Our preview of the San Blas

One of the first San Blas Islands that we saw 

We arrived in the San Blas much quicker than we expected. The trip was pretty uneventful motoring through windless rolling seas. There was so little wind that we couldn't even pull out the sails to get any benefit. We were following our buddy boat, Claudette on ProfASea and she attempted using her sails but we could hear the slapping as the swells just rocked them back and forth in the calm air.

Our buddy boat ProfASea cruising to the San Blas in the flat rolly seas.
 

Our first stop was just inside the archipelago at a small cluster of islands in the Eastern Lemmon Cays. We anchored just south of the island of Banedup where about 6 other boats were already anchored. Coming into the archipelago the water and the sand islands were as pretty as their pictures. Each little one looking like an ideal backdrop for the perfect tropical paradise. 

Our first San Blas sunset
 

We anchored in about 15' of water that would be the shallowest anchorage in our time in the San Blas. By the time we had the anchor set a pango arrived along side. We weren't totally sure what to expect. We didn't know if this was the local rent collector, someone selling something or one of the many other interactions the Kuna have with yachts.

Walking around Banedup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The San Blas is an autonomous region of Panama run by a group of family leaders known as the Congreso. The Congreso meets frequently and adopts rules and oversees the governance of the region. It was in March of 2020 that this body decided to close travel into Guna Yala, the province that includes the San Blas, because many Covid cases had sprung up among the Kuna people and there are little or no medical facilities in the region. We were on our way there last year when it closed and we returned to Bocas del Toro.

Some Kuna with their cayuca swimming off banedup

Kuna are a very unassuming people but they don't hesitate to approach yachts for many reasons. Mostly it's to trade or ask for something they can't easily get. Among the islands we have heard of families charging yachts for being there and the head of the family approaches the boat and asks for the "permit fee." We weren't approached during our stay for any "permit fees."

Even in the San Blas boatwork continues.  I thought our head base needed a new gasket but it turned out there was a crack in it. I epoxied the crack and ordered a new base. 

The boat that approached us was Venancio the most famous Mola maker in the San Blas. Molas are traditional Kuna hand-sewn mini-tapestries depicting images from the Kuna life and is part of the traditional outfit of a Kuna woman. It is a reverse-applique technique panel. Venancio had hundreds of Molas to show us but agreed to come back the next day since we had just arrived. Kuna Molas are prized throughout the world.

Venancio and his Mola's spread out on Amekaya

 Venancio was a wonderful guy. In the hours he was with us he explained a lot about Kuna life and culture. He is an institution in the islands among cruisers.

 

A gorgeous sunset in the West Holandes
 

So after a year of waiting we made it to the San Blas and kicked-back after an arduous journey. One of our key decisions was deciding what we wanted to see. We've known many people that are out to see as much as they can as fast as they can. They anchor in a place for a night and then move on the next day. Very early on in our cruising life we decided not to do that but to spend time in each place and get to know it. Rushing around you can get to see a lot of places. But, staying in each spot longer we find to be more enjoyable.

Saladup Island where we spent a few nights
 

So we spent two nights by Banedup doing exploring, snorkeling and just enjoying being there. Next we moved on to the West Holandes group of islands where we found fabulous reefs to explore. Before leaving Banedup a produce boat came by. Since we had stocked up well in Linton Bay we didn't need much but we didn't know it would be it would be two weeks before we saw another.

 

We had some great sailing too. Above photo from our spinnaker run to Saladup and to the right our great sail froma Saladup to Green Island.

 

 

 

 

Provisioning in the San Blas is an art. As a remote outpost there is limited opportunity for shopping. There are some small markets in the larger villages but under the current restrictions going to them is outlawed for foreigners. Many people subsist on fish and coconuts while in the San Blas and there are boats that will obtain provisions but as we found it's hit and miss. We had two regular boats that brought us supplies and the local Kuna came by almost daily with fish, crabs, lobster and bread. One of the supply boats supposedly has people in Panama City going to the major markets and will buy requested items but we found they usually only had the typical veggies and fruit regardless of what we asked for. We'll work with our boats next time to try to do better. But, we always had eggs, bread, bananas and lobster.

Above are two lobsters we bought for $5 each. The Kuna wanted to sell us a huge crab and 6 lobsters for $20 but we had no way to cook or keep them so we just bought the two. Left is after one of our produce boats came and below is a stalk of bananas we bought from another produce boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Guna Yala there are many rules like no diving or spearfishing but seems like many people do it. I did one dive and wanted to do a second but to get a weather window to go to Linton Bay I didn't get a chance to do it. Another issue that the rules haven't seemed to impact is trash. On many of the islands that we visited there were piles of bottles and cans. Most trash is burned or organic garbage is thrown overboard. We gave several bags of bottles and cans to one of our delivery boats because they supposedly get money for them. The rest we hauled out when we left. I tried breaking the glass but couldn't. My plan for next year is that we will smash the bottles into pieces as fine as possible and dump it in deeper water. Glass is made of sand and will return to the natural habitat.

 

One night we did happy hour on this little island called Wasaladup. There's actually 3 islands by that name in the San Blas but this one is by Green Island. Linda and Claudette posing and a little hut on the island that is apparently used for partying judging from the bottles and cans laying around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent several nights in the West Holandes and saw many boats coming and going. Even though there weren't supposed to be any charter boats, many appeared to be charters. We left the Holandes and had a nice spinnaker sail down to Salardup, an uninhabited island where we spent a few nights enjoying being alone with our buddy boat.

A Kuna boy out sailing his ulu.
 

Our next destination was Green Island sort of in the center of the San Blas. We had a very nice sail to there as well. Sailing in the San Blas is very nice because usually the winds aren't really strong and the waves get taken down by the reefs so the seas are generally flat. The distances between the islands is also not very far so it was easy to leave one place late morning and be at the next anchorage early afternoon.

The views at Coco Banderas. Largely regarded as one of the most scenic anchorages in the San Blas.

 

For most of the time we were the only boat there.

 

 

 

 

 Weather in the San Blas has two seasons. The dry season is December through May and the rainy season is June through November. During the peak of the rainy season daily storms roar through with heavy lightning and thunder. There are also frequent violent squalls during the wet season. That drove our original plan to leave by mid-May. While we were in the San Blas, having arrived in early April, we had some periods of rain and 3 strong thunderstorms that lasted several hours and produced lightning strikes near us. So we left a little earlier than we would have liked but others we know weren't far behind us.

One very clear morning after a storm the mountains on the mainland were spectacular.

After Green Island we spent about a week-and-a-half in the Coco Banderas islands. We hadn't planned to but it was a beautiful protected spot and there were some very nice reefs to snorkel. For most of the time we were there we were the only boat in the anchorage. From there we headed back to the Holandes with a night at Banedup before heading back to Linton Bay.

The sunsets never failed to impress.

 We plan to go back to the San Blas in the Fall and will have several more posts about them. The islands are the perfect postcard picture with white sand beaches, clear blue water and huge swaying palm trees. It's very easy to get addicted to the San Blas. I'm sure as travel reopens more broadly the San Blas will get even more crowded so when we get back we will need to search harder to find the secluded islands.

The Southern Cross along with numerous other constellations and galaxies was visible every night it was clear.
 

Navigating was not that difficult using the Bauhaus charts to get to the right places and then using visual piloting to enter into approaches to the islands to anchor. Like Belize, the water is deep except where it's not and it's usually easy to see where it's not.

Our final night in the San Blas. Back at Banedup.

The San Blas had features of the Bahamas and Belize yet much different. We look forward to getting back there in the Fall and hope we can continue our journey to other places after the San Blas.

 

Until next time.

Off 2 San Blas

The jungle reclaiming Fort Sherman. An old US Army post.

We spent a total of a month in Shelter Bay. Far more than we originally planned but we accomplished a lot in that time and got ready for the San Blas.

When we arrived in Shelter Bay we had several objectives. One of the major ones was to buy a new dinghy as our old one was getting harder and harder to keep inflated. The old one was made in 2011 and we bought it used in 2014 as a cost compromise from buying a new one at the time we were outfitting our boat. We were able to connect with the dealer for Caribe who had a Bodega in the Colon Free Zone so we were able to buy it at a very good price. About $2,000 less than a comparable AB dinghy at their downtown dealer.

 What's left of the Post Chapel.
 

For two days we rented a car and drove into Panama City to do shopping. In the two days we visited Centro Marino that is an excellent marine supply store We found an excellent store, La Casa de Jamon (The House of Ham) that features top quality Spanish imports of hams, cheeses, wines, pastas, chorizos, and other delicacies from Spain.We also found a good hardware store, a very good supermarket and Pricesmart, an almost exact clone of Costco. So among the stores we were able to find so much of what we needed.

Our new car (dinghy) that will hopefully last another 10 years for us.
 

Shelter Bay runs a twice daily shuttle bus into Colon that we took frequently. Our common stop was at the Rey Market which was a pretty average supermarket but adequate. One nice thing is that they did carry products from El Corte Ingles which is a large store chain in Spain along with a nice selection of Spanish wines. At a Rey store we found in Panama City they had an entire section of products from El Corte Ingles. They even carry Duke's Mayonnaise from the US. 

 

Picture inside of La Casa del Jamon

From the Shuttle we also found our way into the Colon Free Zone. The Free Zone is an area of several square miles that contains stores that feature duty free products. Many of them are clothes, accessories, electronics and housewares much like you find in airport duty free shops. We were able to buy beer and liquor there at excellent prices to fill our lockers for the trip. At one store we found Marie Sharp's Hot Sauces from Belize.

El Diablo Beach at Shelter Bay
 

Besides shopping we had serious work to do. The night before we left Bocas our installed air conditioner broke. So when we arrived at Shelter Bay we worked through the marina to get an air conditioner technician who after working on it for about a week repaired it so that it is running better than it has since we bought the boat. 

A couple of Capuchin monkeys from one of the troops we always saw.
 

There were many smaller tasks we accomplished but the other major task (I didn't think it was a major task) was to improve the anchor chain by simply turning it around and putting the lesser used part out that required resplicing the line to the chain. Working with the marina service manager he presented the options of having the chain regalvanized or a cold cleaning and spraying process. We never got a price for a hot-dip process which I would have preferred so I went with the alternative hoping it would provide some help. The chain came back looking good and it didn't scrape off when I laid out on the concrete pad. But, after use the coating flaked off revealing rust. Apparently, the cleaner reversed the ends so when I reversed it we now have the old end out instead of the back end. The worst part is it took much longer than we had planned to get the work done.

Ruins of Battery Mower on Fort Sheridan. One of the major batteries of the Coastal Defense.
 

While we were waiting for work to get done we enjoyed walking through the jungle. Shelter Bay Marina is on the site of the old US Army post, Fort Sherman. Fort Sherman was originally built to guard the eastern end of the Panama Canal from invasion. When it was built the US Army still maintained shore batteries to protect harbors. A function that was abandoned after World War II as newer technologies rendered them obsolete. Fort Sherman became the home of the Army's Jungle Warfare Training Center offering many training courses for all the services and was especially vital during the Viet Nam War.  

A Yellow-headed Caracara that is a type of falcon that we saw on our walks.
 

During our stay we explored several of the old batteries that are still in place and walked the grounds often seeing troops of monkeys and Cotimundi. Walking the post and looking at the skeleton of what remained of a formerly important US Army post that was operational during much of the time I was on active duty made much of my career seem like ancient history. How quickly the jungle overtakes what we do. How quickly our past fades into the jungle of life.

One of the many megayachts that stopped in Shelter Bay while were there. This was a supply boat to support an even bigger megayacht.

 

 

 

 Laying out my newly reefinished anchor chain to paint distance markings before loading back onto the boat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After all our work was done our departure was delayed on two occasions because of weather. Finally, we had a good day to depart and we did. As is often the case when we can go there is no wind to sail so we took off on a short 5 hour motor to Linton Bay Marina.

This is the weather system that delayed our departure as it was heading our way. About an hour after I took this shot of radar and made the decision to stay the system dissipated.
 

At Linton Bay we met up with one of our old friends, Claudette on ProfASea. Robert had gone back to the States but we rendezvoused with Claudette to go to the San Blas. ProfASea was our dockmate in the Rio and was in our convoy that sailed from Guanaja to Providencia. After some final provisioning, topping off with fuel and water we were finally set to go to the San Blas.

Pictures of Linton Bay Marina

 

So early Saturday Morning, 10 April we took off to the San Blas. A year later than planned but we were finally off 2 the San Blas Islands.

Waiting to Move On

 

 Leaving Bocas on a sail around the archipelago.

Our last blog update was quite a while ago. Since we came back from the States we have been in somewhat of a holding pattern like many others in the cruising world. Covid forced restrictions limited destinations and resource availability here in Panama. Many cruisers moved on and often found themselves stuck or simply moving on to whatever destination was available at the time. We decided to stay on in Bocas a little longer while external events evolved.

A beautiful moonlit night on anchor.

Of all the places we could be stuck, Bocas was not a bad place to be. There was plenty of great produce available at reasonable prices. Restaurants were slowly opening and food options were becoming more available. The area offered some beautiful remote anchorages. But as importantly we made many friends in the community. So, there was no reason to push on as we had no schedule and could continue our trip when the time was right.

Bocas beach looking at Isa Caranero 

Our plan when we initially left the States was to travel the western Caribbean for a number of years and work our way around it all slowly. We had no seasons to avoid like people trying to cross the Pacific nor a home calling to us. Here in the western Carib hurricane season is of less concern. We had just the casual opportunity to enjoy life in beautiful places.

Dinner with friends Dan and Jackie Youngcourt and niece Bec when we arrived back in Bocas
 

So during the four months after returning to Bocas we discussed all of our options including travel plans to leave Panama to renew our visas, visit other places, move on inside Panama and how to best take advantage of where we were.

                                  A visit to the Blue Coconut

 

One out-of-country excursion was to Costa Rica to visit friends that always vacation there in February. But, that would be fraught with many Covid-imposed obstacles if we were to go. But, when our friends told us they weren't coming that was resolved. 

              Bocas Marina at Christmas
 

 

 

 

 

 

About the same time the government of Panama extended visas until the end of June so we had more time for that.

 Dolphins off the bow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we split-up our time in Bocas by going to different anchorages by ourselves or with friends and spending time in the marina for work. We got into a routine of leaving the marina on Thursday and returning on Tuesday to hit the markets when they were best stocked. If we had work to do or the weather wasn't particularly enjoyable to be out we stayed in the marina. 

One project was fixing a cooling problem with the generator. Turned out a very recently installed impeller came apart and a hose clamp broke.
 

Gradually areas of Panama began to reopen, although the San Blas region known as Guna Yala was remaining closed. We learned from many friends that in fact boats were going there so we began to focus on our long-anticipated sojourn to middle and eastern Panama. Each time we thought we could could go something arose. Boat issues, new Covid restrictions, weather, incoming mail or whatever but something always thwarted our plans.

 

New Year's breakfast. Bagels from a kosher bakery in Boquete, cava and fruit.

Finally in late February it looked like we could head east in early March so we began to make plans. We stocked up as best we could from the Bocas markets. It's amazing the eclectic selection available in Bocas. One of our regular stores, Super Gourmet usually had a great selection of organic greens and other products. The major markets were usually well-stocked with conventional items and some of the specialty products and brands that we liked. Shortly before we left we discovered a wonderful meat provider that we had heard about often but since we didn't buy much meat we never shopped there. We ventured in to Tutty n Fish for some pork for New Year's sauer kraut dinner and fell in love with them. Smoked pork chops, thick cut bacon and chorizo soon found their way to our freezer. Another wonderful find a few days before we left was Bocas Berries. What a wonderful source for hydroponically grown herbs and greens as well as locally grown strawberries and other products. With such great resources it was hard to leave.

One of our sloth friends 

The day before we left new issues arose. We found a leak with water coming in through one of the chain plates. The night before we left our inboard air conditioner stopped running. Remediation was simple. In the morning I could caulk the chainplate and the AC could wait until we got to our next destination, Shelter Bay Marina. 

Lunch at our favorite restaurant El Clandestino with friends Mike and Holly Redmond
 

With that we were off. We left Bocas Marina about 1430 on 04 March headed for Shelter Bay marina that was at the Atlantic end of the Panama Canal. Forecast was for a good probability of sailing and we had the current with us but swells would generally be in front of us the whole way.

A beautiful sunset at anchor.
 

So we left the safety and security of Bocas del Toro that we had come to know so well and for the first time in over a year we headed for an offshore overnight passage headed to the Panama Canal. Our course was almost exactly 90 degrees and a distance of about 130 nautical miles. We expected to be at our destination before noon on Friday.

Bocas in the rearview mirror
 

Going out the main Bocas channel we were beating directly into the wind and waves. With white water on both sides we didn't have a lot of room to maneuver so we motored straight without the sails. Once we got past the reefs and the breaking waves we got onto course and pulled out the sails. While it lasted the sail was great but the wind began backing and didn't provide enough force to keep the sails full as we rolled with the swells. Eventually, we turned on the motor to motor-sail but an approaching squall took out all the wind and we motored for several hours in the calm while heading into the swells.

Even squalls come with rainbows

Fortunately, we were going with the current so even though the waves slowed us down we were making good speed over ground.

In the dark hours before midnight the wind came up again ahead of our beam this time so we went to full sail until dawn. There is a tremendous difference between sailing through waves and motoring through them. It's much smoother and less raucous as the wind and waves seem to fit together in harmony. Just after midnight the last quarter of the moon began giving us light to watch the glistening foam on top of the waves as they passed the boat. 

Sails up! Downwind.
 

Finally after a year in Panamae we were under full sail making 8-9 kts with the beautiful moonlit night. The moon wasn't so bright to hide the stars and the clouds of constellations overhead as always made us realize how small we really are. We didn't get much sleep with the excitement of a great sail, the beauty around us and anticipation of another new destination.

Past the squall and the seas began to lay down for a while
 

We sailed until just after daybreak when the wind continued clocking to almost on our nose. We could have turned more off the wind and continued sailing the last 30 miles but that would have required tacking and we were approaching an area that would have lots of ship traffic so we opted to motor sail using our main and staysail to get in as quickly as possible. The further east we went the larger the swells became so in a building sea getting in quicker made more sense.

Entrance through the canal breakwater is controlled so at 8 miles out we called traffic control to report our intentions and we were told to call back when we were 3 miles from the breakwater. At 8 miles out we could see the ship anchorage we needed to navigate through to get to the breakwater. The 3 mile mark was in the middle of many ships so we planned a course around the monsters and their lengthy anchor chains while avoiding shoals and shallows near the coast that the waves could push us on.

Ships in the anchorage waiting to go through the canal.
 

Fortunately when we called back they cleared us to enter. We heard another boat later being told to wait an hour before entering so we were happy to be allowed to follow one ship in and be ahead of another. We pulled in the sails before going through the breakwater out of an abundance of caution and we would have had to jybe going through the breakwater. Once inside we needed to follow the channel to the marina so getting the sails down outside made a lot of sense to us.

Welcome to Shelter Bay Marina
 

Once inside the breakwater the seas flattened but the wind was still howling. At about 1030 on Friday we tied up at the fuel dock in Shelter Bay Marina. We covered about 140 nm in 20 hours giving us an average 7 kn for the entire trip. Not bad for our first outing in a year.

After fueling we moved to our slip and got ready for new adventures.   

   

Rainbow over Bocas