We heard the scariest thing yesterday. Another boat came into our anchorage yesterday, and they had been anchored previously at Espiritu Santo. That is where we were before we came here to Pedro Gonzalez. While we were at Espiritu Santo, we became good friends with the couple on a boat called "Ohh Baby", who remained at Espiritu Santo after we left. We are planning to go back there before all here is said and done. Anyway, one of the delights at that anchorage is the fact that whales spend a lot of time there, and at times come pretty close to the boats.
But it can be a problem. Here is what we found out happened after we left. A mother whale and her baby came very close to Ohh Baby, playing around. Our friends came out to watch, and all of a sudden the mother whale's fin got tangled up somehow in the anchor chain. One of our friends injured her foot (we do not know how badly, but she appears to be recovering without medical intervention), the bow sprit on the end of the boat was bent, and the boat itself was in danger of capsize until the whale untangled itself and took off. All of us out here are a bit shaken, and it reinforced the notion that while they are awesome creatures and seeing and experiencing them is a marvel, they can be dangerous. I guess I am better off watching them from a safe distance.
Otherwise, things are nice and calm. We were able to top off our water tanks the other day when it rained hard, so the fact our water maker is out of commission has not been and likely will not be a hardship. We were able to make arrangements to have new parts shipped to Panama City, and all will soon be well. The water maker company could not have been more helpful, and agreed without even being asked to replace the problem parts at no cost to us. One cannot ask for more than that. I still love this water maker and would recommend it to anyone. I think we just got a bad pump - perhaps it is a Monday Morning part - meaning that someone came in hung over on the assembly line and things did not go well that day. Sort of like how a car can be a lemon, even though all other cars of that same make are just fine. So now we just wait, and when we get notification of arrival, we will head into Panama City and pick it up. We can re-provision at the same time, and the timing should be perfect. After that, in early October, the plan is to head for Costa Rica. Of course there is always the chance we could change our plans.
Last night we were having dinner on another friend's boat and both of us were discussing our future plans. They are alternating between going to Costa Rica or Ecuador. It struck me that we were discussing crossing international boundaries the same way I might discuss whether I was going to go to Escondido or Chula Vista. Really, thinking about sailing to another country now seems like the normal course of things.
Today we had planned to go fishing, but Mike is not feeling well, so he is taking a nap. If he perks up after his nap, we will still go. I am not broken hearted because it is really hot out, without any cooling breeze whatsoever. It would be nice to get some fish, we have eaten up the last of what we had caught previously.
This morning one of the locals, Alejandro, came by in a small canoe, selling fruit. We bought several huge avocados and a papaya. He had limes but we have plenty of those (and they are the most aromatic limes I have ever had). Then he traded us two more huge avocados for a cold can of juice. Pretty good deal if you ask me. Now I have to learn how to deal with a papaya, i.e. when to cut into it, how to store it, etc. I have eaten it plenty of times, but always in a restaurant. I used to not like papaya - it tasted a bit like vomit to me, because of the papain (an enzyme that can be used to tenderize meat) in it. But the papayas down here have less of that flavor than do the ones from Hawaii. That tasted can also be reduced by squeezing fresh lime over it. I am glad I like them because they are very good for you. And they do bulk up a fruit salad. We got a big hand of bananas the other day, some of which are now ripe, and if we put the papaya and bananas together with our mangoes, we will have a rocking fruit salad. I am looking forward to that!
I have cut down on my beer drinking - I am losing weight nicely and do not want to change that. Plus, I sleep better if I am not half drunk when I go to bed. But a cold beer at times cannot be beat.
Anyway, I think I have babbled on long enough today. Time to go for a swim.
"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, fine your eternity in each moment." (Henry David Thoreau)
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Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
I Am Still Alive and Doing Quite Well
What can I say? When you are living the lazy tropical lifestyle you neglect whatever you can get away with. Actually, that is not quite accurate - it is just that time passes so fast that before you know it, a month has gone by and you have done nothing but swim, fish, visit with friends, do boat chores, and just generally enjoy the slow pace of things.
We are still cruising the Las Perlas Islands here in Panama. We left Panama City of June 27th or so, with every intention of sailing on down to Ecuador. But a stop in these islands convinced us we could not leave here. It is amazing here - as clean and remote as the Sea of Cortez, but with jungle instead of desert. We have gathered wild mangoes, noni fruit, papaya, and have caught a ton of fish. It enabled us to take what was basically two weeks worth of provisions and stretched it out for over a month. We spent all of July just lounging around the islands, and returned to Panama City early this month for three days, during which we re-provisioned with an eye to spending more time out here. The things you run out of is mostly fresh produce, as it does not keep well, and our refrigerator is pretty small.
We spent most of the time since my last post at Isla Espiritu Santo, where there is only one little village about a half hour dinghy ride away. You can get beer, eggs, and some produce. There is another slightly bigger village about the same distance in a different direction, but it is harder to get to as the landing for the dinghy is harder to manage. You have to time that one carefully with the tides, because when the tide is low, there are what seems like acres of mud flats. That means you have to drag your dinghy back to the water across all this muck, and nobody wants to do that. So timing is everything there. Plus if you get there on the wrong day, there won't be anything to buy. Deliveries come in by water, and usually only once per week.
I love going into these little villages. Everyone is friendly, and they like having company. There are only adults and small children in the villages, as the teenagers go to the mainland for school. The little kids are shy at first, but they warm up fast. You don't have to seek things out, rather, just go to the store, buy a beer, and hang around the store. Pretty soon everyone comes up with whatever they have to sell - for example, the last time we went to town, we went home with potatoes (still with the dirt on them) and avocados.
Right now we are anchored at a new island, named Isla Pedro Gonzalez. When we went ashore to explore around, we found it to be an absolute treasure trove of agates. I have never seen so many different kinds of agates in one place in my life, and we have been hunting agates since we got together 15 years ago. It was simply amazing. We had not even parked the dinghy when I looked down into the (crystal clear) water and said "This entire island must be made of agate." While we explored around, I found a small fresh water stream and took a wonderful fresh water bath.
These islands are so verdant they remind me of the Pacific Northwest, as long as one does not analyze the foliage too closely. We have also gathered coconuts. Mike made me a scraper for the coconut meat out of an agate shaped like the dish of a spoon by using a drill and arrowhead manufacturing techniques to make a scalloped edge. I am proud of it. I feel like a real pioneer. We have had fish barbecues on the beach with other boats, and dug pits to burn garbage. I am looking forward to trying a Hawaiian oven - digging a pit, using hot rocks and banana leaves to cook the food beneath the sand.
The only problem with all of this is that we checked out of the country when we thought we were on our way to Ecuador, so now we are illegal aliens here. I am not too worried about it - the only place we would possibly run into trouble would be Panama City, and as long as we keep our heads down there should be no trouble. When we went into the city, we went in on Friday afternoon and were gone again by Monday morning. The immigration people are not out and about on weekends.
The weather here is always interesting. We are in and out of what is called the ITCZ (inter tropical convergence zone) which means very unsettled weather. We have horrendous thunder and lightning storms. One night there were three boats in this anchorage (one of them being us) when we were awakened in the night by cracks of thunder so loud and close that they literally shook the entire boat. The lightning was blinding when it hit. In the morning, one of the boats had been hit by lightning and all of their electronics, their engine, and just about everything you can think of was ruined. Even their big foresail was ruined with tons of little burn holes. I feel really bad for them - they have no insurance. We also heard that another of our friends, still anchored in Panama City, were also hit, although I don't know how badly they were damaged. It is bad for them because they are trying to sell their boat and return to shore living. We are insured, but I am still hoping it does not happen to us. Catamarans seem to be particularly susceptible to strikes - maybe it is their wider profile. I have no idea. I used to hold that the tallest mast would be the target, but the cats seem to get it worse mast height, regardless of . I don't love the storms like I used to. There is actual danger you don't have in a house, it seems to me anyway.
Tonight Mike is cooking chicken on the grill, with baked potatoes and corn and red peppers. I am looking forward to it. We haven't fished for a few days because I will not let us fish until we are done with a previous catch. I found a recipe for pickled fish and then bought myself some pumpernickel bread (I was amazed that I found it in Panama City but they do have a large expat community that means lots of European and American stuff is available) to enjoy it with. I am also going to try making gravlax, which is a sort of salted fish eaten in Norway or Sweden. Both that and pickling are a good way to keep the fish if you get one that is too big to eat up at one or two meals. But trust me - I have learned many different ways to cook fish.
Another thing about being here in the islands is the almost daily sightings of whales. They jump, slap their tails, blow, and generally cavort around in the water. We keep a safe distance, but they are wonderful to watch. The mothers have the babies practicing the things whales need to do, and it is great fun to watch. The sound they make when a big one throws himself out of the water and then slams down is almost concussive. We can sometimes here them blowing from down in the cabin and then we run up to look. Combined with all the different sea birds, and the other fish that are always jumping out of the water in an entertaining manner, there is never an occasion for boredom.
So that is what I am up to these days. We have no plans to go anywhere else for the next month or so, except for the fact that the motor for the water maker went south again, so we will have to go to the city when the new motor and pump arrive. We will not die of thirst in the meantime, because we catch rainwater. All we need is a good rainstorm. And there are plenty of them.
"It isn't bragging if you can really do it." (Dizzy Dean)
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We are still cruising the Las Perlas Islands here in Panama. We left Panama City of June 27th or so, with every intention of sailing on down to Ecuador. But a stop in these islands convinced us we could not leave here. It is amazing here - as clean and remote as the Sea of Cortez, but with jungle instead of desert. We have gathered wild mangoes, noni fruit, papaya, and have caught a ton of fish. It enabled us to take what was basically two weeks worth of provisions and stretched it out for over a month. We spent all of July just lounging around the islands, and returned to Panama City early this month for three days, during which we re-provisioned with an eye to spending more time out here. The things you run out of is mostly fresh produce, as it does not keep well, and our refrigerator is pretty small.
We spent most of the time since my last post at Isla Espiritu Santo, where there is only one little village about a half hour dinghy ride away. You can get beer, eggs, and some produce. There is another slightly bigger village about the same distance in a different direction, but it is harder to get to as the landing for the dinghy is harder to manage. You have to time that one carefully with the tides, because when the tide is low, there are what seems like acres of mud flats. That means you have to drag your dinghy back to the water across all this muck, and nobody wants to do that. So timing is everything there. Plus if you get there on the wrong day, there won't be anything to buy. Deliveries come in by water, and usually only once per week.
I love going into these little villages. Everyone is friendly, and they like having company. There are only adults and small children in the villages, as the teenagers go to the mainland for school. The little kids are shy at first, but they warm up fast. You don't have to seek things out, rather, just go to the store, buy a beer, and hang around the store. Pretty soon everyone comes up with whatever they have to sell - for example, the last time we went to town, we went home with potatoes (still with the dirt on them) and avocados.
Right now we are anchored at a new island, named Isla Pedro Gonzalez. When we went ashore to explore around, we found it to be an absolute treasure trove of agates. I have never seen so many different kinds of agates in one place in my life, and we have been hunting agates since we got together 15 years ago. It was simply amazing. We had not even parked the dinghy when I looked down into the (crystal clear) water and said "This entire island must be made of agate." While we explored around, I found a small fresh water stream and took a wonderful fresh water bath.
These islands are so verdant they remind me of the Pacific Northwest, as long as one does not analyze the foliage too closely. We have also gathered coconuts. Mike made me a scraper for the coconut meat out of an agate shaped like the dish of a spoon by using a drill and arrowhead manufacturing techniques to make a scalloped edge. I am proud of it. I feel like a real pioneer. We have had fish barbecues on the beach with other boats, and dug pits to burn garbage. I am looking forward to trying a Hawaiian oven - digging a pit, using hot rocks and banana leaves to cook the food beneath the sand.
The only problem with all of this is that we checked out of the country when we thought we were on our way to Ecuador, so now we are illegal aliens here. I am not too worried about it - the only place we would possibly run into trouble would be Panama City, and as long as we keep our heads down there should be no trouble. When we went into the city, we went in on Friday afternoon and were gone again by Monday morning. The immigration people are not out and about on weekends.
The weather here is always interesting. We are in and out of what is called the ITCZ (inter tropical convergence zone) which means very unsettled weather. We have horrendous thunder and lightning storms. One night there were three boats in this anchorage (one of them being us) when we were awakened in the night by cracks of thunder so loud and close that they literally shook the entire boat. The lightning was blinding when it hit. In the morning, one of the boats had been hit by lightning and all of their electronics, their engine, and just about everything you can think of was ruined. Even their big foresail was ruined with tons of little burn holes. I feel really bad for them - they have no insurance. We also heard that another of our friends, still anchored in Panama City, were also hit, although I don't know how badly they were damaged. It is bad for them because they are trying to sell their boat and return to shore living. We are insured, but I am still hoping it does not happen to us. Catamarans seem to be particularly susceptible to strikes - maybe it is their wider profile. I have no idea. I used to hold that the tallest mast would be the target, but the cats seem to get it worse mast height, regardless of . I don't love the storms like I used to. There is actual danger you don't have in a house, it seems to me anyway.
Tonight Mike is cooking chicken on the grill, with baked potatoes and corn and red peppers. I am looking forward to it. We haven't fished for a few days because I will not let us fish until we are done with a previous catch. I found a recipe for pickled fish and then bought myself some pumpernickel bread (I was amazed that I found it in Panama City but they do have a large expat community that means lots of European and American stuff is available) to enjoy it with. I am also going to try making gravlax, which is a sort of salted fish eaten in Norway or Sweden. Both that and pickling are a good way to keep the fish if you get one that is too big to eat up at one or two meals. But trust me - I have learned many different ways to cook fish.
Another thing about being here in the islands is the almost daily sightings of whales. They jump, slap their tails, blow, and generally cavort around in the water. We keep a safe distance, but they are wonderful to watch. The mothers have the babies practicing the things whales need to do, and it is great fun to watch. The sound they make when a big one throws himself out of the water and then slams down is almost concussive. We can sometimes here them blowing from down in the cabin and then we run up to look. Combined with all the different sea birds, and the other fish that are always jumping out of the water in an entertaining manner, there is never an occasion for boredom.
So that is what I am up to these days. We have no plans to go anywhere else for the next month or so, except for the fact that the motor for the water maker went south again, so we will have to go to the city when the new motor and pump arrive. We will not die of thirst in the meantime, because we catch rainwater. All we need is a good rainstorm. And there are plenty of them.
"It isn't bragging if you can really do it." (Dizzy Dean)
----------
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