CHRISTMAS IN CARTAGENA- Dec.23, 2009

Wow! It's nearly Christmas. We heard that Christmas in Cartagena would be special and we are finding out that this is so! Enjoy these pictures of what we are seeing!

We are living on Sea Star in the anchorage in front of and South of Club Nautico. Rumor is that the owner of Club Nautico supported the wrong candidate for Mayor (the one who lost) and has had her renovations stopped. There are no facilities and services available. Boats can be tied side by side and like a "med mooring" they are faced bow in and the stern is held by lines tied to blocks under water. As of three days ago there is one shower. We are carrying our water as the harbor is too dirty to make water. It might ruin the diaphram in the water-maker.
Don't foget to return to blog for more after each slide show or movie.

Cartagena- where we are

The next set of pictures show some of the people and activities that keep us so very busy- beside fixing the necessary things on Sea Star like the radar, and brand new VHF radio.

Cartagena- What we do.

One night I went to a ballet recital. It was wonderful-lots of fun.

At the Ballet

Now just enjoy our pics of Cartagena. Dan and Laura, the daughter of a friend who was visiting Navy Blue both enjoy photography. One night we strolled through the Old City taking photos.

Cartagena before Christmas

We hope you enjoyed our walk through the Old City. See you next year!!

From Christmas Card

CALM PASSAGES AND OTHER TYPES, TOO November 20-30, 2009

CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA November 30, 2009
Dan has wanted to see Cartagena for years; maybe because of reading wonderful things in “The Log of Ithaka” by Bernadette and Doug Bernan, or our cruising friends on Pizazz, who really loved that city and all it had to offer. Now that Dan and I have visited some great places in the Northwest Caribbean arriving in the San Blas again, it seemed like a great time to continue on to Columbia. Dan really wanted to go, but I took some convincing. The choice was easy, really. As we travelled we met many cruisers who were returning from or planning their return to Cartagena. There was not one negative report. Cartagena, it is said,”is lovely, safe and has lots of wonderful things to see and do. Christmas time is magical !”

November is a moving month in the Caribbean because as the rainy season ends, the weather can change to windy with storms and thus higher seas at any time. Colombia already generally has forecasts for seas at least 6 feet and the usual conditions seem to be 7 to 8 foot seas. Most cruisers want to be in Colombia by mid November. We visited Massachusetts and returned to Panama on November 16th, so we felt we needed to move on quickly!

As I mentioned in other entries we left our long time traveling companions and friends on Tregoning in the San Blas two weeks previous. It was difficult to say our good-byes and sail away from them as we realized that we share many interests and had been daily companions since George Town in the Bahamas! At Shelter Bay we met a friendly couple on an IPY 37, Jay and Barb on Jupiter’s Smile, who wanted to leave, as we did, for the San Blas. Our two IPY’s headed out of the marina on November 20th at a break in the constant rain that had been beating down on our roofs and canvas for days.

It rained all through our first traveling day and at night but we spent one moderately comfortable night at anchor in Playa Blanca, scraping the renewed barnacles off our boats, and where we met a resident named Angel, before moving on toward the San Blas-again in the rain.
Our progress was inhibited by wind on the nose so we had to motor sail, and the constant rain had washed HUGE trees, logs, thatches of entwined branches and various debris into our path. Well, perhaps because the weather was s000 good and our trip wonderful- by the time Jupiter’s Smile had checked into Porvenir, they had also checked out again and decided also to travel on to Cartagena. Hooray! We had a buddy boat to increase the safety factor for both of us. The importance of which became very clear later in the trip. We spent a night in the West Lemmon Cays, a night in Nargana, where we revisited Nali’s Restaurant and introduced Sammy to Barb and Jay.

Our next night was spent only 20 nm from Nargana, at Snug Harbor, further to the east. We found the anchorage to be lovely and inviting. This protected harbor is near the Panama mainland. There is a group of four or five small reef protected islands with the names Yuala, Apaidup and Ogumnaga where friendly Kuna Indians paddle their ulus selling vegetables grown on the mainland, Kuna bread and other offerings. There were other boats at Snug Harbor and some were waiting for a weather window to Cartagena. Dan and Jay agreed that the next day, Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, seemed to look good for a passage, although not perfect. The next chance to leave was then somewhere off in the distance and so on Thursday we left at 6:30AM. We were not to be alone. There were six other boats from that anchorage who made the same decision.

In preparation for our passage I had made some chili, beef stew and a few other goodies to avoid the need to stand in the galley during possible rough seas.
Dan had changed our fuel filters checked the engine and steering and we felt we were as ready as possible for our 170 nm passage, figuring 5knots per hour we were looking at 34 hours on the sea. We had already determined from the forecast that sailing would not be possible. The best we could hope for was motor sailing and low windspeed so the boat could make progress against the wind more comfortably.

We moved along fine for two thirds of the trip at about 5 knots experiencing 4 to 5 foot seas, then 6 to 7 foot seas as we approached closer to the Columbian coast. By that time our group had formed our night formation where we could see each other’s lights. Jumby was far ahead and out of sight, Sea Star flanked by Jupiter’s Smile, then Tempest and Pelican’s Flight. Mariposa was slightly behind our group. The group had maintained chatty radio contact as much for entertainment and to keep the watch person awake as for safety. Infinity, a fast J boat, we had enjoyed seeing coming up behind our group earlier in the afternoon showing her lovely spinnaker which she changed when night fell, as the seas were building a bit more and the wind was "on the nose".

The seas were becoming more uncomfortable; the trip required motor and it was very late into the midnight to three watch when the call was heard; a Pan Pan call on VHF radio that says a boat is in serious trouble. Jupiter’s Smile was the only boat to hear the distress call on the radio. Jay responded by contacting the boat by VHF radio to find out a cruising couple had been bailing their sailboat, Kersti, for quite some time and they felt she might be in serious danger of sinking!

What to do? Any mariner is bound by law and the law of the sea to respond when a call for help has been received. No one else, such as a larger ship, had apparently heard the distress call. Soon Jay had turned Jupiter’s Smile to return the 9 nm upwind- back- to offer assistance. When the other boats were alerted to what was occurring, Maraposa and Pelican’s flight started to the scene with the powerful pumps they carry on board for emergencies. Infinity tried to contact the people who were expecting them on shore to get an idea of what might be a good solution if the issue was not life threatening. Sea Star contacted Tempest who had some emergency phone numbers for the US Coast Guard in Miami and Key West, and used emergency SAT phone to make contact with the US Coast Guard and eventually the Columbian Coast Guard.


RESCUE AT SEA
I wish I could report a happy ending to the story. The owners of the sailboat, Jeff and his wife Ruth worked valiantly to keep Kersti afloat and sent out a radio distress call; bailing constantly while trying to motor toward Cartagena where the Colombian Coast Guard, we thought, was going to attempt to meet them. Meanwhile, an attempt to pass a pump to them failed as Pelican’s Flight’s pump jumped from the dinghy in the high seas, now 10 to 12 feet and seriously rolling all the boats, and the dinghy flew by and was lost.

The US Coast Guard set out from 175nm away. They said they could not be on scene for at least 2 ½ hours and they could not deploy their helicopter off the ship until they were 75 nm away. The Colombian Coast Guard was called again. With sinking hearts we found they had not deployed their boat. They felt the seas were too high for the boat they had on hand and had sent a reconnaissance plane to check the scene first.

Meanwhile it was becoming apparent among our five boats that any rescue would be up to the sailboats on scene. The authorities kept asking for information updates; which meant that Jay who was having all he could do to drive into the crashing waves needed to talk on the radio to Dan so he could convey the information, to Tempest who was relaying information and suggestions to the crew of Kersti, who also were very busy. What were the new coordinates?, What color was the sail boat? Were the people wearing life vests? How do you spell Kersti? What is the radio’s MMSI number? Do they have a cell phone?

After the problem with receiving Pelican’s Flight’s pump Jeff was concerned that other boaters should not put their lives or boats at risk and gave up on trying to receive another pump that Maraposa offered. He then felt he would do all he could to move towards land while waiting for the possible help to arrive. Within an hour Kersti had taken on so much water and was so bow-heavy the couple decided to get into their life raft and abandon their home of six years. There was just nothing else to be done.

With great difficulty the couple placed a few belongings in their life raft and climbed in themselves while Jay, made a pass by the life raft and Barb, who had become quite sea sick, received it -being out on the deck in those huge seas. Jeff and Ruth and their few belongings were taken aboard Jupiter’s Smile; they were now safe themselves but they did not know the fate of their beloved Kersti. Dan, Sea Star had by now arrived on scene also, notified the coast guards, US and Colombian, that a pick-up had been made and called off the rescue. The distress call continued every 5 minutes until 10:15AM.

All of the boats now steamed toward the closest port grateful to have not required the skills of the Doctor aboard Tempest; the Bay of Cholon still eight hours away where we were guided into the shallow channel by Richard from Tisha Baby and all were treated to food prepared by other cruisers anchored in the Bay who had been listening to the radio transmissions and were anxiously waiting our group’s arrival. Arrangements were made on another sailboat, Glide, to get Ruth and Jeff to Cartagena where they could begin to decide what was to happen next.

It was the end of a very long day. We had set out at 6:30 AM from Panama. Jay and Barb turned around somewhere around 2:30 AM and with the sailboats Mariposa, Tempest, and Pelican’s Flight stayed with Jeff and Ruth until the conclusion at 8:30AM. Sea Star arrived around 6:30AM and while anxiously waiting and informing the Coast Guard of events on scene, took some pictures. We put anchor down at about 4:30 PM.

It is possible that the outcome would have been the same even if Jeff and Ruth had waited in the life raft for Coast Guard rescue. It is not certain. Apparently the US Coast Guard arrived on the scene sometime after we all headed to land and checked for the sinking sailboat, but saw no evidence of her. Here in Cartagena Harbor where huge cargo ships have been arriving and departing almost constantly, you have to wonder where they were that night. In the harbor we anchored quite near the impressive US Coast Guard cutter and saw the bright red rescue deck helicopter. It’s nice to know that in the states we have such resources. The Columbian Coast Guard apparently did not have a ship to send to the scene. Dan had great difficulty in communicating with them (language) and they didn’t appear to grasp the severity of Kersti’s situation or they just couldn’t help which was frustrating to us.

Jeff and Ruth still don’t know what sunk their sailboat. They have taken an apartment in Cartagena and may be waiting for some word of salvage of their boat; although it went down in very deep water there are some shoals near. They appreciate all the assistance given by the cruising community.

Jupiter's Smile, Pelican's Flight, Tempest, Infinity, Jumby, and Sea Star among others enjoyed our stop at the Bay of Cholon where the local boaters introduced us to the small town of Barru. A few days later Sea Star moved on to Cartagena.

click to see photos of Snug Harbor, Cholon Bay, Columbia and Barru

Cholon Bay-OL

Click here to see the rescue of the crew of sailboat Kersti

Rescue of Kersti

https://picasaweb.google.com/chepar50/5410811420640763969?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Now for some pictures of Cartagena anchorage and the Port of Cartagena.

Port of Cartagena OL

A Week in Massachusetts November 5-16, 2009

Logan Airport- November 16, 2009

BACK TO PANAMA

On November 5th Dan and I left Sea Star at 2:30AM and were driven to the Tocuman Airport by Tom from Shelter Bay Marina where we her in the capable hands ..of another cruiser, to arrive for our 5:30 flight to Boston. Now after what felt like a whirlwind and at times grueling trip- waaay too short- we are returning today to Colon, Panama, with the plan to soon continue on to Cartagena, Columbia via the San Blas Islands.

Our trip to Massachusetts was productive as Dan needed to keep his plumbing and electrical licenses current, and it was refreshing to visit family and friends and “catch up.” After a safe and on-time arrival in Boston, we got lost driving to Tom and Anina’s apartment in Cambridge. We finally arrived to a great 10:30 PM dinner, a little conversation, and headed toward Greenfield the next morning.

Luckily, Steven, our other son, has a nice apartment where we could stay while we visited my sister, Barb, my nieces and their families and some friends during the week, enjoyed special times with Steve, reacquainted ourselves with Maggie, the ex-boat cat, (she’s happy and solidly on land), did a quick tour of doctors and dentist and spent a day at Defender Marine in Connecticut selecting needed boat equipment.

We then zoomed back to Boston where Dan took his second class and Anina and I made pierogis, a tradition in our family that she wanted to master. We walked and talked, opened packages to take back to the boat, bought Christmas gifts, repacked -trying to keep the bags under 50 lbs (American Airlines let the last one go at 51 lbs) returned the rental car and we are waiting at American to get on the plane as I write this!

The weather was cool and a little rainy, I caught a cold, Dan had a sore knee but we had a great time and hope all the people we asked can make the time to visit us on the boat! In the confusion with all the bags and boxes I misplaced my camera so I have no new shots to include.

note that Tom put a new entry picture for our blog! It's also the shot we use for our boat card (like a business card) The shot was taken at the middle of our Newfoundland trip at Aviron Bay on the south coast back in August 2008.

In and out of paradise! October 30, 2009

Leaving the San Blas Islands behind October 30, 2009
In and out of paradise!

Sea Star backtracked to the West Lemmon Islands yesterday to stage for our passage to Linton today and then Shelter Bay Marina. We found the San Blas as lovely and inviting as it was eleven years ago- and are sorry to leave so soon.

We entered Kuna Yala and spent our first nights’ anchorage at the West Lemmons, where with Cabaret, John and Suzi, snorkeled a sunken ship in only 20 feet of water at nearby Dog Island, marveling at the colors presented by the growing coral reef. Also snorkeling were guests from a Kuna hotel on the island. They seemed to be Panamanians and some Columbians on vacation enjoying the warm sand beaches and crystalline waters. Here we were prepared fully for snorkeling; lycra suit encased and full fins, mask and snorkel. Seems all you need to swim is a tiny bikini if you are on vacation. I wondered if the beautiful girls would be covered with welts from the corals.

As new boats enter the anchorage the Kuna Indians in their sailing Ulus approach to tempt with lobster, crab, sometimes fish and always beautiful handcrafted Molas that the women of the San Blas have been making for generations. Two of the best known Mola makers are actually men. One is Venancio Restrepo who was first to come to our boat in the Lemmons and another named Lisa who is a transvestite, common in the Kuna culture, who wears her hair long and dresses in colorful clothing. We remembered having bought Molas and taking a river trip with Lisa on our last trip to San Blas.

To make a Mola colorful cottons of various colors are layered, as many as six or seven layers and cut to allow the design to immerge through from the color chosen for the last layer to the first or the top color. The best made Molas are always hand stitched with neat and tiny stitches taking the maker three months or more to achieve the desired design. The maker or his/her emissary bargain at the boat with Molas strewn on the lifelines and deck for effect and to sell at the best price a cruiser will pay. Many are lovely, all are colorful, some of traditional design and others of colorful birds especially desired by the tourists who come to Carti by cruise ship.

The next day Tregoning who had been delayed a day by engine trouble in Linton joined us. By afternoon they had checked in and returned to our new anchorage in the East Lemmons, a turquoise paradise between two inhabited islands, where we were approached by our second set of hopeful Mola saleswomen. They were able to sell to Tregoning-the newly arrived boat.

Soon we moved on down the chain of over 365 islands with incredibly complex names to Kuanidup in the Los Grullos group just a few miles away arriving in 20 knots of wind and low visibility to avoid the surrounding reefs. After finally achieving a safe anchorage we dinghied into the island and were able to order dinner at their restaurant. The crab was sweet and succulent and the fish, served whole after frying in coconut oil, Dan said was delicious. We snorkeled completely around a small island there- recording the water temperature between 86 and 92 degrees. We wore our lycra suits for sun and coral protection, not warmth.

In our two weeks in San Blas we visited briefly the Lemmons,Coco Banderos Islands, the Western Holandes where we found wonderful snorkeling, seeing beautiful reef fish and using our Caribbean Reef Fish and Creature Identification books extensively. Los Grullos, where snorkeling held many different sights but most memorable to me this visit was the joined islands of Corazon De Jesus and the town of Nargana where we watched the Kuna version of the World Series of softball. Unfortunately the home town, Yandup did not take the final game although it was expected to.

Also unfortunate is the fish stocks in the San Blas appear severely depleted with few edible species seen on the shallower reefs, but some drift into view where the reefs drop off into deeper waters. Dan has not felt the desire to hunt or spear fish as the fish we see are wary of divers and move away quickly, or are so deep that an inexperienced free diver couldn’t stay down long enough. There are many Kuna Ulus working the reefs constantly and many cruisers and some restaurants to sell the stock to. Lobster is offered every day at about $4 per pound and a whole large crab might be $6.

The traditions and customs of the Kuna in the San Blas are in flux. Some areas or villages are very traditional and do not welcome western visitors, but do tolerate them for the tourist dinero. One way the Kuna have updated is that many now have cellphones. The only problem is their island does not have electricity to charge them! They have learned that passing yachts have inverter-chargers and that cruisers are usually willing to charge the phones. One sweet, elderly woman traditionally dressed in Mola, patterned skirt and ankle and arm beading with a gold piece in her nose paddled with her son to our boat and asked with hand gestures that we charge the phones. Since it was really no problem we agreed, and she motioned for the son to give us a nice fish. Good trade! They paddled back in the morning to retrieve the two phones with huge smiles. Their island was named Miriadiadup and it was spectacular. There the family hung swinging in their hammocks in the shade near the palm thatched huts.

San Blas 1

There is so much more to explain about the Kuna culture but my journal is getting too long and I need to attach the pictures to the last entries now that I am back where internet is available. I’ll pull some background material about the Kuna from the guidebook next time. Right now I’m way too busy thinking about our upcoming visit to family and friends in Massachusetts.

Portobelo, Playa Blanca and Linton October 8-11, 2009

A Dangerous Incident

Portobelo, Playa Blanca and Linton October 8-11, 2009

We untied the lines and left the dock at Shelter Bay Marina in route for the old colonial Spanish fort town of Portobelo. This small community 11miles from Colon is reputed to have held so much gold in the storehouse at one time that the silver ingots had to be left in the streets. That led to great interest and taking of the fort by the pirates Drake and later Morgan.

Currently, the town is sleepy and quite economically depressed. It has certainly grown since we were there in 1998. From the boat we could see the colorful Colon busses that now pass through more regularly and other commercial and tourist traffic.

At Portobelo we decided to stay on the boat and actually go under it to remove the barnacle growth acquired at Shelter Bay. Water temperatures are very warm, high 80's to 90's and the growth had been significant. Navy Blue offered their hookah rig. A hookah is a compression motor with attached diving regulator so instead of bobbing up and down by snorkel, a very strenuous task on the hull of a 45 ft. boat, Dan could stay under the water on this hookah for one. I worked on the first four feet down while he scraped the propeller, shaft and underwater mechanical gear and removed the huge barnacles that drag the speed of the boat down-a huge job but made easier by the use of the breathing device. Thanks Ed and Valma!

The next morning we moved on to a lovely little cove area named Playa Blanca only 2.5 miles from Portobelo. It was a place with moderately good snorkeling along the sides and with a short swim from the boat, we could walk awhile on the beach. The anchor held well in the white sand and we felt quite safe tucked in behind the two small islands. The wind and swell were not a problem for us.

The next morning we moved on to Linton, another area Dan and I remembered from our last trip. There were many more boats than there were previously, easily fifty. Many were boats seemingly anchored and unoccupied but many were probably people, cruisers, who now live in the Linton area. We ate at the restaurant on shore and it was very good. We took a dinghy ride to check the facilities at Panamarina, and found they were absolutely full through January. They had a restaurant, too. After two days there we got our weather window and chose to move on to the San Blas, as we have quite a few days before we are due back at Shelter Bay to leave our boat and our time in the San Blas may be limited by the weather, the winter storms, when we return to Panama after our visit to MA and are waiting to move toward Columbia.

The following is a personal view of a terrible incident-my facts are the best I can recall at this writing:

While we were anchored at Linton, our good friends on the 38 ft. Island Packet, Navy Blue unfortunately were singled out for a robbery. The cruisers in the know describe what happened as an act of piracy, and it certainly has shaken up a complacent cruising community. Navy Blue was anchored in the center of the fleet, with boats surrounding all sides. Sea Star was 150 ft. from Navy Blue on the same line, both smack in the center!

The boat was boarded from the side late at night. Ed was still up at his computer and in seconds he was immobilized by one of the invaders with a machete at his neck! His frantic spouse did whatever she could to get them the hell off the boat. Unfortunately for other cruisers in the future, they extracted a large amount of money, passports and other valuables and left in a speeding Ponga. At that point Valma went into action blowing the horn and yelling that they had been robbed. Another cruiser further toward Isla Grande and in the direction the Ponga was going, gave chase in a 15HP dinghy, but to no avail.

The authorities in Isla Grande were summoned to the boat and interviewed Valma and Ed during the night. They took the basic information and left. Valma, unlike many of us cruisers, does speak Spanish but they were really not given any help in how to proceed to have the crime solved or deal with the resulting loss of crucial paperwork. On the VHF and HAM nets the discussion the next few days was how the police and others always seem unconcerned, and locals who often know the perpetrators and are fearful of reprisal aren't cooperative. The cruising community is angry feeling the police must be strongly encouraged by any means to be more involved! Rumors (apparently not true) started about a subject being handcuffed and arrested.

Meanwhile our friends, whom we had to leave behind, had to start the processes of healing, never easy in a foreign country, of replacing passports, boat papers and documents while quietly wondering , "Why was I singled out? What did I do wrong ?", and the terror of the moments of the attack will be with them forever.

Already they have had to worry again about being off the boat and at anchor for days at a time while they made the necessary trips first to Portobello authorities who sent them on to Colon authorities and all by bus or expensive taxi to "report" the incident. They had a hard time even getting a police report which they felt having would help in the replacement of documents, cards, and licenses. In the States we'd be looking at a home invasion situation with the expectation of severe penalty for the perpetrators.

Because of the seriousness of this crime followed by grapevine information and no/slow resolution, another rift in trust and relations between people who have moved fully to Panama, cruisers passing through who may need and want contact with the local populations and services and the local peoples just trying to live decent lives has occurred. The phrase the long term cruisers use is "What can you expect? This is Panama.", when one official tells you one thing and another negates it and sends you on to a third with his/her own idea-but it always costs more money.

Whatever the eventual outcome, the whole incident will be a major headache and major expense for the boaters involved.

Birding from Shelter Bay Marina September26 and October 3, 2009

Two Days of Birding in Panama

Birding from Shelter Bay Marina September26 and October 3, 2009

Still no sailing. We are still planning to move on toward the San Blas but have recently found out that classes Dan needed to take in MA to update his licenses were full on the date he had signed up for. We have delayed our trip home to MA until November 5th , which leaves us more traveling time now, but less later when we return. With our extra time now we have pursued our hobby of birdwatching and Panama is a wonderful place to find many species.

Previously we have had some opportunity to travel by renting a car and driving around for needed items and to Reba Smith, a great grocery store and meat market in Panama City.In the city we took a walk in the Metropolitan Park, an oasis in the middle of a thriving city. The view of the city was fantastic but it is a wild enough place that birds and animals can be seen. While we had the rental car we drove onto some of the back woods birding roads, visited Summit Park on the road to Gamboa, where we were able to see a captive Harpy Eagle very close up. I took a picture with my camera of the photos I bought in the gift shop, as this was the one day I did not carry my camera, gurrr.

She was offered food, a large chunk of raw beef, on a table in her cage. If she had taken the food that day we would have seen her from a distance of six feet! She did not swoop down for the food but this magnificent creature; large comb of feathers surrounding her head dark, preening after a drenching rain, penetrating, intelligent eyes and a six foot wing span -was still a sight to see. This species of eagle are endangered and only a few remain in the open in Panama. They eat sloths from the trees, monkeys, and barring those foods, small domestic goats and sheep. No wonder a still slab of meat didn't entice her to come and grab it, although she has been in captivity her whole life. At Summit Park there were three species of Mackaw, jaguars and other cats and monkeys (though we didn't see them).

The highlights of our birding in Panama has been at Finca Leirida where we saw the Three Wattled Bell bird and male quetzal- see Boquete entry) and the two birding trips with Jacobo Ortega. His company is birding in panama.com.

How else would you meet a great birder with an excellent scientific background but in the woods? Dan and I had our rental car and were on a road mentioned in Ridgely, the Old Pipeline Rd. We drove up the road as far as we could until a fence blocked the way. Just as we parked in a clearing a small white van parked also. We started to talk as the young man started to show us what we could not see ourselves, all the while talking about how ANCON and the Smithsonian allow limited access to that road since Ridgely wrote about it and he told us how he was a professional bird guide.

We were in awe of his ability to identify birds by their songs, find them and help us to see them, and amazingly imitate a few so as to call them nearer. On that day he pointed out a Purple Throated Fruitcrow, a Masked Tityra and Black Capped Pygmy- Tyrant- a tiny, canopy bird, and didn't even have his binoculars out. Dan was determined to hire him to guide us.

On a Saturday early Jacob arrived at Shelter Bay with his 12 year old daughter and took us to a place called Achiote Road, where we had a great day. Along with his other birding skills he could adjust his birding scope faster than we had ever seen anyone do. That day we were lucky enough to see a White Hawk, a Grey Hawk and lots of Tucans, Arricari, White tailed Trogan, a gorgeous iridescent green Honeycreeper and a female Blue Cotinga among many others. Upon returning to the marina Jacob and has daughter visited our boat for a few minutes before the two hour trip back to Panama City, were he lives.

We recruited Alison and Randall from Tregoning and Susan and Tom from Limmerick and hired another trip with Jacob the following weekend. He was busy but rearranged his schedule to accommodate us. This time out the list of birds and animals was longer despite an hour and a half of rain while we had lunch. What we saw was varied although we went to the same road. The male Blue Cotinga was seen and it was spectacular; a brilliant blue bird set off with black wingtips. We saw a jaguarondi in a tree as we drove out on Achiote and Tamarins and monkeys off the road in the trees. All the birders had good looks at new life birds.

Susan from Limmerick made a list of our birds seen that day and it was extensive. She has her ways of finding and learning the birds, too. She records the call, if possible, then dictates what she sees as she has her binoculars on the bird. Sometimes her husband, Tom, can photograph the bird at the same time, then when they come out of the woods, they study the identification book.

While walking along Achiote Rd. we had a long look at a Savanna Hawk sitting on a tall, dead tree out in a pasture, saw two species of orioles, Orchard and Northern, two species of Euphonia, Fulvous vented and Thick billed, many Tanagers including the Red Throated Ant Tanager, and Red Breasted Blackbird. (and many others) We spent some time on the way back to the marina in a quest for a Pygmy Kingfisher that Jacob knew he had seen perched above a stream in the mangroves on that road. We were in the van again and driving when Jacob heard the call of a bird and dashed along the side of the road carrying his scope, motioning to us to follow. After a few minutes of looking and listening while Jacob clapped to mimic the sound of the bird, the bird approached and we all were provided a great scope view of the "bird of the day", the Green and Rufus Kingfisher. Jacob was excited to have found a bird he
doesn't see too often.

Birding trip

Obviously Dan and I recommend him highly. Check out his website at birdinginpanama.com or google Jacobo Ortega. If you are in Panama, or planning a trip and have the interest, he organizes trips all over Panama, especially the highlands and Chiriqui regions and has a comfortable van that seats eight people.

If anyone would like a more extensive list of our sightings, write to the blog. Some photos were taken through the scope by my Cannon 850 point and shoot camera by Jacob.

Pictures to follow when I have internet again

Shelter Bay Marina, Colon, Panama October 1, 2009

What does a cruiser do in a marina ?

Shelter Bay Marina, Colon, Panama October 1, 2009

So the sailing vessel Sea Star remains tied to the sturdy, concrete finger piers at Shelter Bay Marina. What does a cruiser do in a marina for over a month? (Well, not now- now we have moved on so that Oct. 11, 2009 we arrived in the San Blas)
Since there are few worries once all the boat projects are done or planned- you can just hang around your boat and watch the comings and goings. Here at Shelter Bay there is a regular stream of cruisers planning to go through the canal to the Pacific, waiting for the measure of their yacht to prepare to move through the canal or arriving at Shelter Bay Marina the day of transiting the canal from the Pacific to Atlantic Ocean. The sailors and motor yachts are from all countries and they all have had adventures so it is a lively group.

Many cruisers run, jog and work out on a regular basis. For Sea Star and a group of cruisers who are heading toward the San Blas and eventually Columbia, the location of the marina near to the San Lorenzo National Park offers some great exploration opportunities while hiking, jogging or just walking and gawking. It's beautiful exploring the quiet, green and majestic canopied walking paths and roads. The roads were built back long before 1999 when the park and the Panama Canal were returned to the Panamanian Government by the United States military who used to jungle-train here in Panama. There are open fields, some with bunkers or homes that have now been allowed to return to jungle.

We Cruisers have been thrilled to see and hear mammals such as white-faced capuchin monkeys and the larger howlers cavorting in the treetops. Occasionally cats such as the Jaguarondi, anteaters, coatimondi, a long-tailed raccoon-like animal, agouti, a fat rodent with little tiny round ears and an few solitary crocodiles and caiman around the dock areas where there are mangroves have been seen. The paths are alive with a large variety of singing, whistling, colorful, noisy or squawking birds flitting around flowered branches, munching on fruits, ants or catching insects in flight, or just quietly sitting in foliage. Our Ridgely bird identification book has had a workout.

For us, mornings can be very leisurely. We get up, have great Panamanian coffee(we finally invested in a whole bean grinder when we visited Bouquete) and check out the news on the internet if the network is working that day, or read a book for awhile before breakfast. Sometimes Dan and I take an early morning walk carrying our binoculars and often discover new (to us) birds. But sometimes as needs arise for groceries and boat parts, we must gear up early to hurry to the Shelter Bay 8:00AM free bus with our canvas boat bags and backpacks and take the hour long trip to the city of Colon to a specified mall to shop.

Colon, we are warned in writing from the marina managers and from other cruisers, is not a safe place for gringos to walk around town. The crime rate is high as there is extreme poverty and petty thievery and worse is rampant. Shelter Bay must pick up some of its employees in Colon and so a bus is available to bring cruisers to the necessities of life. The Shelter Bay shopping bus arrives at the Rey Market where the majority of the people get off to grocery shop. Other cruisers pile out of the bus, some into other taxis to go to deal with boat papers or be driven to hardware stores, machine shops, the downtown vegetable market, or to Budget Rent-a-Car. Most will race back to rejoin the group for the bus at 11:15 on the trip back over the Gatun locks and back to the marina, the groceries, purchased gas tanks, water bottles, propane bottles etc. now stuffed onto the crowded bus, on all the seats, up near the driver and resting on the floor slipping and sliding on the 45 minute return trip over the bumpy and twisting roads, over the Gatun Lock with perhaps a 45 minute wait for a cargo ship or tanker to clear the locks, (makes for great scenery) through the gate into the military drill base (now Panamanian) and back into the gated marina. After disengaging ourselves one couple at a time from the mountain of purchases, we return to our boats and the intense heat and humidity of a day in Panama, exhausted.

But now we must store the purchases. The mantra is "there is nothing available in the San Blas". The refrigerator and freezer are solidly packed as we wash and repackage grocery items. Any cardboard possible to remove is removed to avoid contamination of the boat by cockroach eggs said to lurk in the glue of any cardboard. The aft cabin is stuffed with canvas bags containing the vegetables that won't fit in the refrigerator and any other large item that needs to be dealt with later. We collapse in a heap, turn on the boat air conditioners and try to recover from the marathon of shopping, packing, lugging, washing, cleaning and storing.

Other cruiser activities can fill our time, too, beside working on the boat and just waiting for the frequent rainstorms to subside so laundry can be brought to the three machines where you wait your turn in the 90 boat marina. The summer camp for adults atmosphere is noted at the swimming pool and hot tub. ). The restaurant has AC and provides some relief from the heat generated when cooking on the boat) although the food is not great. The restaurant has a large screen satellite TV playing ESPN or the occasional movie (in Spanish). On opening day of American football the bar threw an NFL party (sparcely attended however). Seems like we just finish one meal, barely get the dishes done (do you remember life without a dishwasher?) and it's time to start the next! Add the requirement to bring something out to the dock for happy hour and you are planning food all day. Some of the boaters have both cruisers who love to cook and have become sought after for the weekly pot luck dinners.
There is an "everyone is welcome" daily volleyball game organized by Suzi and John on m/v Cabaret for exercise and sociability and an evening gathering on the dock to hash over the events of the day, see who has arrived or left, who is waiting for what parts shipment, what cost three or more times what was expected and general meet and great gathering of the cruisers.

Specifically for Dan and I in our time at Shelter Bay some time has been spent in procuring a get-home to MA ticket for our boat cat, Maggie. This required driving her to the vet in Colon and to an agent in Panama City so she could be flown to Boston then driven to Greenfield to rejoin our son, Steven, at his home. We were able to fly her for more money than tickets for the two of us will cost- in Continental Cargo $346.00, and we met some nice people that helped through the red tape. The veterinaria in Colon, Omar Lorenzo at Silver City was excellent and helpful. $15 for the health certificate proving her rabies vaccine was current and $45 for a new cage for her transportation. He was able to certify that Maggie was healthy and could travel. In Panama City we usedmovetopanama.com for $551.00. Mario and Karina's service was appreciated as they took care of her to be sure she would be on the plane on time. We miss Maggie as she was great company on the boat, playful and uncomplaining, unless we were traveling for days, but we felt she would be happier on land with space to walk and exercise. The days were brutally hot in the boat when it had to be closed for the day.

Happily, our friends on Tregoning have traveled to the Rio Chagres and it may work out that Tregoning, Navy Blue, Cabaret, Whane and Sea Star as well as many other boats from Shelter Bay or Bocas Del Toro may move on to the San Blas soon. We heard from Jamie by email, now returned to his science teaching job in Canada and off of Wind Song for ten months. He is slowly acclimating to the differences in culture on land and he and his cat Spot, miss their sailing days. Well, actually Spot is fine. We miss you, Jamie! I guess it's up to you to teach the youth the basis for your values and the importance of conservation principles to the natural world.