September 2, 2007
Location: Bocas del Toro to Starfish Beach, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 8
As you can see we’re not having to travel far to get away and into some pristine and remote anchorages. Today we only traveled 8 miles to the NE side of Isla Colon to the beautiful palm tree lined beach of Starfish Beach. When we arrived with Lone Star Love we were the only boats here but as the day progressed a couple local boats arrived to enjoy a family outing, picnicking and swimming along the beach. But once they left we had it all to ourselves again.
As the anchorage has great protection from the North and West we were very exposed to the South so Greg and I took a dingy ride a short distance down Isla Colon to check out the anchorage at Ground Creek. It was nice to know that we could easily get into this well protected anchorage should something nasty blow in from the south.
From there Greg and I turned around and went North along the beach and clear at the other end of this long winding beach we found a resort. But our main mission was to scope out snorkeling possibilities, which we think we spotted about another four hours away. Greg has been under the weather a bit, we all think he has dengue fever, something I had four weeks ago. So for that reason we didn’t do any snorkeling and he was able to get some rest.
Later Judy and I took a dingy ride up to the resort which was very busy with lots of people. There were very few tourists there, mostly Panamanians enjoying their weekend. The restaurant was also busy. The menu looked very reasonable and the food on the tables looked awesome. Too bad we didn’t bring any money. On the way back we stopped and landed the dingy on the beach then took a short walk along the sandy beach and through the dense palm trees.
The rest of the afternoon was spent taking care of a few small projects on the boat. David made some great salsa so we went over to Lone Star Love for happy hour where we ate chips and salsa as well as Judy’s cheesy onion dip with crackers and played four rounds of Farkle. We each won one hand so it was a great night.
September 3, 2007
Location: Starfish Beach, Isla Colon, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 0
Nothing much happened today. Lazy day for all of us. Swam a bit, fished a bit (no luck as usual), took a dingy ride. David is doing some needle point to pass the time. For dinner tonight we had Korma over rice (a spicy Indian dish). We did listen in to the NW Caribbean net on the SSB radio this morning and this evening. Keeping tabs on all our friends in Honduras, Guatemala and Belize as Hurricane Felix makes it way there. Hope everyone up there stays safe.
September 4, 2007
Location: Starfish Beach to Bamboo Bight Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 9
Quite the small anchorage here at the North end of Isla Cristobal. There’s one small house here on the edge of the mangroves. As we got settled in there were many dugout canoes that came out and paddled by both boats with curious onlookers. They didn’t come out in groups but rather one dugout at a time. They were very friendly and smiled and waved as they went by. By some appearances it looked as they got dressed up for the occasion to see what these two boats were all about.
Judy and I took a dingy ride up a very shallow and narrow creek and when we reached the end we tied up the dinghy at the dock and walked towards the village of Escondido. The path was a very nice concrete sidewalk and led us up the hill to the village and along cattle ranches and nice homes. Each house had the family name written on it and plumbed water led from the water collection tanks at the top of the hill to various community outlets throughout the village. As we walked we were greeted with friendly smiles and waves however we couldn’t really communicate as these remote villages are usually indigenous Indians with their own language. At the top of the hill in Escondido was the public school, we suspect there the children are taught in Spanish. Children in these village schools are taught to the 6th grade. Students wanting to go further need to attend schools usually on the mainland or more populated areas such as Bocas del Toro.
Judy and I then took a ride over to the village of Cristobal but never landed the dingy as we couldn’t find what looked like a public dock. But it also appeared to be another nice village with quality constructed homes and at the top of their hill another school. On our trek around the different small inlets we found a half sunk catamaran. While it appears to have been there a long time and many items missing we still noticed an abundance of nice marine gear waiting to be salvaged. Unfortunately we don’t know what the local salvage laws are but would like to find the owner, maybe sometime in the future.
Bamboo Bight is a small anchorage and can hold about four boats. Because of the excellent protection from wind and waves we found this place to be quite buggy and required copious amounts of bug spray to sit comfortably. It’s also interesting to note that there are many names for the same place, just depends on your source. For example the nautical charts and Panamanian charts refer to this island as Isla Cristobal however the locals know this island only as Coco Cay. Mention Isla Cristobal someone from this part of Panama and they won’t know what you’re talking about.
Tonight we had Greg and Judy over for appetizers, David made an Indian appetizer called Samosas. It took a lot of work to make them. David started once we left Starfish Beach and while underway made the dough. After we set anchor and while I was out with Judy David made the vegetable filling. Then later in the afternoon he rolled the dough and filled each with the filling and deep fried them. In all he made 28 samosas and we ate them with hot sauce. When it was all done we only had three left. David’s hard work putting these together was much appreciated and a good time was had by all.
September 5, 2007
Location: Bamboo Bight, Isla Cristobal, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 0
Judy and I found a great place to snorkel today, lots of big fish ready to be made into dinner. Large schools of snappers and Atlantic spade fish, porgies and so much more. We plan to make several more trips to this place in the future.
David has been doing some more needle point, I’m trying to fish but no luck. Played some more Farkle with Judy and Greg, seems like I keep winning at least one game every time we play (I’m not bragging, am I?). Went over to Lone Star Love. Judy made salsa and David made a bean dip. That was it for our day.
September 6, 2007
Location: Bamboo Bight to Quary’s Point via Almirante, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 10
We raised anchor in the cool drizzle this morning and had to clean a lot of mud off the chain as it came in. It took us a bit longer than usual. Once underway we put out our trolling line with a purple and black feather lure. On our way to Almirante and just after we rounded the North end of Isla Cristobal David and I heard the fishing line peel off the reel, just for a second. We paused, looked at the pole and off went a little more line. So I got up and put my hand on the pole and sure enough, we had a fish. David got on the VHF and radioed “Fish On” to Lone Star Love while I reeled in a very nice Bonito, a member of the Tuna family. While most people don’t care for Bonito if it’s properly filleted with the blood line removed it can make for excellent eating. Once the fish was on the boat it put up one heck of a fight but after pouring some vodka in it’s gills it quickly and quietly went to sleep. David remained at the helm while I filleted the fish. We were so excited to catch a fish and quickly made arrangements to have fish appetizers with Greg and Judy.
After about 10 miles or so we found ourselves in the small port town of Almirante on the mainland. Both Lone Star Love and ourselves needed to take on diesel. Lone Star Love went to the small fuel dock first and while they took on 200 gallons we just drifted out in bay not too far from the Texaco Station. There was almost no wind or current so we didn’t drift far. But the water was so full of jelly fish it was unbelievable. Thousands of jelly fish, I can’t imagine falling overboard here.
After an hour of drifting it was our turn to head to the fuel dock while Lone Star Love moved out to where we were and anchored. I was guessing that we needed 40 gallons of diesel but was pleasantly surprised when we topped off with only 20 gallons. We decided to get fuel here as it was 50 cents a gallon cheaper than at Bocas del Toro. The guys at the fuel dock were very helpful and polite and took care of everything for us. Once we filled out tank we headed out and anchored next to Lone Star Love then we all went in to a restaurant right next to the fuel dock and had a great lunch. Judy and David each had fried rice, Greg had a combination soup and I had chicken soup and fried snapper. The food was excellent and with drinks came to $24 for four people. It would have been a lot less had I not had the expensive fish but still a good deal. And many thanks to Greg and Judy for treating us to lunch.
Once back on the boats we headed one mile Southeast to an anchorage at Quary’s Point. Quite a large bay for plenty of boats but we were the only ones here. Many of the passing dugouts stared at us as they went by and greeted us with waves and smiles.
Greg and I decided to take a quick dinghy ride and find Rio Oeste, a river not to far from where we were anchored that had been mentioned in the guide book. It was actually quite easy to find about a half mile South of Quary’s Point but getting in was quite tricky through the shallow entrance. Once in the river depth seemed to be okay but the water was so murky we couldn’t see past the surface. The river was lined with beautiful coconut filled palm trees and sweet smelling flowers. The flowers were so fragrant that it was hard not to miss the sweetness filling the air. Along the shores we passed an area where we think a man may have been smoking a pig, numerous cattle ranches, banana trees and various farm lands. As we passed houses or work areas with people everyone rushed to lean out of windows or door ways or to the 
shore line to smile, wave and say hi. We didn’t understand their language but was taken in by the kindness of these people. About a mile up the river we came to a small village with shy kids who hid in the bushes to spy on us. We didn’t see a lot of homes but there was a field by the river with two soccer goal posts and even a vollyball net. From there we turned around and headed back. Unfortunately, and maybe we didn’t look hard enough, we didn’t see any wild life except for the occasional birds.
This evening we played more Farkle, David won one hand and I the other. We shared the Bonito we caught earlier in the day and Greg made some baked potatoes and grilled onions. David also brought a salad to share. We didn’t stay too long tonight since my allergies were just driving me nuts. Back to the boat for an allergy pill and early to bed.
September 8, 2007
Location: Quary’s Point, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 0
Haven’t done much of anything for the past two days. Got some small projects out of the way, things that had been waiting to get done for a long time. The anchorage here is pretty quite with only a few dugouts coming and going. The parrots have been flying overhead in huge flocks making a loud racket as they go by early in the morning and again before sunset. At night we can hear the high pitched sounds of the bats flying around and occasionally see them near the boat. The fish activity in the water is amazing at times, the water boiling as the fish surface to feed. Yesterday in a matter of minutes I caught four blue runners on some scrap lobster. They were to small to keep for eating but I did cut up two for bait in the future. This morning as the blue runners were feeding I decided to try some fly fishing and caught one large sardine and another blue runner. They were spared the introduction to my filet knife and put back into the water. We’ve been enjoying the brownies that Judy brought by yesterday and have been waiting for some rain so we can wash the boat. Unfortunately the rain seems to be all around us but not over us. I think we’ll be heading back to Bocas del Toro in the next day or two so we can post these updates, check on emails and celebrate Greg’s 60th birthday on Monday.
September 11, 2007
Location: Bocas del Toro, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 9
We returned to Bocas a couple days ago and had a great time celebrating Greg’s birthday with many other cruisers. It’s been great catching up with old friends as many are returning from the states back to their boats. While here we’ve taken advantage of some internet time, lots and lots of laundry and a bit more provisioning. We’ll head out again on Thursday to find some new places and maybe visit some old ones. Yesterday I was fortunate to have caught a nice 19” black grouper on a line just off the boat. Will make for an excellent meal tonight!
September 13, 2007
Location: Bocas del Toro to Boca Toritto, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 10
In the company of Lone Star Love and Valentina we made our way this morning to Laguna Porras where we anchored off the small village of Boca Toritto. We had been here one time before and really liked it here so a return visit was definitely in order. It seemed once again that we were at the mercy of our engine as what little wind there was was right on the nose. We’ve sure had a great opportunity to make sure our transmission is working and for the most part it seems to be holding up. Valentina rolled out their jib but there just wasn’t enough wind to keep it full, it quickly got rolled back up.
Along the way as we were midway across Almirante Bay we heard our fishing line start to peel off the reel then stop. I put my hand on the rod and sure enough I could feel the twitching of a fish trying to get off the hook. It didn’t put up much of a fight and within minutes we had landed a nice bonito. A call out to the other boats and they soon had their lures in the water too but by the time we anchored the only fish we would enjoy for appetizers was our single fish.
Once we were all anchored and settle in we headed to Sapriano’s place, the only restaurant and bar in the entire bay but only a few hundred yards in front of the boats. There we enjoyed some time off the boats and some cold drinks. Sapriano was born in this small village of 150 people and grew up here. Later he went on to join the National Police where he served 30 years and then retired back to his home village of Boca Torrito. His family has owned over 150 acres of land here for the past four generations and he doesn’t foresee selling any of it in the future. The locals here are trying to preserve the peace and quiet of this secluded bay.
As we enjoyed each other’s company I noticed a cayouco at the dock and inquired with Sapriano’s son to see if I could take it for a test ride. He was amused that a gringo would want to paddle a cayouco but I just had to do it. Getting in was no easy task as they are very very tipsy and sensitive to weight shifting. After 15 minutes of paddling and trying not to tip the darn thing over I exited the cayouco with aching back muscles. Sonny also took it for a ride and did a much better job, he even went quite far out and toured the village by water.
As we relaxed for a second round of beverages on this stifling hot day we saw all the school kids get in their cayoucos to head on home. As this is the only school in the bay the children come from all over and commute in cayoucos. School here goes from 8am to 3pm. Later in the evening we all went over to Lone Star Love where we enjoyed our lone fish for an appetizer and played three rounds of Farkle.
September 14, 2007
Location: Boca Toritto, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 0
Today as David remained back on Bruadair working on a project I took off in the dingy and followed Sonny and Kay (Valentina) for some exploring. We checked out a small resort type of place being built by a couple, he’s Canadian and she’s from Latin America. They have three bungalows and were still working on the kitchen with plans for more construction. I can’t remember their names but she was admiring my dark complexion and had asked about my heritage but as she stepped closer to me and saw my green eyes her face lit up even more as she turned to her husband and asked if she could keep me for breeding. I was shocked and laughed, she said she wanted the genes for the green eyes. For some odd reason I don’t think she was kidding. I was flattered of course and after our visit we took off for some more gunk holing by dingy.
Sonny, Kay and I continued to work our way South and once through a small cut we found ourselves in another bay. On the nautical chart it’s referred to as Palos Lagoon, they locals call it Buena Vista and the gringos call it the Dark Lands. Once in Buena Vista it was immediately obvious that we would have to bring the big boats in and spend a few days, it could easily be one of the most beautiful places around these parts. This small bay had a few mangroves in the crystal clear waters with rolling hills on the South and East sides. As we continued West the bay met up with the steep hills that began the mountains into the mainland. The dense jungles were colored with so many different shades of greens and spotted with abandoned and overgrown patches of banana and plantain trees. Along the shore line were a few roughly put together thatch homes and the occasional and more modern homes built by gringos.
We spent two hours here exploring and every time we stopped we thought we found the perfect anchorage until we moved to the next place, which was always better. Since we had plans to head into the village at Boca Torrito for dinner we had to leave this paradise and make our way back to the big boats. On the trip back plans were made to relocate the big boats in a couple days.
We were going to meet up with Camrika and Lekeki for dinner at Sapriano’s but due to wet weather they couldn’t make it. While they decided to come up tomorrow the rest of us went into the restaurant and enjoyed a well cooked meal. Oh, prior to having dinner David made arrangements to get lessons from the cook on how to make coconut rice, the local way of preparing rice. So he, Judy and Kay went in at 430pm for lessons and the rest of us went in at 5pm for dinner. While most everyone had fish or mixed seafood for dinner I had the chicken, everything came with salad, fried plantains (the best I’ve had) and of course coconut rice.
September 15, 2007
Location: Boca Torrito, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 0
Another day of dingy exploring and this time in the company of Lone Star Love. We headed back to Buena Vista and found a nice but small tienda where we enjoyed cold drinks and free bananas. The owners spoke excellent English and had the most beautiful kids. Raul was proud to show off his property and gave a long tour of the land including hikes up the hills and a tour of his home. This family is doing very very well.
When we returned to the big boats after our dingy ride we noticed some loud salsa music coming from Sapriano’s place and a small crowd of people so of course we decided that we should go investigate. Currently in Bocas del Toro the county fair was going on for 10 days. The crowd of people here were musicians and dancers that performed nightly at the fair and this was their afternoon to relax and have fun. So they were playing some drums and an accordian and dancing it up. Kay and Judy were pulling into the dancing crowd by a couple of the guys and did pretty good. Everyone from the group was very friendly and said hi to us. It was a good end to our fun filled afternoon.
Aside from the dingy ride it was a relaxing day with no pressing boat projects that had to be done. Camrika and Lekeki joined Lone Star Love, Valentina and ourselves at the restaurant for dinner where dinner options still included mixed seafood, fish and chicken but tonight the new menu addition was fresh octopus, enjoyed by Greg and Randy.
September 16, 2007
Location: Boca Toritto to Buena Vista, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 4
Today we all moved over to Buena Vista, as it is called by the locals. I can’t imagine why the gringos call it the Dark Lands because it is absolutely beautiful here, there is nothing dark about it at all.
We made the trip mid morning which only took an hour and a half. While the distance isn’t that great we had to make our way through a narrow cut and navigate our way among the shoals and a few mangroves with minimal help from charts and cruising guides. So it was slow going.
Once we dropped anchor there was a dugout at Lone Star Love and another at Valentina. They were two brothers who were fishing in the area. While they were probably curious about us and our boats and probably even arrived with good intentions we were all put off by their demands that we give them things. Before both boys ended up at Bruadair’s side we had gotten a radio call from Lone Star Love on what to expect. Upon their arrival there wasn’t even a hello or inquiry to what we’re doing or where we’re from. They both immediately started off with ‘do you have clothes’ or books or fishing equipment or scissors and so on. After two hours of trying to get the boys to move on with lots of goodbyes being said we finally had to actually peel their fingers away from our boat.
Normally we welcome visitors but we don’t enjoy it when it starts off with begging. We did give them water though as it was terribly hot and they had none to drink. The boys were from around the corner where they lived in a crude shack built from scraps of wood and other materials. And while they probably did have a need for new clothes and more we try not to just give things away without anything in return. If we had just handed them a few things word would have gotten out and we’ld be surrounded by others wanting free stuff too. But we’ll be more than happy to trade items that we have excess of for things like fruits or fish or even wood carvings. We’re also happy to take school supplies like paper and pencils to the local schools for the students.
Another reason for not giving free things out is we feel it upsets the balance of how things are here. While their standard of living is poor there is nothing we can do to change that. If we give free clothes for example it does nothing to change their standard of living. And then it promotes and expectation that future boats visiting also give things away for free. If one boater is very generous then subsequent boats will be inundated with people begging.
I guess it’s hard to explain. We’re always happy to help but on occasion, and each circumstance is different. Our local friend back in Bocas del Toro doesn’t come by and ask for handouts anymore, but he does come by with fresh lobster, fish and crab that we’re happy to trade for or give cash for.
Okay, enough of that subject. So after we had a chance to recuperate from our visitors we all launched our dinghies and went exploring. We stopped by a new building under construction and met an Australian that was building a restaurant. Around from the corner we saw one of the most beautiful homes we’ld seen in the area. While admiring the house from the dingy the owners, Cindy and Ron came to the dock and invited us in. They’re from the Mount Shasta area of California and have retired here. The two story house and nicely manicured lot shows that a lot of thought and work went into it. From there we went to the tienda and enjoyed some cold refreshments and back to the boat for a quiet evening.
September 17, 2007
Location: Buena Vista, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 0
The shoreline here where we are anchored is magnificent with it’s dense jungles and a few homes. The yards, whether locals or gringos, are nicely manicured with well kept gardens. The house shown in the photo to the left houses 14 people, 11 of which are children. The house is nothing more than a few wood planks and a thatch roof with two outhouses located next to it. One of the young girls that lives there got dressed up and paddled out to us offering fresh limes and oranges for sale. She had with her a transistor radio playing some music as she went from boat to boat. For a close up of the home click here and here.
To the left of this home is another home in which and Afro Antilean family lives. They don’t have as many children but do have one set of twin boys. The yard here is nicely taken care of. It too has an outhouse located at the end of the dock. Once the sun sets it is absolutely dark all around us. There is no electricity here as in most rural parts of Panama. On occasion we can see an oil lamp burning and those with a few dollars might even have a generator. But the homes here are very basic. For a close up photo of this house click here.
Another dingy ride today took us along the shoreline to the North where we found the other cut between this bay and Almirante Bay. Among the mangroves where small huts with people waving and yelling hellos. The actual village where the school is located only had about a dozen homes but more were scattered back into the hillside. We met a couple of other gringo couples who too had bought land and built homes here to escape their busy lives back in the states. We took note of a few good snorkeling places where visibility was excellent and jelly fish to a minimum. On the way back we stopped back at the tienda for a cold drink but quickly left for two reasons. First being they had no more cold drinks and second we met someone we really didn’t care for. We didn’t stay long enough to catch his name but he’s a retired American who is 60 years old and married Raul’s very young daughter and is now having children with her. We’re not going to judge anyone but he was really creepy as far as his personality goes. There are a lot of gringo men who come down to find themselves girlfriends that are 1/3 or 1/4 their age. That’s another topic that I best not get started on.
Quiet night on the boat again. Got some rain to help wash Bruadair’s deck. It’s been nice having the cool air come down from the mountains at night. We’ve even had to turn the fans off and get a blanket!
September 18, 2007
Location: Buena Vista, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 0
Lone Star Love left us today as they had received an email last night and needed to tend to a family emergency. They left back for Bocas del Toro where they could better handle the situation through email and phone service. Valentina also left us today to catch up with their friends on Queen Mary so as to head East towards Colon to pick up some boat parts that are waiting for them. But this afternoon our friends Dennis and Pam on s/v Glide arrived and we enjoyed showing them around Buena Vista via dinghy then a quiet happy our together.
September 19, 2007
Location: Buena Vista to Dolphin Bay, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 5
Dennis, Pam and I went ashore today where an American couple are building a house and enjoyed meeting them. There seems to be a lot of gringos buying property in this secluded bay and settling down. Because there is no road access to any part of the land here all supplies have to brought in by launcha. When we left we were offered to help ourselves to as many lemons as we could carry from their very productive lemon trees.
After returning to the boat we weighed anchor and motored five miles to Dolphin Bay and anchored next to Karl and Mary’s boat Camrika. Dennis and Pam had not been to the chocolate Farm at Green Acres and wanted to tour their place and I had made plans with Mary to head into Changanola tomorrow, she needed to take care of some shopping and I needed to renew our passport stamps with immigration so we decided to go together.
September 20, 2007
Location: Dolphin Bay, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 0
Mary and I headed to Bocas del Toro in her launcha this morning then caught a water taxi to Changanola. She took care of her business while I sat in immigration for three hours waiting to get our passport stamps renewed. As I sat and waited the office crowd grew and grew as more people came to wait for their turn. We were all waiting for the supervisor to return from a meeting as nothing could be done without her signature. One of the young guys working in immigration had asked me if he could borrow a couple dollars for lunch (he gets paid a little over a dollar an hour). I told him I would give him five dollars but only on the condition that when the supervisor returned I would be the first one in the office. He eagerly agreed and I gave him five dollars. I was getting a bit nervous because it was 2pm and my water taxi back to Bocas left at 3pm, I surely didn’t want to miss my ride.
But shortly after 2pm when the supervisor returned everyone started standing up and making their way to her office, it was a mad rush to get things done. But my little contribution was well worth it when I was waved first into the office by my new friend. Everything completed I met up with Mary, we did a little grocery shopping then headed back to Bocas and eventually Dolphin Bay.
David had spent the day making empenadas filled with an artichoke dip type of stuffing. Half were baked and half were fried. They were great.
September 21, 2007
Location: Dolphin Bay to Bocas del Toro, Panama
Nautical Miles Traveled: 6
We made plans last night to head back to Bocas del Toro this morning with Glide. They wanted to get back and see some friends that had just arrived and we needed to get internet access to catch up on emails and this web site. Our original plan was to leave at 8 this morning but with all the thunder and lightening around us we decided to wait. We agreed on one hour but at 9am I turned on the radar and was amazed to see all the squall activity around us. Eventually at 1130am after the squalls had passed over us we raised anchor and motored back to Bocas.
We too had some friends return from their trip to Colon, dropped off more laundry and got reconnected to the internet. We’ll spend the next month here in Bocas. Our friends on Winterlude return in a week and I committed to helping them install a new autopilot, Then I have a trip back to California for a few days and by the end of October we may start making our way to Cartagena. But with all the new things that keep popping up it might be the end of November before we get out of here. And that’s okay, the month of December is supposed to be the best month for the crossing anyway. That’s all for now.
Copyright S/V Bruadair 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007.
No reproduction with out expressed consent in writing.