PANAMA AND THE CANAL

We had a great sail down to Panama from Jamaica. The waves were quite large but there was a very long swell so the ride was relatively comfortable. After four days at sea we reached the Panamanian coastline in the dark and weaved our way through the many tankers at anchor awaiting their Canal transit. Looking at the twinkling lights on the shore I had a vivid recollection of being a child travelling with my parents in the States, it was late at night and we were on a bus going out to our plane and I was so excited about the prospect of the adventure that lay ahead.

Having received permission to enter the harbour we headed to the anchorage and put our anchor down for the night amongst even more tankers. The next morning we headed into Shelter Bay Marina and were greeted by our agent Neil accompanied by the customs lady, all formalities completed within an hour. Then the man from the Canal rocked up to measure us for our transit and we just had to wait for a date. We had been told to use an agent as the amount of time saved, let alone the lack of hassle, would be more than compensated for by the reduction in mooring fees, and so it proved.

We had heard that the waiting times were up to three weeks and so had bypassed the San Blass Islands, intending to head back to them once we had our transit date. However we were offered a date within eight days of arrival and were advised by another boat that we would only get two days there and it probably wasn’t worth it. There is a joke in our family about anticipation of an event being half the experience, Andrew’s belief not always shared by the rest of his family especially in Fair grounds! However on this occasion I was really happy to sit still and prepare for our transit, we have long realised that you can’t visit every place, we will just have to come back to the Western Caribbean another time. It is obvious there is lot of exploring to be had there that we were not aware of. 

The marina was situated in the old US naval port for Fort Sherman with the jungle literally butting up to it. There was a laundry, mini market, small chandlery, bar, decent restaurant and most importantly a swimming pool for cooling off in in the afternoon heat; full of fellow sailors there was always someone to chat to. We set about servicing our engine and generator and generally getting the boat ready and the days flew by.

There was a rather unpleasant domestic incident on another boat that the men around me thought I should intervene in, being another female! We had a Jungle incident when out on a walk, Andrew in true Dallas style, insisted that it was fine to leave the path and venture into the undergrowth. Having suffered another cold his hearing was very poor, following behind him I could hear rattling in the undergrowth accompanied with a fierce hissing which became nearer and louder and louder. I suggested we turn around immediately, he told me to stop panicking to which I replied, “F...... run you can’t b..... hear!” I am pleased to say he did as he was told for once.

We had several walks into the jungle, keeping to the paths, and saw lots of white faced monkeys in the trees, a couple of Toucans and lots of beautiful birds. The most memorable of these was the Weaver bird with their strange tear dropped nests hanging from the palm trees and their song which sounds like a dripping tap. There were supposed to be two crocodiles in the marina but we didn’t spot them, neither did we actually see any snakes. 

We took the organised bus into Colon, catching a glimpse of the canal and then entering a gated shopping centre to get some provisions. We had been told that there was a lot of crime in this area and we definitely felt we were in the third world. You can buy pretty much any medication without a prescription so we stocked up on medicines, including a new one to solve the constant indigestion I had been suffering, joy of joys problem solved. The journey back took forever in the heat and we decided to stay put for the rest of our stay on the Caribbean side.

Ben has always said that he would like to go through the Panama Canal with us if he could. So once we had a definite date we emailed him and asked him if he would like to come.  As luck would have it the timings worked perfectly for him. As an added bonus he arranged for Sam and his  friend Hien to fly down from Uni in Boston. They all duly arrived the night before departure such a joy to see them all, and to receive some documents from home together with a very precious Iridium Go satellite hotspot to enable us to obtain weather in the Pacific.

We left the marina after lunch with our extra fenders and long lines rented from our agent. We anchored outside to wait for our Pilot, and got two for the price of one as our man was undergoing an examination. We had to wait a little while for the tanker we were transiting with to arrive. They no longer just let yachts go through the lock system.   So you have to travel with a tanker or large ships.  You normally have to raft up with other yachts, but we were lucky and got to tie on to a small Cruise ship. I definitely had a Statue of Liberty moment as we waited to enter the first lock, it seemed surreal that we were finally there and about to enter the Pacific AT LAST.

We had three locks to transit on our first day travelling up twenty six meters to the man made lake in the middle. We entered behind the tanker which was manoeuvred by two tugs and then by the locomotives on the side of the lock and tied up to the cruise ship ‘Discovery’ port side too. The gates closed behind us and the water rushed in, you wouldn’t want to fall in. We reached the top quite quickly and then the four locomotives pulled the tanker into the next lock, travelling up quite a steep ramp in the process. The whole performance repeated itself two more times and then we were spat out in the dusk into Gatun lake in the middle, the second largest man made one in the world. We were instructed to tie up to a very large rubber buoy for the night, we were all in stitches as we had to land Ben onto it and he had to trot as it rotated at speed whilst he tried to secure our lines.

It was actually my birthday so it seemed appropriate to have a few drinks after supper, especially as we were in such a magical setting. We cranked the music up and sat out on the back deck chatting away until one in the morning when the wrinkles called it a day. Our pilot was supposed to come onboard the next day at nine, he arrived at six to find a boat full of sleeping people. We all rushed about and off we set on leg two of our journey somewhat worse for ware but excited all the same. It was a long motor through the lake and down the river to the next three locks, about forty four miles, so we had plenty of time to eat a much needed large fried breakfast. Travelling through the cut passing large tankers on the other side was an unforgettable experience and all the more impressive as it had been open since 1913. What a job it must have been in the heat to cut through the mountains, 10,000 lost their lives in the process.

Our pilot was fascinating to talk to and happy to answer all our questions. There is much national pride in the canal and apparently every young Panamanian aspires to work there. It makes a profit of about US $ 1.7 billion each year which is astounding. Some of the larger new NeoPanamax vessels transmitting through the new locks pay over US$1,000,000 each. He chatted about the country in general and one very interesting fact was that there is no road into Columbia, the PanAmerican Highway goes from Canada and just stops in the Jungle. So it is not possible to drive from North America into South America, the Panamanian’s have their very own natural wall!

When we got to the first lock, we had to wait for our tanker to arrive and when it did we went in in front of it. This time we were on our own so Ben, Sam, Hien and I had to take a corner each as line handlers. The men on the side threw us a very hard ball to which we attached the loops in our lines, it was a good thing they knew what they were doing as if it had hit one of us it would have caused quite an injury. We fed the line through our ropes and they hauled them up to the side and then we secured them on deck. The tanker then started to enter the dock pulled again by the locomotives on the sides, it was quite a relief when it came to a stop just behind us! Then the water poured out and we began our descent, adjusting our lines accordingly. A whistle was blown and our lines were thrown back to us and on we went to the next lock and started the process all over again. By the time we finally entered the Pacific side after the third lock it must have been after three pm so it is quite a long day. But what an awesome experience and something I will never forget.

Motoring out of the canal you suddenly see the Panama City Sky line and the Pacific Ocean stretching before you and it is all very impressive! Our pilot was picked up by boat and we made our way to the Marina La Playita where we had a reservation for a few nights. Sadly no pool here to cool off in, but there was Panama City to explore and a celebration to be had. We grabbed a yellow taxi and headed into the old city for drinks and dinner and then more drinks.

We found a great bar to start the evening in and then a fabulous restaurant overlooking the city skyline where the food was really very good. Then a roof top bar for cocktails and then a night club for some more. This is not the natural habitat of Mr. Richards but he certainly gave it his all on the dance floor, well the crowd certainly loved him. I thought I was going to die laughing, I believe there is photographic evidence....

The next morning the lovely Hien left us to return to Uni and Sam had some college work to do so the rest of us grabbed another taxi and the driver agreed to give us a tour of the modern city. It is quite an impressive place, very different from the Old Town with a lot of Skyscrapers and a mixture of Residential and Business properties, it reminded me a little of Monte Carlo. We then met Sam back in the Old Town for dinner, finding a very cool roof top bar for some delicious Tapas. The Old Town has a great Hispanic laidback vibe, we just loved it.

Sadly our shipmates left us the next day, what a fabulous time we had had with all three of them. I left Andrew on the boat to set up our new Sat nav phone and grabbed a cab to the supermarket to start provisioning for our Pacific crossing. We had been advised to fill the boat to the gunnels with provisions whilst we had the opportunity to buy them at reasonable prices. The boys at the super mercado could not believe my two trolleys of goods, I had three of them to help me put it in the taxi. As they couldn’t speak a word of English and my Spanish is non existent I couldn’t explain that all this food and alcohol was for my Pacific crossing, so I think they just thought I was a very greedy alcoholic!

The one thing that we had failed to understand when we were planning our trip is that Panama is a destination in itself. We had been focused on the Canal experience and it was fantastic but we realised that there were some great places to visit too. The climate is really nice too, not too hot in the day and very cool at night allowing for a good nights sleep. The only fly in the ointment was that Andrew won the latest round of Gin Rummy making the score on the trip 12 - 6 and he is now insufferable.

We set off to explore the Las Perlas Islands for a few days and were not disappointed. The islands are famous for the TV series, The Island with Bear Grylls.  Away from the big city there are a string of islands with very little habitation and hundreds of birds. I particularly loved the Pelicans, who in this part of the Pacific are grey and much bigger and tamer than their cousins in the Caribbean. They almost swoop through the rigging before plunging into the water right next to us filling their pre-historic beaks with fish and then bobbing in the water looking very pleased with themselves. We sailed through schools of golden rays and the sea was bright red in places and looked like there had been a mass murdering in it, but which was caused by a type of algae.

We had a very sociable time in Las Perlas bumping into Charles and Fung off Wilderness in Isla Tobago. We had last seen them in Rhode Island so it was good to catch up on their exploits. Then in Isla Chapeba where the locals were all enjoying the usual Sunday family outings on the boat, we were welcomed with English music and then visited by the two young Argentinians responsible for it. Fifteen and nineteen respectively they came on board for a chat and we were very impressed with their views and perspective on life. Then in our final destination Isla del Rey we shared the anchorage with Maria and Dietmar on Greyhound, our first meeting but hopefully not our last as they are coming our way.

We headed back to La Playita for a final provision. Arriving mid afternoon in the heat I was thrilled to find Rosemary and Francoise from Zig Zag tied up behind us, who we had met in Shelter Bay,  early evening drinks being much preferable to a late night shop. The next day we attended a seminar organised by the Pacific Puddle Jump, a rally of sorts that we have joined. There are boats leaving from all over the West coast of America and Mexico as well as Panama, and all at different times, but there is a Cruiser net that we all have to check into each day and it offers an additional level of safety. The talk was very informative with speakers from Mexico, Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga & New Zealand and gave us some good pointers for our trip ahead as well as contacts when we arrive in these places. It was really nice to meet lots of other cruisers as well who were all heading in the same direction as us.

We grabbed a cab and headed to the enormous Albrook Mall, it seemed to go on for miles and sold everything under the sun. Having found the essentials in the hardware store and done some late birthday shopping I let Andrew off and headed to another supermarket for a final provision. Two more shopping trolleys, only two traumatised young men this time, my reputation in tatters! Hullabaloo now fully stocked and low in the water. We took on fuel the next morning, squeezing every last drop we could into the tank and motored out of the marina, happy to be on our way. Panama is a great city, the people are incredibly friendly but the diesel fumes from all the tankers in the bay and the general smog had even started to affect my airways.

Andrew found us a beautiful anchorage in Isla Bona, a small island just off the coast twenty miles around the bay. Completely on our own with the exception of hundreds of Pelicans and Frigate birds all fishing around us; it was truly special. A fishing boat spoilt our peace in the early evening but they seemed friendly as they lay their nets around the bay and then settled in for the night, making their beds up out of bits of cardboard. We woke early to set sail and where rather surprised to find that they had moved their nets in the night and had completely hemmed us in and we couldn’t get our anchor up. We were even more surprised to see them leave the bay in their boat and I have to admit I was a little concerned for a short time that they were preventing us from leaving but they were back in half an hour and set us free, no idea what they were trying to say to us but lots of smiling all around.

On the way out of the Panama bay we had the most amazing encounter with a Minke whale. It was about twenty foot long and very curious and basically played around the boat and in our bow wave for a good couple of hours just like a dolphin. It was the most awesome experience and I have a lot of it on video for any non believers to its size. At one point whilst swimming in front of us it got the timing wrong and obviously realised we were going to hit him, one thrash of its tail and it turbo charged ahead. We could not believe our luck to have such a close encounter with such a magnificent creature.

Our last stop on the Panamanian coast was in La Rondo where we spent twenty four hours waiting for the wind. Close to the jungle we heard some very strange noises coming from the trees, it might have been Howler monkeys, it might have been Jaguars, I am just glad I wasn’t on land to find out. The sun rose, the wind appeared, Galapagos here we come.....

JAMAICA

Motoring down from the Bahamas we were horrified to see how much plastic there was in the sea, a depressing sign of our times. The wind picked up and we sailed onwards skirting the coast of Cuba to avoid the Traffic Separation Zone, Picking up speed in the wind acceleration Zone I was quite pleased to see the Skipper’s head pop up on deck early for his watch.

The rest of the trip passed easily, for once happy to sail slowly so that we didn’t arrive in the middle of the night.

As we approached Jamaica early on the second morning we were met with a very imposing sight. Covered in dark black clouds the mountains rearing up in the background, swirling pools of mist rising up from amongst  the dense dark green tree canopy. The entrance to the harbour of Port Antonio was undoubtedly the most beautiful that we have encountered so far. Passing though a narrow passage with trees on either side, pretty flowers everywhere and lots of little school children waving at us. 

Within a couple of hours of arrival we had been visited by Customs, Immigration and the Maritime Police, all incredibly friendly and doing a very good PR job for their country. The marina itself was really nice, with a pool and bar area, a welcome cooling off spot in the afternoons. We met Owen almost immediately, the marina being his Office. He arranged an excursion into the Blue Mountains for the second day of our trip and promised to buy us Blue mountain coffee and vegetables all at good prices. We also were amazed to find that Peter on our neighbouring boat had designed our wonderful Rocna anchor. He was quick to tell us that we had one shackle too many attached to it, we duly removed and it is now even better than ever. It never ceases to amaze us how many interesting people we meet along the way.

On our first night we ventured into town for some dinner, for about five minutes. It all looked a little intimidating in the dark so we quickly turned around and found the restaurant next to the marina that had been recommended to us by one of the Policeman that we had had onboard earlier. Recently set up with no menus as yet, but an extensive list of dishes well remembered by our waiter, we feasted on curried prawns which were delicious and then headed back to the boat for an uninterrupted nights sleep.

We had been approached on our arrival very nicely by a local couple Hulk and Rudy looking for work on the boat. Rather bored of our slow progress in the sun cleaning the deck fibreglass we agreed to employ them for a day and they turned up on our first morning and set to work whilst we pottered below. They worked so hard and did such a fabulous job that we employed them for another half day to clean the hull and then it seemed a shame not to finish the job so they worked for another day cleaning the  rightwork. By the time they had finished Hullabaloo gleamed, she had never looked so good since the day we bought her. All this for a very reasonable price, much cheaper that the rates in Antigua or the US and a much better job done. They are very proud of their skills and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend their services. On top of that they were a lovely couple and we spent some fun times with them in  the evenings onboard with a few beers swapping stories and music. They made us some CD’s for our Pacific trip which we will play at sea with fond memories of our time in Jamaica!

On the Saturday morning we were picked up by our tour guide Owen who turned out to be a totally charming man. He drove us into the Blue Mountains which exceeded our expectations. I had been to Jamaica with my parents when I was nine and that is when my love affair with the Caribbean began.  I remember driving through the rain forest and being overwhelmed by the beauty of it and all these years later nothing has changed. We stopped to see a waterfall and then proceded into the hills, the views breathtaking. 

We stopped to visit a small coffee plantation. Run by Rastafarians high in the mountains we sampled their delicious coffee and had a tour of the hillside. We learnt how they pick the beans individually when they are ripe, leaving them to dry in the sun and then crushing them into powder.  What a different life these people live away from civilisation ‘high’ up in the cooler temperatures. Wandering back to the taxi chatting with our friendly guide we eyed each other with the same amount of wonder at the difference between each other!

We continued our drive to the top of the National Park and went on a hike, the younger Owen leading the way, the older Dallas’s puffing a bit in the altitude. Some cloud was working its way up the mountain and our new friend was concerned that it would ruin our views but it just added to the magnificence of it all. We discovered you can rent a chalet in the park and in-fact  many locals also spend the weekend camping on the site to get away from the heat down below. The camp area was full of people enjoying their trip, BBQ’s everywhere. We had lunch in a charming restaurant overlooking the park and then headed back to the boat, but not before having purchased some local honey and some avocados sold on the road for 40 cents each.

We spent the rest of our time pottering about locally. Generally everybody was really friendly, we did get hassled quite a bit but as long as you listened to them and showed respect they thanked you for talking to them and left you alone, with one exception but that was our naivety. Cannabis was made legal at the end of last year and everyone is smoking it, even in the queue in the bank, and it’s smell permeates everywhere.

There was a great local market selling local fruit and vegetables of a quality last seen in Teeter Harris in the US and the meat market at the weekend was equally impressive. Although there is not a huge amount of wealth around everyone is well fed and not surprising with such amazing produce. Andrew and I were thrilled to restock as we find ourselves eating more vegetables and less meat. Flexitarian's I believe is the term, look at us so PC! We also stocked up on the local bread which apparently people drive from Kingston to buy and no wonder it is fantastic and filling my freeze. together with the Jerk chicken purchased from Piggies, quite delicious!  In fact we were in the home of Jerk food and everything came with the marinade on it.

We really loved our short stay in Jamaica and were so glad that we had listened to other sailors and made the stop. The friendliness of the place was highlighted by the seventy year Rastafarian Noel  whose office was located outside the marina gates. As we motored down the cut out of the harbour we found him running down the pathway waving madly and shouting farewell. 

Time to head to Panama AT LAST! No turning back now.....