Holidays 2008

HO HO HO - A Jolly Christmas in St. Lucia and Happy New Year in Martinque

The problem with cruising guides is that they are rarely right up to date.  This we discovered again as early morning dawned and we made our way to the entrance to Rodney Bay having sailed all night from Bequia…only to find a huge sign at the mouth of the harbor announcing that anchoring is no longer permitted inside the bay.  Well drat.  We know that the marina is not taking reservations as they are “firmly committed to the ARC”.  The outside anchorage is rough this morning and not at all what we intended, so we decide to go on inside for a look see anyway.  We are looking for the customs office as on the chart it looks like there might be temporary dock space, but there is a huge new marina section being built for mega yachts and we can’t quite figure it out.

So, as we are winding our way through this shallow but lovely harbor we see an outside slip open, no tell tale leavings of it being an owned slip, so figure it must be transient and decide to slip in and wait for someone to wake up and give us suggestions…well that was my idea, Ade’s was, “a-hah, we’re in, harder to turn us out”!  So with that attitude, we start shopping answers to our query, “can we stay”?  The angle that worked for us was to find one of the many boat boys offering cleaning services to help us get permission to stay.  With that and a sincere promise to the office to vacate the slip should any ARC boat need it we were set for the week.  Yippee.  Now we can dig in and get ready for the kids to arrive.

The ARC, the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers is a big deal, over 200 boats sail from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands at the end of November and make their way to St Lucia for winter cruising in the Caribbean.  It usually takes about 3+ weeks and they are beat, but joyous, as they make their way in.  We were there to see many arrive and it’s a big celebration, with family that did not cross with them waiting with champagne and the committee there making announcements, mini steel drums playing, etc.  Lots of fun, we were lucky to be able to join in.

Rodney Bay is the perfect cruisers harbor with great supermarkets, laundries, marine stores, restaurants, and lovely beaches.  There was a masseuse who came by the boat to advertise, and we quickly signed up.  Sigh. I even found a pretty good hairdresser.  The only hope I have for finding a good salon is to find a local woman whose hair I like and ask for her hairdresser’s name.  In the Caribbean, where the majority of people are of African descent and frankly do not know how to deal with my baby fine very straight hair, it’s been more of a challenge!  For me, the drama comes up every five or six weeks.  I’ve had everything from snow white fried hair to various shades of rust!!  And this was with recommendations.   We had a mutt called Patty when we were growing up; my hair currently looks like her fur in the later part of her life!  Lovely.

We moved right in and got ready to welcome Heather and Ted for the holidays.  They arrived, but their luggage did not.  It of course included all those supplies and parts that we’ve been ordering for months, plus mail, gifts…and oh by the way, their clothes and essentials.  They made do and the inconvenience didn’t bother them at all, so we lost no time making plans and seeing the island.

St Lucia is just fantastically beautiful.  One of the Lesser Antilles, she was formed from ancient volcanoes millions of years ago.   She is lush, green and mountainous with steep river valleys, rainforests, waterfalls and fertile land.  Quite a contrast to desert islands like the ABC’s.  We hired a guide from the many who wait just outside the marina and belong to the professional association.  Prices are pretty much set, but you can negotiate a little.  The vans are in good shape and the guides speak perfect English and are very knowledgeable and accommodating.

Our first day’s journey took us to downtown Castries and the fresh markets, up and down the mountainous roads of the west coast through all the little villages and beaches and down to Soufriere and the spectacular Pitons.  We went to the exclusive Ladera Resort for lunch at the Dasheen Restaurant and were able to take a tour of the property and rooms - the suites each have their own pool inside the unit extending out onto decks that look out to the Pitons and the ocean…really a slice of heaven!  We hiked back to see the Diamond Waterfalls, toured the Botanical Gardens, and saw the last trace of volcanic activity at the Sulphur Springs.  Regrettably, we did not have time to climb the Pitons…we will do that the next time…when we stay at the resort!!

We moved the boat over to Vigie Cove in Castries, a little used anchorage that we really enjoyed.  The cruise ships dock near here, so there are lots of touristy things to do.  It is also near the domestic airport, so when the last piece of the kids luggage finally arrived, mysteriously at this airport (the international airport is at Vieux Fort, at the southern end of the island) they just walked over and retrieved it.  There is a duty free center right there so people watching was great, as was the opportunity to do a little last minute Christmas shopping.  Two of the islands best restaurants are in this cove, but darn it, neither open on Sunday…and it was Sunday.  We decided to stay long enough to make it in for Monday lunch at the famed Coal Pot Restaurant.  It was worth it.  Fantastic.  Michele Elliott is an artist who creates wonderful plates and dishes and this is owned by her family and her studio is on the property.

We made our way to the Marina at Marigot Bay where we had reservations for the holidays.  The marina is lovely, and Voyager was there with Les’ sister and brother in law, who we knew from the FUBAR.  Dottie and Ken joined us all a day later.  Heather and Ted did an all day inland Zip Line and Challenge Course that they said was incredible fun, we’d done one in PV last year and decided to let them go on their own.  We all went scuba diving though.  It was a riot.  Ted is not yet certified, but they have a program where non-Padi divers can go along with an instructor.  Ted is all long lean arms and legs and to watch him maneuver and work at buoyancy and not be able to ask questions (he is a most inquisitive fellow) as we dove 30 feet on our first dive was hilarious.  Trouble with laughing underwater is that water leaks up into your mask and floods it over and over again.  It was worth it.  He of course figured it all out and had a blast.  We all did.

St Lucia has really great restaurants and we lucked out and found ourselves across from another amazing one… the Rainforest Hideaway at Marigot.  The ambiance was brilliant, and everything we ordered was delicious, the kids said it was the best meal they have ever had!

The gang (there were ten now) all got together for a festive Christmas Eve of music and food.  Rose and Ade got out our big-ass drums from Cartagena, as well as all of the other instruments we’ve been gathering and we danced and sang well into the night.  By request, I think they requested it, we girls again sang “I Must Follow Him” and the boys “My Girl” - if we didn’t have video to prove otherwise, I’d think we were actually getting quite good.

Christmas was lovely, the boat was decorated with our 2 foot tree, lots of lights and stockings hung on the carved dolphins with care…we opened gifts, made a few Skype calls to family at home, brunched at the resort, and that afternoon Dottie and Ken joined us for dinner, while Les & Rose and Tom & Babe dined next door.  We just wish Kevin and Jenn could have been with us!

The kids flight out was the next day, so we sadly said goodbye to them, and to Dottie a day later as she had to fly home to take care of some family business.  We decided to take advantage of a weather window and move up island, back to Rodney and be in position for a run to Martinique for New Years.  Coming back into the Bay felt like going home.  It is a great marina and very well run, we really like St Lucia and encourage anyone who gets a chance to spend time here, it was the perfect island for visitors.  Easy to get in and out, so much to do on land and sea, and the restaurants are all different, and those we tried, all good!  Our New Year’s Resolutions will have to include dieting!

The weather window didn’t appear until New Year’s Eve Day, so we intrepid souls set a course for Fort de France and the promise of a fabulous French Fête for the evening.  Alas, said fête was actually the night before, we were told they had a huge fireworks display, music, etc…darn.  But, the market was open and we topped up on what we needed to celebrate on board.  I found a lovely looking piece of beef, called, oddly enough, faux boeuf.  OK.  My year of French is a bit rusty, but I think it means, phony beef.  It didn’t look like phony beef, so I bought it, along with a lovely baguette and fresh veggies.  Les and Rose brought out the lobsters they’d saved, we made lots of yummy nibblies, BBQ’d the lobster and steak (which tasted great) and voila…a four star meal to compete with anything they could have served onshore.  Les had French café music on, so the boys decided they needed little moustaches drawn on to complete the ambiance…and we girls donned wigs and a cancan attitude!  There were lots of individuals along the beaches who put on their own fireworks displays, so the show was complete.  We toasted the New Year in several time zones, amazingly even made it to our own Midnight!   Vive la Martinique!

We realized that this was a major holiday weekend and that nothing was going to be open in town, so we scooted over to the resort area of Trois-Inlets and Pointe du Bout where there was a prospect of more things being open.  Wrong.  Not much open at all.   But we went ashore for nice long walks, found a place for café and tried to get the internet, seems it is off all over the island for a few days.  We still had the buoy-weather report from St Lucia and we knew that we needed to keep going to take advantage of this short period of mild weather.  We needed to as we had to get to Antigua in time for our rendezvous with Don and Audrey and Dottie.  So, it was a one day stop at Trois-Inlets and then up to St. Pierre for WS and Dreamweaver.  Les and Rose had a few more days with Tom & Babe, so they were able to stay and see a bit more of the island.

St. Pierre was a good stop, not only is it a nice anchorage, there is lots to see.  This town had been a major city in the 1800’s with grand theatre’s and buildings, but it was completely destroyed in just ten minutes in 1902 when Mt. Pelee erupted.  All but two of the 30,000 residents were killed in the blast.  The blackened ruins are still evident, and many building incorporate these stone walls into their newer buildings.  The Museum, the Musee Vulcanologique is well worth the effort and the few Euro entrance fees.  Did I mention that Martinique is actually part of France?  We were told that citizens here enjoy the same rights and privileges of all French citizens.  The language is French and the currency the Euro…and consequently, it is more expensive, but the standard of living for the citizens is way beyond that of any other Caribbean nation.   I am sorry that these three stops were all that we were able to make in this lovely island country.  It’s on the “we’ll be back list” for sure.

And just like that, we are out of the fabled Windward Islands, and onto the Leeward’s.

Still December 2008 - THE LOVELY GRENADINES

St. Vincent and the Grenadines are a sovereign nation consisting of several smallish islands just above Grenada, with the much larger St Vincent as its Capitol in the north.  Union Island, Bequia, Mustique, Mayreau, Canouan, and the Tobago Cays, are probably the most well known, but there are dozens of them.  This was another new country for us, and an opportunity to visit places that clients from my past life as a travel agent and charter broker always really enjoyed.  Time and weather were again a factor, I don’t think that will ever end-until, and if, we decide to just sit somewhere for several weeks with nothing on the calendar for the foreseeable future.  Many of our fellow cruisers make this choice and look at us like we are on a race, but we are not, just trying to see a big world in our allotted time.  We set a goal and go for it, and for the calendar year 2008, these islands just about wrap it up.  2009 will take us the rest of the way through the Eastern Caribbean and up the East coast of the USA to Maine.  Perhaps winter 2009/10 will allow us time to just BE in one of these tropical paradises.  That’s on the to-do list too.  Right there, number 97, “just sit somewhere on a boat and veg-out.”

We stopped at Clifton, Union Island.  Securing an anchoring spot is the challenge here, but it’s still a great place to visit.  It’s a weird anchorage with the airport runway and a huge reef on the east side and a rather large shoal smack dab in the middle, so getting your bearings and scouting a spot is not easy.  We all had issues getting settled, we were made to move from what looked like a perfect spot, and Les and Rose had set and reset their anchor a few times. They finally found a great spot and got a good set and Les dropped the big dinghy and went out to explore.  We next heard Rose on the radio frantically calling “Voyager Mobile, Voyager Mobile”.  Seems they were anchored in the direct path of the rapidly approaching high speed ferry and were advised to move NOW.  Well, first she had to find her captain and get him back onboard… she is normally so calm and cool, we could hear stark terror in her voice - he made it back just in time and as the sun was setting, had to begin the search again.  Arrive early and I’d suggest looking for a spot east of the middle shoal, just west of the reef, or find a good boat boy and have him get you a mooring…but dive it, as some are not much of a mooring at all.  Onshore there is a lot to do.  The Anchorage Yacht Club is great and there are several other restaurants that are good for a quick lunch or breakfast.  Not much in the way of fine dining though.  We found a great ramshackle shop/coffee bar/bar, sort of at the end of the road in the SW part of the bay, Castello’s.  Everything is gaily painted here, EVERYTHING!  It’s got about

10 foot road frontage and then goes straight back, hooks to the left, then another quick right where it opens up quite a bit to about 50+ feet, then narrows again and goes up a hill…it has clothing, pictures, knickknacks, fresh baked good, coffee, beer and whatever, their house, a chicken coop, and a killer view from the top.  Castello, the wife, is an artist who we thought to be French, but is actually Israeli and sailed here with her husband who I think is Dutch, several years ago.  She told me in colorfully accented English that they bought the property for a good price; no one else had the imagination to see the possibilities.  They have inspired minds to have imagined this.  He sits, shirtless, on the porch of their house which, as I said, is somehow in the middle of this maze, working on his writing or computers I think.  You just have to see it to believe it.  Ade got a great shirt there.  I’ve washed it a few times and it holds up great and he gets compliments every time.

Too wordy today, so I will shorten this up to say, Tobago Cays - cool diving, but not as alive as we’d hoped, great giant Sea Turtles however, and worth the stop.  Boat boys with colorfully painted boats come by all the time trying to sell you everything from T-shirts, to bread, fruit, lobster, jewelry and anything else you are willing to pay them for.  Caution, they are not well bumpered and we have the deep scratches on our blue hull to prove it.  Throw your bumpers out, they will visit, invited or not.  They are very pleasant though, we used Mr. Fabulous and he is proud to be named in the cruising guides and introduces himself as a local celebrity.  We bought T-shirts, but most are the ones you can find ashore but still at competitive prices, and there are some that feature the work of local artists.

We also stopped at Mayreau, and Canouan, and did a close cruise by Mustique, but because time was short, opted not to stop and pay the high fees just to be able to go ashore for a few hours.  It’s pretty, but doesn’t seem to have that much to offer the cruiser; land tourism is probably great if you are willing to pay the prices to stay there.

The jewel for us is Bequia.  It is a charming island, we found the people to be quite nice, not overly friendly, but never rude.  Port Elizabeth is where we spent most of our time and think it best. There are many restaurants, shops, markets, etc. to enjoy.  There are nice long roads for long walks, a huge bay in which to anchor, a HotHotHot internet connection, laundry and fresh water service from Daffodil, and ferry service to St. Vincent and other islands, including Mustique if you want to visit some of the Grenadine islands that way.

We did most of our Christmas shopping here.  Bequians are great boat builders, from full size schooners and sloops, “two bow” fishing boats to collectable small replicas.  Ade looked at all of the “model” boats, (but not models at all, each one is hand crafted) and settled on a traditional grey hulled gaff rigged fishing boat which he proudly has added to his assortment.

We took the ferry to St. Vincent as reports of violence against cruisers persist.  It apparently is mainly in the otherwise perfect anchorages on the northwest coast where a few boaters have been brutally murdered over the past few years.  Police say it is a deranged individual, but on a small island where everyone knows everyone else, and their business, we think if they wanted him (or them) caught, it would have happened.  There are those in tourism who realize that cruisers represent money for the local economy.  They say there is talk of a coast guard station strategically located in Chateaubelair or Cumberland which should help cruisers feel more comfortable.  No way was I going to stop there on Wandering Star, big Chicken of the Sea that I am.

We had a great day though; we took the first ferry over and the last one back.  We were met by a young driver from Hazeco Tours and he took us everywhere along the west coast.  We were joined by his wife and her young brother that they are raising, and two Canadian Travel Agents that were great company.  We even went by the Hazel’s home where Millie had prepared and packed lunches for us all.  The island is quite mountainous and drops directly to the sea, so that the coastal road goes all the way up and all the way down into each little bay.  The roads are mostly paved, but narrow and high, there is no shoulder or gradual segue from road to roadside, and it drops right off, as much as a foot in some places, so staying on the road is a must, not an option.  Driving would be exhausting and we are so happy we chose a competent driver so we could just enjoy the sights.  We stopped at the melodiously named, Wallilabou, where Pirates of the Caribbean II and III were filmed.  The film used what was there and added a few building facades that still stand, there are cast and crew shots from the several months they were filming, but not much else.   It would be still be a lovely spot to just sit on your boat and enjoy the beauty.  This is just one of the stunning bays along this coast.  We are truly sorry we did not feel safe enough to spend a week cruising this lovely coast.

Next it is onto the last of the Windward Islands, St Lucia, and Christmas with the kids.

December 2008:  Land Ho!  Grenada at Last! 

The sun was just rising and we beheld a beautiful sight - mountains.  “Land Ho” Ade shouted, and there she was, the large and lovely island of Grenada.  We entered St Georges Harbor, scooted in the well buoyed channel, hoping to find that anchoring was still possible in the lagoon.  We knew that the Port Louis Marina development would eventually take it over as they had somehow wrangled a way to buy it all.  Junior, Port Louis’ dock master hopped in his runabout and ran out to Voyager and made us both a deal we couldn’t refuse- a bargain priced opportunity to tie up alongside the sparsely populated brand new docks and just in perfect time to get ready for a Thanksgiving celebration.  Junior is a hard man to say no to.  He is powerfully built with yards of long braids (not dreads) extremely clean cut, and with a killer smile.  Before we knew it we were all aboard V planning a week’s worth of activities with various relatives of his and enjoying celebratory champagne as we had finally stopped going east and were now ready for our northward journey up the Caribbean chain of islands, which we assume will  be a bit easier going!

St Georges, Grenada is just fantastic to see, colorful 19^th century buildings, forts and churches built up steep and lush green hills that look out across the sea and down on the beautiful harbor.  The Carenage is the other lobe of the harbor and is lined with all sorts of commercial boats, small cargo ships that unload right onto the cobblestone streets, fishing boats and small brightly painted skiffs.  No matter what time of day I was out and about, I would see crowds of beautiful school-aged children dressed smartly in their uniforms quickly walking, talking and laughing on their way to or from classes or lunch.  They speak the Queens English here, quite easy to understand and communicate with - but quite impossible to understand when they are talking to each other… and everyone says “Ya Mon” (yes) and “Irie” (kind of life is good),  “lime, mon” (chill out dude) and the easy to understand, “every tin’s gonna be awl-rite”.

On a perfect early morning walk with camera in hand,  I saw that, on closer inspection, many of the buildings were in ruin, and most I learned, from Hurricane Ivan who came ashore unexpectedly in September 2004.  Ninety percent of the homes on the island were damaged and the islands vegetation devastated.  Many islanders live on a subsistence level, which until that point had been a veritable Garden of Eden; fruits and vegetables, spices, fish all in abundance provided food for the people and for export.  Four years later, much of the landscape has recovered, and most individual homes have been repaired, but few of the churches and buildings.  I think they want to do more of a restoration, which eliminates the possibility of quick demolition.  Some of these buildings had also been damaged during the American rescue mission of 1985.  I will not call it an invasion and most Grenadians still thank us for our help getting rid of  Maurice Bishop’s Cuban Communist friends, who were taking over all branches of the government, and threatening to turn it into another Cuba, which is not at all what the majority of the islanders wanted.

Provisioning is fantastic as there is Food Fair/Foodland and other good Supermarkets along the waterfront (Lagoon Rd) and also in the “suburban” Spiceland Mall area and the resort areas towards Grande Anse.  (which I of course remember as Grand Arse, as in mine). Crazy inexpensive van/busses ($1.50EC) make getting around from St. Georges and the anchorages very easy.  The money is also quite easy as they use the EC, or Eastern Caribbean dollar, fixed at $2.67 to the USD, and this currency is good in almost every island country (except the French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe who use the Euro) all the way to Anguilla.  ATM’s are everywhere.  The marina will take your laundry even if you are anchored out.  The small marinas in the southern anchorages around popular Prickly Bay also have laundry facilities, but it’s more hit or miss, i.e., maybe it’s working or maybe “not working so good today”.

Grenada has some wonderful restaurants, but downtown St George’s was pretty limited the week we were there, more often than not, they were closed or empty when we wanted to go and with provisioning so easy, we found that our best meals were on board.  Do try BB’s Crabback on the waterfront for said crabback or other fresh catch, it’s quite good, he has a quirky dinghy dock, but if you keep your eye on your dink you can keep from it ramming underneath the restaurant, its fine.

This Thanksgiving was truly a feast and we all had so much to be grateful for.  We started the day off with a brunch onboard WS, and Les & Rose hosted the turkey and trimmings meal that early evening.  What fun to be able to make traditional dishes with a Caribbean twist…we’d been hording for weeks, not knowing that we could buy anything we wanted once we got to Grenada… Rose had a turkey from Panama she’d been saving and dealing with in her freezer all this time.  Dottie had Pumpkin bread for everyone and her famous cranberry chutney; I managed to find a leek so I could make my Pumpkin soup according to my recipe and not have to improvise.   Boney, Junior’s uncle, and former policeman, took us on a great island tour that ran from the SW to the NE, and introduced us to the plethora of plant life on Grenada.  We toured River Rum Distillery, the Grenada Chocolate Company, parks and beautiful waterfalls, made pals with Lover Bay, his “pet” monkey, ate lunch at a delightful “locals” restaurant near Grenville and he still got us back safe and sound (not easy on those roads with aggressive bus/taxi drivers) by sunset.

We left a day ahead of the others as we had canvas work done and need to get around the “corner” of Pt. Saline, for installation.  While there were only a few other cruising boats in St. Georges, there are dozens and dozen’s in the Prickly Bay/True Blue area.  We dropped the hook and took a nice long walk around to familiarize ourselves with the area, have a drink at the well advertised Dodgy Dock, and check out the True Blue Marina.  It’s nice, but didn’t really have the “vibe” we were looking for, funny some places feel like home and others just don’t click.   We saw that Musetta was indeed tucked in safe and sound there, for them it must have felt like heaven.  We met

Stephanie and Jeff in Cartagena and they have had nothing but trouble since they left that secure port.  Made our troubles seem small indeed.  They have decided to stay put for awhile - no wonder!

While Prickly Bay is nice, we opted to move over to the popular Hog Island/Calvigny Island area.  We found a great spot near Clarks Cove, and Whisper Cove - easy dink ride to both and free internet to boot!  The new Le Phare Bleu Marina and Resort complex is where Dave & Jane have their canvas shop.  While there we realized that the gourmet restaurant housed in the old lighthouse ship, Vastra Banken, had opened the previous week.   We made dinner reservations for the next day - and it was one of the best meals we’ve ever had.  Chef Mark Bankthorpe, of the cookbook “Tastes of Spice” has created a fantastic menu, and wonderful atmosphere.  Magnifique!

Sublime evenings like that are followed by a humbling 5-hour for one load of laundry ordeal.  I went ashore to the French hippie run Whisper Cove to do a quick load of laundry as I’d been told the dryer at Clarke’s was kaput.  There is one washing machine, one dryer and it sits outside next to the bar/restaurant/reception/patio/everything area. This machine had a mind of its own and was a bit of a nightmare as it accepted my wash, started off fine, but washed for over three hours and wouldn’t let me open it up to retrieve my now tired, soapy and heavy with water items.  There was no sink to rinse them out, so I’d be stuck with a mess anyway.   So I stayed, kept ordering waters, doing emails and tried to act nonchalant as a couple argued non-stop in rapid French using frenzied hand gestures just next to me, and then realized that I was absent-mindedly scratching my legs, not paying attention to the fact that I was being eaten alive.  Argg.  A radio call to Ade brought bug spray and company for what looked like was going to be an overnight ordeal.  Thankfully, the dryer was much faster, only 2 hours to complete its cycle.  Ah the glamour of the Yaaachting life!  If it were fresh water we were floating in, a rock on the shoreline would have been much faster and better.

There’s a great cruising community in Grenada and it can be quite social.  We were able to get out to Clarks Court for their Burger and a Movie Night, and over to Woburn for the Lasagna Thursday nights and socialize with fantastic people who have spent years cruising these waters.  I can see spending a nice winter here, Grenada has it all for the cruiser, including a community.

Grenada and Carriacou (locals pronounce it Carrie-cou) and Petite Martinique make up the nation of Grenada.  We passed by Petite Martinique, but did not stop, preferring Tyrrel Bay on Carriacou and were delighted with it.  Very friendly people enjoying gearing up for the Christmas holidays.  We walked everywhere, picked up a local girl, I should say, she picked us up and proceeded to identify every leaf and plant as well as the local inhabitants, who she would greet with big kisses and hugs.  No one walks she told us, so it was a very big deal, and actually a very long walk, to have her escort us from the anchorage to the town of Hillsborough for marketing.   Town consists of several streets of markets, shops with just about everything, churches and bars.  Back in Tyrrel Bay, we decided on an evening ashore and  enjoyed Lobster Pizza for dinner, and the music of an almost all girl steel drum band playing Christmas carols.  It’s not just the music that is so great, it is watching the locals dance and sing and play along.  All ages, all sizes, all manners of sobriety (probably stoned is more like it) just hanging out on the dirt road that separates the outdoor establishment and the beach.  Some come inside for a drink, but often the real party is on the road.  Dogs, cats, chickens, lizards and mossies complete the assemblage.   Nice kick off to the holiday season.  Two very tall Nordic looking Canadian Peace Corp workers edged two local girls off their drum sets and played a few sets - they must have been here for a long time as they were GOOD.

It was all good.  We really feel a connection with Grenada and its people.  If there is a way, I imagine this is a place where we could spend a season…or two.

November 2008The ABC’S - A little like the Three Bears

How is it possible that we keep finding places we like so much, each one seems a little better than the last.  These islands are amazing; especially for the rocky little desert islands that they are…sitting where they do, just north of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea.  It’s not that easy to get here mind you, especially going the way we went, that is East INTO the trades.  And these days Venezuela is not a safe place to stop, so your track really is from Cartagena to Aruba, bibbity bobbity boo through the ABC’s, and then another long run from Bonaire to Grenada.  Needless to say, after our harrowing passages, we were deliriously happy to get to Aruba… although she is only 19 miles long, and 6 miles across, she is a jewel and our refuge.  And a new country for me…#93.   The only new one since Ecuador in 2005.  I need 100 to become a member of the Century Travelers Club - hopefully in ‘09.

I guess the only negative about Aruba is the checking in process.  We arrived to see two cruise ships in port and to a disconcerted port authority individual who told us via radio that it would be okay to go directly to the marina and then taxi over to check-in, which is not the way the cruising guide said it went in Aruba.   And once secured in our slip at the Renaissance Marina, the hard working and resourceful Dock mistress “XJ” told us she’d better check to make sure this was really okay, as the Aruban authorities do not want anyone ashore who has not first gone to Customs and Immigration.  XJ contacted the Port Captain and learned that we in reality would have to leave Oranjestad and head back to the commercial port of Barcadera to check in there.

Darn, but okay… still happy to be in the lee of anything, we head out and find the deserted looking port with an inhospitable wharf and offshore winds at +20k and insufficient power to get alongside long enough for me to jump off and tie-up to something, anything ashore…two attempts and we circled back around to see if we could find another spot to tie-up.  Voyager said they would try as their side thrusters are more powerful than ours, and gratefully there were now a few scruffy looking sailors off a cargo ship ashore to flake out their hoses, so they were able to take their lines and secure them to miscellaneous junk bolted down.  So, once they were secured, we side tied to them, and then hopped ashore to accept Dreamweaver’s lines.  The women stayed on our respective boats while the men were taken away in a little car with the paperwork that would allow us to stay in country.  It’s an inefficient system that has many yachties that are not staying in a marina deciding not to check in or out at all.  Not an option for us as with my Catholic guilt, we were sure to be discovered and thrown into an Aruban prison.

Okay, so now we are really ready to relax after our five day run from Cartagena, including our engine failure, and so we pick up the renowned Balashi Beer (Tim Lloyd tip) and head to Voyager for a victory dance…and dance we did, and sing, none of it particularly well, but we thought we were wonderful!

We stayed in Aruba for a week and walked for miles and miles, enjoying every step in the near perfect weather, finding all manner of hardware and grocery stores…actually fabulous supermarkets, with the IGA a real standout!  The islands have a more diverse population than we’ve experienced anywhere on this voyage.  A blend of European, Indian, African and Latin people, most speak English, although Dutch, and a local language, unique to the Netherland Antilles, Papiamento, are the official languages.  They call Aruba, One Happy Little Island, and even though the people are not as overtly friendly as the “B and C” islands, they are good people, and we felt comfortable everywhere.

It was one of those harbors you could get “stuck” in as you quickly make yourself at home.  I found a hairdresser, a jeweler to make these coin charms I’d been imagining, a great spa for a much needed massage, computer experts, and doctors for a variety of maladies.  And restaurants!  The resort hotels and highly advertised restaurants are several miles from Oranjestad, but we wanted to walk so we chose from the myriad of other little, non-chain places in town.  One night, a ‘Date Night’, we were out on our own and we discovered “Cuba’s Cookin’ “- it’s in an old farm house in the heart of town with lively eccentric Latin art on the walls, a charming staff, great food, and interesting fellow diners.  A Cuban couple were playing guitar and drums and singing old 1950’s songs in Spanish.  Guests would take turns helping out on the bongo’s, and Placa (I think that was her name) interacted with everyone, making us dance and laugh like we were all regulars and they were happy we were there.

We also found a place popular with the locals “QuePasa?” and it was also really great - interesting Dutch waiter there on an internship, and the food was I guess, Mexican/Aruban fusion with a European touch.  The “Paddock” right down from the marina was also great for happy hour.   With dinners on each other’s boats, and long days sightseeing there wasn’t enough time, or calorie capacity to try all those that looked enticing, so we’ll just have to go back.  One thing we didn’t get to do as a group that we’d wanted to do, was go dancing to some good old rock ‘n roll.

So, for our final night we enjoyed the company of Susan and “T” (Phantom), and then set out for, I am embarrassed to say, good old gringo touristy Senor Frogs!  Hey, you can ALWAYS dance at a Senor Frogs even at a sedate 9PM.  So we did.  It was fun as usual and this time, my gentle sister Dottie, calmly agreed to try the crazy water slide….I do not know what she was thinking…or if she was (she really doesn’t drink that much and she had only sipped on a fun rum-type drink all night).   But she gamely followed a girl, who had the good sense to be wearing a bathing suit, up the stairs over the bar and onto a long waterslide that traversed the restaurant.  She took off her shoes, hiked up her dress mid-thigh and climbed in and took off.  The look on her face as she came careening to a stop on the balcony showed that somewhere on her wild ride, she’d had second thoughts.  But did we laugh, it was priceless.  So, what do you do with a wet girl at a restaurant?  Find her a tablecloth to wear, tissues for mascara and help her finger comb her hair.  Typically, the other patrons didn’t bat an eye.  And I thought I was the wild one, turns out she is our daring Mother’s daughter!

We say goodbye (for now) to Aruba with her stellar resorts, restaurants and facilities.  I guess this one I would call Mama Bear, she’s all glossy and shiny, the locals a little cool, and you could get soft sitting in the marina, (beds, porridge…stay with me on this okay?)

Another overnight passage to Curacao, a rocky one at that, but perfectly timed for an early morning arrival so we were able to navigate the narrow entrance to Spanish (aka Spaanse) Water and anchor just outside the Seru Boca marina while waiting for the staff to arrive and give us our slip assignments.  It’s a lovely new marina in the Santa Barbara development which will soon include more high end homes and a deluxe Hyatt Resort.  We were tucked way in and while secure, it also meant that it was quite still and hot, and had the unwelcome presence of mosquitoes.  We didn’t use the A/C much as we had to have the generator on to run it.  They run on 120V and 50 cycle electricity and it causes our 60 cycle units to overheat…not that I understand that, but know it to be true as we quickly burned out a portable fan. We found our screens and opened all windows and doors. Dug out citronella candles to burn all day and covered ourselves in bug repellant.   I mention this because we’ve been in the “tropics” for over a year now and this is one of the first places where it’s been a real problem, pretty lucky aren’t we?

We are quite a ways from Willemstad, and the car rental we’d organized didn’t materialize, so we had the marina drop us at the gate (5 miles away) and catch a local bus to town.  We find the Customs building and dutifully check in, then hop the ferry across to Otrobanda to find Immigration and the Port Captain for an anchoring permit for Dreamweaver.  And then went on a nice walk about thru town with stops at ATM’s, a courtyard pub and fantastic cheese shop, a farmers market along the quay and a great spot, Le Bistro, for yummy local fare in another tree canopied courtyard.

Over the next several days we did it all.  We spent a day in the water.  There is a great guide for snorkelers and divers, and we discovered several of the best spots were just outside the harbor.  We found a spectacular wall with abundant sea life and the “Tugboat” spot and dove the shallow wreck; there is an underwater gallery that was obviously different and beyond anything we’d seen before, it was great treat for all of us to be in the warm clear blue water together.

We were finally able to set up a van rental and took off for our Circle Island drive; we made a figure eight as always and went lighthouse to lighthouse and from mini peak to mini peak to take in the views.  Old Plantation Houses are scattered over the landscape and one we stopped at was an old Salt Plantation that now houses a Nena Sanchez gallery.  Everything is brightly painted and a joy to visit.  We found Ft Nassau, the old fort/restaurant that Ade and I hiked up to waaay back in 1980 when we took a small cruise ship from Florida to California via the Canal.

We did dinghy tours of the Harbor, visited the Curacao Yacht Club for lunch, and had happy hour and dinners on board.  Met nice people, in fact, I took a series of photos cruising around the marina as they represented boats from around the world…this is truly an international spot with as many boats from Europe and the So. Pacific as from North/South American.  Mel & Jackie on “Feisty” gave us lots of information about Bonaire; they are from New York and also love trying all the local restaurants, so we listened carefully.

The Curacao Regatta was on, so on Saturday night we went back to Willemstad to see the lighted boat parade from Scharloo and mingle with the sailors.  We then meandered the colorful waterfront of Punda listening to the various performers and laughter from the waterside diners, and found a row of wonderful restaurants behind the Government Palace and enjoyed an under the stars dinner at “Scampi’s”.   We’d been advised to hire a taxi for the night as it is difficult to find anyone to take you all the way back to Seru Boca on a Saturday night, so we had a curfew and had to rush dinner a bit, like Latin America, the service is good but slow and you have to beg for the bill.

So Curacao, spread out as she is, could be Papa Bear, a little too big and hard to get around, although with a perfect anchorage and the charm of Willemstad, yet just a little too far to be convenient, still not a perfect fit…so we move on…

It is an easy hop to Bonaire and we were lucky as Dottie and Ken, who left well before we did, had scoped out spots for us and were there to take our lines and thread them thru the tiny eye hook of the mooring ball, so in no time we are secured, betwixt the reef wall and the beguiling town of Kralendijk.  What a life.  “Ketching Up” and “Spirit” were moored nearby; we’d not seen them since Panama.

Knowing that a weather window was looming, we realized we’d have to hit the ground running if we were going to get to Feisty’s entire “Don’t Miss This” list.  We did the paperwork Cha-cha (we had to turn in Ade’s spear gun to Customs for the duration) and were still ready to make it out to the Happy Hour at the Harbor Village Marina to mingle with other cruisers.  Next item on our agenda was pizza at Pasa Bon.  It was packed, mostly locals and the wait over an hour, but as Jackie said it was the World’s Best Pizza, we waited.  It was well worth the wait, incredible Pizza!

The next don’t miss spot is only open on weekends, and we were told to go as soon as it opened, so on Friday we tried the hole in the wall “Bobbejan’s” and wow, another home run.  For less than $20 per couple we had a fantastic dinner of ribs and BBQ and a few local beers.  A note of gratitude here for all the tips cruisers pass onto each other, not just about frivolous things like FOOD and FUN, but all the tips on customs, anchorages, parts and service, fuel, etc. etc.  It’s a wonderful sharing caring community.

And diving tips too… I’d sort of given up scuba and had only snorkeled for many years.  But this is Bonaire with world class diving and if not now, when?  Feisty said if I wanted a refresher course for diving I should contact Bruce at Carib Inn - he was the best.  We couldn’t find him…only the big glossy operations and I’d checked them out but didn’t feel comfortable with any of them.  I knew I needed someone special to ease me back into it or I’d suck a tank dry in 10 minutes with anxiety.  We found it way beyond the Cruise Ship docks and beyond the big Divi Divi dive resorts.  The little Carib Inn, is home of the first dive instructor (Bruce Bowker) on Bonaire and a wonderful operation and inn for the serious divers who don’t want all the fuss. I am so happy to have persevered, as I said it’d been about 15 years since I did a proper dive and I really wanted to find that confidence again.  Bruce had a gal booked to complete her certification with a beach dive and said I could join that for a refresher course…it was only $45 including gear…wow, I took it.  I lucked out and found my own Dr Phil of the Seas…I spent the whole day with Gary and the yet to be certified Pam and the elusive man from Poland who also wanted a refresher course.  We did the AM beach dive and I was so excited, yet still not feeling 100%, that I told Ade, I want the PM boat dive.  What a blast.  It all came back and I feel great now and ready to take on the Caribbean.  Thank you Carib Inn.

We rented a van and did our Circle Island Drive and found that we LOVE this island.  Rincon in the center is the site of the first Spanish settlement; we stopped at the Rose Inn for lunch with a real local flavor.  The island has dive sights, suitable for beach or boat dive literally from north to sound on the west (lee) of the island.  There is also a lagoon on the east side that is a windsurfer haven with funky beach shacks and ‘resorts’, restaurants/bars, it felt more like a lake resort than a beach, and guess what, it’s called the Lac!  And somehow, during the all day drive we’d circled back to Kralendijk and decided to stop at the Bonaire Gift Shop(s) near the marina…what a bonanza.  We found the swim trunks Les had been looking for, Dive T- Shirts, and oh yeah, wine.  Deepak the owner loves wine and carries quite an assortment from around the world.  There were several of our favorite Californian wines…Deepak loves Napa and Lodi wines…and since today was Saturday he was hosting a wine tasting.  He opened several bottles for us and offered 10% discounts on cases…so, needless to say, we are now well stocked for our holiday guests due to arrive in a few weeks.

Unfortunately the weather was not great for our last few days and the diving no good (squalls, lots of wind, low visibility), and checks on the weather showed that we had just a few windows to make that last long hop to Grenada via the Venezuelan islands.  Darn it, time to go.

So Bonaire, if you are following the story line, is Baby Bear… just right.  Great anchorage, great town, great diving, great everything… this is where we could fall asleep and dream happily until forced to wake up and move on!

Summer 2008

Hot Time, Summer in the Cities

We had a great summer!  It was our vacation from our vacation lifestyle.  We were home for six weeks in June/July, then back to Panama for mid July/August to do some maintenance and sightseeing, and finally back home again from mid August to late September.  It was fantastic, the contrast of it all, the reconnection with family and friends, being able to spread out a little, and of course the amazing array of things that are at your fingertips when in the USA.  It sure is an instant gratification culture isn’t it? …and Wal-Mart really does have everything and is ALWAYS open, I would walk to the one near us in LV and just wander and wonder at the incredible range of stuff.  Wierd fact, I keep a step counter on and learned that if I walk up and down each isle, it is a MILE inside that store!!!  No kidding.

It’s so easy to fly in and out of Las Vegas; we grab a cab and in minutes are sitting in our cute little house.  Buying a small house in a gated community with yard care is a wonderful thing…you’d never know we left… and there is practically no maintenance.  Now Big Bear on the other hand is almost as much trouble as a boat…thank goodness Heather & Ted are such wonderful tenants and caretakers, they already had the house repainting well in hand.  We hit the ground running as always.  Ade had to help them de-winterize the yard and the old boats, as they were hosting the BBLYC Waterman’s Party at the cabin that first weekend.  It was also Ted’s birthday which made it extra special.  Love that party, it’s into the water with crazy races and games and everyone participates.  Kei came up with his girlfriend Jenn and they plunged right into the festivities.

We visited both of our Mothers and they are doing well.  Helen in Ventura with the girls close by, and my Mom between BB and Dick’s place in Palos Verdes.  They are both in wonderful health, and so much fun to be with, we sure know where we got our energy and lucky genes.

Five Big Bear couples that we know of were out cruising from Mexico to Panama and we’d met all but one pair as they were a few weeks ahead of us.  So we had a Cruisers Reunion at the cabin when we realized that all of us would be “home” for a week in July.  It was a blast.  Loren and Patty joined in as they have a 53′ SeaHorse in Thailand, and Loren crewed with us all (DW) thru the Canal in June.  As with all boaters, everyone’s course was slightly different, but there were many shared favorite anchorages and towns, people and places.  We enjoyed each other’s photos and I quickly determined that my photography needs a lot of work - there were magnificent shots and we all oozed and ached and wished we were back down there to see it anew.  We hope to get together each summer and compare notes on what to do and see next.

We played hard and managed to squeeze in BBQ’s, parties, Las Vegas shows, time on the lake, 4^th of July activities, long walks and bike rides, and before we knew it, we were back in Panama.

We had to haul WS and get her bottom painted, etc., It was kind of strange coming back to Colon and Shelter Bay, most of the boats and people we knew were gone, but there were a few of the lingerers, as we called them, who were arriving one by one.  We saw MV Jenny, Tropical Dance, Wahoo, Yachtsman’s Dream, but never at the same time, everyone was on their own schedule and slipped quietly in and out. We rented a car at the airport in PC and kept it the entire time.  Shelter Bay is on a military base (the former USA’s Fort Sherman) and one has to cross over the Gatun locks on a wee little bridge between ships.  Sometimes you lucked out and drove right through, but usually it involved a wait of up to an hour.  We kept books and puzzles in the car to help us develop grace and patience.  I was training for the Big Bear Marathon (well half of one for me), so I’d often gague the time and get out and log a mile or so instead of waiting.

This is also the wet season, or as the Panama Tourist Authority now refers to it as the “Green Season” It is GREEN, we knew we were in the jungle before we left, but it was unbelievable how fast everything grew.  When it rains it pours.  No, not just pours, it comes down like a waterfall and usually has accompanying thunder and (shutter) lightening.  We split the summer hiatus in two parts so we could be available to open her up and find leaks and mold before it took over.  There were a few casualties darn it.

We took a little time to do some traditional sightseeing with a group of travel people, an impressive visit out to see the Embera Indians in their riverside village in a dugout canoe.  Anne Gordon married an Embera she met while working on a film (she is an animal trainer) and now, in addition to her film work, runs small groups to her husband’s family village.  We enjoyed it immensely, it is still very primitive, with traditional dress (or undress actually) arts, food preparation and dancing.  We also flew to David, Panama and rented a car and drove up to Boquete as it is such a popular destination for travelers and retirees.  It was beautiful, as is the entire highlands region.  We stayed at the very un-Panamanian and luxurious riverside Valle Escondido, took long hot showers, played tourist, ate at various (and good) restaurants, took the car rental everywhere and really felt like we got to know the area.

And then, all of a sudden we were back in the USA again, this time mostly for business, meetings in Las Vegas and HQ, quick family reunion with Helen and the girls and families, visits with Casey and Dick and the kids, and, as I mentioned, the first annual Big Bear Marathon…the kids were very involved in it and I walked my first Half-Marathon with dear friends Laura and Patty.  It was a blast, but not that easy.  I trained as much as is possible between the jungles of Panama and the grueling heat of Las Vegas…Big Bear’s weather for race day was perfect though!  Ade, Ken and John rode their bikes in that class the entire 26 miles.  We all felt so virtuous.

When we returned to Panama in September it was such fun, we came back with Dot and Ken, Les and Rose were already here and hauled out.  We had a “Trawler Trash” class reunion, were issued new uniforms and laid out the plans for semester 08 09.

Unfortunately, leaks continued in our absence and my boxes of collateral materials of our travels, along with my big dictionary, atlas, etc, were moldy and ruined… it was heart breaking.  I finally tossed them, thinking that I would just start over with my travel articles.

So it’s onto the much-loved San Blas Islands with the colorfully attired natives, their incredible crafts, especially molas, and their tranquil islands on azure seas.

HOLY MOLEY - OUR ENGINE QUIT!

This is a version of the email I sent out to friends as an addendum to Ade’s log about our eastward journey from Cartagena, Columbia to Aruba… I’ve cleaned it up a bit here for you that are seeing it for the first time.

The engine just stopped. We were cruising along a few hours into this treacherous leg, the one around Rio Magdalena, and all of a sudden, the engine just sputtered for a second and stopped.  We would get it going and our hearts would leap and then, sputter-sputter-stop, and as it would stop, so would my heart.  Oh crap, here we are in the middle of one of worst stretches of oceans in the world with no engine, no sail, no Tow Boats USA, no US Coast Guard.  Thank goodness we were traveling with our buddies on Voyager.  Not only did they loan moral support just out there circling, but Les has been on every size Selene, talked to almost every owner, and has experienced just about every mechanical issue at one time or another and is familiar with our boat and engine, so he was giving us many steps to try.  It was a day of 5-8 footers and there were many many at 8 foot or better and so close together, it was crazy choppy.  Poor WS was rolling rail to rail and these boats are not set up to heel like a sailboat, so things were flying, like microwaves, upturned plants with dirt everywhere, a few broken dishes in the mix, drawers flying open and contents spilling about.  Think earthquake with endless aftershocks… you just want it all to stop so you can think for Pete’s sake!!!  But it doesn’t.

I am on the handheld VHF talking to Les and he is giving us instructions on what to try and I am calling them down to Ade in the engine room and then back up to the pilothouse to try the engine again.   I know Ade can usually fix anything, so I kept thinking it would finally start up and keep going, but he was getting seasick in the hot engine room and I could tell by hour 2 or 3 that he was tired and things just weren’t working… Les and Rose had offered a tow …and they have a larger boat capable of towing us,  but we knew it would be dangerous to get the lines together and so held off as long as possible.

After three attempts, including one that landed Voyagers harness with 200 feet of line floating off a bumper-come completely off his boat and float away.  That took a man overboard drill on their part to retrieve and thankfully it was all still there, so they tried again, this time with Rose driving as close as she dare to us while Les heaved the bumper with a few hundred feet of light nylon line attached to the heavy tow line rig, it just missed, but hung up on our big Rocna anchor so Ade could scramble for it.  We are both on the foredeck, with life jackets, on our hands and knees to keep from falling over.  Once he got it on board he had to work quickly as now Voyager has to hover too close to keep the line loose enough for us to attach to the harness Ade made and rigged like our anchor bridle off the bow… so he quickly had to get it coordinated and out the two forward hawsers and over the anchor on the bow pulpit…no limbs (or fingers like I did on another voyage) near it as one big wave could take it all overboard (and us with it)

Once he got it over we heaved a huge sigh of relief as the two harnesses, the one on our bow, and the one on the stern of Voyager fell into place and the 100+ foot line is pulled taut… so taut that I was terribly fearful that it would snap.  We’ve had that happen when towing a dinghy in a gale with big seas in New Zealand.  I couldn’t look at it as I could not hold a positive vision while looking.  In my eyes, it was the hands of God tying us together and so I sat (there was no standing as even though we were now being towed, we still flipped and flopped from side to side in a most un-natural way) and scooted around trying to pick up pieces of this and that to clear a path thru the salon, I was about as holy as a fallen away Catholic girl could be.   But I really did feel a divine connection and was calm.  I actually am calm when things are really serious… semi serious or just annoying and I’m a drama queen, but in a fix, I’m your girl.  There is a grace that comes to you when you acknowledge your vulnerability, and I think that’s what happens to me… Let Go, Let God.  I knew there was nothing I could do to fix it.  You feel so useless knowing that frankly, you (well, me) can’t fix anything.  I think many women at sea feel that way.  I know the basics, where the fuel travels and thru the filters, etc., and where the hoses come in to keep the engine cool, but if you aren’t mechanical, the ideas of what to do don’t come to you…it’s all foreign. (Ladies, keep doing the routine engine checks just to stay familiar with where everything is just in case).

Our decision to travel together, not just for all the fun, but for safety, is a good one.  By the way, we are three boats, but Dot and Ken wanted to leave a day ahead of us as they are slower and knew we’d just be behind them and then connect for the final run into Aruba together - which we did.  There is something about having others out there with you that is unbelievably comforting, even if they can’t really help, but that they were genius like Les and Rose makes us so terribly grateful.  Rose, for the record, does know her way around her engine, and I think can fix most things…she’s a tiny, dainty and lovely girl, but as a farmer’s daughter and Dobbe-Wan’s wife, she is unbelievably capable.   We didn’t take any pictures, but Rose shot some video, so maybe Ade will post it on our site later this week.

So, there’s the first mates side of the story… phew.

We are sitting in Aruba now - got here yesterday afternoon and after five days at sea - no matter what this place looked like, we were going to LOVE IT.  It felt soooo good to get our shaky legs on terra firma again.  Turns out, it is really is quite cool, and what’s this I hear, people greeting us in ENGLISH, and Dutch and Spanish and some local dialect I can’t make out at all.  Really feels like we are in the Caribbean now, that’s why we are here to experience the different cultures, languages, food and beverages… and Aruba’s Balashi Beer is good!  We all gathered on Voyager after checking in for a quick toast to our survival (Les and Rose had their own adventure the last night out, but I don’t want to try to tell it, ask them…another nail biter-and Dottie and Ken had serious alternator issues) … well, one toast led to another, and you know… we girls ended up singing what is now our signature song “I Must Follow Him” with a few lyric changes, and the boys returned the favor with a memorable rendition of “My Girl”.   Apparently there is also footage of these performances and they are about as ugly as the turbulent seas!

Cartagena- Even Better than “Romancing the Stone”We found it, the most exotic old city of our voyage thus far.  Cartagena, Columbia is just fantastic to visit and practically perfect by boat.  The anchorage and two marinas are in Manga, a residential island with homes that date to the late 19^th century, with new, smaller high rise apartment buildings  scattered here and there, so many of the services we need, great supermarkets, laundry, banks, restaurants, etc., are literally just steps away.  And all of this is just minutes from El Centro, the old walled city within the city.  Our marina, the Club de Pesce is actually in the Fuerte de San Sebastian del Pastelillo, an old fort and has what is reputed to be one of Cartagena’s best and most scenic restaurants with classical guitar music most nights.  We lucked out and were side by side with Voyager, med-moored, stern-to the quay on the dock looking out over Cartagena, and so our continuous view was the same as the restaurants - and we were in the perfect cycle of the moon to have her brightly shining down on us every night.

From the moment we were secured at the club, people were there greeting us, making introductions to everyone we might need during our stay.  We met Lee, “Mr. Emerald”, whose wife Pachi, is really the hostess to all visiting yachts (I don’t actually know her official title, but she is little dynamo of a lady), and Carlos the manager, who “gave” us Hernan who immediately set to washing Wandering Star and became our daily helper with the upkeep of WS.  David “Does It All” became our agent and was invaluable in securing everything from customs and immigration paperwork (you must use an agent here) to the parts and services we needed.  They all knew everybody which leads me to believe that this is really a small town indeed.  We had a rather serious alternator issue, as Ade’s log reported, and this team of people could truly make anything happen.  They helped with finding parts or mechanics, having them rebuilt when not available, and insuring that we were able to get a quick delivery from Seattle via FedEx.  We even found a computer expert who fixed our Nobeltec issues, as well as our laptops and printer.

We connected with Susan and “T” on Phantom and she graciously took us out to see the sights that first night.  We wandered all over “El Centro” and were soon as lost as we’ve ever been in Venice.  The cobblestone streets are maze like and consist of long blocks angled this way and that.  We’d swear we had our bearings as we set out to find a church, museum or store, and yet at the end of the passage we’d find that we’d curved around a good 90-degrees and were nowhere near our intended destination.

There is a wonderful Fernando Botero sculpture of a rather large reclining naked lady in the Plaza de Santo Domingo and she became our compass.  Somehow we’d walk two blocks in one direction, and a block in another, then turn around see her again…how can that be?   Thankfully it’s a lively square and there are great little restaurants and shops and artisans centered here, so no matter how lost we were, we could find something to do and see.  I call her a compass because David on “MV Jenny” when asked the whereabouts of a certain restaurant said “go the fat lady in the square, follow the direction of her feet and look butt side and you’ll see it!” So I guess the compass rose would show Head/Butt/Feet/Boobs - yep those are the four directions.  Why do I think the Tourist Office won’t include those clear instructions in the new map of the city?

We six hired a van and guide for a tour of the city (and several stops at alternator shops-which were in the real working part of town) and somehow managed to see the high points of Cartagena.  Frankly, there isn’t much to see on a tour as you can walk to almost everything of any historical significant as most of it is in El Centro.  The exception is the Convento de la Popa, which sits atop a 150-meter hill, the highest spot in town.  This convent was founded by the Augustine fathers in the early 16^th century and offers a stunning view of the city, so it’s worth the visit.  You could walk it, but the road does wind its way through less than safe looking neighborhoods.  Overall, Cartagena feels safe, especially in Manga and El Centro, but locals are careful to point out which streets and neighborhoods to give a wide berth to.  There is a lot of poverty and many desperate kids left over from years of drug wars, and as one exchange student we met told us, there are two Cartagena’s, the one we were enjoying and the other “no regard for human life one” from which the hard working Columbians try to safeguard their families. Everyone we came in contact with was delightful, eager for us to love their city as they do and to be of help.

I got up a few mornings extra early and headed over to El Centro to try to capture the beauty of the colorful old buildings with balconies full of cascading flowers down to the street before they were filled with people, carts and cars.  It’s fun watching a city wake up.  There is a university in the heart of this old town and students were rushing off for early classes, mass was being held in a few of the churches, vendors were setting up their carts and women were sweeping the streets in front of their homes and businesses.  Ade has posted a few of my favorite shots.

There is only one thing more beautiful that the light reflecting off the colorful buildings and that is the Columbian women.  They are just gorgeous.  Miss Columbia was at the club one day on a PR event and she was tall (6′) with most of it legs and caramel colored perfect skin and sun kissed hair and she was stunning…but I must have seen 30 or more other young ladies that were equally as beautiful.  And the older women are just as fabulous looking and they dress for attention, but aren’t “skanky” at all…just flat out sexy.  No matter what I put on, it felt like a muumuu in their presence.

The Columbians of Cartagena are either of Native Indian, Colonial Spanish, or escaped African slave descent, and although I do not know the current percentage, it appears many are a beautiful blend of all.  They speak Spanish and it is different from Mexican Spanish which seems to be more Spanglish, as it is so intertwined with our North American cultures.  They love to play with the language, like “you teach me the word in English and I will teach it to you in Spanish” and we often found ourselves carefully repeating a word over and over until we got it…for a little while anyway…my brain is Teflon and the words just slide away to some unknown place never to be found again.

The people have a zest for life that is a big part of the charm of this city.  They sure like to have fun.  I’d like to say we were out dancing at the clubs that abound here, but we just couldn’t stay up late enough to make it happen.  The clubs open at 10PM, sort of get going at 11PM, and finally wind down about 3 or 4 AM.  With cruiser midnight somewhere between 8-9PM, we’d have a better shot at getting up early and joining them at the end of their night.  Ah, but we girls, knowing that we wanted to see some of the action convinced the boys to take a Chiva Tour that Rose uncovered.  It’s one of those unforgivably touristy things that we savvy travelers like to turn up our nose at…until we do them.  It’s inexpensive, includes all the cheap rum and coke you can safely drink and circles thru the various neighborhoods, including El Centro.  We had a blast, found ourselves atop an old fortress with musicians, dancers, craft sellers and lots of other tourists.  They were playing large exotic looking drums and Rose inquired about the price and found that they were a bargain…so we both bought one, despite dire threats from our husbands - and they delivered them to the last “club” we stopped at and the bartender kept a watchful eye on them as we danced.  The next morning Ade rolls over and says to me, “you know you bought a big ass drum last night don’t you?”  Of course I did!  For the record, Dottie and Ken already have a cool drum that I coveted, which they bought in Mexico last year, but theirs is more sensible that the 36″ by 18″ diameter one I bought- so practical on a 43′ boat.

Land travelers have a nice selection of hotels.   There are resort hotels on Boca Grande and in El Centro.  For a unique experience, I’d suggest El Centro as the other properties are just the usual holiday style hotels.  There are many great restaurants in El Centro, but in Manga, it’s the Club de Pesce or LaOliva and for a casual meal, the cruisers hangout, Club Nautico or one of the Pizza places.  For our anniversary we went to El Centro and to the Convento de Santa Clara, now a 5-star Sofitel property and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the French Restaurant that is across the bird filled atrium from the lobby.  A wonderfully romantic way to end our stay in this “Romancing the Stone” city, and thankfully we already have the yacht so we didn’t have to wrestle an alligator for an emerald.

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….”

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….”

The Panama Canal Bacchanal

June 2008

We did it…made it all the way down the coast from Alaska to just above the equator, and through the Panama Canal. It’s a real benchmark for sailors to have gone through on “your own bottom”. Thought I’d tell you how it went from my side of the boat.

Miraculously, we were able to schedule our transit day with great friends Les and Rose on Voyager, and at the 11^th hour, sister Dottie and husband Ken on Dreamweaver. No word on whether we’d be together, or even if we would be in the same lock. We didn’t know if we’d be tied to tug boats, on the wall, or centered, but the same day was a great start.

An awful lot of preparation goes into transiting the canal. We’d already gathered 20 tires to drape around the outside of Wandering Star, had rented four 125′ lines and completed a few rounds of paperwork which began weeks before the transit, etc. Our agent was most helpful, but not very punctual so we had three days of hurry up and wait for him to do one thing at a time. He told us stories of what to do and not do. The “AD-measure” lady came to measure and inspect the boat, and she told us stories too. People we met on the docks and at the restaurants all had tales to tell. And then, Dottie & Ken helped other friends out as line handlers a few days before and they’d had a disastrous time, had to be towed, spend the night in the lakes, pay over $2000 in fines, etc…and they were very experienced sailors on a finely fitted yacht! So, the anxiety was amping up! While the guys waited for the various officials, the girls were busy gathering every conceivable item we’d need. A lot of food and drink, and also extra chairs, umbrellas, new cameras, etc! A big part of our job was to take care of the people who would become part of our “crew”.

We were given a line up time for 7AM on Monday, June 2^nd. We were quite sleepless the night before after hearing all those horror stories of folks that’d gone before. We were told that if the pilot didn’t like what you were serving for lunch, he could and would call for a launch to bring him lunch…at a cost of about $250; $10 for lunch and $240 for the launch. One guy apparently ONLY eats KFC chicken, and believe me, we tried to find it just in case. We’d heard tales of lazy line handlers who wanted to drink beer all day (I’d hidden ours) and were not properly trained. We were told if we couldn’t make it thru the locks in a certain time, we would have to moor in Gatun Lake, pay twice the fees AND keep everyone aboard (sans pilot) so I’d have to find places for four big sweaty guys to sleep and of course another round of meals. I had so much food socked away you’d have thought it was Thanksgiving weekend - I precooked dishes for a fussy pilot/advisor and had lots of lunch choices and carbs and junk food for snacks for the line handlers.

Monday morning: We were up at 5AM, it was pouring and the lightening was wild…nice start! I had to get my egg soufflé (I know, maybe a bit over the top) in the oven and have it ready for the pilot and crews breakfast, plus had to fashion a coffee pot out of a funnel and thermos using coffee borrowed from Dot (we don’t drink it) so I could offer it. God forbid the pilot wanted coffee and I didn’t have any ($5 for Starbucks, $245 for the launch). I was just a little anxious…

Well, the rain let up a little, then the line handlers showed up and glory be - they were great guys, very professional and funny. Then the skies cleared, and we three Trawlers headed over to the Balboa approach area - all VHF radios were tuned into Channel 12, our handhelds to Channel 68 so we could talk between boats and still not miss a word from the canal control people, we circled and awaited the two headed dragons (pilot/advisors). We couldn’t see who got on Dreamweaver, but when the pilot launch got near us, our crew started laughing and heckling him- apparently they all knew our pilot and loved working with him. Jose was the sweetest guy, very easy going, genial, joked with the guys and was happy with every little thing. He wanted whatever I was serving. Coffee, okay, but tea or just water would do as well. Then he delivered the best news - we three would be rafted together for the transit - unbelievable!

We motored in, as Voyager was the largest at almost 60 feet they were center with Wandering Star on her starboard and Dreamweaver on her port. The crews were very professional and got us lashed together snugly. Two of our line handlers and two of Dreamweaver’s grabbed the monkey fist with the messenger lines that the Canal (ACP) handlers tossed down (a big thud on deck) and then fastened the eyes of the 125′ lines so the ACP guys can haul them back up to secure to the bollards. That left little for the other 8 line handlers to do… so they danced! Really. They brought their CD’s along and all knew each other and they danced, and laughed, and ate their way thru the day! We girls (Rose, Dottie and I) climbed from boat to boat to visit and take pictures. Loren Hafen was onboard Dreamweaver as a line handler, but with the two “professionals” he was able to be ships photographer. Katie and Gerry, Les’ parents were aboard Voyager and were a big part of the celebration. Our captains had to stay at the helm, and Les was the one driving when we were rafted together (he said it felt like trying to land a 747), so the guys were working, but still having fun. Loren brought banners to support Big Bear Olympian Ryan Hall (Marathon this summer in China - GO RYAN) which we tied to our boats, Rose made a God Bless America sign and we all had large USA flags which we flew with pride…after all if not for the USA there’d be no canal! It was quite festive.

It just had to be the BEST CANAL TRANSIT ever. Going thru with dear friends and family, a fun loving crew and knowledgeable and easy going advisor/pilots - perfecto!

It was a long day and we didn’t clear out of the locks until dusk and it was dark by the time the pilot was picked up and the crew dropped at the PCYC. We felt our way into Shelter Bay Marina (hardest task of the day in the dark) quickly tied up and gathered on the docks for a champagne toast! And another one…and maybe just another little one! It was leftover junk food for dinner and then we all collapsed onto our bunks with self satisfied smiles on our faces. Ya shoulda been there!