Tag Archives: living on a boat

Puerto Escoses, Panama

We woke up in Puerto Escoses to an incredibly beautiful sunrise over the tree top covered hills, in calm waters with birds chirping and some other mysterious animal noises. (We later discovered they were howler monkeys) It is so serene here, this could easily become our new favorite bay.

In 1698, England sent 1300 Scots to Puerto Escoses to build Fort Andrew, but they had a terrible time faced with starvation and disease. Within 2 years, those that were alive returned to Scotland. However, just after they left a fleet of reinforcements arrived who made a second attempt to survive here. They suffered the same problems and Fort Andrew was given up for good in 1702. Today only ruins remain and they are hardly recognizable. Of the nearly 3,000 people involved, over 2,000 died. Gunas from the villages of Mulatupu and Caledonia own plots of land along Punta Escoses and often come over to tend crops.

From our view point, the huts look abandoned except the very vocal animals hidden in the depths of the forest. We took “Sweetie” out to explore the bay and get a closer look at the huts and were surprised to see the depth change rather rapidly. Just a few meters away from where we anchored it was 2 meters deep and you could clearly see that this bay was flush with amazing coral heads.

Huts over the water, uninhabited.

Coral heads under our dinghy.

We took the time to fix our port dagger board which had been wedged in place. We use small pieces of PVC to wedge the dagger board so they don’t rattle. Unfortunately, one got stuck and prevented our dagger board from moving up or down. Matt and Wayne tied a halyard to the top of the board and raised it slowly to get the small piece out and bingo it’s free!

We lifted the anchor just before 10 to leave Puerto Escoses and head toward our next destination, Bahia de Masargandi. This deep inlet is a maze of mangroves and shoals. People from neighboring island, Ustupu work the mountains. They sail over in their dugout “ulu” canoes. We were told that you can ask them to take you for a trip into the remote farming plots and that they make great guides. However, they do not accept monetary payments. Rather they ask you to carry 60 lbs of bananas on your back, through steaming jungle, along winding, slippery paths. No thanx we pass!

The entire trip to Bahia de Masargandi was about 28.6 miles, with the wind on our nose and an average speed of 4.7 (max 7.6). We tried to fly the jib again, but she mostly suffered in a floppy state. So, just past Isla Iguana which is a deserted island, we turned the boat into the wind to stop her and then hopped in the water to cool off. So, we shut the engines off, put a line out in the water, and jumped in. Matt scrubbed the keel coolers and I cleaned up the water line. Quick shower and back on the path to Bahia de Masargandi.

When entering the bay, we had to be vigilant watching for shallow reefs and coral heads. The charts we have, Eric Bauhaus are the best in existence and so far. However we have found that they are not completely accurate. Of course, this is based on only 3 anchorages. Matt has the electronic Bauhaus charts on his iPad and MacBook Pro and we use our GPS and Navionics and they all have shown us on land when we weren’t. Nerve racking none the less.

With this bay, we had to reverse several times to avoid shallow spots. The depth dropped from 13 to 3 meters within a boat length. We anchored behind what we thought was a deserted hut on a small island but later discovered it was inhabited by locals who work the farms.

Summer home? I love it. Fisherman’s hut.

Matt and Wayne took the dinghy out to test the depth around the boat in case the winds shift and move us into shallower water. We decided it would be best to drop a second anchor to ensure we don’t move over the 1-2-meter area to port.

Matt and Wayne checking depth.

We captured a few other pretty shots of this beautiful bay.

Sugar Shack enjoying the solitude.

Boys out exploring.

Wayne happy to be out with us.

Beautiful shoreline with trees and mangroves.

Different angle of the huts over water.

Deserted Island benefits:

Abandoned huts, place to stay?
Wildlife abound
Private bay and watering hole

Lemon Cays, Panama

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We woke to a delightful sunrise. Amazing way to greet the day! Banedup is our next destination, which is part of the Eastern Lemon Cays.

Sunrise in the San Blas Islands.

Our last stop with Wayne is the Eastern Lemon Cays. There are well over a dozen islands that make up this set of islands. This is one of the most popular anchorages so there were a lot of boats already here, jockeying for the best anchor spot. The crowds takes away from the idyllic state, but not much you can do if you want to see these islands. We anchored near Banedup which is inhabited island that looks like 3 separate islands as they are joined together by sand bars that bridge two of the 3 islands together.

1 of 3 islands that are called Banedup.

Banedup was calling us, so after we swam on the anchor, enjoyed seeing another beautiful spotted eagle ray, we went to check it out up close and personal. This middle island has a make shift bar with several local Kuna selling molas, jewelry, and shells.

Dock at Banedup’s second island.

The island does have actual bathrooms with doors, but this is a standard bathroom on the San Blas islands:

Fun images of the Banedup:

Beautiful resting spot under a shady palm tree.

Local decoration – alligator skull.

Wayne standing on a sand bar that connects the Banedup islands.

After a few beers, we decided to mosey over to the third island which had an actual structure for their bar. As we pulled up, we were greeted by some friends Toby and Sam on “Sweet Chariot” (we met them in Santa Marta). We scored by getting to the veggie boat before they went around to the cruisers! We purchased 20 small potatoes, a large papaya, 6 oranges, 6 limes, 1 cucumber, 1 pineapple for $9.50.

Veggie boat: brings fresh fruit and veggies to the cruisers and islanders.

Everyone has their version of an iPhone

Would you trade your iPhone for this island phone?

It was great catching up and sharing stories with our friends.

Wayne, Toby, Sam, Matt and I at Banedup, Eastern Lemon Cays.

Fishing with a net for dinner.

Local panga driver, 2 sheets to the wind….

Local Kuna ladies on Banedup.

Holandes Cays, Panama

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We enjoyed a lazy morning, reading, blogging, and breakfast. We thought we would try to circle back to Ogopsibudup where we caught a glimpse of internet before going to our next anchorage. However, wifi alluded us, so we moved onward and stayed within the Holandes Cays.

We motored 9 miles to the Holandes Cays, which is a set of 21 mostly uninhabited islands broken into 3 groups: Western, Eastern, and Central Holandes Cays. These are a favorite stop for cruisers as it lies behind a 7-mile protected barrier reef. The Guna refer to these islands as the “Kaimou” and the Columbian traders refer to the Holandes Cays as “Mauqui.”

Our destination is the most popular anchorage in San Blas, the swimming pool anchorage which is located between Banedup and BBQ island in the Eastern Holandes Cays.

Four other boats were already at this anchorage when we arrived, but the bay is large enough for everyone. The spot we picked gave us an unobstructed view of the reef from the bow and an island view from the stern. We jumped in the pretty water, checked the anchor, and snorkeled over to the reef.

The sea floor was covered in huge sand dollars, both live and dead. We picked a few as souvenirs and moved on toward the reef where we were greeted by a majestic spotted eagle ray that had a 6’ wing span. He was so beautiful gliding through the water! There were several coral heads, a few fish, and even some new coral head growing among the grass. On the way back, I found a beautiful sea biscuit and Matt pointed out a really thick stingray with a stubbed tail. He had some girth! We hovered and watched him glide by not even giving us a second glance.

Sea Treasures

As we were drying off on the sugar scoops, another dugout arrived selling more molas. This master mola marker’s name was “Venancio” and his molas were extremely elaborate and intricate, but since I had bought one yesterday, I just admired.

BBQ island got its name from the many barbeques cruisers have on the island. We thought we’d check it out, so we hopped in Sweetie, pulled her up on the beach, and started walking toward the make-shift bonfire. A local and his son approached us and informed us that there is a $3 per person charge for tourists. Hmmm. We did not bring any money, considering we came over in our swimsuits, so turned around and left. I can appreciate his entrepreneurial spirit, but $3 per person seems a bit unreasonable to walk around a very tiny island. They had a few hammocks, a hut (which is where they live, we assume), and a few make shift tables.

BBQ Island

We checked out another nearby island to see if it could work as an impromptu substitute for bbq island. Sweetie was left ashore and we started walking around, but before we got too far, we were immediately attacked by no-seeums. Poor Matt, his body is littered with bug bites, guess he is much sweeter than Wayne and I.

Back to the boat for pork chops and baked potatoes.

Lots of Islands Visited:

Holandes Cay
BBQ Island
Banedup

The Adventures of Sugar Shack

– Sailing Aboard a Catana 471

Tag Archives: living on a boat