The King and I
18 February 2012 | Portobello, Panama
Sunny, 31C, wind N-E@10-16
Coral growing on a sunken coastal trader
Well, we left the San Blas yesterday, taking most of the day to sail 45 miles to Isla Linton where we anchored for the night. Linton is an odd lace. Nothing ashore but a dirty village and one tired bar/restaurant. But there were at least 50 boats there looking like long term residents.
As we sailed out of the San Blas, a large (90') yacht was motoring on a collision course with us, stopping to let us sail across their path with waves from the cockpit. We had seen it anchored with us in a couple of other places. Then they set sail on our course, quickly drawing away from us in the beautiful breeze. We noted the Norwegian flag with the crown in the center. Then today coming in to Portobello, we passed them again as they sailed out in the direction of Colon. Last night (with excellent internet) Jennie found the flag on line... the flag of the Royal Family of Norway. The king is a former olympic sailor and the Crown Prince is also an enthusiastic sailor. We're not sure who was on board, but we choose to believe it was the Crown Prince waving.
Today we had another beautiful sail, just 12 miles from Linton to Portobello in 12-16 knot winds on the beam. Today is part of carnival so we'll head ashore to check it out. Tuesday is the end.
We'll also check out the three forts, ruins from the days of the Spanish treasure ships. Portobello was discovered by Columbus on November 2, 1502 during his fourth trip. It was chosen at the Caribbean trans-shipment port for the gold and silver. Between 1574 and 1702, firty-five fleets of galleons sailed from Portobello for Spain, each carrying not less than thirty million pesos worth of treasure.
The ruins of the forts remain, and we'll check them out. It is also believed that Sir Francis Drake's ship, containing his body is located in the harbour. Drake and Captain Hawkings (with Queen Elizabeth I's blessing) spent a good many years looting the looters. But today all that is long past and all that remains is a small sleepy village with two small tiendas, and a couple of bars.
We're here until Monday when we head for Colon and Shelter Bay Marina where we'll have the engine looked at and the boat hauled for painting the bottom.