San Blas
Serai
Jason and Emily Willis
Sat 10 Mar 2007 17:13
Well, well well. What a few days! Its been an emotional rollercoaster ride!
On 3rd March we celebrated our wedding anniversary. On the 4th of March we
had news that Nick and Lyndsay, on Zest, had been hit with some terrible
weather and had decided to turn back for Dominican Republic. They would not
be trying again and would not be transiting Panama and heading to New
Zealand with us. We were devastated. The good news is that they are now safe
and sound in DR, albeit exhausted.
So began a couple of days of tears and soul-searching. Should we carry on or
get out now as well. In the end we decided to press on with our dream. We
had no valid excuse not to carry on, and indeed still felt we had the
opportunity of our lives ahead of us. And so, to Panama and beyond...
We decided to move on mentally and physically, taking the boat to Holandes
Cays, locally called 'The Hot Tub'. We are now in Operation 'find a friend'
mode. We Finally chatted to a couple.Hoped they might be going "our way".
They said they had been in the San Blas for 3 YEARS!!!!!!! OMG - people just
do not move! Another young guy had been in the san blas for 4 months. I
asked when he would move on and he
said...probably never, dude! ( I think he was from Hawaii - well he sounded
like Jack Johnson anyway and Ems fancied him!)
The boat is still all good. We do bits each day and then try to go out in
the kayak in the afternoons, exploring. We use the kayak all the time. Just
love it! Its so much easier than messing about with the dinghy! and it keeps
us fit. I cannot believe how some of these cruisers sit around all day
doing so little. Its
unbelievable - I think I'd go nuts! Of course a normal kayak trip ends up as
a major expedition with Ems. Not enough to just go for a paddle...Ems
insists we circumnavigate a complete island. 3 hours later, tired and
knackered because we had to carry the kayak most of the way, we finally made
it back to the boat.
We are now in Chichime Cays (pronounced Chi Chi May, apparently). Its a
lovely spot. There are a couple of Kuna huts on the beach, and the roar of
the nearby reef accompanies our dreams at night. The Kuna ladies here make
Molas. These are bits of material with pretty patterns on. Apparently it
takes them a month to make each one. We are now the proud owners of 4 of
them...and I have banned any further purchases, learning from Darren how
these things can get out of hand! It seems strange to be sitting at a
computer writing an email, as they come by in wooden dugout canoes. Some
bring molas and beads, whilst others bring fruit and vegetables. We bought
loads of fruit and veg and a case of beer ($12) and the total bill was $20.
This would have been twice the price in the BVI, and these guys had to
paddle for a couple of hours to make the sale! Incredible!
We will stay here until Monday and then head along the coast of Panama. We
should be in Colon, Panama by the end of the week at the latest, and then we
will begin to organise our transit of the canal. How very exciting!
That's it from us. We will be posting LOADS of pics on the site once we get
to Panama and have a decent internet connection. Watch this space!
Until the next time. Lots of love
J and Ems xx