SAN BLAS WITH JESSE AND LIA

We rented a car 3 days before Lia and Jesse arrived to provision for our 2 week trip to the San Blas.  First I thought I over provisioned as I had to store a lot of stuff under the table. But at the end of the trip little was left under the table.

It was an exciting moment for the girls and me to finally meet face to face at the airport. Seeing Lia was like seeing her mother when I first met her I was 26 years old. They arrived early enough to still have daylight to enjoy the scenic drive to Portobelo. They could hardly wait to get on the boat and both had no problem adjusting to their home for the next 18 days.

You haven’t seen Panama if you haven’t seen the Canal. The following day they took in the first two impressions of Panama: the Canal which for me is still after so many times seeing it fascinating. The girls were just as impressed. 

Jesse and Lia

and of course a selfi by Lia

the future canal under construction

The second impression the ugly town of Colon which looks like a war zone; I found out that any movie having to do with Haiti is filmed here as it looks pretty similar but is less dangerous.

And these photos are from the prettier part of town

On their third day we headed to the San Blas, big choppy waves awaited us outside the bay which unfortunately was not the ideal trip for landlubbers. Even with green faces there was a smile of excitement to go to the San Blas. In Chichime they could barely wait to hit the water, I don’t blame them, it is crystal clear and too inviting. I joined them as well but kept a close eye on the dark cloud that was approaching from the North and getting more ominous by the minute and I did spot a good size waterspout. That was quite exciting and we watched it passed the island. Where is the camera when you need it!

Jesse and Lia with Trash island in background

Sid and I were shocked to see the transformation of Chichime, it was filled with backpacker boats and the two islands covered with tents and backpackers. 
(Backpackers are mostly young adult students that are traveling. In this area they are going from Panama to Columbia or the other way and  there are no roads so the only way to do that trip is by boat or air, boat is cheaper because they stop in the San Blas for a few days).  
The family we knew with the cute old lady “Sipu” weren’t there either, which saddened us, we were hoping to see them again. 
The little Island we had named Gaby Dup, when my cousin Gaby was here is now “Trash Island” as all the backpacker’s burn their trash on this once beautiful sandy island. Would not be so bad if it was burnable stuff but cans and bottles are left behind as well, a real shame. I really think they should regulate the Backpacker Boats. They are ruining the islands and are not showing any respect to the Kuna’s either. In Coco Bandera one Backpacker boat’s guests went on one of the island and found a Kuna hut they thought was left behind and used it for fire wood. Can you imagine the poor Kuna coming back to his island finding himself homeless?!!! This island now is off limits to even the cruisers.

Treasures on the beach

Kuna water hole

typical Kuna hut

I was glad to see that the first ulu that approached to sell molas was Venancio. His Molas are by far the best, his and Lisa’s. The girls had fun, heck we all had fun including Sid. Between the 4 of us we spent 1100 dollars on molas, a fortune but they are just so darn beautiful. Venancio was happy too.

My Molas

These resemble healing flowers the Kuna's use

I could not resist this one, the work is just amazing

This one is my best buy, look at all the caterpillars and butterflies, a piece of art

Venancio is working on my next mola, this on is going to be incredible

Sid and I left Chichime with sadness that our family was not there anymore and that it was over run by backpackers. We did get to thinking that if the backpackers stayed on only one or two islands and not invade the rest I guess it would protect the other islands. Most are young adults and don’t have money to buy thing from the islanders, which many make their living at.

We enjoyed watching these two Kuna fishermen

 

The following morning we had to sail to Porvenir to check in with the Port Captain, which we were told is a must. It was a quick check in and I was actually glad to finally see Porvenir as we never had checked in here. Porvenir does not look like a typical Kuna island and mainly consist of one runway and a couple of houses, a pretty and clean island, except the anchorage is not very suitable, just good enough for a quick stop to check in.  The three adjacent Islands looked different than what we’ve seen, they are covered with nothing but Kuna huts. After checking in the port captain sent us to the neighboring island to pay a fee to the Commarca which is the Kuna government building but told us that nobody was there today. It’s a 20 dollar boat fee and 5 dollar for each person per month.

Porvenir

From here we sailed to Banadup in the East Lemons. I was hoping the cute little boy that was jumping up and down on the beach calling my name last time (almost 3 years ago), was there again because I had a present for him this time. No kids were seen on the beach, my heart sank.

The first ulu that approached I asked the lady if she knew the Robinson family with the kid then about 6 or 7 years of age, pointing at the hut they lived in. She looked at me and said “Manuela” and “he is 10 now!” Wow it was the mother of the little boy and remembered us. 

She was just as excited to see us as we were to see her. We bought a few things from her and I ordered custom made bead anklets and wrist band. The next morning we visited her island and she put my new jewelry on. 

We chat for a while and she gave me a coconut and invited us to walk her island, which we did.

Snorkeling was added to the day, some card games after dinner and then the girls fell asleep in the hammocks on deck.

The Veggie Boat

Jesse the Mermaid

The little boy's island

Lia's new Jewlry

The little boy Gerardo's house

There is an island close by (2 miles) “Dog Island” with a wreck we always wanted to snorkel. We were almost there when the dinghy engine quit. We were a long ways away from the boat and had to row back wit h two people paddling with an oar. It was quit tiring as a current tried to push us down from where we needed to go. We were about half way and over a reef the girls jumped in the water, they were going to tow the dinghy. They were in the water about 15 seconds when they scrambled back into the dinghy. They encountered thousands of jelly fish. So I went in and oh wow, the underwater scenery was spectacular with one of the most beautiful reefs I have ever encountered and the jelly fish added to the beauty of the reef. By the way the jelly were harmless, so all jumped back in the water and snorkel- towed (is that a word?) the dinghy back to the boat. I am planning to spend a lot of time exploring this reef when we return.

Row, row, row your boat

gently towards your boat

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

I think Lia preferred this better

Sid was my hero again, he was able to fix the dinghy. He had an extra impeller but in the process the water feed tube from the pump to the engine was so corroded that it broke as luck would have it he found a piece of plastic tubing somewhere on the boat that exactly fit inside and was able to splice it and it still works. That’s boating.

Later on that day we went back to the Kuna lady, I wanted to thank her and to let her know that we would be back. I also brought the present for her son, a world cup soccer ball. Just before we left she called me inside her hut, which is unusual. Inside, she and a family member tried to pull a mola shirt over my head. I told her my boobs were too big for it but they tried anyway and pulled down and down, my boobs getting flatter and flatter and finally the shirt was stuck no way going any further. Both girls were giggling like crazy saying: “Si grande mammas” (yes huge tits). Chatting in Kuna they pointed at this and that and pulled it off me and she then looked at me and said, next time you come back you will have your own Mola shirt. Wow, that blew me away, I feel very honored, that is very unusual they don’t give molas away especially not a full Mola shirt. I am still humbled by it. I can’t wait to come back and bring more presents. I promised her that I will bring the black digital boys watch for her son he wishes to have. He lives on the Robinson Island and is going to school now.

Having too much fun

We thought for sure that sailing from here to the Swimming Pool the girls would not get sick as most is in protected waters behind the Holandes Cays, but……

I think the Holandes was the highlight for them with sea creatures. We explored the Bath Tub first, a reef full of fish. Sid had created a tow toy with a line going through an about 4 foot of PVC pipe. With snorkeling gear on the girls were towed back towards the boat, that was too kewl. Well once more the dinghy crapped out and the girls towed Sid the rest of the way back to the boat. Out of gas!!!

When we snorkeled on the outer reef right away Lia discovered a big lobster in a crevasse. I had fun with him trying to get him out of his hiding hole. Jesse and Lia also discovered a nurse shark resting under a big coral, beautiful. A giant ray watched us with caution as we studied him. The fun part at the outer reef is there is always a current running so no need to drive the dinghy back just let the current carry you back to the boat while snorkeling with dinghy in tow. We saw so much more in the water including a few conchs.

Anchored in this

The girls had so much and also enjoyed the culinary side as Kuna fisherman provided us with lobster and conch. I think we conched out!

Conch

The time was shortened by having to go back to Porvenir to check out again. We were just alongside Chichime to turn into the channel towards Porvenir when a boat crossed us. It was “Mischief” with Chris, Jordi and Gina on board. We met Chris and Jordi 6 years ago in Venezuela when they called it quits with cruising and their relationship. About 4 years later we receive an email with the announcement of their daughter Gina’s birth with the cutest photo of happy mom and baby. About 6 months ago another email that they had arrived in the San Blas on their new boat, them not knowing we were in the same area. I wrote her back and we made plans to meet up in San Blas and here our path crossed. After a short VHF call Mischief mad a U turn and headed to Chichime instead of Banadup to wait for us.

This time we anchored in front of one of the inhabited islands at Porviner and let the girls roam around while we proceeded to checked out. 

they even found ice cold beer

I tried to find the Commarca again to pay the fee but we were sent to the next island; no luck either so we headed to the port captain telling him our dilemma not having been able to pay the fee. He checked us out and sent me around the building to an office there, which turned out to be the official office of the Commarca where you pay the fee. Now why could he not tell us that when we checked in instead of sending us over to the other island?! Not just that a second door opens back into the port captain’s office, so no need to walk around.

After we collected the girls, we sailed back to rendezvous with Christina, Jordi and Gina in Chichime. Right after we had settled in an ulu approached to sell more molas. As I stood up and looked at the approaching ulu the old lady’s eyes lit up and she kept pointing at me and kept pointing at me, she couldn’t get to our boat fast enough, she even remembered my name. My gosh it was Sipu and her son Carlitos, she was so excited to see us and wanted us to come to her island right at that moment to meet her new granddaughter, daughter of Carlitos now 1 ½ years old. We promised to stop on her island in a couple of months to see her granddaughter, bought some Molas from her and then got ready for our dinner with Mischief.

What a Doll little Gina is, I had her favorite meal Spaghetti. It was a fun night catching up and we will do more of that when we return to the San Blas.

Add caption

Christina and Jordi

The girls were ready for the trip back to the mainland: lying down and sleeping the whole way!  This time they did not get sick but were a lighter shade of green.

We only had a short time to spend in Puerto Lindo but we made sure they met our friends, Dooger, saw the mangroves, explored Mamey Island, saw the monkey’s at Isla Linton, had lunch at Panama Marina and Adriana’s, all in just 2 days very short days.

At Adriana's

Haircut at Debi's

Not too short please!!!

Mussles at Panamarina

My favorite dessert "Nougat" ice cream

The girls and Reg

with Debi

The Mangrove Debi calls "Love Canal"

Sid asleep in Mamey Island

Back in Portobelo I was going to take them to the forts but unfortunately I injured my foot so Sid took them instead (I was not too upset I could not join them, it’s a steep uphill hike to the top fort, even the young girls had a hard time getting up there LOL).

Girls took over the kitchen when I injured my foot

Custom House

Black Christ Church

Slave Cemetary

Water fight, girls could not hide from Sid

Last dinner at El Castillo

I don't think we suffered food wise in and on Paradise

Salmon with Passion fruits sauce

Tuna and Mero carpacchio

Chateau Briand

Conch Salad

Their vacation wasn’t over yet. The girls still needed to buy some more souvenirs and wanted to do a shopping spree at the gigantic Albrook Mall, so I organized the dorm room at the Cruiser’s Casa Penthouse in down town.  Debi and Nell joined us and spent the night in the dorm and Ida joined us for a couple of hours at Casa Blanca, my favorite restaurant.

Beautiful Gamboa Resort

Lia, Nell, Jesse, Manuela and Debi

Sign in front of Gamboa Church

At Penthouse

View from Penthouse

We thoroughly enjoyed showing the girls a little of our life and in return I asked Lia and Jesse if they would write up a little story of their experience:

OUR TRIP IN AND ON, PARADISE:

Hello all! We are Jessica & Lia! Manuela asked us to write a blog about the 18 day trip we took with her and Sid.

Lia's parents, Joyce & Larry, are dear old friends of Sid & Manuela. When Lia and Jess got the travel-bug, it was suggested that we contact them and just like that, we had begun planning our get away.

Although Manuela did an incredible job describing what living on a 36 foot sail boat would be like, and giving us an outline of the trip, we really had no idea what we were in for; beautiful weather, gorgeous islands, animals from sloths and spider monkeys to turtles and barracuda, gourmet meals, incredible snorkeling, and ultimately gaining 2 new life-long friends.

Manuela picked us up from the airport with snazzy sunglasses and wine glasses in hand! She even had sangria on ice for us - we instantly knew we would get along just fine! We made the pretty drive into Portebello and saw the boat for the first time! We were both so excited and anxious at the same time. Panama could not wait to show off it's rain and thunderstorms and gave us a beautiful show our very first night, and most of the nights to follow.

We took the rental car back into Colon to see the Panama Canal and cruise the city. The Canal was an incredible sight! We then had our first (not to be our last) experience on a "Chicken Bus" aka the deadly form of public transportation in which bus drivers pretend they are race car drivers.

Day 3 began our trip out to the San Blas islands. Turns out Lia and I don't have sea-legs, and get more than a tad nauseous when the boat is moving, so we slept the majority of the way. We spent 2 nights in Chichime, 3 days in Banadup and 4 days in Swimming Pool. Each anchorage was more beautiful than the next, with surprising adventures and more molas than we could afford. Without going into every gorgeous detail about each place, we'll give you the highlights:

Chichime - Our introduction to the San Blas, a beautiful group of three islands surrounded by reef, crystal clear water, and a wrecked ship on the horizon. Venacio, a Kuna Yala, almost sold Lia his entire collection of molas. We were FINALLY able to narrow it down (after we ran out of money) and purchase the most beautiful molas we saw in all of Panama. Venacio is very talented and very kind. We enjoyed talking with him about his work and were ecstatic to bring some home with us.

Banadupe - On our way to snorkel the small ship wreck on the nearby Dog Island, the Dingy overheated and would not start. We ended up having to paddle a short way out of the current, then took turns towing it while snorkeling back to the boat - which was about 1 mile away. What a blessing in disguise; the reefs were beautiful and the snorkeling was fantastic. This was our favorite of the three places we visited in the islands, in part because of a Kuna family Manuela has a friendship with. We also saw the most magnificent of sunsets, which the four of us enjoyed together with cocktails on the bow of the Paradise.

  

Swimming Pool - What a beautiful place. We saw the most sea life here; Stingrays, Spotted Eagle Rays, Flounders, Turtles, Nurse Sharks, Barracudas, Cobia, and so much more. Sid taught us how to use the "hookah" (scuba diving respirator hooked up to the boat), which allowed Lia and I to go "Under the Sea" and sit on the bottom (~15ft deep). How incredible it is to see the ocean from this perspective. This is also where we perfected the art of "Shit Head", a card game Sid taught us.

Jesse

Underwater selfi

Lia's turn

They had soooo much fun

Each night we would put Sid's fisherman's light into the water to see what creatures would be curious enough to check it out. This was one of our favorite things to do. We would watch for hours as different fish came and went, we even got to see a cuttlefish feeding! 

After the San Blas we headed to Porto Lindo, where we got to meet Manuela and Sid's animal and cruiser friends! We got to meet Dooger the 3 toed sloth and hold him. He was much softer than we both thought he would be! We had dinner with Debbie and Reg, an awesome couple from New York. We cruised the mangroves, snorkeled, fed spider monkeys and ate more great food!

We headed back to Portobello with a day to explore there before heading back to Panama City. Sid took us on an amazing hike to the look out towers of the old forts around town. The view was incredible and Sid's knowledge made him an excellent tour guide :)

Our last night, although bittersweet, was a blast. Along with Manuela, Debbie and Nell, we stayed in Panama City for a night of incredible food and Cuban salsa dancing! Although we missed Sid dearly, a girls night out was a great way to see us off.

All in all, we had the experience of a lifetime. Sid and Manulea have given us something we could never duplicate. We already miss them and the beautiful shores of Panama. Until our next adventure....

Thanks Girls we had a wonderful time