Sapzurro
Fleck
Sun 18 Nov 2007 22:13
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Position: 8:39.76N 77:21.2W
It's Sunday, but I've no Idea what date it is.
Still in Colombia, as everyone said that this little village is a must see. It
is right on the border, and indeed we walked up a hill this morning to the
actual border, guarded by one Colombian Soldier, and one Panamanian soldier. It
was very difficult to explain that we were just looking and that we intended to
go th Panama tomorrow by boat. The village is quite pretty, but not in an
English picture postcard way. The buildings themselves are mostly rectangular
concrete things, a few wooded houses remain. There is mains electricity, but no
roads to anywhere else: the path to the border is just a pathway, and very
muddy. Everything comes by boat. Quite literally a banana boat came this
morning: a 40 foot pirogue: a canoe shaped thing with a huge outboard on the
backThere are coastguards and soldiers all with AK 47 machine guns, although
they are very friendly and polite.
Sapzurro bay is very pretty, but to my cost I have
discovered that there are unmarked coral heads around: now I must have some big
scratches on Flecks bottom as well as a gouge out of her side. Very upsetting
but not serious I hope: could have been disasterous with the old boats fin keel,
which might have been driven upwards into the hull.
Starting our San Blas Islands tour tomorrow at 7am,
by sailing round the headland to Obaldia, the first clearing in port in
Panama.
We were delayed in Isla Fuerte by light contrary
winds, but the Island was intersesting: a big community living there without
obvious means of support apart from a little farming and fishing: no idea how
this works without EU subsidies!! Again no transport on that Island apart from
donkeys, and of course no roads, just rutted singe person paths.
Eating out tonight to celebrate our last night in
Colombia: Local resteraunts are all the same: they dont open unless you
prebook, and the menu is allways the same: fish and coconut rice
and fried bananas. Sometimes you get real cutlery, somtimes not. You worry
if the water is clean, and whetyher to eat the salad that sometimes comes
with the food. It allways costs about 6 dollars.
More next week!!
Richard
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