The Spring Fling aboard Mañana began a little earlier than usual this year. We are trying to work a little less each winter (my concession to retirement without actually retiring) so we blew town very quickly after tax season to resume our trip. This spring is turning out to be one of the best trips we have ever had on Mañana, maybe because we haven’t actually gone anywhere. We had planned on a return to San Blas for a few weeks and then a long sail (450 miles) to Isla Providencia (Columbia) and on to Roatan and Guatemala. Early rains kept us in Bocas for an extra week and then our dinghy motor died, so we stayed another 2 weeks while we moved from fixing an 11 year old outboard to treating ourselves to a brand new outboard. As the weeks slipped by we realized that maybe two months exploring the Bocas archipelago was all the sailing we would be doing this spring. Great decision!! We have been moving from one picturesque anchorage to another, exploring reefs and snorkeling, meeting transplanted Americans who live ashore in the Bocas area, treating ourselves to breakfasts and dinners ashore when we are in town, and generally loving the lazy life.
Not that paradise is all, well… paradise. We did find that flying termites had discovered our boat while we were gone. Termites make holes and holes on a boat are “not good”. We were surprised that they would attack a fiberglass boat, but they had evidently found their way into some of the wood core between the fiberglass. Evidence of droppings and some live critters has had us spraying in some very inaccessible places on the boat in an effort to get rid of them quickly. We appear to be termite free at the moment and we have our fingers crossed.
We decided to buy a new dinghy motor rather than continue to repair the old one. We reasoned that Panama was the best place to get a new motor in Central America, and after all, we are leaving Panama soon, right? A call to Panama City found exactly what we wanted and a cheerful, English speaking sales person said he could ship in just two days. Well with credit card processing, actually finding the motor, shipping, etc two days turned into two weeks or “mañana” as they say. When the trucker finally called to say he was leaving Panama City and would be on the morning ferry from Almirante to Bocas (remember, Bocas is on an island) we were ready. We met the ferry in Bocas, looked for our truck, and… nada. Not there. Several phone calls later we learned that the truck had missed the ferry because of a strike on the Pan American highway, but “not to worry”, he was now at the ferry terminal and “mañana”, etc. So bright and early the next morning we again meet the ferry looking for our truck and, again, nada. No sign of him. Of course I have complete faith that our $1700 motor is just around the corner, but Andrea is beginning to get a little skeptical. Then this little Panamanian walks off the ferry, asks for Tom, and quietly explains that “Yes, your motor is on my truck. Yes, my truck is on this ferry, but… I have left my keys in Almirante. I can’t get off the ferry. So we waited while a fast water taxi was dispatched from Almirante to bring the keys. An hour later here comes the truck rolling off the ferry, but, of course, there is one more small problem. The truck is padlocked and the water taxi only brought the ignition keys. The fellow left us for another half-hour while he went in search of bolt cutters to cut the lock on his own truck to deliver our motor just two weeks (not two days) after we ordered it. Ah, Panama! Good new is it works great!
Bocas is boat life. There are no roads except on the island of Colon and water taxis, private pangas, small dinghies, and sailboats not only abound, but they are the only transportation in the area. The local Indians still paddle their canoes everywhere, and the contrast between the motorized community and these tiny log dugouts is striking. We have been guests at a Panamanian birthday party (the party was on an island in a small palapa with 6000 watt speakers playing Spanish rock and rap. The music system had no volume control, only on and off. On, full volume, off, no volume. In case you are wondering “off” was not an option). We toured a cacao farm hidden in the rain forest, we have found poison dart frogs in brilliant red, green and blue colors (we have tried “not” to find the deadly fer-de-lance snakes that roam the same forests), we grounded the boat in just 2 feet of water (then got out and pushed ourselves off the reef), and we have had the opportunity to visit some very remotely located homes of people who have chosen to live in Panama well off the beaten track. There are many, many reefs with good coral, small fish, and turquoise waters to keep us happy afloat. We sail often and we change anchorages almost daily looking for the best beach or the best reef or just the best bar, and occasionally we wander into town for ice cold $1.00 beers at the Riptide or the Pickled Parrot. (We have avoided the blended “boat drinks” at the Parrot because of the many small geckos that crawl over the blenders searching for a way into the juice.) Our favorite pastime may be just sitting on the bow of the boat with a couple of beers enjoying the breezes and the sunsets and thinking how lucky we really are.
The weather this spring has been great. A little hot by California standards, but since we are just 600 miles from the equator that is to be expected. Steamy days and lots of sunshine are often accompanied by frequent rain showers and cooling breezes in the evening. Occasionally we do get a little more rain or fewer breezes than we want, but you can’t have everything… can you?
Hasta Mañana,
Tom and Andrea
