A change of scene - off to Cocos Banderas

Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Fri 10 Jan 2014 00:15
As Porvenir was a little touristy for our taste, we set off to find a more remote corner of the San Blas! Cocos Banderos had been recommended to us as a beautiful spot, so in the morning, after a few jobs, we got ready and set off. Just as we were about to haul anchor, Pat and Stuart on BriZo arrived, having had a rough and bouncy 6 day sail down from St Lucia. As they had to clear in, and clean up etc, they decided to follow us a day later. The trip was quite bouncy, we had a head wind most of the way, but none of us felt like sailing so we just motored along keeping a good look out for logs and trees floating by. The islands are covered in branches and broken bits of trees which are washed on and off at every tide and make navigation a little bit more tricky than it needs to be. Added to that, the electronic charts for this area are at best a bit 'off' so when you drive in an anchorage the only route in appears to be over land - all a bit stressful for the skipper and crew!
In the afternoon, we went for a walk on one of the nearby islands. As it is inhabited, they charge $2 per person to use the beach. We didn't pay however as we only walked round, it took about 5 minutes, then left. There was one family living on the island and the lady was busy embroidering as we went past.
The molas cost about $5 to buy as a piece of appliqué, which when you consider that they are all done by hand makes them very cheap indeed - the cynic in you makes you wonder whether they are actually handmade at that price or bought in from China, but they all seem to be the genuine article.
The next day, we caught with one of the local fisherman and bought two large crabs and two crayfish tails. The first problem was how to kill the crab. Crab, unlike lobster, has to be killed first and then cooked. Suzanne has a copy of Rick Steins Seafood Bible, (mine got waterlogged over summer), which had clear instructions and pictures so I got the 'kill squad' on the job. Both crabs were relatively docile and the dirty deed was done quickly and efficiently, with a skewer through the eyes and a skewer up the other end. Claws were ripped off, and it was ready for the pot. 20 minutes later, we had two perfectly cooked crabs. The final stage was to pick all the meat out. The claws were easy enough, so long as I had one of the boys to crack them as they were so hard, but it was back to Rick Stein for instructions on the bodies. The crab meat was then chilled and was our starter for the evening meal, served with crackers and garlic & lemon aioli- delicious!
BriZo arrived in the afternoon and we all set off for sundowners on a desert island, a perfect way to spend an hour or two and catch up on what we had all be doing since we left Antigua. In the evening, we had a BYO BBQ on board Seaduced which was a great end to the day.

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A deserted island - a fab place for sundowners!

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Stuart from BriZo with the important supplies - beer

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The whole team - BriZo, Seaduced and Suzie Too

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All on board Seaduced in the evening


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