Once or sometimes twice a year, I get an opportunity to sail to some interesting place. Since joining Bay Sailors nine years ago, Joyce Runion and I have been invited to sail to the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and other places, usually with another Bay Sailor.
Recently, we were invited to sail with fellow Bay Sailor, John Burns, from Cartagena, Colombia to the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. John had invited us to join him in his voyage from Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela to Colombia, but we were unable to make a timely connection.
Joyce and I flew into Cartagena in the beginning of February and met John at the Club Nautico marina. This particular marina is a favorite for cruisers from all over the world. There are many Americans, Canadians, Brits, French, Germans, and more. Some sailed from their home country; some flew to the Caribbean and chartered a boat.
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We spent about a week sightseeing in Cartagena, especially the old walled city. (I took many photos; and if you are interested, here's a link to view them http://tinyurl.com/d2xchp). Cartagena has a large mall, comparable to what we have, with a casino for those who don't like to shop. There were plenty of stores, restaurants, and banks within walking distance of the marina. The marina also had a decent restaurant and bar, and hosted a weekly happy hour and a Sunday afternoon BBQ.
We sailed to the Rosario Islands, about 15 miles from Cartagena, and anchored near the Grand Island. That gave us an opportunity to snorkel, explore the island, and do a little boat maintenance. The Rosarios are a good starting point for sailing to (or from) Panama, and quite a few boats joined us at the anchorage. We were there for about 2 ½ days, then did the only overnight sail to the San Blas Islands.
The crossing from the Rosarios to San Blas was only about 26 hours (138 nautical miles), and it was the way I like it–uneventful. We did shifts of three hours, and the time went quickly. We arrived in the San Blas Islands around dawn or 6:30 am. The San Blas Islands consist of about 365 islands; many are inhabited by the Kuna Indians. The other name for San Blas is Kuna Yala, which means Kuna land or land of the Kuna. It is officially part of Panama, but the people live pretty much the same way they have lived for hundreds (thousands?) of years. Well, not exactly–they sell molas and trinkets to tourists, mostly cruisers like us, and do buy some modern products like Coca Cola and a lot of candy. Two evident problems are that a lot of the children have cavities and that the folks haven't learned to deal with trash, especially plastic. They grow coconuts, plantains and bamboo. |
Cartagena: Ron Regan
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Island Girls: Ron Regan |
We spent several days sailing from one island to the next, anchoring, snorkeling, and exploring. Some of the islands have more modern conveniences like restaurants, hotels, and airstrips. There may be one restaurant or one hotel on an island–and they aren’t four-star or three-star. Pretty basic, really, but at least we didn't have to cook!
Two little girls adopted me for the day. I thought the one in blue was named “Wandala”....She was asking for “One Dollar.”
For those of you who haven't done much cruising, cruisers usually set up a radio “net” wherever there is more than one boat. The net serves as a very important source of local information. We heard that there was a cookout every Monday evening at BBQ Island, about 10 miles from where we were anchored at Rio Diablo, so we went in search of the cookout. The small group of islands is named Holandeses (Dutch), and one Kuna family lives on one of the small islands. Sure enough, there was a pretty large group of cruisers on the beach sharing snacks and stories. We stayed at this group of islands for a couple of days because it was so beautiful and peaceful. |
All good things come to an end, and Joyce and I had planned on touring around Panama for a few days before returning home. We heard on the net that the immigration office was closing for the national Kuna Revolution holiday; and since it was on a Wednesday, the immigration official decided to close for the rest of the week. That meant we wouldn't be able to get off the boat for almost another week! Not necessarily a bad thing, but we had been sailing for about three weeks and were looking forward to doing a little land touring. What to do?
We decided that the best course of action would be to sail to Puerto Bello and then get on a bus to Colon to check in. Off we went. We did sail by some really beautiful areas of Panama but didn't have time to stop. As the sun was going down, we did drop the hook about 20 miles east of Puerto Bello at a very popular anchorage near Grande Island–there must have been 50 other boats at that anchorage. Next morning we pulled up the anchor and headed towards Puerto Bello. John suggested that Colon was only a few hours more sailing, so why not go all the way? We all agreed. So, Colon became the destination.
I was expecting to have freighters and container ships coming and going at the entrance to the Panama Canal, but what we found was a lot of freighters and container ships sitting at anchor. I guess it’s a sign of the slow economy. Anyway, we dropped the sails and motored into the canal, heading for the Panama Canal Yacht Club for our last stop.
The PCYC was yet another favorite marina for cruisers. We checked in, asked where the nearest immigration office was, and literally ran to the office to get cleared into Panama. We did that with only a few minutes to spare. This was a Thursday afternoon at 3 pm. The office closes at 4 pm, and they would be closed the next day to celebrate Carnival; and then that being a weekend, we would have been “stuck” in Colon till Monday. Well, we were in Panama and enjoyed the restaurant and bar at the PCYC. We talked with other cruisers who warned us that we were in a danger zone and that we shouldn't travel outside the marina on our own. “Take a cab, even if it’s only a few blocks,” we were told. Joyce and I planned on getting up early the next morning and finding a bus to Panama City.
We had no trouble (well a little, but it will add several hundred more words) finding a cab to take us to the bus (all of a half mile away). The cab driver helped us with our luggage safely onto the bus, and we were on our way to Panama City. Sorry to say that we saw none of Colon, except through the window of the bus, and weren't sorry to leave it. |
Panama City Old Town: Ron Regan |
Panama City is a very large city with a modern area, a not-so-modern area, and at least two “old towns”. We only had a couple of days left on our schedule (we had been away from home for a month), and we decided to just tour around the Panama City area. There is a beautiful park, a nature preserve, within a few miles of the city, and it’s full of interesting wild-life, like sloths, monkeys, and lots of other creatures. We toured around the “old” town called Casco Viejo, which is very enjoyable. Some of the buildings date back to the 1500s. The presidential palace is located in this area, and it’s where the President of Panama works, not lives. Lots of interesting sites including the Panama Canal museum, old churches and residences, and several good restaurants.
It was a great trip, perhaps the chance of a lifetime, made possible through my friendship with a fellow Bay Sailor. Joyce and I are hoping for more sailing opportunities in the not-too-distant future. |
Ron and Joyce: John Burns |
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