From Isla de Providencia, Colombia to Shelter Bay Marina, Panama







Miraj has sailed over 3000 miles from Virginia, through the Bahamas, to Jamaica, via la Isla de Providencia to Panama. Living on the boat and sailing has become normal and we have learned to adapt to new cultures, each with their own beauracracy, currency and social fabric.

Arriving to a new place is always thrilling.  The quarantine flag hoisted on our starboard shroud we are usually bone tiered after a few days of night watches and bumpy conditions. The excitement carries us through the first day’s flurry of activities; visits from immigration, customs and at times the military, and lots of paperwork.
 In Jamaica we smelled charcoal fires as we approached land, in Panama the air was hot and thick and screaming monkey’s welcomed us. In Isla de Providencia, Colombia, the Armada boarded us in an anchorage reminiscent of a postcard from the Pacific, and searched our lockers and bilges for contraband.

Once we are cleared in we take down the Q-flag and raise the country flag (making flags is my only artistic endeavor these days). The first few things on our agenda once we come ashore are to; take a shower, connect to the local cellphone system, grocery shop, do laundry and sample the local beer at the closest bar. In other words enjoying the pleasures and trappings of civilization.

After leaving Jamaica Easter day we arrived at Isla de Providencia ,72 hours later.  Providencia, under Colombian dominion, is located a couple of hundred miles off the coast of Nicaragua.  The passage was relaxing with light winds astern.  The last 24 hours we hoisted our asymmetrical spinnaker and that night we glided through the dark at 6 knots under a star strewn sky. Those moments at sea are magic.

  We arrived early in the morning and pulled in to a large bay in front of the town of San Isabella. The island is volcanic, surrounded by steep pointy peaks clad in rainforest. We found a good sandy spot and anchored in the midst of 10 sailboats.

Opposed to most islands in the Caribbean Providencia has taken control of their destiny and regulated population growth and development. The population of around 50000 souls has stayed the same for the past 30 years and there are no large hotels. As a result we found a quiet, pristine environment where things moved at a slower pace and the local population was noticeably happy and proud of their island.  

Most memorable of our new acquaintances was Don Olivo, “the buccaneer from Mauritius” and his Colombian wife. Their seaside residence, an open A –frame building doubling as a restaurant, drew us in as we walked by one afternoon. Olivio, light skinned and blue eyed greeted us with combustible energy and shared some wild stories from his nomadic early life.

We hiked the highest peak on the island, the Peak, went to the Saturday local horse race on the South West beach, snorkeled and spent one day taking our dingy around the island. We got to know some of the locals and thoroughly enjoyed their company and stories.

After nine days we felt the call of Panama and set sail for our last passage this season.  We had a blustery rolly beam reach that took 48 hours and we were happy to arrive at Shelter Bay Marina on April 14.

Shelter Bay is located outside Colon right at the entrance of the Panama Canal. There are about 200 boats docked, many waiting to transit the Canal. They are large seaworthy sailing vessels from all over the world, with thousands of sea miles under their keels.  We never tire of walking the docks gazing at boats and hearing peoples’ stories. There is excitement and energy in the air as our fellow cruisers are preparing for the jump in to the Pacific Ocean and we are inspired to follow suit next season.

Our last stop this season is the San Blas Island, 70 miles south. It is a protected cruising ground belonging to the Kona tribe. We are provisioning for a month of out island sailing and are looking forward to explore a place we have heard about for years as one of the best places to cruise.

Comments

  1. KC-GApril 24, 2018 at 4:11 AM

    Star strewn night sail, exploring an island of volcano, rain forest and people who have chosen to keep maintain their islands beauty, walking the docks amoung those waiting to move through the canal and then onto the Pacific..... everywhere, stories. I smile as I imagine you both chatting with those you meet, sharing smiles, sharing stories. Thanks for weaving together these stories so that I may enjoy a taste of your journey.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Windward Passage and Jamaica

Image
One year ago when we were in the planning stages of our two-year sailing trip I read about the Windward Passage for the first time. I sat on our leather couch in our rose colored living room with a view of the RivannaRiver and Goggled: “The best way to get from the Southern Bahamas to Panama”. I pulled a blanket around my feet and read a few blogs from sailors who had gone that route. The Windward Passage is a strait of wild and wily water situated between the west tip of Haiti and the east coast of Cuba. Not unlike the dreaded cuts in the Bahamas (see past blog post) the prevailing easterly winds funnel masses of water from the North Atlantic to the Caribbean Sea resulting in high, chaotic waves and a 5-10 knot increase in the prevailing wind speeds. One of the blog posts I read reported their boat being approached by Haitian fishing vessels. They never stopped to find out what they wanted, but it sounded potentially worrisome.   The Windward Passage made...
Read more

The Bahamas

Image
The Bahamas We arrived in the Bahamas November 8, after crossing the Gulfstream and sailing along the south coast of Grand Bahamas most of the night. At first light we reached the entrance to Luccaya and followed the channel markers into the harbor and the customs office. An extensive canal system branched out from the main harbor and we dropped the hook in a well-protected anchorage in 10 feet of water.   A strong low-pressure system was approaching and we were happy to be in protected waters in our first foreign port.   Our highlight in Luccaya was Oddliegh’s house.   Hot and hungry and looking for a restaurant in a rural neighborhood, we had the profound embarrassment of stumbling into someone’s personal living room, thinking it was a restaurant, and encountering two older people sitting at their dining room table watching daytime TV.   Turns out no problem, Oddliegh had some sodas to sell. We sat on his porch for a spell after declining to watch TV w...
Read more

January, cuts, cold fronts and our arrival in George Town

Image
Three weeks of sunshine and low winds ended with the New Year and 2018 brought unstable weather to the Exumas. The tail of the low that battered the US East coast with freezing temperatures brought us higher winds and rain.   We started the Exuma shuffle, waiting for a weather window to go to Georgetown on Great Exuma. The shuffle meant sidestepping waves and wind to find a protective anchorage and occasionally returning to Staniel Cay to provision.   The 30 mile sail south in the open ocean required a day   or two of calmer weather that would lay the seas down and allow us to enter from the banks   into the ocean. Each area of the world has its own particular sailing challenges, which is one reason why cruising can be both   ‘hair-raising’ and exciting at the same time.   For the Bahamian Exuma Islands, this challenge is navigating the ‘cuts’.   The Exumas lie in a line between thousands of square miles of shallow banks and th...
Read more