Isla Bastimentos and around, Panama
The famous strawberry poison-dart frog, also called red frog, can be hard to spot because of its small size (18-25 mm), but once you see one, they suddenly seem to be everywhere. We see lots of birds, parrots especially get very busy towards the end of the day, but we haven’t spotted any sloth yet, although they had been spotted where we go just seconds before we arrive. These supposedly slow-moving animals are very fast in our case! We had some nice visit on surrounding islands, more as observers than participants. While we could stroll on the beech of Zapatillo Island (part of the national park) during the day, at night only the park ranger is allowed and we could observe him from Nikan as he made his tour every night with the red light checking for endangered species of turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs. In Bluefield Lagoon, where we stayed for three days anchored in the well protected bay, with just few huts scattered here and there, we observed the locals of Ngöbe-Buglé tribe holding onto their culture, their daily life so different from ours, basically spending their days in gathering food, as the little store they can paddle to in their wooden cayocos, has really only few necessary basics, and there is no road to bring civilization closer anywhere close by. Fishing is the whole day occupation, as is washing clothes by hand. Back here in Bastimentos we are back to civilization with a great Thai restaurant, with a 100% real Thai cook. Most of the population here, descendants from Jamaica, who came here originally to work on banana plantations, speaks English. The town is quiet and clean, with laundry service and Internet as well. We are patiently waiting for the parcel to bring our new sail bag (the old one got burned by the tropical sun) and than we will move west towards Colon. Did you know that Panama has set aside more land as National Parks and protected forests than Costa Rica, so famous a destination for thousands of ecotourists?
The famous strawberry poison-dart frog, also called red frog, can be hard to spot because of its small size (18-25 mm), but once you see one, they suddenly seem to be everywhere. We see lots of birds, parrots especially get very busy towards the end of the day, but we haven’t spotted any sloth yet, although they had been spotted where we go just seconds before we arrive. These supposedly slow-moving animals are very fast in our case! We had some nice visit on surrounding islands, more as observers than participants. While we could stroll on the beech of Zapatillo Island (part of the national park) during the day, at night only the park ranger is allowed and we could observe him from Nikan as he made his tour every night with the red light checking for endangered species of turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs. In Bluefield Lagoon, where we stayed for three days anchored in the well protected bay, with just few huts scattered here and there, we observed the locals of Ngöbe-Buglé tribe holding onto their culture, their daily life so different from ours, basically spending their days in gathering food, as the little store they can paddle to in their wooden cayocos, has really only few necessary basics, and there is no road to bring civilization closer anywhere close by. Fishing is the whole day occupation, as is washing clothes by hand. Back here in Bastimentos we are back to civilization with a great Thai restaurant, with a 100% real Thai cook. Most of the population here, descendants from Jamaica, who came here originally to work on banana plantations, speaks English. The town is quiet and clean, with laundry service and Internet as well. We are patiently waiting for the parcel to bring our new sail bag (the old one got burned by the tropical sun) and than we will move west towards Colon. Did you know that Panama has set aside more land as National Parks and protected forests than Costa Rica, so famous a destination for thousands of ecotourists?
ina in Puerto Vita – amazingly they let us do that without any charge, while we are using their facilities, like cold shower and toilet without any toilet paper (like everywhere else in Cuba, even with their good education, sanitary conditions are deplorable). There is no other boat here, except the catamarans that take tourists from nearly hotels for a cruise each day. There is a restaurant here as well, the village itself, with a population of about 500 has one questionable bar and one store for locals with empty shelves, Cubans are not allowed to the marina at all. When we arrived here there was an Australian couple, their sailboat packed with all kinds of items, like 50 pairs of shoes, reading glasses, clothing, dishes. They have been to Cuba before and came prepared, unlike us! The eye of the hurricane passed through this area last summer, taking off with some roofs, walls and destroying the crop - this is a very poor village (except for the few lucky ones with relatives abroad) - but entrepreneur spirit prevails with some, and we get invitations for meals, in exchange of money, clothing or whatever. We are happy to help – these people are no beggars, insisting on giving something back, be it some vegetable from their garden, artisana, or some service. My listening to Spanish on tapes pays off, and I can communicate quite well. The average salary here is between 10-20 CUCs (1 CUC = $1.39 Canadian!!), a typical meal for a tourist can be found for 6-15 CUCs. All the essentials for a decent living can only be bought in CUCs and for western price (things like detergent soap, shampoo, sanitary napkins – no CUCs, you have to use rags, and wash them by hand! not too many washing machines in these houses). They get some rations from the government, like 5 eggs a month per person, 40 g of beans, or 1 toothpaste per family!, their typical ration lasts for about two weeks, so there is a lot going on to survive, we can’t imagine what, or how - but smile is always there and good humor as well. At least they are not starving here, we see some vegetable and fruit trees in their gardens, as well as chickens, pigs, goats, sheep roaming around. Horses are still used for transportation in the country and I am admiring how magnificent the riders look on their beast. The countryside is stunning. We already visited Holguin, fourth-largest city in Cuba, full of diesel fume and in need of restoration. Sico could literally sell thousands gallons of paint, although the fading and pealing paint has its charm. We are planning to visit some other places once I am back, and if we ever get on Internet in Cuba, will keep you posted!