Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

We woke Monday morning to gray skies. The weather forecast given on the morning net suggested squalls were on their way so we decided to move the boat early. We had around 10 knots of wind but as it was right behind us we decided to motor the 6nm or so to Nagana so we could recharge the batteries on the way.

Shortly after arriving we went ashore to look around. The town comprises two islands joined by a covered footbridge. They are densely packed with kuna bamboo huts, many with untraditional tin roofs. Most of the kuna were wearing western clothing with only a few in their traditional costume. We tried, unsuccessfully, to find bread in the few tiny stores around the town. For those needing a town fix this was about as good as it was going to get.

We stopped off at Nial’s cafe for lunch and a beer. As far as we could tell, it was the only place in town. There was what looked like a bar but it was not open.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing on the boat. This morning the cloud cover looks a little thinner but it is still overcast. This may be perfect weather for a long hike so it looks like we should be on for our outing today.

Our final morning at the Swimming Pool turned out to be a little busy. I popped over to Curious to talk to Steve and Trish about a river tour they had organized. We want to do something similar and want to get info on the various options. Another possibility is a tour up the Diablo River close to where we are now. While I was there, Gerald popped by reminding us of the rubbish/trash burn that occurs on BBQ island at 10am each day. Steve and I both had some to dispose of so I returned to Dignity to collect the bags, boys and Annie and take them to the island. One cruiser who has, I understand, been here for year rakes the island every day and burns the dry stuff each day at 10am. He got very angry, taking it very personally, when he discovered some glass in the fire. He accused Gerald of doing it without any real evidence and refused Gerald’s plea of innocence. You meet them all.

After the burn I took my laptop back to Curious to collect some documentation on the Pacific. Next stop was Whiskers to help Gerald getting his music files into iTunes and then it was back to Dignity for lunch.

Right after lunch we set off for the Coco Bandero Cays 6 miles away as the crow flies. The wind was a little light so we motored half the way and then sailed once we turned and put the wind on our beam. Our Code Zero was needed for the downwind run but that’s in for repair.

Our first stop in the Cays was a bit rolly and Helen didn’t like it. We took off in the dinghy to see if there were any gaps in the crowd of boats squeezed between the islands where the water was calm. There did appear to be so we brought Dignity around. I think the boat next to us thought we were too near to them cos they moved a short way away later on. Either that or they moved to get more of a breeze. Our only trip from the boat was to swim to the little island north of us and walk around it. The sea life visible in that short swim was abundant. We swam through a large shoal of tiny fish with a barracuda lurking on the fringe. Under logs we could see small lobsters, a crab and a large eel.

A kuna came by in his dugout canoe from whom we bought kuna bread and ordered five crabs for today. We ended the day with curried turkey and a vege curry for Annie.

We’ll hang around here for the day no doubt heading out to the reef for a snorkel. Hopefully the crabs will be delivered which we’ll cook this evening.