmas Day being the busy one. In the morning we went upstairs to Chrissie’s to open presents with her and Quest and Ruben and Mason.

It was fun exchanging gifts and watching the children with their surprises.

Chrissie then made us a fabulous breakfast casserole plus a wonderful fresh fruit salad. 

Our next visit for all of us was at Kate and May’s home to exchange gifts.

Again the children really had a great time opening the gifts they exchanged. Kate, May and Josh headed off to Josh’s family while we came home for a few hours.

The final visit of the was to Gavin, Katie, Lilly and Evie’s’ home.

Our other grandchildren Ethan and Rhianna were there too. More gifts were exchanged,

Kate and Josh arrived with their friend Dannette and one and all enjoyed each other’s company. 

Gavin and Katie had cooked marvelous Christmas dinner which also consisted of contributions from all of us, so it was a real banquet.

Everyone enjoyed sitting down together for a wonderful family Christmas dinner. Of course there are cracker with prizes inside and all the trimmings on the table.

It was a wonderful Christmas.

On Boxing Day Kate and Chrissie insisted that John and I had to play a game with all of them.

I don’t really know how to describe it other than someone very dysfunctional must have created it.

However, yes, we did have a few hours of laughter enjoying all of the outrageous answers/questions.

Gavin Katie and the girls met up with us for a lovely walk at Cooper’s Island.

As usual we explored all along the trails, beaches and tracks that led us past the magnificent beaches,

along the ruins of the old NATO base, through the remembrance park area

and to the end of the point that faces out to sea.

On yet another day we met up with Gavin and the girls, Quest was with us and we all walked the Spittal Pond trails.

The kids love going off the beaten path so we did see areas that not many feet had trod.

They also enjoy the rock climbing that you find along the shoreline, however on this day it was very rough and windy so the seas were throwing spray ashore. We all got somewhat salty.

Our last expedition with Gavin was to walk while the children biked the railway trails in Somerset.

We parked near Somerset Bridge and our walk/bike ride took us all the way to the old bus station.

This was just near where my Nana used to live I enjoyed seeing the house Wefo where I have many happy memories. 

The return walk to the car was again a quick one following the children on their bikes.

John and I again got back to our house maintenance, finishing off as much as we were able. 2023 ended quietly, May spending New Year’s Eve with us.

Life was good, on, on to another year.

 

PHOTO LINK —>>  https://photos.app.goo.gl/cKxHg2f964aYkQve8

It was a day before my Birthday when we decided to head out, to go, to wherever.

We motored through the mangrove cays heading towards the outer cays. We both decided we would prefer the exterior anchorages. Once at Crawl Cay we settled for:

The Zapordillas

These two, uninhabited islands are surrounded by a coral reef and are located east of Bastimentos Island. The Cayos Zapordillas are known as two idyllic islands in Panama’s Bastimentos Island National Marine Park. These islands are like something off a postcard—they have white-sand beaches, tropical forests, and coral gardens just offshore.

After we anchored we headed ashore and really enjoyed a walk along the beach. We walked in both directions and then when heading back towards the dinghy.

John spotted a shark swimming along in the shallows.

We followed it a ways and then John, being John had to jump in the water and scare it, so off away it shot. We believe it was a Thrasher shark.

We enjoyed a lovely swim in the gentle surf that was rolling up onto the beach and then headed back to Aeeshah. 

Later that evening we were visited by the park’s men. They wanted a $50 parks fee for the night and we would receive a receipt. Or $25 park’s fee with no receipt. Of course we took the $25 fee. 

Cayo Agua, Punta Norte.

The next morning we chose to go to Cayo Agua, Punta Norte. We had never visited this area and it had a good write up. So off we went. The anchorage was very pleasant and so after anchoring we set off in the dinghy to explore.

The shoreline was very attractive with many little bays, a few caves, tiny isles, and wonderfully huge trees over hanging the cliffs.

We passed several long, palm lined beaches and could see that some of the land was being used as fincas/farms, as there were cows grazing under the trees.

After going as far as we dared we hauled the dinghy ashore at the end of one of the long beaches. Just near where we hauled out was a small river emptying into the sea.

I set off along the beach to look for shells and I could see John investigating the river. I did feel a few bites when I was near the seaweed, but John must have been quite well bitten as I saw him storming towards the water. Nasty sand fleas or no-see-ums, not sure which but the bites were itchy. We had a swim and then headed back to Aeeshah. On the way back I saw horses grazing too. 

That evening we found that the anchorage too had an abundance of mosquitoes. So, Cayo Agua, Water cay, obviously has many ponds and is a breeding ground for bugs that bite. (Actually, the bites on my legs were dreadful for about 5 days after).

Needless to say we left in the morning….

We had heard from friends Madeline and Roy, they had been trying to catch up with us. So, we arranged to meet up at Bluefields.

Bluefields

Bluefields is a very, large, deep, bay with tall, hills on each side. It is a part of the mainland Panama, but there are no roads or tracks leading there.

The bay has several small villages, the locals rely on farming and fishing. Everyone is very friendly and many locals paddle out to visit and or trade. When we arrived we had barely anchored when the first visitors arrived. One was a fellow called Duncan. He asked to guide us to the Casscada/Waterfalls. We agreed to go at 9:00 the next morning. 

Meanwhile we were being visited by many, many children in kyukas. Most were trading bananas or coconuts but a few just visited to say hello and get whatever we had to offer. As we knew we might have visitors we had previously bought, a dozen cokes, several small bags of rice, several packets of cookies and candies. Our stock was soon depleting.

One child was indeed quite cheeky. His name was Michael he was 6. He was alone in a kyuka and we gave him a coke. I went down below to fetch something, John was already in the cabin, when I turned around to go back up I found him in the cockpit, drinking the coke and grinning. Michael the cheeky imp!!

We ushered him off. – He had scrambled up the stern having tied his kyuka to the stern. 

Once again we were treated to a spectacular sunset! The breeze was wonderful, the visitors had headed home and we could chill.

Life was certainly good.

Las Cascades

The next morning we awaited Duncan at 9:00, waited, and waited when we finally we had nearly given him up we heard shouts from the shore which of course was Duncan paddling towards us. He climbed into our dinghy, tied his kyuka to our dinghy and off we set to meet Maddy and Roy. Duncan ended up tying his kyuka to their boat and we all set off with them in their dinghy and us with Duncan in ours.

When looking at the mangroves from outside, you would never imagine that there was a waterway, let alone the river we found.

Once we reached the mangroves Duncan, being the guide, took over the steering of our dinghy to navigate the way.

Every aspect it was exceptionally beautiful. The greens, the reflections and symmetry that surrounded us was of exceptionally beauty. It was a magical ride. 

After a while Duncan landed the dinghy at a small grassy area where we climbed off, secured the dinghies and headed a long a narrow muddy path which followed the river. 

Duncan showed us a number of different crops that were used for medicinal purposes. He also pointed out the avocado trees, plantains, bread plant, etc.

Before long the path turned into a walk along the river bed, until finally, we reached the first waterfall. The scene was just lovely, the colours blending and shining in the sunlight.

We stopped for a spell to look around and then climbed the nearby slope and continued again along the river bed and a narrow path, until we reached the larger waterfalls.

These waterfalls were much bigger with a much larger cascade of water. Again the scenery was spectacular. Duncan set off to climb these waterfalls and show us where there was a deep pool halfway down.

Once he returned he suggested we went and swim, plus try the pool. Well, I had no intention of swimming, but off went John. He jumped in clothes and all, swam to the falls, climbed out and up to the pool. Exclaiming how wonderful the water was, how refreshing!

Next thing, Maddy jumped in and was obviously enjoying the water. So, I thought, what the hell, I had better have a dip or else I will regret it later. Duncan held my camera and off I went into the water. Wow! It was so chilly! However the water was wonderfully refreshing.

It really revitalized my whole body, washed away all the sweat, I just felt wonderful after the swim. 

Before we knew it was time to head back to the dinghies, I again enjoyed the walk but more so as I was so nice and cool from the swim.

Once back at the dinghies we made our way back down the rocks, then along the beautiful river, around the twisty bends under the trees and finally mangroves until we were once again in the bay.

The whole waterfall trip was wonderful, we all totally enjoyed the experience. 

Once again we had an abundance of visitors. I had cut down on what I could give, now giving a cookie and 2 sweets wrapped in half a paper napkin.

Later in the afternoon we saw black clouds approaching, very quickly we were slammed by strong winds, and pelting rain. It nicely cooled the air and chased away our numerous visitor, for a while that is….

Beach walks

The following morning after our early morning visitors had left happily with their “treats” we met Maddie and Roy.

We all motored in the dinghies to the village at the end of the bay. There we followed the concrete path through the small village, uphill and down hill passing small fincas and areas growing a multitude of crops.

Agroforestry or sustainable agriculture is a type of farming that uses all the plants. For example, the trees provide the shorter plants with shade and prevent soil erosion with their extensive root systems. Plants like beans pull nitrogen from the air and place it back into the soil, naturally fertilizing the other plants.

Once we reached the end of the pathway we walked through another small village. There the local leader who also runs the tiny tienda asked for a $5.00 fee from us to continue. Which of course we paid without complaint as it is his village.

Once on the beach we all enjoyed the sheer size, the surf crashing ashore, the sea spray and the freedom to go for a beach walk. 

Further down the beach were some fellow cruisers with their children enjoying the beach and playing with children from the village. We chatted for a while and continued on. 

When reaching the point there was a river emptying into the sea, so we then took to the pathway that ran behind the beach.

This pathway was lovely and shady and it led us to the next village. 

We walked through this village, but it was obvious that not many visitors strayed this far, as we were stared at from faces at windows. The locals were not unfriendly just curious.

Upon asking we were told the village was Guacamayo. After passing through we then walked the beach to the very end and turned around for our return walk back to the dinghies. 

For the walk back we kept to the pathway under the trees. Madeline stopped at the tienda and purchased some eggs and we all enjoyed a fruit juice. It was a lovely morning walk.

That afternoon we once again had a heavy rainfall. It’s definitely a pattern in this area.

Our plan for the next morning was to follow another pathway we had spied. It headed in the opposite direction and when I asked a local he had said it went to “otra playa,” aka another beach.

Off we strode again uphill and down, crossing streams, passing fincas and small local homes. Everyone we saw were friendly, but you could tell they were curious as to where we thought we were heading.

We reached an unfinished part of the pathway which was crossing a boggy area. There we walked the narrow retaining walls and continued uphill.

Upon reaching the beach we could see it was basically the far end of where we had been the day before. We continued to the end of the beach and saw to continue we would have to cross a small river.

Across to the other side we waded and off we went along the path again.

Reaching the end of the path we found a stile, which we climbed and ahead saw the most amazing beach.

It was a beautiful day with wonderful clouds so that this beach was highlighted in every way possible. It ran off into the distance as far as we could see.

Along the beach we strolled, again seeing a few locals who looked at us curiously.

I spied a pathway running parrallel to the beach but in the shade of the trees. That path was for me, out of the blazing sun it was much cooler.

I really don’t know how far we went, but what looked like the end was just a bend in the beach, by then we all were walking in the shade. We continued, walking with us was a friendly local John had adopted.

Then we reached a clearing behind the trees where we could see very nice fincas. There were cows crossing a small river to the green fields behind. Our option to cross looked to be a log bridge.

That was not for me so I walked out onto the beach where the river flowed and crossed there in the very shallow water. Back on the pathway the fincas were along the other side of the river to one side and the beach to the other.

The scenery for me was stunning! The colors vibrant, the contrasting scenes were magical.

Sure enough we reached another log bridge which is where we decided to stop our walk.

We all felt we had explored far enough for that day. Just there was a small wooden hut which turned out to be a tienda. We bought fruit juices, and headed back.

I hope to return another time and go further as in the distance we could see yet another small village and lots of beautiful beach.

Our return journey was just as beautiful, but we all walked under the shade of the trees. It was a very sunny, but very warm day.

We lucked out on the return journey. We saw a local guy push his kyuka down the beach to the surf. There he carefully timed pushing his kyuka into the surf.

Calculating perfectly when to jump aboard through the large breaking surf. Then off he paddles out to the deeper water to fish.

Now to most folks this sounds, well easy, but it wouldn’t be as the kyukas are made from a single log of a tree of which the wood is incredibly dense. Therefore the kyukas are very heavy and a side swipe from one in the surf could be lethal.

Back along the side of the beaches, over the stile, along the pathways, passing the tiny homes and finally coming to our dinghies. The walk back was just as enjoyable too.

Above is an arial shot of some of the beach that we enjoyed. The cleared are are the fincas.

We had all decided to sail back to Bocas. For us, we needed to prep for our return home which was a week away. 

That week sped past, prepping the boat takes quite a bit of work. Plus we enjoyed a lunch with friends and their dog Duke. And of course we had our daily walks.

We have a young friend and her boyfriend staying with Chico. Before we knew it we were heading out. First to Isla Colón to get our flight to Panama City.

We actually flew right past Bluefields and the outer beaches we walked. Those day there were the best! Just wonderful, we will return.

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have” Eckhart Tolle

“A single day is enough to make us a little larger”

 Paul Klee

 

PHOTO ALBUM —>>  https://photos.app.goo.gl/8LpZNtp4ZvXmWsrGA

Monkey encounters along our trails

On our walks around Red Frog, we had some very, cool monkey encounters. This usually happens when we walk with Jungla and Yvette as Jungla knows when the monkeys are close before we even hear a rustle in the trees.

She runs to greet them, they jump the branches to get just above or near her, they shake the branches, bark at her, bare their teeth, act crazy and then turn to us and look embarrassed. 

Another walk, we were on a jungle track passing through an area with huge bamboo. The monkeys there were mainly family groups, mothers with babies. They were peacefully passing by, they glanced at us and seemed to assess us, then carried on their way.

New visa for us:- Costa Rica

As we are not from “a friendly nation” we have to re-up our passports, that is leave Panama to renew our visas every 3 months. 

Our choice this time around was Costa Rica, the Caribbean coast. We opted for Puerto Viejo, (Old Port), de Talamanca. It’s known for the Salsa Brava surf breaking and beaches like black-sand Playa Negra. 

We booked our tickets for the Carribe shuttle, packed a small bag and set off from the marina in Filo’s water taxi at 7:30 on a Monday morning. 

The next water taxi left Bocas at 8:30, it was a nice, smooth ride over to Almirante on the mainland. Almirante is a grungy, town that acts as the main port for the export of bananas, Chiquita mainly.

In Almirante we transferred to a small bus and set off for the border. After leaving the town you find practically nothing but massive banana fields/plantations as far as the eye can see. 

The next town we came to was Changuinola. It is a much bigger town, but just as grungy and sad looking. 

Next stop was the border which was a whole new experience for us. We left the bus with our back packs and bag and walked a short way to immigration. There we went though the process of getting our exit stamps.

We paid a lady at a table $4.00 customs fee and were ready to cross. Crossing the border involved walking across a bridge to the other side. On the other side we again lined up and did the whole passport entry into Costa Rica. It was really quick and easy. 

Our new driver showed us onto the bus and we were off. Our first stop was at a very nice hotel, Banana Azul.

There we stopped for a while so our driver could get one of the other passengers sorted out with further transport to San Jose. Meanwhile we walked around the grounds and were impressed with what we saw…..

Then we were off to our hotel: Sea Tower Hotel. 

Arriving at the hotel we found out it was in fact only10:30 am, Costa Rica is an hour behind in time, well it was too early to check in! Check in was 3:00pm. Fortunately they let us leave our bag, but John had to keep the back pack with our passports and valuables. Off we went to explore for 5 hours. (Pass time and hope to have fun).

Our first stop was to a cafe where we enjoyed a mid morning snack and drink. For me this was a chocolate croissant and a chocolate drink, made from the local coca, John did the coffee. Afterwards we headed 1st in the easterly direction along the shore, trying to keep to the shade whenever possible.

The beaches along this shoreline were yellow, sand, beaches with rocky, reef nearly right up to the shoreline.

We would walk along, get to a nice shady spot, and sit on a log looking out to sea. We went quite a ways and were then ready to turn around and find somewhere for lunch. 

Back in Puerto Vieja we strolled the streets and found there to be a Caribbean cultural atmosphere. Apparently, Puerto Viejo is influenced by a mixture of Afro-Caribbean, Costa Rican, BriBri indigenous, and Europeans!

 Luckily we found a grocery store that had an air conditioned cafeteria attached. Yep, we were both incredibly hot and needed some cool refreshments and cool air. There we managed to spend an hour getting us closer to check in time, while we discussed our plans. We decided that the best plan was to rent some sort of vehicle for transportation as it was incredibly hot and just not practical to try and bike or walk. 

Finally, it was time to check in. Our room was on the second floor of the Sea Towers hotel, a very plain room, but comfortable. We had found Jamaican patties for sale on our wanders around and they became our dinner. 

Day 2

We were treated to a very good breakfast and then set off for the car hire John had researched. It bragged to be a no nonsense basic car hire…. Adobe Car hire. There a friendly, fellow let us a brand, new, red, car. It did take John a bit of a lesson and practice to get the hang of the car as absolutely everything was different compared to cars he had driven before. We hadn’t even heard of this type of car – some sort of Chinese model. 

Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge

Our destination that day was Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, which boasted a National Park, lovely beaches and views. The refuge protects 5,303 hectares of ocean front, jungle and mangroves that provide important habitat for many species of endangered wildlife and flora.

It is also the end of the road. On the drive there we passed several large, popular beaches and small settlements. 

We arrived, parked and set off into the park. Our walk took us to a lovely, vista and passed many pretty beaches.

Next we walked along a jungle pathway through to another look-out. Again it was an attractive view.

By this stage we were both saturated in sweat, and our water was nearly finished, so back to the car we headed. We were finding Costa Rica hotter than Panama. 

Playa Cocles and Playa Chiquita

On our drive back to Punta Viaja we turned off at the tracks that led to the beaches and enjoyed the views. There are Playa Cocles and Playa Chiquita both are well-known for their postcard perfect yellowish white sand beaches that are backed by shady palm trees.

I was particularly happy to spot an unusual water bird stalking crabs behind the beach. It was a Bare-Throated Tiger-Heron, and said to be uncommon. 

Our lunch stop was a very nice roadside cafe where again across the road was a lovely view of the coastline.

Playa Negro

After lunch we drove a ways in the other direction and had a look at the black sand beach Playa Negro. It was really a mix of black, brown and yellow sands, very different from the beaches we were used to seeing.

Day 3 Limon

Today we were headed towards Limon, about 40 miles away on the coast. I’d read that Limon is home to the Afro-Costa Rican community. Part of the community traces its roots to Italian, Jamaican and Chinese laborers who worked on a late nineteenth-century railroad project that connected San Jose to Puerto Limon. 

The drive there was along a main road which was very quiet, passing many banana plantations and crossing many narrow bridges, over small rivers.

The system, or procedure with these narrow bridges was that one side or the other had to cede…..ceda el paso….as in give way. It wasn’t always clear who had to cede, ceda El Paso, so, sometimes it was almost like playing chicken. We tended to cede as we were driving a brand new rented car.

When we were going along the coastal road we stopped so I could walk across the wilds and onto the beach for a photo. These beaches were all dark sands, more or less black. And, darn hot! Pipping hot! The sea rolled ashore for as far as one could see…. There were many, many, coconut palms along these stretches. Local folks had little stands set up to sell their coconut oil. 

Before we reach Limon we passed a wide open stretch which we guessed rightly was a small airport. I was surprised to learn international flights do land there a few times a week.

Further along we came to what looked like a very new port for container shipping. To us it looked like the area was developing. Then, sure enough a small cruise ship was in Limon harbour.

Once we parked, which proved easy as few restrictions seemed to be in place, we set off for a walk around.

We walked into the park, ….. which was very nice with tall palms and a few commemorative plaques and statues.

Next we headed down a few roadways, passing shops and businesses. All quite busy with people and traffic.

We rounded up and walked along a sea wall, ending up back at the park. Limon is best described a quiet Carribean, bright, colourful, friendly, clean and tidy.

We bought a savory pastry and drink for lunch, drove around a bit more, the left Limon.

We stopped for lunch at a roadside lay-by near the shore, ate lunch, then went for a walk along the beach.

We actually didn’t walk too far as walking on that “black” sand cooks your feet and legs. The scenery was very blue, sky, sea, and reflections of blue on the wet sands.

Driving back we again took any turn offs towards the coast we found. These turnoffs all took us to shoreside dirt tracks which ran between some lovely properties and the shoreline. Once again we parked and did a short beach walk, finding the beach similar to previous. 

However on our final stop we were next to Cahuita beach and park. The park was created in 1970 to protect endangered coral reefs and the forest behind the beach. Here the sand was white, what a difference.

Our final stop that day was at an Indian curry restaurant for a take out curry for dinner.

Our last full day Day 4

We had our lovely red car to return by 10:00am. That left us with the rest of the day to fill. For the morning we enjoyed walking the streets of Puerto Viejo.

We hadn’t really paid much attention to the village. So we walked along looking at the gaily painted shops. I bought a few lovely sarongs and thought about others.

The architecture is very Caribbean we thought …..

Once the heat of the morning blazed down we found a very nice Italian ice-cream shop.

There we both enjoyed a 2 scoop delicious ice-cream. That was our lunch.

After more wandering we returned to our hotel to read, 1st buying Patties for an easy dinner. Plus they were amazingly good, spicy, Jamaican patties!

Back to Red Frog and fun dinner

Next morning we had our return journey. Our bus picked us up from our hotel, we drove to the border and repeated the crossing, but this time into Panama.

Driving back into Panama we both noted the distinct difference in standard of living, Panama being the poorer. 

Back at Red Frog we met with friends that evening for drinks and dinner. This time there were quite a few of us. It was a fun evening! 

“Smell the sea and feel the sky, let your soul and spirit fly”– Van Morrison

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”– Jacques Cousteau

 

 

LINK TO THE PHOTO ALBUM—>>  https://photos.app.goo.gl/AFX9GUCsgruSaoQCA

Walks, dogs, dinners, friends…..

Back from Ecuador we set about our regular routine of getting out for a walk in the morning, seeing what’s around, chatting with our neighbours, residents and marina guests alike.

We quite regularly enjoy our walks with boat dog owners. In the marina there are a number of folks that have dogs living aboard. Yvette with Jungla are our usual, walking companions. When there is thunder heard even in the far distance Jungla gets very upset.

She clings to Yvette and refuses to walk any further. Usually we manage to convince her to move along. She is a delightful, happy little dog. Another day we were asked to take Lola for her morning walk because her owners Liz and Humberto had to go to the hospital, (poor Humberto had something in his eye).

The walk with Lola was fun, she has an orange frisbee which goes everywhere with her. Our walks usually are under as much shade as possible as the sunny skies are intensely hot. Temperatures in the 90s, have been a daily occurrence.

These walks  take us up the hills, down the other side, around and back to the marina. We enjoy watching the monkeys, if Jungla is with us she see them 1st. The monkeys shake the branches, bare their teeth and prance along the limbs trying to scare her away. 

When it is cloudy we walk the beaches, however in the last month or more these beach walks have been rare due to the constant blazing sun. The sea has been unusually calm, with little wave action, no surfers. 

We have enjoyed fun evenings with friends at the newly opened Point restaurant. This  restaurant was a favorite with everyone and then abandoned after covid. Gary, the IT guy here at Red Frog decided to reopen it and make it popular again. We sort of started a marina “tradition” by which every other Friday we meet at the Point for drinks and dinner.

Usually there’s most of the marina folks and some of the residents too. The sunsets there looking out at Red Frog beach are beautiful. Our friends take their dogs, some like Lennie sit at the table, others enjoy playing on the beach.

Jobs completed, 

We both have been plugging away at boat jobs. Some were very necessary like the bilge pumps. John installed a whole new pump, alarm system and electrical system. This took quite a bit of time and was really awkward due to the location being down in the bilge.

Next big upgrade was installing a Starlink.

The set up, was relatively easy, but then the wiring it in was a pain as it meant getting wires through impossible spaces. So again John was busy in awkward spaces.However we now have Starlink and WOW being online is 100% improved.

Meanwhile lots of cleaning was necessary, basically every 6 months I see what can be off loaded. We tend to accumulate stuff, I get fed up with the stuff and have a big clean out. Then there were the sewing repairs to get done, nothing dramatic just simple repairs.

John re-screened the instruments. They had lost their polarization so that reading them in the daytime was not easy. We ordered polarizing plastic screen which John used. He found this really quite difficult. However the screens are better. 

Our boat windows had also lost their polarization, they were supposed to have a dark film so as to stop the sun’s glare, but magically this had disappeared. I’m guessing it was burned away by the sun. We ordered another type of plastic covered in anti glare. Now, this project was really tricky.

I make “molds” which John used to cut the plastic out using special tools, next we both fitted the new polarized plastic on. Every step was challenging, but the windows look 100% better. (And it took time as our 1st order of plastic arrived and was damaged).

No power

After one thunder lightening event during the night we found there was no power. The marina and all the facilities at the reception and the shop were out as well.

The supposed experts were called. We assumed that these were men from the mainland, but found out later that just the local maintenance crew were asked to diagnose and fix the problem. These fellows decided that a cable running between 2 transformers was the problem. That water had cause the cable to “short” out. So, they dug a huge trench between the transformers.

Ordered more cable, apparently to the cost of $17,000 and then set about laying the cable, covering it with a layer of dirt and connecting the ends. The result was …… Still no power!! By then we had been without power for 10 days, no shop, no laundry, no water and having to rely on our generator to boost our power.

Plus having to put up with the fumes from our generator  plus the noise and fumes from our neighbours. Everyone in the marina was really fed up. We would have gone to anchor, but it coincided with a time John was having to overhaul the bilges, so we were stuck.

Finally they called in the real experts, the men that actually work for the power company. They arrived after a few days and within hours they knew that water had gotten into a part of one transformer and shorted it out. They very skillfully fixed the transformer cables and finally after 17 days we had power. 

Zapordillas and Playa Azul

We did spend some time out at anchor, exploring and swimming every day. First visiting Saigon Bay, to restock. Next we headed out and ended up at the Zapadillas.

These islands fall inside of the Isla Bastimentos National Marine Park. Plus are also essential ecological sites for the critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtles that nest on their shores. The local legend say that the Zapatillas, (or slipper), Cays were created by the feet of God as they touched down from the heavens. Other stories tell of pirates hiding their treasures here.

We anchored off of the western Zaporilla island and enjoyed a wonderful evening. The next day we went ashore to the beautiful beach and had a walk. You cannot walk too high up the beach because of the turtle nests.

These are marked by stick standing up around the nests. Off, we went in the dinghy all around the perimeter of the island. The water was just beautiful, the colours amazing! 

Just as we were ready to head off we saw the park rangers coming to collect their $50. However, they went to the beach, maybe to check the turtle nests. Anyway we left and never had to pay. 

Playa Azul was our next destination, we had never been there before. This area is just across from the Zaporillas. Again it is a very scenic location, there is a long, beautiful, beach with just a few rustic, homes behind.

Nearby there is a local village too. We enjoyed taking the dinghy along the shoreline all the way to the distant point and back.

After which we followed the water way into the mangroves along canals to where the village was located.

If you were just to look at the shoreline where the entrance is found you would never guess there was a village located there. Traveling through the mangroves is a real treat.

The shady canals are enhanced with the reflections of all the foliage. It is also peaceful, just the sounds of the birds singing and the swish of the water. It is totally peaceful.

We had a wonderfully peaceful time at anchor, but once again we needed to head back to Red Frog.

Chico news:

Chico’s news is that he has made some very good fans/friends at the marina. Every few night we get anchovies or fly that are chased by the dolphin or other. In their haste to escape they jump, some land on the dock. Well Chico just adores those dead fish, even if they are sun baked. His friends, Bud and Abel pick up these fish and bring them to Chico. Now all Chico has to hear is either of them coming along the dock and he scrambles to get his hand delivered fish treat.

 

Joy, collected over time, fuels resilience. – Brent Brown

Just another day enjoying the peace and quiet of nature