Colon to the San Blas Islands, Panama

On December 6, we left the Shelter Bay Marina in Colon and first motored to the Panama Canal Yacht Club Marina for diesel. As was usual the fuel dock was occupied but we were told to raft up (tie up) to the power boat that was taking on fuel because it was going to be there overnight. After carefully attaching ourselves with bumpers to cushion the contact points, we walked over the power boat to shore. They were taking on 1000 gallons of diesel so we decided to eat at the Chinese restaurant at the marina. Upon our return, the powerboat was still fueling so they took a break and let us fill our tanks. We only took 29 gallons. The power boat crew laughed. We burn about 1 gallon or less diesel per hour for both engines.

From Colon we motored through the breakwater avoiding the large ships which were transiting the Panama Canal to a small island called Isla Naranjo Abajo, some 15 miles east. We had to carefully avoid the coral reef that surrounds this island. At dusk, a bird that resembled a Sanderling landed on our dinghy which hangs on davits off our stern. Steve was showering on the starboard swim steps at the time. We took flash photos of it and it didn’t budge. That night it rained heavily with winds registering 25 knots and the next morning at 6:00 am our guest bird was still there. At 6:15 pm, he looked around and quietly flew away. We guess that we were just his lodging for the one night.

The next day we motored the 17 miles to Isla Linton where we anchored in a quiet spot next to the island along with 14 other boats displaying mostly European flags. We took our dinghy the one mile ride through dense mangroves to the next bay where Panamarina is located. Panamarina is a business run by a French couple who provide boat caretaking on their buoys and mostly French food at their restaurant. We ate a delicious lunch with a decadent dessert.

On December 9, from Isla Linton we motor sailed 40 miles to Chichime, at the entrance to the San Blas Islands. It is all we expected. White sandy beaches circling each palm covered island with reefs nearby, surrounded by the beautiful blue hues of the Caribbean Sea. We anchored in 20’ of water and immediately jumped in. A short distance from our boat, we found several large sea urchin shells and other lovely shells for our collection. The next day we took our new kayak, a pedal powered Hobie tandem, for a spin around the nearby island, to a tiny island with one palm tree, and out to the reef to snorkel. We kayaked about 4 miles total. That evening John and Angie from the boat named Blue came over for a visit. We had met them in El Salvador last year, sailed a distance with them down the coast of Costa Rica, and Steve help them transit the Panama canal this spring. After spending 6 months in the San Blas Islands, they are now heading to Guatemala and Belize.

On December 11, we motored the 5 miles to Porvenir where the checkin officials (Kuna Indians) for the San Blas Islands are located, as is a small air strip. A small red plane landed which reportedly buys lobster for the Red Lobster Restaurants. We paid the $8 cruising fee and were sent on our way. We then pulled up anchor and headed toward Nargano, an island area where the Kuna Indians who govern these islands have foregone their native ways and have established some commercial businesses. There is also a small airport here. We bought some groceries at the local store, ate lunch at the main café near the footbridge that connects the two islands, purchased 30 gallons of diesel which were delivered right to our boat, and made caretaking arrangements for Dream Caper and flight reservations for next week when we fly to Panama City to meet Portia’s son, Mako. We then motored 3 miles to a small island surrounded by reefs with a huge name, Gannirguinnitdup Island, where we had nice snorkeling on the reef. Steve found a good sized conch, our first. After reading directions from our fishing book and struggling with how to get the critter out, we had a tasty appetizer similar to abalone.

The next day we purchased 2 mid-size lobsters from locals in an ulu (canoe) for $3.50 each. We wanted to buy the crab but it was too large to fit in any pot we have on board. We motored another 3 miles NW to the Coco Bandero Island Group which is a popular anchorage as it is surrounded by 4 lovely islands with reefs everywhere. There were 8 boats at anchor. We made another rain catcher to collect rain that comes off of our bimini. Because our generator is still not working which powers our watermaker, we have to rely on rain for fresh drinking water. Luckily, it rains quite frequently in spurts. Portia used her “new” sewing machine that we purchased from a boat in Shelter Bay to sew the new rain catcher. This was much quicker than the old hand stitching method that she used to make our first rain gutter last year in El Salvador.

The dry season in the San Blas Islands is January, February and March. When we listen to the Panama Connection on our single side band radio, many boats are heading to the San Blas from Colon and Cartagena, Columbia. We wonder how crowded it will get here. There are about 360 islands in the San Blas area so we will be able to find solitude when we want it. One fact of interest is that every coconut tree on every island is owned by a Kuna Indian who makes money from the coconuts. Therefore, if we take a coconut off the ground, we are stealing from the Kuna. A Kuna came by the other day with 2 coconuts for sale. We bought one for 50 cents and gave a candy sucker to each of the 2 small children riding in the canoe. We have found the Kuna Indians to be both friendly and helpful. A small powered boat comes by the main anchorages once per week with fresh vegetables, fruit, some dry goods, wine and beer. Special orders can be made for diesel, gas or other necessities. We can see why many boats spend months and years here.