Life on a Bouncy Castle – From Bocas del Toro to Portobelo and San Blas

We left Bocas del Toro on March 15, 2014 for Shelter Bay. It was pretty flat, almost no wind at all and a current in our favor – what a novelty! About 4 hours before we arrived the wind picked up and we were able to sail. We got there too early – before dawn. You don’t want to try to get in there in the dark, there’s way too much traffic from the Panama Canal. We went in around 8 am and were happy to find several friends there: Baha and Nora on Tutkum, and Manfred and Barbara on Balimara. Barbara told us that there was a couple from Aachen, so we made friends with them, and when we discovered that they would be in Aachen at the same time as me they invited me to watch some matches of the soccer world cup with them.

Shelter Bay is an eerie place. The marina is more lively than Red Frog on Bastimentos, which is largely due to the restaurant that’s right there. Yet the place has a weird vibe to it. Roaming around we discovered lots and lots of abandoned buildings, even an abandoned prison. It was creepy.

Maybe the fact that Colon is nearby plays a part in that atmosphere. We took a taxi there one day to provision. The nicer houses we drove by were surrounded by 3 meter high walls, with an extra meter of electrical wire on top. At the shopping mall, we had to find a vet since we needed a health certificate for Baxter. We found the pet store, all the while looking over our shoulders and being pretty freaked out. When TJ was in Colon way back when he sailed with his dad he saw a guy get his hand cut off for his watch. The cab driver told us a few years ago they’d just rob you, now they rob AND kill you. All in all, not very confidence-inspiring.

At the pet store the friendly store clerk told us there was no vet there, but she’d call him for us. We were then informed that the vet was on his way to come see us. We were a bit confused, since we had had the intention to make an appointment for the following day. We had left Baxter at home. The vet arrived and we explained what we needed. Turns out he makes house calls, and he was going to come see Baxter that afternoon at the marina.

We finished our shopping as quickly as possible. Provisioning in Shelter Bay is much better than in Bocas, even though groceries are expensive throughout Panama.

That afternoon the vet actually showed up. He was a very nice man. He gave Baxter his shots. They were due in April anyways, and doing the whole thing, including the health certificate, cost us only 80 USD, whereas in the States it would probably be 5 times as much. Baxter seemed to like the home clinic, he wasn’t as freaked out as he usually is.

On Tuesday the 18^th of March it was supposed to go pretty flat calm, and we were planning on leaving then for Portobelo. That trip is straight upwind until about 25 miles past Portobelo. We had no such luck, so we stuck around for another night.

That night we took Baxter for a nice walk in the jungle. On the way back it suddenly sounded like something big was breaking its way through the bush. We made a run for it. They have panthers there. Nothing like having your dog be a panther dinner…

Wednesday the winds were still at about 15 – 18 knots, but we had had enough of Shelter Bay, so we left. It’s not far – only about 20 miles – and though I felt like I was trapped inside a bouncy castle we made fast progress and anchored in Portobelo in the early afternoon. Baha and Nora had also left that day, and we all went to town together to explore and let the dogs do their business. Baxter and Salty already knew each other from a stay at the same dog sitter and had become fast friends.

There were some old forts to protect the ports. Portobelo was one of the main ports where all the gold that the Spanish stole from the Indians was loaded. It all dates back to the 1500s and it was pretty neat. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my camera. The rest of the town was very dirty. Lots of trash everywhere. We did find a bakery though, which was a highlight for everyone. We returned to the boat and went to bed early, since we were going to carry on to San Blas the next day.

We motored straight into the wind for 20 miles. The wind speeds were in the teens, but it was enough to make me and Baxter pretty uncomfortable. All of you out there who never get seasick, you have NO idea how lucky you are!!

After we turned the corner we got to put up the sails and had a fairly nice trip to Chichime. There’s a very small anchorage tucked in between 2 islands, and nicely protected. Unfortunately it was crowded in there, and we did not want to squeeze in. So we anchored behind the island. It was very rolly. We didn’t sleep much that night.

This was my first time in San Blas, or Kuna Yala, as the Kuna Indians who live here call it. It belongs to Panama, but is an autonomous region governed by the Kuna. All the little islands look like they jumped out of an advertisement for Caribbean vacations.

Chichime was nice, but they had built a tourist lodge there and aside from selling their souvenirs the Kuna weren’t much interested in foreigners, it seemed. Baxter made a nuisance of himself with their dogs, too, so on March 21 we decided to move on to Yansaladup. The anchorage there was a lot more protected. We were tucked in behind the island, and there’s a big reef all along those islands. Yansaladup is a lot smaller than Chichime, and it had only 2 inhabitants which we fast became friendly with.

We went over to say hi and introduce ourselves, which I considered the polite thing to do since we just landed in these people’s back yard. They were very nice. We decided to give them our plastic tarp, and the guy also asked if TJ had a pair of shorts to spare, which he did. He asked us to charge his cellphone twice, which I thought was so funny. They have no electricity, but they do have a cellphone. He didn’t have a charger, but luckily my cellphone charger fit his as well.

They also sold us a mola shirt. Before we came here I read online that they don’t do that, because they don’t want non-Kuna to wear their traditional molas. So I felt very honored that they considered me fit to wear it. Not that I could ever fit into it. The Kuna are very small people. But it’s the gesture that counts. We also got some coconuts from them. Coconuts are the main source of income for the Kuna. They sell them to the Colombian Traders who come by in their very colorful boats.

On Monday the 24^th of March we waved goodbye and made our way to Povenir, which is where the Kuna authority resides. We checked in and out at the same time, and decided to leave immediately since it was a bit too rough to anchor, and not as quiet and picturesque as so many of the other islands. We had originally been planning to leave the next day for the Bahamas, but neither one of us felt like it yet. This was just too nice, and TJ hadn’t really had any time to rest since we left San Francisco in late September. After about a 12 mile trip we arrived at the Holandes Cays.

We tucked in between 2 islands and a reef and found ourselves in the most protected spot yet. There were only 2 other boats there. It was paradise. The chief, Victor, came rowing out in his Kayuko. He brought presents (4 avocados and a fruit that we still haven’t been able to identify, they call it mame). He collected 10 USD for the tribe and invited us for lunch 2 days hence.

Swimming was much nicer in the Holandes Cays, since it was calmer, and also there was a lot more coral and one day we snorkeled. That’s when the sailboat highway opened and poured all kinds of boat into our peaceful little place. First arrived Te Ara, who I knew from Bocas. Then, to my delight, Tutkum showed up. Though I didn’t feel like socializing much, it was nice to have the occasional conversation and beach walks together with the dogs. Baxter was ecstatic to see his girlfriend again, and went mad every time we’d go to the beach together.

A bunch of Australians on a Hunter anchored right on top of us. TJ was very unhappy, so he went over to talk to them. He came back with the news that they only wanted to stay for one night, and they were going to come over to get the weather from us. They did swim over a bit later. They were very nice. They were on their way to Guatemala and said they hadn’t been planning on stopping here for long, so they didn’t have appropriate charts. We gave them our second Panama cruising guide. Apparently that guilted them into leaving, because shortly thereafter they pulled their anchor and off they went.

The next day a pretty run down looking boat came and started to drop their anchor so close, the wind was going to blow them right into us. TJ told them that wasn’t okay, and they seemed to get all confused and lapped the anchorage about 9 times before dropping the hook a ways behind us. Phew.

On March 27 we were invited to lunch at the chief’s house. TJ had been working on the boat all day. We had a problem with a corroded connection in a fuse between the regulator and the alternator, and the batteries weren’t charging properly. Luckily my genius husband saved the day once more and got it all fixed before it was time to go.

We arrived at Victor’s hut and were introduced to his wife, Elisa. We were served with a plate of cold coconut rice and a whole (head and eyes and all!) smaller red fish. I was not so happy about that fish. I just can’t bring myself to eat something that still has its eyes attached. Yuck! So when they didn’t look I fed it to their 2 very cute dogs. After lunch we promised Victor he could come over the next day and receive salt and my precious machete. Then we took a walk around the island. On the reef side there was a wreck. You see many of those around here. People who rely too much on the charts than on their eye-sight, I suppose. Coming to the Holandes Cays the plotter showed us going right through one island.

People often ask me: why do you do this? They listen to my stories of seasickness, of night watches, of being very groggy when getting into port after yet another too long too fast journey. As I was sitting on the stern of Rocket Science yesterday, right after a swim in the crystal clear water, right before a naked outside bucket shower, watching the incredible scenery around me, I came to the conclusion that there is more than one answer, but this was definitely one of them.