April/May 2008

Pacific Central America in a Coconut Shell

I am extremely tardy in penning my thoughts about our jaunt thru Pacific Central America, and since I swore to Ade I’d do it, I am just expanding on an email I sent to our friends, the Youngblood’s in answer to their questions about this stretch, and so it is written for those who are planning to cruise down this way…

I am also in Colon, Panama in what they call the “Green Season” – that means that its verrrry wet and thus lush, but Colon is hardly a garden spot.  It also means that I cannot play outside which I so like to do, so perhaps this might be a little like the old song, “Hello Mudda, Hello Fadder, here I am at Camp Granada….”
 
As I write this I am sitting in an almost empty Shelter Bay.  It rained all morning so I couldn’t get in my early morning walk.  That walk is taken with a keen eye for the black leopard family that has been spotted in recent days, and also dashing lemurs, giant gerbils and lizards, howling monkeys sounding like they are mating and fighting over females, (or celebrating themselves for a good performance?) crashing branches or palm fronds from the high trees, vultures soaring overhead-no doubt hoping I will drop from exhaustion, but knowing that the squished bullfrog I just passed (the size of a chicken) might keep them busy for awhile… yet… it is so beautiful.   I just wish that I did not have a Teflon brain so that when I looked at the myriad of flora and fauna, heard the colorful sounds of the many tropical birds I could know their names and get a kick out of actually knowing something rather than muttering “Preeety” like a deranged character from Lord of the Rings….  that’s my summer in Panama.  Okay, okay, a little attitude there.

As you know we loved Pacific Coastal Mexico and the people, also the experience of being there during the cruising season with so many others from all over North America and beyond.  Perhaps it was having just left that environment and our favorite port of all – Huatulco - that set me up for disappointment with C.A.  We kept thinking it’s been so good and yet we hear that it gets better and better as you go south, so let’s get to it. It’s that belief that kept us sort of propelled southward.  I guess it’s my job to tell you that from this bridge, it doesn’t get better as you go south. We had lots of time as we’d set an arbitrary time of early June to transit the Panama Canal, and we had a date with Laura and John for Costa Rica for her birthday in May.  We didn’t need to dial it in any closer as everyone has to fly into San Jose and then take a puddle jumper/or car to the coast anyways, so we had flexibility.  Bottom line, we had several weeks to explore.  We decided not to stop in Guatemala as we’d all been there before and cruising wise, the Pacific side has little to offer. 

So, with a wonderful weather window, we took on the Tehuantepec and our three day jump to Barillas, El Salvador.  It is way back in an estuary of Bahia Jiquilisco  and the entrance has a shoal-and-breakers mouth (Rains), so it’s not easy getting in, however the marina sends out a guide and he gives the follow me signal and off we go. It is very secure, quiet and nice.   They also are wonderful with paperwork, tours, shopping, etc.  We tried to do it all in the few days we were there.  We went on a jungle trek to see the monkeys and downtown to shop in the open stall marketplace as well as at a modern super market.  We also took a very long day trip that took us up the mountains, to ruins, old colonial and native towns, and downtown San Salvador. El Salvador is a poor country, all of C.A. is poor.  We met very nice people and were never afraid, but the poverty is omnipresent and the toll taken from the decades of civil wars still so apparent. There are upscale neighborhoods in San Salvador, and signs of a small middle class emerging here and there, but mostly, the standard of living is quite low.  They seem a more serious people, as I imagine I would be, if I’d just survived years of terror and war.  What stood out for me however, was that the women almost all wear bright and frilly aprons all the time, over whatever else they are wearing and can be seen laughing and joking amongst themselves.  Girls will be girls, no matter the age, no matter the culture.  I like that about us!

Meanwhile, back at the marina there is a pool, bar and restaurant, internet and most often a friendly group of cruisers.  However we kept thinking, this is nice, not Huatulco “why are we leaving anyway” nice, but nice… but hey, since it’s only going to get better as we go further south,  we’d better keep going.  NOT ALWAYS TRUE.  So, if you find yourself wanting to laze around Barillas and hang by the pool, play Mexican Train with new found pals, etc., etc.  then do so here.  It doesn’t get better and this is a good place to rest, or stage a Central American inland trip.  Heriberto can set you up with tours or cars and your boat will be safe and secure in your absence.  Sister Dottie and Ken did an extended road trip from this port.   M/V Jenny left her for a long trip home, both with no hassles. 

But we didn’t know this yet, and we had checked off all we wanted to do in ES, so once again we were face down in the charts, notes and guides deciding on our next stop.  Our insurance would not allow us to stop in still sort of unstable Nicaragua, darn it anyway.  It’s the one C.A. country I’ve never visited and I would have liked to have seen it.  They also have a well regarded marina there, Puesta del Sol.  They really want cruisers to stop and those that have say it is a nice marina.  Paperwork cha cha is sort of a bother I am told, so if you are going to stop – might as well stay awhile.  M/V Wahoo just told us that they rented a car and did a wonderful inland trip to the two massive lakes and volcano’s that dominate the western coast.  There was a bus strike at the time, so they had the roads to themselves.  That’s a thumbs up from Wahoo, and an I have no idea from WS!

Our expectations are really high now, because it’s finally time for Costa Rica.  Pura Vida, Costa Rica.  We really wanted to love it.  We’d been here before and did love the mountains and cities, so the coast has to be magic, right?  Wrong.  Cruiser wise, at least for late Spring 2008, it is just okay. The anchorages are mostly just okay, the little towns near them, also just okay.  Before my negativity wears you down completely, let me tell you what we LOVED.  The Islas Tortugas, Manual Antonio National Park, and Bahia Drake.  Lovely, fun and we’d linger the next time in each of these.  We also really like the surf towns like Montezuma, (not Jaco tho) but of course, big surf towns don’t often have nice quiet anchorages, so to see them, we had to hire taxi’s and take long rides.

Costa Rica has a well deserved reputation as a high theft area and many friends did lose things this year…dinghy’s and motors, backpacks, even thieves breaking into boats at night while they were aboard, so we were not tempted to take longer excursions inland.  I should also point out that this is late in the season (May) so we saw no other cruisers, the lingerers were still behind us, and the pack was far ahead.  We were pretty much alone, that is Voyager and WS. 

There are almost no marinas, but with luck the one in Quepos will be finished soon.  Los Suenos is ‘Newport Beach gated community’ beautiful, but ridiculously expensive.  Puntarenas- especially CRYC, which we did not see, is apparently a good place to keep the boat while traveling inland. S/V Tropical Dance echoed that, and said that even tho it offers only moorings, it is quite secure as CRYC has their own patrol boats. 

So my advice to southbound cruisers is to linger wherever you find a beautiful anchorage, and savor it.  Weather didn’t allow us to stop at the Murcielagos Islands, but hear it offers good snorkeling and diving. We liked Playa del Coco and Playa Panama, but experienced little crab almost spider-like creatures when swimming there.  Didn’t bite too hard, but not nice.  And I know that there are many other anchorages others have found and loved.  We tried several in each bay and again, don’t know if it was our timing, weather, whatever – they were just not nice.  DRAT! 

Golfito is okay (there’s that word again, almost as chilling to women as fine…as in, “you look fine”.  It has much of what you’ll need and it’s a great place to walk, you have three good choices of marinas all side by side, and even three decent markets.  You can run over to Puerto Jiminez for a diversion and even hike to the top of the mountain for beautiful views of the bay… (or take a cab).  Port clearances are a real cha cha here, but everyone is nice and most cabbies seem to know where to go.

With expectations now quite low, we made our way to Panama.  We skipped a lot of the northern islands due to weather and the controversy over anchoring fees in areas now designated as national parks.  It was one of those, if we stop, we may be locked in for a week or so before we can round Punta Mala.  So we decided to head for the Las Perlas, and say hallejuela, it was fantastico!  We really liked the islands, especially the little town of Contadora.  We spent several great days in the islands before finalizing our Panama Canal transit plans and our rendezvous with Dreamweaver after months of separation.  We had a slip at Flamenco which is a great spot and a quick reunion with Dottie and Ken who left the next morning to help friends on ARGO out as line handlers.  Les’s folks, Katie and Gerry flew in for the Canal experience and soon we were in a social whirl.  We had a wonderful time in Panama City and transiting the PC.  I already covered our transit, so will jump to another delightful surprise…Caribbean Panama,   and our journey north again to Bocas del Toro.  It a fun funky town, touristy, but also a real cruisers town, great for those like us just passing thru, and for those that got stuck there, kind of like Key West before they fixed it up.  We absolutely adore people watching/chatty places like this.  And the islands, so many of them, all picture postcard perfect, lush surrounded by turquoise blue water-that crystal clear Caribbean water, with fantastic snorkeling  and interesting colorful people.  In fact, if we were laying over the summer and going to be onboard, I think I’d HQ up there.  It is sort of remote and not easy to fly in and out at this point in time, but it’s much more fun than Shelter Bay, which is really just a marina nestled in an old fort.   

The final word to our friends seeking advice about C.A., and summer in Panama, (and that’s what this column has turned out to be, a Dear Jo kind of deal) is this… if you don’t have to fly home, and you have the weather window, take the time to gunkhole down Pacific Panama’s coast, and allow lots of time to explore the Las Perlas and to hang out in Contadora.  Flamenco on the Pacific side would also be a great place to keep the boat for the summer, (left or staying aboard) but again it is expensive and has limited availability.  The upside of staying in Panama City is that you are close to everything, there is a lot to do, and the airports are right there for a quick flight home or off on inland travel.  If you’ve already gone thru the canal, allow a few weeks for Bocas del Toro for great in the water fun and a cool atmosphere…and June is a good month there.  Or check out their marinas and fly home if that works for you.  If cruising below the hurricane belt is your plan for the summer, Portobello and the San Blas are very close and less crowded this time of year.  But since we have not yet done that, I have nothing to tell you!  

If you are planning to fly home from anywhere in Panama, it seems that July, August and September are the months to be gone.  It’s not terrible here at Shelter Bay by any means, it’s just that there are few people, there is little to do, and if you want freedom, you might want to rent a car.  (But at $35-$55 a day, you might as well have paid the Flamenco marina prices).  Shelter Bay really does a great job, and there is a wonderful National Park in the compound area, Fuerte San Lorenzo, on the bluff above the entrance to the Chagres River and well worth the visit(s).  You can bike there from the marina ($5 entrance fee pp) or take the 20km RT long walk.   They have free and low pay bus service to Colon and PC, a decent restaurant, and by next summer, a swimming pool will be complete.  Bruce runs a great yard, and Russ a great marina.  Friends have had good luck with doctors and dentists.  So it’s hardly Hell.  Plus you can watch the mold grow on your boat – just like science class. 

Okay, ”wait a minute, it stopped raining”…things at Camp Granada are lookin bedda, I think I will go out and play….”