Western Panama, a Fly-By

We avoid schedules whenever possible. But there are times when dates have to be written on the calendar and appointment times honored. Hauling Pax out of the water for service is one of those times.
The big day, January 11, was committed nearly two months ahead due to the boat yard’s busy schedule. Facilities able to safely haul our 45-ton boat out of the water are few and far between, quite literally. On the whole Pacific coast of southern Mexico and Central America, Flamenco boat yard in Panama City is pretty much it, for the kind of work we needed done. She had her last haul-out in September of 2009 in Ventura. With the speed at which critters grow in warm tropical waters, the poor girl was sorely in need of having the barnacles scraped off her bottom, and several new coats of anti-fouling bottom paint applied.
There are numerous appealing anchorages in western Panama between the Costa Rican border and rounding Punta Mala for Panama City, on the mainland and especially on all the islands lying not far offshore.
With less than two weeks to get to Panama City, we only had time for a taste of a few of them. But it was enough to convince us we definitely want to spend the whole month of March back in western Panama in order to do these wonderful cruising grounds justice.
We went to a delightful Christmas potluck in Golfito, with rain pouring down the way it only does in the tropics. Although it was hot out, the downpour put us in a Christmas frame of mind.
First stop was Burrica anchorage, a day hop from Golfito. Most cruising guides don’t even mention this spot, but it was peaceful and pretty, with horses running unattended along the beach, and we were able to get a comfortable night’s sleep.
Horses on the beach, Burrica
Next we headed to Isla Parida. There are numerous lovely spots here, but we only had time for one. With the seasonal northerly winds beginning to blow, we chose the southern anchorage for good protection. It required picking our way around rocks and small islands, but conditions inside the sheltered cove were lake-like.
A Hemingway Daiquiri near sunset, Isla Parida
Next we visited Bahia Honda, the first anchorage where we had neighbors. There was one boat when we got there, s/v Encore from San Diego with Buzz and Maureen aboard. Then another one, s/v Atlantis, arrived a day or so later. We had met Jim and Carolyn of Atlantis back in Huatulco, Mexico. We stayed three nights in Bahia Honda, enjoying cocktails and appetizers aboard one of our boats each night. The intensity of the green is hard to describe, and it changes in tone with the changing light. Look at the two pictures below of the same view off our bow.
Bahia Honda is on the mainland. Although there are a few residents and even a ‘town’ of sorts nearby (a collection of homes, basically) there is no access by road. In order to reach a town with a store, the locals have to take a small boat, then ride horseback over the hills on a path through the thick jungle. As a result, when cruisers arrive to anchor, various pangas and dugout canoes appear, most with whole families aboard, wanting to trade or sell.
They want flashlights, batteries, spark plugs, aspirin, and most fervently, cookies. We traded some items with the family in the picture, for some freshly picked plantains and a coconut.
The last several nights were spent waiting out some bad northerly winds in the anchorages of Isla Cebaco and Ensenada Benao. These are billed as protected spots to hide out until weather gets calm enough to round the dreaded Punta Mala. We were surprised, though, to find that both anchorages were lovely and comfortable, with broad sandy beaches on which to walk. Punta Mala translates as ‘bad point’ for clarity, and it’s the roughest crossing in Central America. You can see it in the map above, it’s at the end of the great big downward protrusion of the Azuero Peninsula, after which you make a sharp left (north) turn to make for Panama City about 12 hours away.
Sunset at Isla Cebaco
A walk on the beach, Isla Cebaco
Finally the winds abated some, and we made a 3 AM departure to round the point. We hit it at 5:30 AM, and powerful currents immediately reduced our speed from 8 to 4 knots. After the turn, wind waves had built to a decent height. The wind was blowing only barely over 20 knots, but it was right on our nose, and the long distance across the whole Gulf of Panama provides a lot of ‘fetch’ which allows the chop to build steeper and steeper.
Three glasses shattered in the dishwasher when we went airborne a couple of times, but all told it was only a moderately uncomfortable passage, the last four hours of which were pretty easy. We arrived at Isla Otoque near sunset for a restful sleep before facing the tanker and cruise ship traffic coming in and out of the Canal the next morning.
Fishing boat collects his net in the anchorage, Isla Otoque
Above you can see our radar display, showing AIS targets. All those triangles with spears coming out of them are AIS equipped commercial ships, which we had to carefully thread our way through en route to our mooring ball at Balboa Yacht Club.
Bridge of the Americas above, with a huge ‘Panamax’ ship headed our way as it exits the Canal. Panamax ships are built to be as wide as the Canal locks. We had to pass very close to this ship. The Balboa Yacht Club sits very close to the Bridge of the Americas.
After all the stress, and the preparations lining up tradespeople to clean and paint Pax Nautica’s bottom, and qualified mechanics to perform scheduled adjustments on our main engine and generator, the haul-out went great. The team Stan put together were timely and tireless; as a result, we were able to splash again first thing in the morning on the fifth day.

Two hurried days of provisioning and laundry, after which we fueled up and headed out to the Islas Las Perlas (the Pearl Islands) where we now sit. We are excited to explore these beautiful islands, and are planning to visit the primitive Darien province of southeastern Panama, too.
Happy New Year everyone!

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