We were anxious to leave Panama but more so the marina life and by Tuesday February 24 the weather forecast still called for very high waves and winds still coming from the north. So we decided to sail east to Panama's Portobello Bay which would give us a better sailing angle and would allow us to test our systems before our trip to San Andres. It was only 16.6 nautical miles from Colon to Portobello which under reasonable conditions should have taken approximately 3 hours to navigate. However, the waves were high, about 8-10 feet every 6 seconds, and the wind was 20-25 knots but right on our nose! We left the marina a bit late so we did not have a lot of time to spend trying to sail by tacking. Rather, we turned our engine and motored the longest short distance we have navigated - it took 5 hours to get to Portobello in a pounding sea! This gave us a flavor for what it would be like taking off on a 220 mile trip to San Andres under these conditions.

We decided to wait longer in Portobello spending our time visiting the town, San Geronimo Fort in the town and San Fernando Fort at entrance of the bay. Portobello has an incredible place in the history of mankind --- better said, the history of the Spaniards' robbery of South American riches. The bay is beautiful, expanse and tranquil as it is well protected from the seas and the wind. With good depths, Portobello's bay was a perfect place for the Spaniards to anchor their ships while they were being loaded. Gold and riches brought from Peru's Inca Empire and other South American countries were brought up to the Pacific side of Panama, then transported by mules and boats across to Portobello where the ships sat tranquilly at anchor. It is said that at least 45 left Portobello for Spain loaded with what would be the equivalent of billions of dollars in the 300+ years of Spain's occupation of Panama and South America.

After Panama gained its independence from Spain as part of Colombia, Portobello became home to many African slaves that were brought to Panama. Many freed slaves set up their homes in Portobello and today the town is inhabited mostly by people of African descent. The town's main church which dates back to the Spanish' occupation continues to be Catholic. However, the locals honor a Black Christ whom they created to be more like them as opposed to the Spaniards' white Christ figure. The African culture was very obvious to us as we walked the town's streets, heard the people talk in an African-sounding dialect, and saw them celebrating The Day of the Devil, a once-a-year celebration of African origins when men dress up as devils and dance devilish rituals in the town's center.

Before we left Portobello we were offered a ride ashore by friendly sailors (Warren & Rhonda from s/v Moondance) anchored near us to walk up the hill to the ruins of the Fort at the entrance of the bay - Fuerte San Fernando. From there we could see impressive views of the town and bay as we conjectured how the Spaniards defended this bay so well for so long.

To view pictures of the town, the forts, the church and the town's people celebrating The Day of the Devil click on the Album called Portobello in the Gallery of Pictures.