Limerence Update #31

September 20, 2001
Parida Island, Panama 8d07'997N - 82d19'176W

We are anchored in a tiny bay on a remote island called Parida, off the southwestern coast of Panama. It was exciting to raise our 6th courtesy flag as we entered the waters of Panama. Our burgee for Panama is very special as it was hand stitched by a Kuna Indian woman. It was a gift from a cruising couple who had it made for them while they were in Panama. The Kuna Indians live in the San Blas Islands on the Caribbean side of Panama.

We left the Los Suenos Marina on September 10th. We heard the horrible news the next morning about the attack on America on our morning radio net. It was shocking and still dreamlike in our minds. We are one of the few who haven't seen any television coverage of the event. We listen to CNN on Voice of America in the evenings, but have very limited information. We can't imagine how people can cope with this disaster. Doug had 17 employees of JCI working at the Pentagon on his project, and fortunately they all escaped unharmed. He was upset until he found out that they were safe. The cruising community here consists of about 50 boats between El Salvador and the Canal, and we all are concerned and share what news we know over the marine SSB radio.

Our trip from Costa Rica consisted of two stops along the way to Panama. Our first night out, after 35 miles, we pulled into an anchorage at Manuel Antonio Park. It is the most famous biological reserve in Costa Rica. The bay is rugged with islet spires all around, white sand beaches, and thick jungle behind the palms lining the beach. It was dicey winding around the rocks and hazards and we dropped anchor in 25 feet of water with relief not to have touched any rocks! The night was uncomfortable as Limerence rolled back and forth in the ocean swell from the south.

The next day we pulled anchor at 5:45 am and made our way 55 miles southeast to Drake's Bay. Rumor has it that Sir Francis Drake buried a large treasure along this coast in the late 1500's. It also has the distinction of being one of the rainiest places in Costa Rica getting 220 inches or 20 FEET of rain each year. The Bay is wild and beautiful with black sand beaches and a few eco-lodges in the jungle. We landed our dinghy on the beach with a great crash through the surf. Later bounding out through the intimidating surf was scary stuff for old geezers like us

We thought that dinghy landings were pretty exciting until we found a SNAKE in our cockpit. It was a 3-foot sea snake that probably slithered up our swim ladder looking for food. We scared him into our dinghy, and finally shooed him back into the water.

After a day in Drake's Bay, friends on the boat, Kumbaya, joined us in the anchorage. We helped each other land the dinghy once again, through the awesome surf, and jerry jugged twenty gallons of diesel fuel we bought from a small tienda owner. We both left after midnight on September 16th and sailed east to Panama.

It feels like we are back in the cruising mode again. We have been traveling, navigating, anchoring, and discovering new places after nearly six months in Costa Rica. It is fun to be on the road again. Everyday there are boat chores to tend to . . . fixing a leak in the hot water heater, repairing a leaky water pump on the engine, diagnosing a malfunction in the toilet, and monitoring our use of electricity. We expect to be away from civilization for about six weeks, and are provisioned for that time. There aren't any grocery stores here, but we did trade one t-shirt and four Snickers Bars this morning with local fishermen for four lobsters. The cruising life has a certain mystique about it that we love. The only thing we really REALLY miss is a Laundromat!

Fair winds friends, Captain Doug and Judy

         More Travel Logs                                                                        Home