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Panama and La Playita Marina Adventure

Sugar Shack was anchored outside La Playita marina for several weeks. We had only intended on staying here a few days, maybe a week tops, but we were waiting for our house batteries to arrive. It was not too much of a hardship to be waiting here as we know lots of other boats, the marina has a decent dinghy dock, market, laundry, and wifi, and we are close to the bus stop, chandleries, and eateries. I see an adventure in our future, or maybe two.

Sunset at La Playita Anchorage

Matt had started researching how to get 8 new house batteries for the boat in December. It took a long time to find a vendor that had them in stock and then several more weeks to find a vendor who could ship them to us in Panama. Matt found a vendor in Florida, Lauderdale Battery that had 8 AGM A512 Sonnenschein batteries in stock but we needed to find a shipping service. So, Matt set out to find a shipping service which took about 10 days. By the time we got back to Lauderdale Battery they had sold 4 of the 8 batteries-CRAP!

We asked her to place an order for 4 more and to hold the 4 that she had for us. At the time she said the 4 new ones would be in by the end of February. Not too bad as the shipper could get it to us within 10-14 business days which would mean we only have to wait a few days for them on the pacific side of the canal. If all went well….

The boat came with the AGM 512 Sonnenschein batteries and the first set lasted 8 years. We replaced them in Turkey when we bought the boat which was 7.5 years ago. These things last! Our batteries have a little more life in them, but they need to be replaced. So, we wait.

While we were waiting for our batteries, we cleaned up the boat (inside and out), explored Amador Causeway, adventured into Panama City and Casco Viejo (old town Panama), and worked on a few boat projects.

THE AMADOR CAUSEWAY

The Causeway was built in 1913 with rocks from the excavation of the Culebra Cut during the construction of the Panama Canal. It joins Panama City with four islands: Perico, Culebra, Flamenco, and Naos. Today, it is a popular tourist destination with eateries, marine shops, tourist shops, ice cream parlors, bike rentals, and activities for kids. It is super convenient for cruisers anchored right outside the marina.

Causeway view from the anchorage

ALBROOK MALL

Matt and I took went on a little adventure. We took the bus ($0.25/ea) into Panama City to explore Albrook Mall. A pleasant experience with large, air conditioned buses that takes 20 minutes to arrive. Albrook is the largest shopping center in the region and has over 700 stores among which you will find supermarkets, movie theaters, pharmacies, bakeries, salons, a casino, bowling alley, video game room, 2 trains, and 100’s of restaurants. It’s huge!

My first visit with Matt was to explore and buy groceries. It was a bit overwhelming as we don’t find ourselves in malls much these days. But we did find a lovely eatery, Athanasiou where we stopped for lunch. I know it looks like a bakery, but they actually did serve us lunch too.

Athanasiou eatery at Albrook Mall

On my 2nd visit, I went with Tania, a friend from a boat called “La Vie.” She is a shopper and wore me out, but we had a blast taking fun photos next to the animals that designate each of the entrances.

Tania and I at Albrook Mal

So, what can $200 buy you in Panama City? (6) Bikinis, (2) Long sleeve BodyGlove rash guards, (3) dresses, (2) sets of King microfiber sheets, (4) embroidered shirts, (10) embroidered hats, (2) bath towels, (1) full set of towels, (1) pair of pants and (1) bra. Yep, I went a little CRAZY!

CASCO VIEJO

Matt and I wanted to explore Casco Viejo, so we hopped on the bus to Albrook Terminal ($0.25ea), then jumped on the metro train ($0.35/ea) to Cinco de Mayo. It was not a long journey, but it did deposit us into a very authentic Panamanian neighborhood and shopping district. Maybe equivalent to downtown LA? We walked and walked and walked.

Our first goal was to find the fresh fish and meat markets. We got a little turned around, but quickly found the meat market which was remarkable clean and well stocked. The fish market was across the highway and was equally well stocked and clean. I spared you the photos as you’ve seen them from previous blogs (bad smells, lots of blood, and pieces of animals you wish you could unsee.)

About a 1/2 mile from the markets we came to Casco Viejo.

The original Panama city was founded in 1519 and lasted 152 years. In 1671, the Governor set it on fire before the attack and looting of pirates. A year later, a new city began construction and was founded in 1673. This city, now called Casco Viejo (old town) was build on a peninsula completely surrounded by the sea and a defensive systems of walls. Today, this city preservers the first institutions and buildings of the modern city of Panama.

There was so much history in the buildings and streets of Casco Viejo. It was amazing to see and be a part of as you walked the brick streets. On one side you would have a building from the 17 century and across the street would be a new modern creamery.

Ruins from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The top image is a photo of the ruins of the Jesuit temple and convent built in the 1700’s. It was burned in 1781 and an earthquake destroyed what was left in 1882.

Buildings in Casco Viejo

They have gorgeous terraces and balconies, rooftop patios and bars, stone faces, skinny brick streets, and beautiful stone work.

Matt and I walked by an eatery called Diablicos and I could not resist…After all, it was St Patrick’s Day, I am a fighting Irishwoman, it was Lent and I was feeling invincible.

Diablicos Eatery with crazy devil out front.

We did not eat at Diablicos, but we did find this totally quaint and delicious place called Mahalo Casco Viejo where we had a quinoa burger with apple chips and an avocado toast with roasted tomatoes. Holy moly it was tasty.

Mahalo Casco Viejo eatery

We found a beautiful memorial built in 1921 that pays tribute to the failed French effort to build the Panama canal during the 19th century. It is hard to see from the photo, but there are 5 busts, 10 plaques, a statue, and an 18-meter obelisk.

Memorial to the French at Casco Viejo

There are many churches in Casco Viejo, but I only stopped in Iglesia de San Francisco which was an imposing and yet majestic site. I was an awe of the stain glass pieces, beautiful paintings, sculptures, and marble. Everywhere I turned something beautiful took my breath away. I wish I could be here for a Sunday service, I bet it is magnificent.

Iglesia San Francisco in Casco Viejo

Matt and I wrapped up our adventure by stopping by the Panama Canal Museum. This museum is devoted to the history of the panama canal and had a lot of interesting facts, photos, and interactive experiences. Including this huge globe which showed the impact of shifting of earth’s plates.

Matt and I stopped for a photo op with Panama City in the background.

Matt and I at Casco Viejo.

Being in the Pacific you have to be aware of the changing tides. We did not experience a huge shift or really any shift in tides while we were in the Atlantic, so this is new to us. Just being at La Playita we have seen shifts of over 5-6 meters (15-18 feet). Here are some examples:

Dinghy dock at La Playita. Look at the ramp that leads from the dinghy dock to the mainland during high tide (top image) and low tide (bottom image).

La Playita dinghy dock at high tide and low tide.

On the other side of the causeway is another anchorage called Las Brisas and they have a small dinghy dock that is impacted by the tides as well. We don’t anchor on this side because the dinghy dock is not very safe. Dinghies are way too close to the rocks during both tides and we have a long or deep outboard shaft.

Las Brisas dinghy dock during high tide and low tide.

Marina Docks at La Playita closest to the causeway during high tide (top image) and low tide (bottom image).

One of the hardest things about being a cruiser is knowing that the people you meet will eventually head in a different direction. Today, four boats left the anchorage, and my heart breaks. I know I will see them again in another country, on another island, in a different ocean – – just not sure when.

Bon Voyage:

Itchy Foot: Mia, Jon and Teo heading to Marqueseas
La Vie: Steve and Tania heading to Galapgaos then New Zealand
Nomad: Steve and Susan heading to Hawaii
Break Away: Marta and Steve heading to Ecuador

“Itchy Foot” had a bon voyage celebration on their boat and we were joined by “Kokpeli” “Break Away” and “Uno Mas.” Such a great night.

Itchy Foot Bon Voyage Celebration

More Adventures in Panama Exploring:

Frank Gehry’s famous Biodiversity Museum
Smithsonian Research
Union Church

Passage: Colon to Bocas del Toro

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This post missed the insertion into the blog – it was supposed to go live 4/7 so it is reeally behind. Bocas del Toro are in the Atlantic side, part of Panama…but still a good post.

We completed our work in Shelter Bay and decided to sail to Bocas del Toro. Since we have three weeks before our transit date it does not make sense to spend that time in the marina (even though it is really nice) when we can spend it exploring new islands.

Bocas del Toro is a province of Panama comprising many islands off the Caribbean coast and just 30 miles from Costa Rican border. Christopher Columbus discovered this area on his 4th and final voyage in 1502 and was anchored in the same bay that Sugar Shack dropped the hook. In the 19th century, several people migrated here bringing their slaves to avoid taxes including the Scottish, English, Knapp’s from Jamaica, and the Shepherd family. For more history on the Bocas, visit this site.

Our dock neighbors, “Ka Lani Kai” at 50′ Catana, were short one engine and had to be hauled out. It would be much easier for them to maneuver with us gone so we decided to leave around noon. We originally planned on stopping at the Rio Chagres, a fresh water river, before heading all the way to Bocas del Toro. That was the “plan.”

With Matt at the helm, we left the marina as I started to stow our lines and fenders. We had (4) lines holding us to the dock and 4 of our large A4 ball fenders and 8 of our F4 tube fenders. I wanted to stow them before they got wet, not such a good idea.

Heading out of the marina into the breakwater, between the “explosive anchor markers” and the sea wall was like being in a washing machine. The seas were coming from every direction, the wind was howling, the boat was banging on each wave causing huge splashes. And where am I? At the bow, on the tramp, holding on to the netting with one hand, and the fenders with the other. Not my brightest moment. I returned to the cockpit soaked to the bone as Matt said “how was your bath?” Not the way I anticipated starting this voyage, but the fenders are all stowed.

Our destination is 145 miles away from us and for some reason we got our timing mixed up. Matt had said it would take 18 hours to get there and that stuck in my head. If we had done the math, we would have known we were way, way off. We usually use 5 knots as our average speed which would get us to Bocas del Toro in 29 hours. Even if we averaged 6 knots an hour it would take us 24 hours,

The forecast showed good winds for our passage, but they were going to die down over the next few days. We set the main and jib with one reef, after the hour it took us to get out of the marina, motor 3 miles out of the channel, and clear the breakwater.

It was a great, fast sail in the beginning, we had 18-25 knots of wind, 2 meter waves and an average speed of 7.5 knots. With our good wind and the prospect of no wind over the next few days we decided to skip Rio Chagres and do that on the way back to Colon. At dusk, the wind started to slow down so we shook out the jib and carried on as night descended upon us.

Matt made dinner and as I cleaned up he took the first night shift 2000-2300. The winds slowed down considerably and he brought the jib in. On my shift Matt only slept for about 30-40 minutes before waking up again. The winds had shifted and were now on our nose making our main sail useless so we brought that down as well. Motoring along at 2,000 RPM, head into the wind we should be making 5 knots.

But wait, we weren’t! Off the peak and down a wave we would average 3-5 knots, but in the trough and up the wave we would average 1-3 knots. It was pitch black at night and we could not see what was causing us to slow down so much. Sure, the waves were big, but 1-3 knots, come on?

Around 0400 Matt checked the pilot charts and realized that we were in a strong easterly current that was pushing us in the opposite direction we wanted to go (it was in cahoots with the wind).

We arrived to the Bocas del Toro channel around 1430 and what a welcome site it was. Several islands surround the Bahia Almirante, including: Isla Colon, Bocas Town, Cayo Bastimentos, Cayo Nancy, and Isla Christobal. Our friends on “Wandering Rose” were anchored on the southern tip of Bocas Town so we motored around the huge reef and anchored our ship.

Bocas del Toro Town, or just Bocas Town is at the southern tip of Isla Colón, in the Caribbean Sea. Bars and restaurants fill the waterfront making for a colorful photo.

Bocas Town waterfront view.

We were exhausted, but felt the need to go ashore and explore. The dinghy dock at Hotel Olas was pretty easy to find as the hotel is a bright yellow. Our friends Dave and Mary, “Wandering Rose” were there interneting away. They gave us a few tips about the island before we set out to explore. It was close to 1800, the sun was setting, on a Sunday during carnival. We did not expect to see many stores open, but we were surprised. The town was starting to stir, locals were putting on costumes, and music was blaring, as we explored the small town. We did not stay out long as we were hungry and tired.

Hotel Olas with dinghy dock out front, $2 beer and decent wifi.

PASSAGE TO BOCAS DEL TORO:

Total miles traveled: 145 miles (+3 miles out of the breakwater)
Total travel time: 27:23 (less 1 hour to leave breakwater)
Overall trip: 5.3 avg
Max speed: 12.5

Journey from Las Perlas to La Playita

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Up and away we go, time to leave Las Perlas. We have a 45-mile journey back to the next anchorage, La Playita. It was eerily quiet, with flat, flat seas and a strange haze all around us. Our wind indicator pointed to our location which meant we had no sails up. But, with 2000 RPM’s we were averaging 7 knots of boat speed.

Eerily still and hazy on the way to La Playita.

A small pod of 5-6 dolphins came to play with us for a while. They did not stay long on our journey, but they made a big impression.

Dolphins swam with us on the way to La Playita

I took this picture of my reflection in the water while we were underway, that is how still the water was on this trip. I am laying down on the tramp, you can see the mast behind me. Pretty cool.

My reflection on the water while underway.

We were all enjoying the large amount of wildlife around us, tons of birds, dolphins, sting rays, turtles, fish, and whales.

Heather enjoying the wildlife in the Pacific.

As we approached La Playita, we were accosted by huge cargo ships, car transports, and mega yachts. The commercial vessels are waiting to transit the canal or they just transited the canal. And evidently, La Playita is home to many, many mega sport fishing boats and mega yachts.

Large cargo ships & yachts in La Playita anchorage.

There is a beautiful view of Panama City as you approach and leave the La Playita anchorage. Bottom photo is La Playita anchorage.

View of Panama City and La Playita on the bottom

There was no wind when we arrived to the La Playita anchorage so all of the boats were facing every which way. Great! We found a spot close to a few familiar boats and dropped the hook.

We enjoyed a little leisure time, each doing our best to cool off as it was stifling hot with the lack of wind. Not getting much relief, we headed to shore to grab some lunch.

On the way to the dinghy dock, we saw Barry from “White Shadow” who told us which restaurant had the best wifi. Now we have a destination, which is always good. We easily found the dinghy dock, unloaded, and went on our way. I stopped by the marina office to pay the dinghy dock fee ($50 per week-OUCH) and met the others down the road.

We walked by a mini market, Abernathy (chandlery), and a few tourist traps before we found the main road. There is a row of restaurants, but we headed toward a pizza place called La Eskinita, where we enjoyed a cool breeze while overlooking the marina.

We did a little window shopping as there are tons of tourist stores, found a great ice cream parlor and a café with decent wifi. All the important things in life. We ran into Johanna from “Iriss” and she showed us another place with decent wifi called Hacienda.

We all have our vices.

It was late in the day when we headed back to the boat. On our way, we stopped by “Kokopeli” (Brian and Mizzy) who were hosting “Nomad” (Tom and Susan) for sundowners. We chatted a bit and headed on. We had not seen these boats since Portobello.

Since we ate so late in the day, we were not hungry for dinner, so we served cheese and crackers and left-over pizza. It was a rolly night as the fishing boats, tankers, and pangas go by at crazy fast speeds.

The next morning, Heather, Michael, and Wayne packed. It was time for them to head back to the states. We transferred Heather’s great photos from her camera to our phones, made breakfast, and chatted until we had to make our way to shore. Omar, the taxi driver who picked up Wayne would pick up our group and take them to Tocumen airport. It has been an amazing journey and we were thrilled to have them on Sugar Shack. Always sad to say “goodbye.”

Matt and I wandered around the little town to get the “lay of the land”, headed back to the boat, did some laundry and tried to stay cool as it was a hot one.

Wildlife in the Pacific Seen in First 2 Days:

Whale spouts
Dolphnis
Stingrays
Jelly Fish
Variety of Birds
Turtles

The Adventures of Sugar Shack

– Sailing Aboard a Catana 471

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