Left Portobello, Panama finally. We arrived late December 20, 2010 after a 63 hours of motor sailing trying so hard to get there in what was supposed to be a 50 hour trip. This was our worse passage since leaving Minnesota – actually the last 20 miles was the worse. The first time we have ever went into a harbor in the dark. Fortunately we did have help and guidance from S/V Equinox we were traveling with that got in ALOT earlier than us. Why? Because we can’t motor into wind/seas/current as well as them and got caught out longer while weather conditions got MUCH worse. So we are reminded that we can’t go out in any weather that appears it may be on the nose even if it appears to be light winds (cause it never is what they say). So it was a challenging ride but are very happy with being here. It is a friendly, quaint village and beautiful island. This type of passage tests your team working skills and trust along with managing abit of anger, frustration and mixed words. We are fine and still friends – so I guess we succeeded.
We are really enjoying Providencia, Colombia – a tiny 17km island which is very friendly, clean and environmentally active. I am looking at renting a bicycle while I’m here but have lots of small mopeds as is their main transportation. Still very nice vs in Panama where its all cars/buses/etc. They do have trucks with seats in the back acting as a local bus system for around $1.50 to travel the island. A few days ago, I hitched a ride (actually ended up being the main elderly guy that manages the races) to the other side of the island to watch the local traditional sailboat regatta with small boats/big sails. The boat needs 9 people to keep it upright while sailing. It was very interesting, especially how they attached the sail to the mast/boom! One of the boats went down while tacking so they were finished.
We got checked into the country (immigration and port captain for $100) by Bush Agency who also owns a general store below his home. Interesting in that the only way people get to this island besides us boaters is from San Andres (where the cruise ships go) via small airplane or fast ferry. So this part of Bush’s business is dependent upon us cruisers stopping.
We have been walking abunch and waiting for a clear day to hike the 3 hours to El Pico peak. We met Luceli Leon, a delightful High School Science teacher that said she would go with us or find one of her students to show the way. She has many Science projects so I thought we could give her some funds for those instead of paying $15 for a tour guide as they say you can’t find your way by yourself. We met her as we were talking to this guy that was asking for money (I was trying to find a way we could exchange needs) and found out that he was the village thief. Luceli’s family visited us on Boxing Day and see what our sailboat living is like. Their 5 year old boy (Clint) was very energetic and curious. I made banana bread to give as a little gift along with a few other items. I got up at 3am to see the Luna Eclipse but was abit overcast but still saw some of it. It was lovely – especially after the earth started moving away the moon was a musty brown color. Then the full moon was lovely but didn’t think about gathering folks for a soltice party.
Two days before x-mas we listened to some local musicians and childrens concert at the Catholic Church. Christmas Eve after the 11pm Catholic Church service they had WONDERFUL fireworks VERY close to our boat – so was very magical. While I was sleeping I thought it was gun fire and told Tom to stay down (boy where did that fear come from while dreaming?). Christmas Day the 12 sailboats in the harbor got together for a potluck on LARGE 62′ catamaran S/V Downtime anchored with us. Peter is a LARGE dairy farmer from Kansas along with his girlfriend from St. Petersburgh, Russia. Initially we were going to go to a local women’s home in the harbor but its blowing pretty strong here so would of been sorta difficult to get their by dinghy. Speaking of blowing — its keeping the batteries up such that I can run my x-mas lights and music all day long. I need to get some LED lights so don’t consume so much battery power.
Peace, Laughter, Love and Health be with you during this Holiday and New Year!