Closing the Caribbean loop- back to Guna Yala (San Blas) and Shelter Bay, Panama….

After an overnight passage from Cartagena, we arrived back in the lovely Guna Yala Islands. It is the first time we have been to a place twice and it felt like coming home! We remembered every reef from our weeks of snorkelling and exploring the ‘swimming pool’ in the Eastern Hollandes and we all felt a sense of completion having closed the loop on our Caribbean circumnavigation.

It’s trade wind season now and we barely had the pick down before the windsurfers were out.

I once had a conversation with a woman (an artist) about the differences between East and West. According to her (with a Sri Lankan background) sitting under a tree is a perfectly legitimate way to spend an entire day, but her husband (an Australian) struggled with this concept. Sitting among these islands, it occurred to me that days can wash past us while we stare endlessly at the palm fringed islands and sparkling ocean. Right now, listening to the whisper of wind and sea, it does feel like a legitimate way to spend our time. OMG it is so beautiful here…

Both times we have snuggled into the gorgeousness of the Guna Yala Islands, it has been a time to breathe, de-brief and contemplate the future. And both times symbolised an ending and a beginning…

7 months ago, we dropped the anchor with a huge sigh of relief after a super-intense time; selling our business, packing up our home, buying a boat in Panama, flying our family, 8 suitcases and an oversized board bag half way around the world….then doing an intense 2 week, work-plan and a clean out of Tika after she had been left chocka-block full of the previous owner’s belongings. After a rough, upwind sail to the islands we had plonked ourselves at anchor, recuperated and nested into our new home for just over 3 weeks. We de-briefed about leaving our land-based life and contemplated (with slight trepidation) what we had taken on. We resisted leaving the security of the San Blas, but eventually, at sunset, we had slipped out between the reefs and headed east into our first passage and the unknown of the Caribbean Sea…

This time round we have relished the space as a time to reflect upon our whirlwind Caribbean tour- 16 countries and 4,500 miles in 7 months… and we are now contemplating (with slight trepidation) our Pacific crossing. Well, we don’t really want to head into the hustle and bustle of Colon city/Shelter Bay/the Panama Canal- this is one hard place to leave! But it’s a great place for endings and beginnings. Let the next adventure begin…

I agreed for Kai to give my rig a try on a light wind day- big mistake- I now have to fight him for use of my own gear! Kai sailing a 5.8m sail is equivalent (by body weight comparison) to an adult managing a 14m windsurfer sail!

The local Guna Indians were just as friendly this visit despite an on-going struggle for control over their islands and autonomy from Panama. We traded with them whilst practising our Spanish. Antonio popped around to introduce us to Rodriquez his monkey and taught me how to blow a conch shell

Sailing from island to island with our gorgeous dinghy Tika-Taka and reading a book as a family on the beach= precious memories!

Above right; the current was running hard so we looped a rope from the hulls to catch us/hold onto when we jumped off the back- endless fun trying to swim up current and daring each other to go further and further and still make it back to the boat. Russ had to rescue Kai and I from an island at one stage after I jumped in to help Kai with his gear and couldn’t swim back against it (and I am a strong swimmer)

Below; the kids Easter weekend baking session…

Kai found himself a little wave…

We did eventually drag ourselves away from this special place..

Below; entering the breakwater at Colon- hello Shelter Bay!! Tika nestled back where we first met her at Shelter Bay Marina awaiting her Panama Canal transit…

Below; Panama is a cheap place to provision so we started stocking up for our Pacific crossing-

Below; Russel’s selfie with our train of 4 overflowing trolleys at the check-out. This is when we hold our breath until the credit card goes through as our Aussie bank keeps freezing the account (despite us telling them a squillion times that, yes, we are overseas and yes that is us trying to spend our own cash!

Below: It’s a big job provisioning! Russ was carting the heavy bags in from the dock, Jaiya was sorting it all out into stock piles, I was sweating away in the starboard hull unpacking and stowing everything into the store room and Kai….was managing the chocolate supplies…

Shelter Bay Marina is a busy marina this time of the year. It is a hub of boats coming and going and a place where there is a focus on boat work. Rigging is checked and maintained, electrical and mechanical work is carried out, decks are scrubbed and cupboards, fridges and freezers are stocked. People pour over charts and lively discussions about routes, wind and currents occur over drinks in the marina bar.

The pool keeps us all cool in between jobs. We get our job-list done as we wait to be measured by the canal authorities. Being officially measured is a precursor to receiving a date for transit. We don’t want to hang out in the hot, sticky, breezeless marina for too long, but we want to make sure we are prepared for when we are given the go ahead for our transit. This gives us a sense of urgency as we tick through the list. Kai cleans the dinghy until it is spotless and we scrub Tika’s topsides whilst marveling at the abundant freshwater that pours from the hose at the dock-side. You gain a new appreciation for fresh water when you have to desalinate your own using power generated from your solar and wind gens! It feels wasteful and obscene-but good- to let it run and wash away the suds and dirt as we scrub 

Shelter Bay is tucked next to the Caribbean entrance of the Panama Canal and in proximity to the city of Colon. It is neighbour to an army base and a forest of dense, Panamanian rainforest. It is, for many (particularly between March and May) the last stop before transiting the canal and heading west into the Pacific…

Next Post: Transiting the Panama Canal

This entry was posted in The Sail.