Panama City
After our transisthmian transit of the canal, we spent a little over a week in Panama City. I kind of like big cities from time-to-time so it was easy to get sucked in. Uber here is super fast and extremely inexpensive so it was easy to explore all over town and also make a massive supply run to PriceSmart (a Costco like store in Panama).
Flamenco Island
Our boat was near a marina that is in a very touristy part of the city with tons to do and small shops, restaurants, and a great running path. We had ice cream almost every day from a gelateria on the strip and Grete and I had our first date in a little while.
Since it is a very touristy area, we decided to do all the tourist things. One day we rented a quad-bike and rode across the causeway all the way to the city. Fira is a powerhouse on a bike but needs to work a lot on her steering.
After a few days in town and seeing this ridiculous party train drive by a bunch of times blaring music we had to take a ride ourselves. It was really fun and although it looks like a toy, the driver laid the hammer down when we got onto the causeway and it moves fast.
We kept walking past a place called VR Park 5D, which suckered Dublin right in. We finally took him there on our last day and he went and shot up about a million zombies playing a bunch of different games.
All in all, it was a cool place to spend a week or so goofing off.
Cerro Ancon
The first time we came to the city our driver told us that we should hike Ancon hill, but we just didn’t have time. This visit though we did have time and we are very glad we went. At the bottom there are some neat buildings/museums showcasing traditional housing and community buildings for the different areas of Panama. After the museum area, we walked up the hil for some great views of the city.
We were also greeted by one of the best wildlife displays ever. We saw agoutis (mouse pugs), poison dart frogs, a toucan, Geoffroy’s tamarins, and a mama and baby sloth. It was insane how much wildlife there is. I suppose it’s also a little sad because Ancon hill is basically the only bit of tropical jungle left in the city so of course it’s crammed with wildlife.
Casco Viejo
When we met up with Catnip downtown for New Year’s we enjoyed the old town quite a bit so we decided to pop back over a couple of times while we were so close.
We walked to the French Square, which we missed last time and checked out the surrounding area and views over the water. It was low tide so the water views were pretty nasty. Tides in Panama City vary by about 15 feet so at low tide there are extensive mud flats and tide pools.
We had enjoyed our breakfast at Mahalo last time too, so we went back. Super filling and they had gluten free bread options which is great for me and the kids.
Our walking path took us by the oldest church in the city. It survived the fires set by Captain Morgan and his crew and the original wooden beams are still there and holding up the roof.
We made it out to the extreme end of Casco Viejo to see the French Square, which we missed last time too.
On our way back to the boat we went to the massive meat, fruit, and vegetable market to load up on groceries. It was huge and we got everything we needed in order to be well fed as we start working our way to the Costa Rican border.
Fira being her usual ridiculous self got Sloth all ready for the underway.
Taboga
We stopped for a day at Taboga. We avoided the weekend because it is only about 8 miles from Panama City so it gets crazy with weekenders. It was a nice, little stop. We walked around the little town and went in what is said to be the second oldest church on the Pacific Coast of the Americas.
Bona
Next stop was Isla Bona. We only spent the day here and departed just before sunset in order to make our passage around the infamous Punta Mala overnight. Grete and Dublin stayed on the boat but Fira and I always have to go ashore to explore and this was no exception. It is an interesting little island that is now basically a bird sanctuary. It was once used for loading iron onto vessels headed across the Pacific. The iron was brought to the island (it looks like black sand) and then loaded onto boats by crane right near where we were anchored. There is still a bunch of it on the island since the loading dock was destroyed in a storm and the project was abandoned by the investers. Somebody did an extensive write-up on the place here - Isla Bona history.
Playa Venao
We has waited for the right weather for rounding Punta Mala and as such were rewarded with an uneventful rounding. Next stop was Playa Venao, a cool little surf town. We spent 4-5 days here hanging out boogie boarding the waves, swimming and eating gluten free pizza :)
I got a nice barefoot run in on the beach, and practiced rowing rather than motoring the dinghy. We all got a bunch of swimming in and Fira started getting much better at boogie boarding.
The most exciting thing was our neighboring vessel. One night, a boat came in in the dark, under sail. I thought that was strange, we later found out that their engine wasn’t functional.
It was three nudists…unfortunately for me, all male :(
But, the real excitement came when they rowed over one day telling us that they only had 5cm under the keel and were worried about how close they were to shore. I told them I was worried about how close the were to shore since the night they came in. They went back to their boat and a few minutes layer we looked over to see their boat bucking wildly. It had gone aground.
About 50-100 meters away from us was an Aeronaval boat so I rowed over and told them what was going on. They immediately got ready and headed over to the French boat. It took them over an hour, but they freed the boat and helped re-set their anchor much farther from the shore.
Isla Santa Catalina
Next up was Santa Catalina island. We stayed a couple of days, hanging out on the beach, mostly collecting shells. There were tons of good shells on the beach there so we gathered a bunch of them up for no particular reason, which is the best reason for gathering shells. There is also a surprisingly well maintained hiking trail on the island. It’s only a mile for the full loop, but cool views on the ocean side of the island of waves smashing the rocks.
The current in this anchorage was insane and beyond being a bit scary when we rowed and paddled back and forth helped me yell at everyone while I was exhausted and freaking out a little bit. Put me in for that dad of the year award.
Islas Secas
This place is fly heaven. There were also a billion tiny mosquito lookalike bugs.
Additionally, the charts were very inaccurate. So it was supposed to be 30 feet deep on the approach but it was 60. We moved in fairly close to the shoreline and it felt pretty darned close. Then it was supposed to be 20 feet deep and it was 10. The first night when the wind clocked around, we were on a lee shore and I was uneasy. So I spent most of the night in the cockpit monitoring the depth gauge and charts until low tide came and the depth started increasing again. Long story short, it was not our favorite.
Like everywhere in Panama though, it was pretty and we did have a good time ashore. The creepiest thing was the massive clumps of hermit crabs. A small food scrap just gets covered with them.
At one point we saw chains of hermit crabs fighting for better shells. It was pretty neat watching them move from shell to shell rapidly, but at least one of the died in the struggle. I wanted to take a video but didn’t have my phone.
Oh yeah, we finally started fishing since our underways have been very calm. It has been great.
Isla Parida
We spent a few days at Isla Parida. We liked it a lot, especially after the bugs and depth concerns at Islas Secas. The beach was huge and it was a very gradual entry into the water. We played frisbee and monkey-in-the-middle. There was also a small restaurant where we got some food and beverages. The beaches are rather crowded during the day, but like many places we go, the tourists head home by 4pm or so and we get the place to ourselves.
We also dinghied over to Isla Gamez which is a tiny little place near where we anchored. It had way more trash than Parida, including toilet paper and wipes. It was a bit nasty. Cool views though and we had a nice swim.
Puerto Armuelles
Our clearance stop was the town of Armuelles. Nothing much to see here. It looks like a place that used to have a lot more going on, but now it looks tired. It was easy to get groceries and other small supplies though and we completed our official paperwork to leave Panama. So now, after just a hair over six months, it’s time for a new country.
On our way out of Panama, we hooked one final fish, a delicious Sierra Mackerel and a whale escorted us to the country border. The video is not good at all, but it’s better than a flip phone.