Season’s Greetings from Mike and Kay

We are in Panama, soon to sail to Costa Rica for the holidays. 2007 has been fun and busy! We began the New Year in Panama’s lovely Perlas Islands with a “survivor” celebration of cruising crews –with potluck and music and, sea stories. Our trip through the Perlas was filled with fantastic beaches, trips up rivers, fishing, painting and connecting with friends along the way. A highlight was visiting Deter and Gerta on Isla San Jose. They are Robinson Crusoe adventurers who have lived there very simply since sailing from Germany 27 years ago. If you visit Deter, you need to remember to bring a bottle of rum! He’s in his 80’s— spry and feisty. We bought their grapefruit right off the trees—so delicious—no scurvy on Finisterre!

Our next jaunt in March 2007, was into the Darien province of Panama which borders Colombia. Many cruisers avoid the Darien; in fact, we only saw one other who we buddy boated with: Judy and Jurgen on Anna III, up the Sabana River to the Wounaan village of Boca de Lara--about as far as you can go with a sailboat. The Darien is a vast collection of rivers and estuaries. We enjoyed meeting indigenous people—the Wounaan were very friendly and helpful. The women make lovely baskets of great artistic variety, using all natural fibers and dyes. The town of La Palma is a crossroads—or cross-rivers-- of trade with short roads, and long rivers over which many goods travel by boat. A bustling town with one street, Hamm’s beer, fresh fruits and vegetables and a great mix of people, La Palma is the gateway to the Darien Rivers, and actually a good place to provision. We explored lovely quiet anchorages populated by river woodsmen, fishermen, & jungle creatures. The quiet and solitude of some anchorages can be as great as on a high Sierra mountain top, where you’re anchored and hearing only sounds of silence and watching the birds (ibis, egrets, herons, parrots) and sunset across river and jungle.

Our passage to Ecuador went quickly—with lovely sailing and currents helping us get there. We visited small towns on the way to the marina at Puerto Lucia. Ecuador has wonderful sailing fishing boats—with no motors which hold a crew of fishermen and dugouts that fish near each other all night way out at sea—and then return in the morning to harbor. Much work was done on Finisterre by Mike and a crew of local boat workers. Unhappily, we were only allowed 6 months by customs in Ecuador and did not stay there after our trip home for the summer. We got to take a short jaunt into Cuenca, a lovely colonial city in the Andes before leaving in October.

At home for the summer we reconnected with family and friends. Our building project at home made it through permits and cement foundation (to be continued in summer ’08). Mike got in some great bike rides with friends and continued his piece by piece ride down the coast of CA. Kay attended art classes, taught art classes and enjoyed being with friends. Both of us worked, too boosting the cruising kitty.

Upon returning to Finisterre in Ecuador we then sailed back to Panama. Of all the anchorages in Central America, western Panama has been the best. Panama’s islands are often sparsely populated and we experienced many spots without any other cruisers, or fishermen coming by. (Photo of Finisterre & rainbow at Coiba Island, Boca Chica view) Thanksgiving this year was celebrated in Boca Chica, Panama with land-based and cruising friends. We have continued to tinker on Finisterre, fixing essential systems and figuring out better ways to catch rain water and get it into our water tanks. To take on the cruising life, you have to become a fix-it person and get used to tearing into storage for something that’s usually at the bottom of a cupboard—or some other cupboard! We also have visited new and favorite spots, soaking up the rich sights of jeweled fish along the reefs, sounds of howler monkeys atop a ridge of jungle, isles huge and small and oddly shaped. We are looking forward to returning to Costa Rica for Christmas –Hilary will visit us! Then, we’re off to parts south and east—perhaps South America. Stay tuned!

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And we will assist…