A week of Thunderstorms in Escudo de Veraguas

3 faulty engines to be fixed

Rainforest and laid back town in Bocas del Toro

Mud and water for Debbie’s Birthday treat

Christmas Day postponed

New Years Eve to ourselves

We were pleased to get out of Shelter Bay Marina, away from the mosquitos and to sail towards Bocas del Toro for Christmas and New Year. We decided to make a stop off at Escudo de Veraguas, 50nm south of Bocas del Toro. The wind and current wasn’t in our favour and the iron sail was used more than we’d hoped for. 

Escudo de Veraguas is uninhabited except for a few Guaymi Indian families who visit from the mainland to fish in their dugout canoes, keeping their distance. The Island is billed as one of the most scenic islands in Panama, however, our week long stay featured daily thunderstorms and tropical downpours so we weren’t able to appreciate its beauty.  Until the last evening we enjoyed the anchorage to ourselves, free of all mosquitoes and bugs, doing daily maintenance and chilling.  Sadly our main Yanmar engine was misfiring on the main trip and after 5 hours continuous motoring we would start to lose power, necessitating a reduction in revs to keep running smoothly. We did a turbo charger clean hoping this would solve the problem.

Not seeing any favourable change in the weather we decided to motor overnight to the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro, northwest of Panama, 30 miles from the Costa Rican border. We wanted to arrive and anchor in daylight and with adverse currents, wind and labyrinths of coral and mangroves, we didn’t know if the trip would take 8 or 18 hours. As it turned out we motored for 9 hours finally sailing the last 20nm through the stunning islands arriving in Big Bight, anchoring just after midday. Our turbo charger cleaning didn’t cure the Yanmar problem.

There is very little in our pilot book about the Big Bight anchorage but we feel we’ve discovered one of the most beautiful anchorages we have ever visited. It’s a large inlet set beside mangroves and a pristine rainforest full of monkeys, sloths and a wide variety of birds. Uninhabited and alone in the anchorage with the sun finally shining this is a special place. That first evening we settled in the cockpit for Happy Hour, sipping our cocktails listening to the Howler monkeys and parrots. We felt like an elderly Tarzan and Jane.

We were 5nm from the main settlement - Bocas Town on Isla Colon. We planned a quick trip ashore in “M” for provisions and rubbish disposal, keen to get back to our new found paradise. Alas engine problems can be contagious and our 20HP Yamaha refused to start - as did our 3.5HP Mercury (get out of jail card). The only option was to leave this beautiful spot and join the gaggle of cruisers in the Bocas Town anchorage. We were seeking some professional help to get all our engines functioning. 17 days later we returned to the Big Bight!

During our stay we made a new friend, John from Stingo who was looking to offload his beloved stowaway cat, Couscous (which we have since found out needs to be renamed - you can look up the Arabic translation). John had been in Bocas del Toro for 6 months and was incredibly helpful with our issues. He also freed up our main saloon windows that hadn’t been opened since Morocco, 2012 and re-gassed our ‘fridge which is now working like a dream.

Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover Bocas del Toro on his final foray. He remarked on it’s beauty. In the 19th century a huge number of immigrants arrived including black slaves who intermarried with the native Indians. Towards the end of the century the banana industry exploded but sadly collapsed in the mid 1990s. Today’s economy is boosted by tourism. Some Americans we met said that the architecture resembled an old Key West.

The mixed race inhabitants are centred around the towns whilst the indigenous Indians prefer to live in remote communities living off subsistence farming and fishing.

The feel of the place is laid back, chilled and full of backpackers and cruisers. “Weed” is offered by a local on a bike.

According to Trip Advisor the number one tourist activity in Bocas Town is the “Flying Pirates” an ATV adventure to explore the coast and jungle on the east of Isla Colon. Debbie plumped for this as her birthday present on Christmas Eve. The start didn’t bode well as we left Amelie in a tropical downpour. Little did we know this was going to add to the excitement. The weather improved and we were in for a memorable day. Steve who runs the show did a thorough briefing for us, not only how to drive on land but how to float her across the swollen rivers that we would need to negotiate.

Our trail was a combination of sandy tracks along the coast, muddy trails through the jungle and river crossings. Some of the crossings were narrow with rickety bridges, others were get off the bike and float the ATV whilst keeping the engine running. The latter had mixed success and we met groups of people towing their bikes that had died in the crossings. Leo and Karin had given Debbie their last bottle of Steenberg, a touching memory of Cape Town, so we found a romantic setting and toasted the birthday girl. The experience came with a complimentary mud bath, squealing, laughter and a few bumps against tree trunks. If you are ever in Bocas del Toro, you must do it. The day ended with a lovely supper ashore with John, listening to a couple of cruisers doing a jamming session. Tequila shots were involved in what Stephen thought was the smoking annexe but turned out to be someone’s front room. Nippy Sweeties back on Amelie with Christmas Day welcomed in by fireworks ashore.

Christmas Day was postponed as Stephen had food poisoning. Nevertheless we cooked Spicy Roast Duck and all the trimmings on Boxing Day together with John. Stocking presents were opened after deliberating on the crazy clues.

All engines were serviced, cleaned or looked at and two out of three worked. We fuelled up and returned to Big Bight, the noises of the jungle welcoming us back. 

We had decided against a raucous New Year’s Eve ashore in Bocas and instead witnessed magnificent firework displays setting off all around us as 2016 dawned.

2016 started on a chilled note in the sunshine with the jungle quiet.

We remained in this spot for the next week, paddle boarding, swimming, cleaning the hull, playing games of Rummikub, deep cleaning the inside of the boat but generally relaxing.

Alas like all good things, they come to an end and with a heavy heart and mixed emotions we left this tranquil spot to reinsert ourselves back into the world of people, boats and marina stress. The next part of our epic adventure was about to start with the excitement of our loyal friends, Clive, Ju, Wendy and Peter joining us to transit the canal and spend a few weeks exploring the Islas de Perlas. Happy Days.