For the first time in months there is another boat kid here
– who speaks English! Nikolai is 14, has
sailed with his parents from Trinidad to Panama on their boat, Voyageur, and
has been living aboard for 4 years. He
hadn’t met another boat kid for nearly a year, so it was great for both boys to
be able to disappear on their bikes into the jungle, to play computer games, go
swimming and generally enjoy each other’s company.
We have made the most of limitless water and got stuck into
cleaning everything as the weeks at anchor in the hot, humid atmosphere has turned everything from ropes to shoes mouldy. We
were not the only boat to arrive with a pile of laundry too, in anticipation of
a washing machine – so several days of hand-washing later even our pillows are
clean!
Returning from the beach on one bike!
After a few days we moved round to the back of the marina
which is a bit more protected from the swell, and where there is intermittent
power. Several boats have had their inverters
blown up with massive power surges so it is ‘use with caution’. I have been able to use the sewing machine to
re-stitch the sprayhood as the tropical sun is really damaging to the
stitching. Before I could sew it we had
to give it a good scrub to get rid of the mould. With
the prolific mosquitoes and ‘no-see-ums’ in this swampy jungle area every trip
on deck means getting bitten. Going for
a swim off the beautiful beach involves a fast run into the water and swimming
with our heads surrounded by a haze of insects, then an equally fast run out
and the quickest donning of clothes ever.
So why are we here? It’s so we can
leave the boat in a safe place while we all come home.
So to planning the trip home – finally booked for the 24th
October as the road is closed for annual pilgrimage on the 21st October to the church in Portobelo, to visit the
Black Christ. Thousands of pilgrims walk to
the village from all over Panama and Costa Rica. The Black Christ was carved in Spain and probably arrived in Portobelo after a
shipwreck in 1658. The story goes that
each time someone tries to remove it from Portobelo a huge storm arrives to
thwart them.
The church newly painted for the pilgrims
We thought we had been clever to factor this in but soon we
heard about riots in Colon, and road blocks.
The government wants to sell off the ‘free zone’ in Colon and keep 65%
of the profits – the people say it belongs to them, and they want to keep it.
Our original plan was to hire a car from the airport so we could get ourselves there on Wednesday. John set off on his bike on Monday to cycle to Nombre de Dios and then catch a bus, but returned 2 hours later as there were no buses – a combination of road blocks stopping the buses and the side effect of no fuel deliveries. On Tuesday he set off again, at 6 am, the first 5 km on the terrible, slippery, land-slidey steep muddy track while Harry & I got the boat cleaned, fridge/freezer defrosted etc. John returned at 4pm with – Dennis & Patrick and a clapped out van with peeling plywood instead of a rear window. John had cycled the 35 km to Portobelo on a very winding and hilly road with mad dogs round every bend, taking 4 hours to do it. He got to Pirate’s Cove where, after much discussion, Dennis offered to take us in his van.
Our original plan was to hire a car from the airport so we could get ourselves there on Wednesday. John set off on his bike on Monday to cycle to Nombre de Dios and then catch a bus, but returned 2 hours later as there were no buses – a combination of road blocks stopping the buses and the side effect of no fuel deliveries. On Tuesday he set off again, at 6 am, the first 5 km on the terrible, slippery, land-slidey steep muddy track while Harry & I got the boat cleaned, fridge/freezer defrosted etc. John returned at 4pm with – Dennis & Patrick and a clapped out van with peeling plywood instead of a rear window. John had cycled the 35 km to Portobelo on a very winding and hilly road with mad dogs round every bend, taking 4 hours to do it. He got to Pirate’s Cove where, after much discussion, Dennis offered to take us in his van.
No-one was quite
sure how long the riots are going on for but all seem to think that the rioters
are going home at night, so we need to get to Panama City before 6am. So instead of a leisurely departure at 11am
on Wednesday we had a rushed one the day before, but managed it and were driven
to Pirate’s Cove by Dennis, expertly fielding a beer in one hand while changing
gear with the other as he chatted away -
Patrick kindly supplying him with the next can when he ran out.
Tommy looked after us
at Pirate’s Cove and we slept in one of the backpacker rooms for a few hours,
getting up at 2.30 am to discover yet another power cut so we all showered, dressed & packed in the dark.
3 am ...and trying not to look worried
Dennis arrived at
3am as promised (now drinking a bottle of water!) and we set off again, with
the rich, loamy scents of the jungle and the sweet, heavy scents of flowers
wafting through the windows. As we
neared Sabinitas (before Colon) the road barricades were frequent and many were
still smouldering as we wove round them but no-one tried to stop us until we
stopped for one of the many road tolls between Panama City & Colon. There was no-one in the booth so Dennis drove
on and 10 minutes later a police car roared up & pulled us over. They wanted to see our passports and told us
we should have paid the toll before admitting that the attendant had been
asleep. $1.50 paid we set off again,
relieved not to have been arrested, and
got to the airport before 6am – for our flight at 7pm.
A long, tedious day at the airport but at least we were there.
A long, tedious day at the airport but at least we were there.
Enjoying the air-conditioning!
