Veggie Boat

Our weather data showed a very promising opportunity to travel north. It is a little sooner than we had planned to leave, but at this time of year, the opportunities are rare. For the past week or so, several boats have been stuck in Providencia, waiting to go north or south, depending on the circumstances. We remember last December, while we were in Providencia, when several boats were forced to stay there for several weeks. So with that in mind, we started working our way toward Porvenir to clear out of Panama and to stage our departure.

On the short sail from the Eastern Holandes to the Eastern Lemmon Cays, we heard on the radio that the 'Veggie Boat' was making the rounds in the Lemmon Cays. This was welcomed as great news, as the 'Veggie Boat' had not been around recently, and most people were now resorting to canned goods. This was to be our first (and only) 'Veggie Boat' experience. We arrived on time, and after waiting patiently, we got our chance. People buy a lot, and he visits every boat, so it takes a long time to make the rounds. The wait was worth it because the quality and selection were the best we have seen in Central America. They have obviously figured out what cruising boats want. We bought a wide selection.

On the subject of food, we do eat well on Ariel. Linda has become very expert at provisioning and planning a varied menu. This is very challenging, as she needs to buy several weeks in advance, often at stores with much more limited selection.

The Eastern Lemmons was much more crowded than we had expected, but we found a nice spot and enjoyed a wonderful evening. The next day, after a couple of showers passed our area, we went on to Porvenir, cleared out, and got our Zarpe from the Port Captain and cleared with Immigration. We did not stay in Porvenir because the anchorage was very rough. We moved on to Chichime. These cays are very far out on the bank and a good departure point. We are between a couple of lightly inhabited cays, each with three or four little homes. Like most cays, there is no electric power, and the only lights at night are from the anchored boats. We have been visited by several local residents who want to sell fish or their handmade items. We weren't interested in buying anything.

This is a great location for our final nights in the San Blas.

A San Blas Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving Day, we moved from Coco Bandero Cays to the Holandes Cays. Along the way, we caught a pretty good-sized fish, which was our hope, so we could have a special Thanksgiving Day meal. There are relatively few United States flagged vessels here, most seeming to be from European countries, so it seemed a little different. There was no chance of turkey, and all that goes with it, since getting even the bare essentials here is difficult, so grilled fish was a great substitute. We are certainly thankful for all our blessings, wherever we may be. The Holandes Cays are the furthest from the mainland, and therefore, they have the clearest water. We are anchored in thirty feet, but the bottom is quite visible. These cays are protected by a wide reef, so while the surf is crashing nearby, it is peaceful on our side of the reef.

We are closely monitoring the weather now, looking for an opportunity to sail to Providencia, Colombia. Some may remember we spent most of last December in Providencia, including Christmas. It is a two-day, two-night trip from here, so we need a pretty decent window. There will be a few boats leaving once the window opens up, so we will have company along the way.

Coco Bandero Cays

We are now in the Coco Bandero Cays, and this, so far, is the most beautiful place we have been in the San Blas. We keep extending our stay here, but there is more to see, so eventually we will have to let go. We are anchored among several very small cays, each totally rimmed with sandy beaches and covered with coconut palms. We exercise by walking the perimeters of the cays.

We are anchored in a spot popular with the pelicans, so in the late afternoon, we are entertained watching them dive for their supper. Norm has taken to rating their dives, just like the Olympic diving judges, especially if two or more dive together, so he can rate the synchronized diving.

Somewhere along the way, we picked up a gecko, probably during the summer at Red Frog. He is very shy, so we don't see him often, but we do find his droppings. That is the one downside of geckos on board. The other morning, we found he had helped himself to our tomatoes that we had left out.

Speaking of wildlife, we did see a crocodile while anchoring at Nargana, and a good-sized one at that. We had been hoping for a sighting. We have also seen sea turtles, rays, and dolphins, and the beaches we are on now have plenty of starfish.

A part of our watermaker failed, and it cannot be repaired until we can get a replacement. We are now collecting rainwater to meet all of our water needs. So far, there has been plenty of rain, so we are doing well in that regard.

Posted from Coco Bandero Cays

Nargana Experiences

Most of the inhabited islands of Kuna Yala, particularly to the west of our current location, are traditional, meaning they live as they have for hundreds of years, foregoing modern conveniences such as electricity. We have spent a few days at Nargana Yandup, here primarily because we can get internet and basic stores. We had no sooner anchored before we were approached by a cayuco. Federico introduced himself, and he is the one person we were hoping to meet in Nargana. Federico is a guide but can also take care of all our needs ashore. We sent him off with our laundry and trash. We later found out how important Federico would be as we wandered the very small island; we couldn't seem to find the tiendas, as advertising is not necessary in such a small village. At the school, we were told the internet was broken. A little later, stopping for a couple of sodas at a small shop, we found they were surprised to hear the internet was broken and suggested it was only available in the afternoon, and that we probably misunderstood. Back in the afternoon, we talked to a teacher who confirmed it was indeed broken. We know this because we heard the word "modem" and then confirmed it could take weeks to repair. We also found out that the next island, Corazon de Jesus, has internet. This island is connected to Nargana by a pedestrian bridge. Norm set off across the bridge, not sure what he was looking for, but on the bridge, he saw a teenager with a notebook computer and asked. He said the whole island has WiFi. Spirits lifted, he just needed to find a shady spot.

Norm stopped at a pool hall (doesn't seem to fit the image, right?), bought a beer, and logged on. One hour and two beers later, all he had managed to do was access our emails. It is free, but way too slow for any useful purpose. The next day, we retrieved our laundry and then sent Federico off to get us some diesel fuel. Later, Norm went and got in line at the bank to try and get some more cash. It was a long line, always outside in this part of the world, as they control the number of people inside. After about an hour, he got his turn at the teller and found out that this branch cannot issue cash from his card. We are not short on cash, so it is not a big deal. Later in town to try the internet again, we ran into Federico and asked him to show us the tiendas. He took us to four different ones, and we bought some fruit and vegetables, but none of them were very large, and they carried very little. The timing was right as the supply boat from Colon had just arrived, so he took us down to the town dock, where we bought five pounds of ground beef off the supply boat ( $12.50). The internet still wasn't any faster; in fact, we got nothing done, so we decided to try very early in the morning. While Norm sat in front of the pool hall, waiting for the internet and trying to chat with the locals, Linda was out distributing small toys to the kids. She returned with the pack of them, and Norm safeguarded our computer. He has learned that kids love to reach out and push a key or something, and he didn't want anything to disturb his nonexistent internet session. The people here are just wonderful. We have never, in all our travels, met friendlier people. While most people in Nargana have given up the traditional dress, many women still wear it, with colors so bright and vibrant. There is a mixture of homes on the island, probably about one half are the traditional stick homes with thatched roofs, and the rest are poured concrete with tin roofs.

Norm finally got high-speed internet. He went into the village square, where the signal seemed the strongest just after daybreak, before many people were stirring. He couldn't believe the difference.  He completed some bill paying and set up our weather data emails, which we will need. Pictures will have to wait for a better opportunity.

Posted from Coco Bandero Cays

San Blas Adventures

Each day is a new adventure. During our first full day in the San Blas, after we had settled in at Lemmons Cays with another 7 or 8 boats, a guy came by with a bin full of molas, so we invited him aboard and spent about 1 ½ hours narrowing our selection. They were of very good quality, which is why we invited him aboard. We finally settled on a few molas and are happy with our purchase. A mola is actually part of a woman's blouse, but has become an art form and is Panama's best-known handicraft. They are made by cutting and stitching different layers of cloth. Actually, it is too difficult to describe.

The next day, Lisa stopped by and introduced herself. She came during a light rain, so we had a good excuse not to invite her aboard. We had heard of Lisa long before arriving in the San Blas. Lisa is an infamous transvestite who does very well at promoting herself. Later in the day, a family stopped by that wanted to sell lobsters. They were too small, so we rejected them, and hopefully, all cruisers will reject undersized catch. Next, the woman offered a mola, but it was of poor quality, so after we declined, they asked for candy for the child, at which point we sent them on their way.

The following day, we moved to Salardup and for the first time had the anchorage to ourselves, but we also noticed a couple of huts behind a very beautiful sandy beach at the tip of the island. Late in the day, a couple of guys from the island paddled out in their cayuco. The native language is Kuna, with Spanish as a second language. One of the guys spoke Spanish and absolutely no English. After a long, struggling conversation, we realized they wanted gasoline so they could travel to one of the populated islands closer to the mainland. We agreed to give them a couple of gallons in exchange for a couple of coconuts. Coconuts are very important to the Kuna and a big part of their economy. We have been enjoying the best coconut we have ever had. We determined that one of these guys owned the island or at least his family does, and they are running a day trip tourist stop, or at least trying to. The next morning, before we got underway, they passed us on their way in toward the mainland.

Also, the next morning, before we got underway, Lisa stopped by again. We explained we were just getting underway, so we did not want to look at molas. When we arrived at our next stop, Green Island, Lisa was on a catamaran showing them molas, and by now we are old friends, so of course we exchanged waves with her. Just after we got settled on the anchor, a couple of guys stopped by selling lobsters, so we bought some. These seemed to be the legal size, but certainly not what we would term grande, which is how they referred to the ones we selected.

Arrived San Blas

We had observed while waiting behind Isla Linton for good weather to complete the last leg of our trip to the San Blas that our weather data was not matching the conditions we were seeing. We began to wonder whether being situated near the steep hills and mountains nearby was creating localized effects. We were rocking horribly at anchor from incoming swell, so we decided to head out and see if we could tolerate maybe ten hours of what looked to be very rough and confused seas. Once out, we confirmed it was very rough, but we decided to go on. The wind was just enough off the nose that we could get the stay sail out, and that helped drive through the seas. It was what we call a washing-machine ride, like watching a cork bounce around during the wash cycle of a top-loading machine. Our trip took just a little over eight hours, so not bad. The boat down below needed a lot of straightening out after we arrived, and we had a water mishap, which was a big surprise. We were running low on water, which influenced our decision to go. We ran the watermaker for 8 hours while underway, and we were really surprised to find we had a near-empty water tank once we got there. Norm probably hit the cold water faucet in the galley while below and being jostled around, and didn't notice it, so we pumped just about all our water down the drain. We were so looking forward to those showers, too. We recovered quickly by opening the deck fill to the water tank, building a small dam, and began collecting rainwater. By morning, we had a 1/8 tank, good enough for coffee and showers.

We stayed the night off Porvenir to check in with the Port Captain in the morning. After checking in, we moved on a short distance to the Lemmon Cays. We have been blown away by the beauty and peacefulness of the San Blas, and we have yet to begin to really explore. We are now slowly working our way east toward Nargana. We have been without internet for two weeks now, and we understand we may be able to get internet at the school in Nargana. We did hear the election results on the BBC, only because we made the effort; otherwise, we have had no news, but we are not complaining. Being disconnected is nice once in a while.

Weather Is In Control

Norm went in to see the Port Captain in Portobello on Tuesday morning, with hopes to get underway immediately thereafter. While in town, it began to rain, so he had to wait for a break before returning to Ariel. We put the dinghy away as soon as he got back, but then it began to rain again. Our planned destination was only about two hours away, so we decided we would just leave when it stopped. At 3:00 pm, we decided we would have to wait another day, not wanting to risk a late arrival that day or night. The next morning looked good, so we were on our way. We had no sooner cleared the harbor, and the rain started in again and quickly became very heavy. We turned on the radar and navigated with it as visibility was very limited. The heavy rain continued unabated. We were approaching the point where we would turn in to go behind Isla Linton, our planned stop, and the rain was still not letting up. We decided we would go to that point and just hold there. Amazingly, at the exact moment we reached our turning point, the rain stopped completely. We went in and found a place to drop the hook. We didn't know what to expect, but certainly we were not expecting over 60 boats, but now that we have been here a while, we see it makes sense. A road runs nearby, making it easy to catch a taxi or bus to Colon for supplies. We have seen several boats making major provisioning trips. It looks like an affordable place to hang out during the wet season. We had planned to leave the very next day, but the rains resumed and continued throughout the following day, dropping several inches. There are two seasons in Panama: dry and wet. The wet season runs from June through November, and since this is November, we were forewarned. The rain finally let up the following day, with just intermittent showers, and as much as we wanted to leave, we were now facing strong trade winds coming from the east, exactly the direction we needed to go. The weather is now beautiful, so we will just hang out and wait for a change in wind direction, now forecast for early next week. There is a large fish farm operated here and a small village. We went in to check it out and found a small tienda, so we picked up a couple of grocery items. Just 40 more miles and we will be in the San Blas.

Travelling To Portobello

Our trip from Bocas del Toro to Rio Chagras is indeed memorable. We arrived safely, but it is not an experience we hope to repeat. We left Red Frog anchorage in a slight drizzle, but that is to be expected in Panama. So, after getting out into the open water, we were able to get the sails up and had a nice reach for a couple of hours before a distant squall disrupted the wind. We expected that once we got further along, the winds would resume as they were, but they were no longer usable and remained that way the remainder of the trip. We had a very favorable current, so we were not burning much fuel as we worked our way toward our destination. The afternoon was pleasant but very cloudy, and some thunder could be heard in the distance. We had been hoping for a moonlit night, but with the heavy cloud cover, we started seeing that chance fading away. Neither of us is a big fan of overnight passages, but it is necessary for what we do. It will take 10 or more overnights to get Ariel back to Key West, but we will deal with that at a later date. At about midnight, the rain started, and it lasted until 3:00 am, sometimes light and at times quite heavy. We had part of our enclosure up, so we were relatively dry, and amazingly, there wasn't any strong wind with the rain. The lightning also started around the same time, and it lasted until 5:00 am. During the night and well before the storm, we saw only two ships, the closest a little more than six miles. So during the lightning, we were the only object on the sea, both visually in all directions and according to radar. With a mast pointing to the sky, all we could do was pray and keep plodding along since it was out of our hands. Much of the lightning was cloud-to-cloud, but we did see strikes down to the water. As it was, we did not have any strikes close by, and we are thankful for that. We were approaching our destination, the Rio Chagras, as the morning welcomed us. We entered the Rio Chagras but proceeded only far enough up the river to get beyond the effects of the incoming surf. The Rio Chagras is a beautiful tropical river surrounded by virgin rainforest. The river was dammed about six miles inland in 1910 to form Lake Gatun, which supplies water for the Panama Canal locks. The river is about 30 feet deep from shore to shore, and the water is clear. We anchored in the center, and we no sooner settled when we heard the familiar howler monkeys. Later, the green parrots kicked up a racket. There were dozens upon dozens of them, maybe a hundred so in the trees on both shores and crossing from one side to the other, usually traveling in pairs. They are beautiful to watch, but the noise can be irritating after a while.

After a comfortable night, we continued on the next morning, crossing through the anchorage at the entrance to the Panama Canal, with many ships waiting their turn. We arrived in Portobello in the early afternoon, surprised at the number of cruising boats anchored. We counted about fifty. We planned to stop in Portobello as one last opportunity to provision before heading to the San Blas. Portobello was discovered by Christopher Columbus on November 2, 1502, on his fourth trip to the New World. Between 1574 and 1702, fleets of galleons carried away the riches. The fortifications from that era are still present. One of the notable buildings in town is the Customs House, originally built in 1630. It was used as a trade warehouse and for the offices of the Governor. The other impressive structure is the Church of San Felipe de Portobello, home of the Black Christ of Portobello. Captain Jack's is the place to go for cruisers and backpackers. We stopped in early in the day and met Jack. He gave us guidance on where to buy diesel and propane. The diesel was actually Captain Jack's, but dispensed by Dave at Consignment Daves on the waterfront. Jack only sells diesel in 15-gallon increments, the size of the containers he hauls it in, and this was exactly the amount we could handle. His neighbor next door took our propane tank to fill and delivered it to our boat the next morning. They are filled by gravity, so it can take a while. We have checked out with the Port Captain, so off we go again.

Sorry, no pictures until we can get an internet connection. This update is via SSB radio.

Ready To Go

Red Frog Beach

Ariel is ready to go, and so are we. Our slip rental ends today, so tomorrow morning we will slip our lines and once again be disconnected from shore. Hooray!! When we returned to Ariel, we found her in the worst condition ever, but not as bad as we expected. We had noticed the condition of the unattended boats before we left last April, so we were expecting the worst. The tropics, with their high heat and often constant rain, are very harsh. Ariel, normally beige, was now showing a nice green hue. After a solid week of cleaning and using a friend's power washer, we were able to restore Ariel to the condition we had left it. The hull was just as bad as the topside, sporting four to eight or more inches of soft growth. Norm spent a full two hours scraping the bottom to remove not only the soft growth, but an incredible number of barnacles. He attracted a large gathering of fish. They acted like children; they just had to be right at his scrapper.

In between cleaning chores, we made several trips to town to re-provision. We had purposefully exhausted our provisions before leaving. Over the next few weeks, we will be in an area where we need to bring everything we will need, so we have provisioned to cover about six weeks. We plan to supplement that with fish, lobster, and fruits that we will buy from the locals. We also filled our jerry cans with diesel and gasoline, so we should be good to go. We hope to top off the propane tank we have been using at our next port.

Our plan is to get underway on Friday, going east. Remember, Panama runs east and west.

During the next two months, our internet access will be sporadic, and we will provide updates as we can.

Bus Adventures

There are easier ways to get to Bocas del Toro, but we opted for adventure. The typical bus route would be from San Jose, Costa Rica, to Changuinola, Panama, and from there a one-hour water taxi ride to Bocas Town. 

Our Amazing Travels By Bus

We took a much longer route, one that took us along the Pacific Coast. We had stopped earlier in the week at the Tracopa Bus Terminal and purchased tickets for the 7:30 am departure to David, Panama. We arranged a taxi from the hotel to the bus terminal downtown in plenty of time. Our bus seats were 1 and 2 in the front row, right behind the driver, so we had a great view. We have noticed that they generally seat foreign guests in the front rows of buses in Central America. Costa Rica is absolutely beautiful, so we were quite mesmerized taking in the views. At times, we were literally running along the Pacific seashore. We had one stop for lunch, still in Costa Rica. We expected confusion at the border, and it could have been very difficult.  One big problem with traveling by bus is the lack of English interpretation. The bus pulled up on the Costa Rican side, and everyone piled off, including us.  A local who makes a few Colones by spotting wide-eyed foreigners grabbed us up and led us through the process. Thank goodness. He got us in the right line to check out of Costa Rica and provided the forms we needed to fill out. Once checked out, he walked us to Panama. By now our bus had disappeared. On the Panamanian side, he got us in the right line to check into Panama. We knew Panama would require return tickets to leave the country, so we were ready with our cruising permit, which satisfied that requirement, but we still had to show a credit card as proof of financial means. Our guy, Rudy, had provided us with the customs form, but our luggage was still on the bus.  Amazingly, out of an almost full bus, only about six of us were continuing on into Panama. The bus had been pulled up outside the customs office, so when we were all ready, they opened the baggage compartments, and we dragged our bags in for inspection. That done, we gave Rudy our remaining Colones, which was generous indeed, but we knew they would otherwise be destined for some forgotten place for all time. Then we re-boarded and were on our way. We were unaware that the bus would pass through an insecticide spray. Had we known, we would have closed our window and avoided a personal spraying.  One more stop to have our passports inspected to make sure we had completed the process, and we were on our way to David.

We had booked a room at Hotel Puerta del Sol. We selected this based on TripAdvisor.  We have had very good luck using this site. The ratings and comments are from actual tourists. We can certainly recommend this hotel. The hotel also has a reasonably priced restaurant, which was perfect for us after a long day on the bus. We had dinner there and breakfast the next morning. Back at the bus terminal in David, we found the minibus to Changuinola and indicated we wanted to get off at Almirante.

Our Mini Bus - One Pit Stop Along The Way

There are no tickets for these minibuses; you simply show up. They leave about hourly and are all owner-operated.  We were dreading this portion of the trip because the buses can be crowded, but ours was only about 1/2 full most of the way. They made stops along the way, and people were getting on and off.  It turned out to be a pleasant ride, although ear-popping as we climbed the mountain roads and then descended on the Caribbean side. We opted to get off at Almirante, well, actually just outside of town.   It made for a shorter bus ride and then a shorter water taxi ride. Almirante is not a place one would want to be any longer than absolutely necessary.  We got a taxi into town, and after waiting about 1/2 hour, we had enough passengers to satisfy the water taxi driver, so we could depart.

In Bocas Town, we had lunch, and as much as we wanted to get back to Ariel, we took time to shop for some groceries.  After a quick water taxi ride, and we were back at Red Frog Marina. Home Again

Pura Vida

Rainforest Tram

We arrived at our hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica, near 1:00 am Tuesday morning, after a long but uneventful day of air travel. We are staying at a Marriott Courtyard, which would be expensive, but we are still using points Norm earned while he was still working. This has been the easiest Central American country for us as tourists. Costa Rica is the most visited nation in Central America. Despite living in Spanish-speaking countries for years, our Spanish is extremely weak. That is not an issue here, as most of the people we have interacted with, such as taxi drivers, hotel staff, waiters, and tour guides, all speak extremely good English. It's so nice to be able to engage in conversation with the locals. We are impressed by how clean the city and the countryside are. This is certainly not the case in much of Central America.

On our first full day, we went to the center of the city, which is always an interesting place to watch people and get a feel for the place. There we had lunch at the cafe inside Teatro Nacional (National Theater). After a wonderful lunch in such a beautiful setting, we visited the Museo de Oro Precolombino (Gold Museum – Pre-Colombian).  The museum building is in an unimpressive underground bunker, but the collection is truly impressive.

Museum Is Actually A Large Vault - Understandably So

We booked a trip to the rainforest for our second full day in Costa Rica. There are so many day trip options in Costa Rica that it was hard to choose. We were drawn to the aerial tram ride through and over the rainforest canopy in Braulio Carrillo Nacional Park. The tour we booked would pick us up at our hotel, provide transportation to the park, an English-speaking guide, the 90-minute aerial tram ride, lunch, and then a walking tour, all in all about a seven-hour package. As it happens, we were the only ones who booked a tour for that day, so it became a private tour. Our van driver, Eric, was a wealth of knowledge and pointed out the highlights along the way as we exited San Jose and climbed to the Continental Divide and then down the Caribbean side. At the park, we were introduced to our guide, Dennis. Not only is Dennis's English excellent, but he is also very knowledgeable about the wildlife and plant life. We would have missed so much without his instruction. One good example is the tent-making bat.

Tent - Notice Cut Leaf to Form One Side Of the Tent

To the untrained eye, the large leaves on a certain type of plant just look like they are broken. Careful observation reveals the breaks are clean, and the leaf now forms a very neat tent. Looking under the leaf then further reveals very peacefully hanging bats. We saw and learned so much that our walks on Bastimentos when we get back to Panama will be with much more informed observation. We only saw one other couple in the park, and that was at lunch, so our day continued as a private tour. Dennis pointed out how much better our day is compared to cruise ship days, when 300 – 500 tourists descend on the park on a very tight time schedule. We sure are glad we didn't book on a cruise ship day.

Time To Leave The Northeast

Burr, low 20s last night. It is time to get back to Ariel. Our last blog entry was in April, when we were spending a few days in Panama City on our way back to the United States. We are returning to Central America this coming week. We will fly from the US to San Jose, Costa Rica, and spend a few days there before continuing by bus to Panama.

We do not update the blog while we are not cruising, but here is a brief recap of our time back home. We were able to quickly get settled into what we call our cabin. It is actually a small house which began its life as a hunting cabin in 1935. It is comfortable but in need of much repair, too much in our opinion, so we plan to raze it at some point in the future. Our primary desire, as always, when we are back, is to visit with family and friends, and that we did. We made several trips to Ohio and one to Michigan to see our kids and grandchildren, and we had frequent guests at our home. This is a huge benefit of having a home again.

Mom (Gladys) enjoying her birthday with her boys Norm, Mark, Rich

Mom’s (Gladys) Birthday 

We returned with an ambitious plan to improve our property. It was extremely overgrown from years of neglect, and brush and tree removal were an ongoing activity all summer. Just a couple of weeks ago, we rented a wood chipper and fed it our massive piles of brush.

Linda got a good start on replanting the areas we cleared and also getting her perennial flower gardens going. She just recently seeded a large area with wildflowers, so we are looking forward to seeing results next spring, that is, if the turkeys and crows leave any seeds.

Raspberries

Norm started a fruit and vegetable garden. We planted 30 raspberry canes and 6 blueberry bushes. We actually harvested a few raspberries this season. We put in a few vegetable plants, sort of as an afterthought, and had a good supply of tomatoes and a few other vegetables all summer and fall.

We continued to refurbish our machine shed. We completed one exterior wall last year and just finally finished the remaining three. This 16 x 20 shed was sagging badly and had sunk as much as eight inches due to rot. Somewhere along the way, dirt was pushed up against the exterior walls. Now the walls are like new. Next year, we will tackle putting on a new roof.

Saving An Old Shed

Last year, Norm's mother decided to move into a new senior housing complex, which was being built with a planned opening in the fall of this year. Caring for her home, particularly the landscaping, was getting to be just too much. We knew that returning this year, we would have a lot to do to get her house ready to sell and to eventually get her moved. For starters, much of our furniture was still stored in her garage. We began by finding space in our cabin and shed for it. It looks strange, but we found a home for everything. Getting her place ready to list was easy since she has always taken exceptional care of it. A bigger challenge for her was downsizing, as she has lived in her home for 40 years. Her property sold right away, so that was a huge relief. Due to the mild winter, the apartments were completed about a month early, so she was able to move in September, and so we set her moving day for September 15, and she closed on the sale of her home the following week. Her new place is great, and she is very happy with it.

We absolutely love spending summers in our little country getaway. We are trying to coexist with all the wild animals. The most challenging by far are the deer. They love to eat just about anything green. Linda selects deer-resistant plants, but we have learned this does not mean deer-proof. We have fenced in some areas, and that seems to work best, but this isn't the way we want to leave it. We have had several bear visits this year. We had one stop while our grandchildren were visiting, so that was perfect. They typically look around for something to eat, and, not finding anything, move on.

On to new adventures with Ariel.

Amador Causeway

The Amador Causeway, jutting out into the Pacific, was constructed from excavated material during the Canal construction. It took 18 million yards of solid rock extracted from the famous Culebra or Gaillard Cut of the Panama Canal to build this Causeway. It is a beautiful place for walking, and the views are spectacular. We were disappointed to find that many restaurants and shops were either closed or had gone out of business. Although we have no plans to transit the canal, we were interested in this area because it is the first place to anchor or stop at a marina on the Pacific side.

Anchored Cruising Boats

Great View of the City

Miraflores Locks

Of course, we wanted to see the Panama Canal and the Miraflores Locks, the last set of locks on the Pacific side and closest to Panama City.   We had to be patient and wait until after lunch to go.  They move the largest ships during the day and the smaller vessels at night.  Ships are locking through the Miraflores Locks early morning, going from the Pacific toward the Caribbean, and the ships coming from the Caribbean arrive at the Miraflores Locks starting usually around 3:00 pm.  They have a small museum and a short movie at the visitor center, but the main attraction is watching the ships lock through.  We watched two; the second is pictured here.  This one is a fully loaded Panamax Container ship, which means it is built to the maximum dimensions that can transit the current Panama Canal.  (A new, larger canal is scheduled to open during 2014, the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal opening)  This ship paid $343,000 for this transit of the canal. A transit takes between 8 and 10 hours.  The Miraflores Lock has four chambers that lower or raise ships in two steps, each approximately 27 feet.  The tidal range on the Pacific side is pretty extreme at around 12 feet, so the actual range varies.

Entering Lock Chamber - Locomotives Keep Ship Centered

Lowered 27 Feet by Gravity

Lock Gates Opening

Exiting First Chamber Into Second Step

Tight Fit - Ready to Drop Another 27 Feet

Casco Viejo

On our first full day in Panama City, we opted to visit the old city, known as Casco Viejo or Casco Antiguo.  This area is quite small, so it is easily covered by walking around.  We had our taxi drop us off just about in the center at Plaza Bolívar.  After exploring, we walked the short distance to the Fish Market, which is highly recommended.  Over the retail section of the market is a restaurant with very reasonable prices.  We both really like fresh fish, so this was a real treat.

Catedral Metropolitana

Restaurant Above Fish Market - Can't Get Any Fresher 

Departing Bocas

Ariel Ready (and us) for Summer

We have put Ariel away for the next few months. We are spending five nights in Panama City on our way out of the country. We had splurged on air travel from Bocas del Toro to Panama City rather than spend a day on the bus.  We are staying at the Marriott Courtyard, which is next to the Pacific Multiplaza. We are still using Marriott points Norm earned during ten years of work travel.  This is a fantastic location with the Pacific Ocean visible from our room.

Air Panama

View From Our Room

It's Not All Paradise

Real-world problems are never far away.  This week started with an unauthorized transaction against our account.  We actually saw it before it was applied against the account and called right away.  It was for over $1,300 at Staples.  We got that stopped and the card replaced.  This morning, we were listening to the radio net, and it was announced that Aeroperlas ceased all operations in Panama as of February 29.  Well, that got our attention because we had tickets to fly from Bocas del Toro to Panama City with them in April.  We were going into town anyway on the free water taxi from the marina, so we decided to stop at the airport to sort it out.  We were told we would be refunded by Aeroperlas, so we booked seats on Air Panama.  Now hoping our refund comes through. Enough of that, back to enjoying our little bit of the world.

A Rhythm In Bocas del Toro



Red Frog

There are three marinas in the Bocas del Toro area. Two are near Bocas Town, and the third is on Bastimentos Island. We have been to Bocas Town Marina, which is very close to town, but it still requires a boat to reach it. It is very nice and a good choice. We had seriously considered leaving Ariel at this marina, but in the end decided on Red Frog Marina on Bastimentos Island. The deciding factor for us was the opportunity to get off the boat and walk around Red Frog. Red Frog Marina is part of Red Frog Beach and Nature Preserve. The marina is on the mainland side of Bastimentos Island. It is just a short walk across the island to the Caribbean seaside with wonderful beaches and pounding surf. Our favorite attraction is the walking trails through the rainforest. Right after listening to the radio net each morning, we are off for our walk. After a few weeks here, we have only begun to explore all the trails.

Sloth Watching Us Watch Him (or Her)

Nap Time

Our plan is to leave Ariel here while we travel back to the United States again this summer. We started leaving Ariel during the summer two seasons ago, while we were in the Belize, Guatemala, Honduras area. There just wasn't any reason to spend hurricane season hunkered down at a marina. Well, in full disclosure, we are no longer threatened by hurricanes. Hurricanes just do not travel to this corner of the Caribbean. Having spent the previous two summers in upstate New York, we have gotten ourselves somewhat reattached to land life. At the end of the first summer, we bought some property just outside of Corning, New York. It is about six acres, mostly wooded, with a small house on it, originally built as a hunting lodge in the 1930s and since expanded. The house isn't much, and eventually we plan to raze it, but last summer we moved into it, and it works great as a summer home. We were very busy last summer developing the property, and we have another similar summer planned. So, despite the possibility of staying on Ariel this summer, we now have other obligations, so we are locked into a pattern of splitting our time between our two lives.



Shopping Day

Laid Back Bocas Town

There is a very good reason it is called Red Frog. Once you set off on a trail through the rainforest, you will likely see red frogs. These are actually very tiny, and their correct name is Red Poison-Dart Frog. The other interesting creature we have seen is the sloth. In both cases, it has been hard to get good pictures. The first sloth we saw was really close, just above, hanging on a tree branch, but we didn't have the camera. Since then, they have been too far away for really good pictures. The sounds in the rainforest are just fascinating, especially all of the birds. Anchored off Isla Colon, recently we listened to what were obviously large groups of howler monkeys. We are used to howler monkeys from our time in Guatemala, but these were especially loud.

Our Own Private Spot (Big Bight)

We seem to have developed a rhythm here. We spend some time in the marina, which gives us access to the beach, great walking trails, and a couple of restaurants, and air conditioning onboard. We try to keep the boat at about 79 - 81. Anything less is now too cool for us, but it keeps the humidity down, which is really nice. We then take Ariel to the anchorage off  Bocas Town. In Bocas Town, we do our shopping and have our laundry done. We could have the laundry done at the marina, but it is cheaper in town. We, of course, try a restaurant or two while in town. We then take Ariel to a quiet anchorage for a couple of nights of solitude. It is very easy to find our own private cove. We then return to Red Frog, mostly because by now we are internet starved, and begin the cycle again.

Isolated In Bocas del Toro

The Pan American Highway in western Panama has been closed for several days now by protesting indigenous Ngäbe Bugle Indians over disputes with the government about mining and hydroelectric projects in their region.  Trees and other debris are used to block the road, and clashes with police have been violent at times.

While we are well away from the protest, we are nevertheless cut off from the rest of the world by the blockages.  We have developed shortages very quickly.  Gasoline was the first to sell out, and then diesel became scarce.  Fresh fruits and vegetables have not been delivered, and tourists, other than those flying in, cannot arrive.  The ferry from Almirante has ceased operations. 

We are luckily in good shape personally.  We had just topped off the diesel and gasoline and filled our propane tank shortly before this began.  This was pure luck, as we had no insight that this was about to happen.  Norm’s dental appointment with Dr. Wong was cancelled as he normally arrives from Almirante on the ferry.

So far, there has been no real adverse impact on us, and we are enjoying our time on Bastimentoes.

Based on the news, we expect this to be resolved soon.

Arriving Panama

Well, before we started out on this several-year adventure, we became very interested in the San Blas Islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama as a cruising destination.  During the past couple of years, while in the Western Caribbean, we have talked with many cruisers who have made the circuit through the Eastern Caribbean across the north coast of Venezuela and Colombia, and then up through the Western Caribbean.  Almost to a person, they cite the San Blas Islands in Panama as their favorite location.  Interestingly enough, the Eastern Caribbean, where we initially thought we would begin our cruising, barely gets mentioned.  These stories were the motivation to get us here to Panama.  As we studied Panama, we realized there are many more cruising opportunities than just the San Blas, so we decided to explore them all on the Caribbean side.  (We have no plans to go through the Panama Canal.)  We have arrived at the archipelago of Bocas del Toro, which is in the western part of Panama.  This area is made up of two big bays, eight major islands, 51 cays, and an unlimited number of places to drop the hook.  We intend to spend the remainder of this cruising season in the Bocas del Toro area and then leave Ariel in a marina here while we are away for the summer.

Tropical Sunset Over Bahia Almirante



Anchored Off Bocas Town

The challenge for the trip from San Andres  to Bocas del Toro was to keep the boat speed down to five knots or less.  We wanted to depart during daylight hours and to also arrive during daylight hours.  Our plan was to clear out and leave immediately, but while in with our agent clearing out of Colombia, a heavy rain squall blew in, so even before we were cleared out, we were delayed a day.  It was not a problem to stay even though we were cleared out.  We left San Andres at 4:00 pm the following day and were well clear of the island before sunset.  The winds were light and on the beam, which played right into our plan to go slow.  Conditions remained the same through the night and all through the following day.  The second night, the winds became too light for sailing as was expected.  We motored through the night and arrived at Bocas del Toro at 8:00 am right on plan.  On our way in, we heard on the VHF radio that it was a public holiday.  This was great news because all of the offices would be closed, so we couldn't check in.  We headed for a quiet bay just inside the channel and dropped the anchor, thankful for a chance to get some rest and things cleaned up before clearing in.  The next morning, the Port Captain directed us to anchor just off his office and indicated we would need to be boarded.  About 45 minutes later, a boarding party of four arrived.  It is a good thing we have a scanner and printer aboard, because they wanted multiple copies of everything.  Norm is not sure what they did because he was making copies the whole time.  Soon they were finished, leaving us with a stack of completed forms and instructions to make additional stops in town before we would be completely cleared in.  Our first stop was at the Autoridad Maritima de Panama (AMP)  (Maritime Authority) to obtain our cruising permit.  The cruising permit is good for one year.  Now this next part is where it got weird.  We were told to go to Banco Nacional de Panama to purchase Nacional Stamps, which would be $10 each, and we would need two.  We were then to deliver these to Immigration, and then we would get our passports stamped.  After waiting in the teller line for 1/2 hour, we were told they do not sell Nacional Stamps.  By now, it was lunch hour, so after lunch, we sheepishly pushed open the heavy wooden door to the Immigration Office and explained our failed attempt to obtain the Nacional Stamps.  The Immigration Officer replied, "If they do not have the stamps, that cannot be helped", at which point she processed our passports, good for 180 days, and sent us on our way.