Las Perlas
06 April 2008 | Flaminco ancorage, Panama
Kathy
With Stan, Sean's dad, in tow, we headed to Panama's Las Perlas islands for 5 days. Sean, the star-struck one in the family, was especially excited because this is where 3 of the American Survivor TV shows were filmed.
Stan was visiting for 10 days and we wanted to give him a taste of the full cruiser lifestyle. Helping Sean fix numerous things on the boat for 4 days, he'd already experienced the "taking taxis all over town to try to find the right parts and then settling for something that wasn't right, but might work" part of cruising. And then the actual repairing part that goes along with it.
With a raw burn on all exposed skin, Stan also experienced the power of the sun when living on a sailboat in tropical climates. As a line-handler on our friend's boat, he'd crewed through the Panama Canal with us. Each night, Stan had helped Sean winch the dinghy out of the water to hang by the side of Adventure so no one would steal it. He experienced the hassle and wetness of having to take the dinghy, even in rough seas, to go anywhere and the acrobatics necessary to tie the dinghy to a small dock that was already three dinghys deep on all sides.
So now we were headed to the islands to show him why all the repairing, sunburning, and hard work was worth the trouble. To top it all off, Larry and Julie, our friends from Kumara, planned to join us at the islands the next day, so Stan would also get to experience "buddy-boating".
The first day we anchored at Isla Pacheca and then dinghed to Isla Saboga, one of the Survivor beaches. The isolated beach was beautiful, but the water was cold. Sean was hopeful that there would be a trace left on the beach of the Survivor show, but was disappointed. We combed the beach, briefly swam in the water, and broke open coconuts.
The next afternoon, with Kumara anchored next to us, we began "buddy-boating". This consists of hanging out with people from another boat during the day, and then sharing dinner and evening entertainment (movie, cards, talking, etc.) together. But not just for one night - but for many days, or even months at a time. It's really an interesting concept for us Americans, who don't usually take the time to even get to know our neighbors. Buddy-boaters get to know, and learn to live with, a wide range of personalities while buddy-boating.
The next anchorage was a small channel between the big Isla del Ray and the small Espiritu Santo. This was the most beautiful and protected spot, with 3 islands surrounding our anchorage and our two boats were the only ones there. The water was a little warmer here, but wasn't clear for snorkeling. There was a bloom in the water around all the islands we visited, which limited visibility. The girls split from the boys, who dinghed to the outside of Espiritu Santo. They pulled the dinghy to shore and went to explore the beach. Sean, with a camera in hand, had to run out into the surf to grab the dinghy that a large wave had floated and was carrying out to sea. The boys hinted at other embarrassing things that happened, but weren't willing to share them with us.
Us girls had a more serene time, combing the beach for shells and dinghying around the island.
The next day, we anchored between Isla Chapera and Isla Mogo Mogo (both Survivor islands). This was one of the popular spots and there were several power boats and a Panamanian Navy ship also anchored there. All but one power boat left in the afternoon. Sean and Stan stayed on board to fix our water maker (verifying the saying that cruising is just fixing your boat in exotic locations), while us girls went to shore to snorkel. Although the water was clearer, it still wasn't good for snorkeling.
It was time to head back to Panama City so Stan could catch his flight home. The trip back was uneventful with no wind and smooth seas. Before anchoring at La Playita de Amador, we fueled up with Balboa's $3.82 diesel so Stan could experience the stress of approaching whatever small sliver of dock that's available, in fast current and high wake conditions, and then having to fork out hundreds of dollars.
We tried to talk Stan into crossing with us to Galapagos, but he said he had too much work to do at home - being retired and all...
We hope to leave for Galapagos on Thursday (April 10), depending on if we can get a new life raft by then.