Bocas del Toro Tierra Oscura (the Dark Land). Laguna Palos July 1-4, 2009

Bocas del Toro Tierra Oscura (the Dark Land). Laguna Palos July 1-4, 2009

We were having a great time in Bocas Town but exploration is the name of the occupation of cruising. Dan was reading the guidebooks and decided that we should check out a new area, Laguna Palos, in preparation for possible adventure when our son would visit. Tregoning and Windsong were game to go also, and another Island Packet couple, Valma and Ed on Navy Blue, and so we set off on the short trip, about nine miles from the anchorage-but really into another world.

Our course was west to Juan Point, then following the west coast of Isla Cristobal in Bahia Almirante until we came to the three unnamed mangrove islets that are the markers to turn into Laguna Palos. On the way through Almirante, our slowly moving sailboats were approached by men in Cayucos who sold us large lobsters! We had just passed a school on our starboard and saw the children in their white shirts and black pants or skirts paddling their Cayucos all around us when we saw the entrance. They stayed right at the sides of the boats, trying to hang on, while we tried to anchor. To actually enter the anchorage, the best information we had is the guidebook -The Panama Guide- by the Zydlers, but at times the uncolored sketch charts are difficult to interpret. Additionally we used a Raymarine chart plotter and paper charts and as all the material warns- we inched our way in slowly and kept a sharp lookout for coral, shoal areas and an eye on the depth until we anchored close to the shore in front of a native house in the magnificent lagoon.

It had rained as we approached but the clouds had cleared and we were taken by the beauty of the place called Tierra Oscura, meaning The Dark Land. Now to explore and bird watch. The Zygler guide showed a trail to the top of a mountain and we were all game for that. Dan and I grabbed binoculars and dressed for a walk and skirted the edge of the mangrove lagoon seeking birds and a place to tie the dinghy and go ashore. To our disappointment, at regular intervals around the lagoon, we saw hand-lettered signs that read “privada propiedad”, so we kept circling the edge in the dinghy. Quite suddenly but very slowly an old man in a cayuco approached us and asked us in English where we were from and was very friendly. As we talked I said we were looking for a path up the mountain, but all the signs said the property was private, so we were not going ashore.

Well- we had met Valentino Reade Smith, a man who could trace his ancestry back to the time of the slaves and who was now an owner of the entire property his grandfather had acquired, who, with his brothers was farming, fishing and raising high quality cattle. He was happy to bring us ashore and guide us around his property, machete in hand and wearing rubber boots, saying the signs were hanging just because all the others have them and they don’t mean a thing to him. Walk! Enjoy! He said there were many bird varieties available and as Dan and I, and by now the other boaters, tried to keep up with this spry older man we were told about the various species of lime tree he grew, fruits, banana and taro plants, cocoa and cacao, breadfruits--- and the stories he recounted of the older days, his grandfather and father and their folk wisdom were fascinating! He sure had us looking DOWN when he recounted the many varieties of snake he had witnessed on the property as well as animals and birds.

He told us there were Tommygoths, vipers, coral snakes, Fer de Lance and other snakes. They had bit and killed cattle! He told us how his grandfather knew that the worst time to be bitten was three days before and after a full moon as snakes have greatest venom then. He told us there were once very large sharks in the laguna and attacks on swimmers regular, but no more. He said his new neighbors, the Indians, kill anything and there are fewer animals; monkeys, iguana, caiman and fish. But he was born on the property and, although he goes to Bocas regularly, he wants to die there. His children live in towns around or far away. From what he said they have varied occupations but have been well educated and a few are scientists and professors.

We walked the mountain trail from his property one day, and the property the next morning. The hike up the slippery trail was somewhat difficult. As you tried to follow the path used regularly by the locals, quiet men in rubber boots carrying machete came up quickly behind you and passed with a quiet, Buenos dias. The foliage was thick and at places we saw leaf cutter ants and army ants about their business. I did not climb to the top. The path was getting steeper, the trail muddy and the time was late, I thought, for the return trip, then at one rock I needed to cross was a huge-HUGE buzzing bee and I didn’t want to go on. I turned back where Dan and Randall were walking more slowly birdwatching, and watched Randall trying to descend the path wearing flip-flops!

Laguna Palos was an adventure and a very special spot. Valentino felt the birding wasn’t that great on the morning he guided us but we saw Red-fronted Parrots, and a Lineated Woodpecker and many others such as Toucans and Oropendulas. Valentino is one of a kind! We thanked him for his friendship by brownies and a book and prints of a few pictures and made our way back to Bocas anchorage by the Saturday, July 4th cruiser potluck organized by Suzy and John on the trawler, Cabaret, held at the Calipso Cantina.

Here are 28 pics:

Tierra Oscura walks

Bocas del Toro, Panama June 19- July 1, 2009

Bocas del Toro, Panama June 19- July 1, 2009
All too soon Sea Star and the others left Little Corn Island. In the morning when the wind was just right as forecast, 15 knots, we were merrily sailing along toward Panama. At exactly 12:00PM the wind switched by 60 degrees and then straight on the nose, then shortly after that the wind simply fell out and died. We needed to arrive in Bocas in the daylight and so on went the engines and we motored on the first three foot swell, then calm sea trying to maintain our 5.5-6 knots per hour to arrive with the light needed to enter a new harbor.

Dan had decided on the Bocas del Drago Channel entrance and we made good time but impatiently watched the depth finder to note we were in very deep water and off soundings. When we were closer to the channel we could just pick out the expected landmarks- a flat rock called , a pinnacle rock and a small rock island. These landmarks brought us to the clear channel and the red and green channel markers towards Isla Colon and Bocas del Toro.

We were going to have to share the channel with a large cargo ship that was steaming in at about 18knots. Dan called him on the VHF and confirmed that we would be staying to the left of the channel and the ship moved closer and closer. Just as the huge ship neared the channel curve and narrows, he did a U turn! We figured out by listening to his communication that he was awaiting a pilot boat to guide him in and he had been told to stop. The fast change of direction certainly surprised us, but all was well as the pilot met the ship and they passed us inside the channel but leaving no wake to speak of.

Ahead of us on Isla Colon we saw a few homes and the raised stilted buildings of Bocas del Toro where, after we turned in, we could also see the masts and boats at Bocas Marina and in the anchorage near the marina where we were heading.
By now we had put up our yellow “Q” flag to notify the Port Captain that we were entering the country of Panama.

We were safely anchored and of course exhausted but the officials needed to board us. It was relatively painless but more expensive than written in our guidebooks. Four officials arrived at Sea Star by launch , two men and two women. The quarantine officer checked that we were not from an area of the new flu such as Mexico, and asked us about our health. He took Maggie’s papers, $15.00 for her permit, there was a boat inspection-but no one entered the cabin, an agricultural inspection-but no trash or food was checked, and immigration gave us a 30 day visa for the country that could be extended to 60 days. The Port Captain checked in the boat by length and then the group left with our passports and $123.00US.

Later in the day we were to pick up the passports from the Port Captain where we paid $69.00 more for the cruising permit, $20.00 for something else important. The following day we walked across town to the airport and met with the “migration” officer with some stamps purchased at The National Bank for $15.00 per person so another $30.00 for us. Our receipts in some cases did not match the amounts paid to the officials. The story was we would receive the receipts when we went into the office, but in two cases that did not occur. Our poor Spanish may have been the cause of our not questioning the prices.

Anyway, entry completed and prices forgotten for the moment, we walked and explored Bocas Town, finding Lily’s and Pirates to tie the dinghy and looking for the groceries, hardware stores and shops that make Bocas a pleasant place to anchor and a base from which to locate anything you might need from David or Panama City. I unfortunately had lost my new tooth repair done in San Andres and I found a local dentist in Bocas, Dr. Wong, who spent quite a bit of time and effort refilling my tooth.

Our first meal out was Happy Hour and Pizza at Wari Wari,an open air restaurant with black and white décor reminiscent of totem poles and the popular red, green and yellow trim of the Jamaican rasta- on bamboo. Very interesting. Another day we ate breakfast at famous Lily’s, home of the “Killin’ me Man” hot sauce, a wonderful fruit salad to start and eggs, toast and great Panamanian coffee. Then it was a wonderful restaurant blitz..Pirate’s has great international style foods, Lemon Grass for Thai food and the Calypso Cantina Restaurant and Bar at Bocas Marina serves excellent food. It’s a very popular place with cruisers to play volleyball and relax out of the sun each day. We had a blast playing Trivia there one Thursday night and a cruiser planned a Fourth of July party there with a potluck supper and lots of fun with forced activities like Limbo and Girls Sing.

Here are some Bocas Town pics

Bocas town

One really interesting visit we had was to the Smithsonian Research Center. To get there we took a taxi out of town to Sandfly beach where the Center has special tours a few days a week. Our guide, an ex-pat living in Bocas and two native young scientists walked us around the grounds. The three toed tree sloths were close up and personal, yet wild. The guide discovered them hanging over the road when we had all begun to leave and called us back to see them.

Below is a little movie of moving mother and baby sloths.

Here are pics of the Smithsonian Research Center in Bocas

Bocas del Toro OL

There are cruiser nets that include Bocas. A VHF net on channel 68 at 8:00 daily and the Southwest Caribbean Net on SSB at 8:15AM. A problem we are having is we can no longer receive the weather reports from Chris Parker whom we relied on father north. While we are here in Bocas Dan has done the research and ordering of a new battery bank for Sea Star, a major purchase, but we can’t seem to keep a charge in the current AGM three year old batteries, so we must replace the seven of them together. At least everyone says, “anything you want you can get in Panama City.” He’s ordering the batteries through an agent and from Miami. Someday they will arrive by ship.

More to come on Bocas as we explore and travel. We are expecting a visit from our son from the States on July 5, so I’m sure we will do some fun things to write about!

Albuquerque Cay, Columbia to Little Corn Island, Nicaragua- June 10-16 2009

Albuquerque Cay, Columbia to Little Corn Island, Nicaragua- June 10-16 2009

Only about 28 miles from the anchorage at San Andres and out of the tourist fast lane is another lovely, unspoiled cay with an extensive reef system. Thanks to the Columbian government the reefs have been protected and are in fine shape. The four days Sea Star and Windsong stayed anchored at Albequerque with a trawler named Tothill with Glenn and his wife, Eddie, Melina and Wilson aboard, were very full and pleasant with many reef fish seen as well as many of the docile Nurse Sharks and a few scary(to me), sharks and rays seen, but not close enough to identify.

Upon our arrival some of the young men from the army base located there, swam out to our boats, asking to borrow our masks, fins and any spears we might have and they would take us out snorkeling. Tothill understood the message first and agreed, then told us. We agreed to meet the men at 9:00AM in our dinghies as they have no transport on Albuquerque available to them and therefore no real access to the bounty available near their island base. Sea Star gathered our gear and met at the appointed time near the base camp, where four young men joined us in our dinghy to ride out to the reef.


The young men tried hard. It just was not a day for good spear fishing but from the pictures you can see we had fun watching these young men trying very hard to procure enough fish to treat us to dinner on their island. When spear fishing failed-the “big one”, a Hog fish, got away- but many conch were located, cleaned and a cerviche of conch and lobster was served to us that night. The meal was yummy! To reciprocate, the cruisers provided the ingredients and the cook for a special chicken soup meal the next evening, and between the three boats we brought enough to feed the seventeen young men at the camp. The young men appreciated the recipricating gesture especially because a young couple from Tothill who are latinoamericanos and could communicate with them, Wilson and Melina, spent a day preparing the soup.


We felt very welcomed and we would have had a more relaxing time if we could have spoken more easily in Spanish. Oh well, we’re working on it.

underwater photos by Glenn on Tothill-thanks!

Drop Box

After a few days Alison, who had just returned to San Andres from a side trip to visit a scientist friend at the Smithsonian Institute on Gatun Lake in Panama, and Randall on Tregoning rejoined us and we all prepared for an adventure suggested by Dan, to sail to Little Corn Island, Nicaragua where Dan and I and our boys, Steven and Tom visited by plane a few years ago.


The way over from Albequerque provided good sailing. I threw over a fishing line where the water depth came on soundings, and caught myself some kind of tuna. We arrived at the anchorage at Little Corn Island at about 2:00PM after 30 hours. I know it is said that you can’t go back, but sometimes things work out that way just fine. Little Corn has grown in amenities and services since our trip ther in February of 2004. The people are still very friendly and helpful. The resort, Casa Iguana, is still there, though under different management, Elsa’s on the beach restaurant was still there with reasonable prices for lobster and fish, and the number of island restaurants has grown dramatically. There were too many for us to explore in the short time we stayed. Little Corn Island had a number of backpacking and low key resorts and small hotels, and it appeared they were improved and newly discovered by tourists from Europe, China and the United States. Elsie treated me like an old friend when I showed up with pictures for her of our earlier visit at her restaurant. I couldn't resist having grilled lobster, again, and it was fantastic.

Elsa's at Little Corn Island

We walked around the town and up a new concrete walk decorated with messages and pictures of fish and island scenes which made climbing the hill much more enjoyable, and visited the water tower look out from which a marvelous view of the island was available. Little Corn had a new ball park and seemed much cleaner than when we visited before. As cruisers, no one came to the boats to check on us or “officiate”. We decided not to press our luck about being sent to the Big Corn Island to check in officially, and after a visit of three days, which we all felt was too short, we moved on to our goal of Panama at Bocas del Toro.

Little Corn pics:

Little Corn Island

Isla San Andres, Columbia May 30-June 4 , 2009

Isla San Andres, Columbia May 30-June 4 , 2009

The crews of Sea Star, Tregoning and Windsong left Providencia Saturday morning at 6:00AM expecting to possibly need 10 hours for the 60 mile trip to San Andres. The wind was steady and 15 kn. and we were able to beam reach at 7 kn. And at times even pick up more speed. It had been a great sailing day, and very relaxed. Sea Star was looking at the San Andres sea buoy by 3:00PM. The entry to San Andres showed reef all along the coastline but a small area clear into the harbor. Both Providencia and San Andres have been buoyed and so the entry was straight forward although care was needed to approach the buoys from the correct orientation. Sea Star arrived first and was greeted by the Columbian Navy as they asked the usual questions by radio from their open boat pulled along side of us. This time Dan answered and we were understood. He dictated our last Port (Providencia but Zarpe from Jamaica), and repeated our Documentation Number and Zarpe number in Spanish. We wound our way through the fishing boats and found a good sandy spot to anchor in the mostly grass bottomed harbor, and were about to settle in when the radio message came in from Tregoning.


We had communicated with the other boats about the information needed by the Navy and were waiting for them to come in when Tregoning called us and said they had water spraying all over their engine and were about to drop anchor outside the sea buoy and maybe call the marina for a tow into the anchorage. Dan and I hurried then to get our dinghy down and by the time we had it in the water and the motor attached, we could see the sails of Tregoning coming by sail into the harbor.
Dan thought they would have trouble avoiding the shoals while trying to enter under sail only, and so we were off in the dinghy to see if we could pull them in safely. Another boat, Rigga ll, heard our radio communication and they followed us out to Tregoning who was already through the buoyed area and near the shoals under sail. With Rigga ll behind Tregoning pushing from their dingy and Allison and Randall handling the sails and steering, Sea Star’s dinghy passed a line up and began to pull the Morgan 40’ to where she needed to turn to go to anchor. They managed to sail into a deep enough spot to anchor, drop one, play out the line and get the sails down safely. Whue!

While this was all happening, Mr. Rene, the ship’s agent, called and expected us and the three other boats to come immediately to NeNe’s marina for check in, so we hurried to gather our papers. During that process, he called back saying he couldn’t come that day and we were to be in the marina at 9:30 AM the following day. Much better! We all just rested aboard and uneventfully checked in the next morning. By that time Randall had diagnosed part of his engine problem and used Rene to purchase the needed replacement antifreeze and belt. Then we were off to find the places that Rey, the Providencia restaurateur recommended to us. While walking along the coastline and the beach, Dan and I noted that many of the buildings had changed in the last ten years, but it was basically the same; the beach with the ticky-tacky beach shops, women carrying sweets on their heads, a beautiful, white sandy beach with blue tarps to cover sun bathers, and lots of uncovered skin.

We found that Rey’s recommendations were quite close to this area of the beach, and tried the Italian gelato -a wonderful treat in this very warm climate, then in a bit, the excellent pizza at Margarita and Carbonara. We walked some more. As it was Sunday all the stores and outlet stores, banks and duty free shops were closed, but for us who had not seen “stuff” stylish clothing, electronics, kitchen ware, in the likes of Perry Ellis, Beneton, Champs and USA Outlet we had a great time window shopping, knowing if we wanted, we could return when the places were open.

The next day we connected to the internet and it actually works, well, almost always. It is purchased from the Sunrise Hotel, one of many beachfront, gorgeous and probably expensive places where the vacationing Columbians stay, rent jet skis, sail boards, kite surf and blast around the harbor and beach.

We brought our dinghies to Club Nautico where by purchasing the berth for a dinghy, a sailor is given access to the beautiful club amenities such as tennis, pool, showers, bar-restaurant, TV, ping pong and lounging. Club Nautico is cleaner and appears to be a much safer place than the pleasant NeNe’s Marina and quite a bit closer to the town so we have been using the facilities and swimming in the fresh water pool to cool down each late afternoon before hitting another of the restaurants on the list. It’s a tough job but somebody has to try them all! They are a bit less expensive than US prices, a nice meal can be had for $30,000 pesos and less, the equivalent of $15 US. Of course there are more pricy meals, too.

Here is a picture of the transportation we rented for a day to tour the seven mile long island. You start it up and hold your foot on the “Go” pedal and ride around. Hills are a challenge, but the island is relatively flat. Most of the other pictures are of touring the island. The last two are video.

San Andres June 2,09

From San Andres June 2,09

We may have to wait as much as a week for good weather to leave for Bocas del Torro in Panama, perhaps our next stop. We are getting excited that Sea Star will soon have another visitor- our younger son, Steve, in a month.

Isla Providencia, Columbia May 24, 2009

Isla Providencia, Columbia May 24, 2009

On Tuesday we headed in the 10 miles or so it took to go outside the dangerous areas leaving Low Cay and into the anchorage in the Providencia Harbor where we called the agent, Mr. Bush, on channel 16. Within an hour or so we were checked in and could raise our Columbian flag, yellow, blue and red. On our entry we noticed some waving banners on the port side of the harbor and discovered when we dinghied ashore and walked across the Lover’s Bridge, walking toward an old fort supposedly used by the Pirate Morgan, that the banners marked a lovely unpretentious “typico” Columbian restaurant. As it was very hot, we stopped for “cervesas frias,” and of course stayed for dinner of fish cooked “as you like it”, with creole, or garlic sauces. Very tasty! We also were served “helados de maiz”-corn ice cream, a typical dessert made right on Providencia. We made faces as we ordered, but gobbled it right up.

By that time it was time to return to the boats, but we planned to rent motor scooters to explore the 4 mile by 2 mile island as soon as Jamie was able to make welding arrangements for his boom.

Wednesday, we walked through the town streets, being careful not to interfere with or get in the way of the motor bikes that are used for transportation on this busy island. Providencia groceries, three different markets, allowed for easy provisioning so that didn’t take long and we had lots of time to play and explore. We hiked up to Fort Warwick in fort Bay and saw some old cannons and walked along the edge of the overlook or Pirates’ Walk to Morgan’s Head, then returned to our dinghies and circumnavigated Santa Catalina Island, this time traveling under the Love Bridge, dinghies almost touching the sides.

The next day we rented motor bikes, with the guys feeling like Marlon Brando. Allison and I just hung on the back of Dan and Randall’s bikes until later in the day after touring the beaches, the mountains, the side roads and byways and having a flat tire or two on Randall’s bike, Allison took me as a passenger. She had really wanted to try driving a scooter on her own, and was very adept! We drove around the island, visiting all the beaches, swimming and people watching.

Later in the afternoon, the sun was beating down unmercifully, and a few drops of rain fell, then a short shower. Allison and I were descending a hill when-WHAT???- we came upon hundreds of black crabs covering the road from side to side, their pincer claws full up and at the ready to defend themselves from passing motor vehicles. Allison carefully threaded her way through and we pulled off the road waiting for Jamie and Randall to appear on their bikes. They worried us as they had stopped to take photos!

Shortly after, when we attempted to return to town by the same road, we found an Army blockade. We happened to be driving on the day the migration of the land crabs to the sea began. I don’t know what kind they are or how long the migration lasts. I got the impression it was a very short time period. The crabs leave the mountain, go into the sea and molt and then if the currents do not sweep them away they return to the mountain. The short rain had triggered the migration; the crabs were crossing a paved road that has lots of truck and vehicle traffic and some hadn’t made it when we passed. We had to return to town the opposite way, since the road circles the island and was blockaded to protect the crabs.

Providencia-2009

The following morning our two ambitious travelers, Allison and Jamie, climbed the highest peak on Providencia, and to celebrate we again went to Rey’s Restaurant for a fantastic meal and she recommended a few places for us to eat in San Andres when we got there. Jamie picked up his welded gooseneck and reinstalled it, then we felt ready to sail on the another Columbian island, San Andres, after checking out with Mr. Bush who was our agent to the Port Captain.

Jamaica to Isla Providencia, Columbia May 14-27, 2009

Roncador Bank, Columbia May 20, 2009
It’s time to leave Jamaica behind and keep moving south to be out of the hurricane belt. Port Antonio, Jamaica has been a wonderful stop. Dan and I are rested after 28 days in one place and have enjoyed being in the ,”No problem, Mon!” culture. I am sorry to leave the beautiful mountains and sheltered bays behind. Another time we may explore the north coast of Jamaica by boat, as the officials are trying to turn the tourist trade around. Some boaters report no negative incidents, but there is a high rate of crime. We were fine in Port Antonio. Our only problem was the marine growth- strings of foot long green grass under our boat and dinghy. We hired a young man to clean the bottom before our passage.


I will miss the availability of fresh farm produce and the open air markets. There were so many new fruits and vegetables to learn to cook. The market ladies were helpful and friendly. They got a real kick out of hearing I had never cooked their food. I hope we find callaloo, breadfruit and ripe papaya, pineapple and mango again, as well as the basic salad vegetables that are so fresh and yummy. I will say I kind of prefer the supermarket when it comes to buying meat or fish, rather than bargaining at the open market. It was nice to have the choice.

Jamaica market-pole

While we stayed at the Marina, Jamie from Windsong returned to Miami for a wedding where he also gathered necessary items of repair and boat parts, arriving back in Jamaica with full suitcases three days later. He had checked, parts for a boat in transit do not carry a duty according to the information given. Well, he found out they don’t have a duty on the parts but you must prove to their satisfaction that the parts are for a boat in transit and not resale. At the Kingston Airport his boat items were confiscated by customs, necessitating his return to the airport the following day! The extra round trip taxi ride was $200 US and he had to bring the customs man from Port Antonio to Kingston and pay his salary for the day to retrieve his gear. After the ride, the customs person from Port Antonio (where Jamie’s boat was moored) could verify that Jamie was on a yacht in transit. I give this example of how difficult some countries make basic services for boaters. Dan and I received our mail through the US Post Office “Express Service”. It had been opened and rifled through and was held up by customs for two days.


We exited Jamaica on Sea Star, with Windsong and Tregoning at 4:00AM on May 14th, to travel the Windward Passage. The wind had been low for many days, so after a rolling swell on the beam while transiting the west coast of Jamaica we experienced five foot swell on our run through the passage, and winds of 15 knots allowing Sea Star to give us a great ride. The radar showed some squall activity during the night. One squall caused us to run with it, off course, for a short while. With that came a wind shift and we were having a great beam reach. On the trip between Jamaica and Baho Nuevo Windsong had an uncontrolled jibe during the heavy squall and broke his boom. He called us to inform us of the issue but underway, in the dark, he was able to go on deck, secure the rig and jury rig a system. He sailed under jib and made it to Baho Nuevo an hour after Sea Star.

Over 200 miles, very little engine, water showing phosphorescent, dolphins at our bow and we arrived a little tired and safely. Baho Nuevo, a reef area approximately 211 miles from Jamaica, would be our first stop. After a trip of 34 hours we arrived, threading our way in through the coral in the midmorning to anchor as close to a 40 foot sand island as possible. Our pleasant weather held, allowing us time to explore the reef and the island. We found sand hills that made us think we had found a nesting site for sea turtles. After a good day of exploration and night of sleep we were again ready to move on.


On May 17 after 18 more hours of sailing we arrived at our next stop, Roncador Bank, immediately regretting not brushing up on our Spanish! When we arrived in sight of the Island the radio crackled to life. We knew the Columbian Navy has an outpost on Roncador, and we knew they were speaking to us, but we did not know how to answer. Jamie on Windsong told us after we both anchored that he had heard the communication to Sea Star, the lead boat, and we were told to speak to the “Columbian Navy or they would blow us out of the water!” I’m glad we never understood them. Dan tried a few sentences on the radio and then I did. We were able to inform them of our nationality and where we were coming from and going to. We were then requested to visit the outpost on our way in. The anchoring looked iffy right in front of the outpost so we anchored closer to the reef as the radio crackled again. We tried to explain we would come as soon as we put the dinghy down. By then the Commandante had called a young man who spoke and understood some English, and the Naval officers calmed down. Our paper work was in order and so we were invited to visit Roncador in route to our next major port of call.
Since our initial entry, the young naval officers have been very friendly to us. They are quite young, all are under twenty except for the twenty-five year old Comandante. They borrowed our snorkel gear for a few hours today and a pole spear that Randall on Tregoning has and they all had a blast.

Roncador Navy

Some don’t swim, but with a life jacket on, they tried. They speared five small fish and were proud as peacocks. While the younger guys were in the water, the five of us off the boats sat and talked with the Comandante and the man who was to learn English so the Navy could communicate with boaters, and a few other men. I brought my computer with pictures of New England seasons, our travel to Canada and family. We did our best to dredge up the vocabulary needed to socialize. After that pleasant but grueling morning we were exhausted. The temperature is in the high eighties, as is the water temperature, but snorkeling provides relief and it is fabulous to finally see a place where the reef is still lovely, healthy and full of fish life. Tonight for supper we had lobster, and a Dog Snapper shot by Randall.


Our next stop will probably be Isla Providencia, a Columbian Island Dan and I visited briefly in 1998 on our first Sea Star, a 40 foot Willard trawler. One of the Naval officers has asked to be taken to Providencia when we go, and Randall had agreed to take him but he did not go.

From Willard 40' trawler Sea Star in 1998

We motored to Low Cay, a reef system ten miles or so from Providencia. Our passage was really uneventful. One huge tanker of 863 feet passed behind our boats, and that was the only company seen in the 18 hour trip. We left Roncador at 6:00PM and within a few hours with apparent wind at 3.0 kn, we motored the rest of the way in seas of just a ripple. Here at Low Cay the anchoring is lovely in sand and the snorkeling is great right off the boat because the reef is near. Dan finally found a fish he was looking for- a Spotted Drum, go to next website to see a photo

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fschiettecatte/1243281375/

a dramatic black and white striped fish with a pointed black curved protrusion from its head. There were plenty of varied species to memorize and check their identity in our fish book. Since Low Cay is part of the Providencia protected reef, we made do with homemade Pizza on Sea Star. We waited until Tuesday to enter Providencia and check in to Columbia. We want to explore this hilly island and Jamie needs to find someone to weld aluminum to strengthen his boom. The fix Dan helped him do at Baho Nuevo isn’t permanent. He’s looking for a welder. We’ll see.


We know that to check in to Providencia you use an agent and that when we arrive at San Andreas we will need to complete the whole process again. Tomorrow, Tuesday, we will anchor outside the town, perhaps find a restaurant and see what there is to do on the island.

Port Antonio, Jamaica - May 7, 2009

RAFTING the Rio Grande
We continue to hang on our mooring at the sandspit, while we have gone on a few explorations. The first trip we arranged was a one day-really half a day- trip to the Rio Grande River. The crews from Windsong, Tregoning and Sea Star were intrigued by the Pavlitis guidebook suggesting that many visitors to Jamaica follow in the footsteps of Errol Flynn, who used to bring his ladies to the river and using a pole and a 30 foot long, flat bamboo raft, traverse the 8 ½ miles from Barrydale to St. Margaret’s Bay while leisurely floating on the raft. The Rio Grande is fresh water, relatively shallow at the banks and doesn’t have many rapids, we were told and so we could stop the tour and swim along the way in clear, fresh water while gazing up the steep banks and cliffs to watch for birds and see the jungle-like scenery.

Our trip began after a few days of trying to see how we could limit the cost for this amusement. We found, well, I guess Reebo found us- an honest river guide who provided the taxi to and from the Rio and the two rafts needed for the five of us to do the trip. We left the marina at noon and were on the water after a fast and curvy ride by taxi to Barrydale, a settlement about eight miles up the Rio Grande. The five of us were jammed into the small wagon-four in the back and the two in the front, and Rebo jammed into the luggage compartment!

At arrival, a few local men approached us to purchase some Red Stripe beer, the common beer of Jamaica and we were glad to buy one for each of us and one for our two river men, Rebo and another very knowledgeable river guide for Dan and my raft. Our chosen day was hot and sunny by the time we arrived at the river. It had rained in the morning, so we were a bit worried about our day, but with the exception of a five minute shower the weather cooperated. We loaded on into the bamboo seats, Dan and I on one raft and Allison, Randall and Jamie on the other. The seat was built with a back for comfort and a raised platform that kept our backpacks up off the raft and our seats dry underway.

The men pushed off and we began our journey! We looked at fabulous scenery; ivies, vines, canopied trees growing flame-red flowers, bamboo, rocks of awesome dimensions and finally the two close rocks called Lover’s Lane featured in the articles about Errol Flynn’s rafting trips. Along the way we leisurely lounged and studied the river birds such as egrets, herons and kingbirds. After about three miles, Reebo turned in behind the shelter of two large rocks and the five of us had a blast jumping into the 60 foot deep emerald pool, then climbing up the rocks to jump again, and again while the rafters rested and ate their box lunch.

Soon we moved on downstream with Reebo and the other man trying to outshine each other in poling prowess and showmanship. Reebo won, hands down. He poled and sang reggae songs, songs he made up about the river and politics, and displayed incredible agility and balance by dancing from one foot to the other. The men worked hard to get us downriver! They were in good physical shape and had to be to control the raft at all times. We stopped for a second rest stop and exploration and continued on. We came to a place where a pile of bamboo was pushed up against some rocks looking like a huge pick- up-stick game. A few days previous to our trip, one of the other Rivermen had lost control of his raft and crashed there. We heard of other tourists whose Rivermen accidently dumped them and their gear into the water! We had no mishaps and our trip went off without a hitch. Yes, the rafting is a tourist trap and maybe Errol Flynn was first to do it, maybe not, but we had a great time rafting the Rio Grande in Jamaica and recommend our licensed river rafting guide, Reebo, who is available in the late afternoons at Errol Flynn Marina.

Jamaica +raft on line

TRAVEL INTO THE BLUE MOUNTAINS- MOUNT EDGE BIRDING
The next off-the-boat travel into the Blue Mountains our three boats did together, too. When sailing in toward Port Antonio, I explained how beautiful the mountains appeared to us. There are the Blue Mountains, that peak at 7200 feet and the smaller Jim Crow Mountains that are near enough to Port Antonio near the eastern part of Jamaica to visit. Alison and Randall are knowledgeable in botany and enjoy bird watching as we on Sea Star do, and with Jamie we arranged to rent a van, not an easy task as there is one rental car agency in Port Antonio. We reserved accommodations at a guest house by the name of Mount Edge whose internet site sounded great, and headed off into the Blue Mountains for a few days.



Well, not quite so fast. Roads in Jamaica are constantly being washed out as a result of the torrential rains. We had been duly warned about road condition and learned the truth of the admonition that it can be best to rent a car and driver, instead of renting a car. We spoke with the owner of the rental cars, showed him on a map where we would go and he felt that we did not need a 4-wheel drive or anything more than the van. We decided that in order to use the car for the time in the mountains, we would be best to rent. The road we were to take had been under construction for quite some time, so we had to plan to drive into the Capital city, Kingston, and double back up the mountains on another road. Jamaica is a British country and the driving is on the left, with the steering wheel on the right of the car. We were lucky that Allison just happened to have grown up driving in England and she drove out of Port Antonio and began the climb toward Kingston, where Dan took over. We were traveling along nicely, bouncing through the pot holes and slamming on the brakes as needed to allow the faster taxies to pass, as needed enjoying the scenery and passing through small villages, people walking the paved road with goats, dogs, etc. We came around one of the many sightless bends … and saw an animal stretched out in the center of the narrow road. To avoid what might have been a live dog in the road, Dan came close to the rock overhang and into a pot hole where we heard a bang, then a thump. When the guys got out to look, they discovered that we had blown a tire. They then retrieved the spare from under the car; the spare was useless.

From Port Antonio, Jamaica - May 7, 2009


So- what to do next became the issue. Dan had pulled way over, far enough around the bend where we didn’t think we would be hit. Our luck and the caring of Jamaicans had us back on the road with a “new” tire, and a fixed spare in 45 minutes. To make this happen, the three young men who stopped left their buddy on the road with us, drove Randall and Jamie and the two tires to their friend’s tire place in a near town called Castleton where they woke up the proprietor and he did the work. The men returned the guys and the tires, changed the tire and we were off again! Amazing- in 45 minutes and $65.00- $40 for the tires and $25 for ride and tip. We were thrilled to get going again so soon.

Allison took over driving and we bounced along through Kingston where we stopped for snacks we had been missing like chocolate, cashews, and Pringles, bought a sought after birdbook, then continued bouncing up the mountains to around 3000 feet, arriving at Mount Edge around 12:00PM.

Our first impressions were of the incredible beauty that surrounded the guest house! The majesty of the Blue Mountains made the guest house which is also the home of the proprietor, Michael Fox, seem small, but he had plenty of rooms for us and two more couples that were staying there. From the balcony of the main house where we spent many hours of gazing time, the vista was non-ending through valleys and ravines filled with greenery twittering with the endemic bird species we had come trying to see.

We unloaded our gear into our rooms. In our small and modest room, Dan and I had a double bed, a private bath and a mahogany armoire. The highly polished marble looking floors were clean. I noted a black sleeping bag/comforter folded on the side and realized that we were to have cool, comfortable nights when compared to Port Antonio’s sweltering heat.

Everyone was excited to begin exploration and we had been told that the guest house served breakfast and dinner only, so we decided to find a recommended place called “The Gap”.


Allison brought us around narrow, curving roads, blasting the horn as required to allow oncoming traffic to know of our presence and we wound our way further up the mountain, through the army camp and up to a wonderful restaurant. We wondered how it could make a go of it in such an out of the way place! Not only was the food very special; pumpkin-chicken soup, curried goat and chicken dishes, but from their balcony in the midst of fabulous tended flowers and shrubs, hung a hummingbird feeder where we easily watched the otherwise elusive Jamaican National bird, the “Doctor Bird”, a blue iridescent feathered Red- billed -Streamertail with a tail about a foot long, feeding with more species of hummingbirds.

Later we arrived back at Mount Edge for rest and then dinner. We met Malva, the cook and all around kitchen person, and later Carla and her two handsome boys. All of them strove to answer our questions and make us feel at home as we gathered at the large dining table, family style and tasty, plentiful food.
We hiked, we ambled along roads Michael pointed out on our map, leading to private estates or coffee plantations, always going higher and higher into the mountains, Allison daring to drive where roads were undercut by water and ravines, where two cars could not pass and small tour busses appeared around the curve frequently. The temperature up in those cloud forests was comfortable even for the daytime hikes. Allison and Jamie, the more adventurous two, went with the two boys, Johnathan and Nicholus on an exciting river walk down a steep ravine and back up again and out a road culvert. The boys never even had any shoes on.
We had just the kind of trip we envisioned and after two nights and three days away we arrived back at our boats. Here is a recalled list of species seen in various places in Jamaica- mostly in the mountains.

Ring-tailed Pigeon
Jamaican Crow
White chinned Thrush
Jamaican Owl
Jamaican Stripe-headed Tanager
Red-billed Streamertail
Yellow-shouldered Grassquit
Orangequit
Jamaican Tody
Jamaican Mango
Jamaican Vireo
Jamaican Oriole
Redstart
Red-shouldered Hawk Kestral
Sad Flycatcher
Jamaican Woodpecker
Turkey Vultures
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Reddish Egret
Cattle Egret
Great Blue Heron
Little Blue Heron
Green Heron
Tri-colored Heron
Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Loggerhead King Bird
Vervian Hummingbird
And many more birds that eluded our sight for identification.

Check out Kathy's photos. A lot are through the car window, sorry.
Some are from Alison and Randall

Mount Edge on line