Tuesday 10 September 2013

A thousand words

 A glimpse of the last two months. Hope you can feel a bit of the tropical warmth coming your way...

One of the small inhabited islands in the San Blas - Rio Azucar - translates to "Sugar River." We came here twice because we could take water on board via a hose and their dock. Photo Credit: JD

What $1 can buy you in Snug Harbour.

Octopus with potatoes and onions, and a little garlic and balsamic vinegar.  Tasty, but a bit chewy!
Listening to the Panama Connection Net via SSB radio with my morning cup of coffee.  We only have a receiver, so Diva can't check in, but we listen for the local cruiser 'happenings' and the weather. JD

New friends!  Jayne Davidson and myself - only a year between us, both of us having left good paying jobs in big cities for other adventures, so we had lots in common. PD

The Captain, cooling off with Diva in the background. PD

If Jayne and I run out of money, maybe we can sell calenders? PD

The gang of four: two Phils, a Jayne and a Julia (and Diva in the background.) PD
For entertainment, there was fishing, which wasn't always this exciting, but Phil had caught a dogfish, a 3 foot long shark.  Fortunately, (especially for the shark) it got away. JD

There was also a lot of sitting around trying not to get too hot.  I must have had some breeze on the back of the boat. PD

We socialized with other cruisers at a beach bbq one night. The weather was stunning for three days in a row when Jayne and Phil were with us. I don't know who they talked to about weather for their San Blas trip, but it sure worked. PD

Occasionally we had to re-provision the essentials.  This is what 8 slabs of Balboa beer looks like in our dingy. PD

Eating roast chicken and chips (french fries) in between provisioning and trying fruitlessly to find out how to work the cell system to get data.  If only I knew then what I know now... PD

All that beer successfully loaded on the boat.  No, it didn't get to stay in the cockpit, even if it was easy access.
A sunset from the edge of the San Blas, Nargana. Note the trading boat that didn't quite make the reef! JD

The Phils had enormous backgammon games, spanning hours and requiring much beer and rum. Thankfully, it was equal opportunity loosing. PD

A fishing boat, with all its gear seemingly rusted in the "out" position.

Our charts for this part of the world were not accurate.  Here you can see that we appear to be parked on an island!

The remnants of a Kuna house on a sand spit, just off Conch Island.

Diva, looking content in the Coco Banderas Cays.

Oh yes, I appear to live in a postcard. Now if only I could get the horizon to hold straight...

With this picture you have to feel the hot sand at your feet and hear the rustle of the palm fronds in the breeze.

A conch shell in a Kuna garbage pile. It was almost a foot long.

Jayne and a treasure from the sea.

The Captain, his toes and his boat.

But the weather didn't always cooperate. Jayne and Phil left and we had a couple of storms.  This one in particular had striking (but daunting) cloud formations. It blew for an hour and a half, but not more than 30 knots, and we were fine.

On our second last night in the San Blas the friendly fisherman came by.  Even though we had chicken curry already made, the Captain broke down and purchased these fine boys for $6.

Add a little garlic, butter and cream. Serve with pasta and red wine. Finish with a bar of dark chocolate, and another dinner on "Chez Diva" was a resounding success.

One last San Blas sunset, looking out over Punta Porvenir.
Photo credits to Jayne and Phil Davidson where indicated.