Dream Caper in the Caribbean, Panama

On May 5, we left the Shelter Bay Marina and cruised first to Colon, where we sold and unloaded our old anchor chain (270’) to a French trimaran. We had announced on the local Cruisers’ Net in Panama City that we had anchor chain for sale and this trimaran had heard about it through the grapevine. We are happy with our new chain which we purchased in Panama City and were very relieved to get rid of the 450 pounds of old chain that had been weighing down Dream Caper. From Colon we sailed west, 9 miles to the narrow entrance of the Chagras River. It was like the Disneyland Jungle Cruise during the 6 mile trip up the river, and at the end was the dam which was put in as part of the Panama Canal system. The thick jungle came right to the water’s edge with no people on the shores as this is a designated National Park. We sighted 6 crocodiles silently cruising along, and heard the wild howls of the Howler Monkeys coming from deep in the jungle.

It took us two 9-hour days (102 miles) of motor-sailing west to get from the Chagras River to Escuda de Veraguaz, an island 25 miles off the coast. We caught a nice size Sierra and a Wahoo on the way, so we ate well. We anchored on the south side of Escuda and snorkeled within 50’ of our boat on coral reefs. It felt so wonderful to be in the warm Caribbean with visibility to 60’! We stayed at this beautiful island for 3 days. There are many small islands just off the main island which were fun to explore from our dinghy. We bought lobster from local fishermen for $5 per tail. Yummy!

From Escuda de Veraguaz, we continued west for 30 miles to Cayos Zapatillas, 2 perfectly beautiful sand fringed islands which are part of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago. We anchored and snorkeled close to our boat. We spent 3 days here, walking on the sandy beach and snorkeling on the coral reefs around the island. We were the only cruising boat here during our visit. While Steve was snorkeling in just 15’ of water 35’ from the boat, he was surprised, and somewhat concerned, when he saw two 8’ Bull Sharks near him. Since Bull Sharks are known to attack if provoked, Steve returned to the boat very quickly. Locals later told us that this was a very unusual sighting in such shallow water. One night while the sky was still pink from the sunset, we watched a breathtaking full moon rise between the islands. The moon glow was stunning as it reflected off the Caribbean water in front of us. Taking a shower off the back of the boat in the moonlight was indescribably wonderful!

Nine days after leaving Colon, we cruised into the main body of the Bocas del Toro Islands. They are all mostly mangrove fringed with palm trees and jungle in the center. Bocas Town on the main island of Isla Colon is the center of the tourist trade with its numerous restaurants, hotels, shops, grocery stores, hardware stores and airport which is only 3 blocks from the center of town. A few of the larger islands near Bocas Town are dotted with homes here and there. Many of the smaller islands have individual homes with docks. Indigenous Indians still inhabit many of the islands. It rains here a lot. During the 5 weeks we spent here, an average week was comprised of 2 days rain (off and on), 3 days overcast with sunny times and 2 days of sun. Personally, I enjoyed the cleansing rain. Unfortunately, what the rain also brings are “chitres” or no-see-ums which are most noticeable during the morning and evening hours. It is a joke here that “chitres” is the official bug of Bocas. We used coils to smoke them out of the boat. DEETS repellent was effective, but felt so poisonous on our bodies. Baby oil or coconut oil was somewhat effective but so greasy, and wearing clothes to cover the body was the most effective but hot. While in the marina and plugged in, we enjoyed air conditioning which allowed us to keep the hatches closed and the “chitres” out.

We spent about half of our time in Bocas anchoring out near different islands and snorkeling. We went scuba diving with a local guide and enjoyed some nice coral in 50’ of water. There are not large numbers of colorful fish here. Our guide theorized it is because of the many rivers that empty into this island area. But what fish we saw were very colorful. Snorleing, we had many sightings of Spotted Eagle Rays, squids, Reef Sharks, and small colorful reef fish. The most unusual sighting was a red/orange nudibranch (very small (2”) organism) that normally is anchored to rock or coral. This one was free swimming past us, arching back and forth. Apparently it had been dislodged and we watched it sink toward the grassy bottom and grab on. This sighting was followed by a 50-fish school of very large parrot fish (2 types: dark w/ blue lines and brown/aqua) including black/blue tangs which swam with us for about 10 minutes. From the boat we often saw dolphins swimming nearby. The water within the island group is very calm. One night we decided to anchor in an open area not sheltered by any island and it was still calm.

Much of our time was spent looking at islands for sale. Many cruisers and visitors are looking for island property and it was a fun adventure considering them all, fantasizing what we would do with our own small island. Of course, there would be no city water, electricity or sanitary department so it would be necessary to have a catchment system for rainwater, solar panels and generator, and an alternative waste disposal system. The islands range from $20,000 for a mangrove island (no dirt) to $220,000 for a 10-acre sea level island. We came close to offering to buy one but decided we did not really want an island here because “chitres” love mangroves and all of the islands are rimmed by mangroves.

As a respite from the hot temperatures of Bocas, we flew to David (a 25 minute low level flight) and rode a “school” bus for 45 minutes to Boquete, a beautiful valley at 3000’ above sea level. It was wonderfully cool in the evenings. We spent 3 days here enjoying the beautifully landscaped gardens full of colorful flowers, a coffee plantation and a few delicious restaurants. We also enjoyed the aerial views of Bocas del Toros upon our return.

Don and Stevie who we met in Mazatlan 2 years ago came to Bocas del Toro for a few days and we had fun reconnecting with them. They have purchased a waterfront lot in Boca Chica, directly south of Bocas del Toro on the Pacific Ocean side where they have Fiona, a schooner built in 1912, anchored. They plan to build a “casita” (cabin) on the lot. Many of our cruising friends have fanned out from Panama City. Several are currently on their way to Ecuador where it is mostly dry, for the “summer;” many are in the San Blas Islands in the Caribbean; some have moved on to Cortegena, Columbia, a great place to have work done on your boat; and some to the South Pacific. We look forward to seeing them in November when we continue on to the San Blas Islands, some 250 miles south of here. The cruisers in the Bocas area seem to be mostly from Florida and Texas. We have made some nice friends here and we hope to see them upon our return.

Tomorrow (June 20), we are flying from Bocas to San Jose, Costa Rica where we will revisit our dentists, spend one night, and fly to San Francisco. It has been wonderful cruising this past season, since September 2005. We have covered a lot of miles, from El Salvador to Nicaragua, to Costa Rica, to Panama City, and gone from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, through the Panama Canal, to Bocas del Toros. We have enjoyed inland travel to Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama. During our absence, Dream Caper will stay at the floating docks of the Bocas Marina where she will be cared for by the professional staff of the marina.

We’re looking forward to summer adventures in California, seeing family and friends, a lot of tennis, and maybe a couple of other trips.