After leaving Curacao, Barbara Ann sailed along the Venezuelan and Colombian coast to Cartagena. Along the way we had an adventure off the Rio Magdalena, an area infamous for its bad weather. In high winds and big following seas (at night, of course) our autopilot broke loose from its mount. After getting things under control, we hand-steered the rest of the way into Cartagena.
Cartagena, originally founded in 1533, is famous for it's old walled city, called El Centro. This area has the look and feel of an old city in Spain, or Italy. Lots of interesting cafés, beautifully restored hotels, and, of course, plenty of shopping opp's.
A typical street & plaza in the old city
Jackie couldn't wait to get to the San Blas Islands to get started on her mola collection, so she picked up a few in Cartagena.
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After a week in Cartagena, it was time to hoist anchor and head for the magical San Blas Islands of Panama. Jackie's sister and family are due to meet us in the San Blas, so we need to get a move on. These islands are home to the indigenous Kuna Indians, and the islands and nearby mainland are known as Kuna Yala. After an overnight sail from the Rosario Islands (off the Colombian coast) we arrived in the never-never land of Kuna Yala. This village, known by it's Spanish name of Puerto Perme, was our first stop in the San Blas Islands. For a nice overview of the San Blas Islands, check out http://www.enjoypanama.com
No power, no running water, no TV or radio, but ain't we got fun! Our visit to these isolated villages was like watching the National Geographic Channel. The people were very shy, and only the children would approach us.
Here's two of the local young married women. The girls assume traditional Kuna customs with regard to dress and adornment after coming of age.
Jackie and Austin enjoying one of our favorite San Blas Islands anchorages - Coco Banderos
Molas are the big thing in the San Blas. Although normally a woman's craft, several of the best mola makers are men. Here's Venancio, our favorite mola maker, onboard Barbara Ann with his wares. Here's a website, with molas on display: http://www.panart.com/mola_gallery.htm
Wanna Moray? I guess they eat 'em. Would we? I don't think so.
Here's the Clark family on a snorkeling outing in the crystal-clear waters that surround these islands. The objective is the wreck of an old island freighter (visible in the picture below) off Dog Island.
Just to show Jackie that she's not the only mola connoisseur around, here's Angie, Anne and Amanda on the hunt. Venancio will do well today.
After leaving the San Blas Islands, we sailed west to the entrance to the Panama Canal. Near the canal entrance is the Shelter Bay Marina, where we met up with old friends, while our kids had a great time with all the other cruisin' kids there. Here's Austin's good friend Katarina (right), from Escape Velocity and a new friend, Kendall.
The map below shows our route from Curacao to the Panama Canal, via Colombia and the San Blas Islands of Panama.
Right around the corner from the marina is unspoiled rain forest, inside a national park. You can explore the area by boat, via the Rio Chagres, and experience howler monkeys, crocodiles, and every exotic bird you can think of. Our anchor windlass decided we needed more exercise, so the Hunt boys had to pull up anchor by hand after a peaceful night on the river. Thankfully, we were able to rebuild the windlass motor in Panama City.
We went to Shelter bay Marina to get ready for the crossing, and to start on our grocery shopping for the next 6 months in the Pacific! From here to New Zealand prices of all food items (when you can find them) are high. Here we are on the day before transiting the canal. It takes lots of ropes and fenders (rubber bumpers) to cross through the canal, since the walls are concrete and the current is so strong. We had 14 tires, along with all our normal supply of fenders.
Our excitement about crossing to the Pacific was diminished after learning it was impossible to bring Anzo into New Zealand, or Australia - a little ironic, since parakeets are native to Australia. Luckily, our friends Bill and Katarina, on Escape Velocity were headed back to the US, and Anzo hitched a ride with them. He'll be in the good hands of Jackie's sister's family in Virginia, until we return.
We left the marina in the afternoon, and waited in the designated anchoring area for our advisor. After our advisor, Victor, came aboard we proceeded to the first lock entrance. There we tied our boat to another boat, Fantasy 1, from Australia, and entered the first lock, shown below.
After "locking up" through 3 chambers, we entered Lake Gatun. This lake supplies all the water that runs the Panama Canal; it's all done by gravity, and fresh water from the rain forest. We spent a night on the lake, tied to the mooring ball that Jackie's modeling. The next morning, another advisor, Rodolfo, met us at 6 AM, for a full day's trip to the Pacific Ocean.
Our brother in law, Greg, flew in to help us with lines and do some sightseeing. A serious sports fan, and a UT graduate, he can't pass up a "hook 'em horns" salute when the opportunity presents itself.
Here's Austin and Tyler hard at it, adjusting lines before the water rushes out of the lock. We're almost through - that's the Pacific side in the distance.
To maximize efficiency, and to conserve water, sailboats like ours have to go through tied to other boats. While we were paired with Fantasy 1, the 3 other boats in our group made a sailboat sandwich.
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The last set of locks is known as Mira Flores. These locks have a visitor center, and also feature a webcam showing real time footage. We let family and friends know in advance when we would be transiting Mira Flores, and they were able to see us from their computers. Check out who's transiting Mira Flores now, by clicking on:
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html
Here's the last lock opening up, into the Pacific Ocean. Tyler gives it a big thumbs-up!
The Pacific awaits us. Our stops there will include Islas Perlas (two "Survivor" episodes were filmed there), the Galapagos, the Marquesas, and more.
Into the Pacific
