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Limerence Update #373 February, 2002 Colon/Portobelo, Panama Latitude 9d33N – Longitude 79d40dW Temperature Air 88d – Sea 83d
Anchoring in the “Flats” off the Panama Canal Yacht Club in Colon, gave us the opportunity to rest after our transit, straighten Limerence, and take care of some city chores. Our intended stay of two days quickly became a week. The Yacht Club is a funky somewhat dingy place with an air-conditioned bar, restaurant, laundry facilities, and fuel dock. The finger piers are in need of repair, and cruising boats tie up rather precariously to the rickety docks. Most people move on within a few days after a transit, but there are a few who settle in and use the facility as a home base for months. The place grows on you and you actually like the joint.
On Thursday night – the evening after our transit – we joined Bruce and Lonnie from Double Dragon and Ross from Trinity III for a dinner “on the town”. Our son Drew was also with us and had arranged to stay for three weeks. We hired two taxis that whisked us through the garbage-strewn barrio of Colon. It is a tired shabby little town with a deservedly bad reputation. We stopped in front of the restaurant “Dorado Oro” and after a furtive peek out the curtained window; the owner unlocked the door and admitted us. We were the only people in the place, and the door was securely locked after us. We ate typical Panamanian dinners of seafood with rice, fried plantains and head lettuce salads. After dinner our cabs ferried us back to the security of the Yacht Club. Colon is not a safe city, and petty crime and muggings occur daily. Doug suffered a brief encounter with a youth trying to snatch and grab at his wallet as he hiked back to the Yacht Club in midday. The following morning we hired a cab, dropped off laundry, gathered a few provisions, and spent several hours at a Chinese operated Internet. A few doors away we had lunch at a reasonably pleasant restaurant called “Café National” that catered to businessmen. In most places only Spanish is spoken and it is essential to know at least a few basic phrases. A curious phenomenon in Colon is the “Zona Libre”, which is the duty free shopping zone. It is a huge walled complex of buildings selling wholesale to buyers from Central America. You have to show a passport to enter, and usually have an appointment with a store representative to do business. With the help from friends on the sailboat Joss, we got an appointment and shopped for wine at wholesale prices. The store resembled Neiman-Marcus and we placed our order after inspecting the wine neatly displayed on mirrored shelves. The hooch was delivered to the Yacht Club dock that evening. The Caribbean trade winds are really dramatic especially in January and February. They howl day and night at 20-25 knots from the Northeast. On the weekend, our friend Ross, a single-hander on the sailboat Trinity III departed Colon for Boca de Toro - a hundred miles or so to the northwest. Double Dragon also departed Colon heading northeast to the San Blas Islands. We expected to follow shortly. After several days we heard Ross on the morning radio net asking for advice on finding a suitable anchorage in which to rest. He had been battling high seas and winds and sounded exhausted. His autopilot was unable to keep up with the seas, and he had been hand steering the boat for hours. He was unable to get into any of the anchorages noted on the charts. Several cruisers familiar with the area advised that he was up against great odds this time of the year. Ross decided to “hove to” and rest for a few hours, but intended to push on. The following day he called in on SSB radio sounding despondent and in need of help. He was drifting farther from his destination and was caught in the grips of a 2-3 knot counter current. He had lost his engine and was going to deploy his dinghy and try to make way pushing Trinity III. We were all very concerned. The next day Ross radioed for help asking for someone to tow him. He was now 35 miles out to sea, and unable to keep up. No one was in a position to help and a tow was not an option. He sadly turned around and headed back to Colon after almost six days at sea. During this ordeal he lost his engine, autopilot, dinghy and outboard. He thankfully made it under sail back to Colon. The seas and winds of the Caribbean are a sobering force of nature when the “Christmas Trades” blow. We departed the flats of Cristobal Harbor on Friday January 25, bound for Portobelo Panama, about 20 miles northeast. We put two reefs in the mainsail, and under a bright sunny sky made our exit amongst the huge ships entering the port. We pounded in 5-6 foot waves and 20-25 knots of wind on the nose. Drew became seasick within an hour. After four hours of pounding, the bay of Portobelo was calm and welcoming as we dropped anchor.
Portobelo is a tiny place with a rich history. Spain’s King Felipe II ordered forts constructed at Portobelo to protect the gold and treasures as they were loaded on ships to send back to the mother country. There are substantial remnants and ruins of several forts around the bay, which make for wonderful hiking and breathtaking views. Portobelo is also the place where a strange event called the Black Christ Festival happens every October. Pilgrims arrive from all over Panama to dance and celebrate in honor of Jesus. Many wear purple robes and crawl through the streets to show their devotion and sacrifice to God. Portobelo has a wonderful small history museum displaying many of the robes created for this event.
The remainder of our visit to Portobello with Drew was spent hiking, snorkeling, beaching, river exploration, and computer chores. Drew is our computer expert and the manager of our website. He has infinite patience with our endless problems and computer questions. On Saturday, February 2, he hopped the chicken bus to Sabinitas Panama, and there took the express bus to Panama City. He flew back to San Diego the next day. After three weeks Drew understands better the sailing adventure we are experiencing and we had a wonderful family visit. Oh, by the way, we have a pet gecko on board called Pepe. We think he is Panamanian, but we aren’t sure. Fair winds friends, Doug and Judy |
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