Having put our long-standing engine issues behind us and moving on we arrived at Linton Bay Marina on the Arriba Coast of Panama to stage for our next passages. Finally being able to leave Shelter Bay Marina was like moving ahead after reliving the same day over and over. My two previous blog articles discuss what happened and how we finally resolved it.
The first passage from Shelter Bay was a trial by storm. As usual the weather was worse than forecasted. As soon as we got out from behind the Canal breakwater the swells and wind began to build. Going straight into the wind and waves made for a slow ride as we picked our way through the anchorage with ships waiting to go through the Panama Canal. With the higher winds came rain as miles passed by slowly.
After a while we were able to turn a bit and the wind shifted so I was able to pull out the main and staysail to get some lift and our speed improved to cover the short distance to Linton Bay.
Linton Bay is only a short 30 nm from Shelter Bay on what's known as the Arriba, or upper Coast of Panama. The Arriba Coast has some beaches and small resorts. Also along the way is the historic town of Portobelo. Portobelo was the Spanish port where gold and silver that had been brought up the Pacific Coast was loaded on Galleons and shipped to Spain for about 200 years. Now, Portobelo is just a small little seaside town with some interesting ruins.
Next is Puerto Lindo and Linton Bay. We've been to Linton Bay in the past when coming and going to the San Blas. Linton Bay is small marina in a remote area with nice facilities. This time we only spent 1 night there. We refueled and enjoyed a nice dinner in the new restaurant celebrating our release.
The next morning we got up early to make the trip to the San Blas, but when I was doing my preoperative checks on the engine I found a big bolt lying under the engine. It looked like a bolt from either the front of the engine or the oil pan. I looked all over and couldn't find a hole where it belonged so I got concerned. I texted the mechanic with a picture of the bolt. He got back to me and told me that when they were working on the engine they lost a bolt and had replaced it. Apparently, the rough water dislodged it from its hiding place and I found it.
Mystery solved, we checked out and left mid-morning instead of our early start as planned. The weather was much nicer than the day before. Sun, low swells and a light favorable wind that we could motor-sail all the way to the Gulf of San Blas. Along the way we passed lots of debris that had been washed down in the previous rains.
With the engine performing well, help from the wind and sea we made a quick trip to the San Blas and dropped our anchor near Chichime which is one of the entry islands into the San Blas so we could find our friends to coordinate visiting. Our first day and night out on anchor were beautiful. Since we had arrived there early we had some time to relax and enjoy the afternoon.
We contacted our friends on Castalia that had left us at Shelter Bay 2 months earlier and we agreed to rendezvous in the East Hollandes. The next morning we motored the 2 hours to the island of Banedup in the East Hollandes where we met up with and anchored next to our friends.
Banedup is a flat and relatively large island compared to many in the San Blas. It's also one of the inhabited islands in the area and is also one of the islands that form the so-called "Swimming Pool" anchorage which is very popular. There were two establishments on the island run by Kuna. Near our anchorage was a bar with loud music and also Starlink internet that they sold by the hour. On the other side of the island was a small restaurant.
The restaurant was very primitive and it was being expanded. It had a limited menu, We tried to order their pizza but they didn't have any left. All they had was lobster. Lobster was officially out of season but the Kuna don't recognize the closed season in their territory. So, it came down to lobster or nothing. So, we each had a lobster that was done very well. They split the whole lobster in half and grilled it on a wood fire. We ordered drinks that came without ice because they have limited refrigeration. Most ingredients don't require any and the seafood they keep live in the water until they cook it.
The next morning Linda and I went into the bar to use the internet since we were just of range of the cell tower to do our daily Duolingo lessons and catch up on news. We also needed to catch up with some other friends as we had some things to drop off for them.
The morning was overcast but later the day became another beautiful one. We snorkeled a couple reefs near the boat. They were better than I thought and unfortunately I didn't take my dive camera. In addition to the usual fish we saw a pair of Spotted Eagle Rays, a Stingray, a couple Nurse Sharks and a turtle along with a couple lobsters that so far have escaped notice. That evening we got together for some of our famous Pusser's Painkillers and talked because, it would be a long time until we would be together again.
The next morning Castalia went their way back to civilization and we went on to meet our other friends over by Isla Flowers or as we call it, Plumeria for the big large flower tree on the island. Shortly after we got the anchor down a dinghy came by and we started up a conversation. Turns out they had the next size up Island Packet from ours. We had seen them over by Banedup but they left the next morning and we didn't get a chance to talk to them. So they came over and invited us for happy hour the next night. That evening we went over and visited with our friends, but didn't stay long as they weren't feeling well. So, after visiting for a bit we left some plastic jars full of rice for them to give to their Kuna friends that we had talked about the last time we saw them two years ago.
The next day I burned trash, we did some snorkeling and visited with our new friends. The day rolled by quickly as was our time in Panama. We had checked out a week earlier and we should have been gone. But, it's not unusual for people to spend time in the San Blas before checking in or after checking out.
It was now Thursday the first day of May. We motored down to an anchorage known as Snug Harbor. We had been there before but, this time we were the only boat there and the weather was beautiful. Little did we know it would be a busy afternoon.
Before we even got anchored there was a Ulu waiting for us with a Kuna who had seen us from a distance and wanted to be the first to sell us something. As we were getting settled he came up to the boat to sell us lobsters. We told him we didn't want any but we did want some "coco pan," Kuna coconut bread. He said he didn't have any but there was some in the village and he would go get it. We love the coco pan and it's usually $1 a roll so I gave him $20 for 20 pieces along with a couple plastic bags and he said he would be back. As he was leaving 2 other Ulus came by to also sell us lobsters. One guy said he was the designated anchorage tax collector and he wanted $5 for anchoring.
In Guna Yala there is an anchoring tax that the Kuna Congresso collect every month. Snug Harbor was sort of beyond their normal collection area so I didn't mind paying the tax of $5. Snug Harbor doesn't get visited by that many boats so I'm sure the donation was welcome. The man said that the first guy who went for our bread was his brother. He then asked if we wanted anything else. I asked him for 2 coconuts and he paddled off. We were left alone and we wondered if we would see our bread.
About 2-3 hours later we saw the Ulu coming back. It was the first guy who came up with two bags full of Kuna coco pan rolls. He also brought back some crafts and we just had to buy a little outfit that they had made but we declined Molas and other things. I then told him his brother had gone to get coconuts and not come back. He then left and went into the island and came back with 2 fairly big green coconuts and I paid him for those and he left. It was getting dark as he sailed off with his triangle sail back toward the village.
The weather forecast looked really good for the next couple days so we agreed that we would leave in the morning to head to Cartagena. That evening we worked to stow the boat for the offshore passage. We also confirmed our intent in emails to our marina in Cartagena and our agent who was handling our country clearances for us. It was kind of a surreal night. The anchorage was quiet and beautiful so we enjoyed our last night in Panama that was laced with anticipation of going and somewhat disbelief that we were actually finally going as if one more thing would keep us from leaving.
The morning dawned and it was beautiful. Sunny, mostly clear and a gentle northwest wind. Everything on the boat was ready and we started pulling up the anchor about 0830. We squared everything away and slowly made our way out of the anchorage and out to sea. It was a significant and moving moment for us. We were leaving the San Blas but more importantly we were leaving Panama where we had been for 4 years now heading to a new country. At some point we will go back to Panama. As residents we have to go back and we want to go back. We made so many good friends in Bocas. But, on to a new country, new challenges and new exciting opportunities.
Final visions of Panama
The crossing went without any incident. The sea had a swell of only 2-3 ft, the wind was mostly upper single digits out of the northwest, sky was partly cloudy and we moved along smartly around 7-8 kts the whole way. Once night set in we saw lightning off in the distance but it was still clear overhead. Just before dawn the wind changed and turned to our nose and built to over 20 kts. It lasted until the sky began to brighten and a rain shower passed through. After that the wind died and it was just a cloudy start to the morning. After we got to Cartagena we learned that a serious storm had moved through over night and apparently we just got a whiff of the remnants.
With the squall gone the sky began to brighten, the seas calmed and we could see land approaching. We got to our waypoint off of the channel entrance to Cartagena before 0800. Less than 24 hours after we left Snug Harbor. As we approached the channel I called the Harbor Control multiple times and never got an answer. As we got to the channel entrance we could see a container ship coming out so we got to the far right side of the channel near the marks and the ship passed us. As it passed us the pilot was disembarking onto a pickup boat that sped off and then we were in the large outer bay of Cartagena.
The bay is long and it was another 10 miles up to our marina. It was Saturday Morning and inside the Bay was lots of activity. The closer in we got the more activity there was. We got to our marina and needed to fuel up before going to our slip. The fuel dock was incredibly busy with small power boats getting gas to run for the weekend. Finally we got topped off and then went to get into our slip.
Our slip was on the outside of the northernmost dock in the marina. That's good and bad. It's good because it's protected from wind and wake. But, the creek in front of it is shallow so there is little room to maneuver to get in and out of the slip. My first thought was to back out of the fuel dock and stay close to the other boats on the dock and then back in at the last minute. I had to go in between 2 large power boats. As I began to back down the crew on the fuel dock told us it was too shallow to go where I was going so I pulled ahead and turned around and drove down along the boats on the dock. I was able to maneuver enough that I could get back into the slip. With that our journey was over.
We made the crossing of 180 nm from anchor to slip in about 26 hours. In our slip, in a new country with new adventures. Our plan is to travel and get work done. But, for now just celebrate that we're here. We will have future blog articles about our travel and our work as it progresses. But, for now we need to let it sink in that we finally made it to Colombia.
