Mainland of Panama
While sitting at anchor in the harbor one day, we spotted a waterspout heading our way. It dissipated before it reached us, thankfully, but provided a good photo.
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| s/v Nine of Cups Mainland of Panama |
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| RIO CHAGRES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Rio Chagres, one of Panama's nearly 500 rivers, is part of Panama's extensive national park system and is located only about 8 miles west of Colon. In 1912, the Chagres was dammed to form Gatun Lake, part of the Panama Canal transit route, and now only about 5-1/2 miles of river is navigable. We hadn't planned to stop at all, but German cruising friends insisted the river was worth a few days and we have to admit they were decidedly right in their assessment. The Rio Chagres is beautiful! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The trip up the river is a delight to the senses. It is calm, smooth, nary a ripple on the surface other than the wake made by the boat. We ate dinner in the cockpit and tried to associate all the sounds we heard with a verb...chirp, peep, flutter, ker-plonk, buzz, hum, squawk, whoosh, howl, screech, roar, tweet, ping, rustle-rustle, hoot. I'm sure we missed many, but the jungle symphony was in high form and we were enthralled. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kites, pelicans and great frigate birds circled overhead. Pairs of bright green parrots and lorokeets squawked their way across the river in their awkward, frenetic way. Brightly colored flowers were profuse and fragrant, providing a keen contrast to the lush green foliage. Butterflies and dragonflies were so abundant, it boggled the mind. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sitting high on a ragged bluff, a fort, Castillo de San Lorenzo, guards the river's entrance and provides a good landmark for negotiating a route between a reef and a sand spit which also mark the entry. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| COLON | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| As always, there are certain reminders of home that bring a smile to our faces and warmth to our hearts. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colon is a poor, dilapidated, dangerous city. We were warned that it was not safe to walk in most places and we traveled primarily by taxi to get around. Shown above is one of the barrios we saw. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| While in Colon, we anchored in an area known as "The Flats" and used the dinghy for our daily trips to the Panama Canal Yacht Club, where we could safely tie up and catch a taxi. While the name makes it sound like a plush, sophisticated facility, it has definitely seen better days - perhaps when Balboa was last here. While sitting at anchor in the harbor one day, we spotted a waterspout heading our way. It dissipated before it reached us, thankfully, but provided a good photo. |
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| BALBOA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| We moored at the Balboa Yacht Club after transiting the Canal. The tides here are daunting...a full 20 foot swing between high and low. We had great views of transiting ships as they passed under the Bridge of the Americas. No dinghies are allowed to land at the yacht club. Instead, a 24-hour water taxi provides transportation to and from the boats. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||