We left Golfito the end of May, headed for Panama City non-stop. Fifty-one hours later we dropped anchor at La Playita, the bay in front of Isla Flamenco where the Flamenco Signal Station is located. ALL vessels approaching from the south or west must check in with the Signal Station to let them know they are coming into the Panama Canal Zone. Dozens of commercial ships lay on anchor west and east of the lighted buoys which lead a constant parade of vessels to the beginning of the Pacific canal entrance at the Miraflores Locks, past the Bridge of the Americas, shown above. For the next ten days we watched the comings and goings of freighters, tankers, cruise ships, and the occasional pleasure craft, dwarfed by the huge vessels! Years ago we really wanted to traverse the canal, but at this point we are happy just to observe.
We had been told that the port authority would contact us regarding checking in, but after two days of listening to the radio Bill took off in our dinghy, determined to get the skinny on what we were supposed to do. We were supposed to take our documents and go into the city to get checked in! Okay, we can do that, so after friends on a sailboat recommended an Engish speaking cabbie we called him and did the paperwork Cha Cha, as it is called... five stops later we were checked in!
There is a marina not far from our anchorage, so we were able to take the dinghy ashore and walk to where there were marine stores, restaurants, and an ATM. By Wednesday, May 6, we had checked it all out in preparation for meeting up with our daughter Margaret's in-laws, Rob and Mary Robinson. They were arriving on the Coral Princess cruise ship for the day! What a small world~ we scurried over to the terminal that morning and contacted an officer who confirmed they were still onboard. We visited and ate lunch. We pointed out Grey Wolf on anchor but did not have time to take them out as they had a city tour to take. Alice wound up going with them on the city tour, which was very enjoyable and went places most tourists would never go, even into the heart of the slums! Although Alice had purchased several molas earlier, she found some real steals on this trip and now she has a LOT to play with... these colorful fabric and thread pictures were originally made for clothing by the San Blas Indians but today are used to decorate many items. See above photo.
We are now anchored near an island in Islas Las Perlas, 30 miles south of the canal. We will spend about a week here before returning to Costa Rica for a month. Stay tuned for more from Panama in the summertime!
