Sapzuro
Pacific Bliss
Colin Price
Sat 18 Sep 2010 16:57
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Sapzuro
A little slice of heaven!
I just gets better, Columbia is such
a treasure of a place, I suspect we miss alot of it as our Spanish is
mostly cee and arm movements but we're getting better and we're in a place now
where we're not hassled, just little dug out paddling up to us to say
hello.
  This is the last Columbian village on the
Carribean sea, so we made the 112 mile journey here before entering Panama
and the treasured San Blas Islands. I wouldn't
have missed it............ It's a perfect Palm
lined bay with a back drop of Jungle, and the sounds to
befit a Jungle, It seems the Noisey Hours are 4-6 when the Parrots
Parrokettes Monkeys and goodness knows what get vocal. We
love it.
We got into the bay about 5 just after the
afternoon tropical downpour, a time when everything smells fresh and
the air is cool, but evaporating quickly. The kids
dived in the water and Colin and I once we had tided up the
boat, celebrated a hard but successful crossing, no chance for
blogging just sail trimming, tacking or holding a course in a sharp choppy
sea and wind changing direction every 15mins. With the anchoring
tricky and shallow, with our stern tied to a palm tree not a position we are
used too so an added bit of stress to finish with.
The following day after much discussion
about how long we should stay, Colin likes to be precise and know
when we're leaving and I like not to feel under pressure. It's
right to move on as we do need to get home some day...., but this time we
leave the decision to how we feel about the place. The notion
of school is binned and we ventured into the
village. Unlike so many of the villages in poorer countries where
the surrounds are dirty and the buildings fundimental, walls and roof, this
place looks like an artists colony only it's not, the houses have
salvaged bottles and driftwood worked into the fabric of the
walls. The Yards, definetly not gardens have wonderful arrays
of colourful flowers and foliage. Its love at first
sight.
The sound of South America have changed a little
since leaving Cartagena, it's now a rather monotenous 5 bar bass guitar
rift, when we heard first it in Isla Rosariosa we thought it
was someone practicing a new musical instrument but since we've moved
on it's everywhere and here is no exception, only there seems to be a group
of places in the village vying for sound supremmesy. Even given
this the place is terribly peaceful. God know what the noise is but we
shan't be buying the record.
Sadly lunch away from Cartagena
has tripled in price and the 'Lady who Lunches' is a thing of the
past. But hey I'm not complaining, my only issue is we've not seen a shop
for nearly 3 weeks now and fresh stuff is becoming a memory. It
just require more imagination when feeding a family or more precicisly
, particular me. Colin, now hunter gather Husband is dispatched out
on to the reef, spear gun in hand to provide for his family. 20 Mins later
and the last of our Potatoes baked the final carrots grated and colin appears
with Parrot fish in hand, everyone gobbled up our late lunch with great gusto
and all now firm devotees to the favour of parrot fish floured and
fried.
There are only 3 other boats in the bay, one
unoccupied; one occupied by an old american guy who's lived here for a year with
his local young girlfriend, and another boat who I saw in Cartegena, it's
occupied by four very lovely colombians. All in there late 50's and 60's
from the coffee growing region. I'm informed by colin about our new
neibours, he is great at whizzing around and saying hello to folk,
but this usually results in us hosting a drinks party. But these people
where very very lovely and very useful when it comes to our planned trip back
into Columbia, Not to be advised, the only dangerous region still in
Columbia, bugger. But I think we feel that our intrege of columbia is such that
we will be back. Chatting to these guy makes me very keen to come back to
the coffee growing region. It definitley feels like a county starting to
stablized and be safe and a country that hasn't been awash with tourists so
still feel fresh.
  We walked up to
a waterfall with the ColumbiansA day in bed for Colin and back to school
for me and the kids, followed by diving and swimming in the bay.
4pm see the start of the downpour which makes the
children very very busy collecting precious rain water, it's a massive
down pour so they manage to fill 13 large glasses of water and 2 saucepans,
whilst I'm able to scrub all the bird poo and off the decks
and wipe places I should have cleaned months ago. All this done
and feeling very good about our tropical rain down pour we retire to the saloon
to drink hot chocolate and red wine.
Today we finally got to do the thing
we came for, walking to Panama. Having walked 6.5 hours
ill-equiped in Grenada we leave with Medical kit, Water and Snacks, wooden
spoon and sink. Plus on route we find a 'Homemade Shop' ( a house
selling pasty type turnovers from it's veranda, to set us up for
the trip.) But the journey to the boarder is up some ram-shackle muddly
steep steps until we reach the heavily armed boarder point.
   We all learn some Spanish (left and
right), show our passports, talk about if the men at the point have
kids ( good, easy breaking topic of conversation that always
softens even the crosses looking Border
guard) Once your in Panama the steps become very
smart probably the best we've seen since europe, great boarder
statement. On our treck down into Panama we hear
great birds calling, see butterflys the size of humming birds and
Cosmo finds a grass-hopper that is a double for a bit of dead
grass.............
 But the village on the other side is decidedly
less precious, it seems there is a trodden trail (probably not
well) that folk make over the boarder and then head to the beach and it is
a beautiful beach, you can't believe that this county and coast line
isn't going to be exploited at some point.
The whole town is crawling with border army
guards all brandishing their AK47s, Cosmo was thrilled at seeing his first
rifle touting policeman but now he is becoming more interested about how they
carry them, the gun is just common place. Whilst we crossed at the
given border control these guys obviously spent a great deal of time in the
jungle looking for the lesser haired Gourillas, and given the army presence they
must still a threat.
        Cosmo declared yesterday that it was his
favourite teddies birthday, Snowy.
Time to restock before heading east and to the
more remote San Blas Islands where even the most basic supplies are hard to come
by. It would be hard enough just catering for the family, but we have 3
weeks to survive on next to no fresh ingredient before Colin's parents
arrive, so I'm panicing abit. We head out to the open sea to make
the passage to the next Town down, in our dingy and 3.5 hp secondhand ancient
outboard..... The water is increadibly clear and when
the heavens open we just don't care as we're all having a lovely time
watching the waters edge and rain forest towering above. Colin and I
are in love and not just with each other.
 Capurgana (or "Chubby Cheep Cheep" as we have come to
call it) is definetly more vibrant happening town, it's bigger and has
some almost resort hotels, Columbian style. We are greated by a guy who
posted another person to show us the way to buy gasolina then we found some
where for lunch ( still expensive ) and then searching out supplys. The
Boat doesn't appear to have been in for quite sometime but we manage to find 3lb
carrots, an over supply of potatos, some ropey looking Tomatoes but we did
manage to buy 30 free range eggs for £2.00 and as we get through about 2
dozen a week it's a bit of a delight. The town whilst it could cater
for a visitor, you can even reach it by plane. but the heart of
the place is local. the main square is a patch of grass the size for
2 football pitches where kids kick a football around in the mud
and the asses graze.
   A
typical Ma&Pa shop - Tienda     Zinnia modelling
for teh Postbon bottle poster      Back home for
the kids home styled Snowy birthday party and tomorrow is good by
to our top spot thus
far. |