Aboard Dignity (Lagoon 420) Blog

Yesterday we said goodbye to Annie and Sam. We all went ashore in the launch and walked to the main road. Normally we can’t go too far without a taxi driver hailing us but this time we were able to reach the main road without any approaching us. We eventually hailed a cab – perhaps the most run down one we have seen. Nevertheless it was good to go to the airport. We had our hugs and said our goodbyes. After nearly a month it was hard to part but life must move on. Sam is our youngest and hence the one we worry the most about.

Before our goodbyes I’d been ashore to drop off two propane tanks to be refilled. On the way back I paid up for our mooring at the Balboa Yacht Club so we could move on later in the day. While I was in the office the UPS guy came, this time with our package. At least things seemed to be working out. Only when I opened the package I discovered the couple of breakers I’d ordered as spares had the wrong posts on them. More chasing to do.

Once we’d said our goodbyes to Annie and Sam we waited for the laundry to finish. I called the taxi handling the propane to find out how long he’d be. I think he said he’d be back by 11:30 so I agreed to wait. Helen and John went back to the boat to sort things out and make her ready to leave. The taxi didn’t come until about 1pm.

Back on the boat with our propane we were soon off to anchor at and anchorage towards the end of the causeway. This was to save on the mooring fees as well as to get away from the shaking around from the tug boats and motor boats. Unfortunately, here in the anchorage we have very poor and sporadic internet and we have more movement on the boat although less of the violent kind.

Today we’ll move the boat within the anchorage to see if we can improve matters. I need to inspect the bottom of the boat and maybe clean it. I want to do an inventory of our key spares to make sure we have what we need so that tomorrow we can run around and close any gaps.

Now that we’re down to three thoughts are focussing on the next few months. We have a rendezvous with John’s girlfriend in Costa Rica late February. Giving ourselves a week’s contingency at the end that gives us around four more weeks in Panama. We’ll split that evenly between Las Perlas islands and the trip/stopovers to the border.

It’s been a busy and tiring couple of days. I even missed a day’s blogging. Sorry to those who may think we’ve dropped off the planet. Here’s the catch up.

On Wednesday morning we were up bright (actually dark) and early and managed to get into our hire car by 6:45am. We were soon off and crossing the Bridge of the Americas and heading west along the highway. Driving in Panama does take a lot of concentration as the roads are rough and the other drivers rougher. After approx 100km we found the turn to El Valle and took the windy road up to the crater in which the town nestles. As we ascended the weather became gloomy with spatters of rain.

Our first target was the 3 hour hike up the ‘Sleeping Indian’. Missing one vital sign we ended up at the jungle canopy tour. At that point we weren’t sure if this was the right place but after some asking we realized we had to turn around. After 2-3 more wrong turns we arrived at the base of the hike.

We were charged $1 each to enter the trail which I guess is not too bad. Practically the first thing we came upon were some petroglyphs on a rock. There was no information on what they were so we could not tell if they were ancient or recent graffiti.

We continued our hike upwards. The dampness and occasional rain made the path muddy and quite slippery in places.

We came upon a point where we had a choice to head up a steeper path or continue up the path we had been climbing. Consensus was to try the steeper path. This took us, after some time, to someone’s dwelling as well as another steep upward path. We asked where the “Sleeping Indian” was and were directed down again but to keep left. Downward was actually taking us down the outside of the crater so at least we had reached some part of the rim. Keeping left we were soon on a steep upward path which took us to a tree covered peak with a spectacular view down into the crater floor.

We didn’t think this was the highest point around and felt with some exploring we could find a higher point. However, some were for heading back down including me as I had the wrong shoes on and was developing blisters.

From where we were we hiked back down into the crater assuming we’d come out somewhere near the car. We met our upward trail at a point where none of us realized there had been a choice and made it down albeit gingerly as the slipperiness was harder to deal with descending.

Next we headed for the zoo which we found after having to ask directions just once. We had to drive along about a kilometer of unpaved road to get there. The zoo wasn’t the best kept but they did have an interesting collection of animals set in wonderful grounds. They had many types of birds, reptiles and mammals (including monkeys which delighted Annie). Their showpiece was their golden frogs which are an endangered species.

After the zoo we dined at the pizza restaurant in ‘town’. For very little we each had our own 12″ deep crust pizzas which were quite filling. Over lunch we discussed our options for the afternoon. There was not a lot of interest in the horse riding. We thought it might be worth looking into the canopy tour followed by the hot springs / volcanic mud bath.

We drove back to the canopy tour. It turned out that for about $50 we would get to ride 4 zip lines. This was a rip off because normally for that price you get about 10 or more so we passed on that and headed off for the hot springs. We decided as a consolation to go out for sushi in the evening. Having arrived and paid to go in we discovered the hot springs were barely warmer than cold and that the volcanic mud, which smelled like the mud we sometimes pick up on our anchor, came in plastic containers.

Not to be put off by this we went for the full works and covered ourselves in smelly mud before washing it off in luke cold water. Living on a boat one can at least appreciate abundant water regardless of its form.

Then came the drive home. I was exhausted and struggled to stay awake at the wheel. As soon as we found somewhere to get coffee John went out to get some while I took 10 minutes to close my eyes which I find makes a huge difference while driving. (By this I mean while parked to rest during a long drive.)

Refreshed we continued on and soon passed a Rey supermarket which we took the opportunity to visit and load up some more provisions.

Back in Panama City we drove up the causeway to a sushi restaurant Annie and Sam were keen to visit where we ate 9 orders between us. Oddly, here in Panama, they seem to like putting cream cheese in their sushi. At first I didn’t notice as I was so hungry but towards the end I really found it distasteful.

Back on the boat everyone crashed to their bunks and were soon asleep. Except for me as I think the coffee kicked in and kept me awake for a few more hours.

The next morning Helen and I headed into Panama City to do another provisioning run, find some propane and visit the chandlery / fishing shop if we had time. We soon made a wrong turn and in correcting we found ourselves passing by the chandlery so we stopped and shopped there. Next stop was the propane store where I learned they would not fill our fiberglass tanks without some sort of printed specification. Final stop was another Rey supermarket where we did successfully provision. Time was ticking. We had to rush back to the boat. Get everything loaded onto a cart. Have a fellow take the cart to the launch dock. Unload everything off the cart. Load everything onto the launch. Get out to Dignity. Load everything onto Dignity. I then headed back in the launch to get the car back to the rental company before 2pm. I just made it.

I still needed a replacement fishing road so I took a taxi from the rental agency to the fishing store at the end of the causeway and walked back to the boat from there. The day was almost up. Annie made us all a vegetarian appetizer which went down very well. Soon we were off to the Balboa Yacht Club for the evening meal and a few beers.

Helen and I retired for the evening but the kids got ready for a night out. They must have had a good time as they arrived as it was getting light this morning.

Today is our last full day together as Annie and Sam need to return to the US tomorrow. I doubt if we’ll see much of them as they have some sleep to catch up on. Tonight we’re having our final curry together. There is an Indian restaurant in town. It’s a toss up between there or Helen’s curry. We’ll let Annie and Sam decide.

This morning my blogging was disturbed by the launch driver demanding we went to the dock. Helen and I quickly pulled ourselves together so I could sort whatever this was out and she could do some laundry (we’re running low on water on the boat). It turned out there was a UPS guy with a package for us. We are expecting our mail to be delivered here but was surprised it was so soon. I soon learned that the package was stuck at the airport awaiting clearance but that for $30 the UPS guy could smooth the way. I was outraged. In the end once we got into the argument that my package did not weigh 21kg I learned the guy had the wrong boat and the wrong marina and furthermore, our package would be too small to warrant greasing of the palms. Life in the third world.

The day started slowly. Our agent, Enrique Plummer, had said he’d show up to collect the tires and lines. By 10am there was no show so I called him to say we were off. We’d designated the day as a crew day which meant everyone could do what they liked and there was no obligation to stick together. Annie and Sam had had another late night so they started the day asleep. John opted to hang with us for a while as we wanted to visit the old town, Casco Viejo.

Helen was keen to walk despite my reading it was unsafe. Against my better judgment we humoured her. On the map it didn’t seem far but in the heat of day it went on for a long way. We reached a point where the buildings were becoming more crowded and run down. A policemen stopped us and indicated it was not safe to go any further. This convinced Helen we should indeed take a taxi the last mile.

We were very soon into the old town and back out of the taxi. It was a bit more run down than the old town in Cartagena and certainly not as quaint. But it did have it’s own charm and it was quite pleasant walking around.

Soon we were looking for food as it was nearing lunch time. Exploring the old town didn’t take too long so we headed along a side street towards a shopping area.

We found a place with lots of cheap Chinese stores. We picked up some little bits and pieces to use as gifts when we’re out in the Pacific. I also picked up a bunch of tee-shirts for myself and Sam. We found a Chinese restaurant and decided to have lunch there. For under $20 we ended up with plates with so much food we couldn’t finish them.

Feeling full we headed on and found a high street full of stores selling very low cost stuff. Helen bought a couple of nice dresses from an Indian store and we picked up some more small items for the boat.

Next stop was the water maker store to pick up some filters. John came in the taxi with us and stayed in the taxi to get to a mall where he thought he could get a charger for his camera (he’d left his at home). Having picked up filters Helen and I walked to the nearest Rey supermarket to pick up some near term provisions then taxied back to the boat.

We arrived within a minute of John and unpacked. We headed back to the shore for what we understood to be a book swap. We were a bit late and it had already finished. The bar was closing down so we couldn’t get a decent seat and food was not being served. We stayed for a little bit before heading back to the boat. We later learned that Annie and Sam had been to much the same places as we had.