We have been taken
by surprise by Panama, we had no idea it was so beautiful with such
wonderful forest still in what appears pristine condition. We had read that the
San Blas were special but the whole countryside is outstanding, there are spits
and spots of villages along the coast, small and usually of thatched single
storey buildings that blend into the background so well. The coast just goes on,
unspoilt, for mile after sea mile, green and lush. The howler monkeys are a
constant presence and dolphins are everywhere; sometimes in harbour the water
seems alive as fish are frequently jumping, splashing and thrashing through the
water.
Another 6 hours motoring took us to the harbour
at Colon, the start of the canal and a very different Panama. You are advised
not to walk around Colon at all as it is a muggers' paradise. As a result we
opted for the charms of the Shelter Bay marina which could be anywhere except
for the temperature and a nice pool, the restaurant is just okay and the Panama
beer is quite good.
The next stage is a bureaucratic nightmare
of clearance, immigration, boat measurement by canal personnel, customs,
cruising permit, indemnity forms, skipper's responsibilites and arrangements for
line handlers, transit advisors, extra fendering and extra long warps.
Fortunately there are agents who, at some expense, do the running around for you
so we took the easy option and employed Stanley, Jamaican ex-taxi driver
and now a canal agent, general factotum and jolly personality.We expect to have
to wait another week to get through the canal but have lots of jobs to do.
Before we go into the Pacific we
must:
-
inspect the mast
fittings and the rigging
-
find new diesel
jerry cans since our expensive one split and it's partner was dumped incase
that split
-
complete many
sewing jobs, repairing, strengthening and making various
items
-
fill our fuel
tanks, a bit of a palaver here
-
derust various
bits and pieces that have never rusted before but the salt,humidity and heat
promote it and skippers always seem to be busy cleaning it up in these
climes
-
completely
reprovision the boat ready for the long hauls of the Pacific. All dry goods
packs such as flour and cornmeal have to be microwaved for 90 seconds to
sterilise and kill off any minute unwanted stowaways so once the bulk shopping
is done the stowing takes an age. Fortunately we have found a supermarket that
will deliver to the marina. Fresh food is a problem as most of the fruit and
veg in the supermarkets has been chilled which means it will not store on the
boat as our fridges will be full. The market is the only place to buy good
fresh produce but we understand that we must go by taxi and use the taxi
driver as a body guard as 'gringos' are not safe in Colon city.This is so
irritating! We shall probably wait until after our transit then go into Panama
City from Balboa, it is too far from here
-
get our gas
cylinders filled so that we have a full complement before we
leave
-
stock up on
prescription and other medicines which one can buy over the counter here for a
fraction of the price at home. We have already needed 3 lots of antibiotics so
are making sure we have the range recommended in the Skipper's Medical
Emergency Handbook which is extremely useful
-
inspect our water
tanks to ensure they are wholesome still
In between all this
we shall try to swim in the pool and drink cold drinks because it is very hot
here.
4th Night in Shelter Bay
Marina
We have now had our cruising permit, the admeasurer has been and our
transit number has been alotted but we have no date as yet. Those who had been
given dates have been bumped back by at least 2 days and are not happy chaps.
There is a rumour that some key canal staff want a pay increase, they are not
allowed to strike so the whole lot have called in sick. What will happen next we
don't know. The Marina management are agitated as the Marina is full and having
to use a quay still under construction, they count on a regular turnover of
boats and boats coming to the harbour are unaware of the situation and are still
turning up at the Marina.
On a lighter note we had a pontoon party last night and met some very
interesting people, many of the people here have been sailing for a long time.
There are quite a few Australians who go to USA or Spain to buy boats because it
is so much cheaper than Australia, others who are going back home after working
in UK or have been sailing in the Mediterranean. A number of Canadians and
Americans who have done circumnavigations and are on their way back to sail up
the East Coast home. Then there are others like us who are setting out on their
Pacific journeys and are anxious to make a start. In the marina there is one
Japanese boat, one Spanish boat and one Swedish boat, the others are American,
French, Dutch, German, Antiguan, Australian, Canadian, American, South African
and just four English boats including ourselves. We share a pontoon with a very
friendly young American family in their 40 foot Halberg Rassey, granny and
grandpa have just arrived hoping to go through the canal with them. There are a
few motor yachts here, most under Panamanian flags but may not be Panamanian
nationals. One yacht is so large it loaded 8,000 gallons of diesel and took 2
hours to re-fuel.
So here we wait with our jobs list and hope that we will soon be informed
of our transit date. We have just spoken to some French friends who are supposed
to be going through on Sunday but they arrived before us. We must just be
patient.
