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| SAILING MEXICO |
paradise of Western Panama. Remember, you can find corresponding pictures by clicking on the Photo Album button above. And don't forget, you can always look at our previous ramblings by clicking on the archived Journal Entries (above) and the corresponding archived Photo Albums on the Photo Album page.
of Ecuador and is a huge city built high in the mountains at an elevation of over 9,000 feet above sea level. As you can imagine, the crew of Southern Belle were huffing and puffing as we tried to acclimate to an elevation that is just a tad higher than that of New Orleans. We spent three days exploring Quito and the surrounding area. Quito has a great Old Town area with many beautiful churches and elaborate Government buildings. We also took a drive into the surrounding countryside to visit Volcan Pululahua, where you can look down into the crater which is now used for agriculture. You can also hike down into the crater, but we opted to just view it from the overlook. Joshua might have been able to handle the hike, but Melinda and George were winded just from walking to the overlook from the car. While on this drive about we visited a small town where the Equator passes through. Many years ago a French survey team marked the location of the equator here in Ecuador and the government erected an elaborate monument and park which is almost a town in and of itself. Unfortunately, thanks to modern technology and the invention of the Global Positioning System, they now know that the Equator is actually about a quarter of a mile away from the site of the elaborate monument. Some enterprising locals have built a small, but very impressive museum on the site of the actual location of the equator. We were skeptical at first, thinking these locals were just trying to steal the limelight from the giant monument and park complex, but after taking the tour at the museum we were convinced that we were standing on the equator. The one thing that convinced us more than anything else was the draining water demonstration. Our guide took a portable sink and placed it right on the equator line, filled it with water and placed some small leaves afloat on the surface of the water so we could easily see how the water would move. She then pulled the plug and the water drained out of the sink without swirling (neither clockwise nor counter-clockwise). Next, we moved the sink approximately 10 to 15 feet into the southern hemisphere and repeated the process. The water drained and formed a clearly defined clockwise whirlpool. Then we moved the sink about the same distance into the northern hemisphere and the water formed a clearly defined counter-clockwise whirlpool! Amazing but true! So before you go making fun of the French for incorrectly plotting the location of the equator, remember they did the original survey over 200 years ago and only missed by less than a quarter of a mile. Since we were carrying so much luggage (6 huge bags full of gear we bought in the USA), we opted to take a 30 minute flight to the town of Manta rather than the cheaper 8 hour bus ride over rough terrain. In Manta we were met by a driver from Puerto Amistad Yacht Club who took us back to Southern Belle in Bahia de Caraquez after our long hiatus. It was sure nice to see Southern Belle bobbing on her mooring ball just off the clubs dinghy dock. We moved everything aboard and started the process of cleaning and stowing. It took four solid days to get everything ship shape, but it was wonderful to be home again. We spent the next two weeks preparing Southern Belle and ourselves for the long ocean voyage back up to Panama. Joshua spent his days getting back into a school rhythm and then playing with his buddy Gregorio in the afternoons. On December 17th we said goodbye to the wonderful folks at Puerto Amistad and headed out to sea. We always feel a little nervous at first when heading out for a long passage. Will the sea be kindly? will the boat hold up? did we bring enough food? etc., etc. But after a few short hours we all gained our sea legs and it felt good to be on the move again and heading for new, exciting and exotic ports. We left Panama along with 3 other boats that were heading for Panama. Even though we lost sight of each other after the first few hours of the first day, it's nice to know that others are out there with you in the wide open ocean. We all checked in with each other daily at 0900 and again at 1800 via HAM Radio. Two of the boats (Iwa and Villisar) headed for the Perlas Islands in the gulf of Panama while we and Encore headed over into Western Panama. Buzz and Maureen on Encore are still buddy boating with us here in Western Panama. Buzz & Maureen sailed around the world 20 years ago on their previous sailboat, so as you can imagine they are a wealth of knowledge for us newbie-cruisers. Our crossing to Panama went smoothly and only took 4 days. The first day was total sail, but after that the winds died out and we had to motor-sail. We hated to burn up all of that cheap Ecuadorian diesel fuel, but at least the seas were totally calm. Our first sight of land was Isla Jicaron and the much larger Isla Coiba just to the north. We decided to pull into Isla Jicaron and stay there for awhile if it turned out to be nice. We were not disappointed. The Island is beautiful! We anchored on the north end off of a beautiful white sandy beach. The beach is lined with coconut palms and flowering trees and has a lovely fresh water stream that drains out into the ocean. The jungle is so thick you can't walk into it, but standing at the edge you can hear all of the exotic birds and the howler monkeys calling to each other. It was wonderful to stroll along the beach smelling fresh flowers and looking for shells. Encore showed up the next day and we both stayed at Isla Jicaron right through Christmas. Other than a quick visit by the Panamanian Navy for a safety inspection on our first day at the Island, we did not see another vessel the entire time we were at Jicaron. The Navy guys were very nice and polite. Joshua had fun checking out their guns. He must have asked them each a hundred questions concerning their weapons. We think they finally left to escape the inquisitive child. After Isla Jicaron we visited Isla Canal de Afuera, Bahia Honda, Isla Medidor, Bahia Dona Juana, Bahia Muertos, and Isla Seccas. After over 2 years of exploring the western coast of Mexico, Central America, and South America, Western Panama is the most beautiful cruising ground we have yet to visit. The Islands are beautiful, the water is crystal clear, the people are very friendly and helpful, and the fishing is great. Some of the highlights are as follows:
Panama. In the gulf we will visit the Perlas Islands and spend some time there before heading to the metropolis of Panama City. The above photo was taken At the location where the Equator passes through Ecuador. Until our next update we wish you all fair winds and following seas! |
| Ecuador to Western Panama |
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