More San Blas Snorkeling
21 November 2012 | Coco Bandero Cays, San Blas, Panama
Sunny/cloudy/squally, min 78F, max 85F, water temp 79.5F, Wind NE@5-15, 25 in squalls
Cooling down in late afternoon
The days have been a mix of sun and clouds, sunny is great for snorkeling, and then clouds keep the temperature from getting too hot. Nights seem to attract squalls bringing winds of 25-30 and heavy rains. So the decks are clean and the water tanks full to overflowing. Around us we have watched a succession of boats come and go.
Many of the boats are what are called "Backpacker Boats". They are all sail boats of greatly varying size and quality. They take paying guests, usually backpackers, between Portobello and Colombia. And they jam them on in unbelievable numbers. The business seems totally unregulated, so safety seems to be an afterthought. They land here, everyone tumbles into the water, and they generally run around then back aboard and off down the coast. Any passengers we have talked to seem to enjoy the experience. One even had motorcycles lashed on deck.
Other than the backpacker boats there have been few cruisers, mostly here for a day or so, but not really getting out to see everything the place has to offer. We continue to explore the coral reefs, and yesterday added a few more fish sightings to our total. We spotted two beautiful angelfish, one a Queen Angelfish resplendent in brilliant green blue and yellow, and the other a French Angelfish jet black with bright yellow vertical stripes. Very beautiful. We have also spotted Squirlfish, Yelowheads, Blueheads, and Blue Hamlet. The variety is astonishing
Every morning we talk about moving on, and then in the evening we find ourselves still here. The only real reason to think about moving is that we need gasoline for the dinghy. For that we'll head to Nargana, about 5 miles away. Perhaps today. Then we'll explore the Naguargandup Cays, a group that stretches east from us for about 10 miles with lots of reported anchorages