The past two weeks aboard Mañana have been spent cruising the islands of the Bocas del Toro archipelago and enjoying the warm Caribbean spring. We are sailing in one of the prettiest spots we have visited on this trip, and we have had little to do other than relax and enjoy.
Mike and Liz flew in from Boston, and we met them at the small airport in Bocas Town. They arrived without bags having lost the fishing gear on the Boston to Panama leg of the trip and losing the rest of their gear on the Panama to Bocas leg. The Air Panama plane was so small that no carry on bags were allowed so even their backpacks got misrouted. Fortunately we were able to kill some time wandering around Bocas Town until the bags reappeared a few hours later. We then spent our time snorkeling and sailing and putting a serious dent in our beer supplies before the all important rods and lures turned up about two days later.
Fishing is not our forte on Mañana, but Mike was anxious to supply dinner so we headed into the ocean for a sailing/fishing trip. Good winds made the sailing fun and Mike managed to catch enough fish (both Cero and Frigate Mackerel) to provide dinner for four. Mike hooked all of the fish, but everyone got a turn at reeling in these “fighting monsters”. My contribution was to sail the boat over the fish and to provide the experience necessary to properly grill very fresh fish. The real bonus was that Mike decided to leave the gear with us until his next visit (rather than lose it on the way home, I suspect) so we should be eating fresh fish regularly. :)
We spent a couple of nights at anchor in some very remote spots with only the stars for light. Mucho awesome. One anchorage had a beach with the set for the Survivor show built on the sand and in the shallows. They film Survivor shows here for several countries around the world, and they are all very controversial. It seems there is little regulation of the shows because in Panama “no one owns the beaches”, and the TV producers have built (and abandoned) sets on pristine beaches, turtle breeding grounds and palm lined cays. The Russians even built and abandoned a set in a national park. Survivor is definitely persona non grata in Bocas.
I finally spied my first (and second) lionfish while snorkeling one of the shallow reefs off Isla Bastimento. They are pretty fish, but the lionfish is a non native predator that has been moving steadily across the Caribbean and has now reached Panama. There is a local organization called “I Spear Lionfish” that is encouraging divers to help eradicate this problem and even runs Lionfish tournaments. I may have to by a spear gun for our next trip.
We wanted to get some beach time so we put into a small marina about five miles from Bocas Town called Red Frog. Red Frog is on Isla Bastimento and has a hostel, a 20 slip marina (new), and a spectacular sand beach. At the moment only the hostel and the marina office have been completed so it is a very quiet place, but there are plans (controversial) for an entire resort on this island. The marina is on the leeward side of the island and is well protected from the Caribbean winds, while the beach is on the windward side, only a short walk across the island. There is a palapa bar in the shade, turquoise water, white sand and a few tourists from the hostel. The local Indian kids make some money catching the bright red frogs (small, about 2”, and very bright red) that inhabit the island and offering to pose for pictures with the frogs for $1. We fell in love with this beach and the marina location, and have decided to leave the boat here when we head home for the summer.
No trip is perfect (as you can probably tell from some of our previous blogs), and this almost idyllic vacation was no exception. We returned to Bocas Town to get Liz and Mike back to the airport for an early morning flight. While we were out sampling bars and restaurants for their last night aboard… we got robbed. Burgled is the correct term (since we were ashore when it happened), but it was a crime nonetheless. Someone came aboard while we were anchored out, cut the lock on the companionway, and found our cash stash. Admittedly we had gotten a little lazy about hiding the cash, but in three years we had had no trouble of any kind so we were very surprised to find we had been robbed while we enjoyed $1 beers ashore. Most expensive beers of the trip as it turned out. As an aside… when we made out the police report the next day (a very long process) we were required to provide both my father’s and mother’s full names as well as details of the crime. Maybe they are suspects!
With no guests and nothing but time on our hands we have been… doing nothing. We visit the beach daily, practice our Spanish, clean the boat, meet new people, and just enjoy ourselves. Erika and Lobo occupy the boat next to us and they are sail makers so we have been thinking about new sails for the boat when we return next fall. We have been taking measurements and talking prices (the sail will actually get made in Houston), but I did have second thoughts about doing business with a guy named “Lobo” on a dock in Panama.
We will be home soon. Once again the heat and humidity are becoming noticeably higher as summer approaches, and the rains are a little heavier and more frequent. Besides… no one can be on vacation all the time… can they?
Mañana.
Tom and Andrea
