Monday, January 7, 2013

San Blas Islands

03 /01/2013

Isla Pinos...We arrive in Kuna Yala country
The closest checking in point for us would have been Obaldia, some 100 miles from Tintipan. The bay is however open to the northerly winds and swells which happen to be the prevailing winds. There is no protection, and dinghies have to be landed through the waves on to the beach. We decided to give it a miss, and head for Isla Pinos, where there is a break in the barrier reef. From there it is possible to enjoy some of the less frequented parts of Kuna Yala (the semi independent Kuna Indian area of Panama), and work one’s way up to the better known parts of San Blas, inside the protecting reef. The law requires that one has to check in and obtain a cruising permit($193) within 72 hrs of arriving in Panamanian waters. But, as there is no place where a cruiser can do this before reaching Porvinir, it is ignored by everyone arriving from Colombia, who could not stop in Obaldia.                       

A nice quiet anchorage
We therefore enjoyed a leisurely and illegal 60 mile cruise up from Isla Pinos through the beautiful, challenging, reef and wreck strewn archipelago, before reaching the more popularized, (and American colonized!) part of San Blas. Here the water is gin clear, and the islands and anchorages are such that one has only ever dreamed about! 
ST makes a great 4X4 over navionic islands!
No problems for the local Kuna!!
Navigation through these waters is tricky, and with both Raymarine(Navionics), and Garmin charts being SOOOO! wrong,….. one has to rely on the excellent Eric Bauhaus Pilot book, polaroid sunglasses, good overhead light, and lots of common sense!


Fearless sailors!
Sails could do with a little help!
Dad and kids visit us
The Kuna Indians are a very small race of people, and probably the last viable elements of the Mayan (and Inca) heritage. They have fiercely defended their independence, in Panama, and for the main part, have retained much of their old customs and lifestyles, in villages run by chiefs and elders.

villages are built right on the waters edge
With water born swerage facilities!

Local petrol station!
While the men go out in their dugouts, fishing and diving, the women spend time  handsewing and making their traditional, and complicated, reverse appliqué  “Molas”. These molas are  worn by the women, and sold to tourists and cruisers who visit. The background colours are traditionally burgundy, black or orange, with any number of brighter colours stitched and woven into the designs. They are traditionally worn as part of their clothing, but western visitors use them as cushion covers or wall hangings, for the most part.

Mola's for sale..all hand sstitched

Wherever one anchors, one is approached by Kuna’s in dugouts, hailing “Hola”, and offering fish, lobsters, crabs, Kuna bread, pineapples, fruit and veg, and … molas! The best known Mola” maker is “Lisa”, who is actually a transvestite, who calls him/herself the “Mola Lisa”, The Master Mola Maker! He /she is also a tour guide, and very enterprising individual, who also collects and sells all aluminium cooldrink and beer cans, to raise funds for Kuna children.

A few of Lisa's designs
His/her business card
Our route up from Isla Pinos, took us to Achutupu on the first day, past Snug Harbour up to Aridup, on day 2, and then on to Isla Tigre. These areas are rarely visited, and we enjoyed  having the places to ourselves, for the most part. Day 4 saw us go on past Nargana (the biggest Kuna town and trading centre), to Green Island, which was lovely. The weather turned a bit foul, but we were so well protected behind the reef, well dug in, that we stayed there until boxing day!

Green Island anchorage
Mary enjoys a swim behind Isla Tigre
Coco Bandero 

Thereafter, we stayed for 2 days in Coco Bandero , a beautiful little group of 4 Palm tree islands, with white sandy beaches, before moving on to the East Hollandaise Cays, where we anchored in the “Swimming Pool”
Supervising a plastic  rubbish burn !

Anew coconut palm sprouts!

 We were well protected, but the wind was pumping, and we were not able to enjoy it at its best. From there, we sailed past “Dog Island” in the East Lemons, for a quick dive on a wreck, before anchoring behind the Chichime Island cays.




We spent New Years Eve there, plus New Years Day, before leaving San Blas and heading for Isla Linton, a protected anchorage about 45 miles along the coast to Colon. Passing the Escribanos Shoals, we hooked and landed Senor Wahoo……23kg of delicious fresh fish which required gaffing and a tranquilising shot of  Cachaca!

Steve & Chris in the Christmas spirit
Senor  Wahoo!!!
 The following day we sailed on to Shelter Bay Marina, which is inside the breakwater protecting Colon, and the Panama canal entrance. The wind was blowing a bit of a “Hooly”, and the seas big and nasty.

Colon Breakwater is a welcome sight!
 We made good time, but were very happy to moor in the dead calm waters of Shelter bay Marina! The next day, we checked into Panama, after a long and tiring voyage from Colombia! We never mentioned our little San Blas detour! And nobody asked why it had taken a month to get from Santa Marta, Colombia!

Just keep on truckin;'

Another 1300miles, since Grenada, in the “Journey of Sheer Tenacity”!

We are now frantically putting her to bed for a month, while we fly back to RSA for a very welcome home visit, before heading out over the Pacific in March/April.  

Santa Marta to Panama

Mr Wahoo!
13/12/2012

" Despite the contradictory and confusing Colombian Clearance procedures, we really enjoyed the country, the people, it's culture, history, language and music. Clearing in took 3 days and involves an agent costing $100, temporary importation of the yacht, a customs inspection to confirm the engine number on the engine, and plus further demands from the port captain requiring money for the "importation of the yacht for more than 15 days", despite having been given a Temporary importation of yacht for 90 days" by Customs! We think the agent meant "cruising permit". Clearing out took 3 days, and results in a "Zarpe" clearance to another port. If you clear to Cartagena, you have to pay another agent there, another $100 , to clear in to the country again! The "Zarpe, y puntos intermedios", which the agent assured us could be arranged, failed to be forthcoming from the Port Captain, when the time came. This was to allow us to stop over at all Colombian ports/anchorages  except Cartagena), as we moved down the coast towards Panama, which was stipulated on our Zarpe. Despite not getting our Zarpe as promised, we were assured that we could stop anywhere (except Cartagena!)             Our first attempt to leave failed after an hour, as our sailing buddies, (Scott Free), blew a gasket, on their newly replaced water pump.We were welcomed back by the Marina, but our agent, Dino, became very agitated as we were now illegal, and should clear in again. "Dino, that would take another 4 days plus $100, and we are only going to be here long enough for the Colombian mechanic to fix his mistake! We are not here, and you have not seen us! OK?"
           It took 3 days, as the original gasket was destroyed, and a new one had to be turned in a machine shop. Each day, an ever more agitated Dino wanted to know when we were leaving, as he would be in trouble with the Port Captain if anyone saw us! "Nonsense Dino, you are the only official who knows we are back and why, and you have not seen us..right?" We were damned if we were going to hand over our Clearance Zarpe, and have to wait another week or so for a new one, at a further cost of $100!

couple of decent fillets!
          
We left at dawn on day 3, and crossed the dreaded Magdelena, the mouth of the huge river, which drains 3/4 of the rainfall of Colombia.  At times, its outlfow can create chaotic,wild, and dirty seas 12 miles offshore, disgorging tree trunks, rubbish, and dead cows! We crossed the mouth about 6 miles off, after a dry period, but even so, the contrast between the clean green Caribbean sea, and the chocolate brown outflow was dramatic. Obviously a good fishing spot too, as moments before we hit the brown water, I boated a 15kg Wahoo, in the last of the clean water.
Anchored behind Hormosa point
          We sailed on around the point, and headed into the shelter behind Hermosa point, to anchor for the night. After the dramas of leaving Santa Marta, we stayed an extra day, in these well protected waters, to prepare for our surreptitious sail into Cartagena. We left at 4.00am, planning on entering the famous city by way of the Boca Grande entrance, which has a narrow small craft entrance, blasted  through the submerged wall, constructed to try and stop more attacks and sackings by the "Dragon of the seas", Francis Drake, and other Corsairs. We wanted to have enough time to get in via the much further, but easy Boca Chica entrance, in the event that sea conditions made Boca Grande too risky.
Ancient city of Cartagena  as seen from the approach.
          We had a rollicking sail down from Hermosa, and fully expected the Boca Grande to be too difficult in the conditions. As luck would have it, the wind dropped 7miles out, and the seas calmed, allowing us to safely enter via the short  Boca Grande route
Boca Grande entrance over the submerged wall
. It really has to be one of the most spectacular sailing sights, going into Bahia Cartegena, and seeing the wall to wall skyscrapers one the one side, and the ancient historical city on the other side. We anchored off the decrepit Club Nautica, hoisted our yellow flags, placed our contingency broken impeller nearby, (in case we were asked what we were doing there, and had to go down the problemo, problemo routine), and had a couple of beers, while watching the sun set over this incredible skyline!             


New city
of Cartagena
 We set off again at 8.00am, exiting via the other Boca Chica entrance, where Scott Free, were called up on the radio by the Port Captain, and asked a whole heap of questions about registration numbers, skippers name, number of passengers, destination etc...... not a thing about what we were doing there, and when had we checked in... Just, thank you for the information, have a good sail! They had obviously been picked up via their class B AIS transponder! Not something one should turn on during a stealth visit!!     


Drake back to sack Cartagena again?

Anchorage outside Club Nautica

Colombian mean machine!

Statue guarding the shallow shoalling area


Scott -Free wleaving Cartagena
The fort guarding the Boca Chica entrance

         Our next destination was the Rosario island group, where we anchored behind a tricky reef, where  we enjoyed swimming in the clear waters in such a pretty place. We just hope that the wind would stay southerly, in this north facing anchorage! Well ,it did'nt!!
Behind the reef in Isla Grande

Nice while it lasted!!

Check this boats "Loo with a View"!


At 4pm, when it was too late to leave as would not have been able to see well enough to pick our way back through the poorly marked reefs, it swung to North, and built to 20plus knots! Truly stuck between a rock and a hard place,and on only 20 metres of chain, rocks 30mts behind, and a reef 30mts in front, with the chain stretched out like a ram rod!  We had a very uncomfortable anchor watch until 11pm, when the wind dropped, and we could feel safe again.
Behind Tintipan ! Lovelly!

No wonder we spent an extra day here!
           We left the next morning, in good light for Isla Tintipan, in the San Bernado archipelago. Here we anchored on the lee side of a big ,wide open safe anchorage, in front of palm tree beaches, over crystal clear waters! We loved it so much, we stayed an extra day, to prepare for our  last haul to Panama, where we had decided to enter the San Blas (and Kuna Yala) islands, at Isla Pinos, some 130miles further.

 It proved to be a tough sail, with winds and currents conspiring to make life difficult! When the winds eventually veered to the NE, as predicted, we had spent 9 hours doing 27miles !The only good thing about this leg was a tubby little 10kg Tuna Mackerel. We did the next 103 in 17 hours, through a jet black night, in big lumpy  quartering seas,which kept picking us up, twisting us 30 degrees off course, and had" Fred'( the autopilot) whining and moaning fit to bust as he struggled to hold the course. In fact, I decided right then, to buy yet another hydrolic ram unit, as we are likely to experience similar conditions in the Pacific, and Fred is getting on now!
         The other whining and moaning came from Mary, sliding naked around the seats in the cockpit,like a kid on a "slip and slide", all covered in slippery soap, as she tried to do her  ablutions before retiring !  Luckily the lazarette hinges never caused her any unmentionable damage!
Pic of Mary censored... Decent Tuna Mackerel instead!

          We were very grateful, to drop the anchor, in the calm waters, behind Isla Pinos, and pay the Kuna chief his $10 for the privilege! Yet another coconut palm tree lined beach, a swim, a beer or two, and some much needed sleep!"