Christmas in Panama.

We may be in the middle of islands with sand and palm trees we can still celebrate Christmas like everybody else. On December 25th we went on a small island called BBQ Island. This is an inhabited island but is regularly used by sailors to socialize and have a drink. This time the crews of the twenty or so boats anchored nearby gathered on the island to celebrate Christmas. This was a potluck so everyone brought a dish and a gift exchange was also organized. For the occasion we made a reversed pineapple cake and brought a board game we never use. Of course celebrating Christmas in broad day light, wearing shorts and T-shirt with a bunch of people we never met before, on a sand island with palm trees all around is very different than the ones we are used back home with snow, winter coats and boots and the sun setting at 4 pm but it was sure better than staying by ourselves on the boat. Since there is no electricity on the island the party stopped at 6 pm when the sun went down and everyone went back to their boat. Some even had Christmas lights that night and discharged batteries the morning after!

This happy bunch came to whish us Merry Christmas and to ask us if we had a beer. We gave each of them one even though the second one from the front was not more than 15 year old and the fact that it was 8:00 in the morning!

Here Danielle drinks her glass of wine during the Christmas party.

Palm trees and the Kunas

We finally arrived in the San Blas Islands that form a large archipelago off the coast of Panama. Each island is relatively small and only a few meters high with mostly palm trees on them. The water is clear and there is coral everywhere. It would be paradise if it wasn’t of the sand flies or noseehem. These little bugs are the nastiest beast known to us. When the wind is calm these little flying monsters send a legion to the boat for a rampage. They are about the size of a grain of salt and unless you are in bright day light with a white background you just don’t see them. Like mosquitoes they come out at night and pass through our screens to feast on us while we are sleeping. Even if they are tiny their stings are pretty painful and the bumps they leave are very itchy and last over a week. As I write these lines I have at least 100 stings all over my body but mostly on the legs all this from a single night where the word passed that it was “all you can eat” at Chocobo’s! After that the wind picked up in the archipelago and we got only a couple of bites since then, which is not too bad. Of course while I was the main meal Danielle barely got a sting!

Here you can see Chocobo anchored near Porvenir Island. For the gentlemen reading this post please note that Chocobo is the sailboat with yellow covers in the center of the picture. If you finally focus you attention a little bit at this location on the picture you will eventually see it!

The inhabitants of the San Blas islands are the Kuna Indians who leave here with their own semi autonomous local government from an agreement with the government of Panama. The archipelago is actually called Kuna Yala by the kunas. They mostly live in a very traditional ways although we can see many of them talking on cell phones and there are TV antennas here and there. At least they could use “traditional” cell phone made of coconut shells and palm leaves! Here you can see pictures of Wichubhuala island where basically the village covers the entire island and even some houses are built on pylons, which is interesting since most islands are inhabited. We see them all day paddling in their boats carved in a log; some will use a simple sail while others will simply use the good old outboard motor. But I guess they are traditional motor too!

With the corals everywhere and the shallow waters the bounty of the sea is plenty. We could go spear fishing to get our dinner but hey, why bothering doing what the Kunas are so good at and very willing to sell you crabs and lobsters for a decent price? Here we got all five lobsters for $10 and the crab, a bit more expensive, for $5. It took me forever to get the meat out of the crab but the crab chowder we made with it was to die for! The lobsters ended up in the fondue we had for my 43th birthday and in stuffed avocados that Danielle likes so much. One note about the prices; the price we paid may not be very much compared to what we pay in North America but by panamian standard $5 for a crab is a bit pricy. We could have dealt down the price but when we think that the kunas let us come to their island with no restrictions and greet us with friendship and large smiles we thought that paying a bit more to contribute to their local economy to allow them to get what the islands don’t give them is not a very big price to pay.

Here is a group of Kunas passing by in their wooden boat. Often they will stop at our boat to sell us stuff such as crabs, lobsters, fish or molas. The molas are complex and very artistic patterns sowed on a piece of fabric. We bought a nice one and it will make a very nice genuine souvenir of the region. Another interesting point is that the kids on board these boats will almost systematically ask for “caramelos”, which basically means candies. Of course it is almost impossible to resist and we give them some pretty much every time.

Arrived in Panama

We arrived in Panama, more specifically in Porvenir in the San Blas Islands, on December 20, 2009 after our longest leg at sea of 287 nautical miles (534 Km) on this trip that took us 56 hours (2 days and 8 hours). This trip was not also the longest in miles and time but also the one we went the furthest at sea as at one point we were at 80 nautical miles (149 Km) from any land.

The Colombian Coast

Following our decision of sailing the Colombian coast en route to Panama we first made a leg from Aruba to an anchorage under the protection of Cabo de la Vela, which means Cape of Sail and it really deserves its name. The anchorage was indeed protected but against the waves only. The wind here is not just a feature but a natural resource! Interestingly the Colombians don’t exploit it as we didn’t see any wind generators around. We arrived in the middle of the night and left just after sunset the same day but I can tell you that we had all the wind we wanted to cool ourselves off! All day we sustained a good 20 knots of wind held by our reliable anchor that didn’t bulge. Another interesting point is on our way to Cabo de la Vela we set a speed record on Chocobo with an average speed of 7.5 knots hence the reason we arrived at 4:00am! Normally we average more 5.5 to 6.0 knots especially when we are loaded like we are right now.

Our next stop was a place called Five Bays and like its name says it, it is five bays laying side by side a bit like the holes between the toes of a giant foot with 6 toes that would be standing on the coast of Colombia. We set the anchor on the second bay from the west between two of the toes very well protected from the waves and the outside wind by the surrounding hills covered by the Colombian forest. I say the outside wind because this bay appears to be quite an amazing place and this includes a set of very strong gusts inside the bay created the winds flowing between and over the hills and taking the form of whirls moving in all directions inside the bay especially during the night. The gusts in question can often reach up to 35 knots in less than a second and last about 3 seconds. We would stand on the deck with barely any wind then see the black ripples on the water, created by the whirl, moving toward us from the side. Uh-ho! Then, as if someone turned on a giant fan, the wind would hit us with full strength creating a noise from hell. Two or three seconds later it is gone and the boat, most of the time, didn’t have the time to move. Then 5 or 15 minutes later it would come again. The first night we were sure the anchor would drag and we would hit the rocky shore or die or something like that but amazingly the anchor seems to be set in the concrete and the boat never went anywhere during the many days we stayed here waiting for a proper weather window to keep moving. But these gusts from hell are not the only amazing things down here. During the day when the wind is very calm we would see tens of white butterflies flying not too far from the surface. At night the bay becomes an amazing phosphorescent bay with billions of small planktons glowing when the water is disturbed. When the wind gets especially strong in the middle of the night we would stand at the bow and watch that the anchor is holding fine. This is relatively easy since the entire chain and the two lines of the bridle are glowing bright as the boat moves in response to the wind change. One evening with no moon I went in the water with Danielle watching over me, she just doesn’t like swimming in the dark, and like we experienced in the phosphorescent bay in Puerto Rico my limbs would just start glowing of thousands of green bright little lights as I moved them through the water. This is an experience very difficult to describe as you have to live it to fully appreciate the enchantment of the scene. I felt like a swimming light fairy but with short hairs, an unshaved beard and hairy legs!

Finally after a week of waiting we got a proper weather window to move forward and we made a last stop in the town of Rodadero, which is mainly a tourist attraction for Colombians. A nice beach with hotels lined up like the giant guards of the local economy. Having a well garnished local supermarket was a blessing that gave us the chance to replenish our fruits and vegetables and to give us the chance to relax and walk on the beach with an actual crowd around us. Being in an isolated place such as five bays is nice but after a while it is always good to have people around especially when they are all in bikinis!
For those of you who read this blog regularly please take note that we are heading to the San Blas Islands and plan to stay there for about three weeks. Those islands are very wild and the Kuna Indians who live there are very traditional and we just don’t think that high speed internet is part of the ancient tradition! So, chances are that we won’t be able to post anything for a while but you will still be able to follow our position by clicking on the “Where we are” button. Again remember that the map on the side of the page is not updated until we have internet while we update the other with our HF Radio after every move.

Arrived in Colombia

We arrived in Colombia at 4 am on December 7, 2009 after an overnight sailing of 148nm from Aruba. With the current helping we set a new speed record on Chocobo with an average speed of 7.5 knots hence the reason we arrived at Cabo de la vela during the night. If you wonder what’s with the yellow flag, this is the flag representing the letter Q in the maritime flag alphabet. The Q flag represents the quarantine and must be hosted when entering a country until the customs and immigrations are cleared.

Aruba and change of plans.

The Island of Aruba is a popular tourist stop and the day we went in Oranjestad we could see four large cruise ships at the docs of the main harbor. The capital city of Oranjestad is called by some; Las-Vegas on the Beach and as soon as we set foot on the main street we understood why. Hotels, casinos and tourist shopping markets are all over the main street that runs along the waterfront. However, we don’t have a large interest in that kind of activities anymore and we just spent one day ashore walking and shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables. The rest of the week we just stayed quiet on the boat and relaxed waiting for the weather window to show up so we can continue our journey.
It seems that we now have a proper weather window to leave Aruba but unfortunately we won’t be able to stick to our original plans, which was to sail directly to the San Blas Islands in Panama. Instead we decided to follow the Colombian coast and either go to Cartegena or to cut directly to San Blas once we are far enough. To understand our decision you need to get your Atlas out and look at a map of Colombia. At the north- east end of the country there is a large peninsula that stretches into the Caribbean Sea called the Peninsula de la Guajira. In a nut shell the wind coming from the east hits this peninsula and the whole north part of Venezuela, which then creates a cape effect by accelerating the wind speed as the air is deflected by it. The result is a zone of almost permanent gale force winds on the west side of the peninsula making it very dangerous to cross. After talking with other sailors and reading on the subject we decided that it was safer to sail along the Colombian coast, even with its bad reputation, and stop at a couple of places instead of going through this offshore hell.

Arrived in Aruba

We arrived at the island of Aruba, which is part of the Netherland Antilles, on November 28th, 2009 after a smooth 55nm sail from Curacao. In Aruba we wait for our weather window to cross to the San Blas islands in Panama. According to the current weather forecasts it seems that we won’t have a good window for at least a week.