The Panama Canal celebrates 100 years of service in 2014.  On a trip across the continent, we see first hand some of the results of that monumental construction project.

Control building on the Pacific side of the continent.

We rise before the sun, launch our kayak, paddle to the dinghy dock, catch a cab and we are soon comfortably relaxed in the club car waiting for the train to depart.

The Pacific side of the canal is familiar from a short excursion aboard Kalliope and from living here for about three months.  The salt water on either end of the canal consists of shoals that extend out from the shore and of canals dug at sea level to carry ships through these shoals and some distance into the interior where the first set of locks is located.

A ship passing through the shoal area as it leaves the Pacific for the Canal.

Deb and Gregg want to see more of the Canal and do not plan to pass through with Kalliope, so we take the train along a route that roughly parallels the Canal.  The Panama RR dates from 1855 though most of the route was relocated many times.  Note that the RR and Canal run south from Colon on the Caribbean to Balboa on the Gulf of Panama, an extension of the Pacific Ocean.  The trip across the continent at this point is about 45 miles or about two hours long.

We find Gatun Lake to be very inviting with wide expanses
 of calm bays dotted with islands covered with lush vegetation.

A great deal of heavy equipment is moored or working on
 Gatun Lake to maintain the depth and width of the
 passage through the lake and keep the buoys and other
aids to navigation in good working order.

The construction of the expanded lock system is currently one and one half billion U.S. dollars over budget and the private contractors are negotiating with the government of Panama to determine if the work will stop on January 25, 2014 or the government will certify payment.

Lock gates to be installed in the canal expansion project.

The historic tome "Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough enhances our understanding and appreciation of the canal and the changes it brought to this former Columbian provence.

The rolling stock on the Panamanian RR is comfortable
and attractive.  This is a must-see on your Panamanian
vacation.

We cross to the Caribbean by train and return by bus arriving in Balboa by eleven a.m. and wondering what projects to tackle in the afternoon.

For Cruisers Only

Someone asks about the passage from Panama to Costa Rica.  They are eager for info and I am happy to relate our impressions but the time and the place don’t come together.  I decide to post a few notes and point interested cruisers to this blog.

Deb and I leave Playa del Coco, Costa Rica for Panama in September, 2013.  This narrative is in reverse sequence for the convenience of cruisers who spent December and January in Panama and now plan to sail to Costa Rica and beyond.

Bahia Honda:  07 45.8N 81 32.7W  This large well sheltered bay surrounded by high, lush green hills is marked by the occasional fisher or farmer who will stop by your anchorage in a well worn boat to chat and possibly sell you some produce or try to mooch some commodity that is hard to get in this remote spot with no road.  We stayed only two nights and did not visit the village, but we would happily return and stay longer.  If possible, explore the channels through the mangroves in the NW corner of the bay at high tide

Isla Coiba:  07 35.6N, 81 42.8W  This is an undeveloped, unspoiled National Park where we pay $125 per night to visit.  Word of mouth suggests that many cruisers who stay in the southern and Western portions of the island group never see the ranger and never have the chance to pay.  Expect to find sand bottom anchorages sheltered on one side and exposed to wind and sea on the other side.

Puerto Armueles: 08 15.8N, 82 51.4W A port of entry/exit for Panama with only an open roadstead with poor holding.  We found the town poor but pleasant.  After reviewing our experience with customs, immigration, etc. we plan to never return.

Punta Balsa:  The Panama/Costa Rica border.

Golfito:  This is a Costa Rican port of entry where the various offices are dispersed but not too far apart and the personnel are helpful.  Talk to some locals about the procedure and plan to spend a few dollars on taxis.

Sea/Land at Golfito

 This former banana shipping port has some shore facilities attractive to cruisers.  The Banana Bay Marina has a nice bar/restaurant and there is a good Chinese restaurant downtown. We take a mooring at Land/Sea services next door to Banana Bay.  Land/Sea is a fun, economical and friendly business.  It is the marine equivalent of a B&B where you stay on your boat, but you have access to their fridge, wi-fi, TV lounge, five dogs and local knowledge.  We had no trouble but there were enough warnings of theft from cruisers to keep us cautious.

Drake Bay:  08 41.9N 83 40.4W  We spend three nights in this spacious bay with good holding in sand and many local boats.  As we paddle to shore and up the stream to the west, we meet a crocodile paddling out into the salt.  This is our introduction to a very pleasant day of hiking a waterfront trail in the Osa Peninsula National Park, then visiting the village for a nice meal in an open air restaurant.  Isla Cano, ten miles to the west requires reservations on the internet before you arrive.  It serves mainly fast pangas full of tourists who come out for a day of snorkeling.

Quepos: 09 25.69N, 84 10.46W  It is possible to anchor in  Manuel Antonio park on the N side of the peninsula.  It takes a bit of nerve for us to feel our way among the rocks and reefs to the sandy anchorage.  Some swell rocks us to sleep in mid-September.  There is allegedly a fee to anchor in the park, but we did not find anyone to collect it.  It should be OK to take a tender to shore, then walk the well-marked trail out to the gate to pay the modest daily fee.  We have to meet some folks and take on fuel, so we go to nearby Marina Pez Vela where we pay $125 a night in the new marina with easy access, wide open fairways and a short walk to a town with nice restaurants, but not a lot of character.

Approaches to Anchorage Manual Antonio Park

Puntarenas: 09 58.9N, 84 47.8W  As the guidebooks say, the only reason to visit here is for fuel, water or repairs.  It is a city of poor people with little to appeal to cruisers.  The Costa Rica Yacht Club is a bright spot with pleasant staff and nice bar/restaurant.  They sent a pilot in a small skiff to guide us about five miles up the river between the town and the mangroves to reach the club.  Expect moorings fore and aft, substantial tidal current and some risk of grounding at low tide.

Ballenas Bay: 09 42.60N, 84 58.48W  This is a calm harbor with plenty of room to anchor and good holding in sand.  There may be a minor conflict with long line fishing gear near the small village on the south side of the bay.  Dinghy landing is easy on sand & rock beach.  The people here are not hostile but not friendly.  We leave Kalliope at anchor for 12 hours at a stretch and it stays safe.  Ashore we make our way to Punta Blanca Absolute Parque National where we have a pleasant hike and commune with the monkeys.

 

Fishing Village in Ballenas Bay

Golfo Papagayo: The popular destination here is Playa del Coco, a small tourist-oriented town with a popular beach, a rather exposed anchorage, four modern markets, abundant restaurants, souvenir shops, dive shops, port captain customs and 732 pelicans.  Though this is a port of entry/exit, it is necessary to visit customs twelve miles away near the Liberia airport.   We take about three days to get to customs and no one complains.  No officials charge any fees.  Taxis are expensive, buses are inconvenient and rental cars cost less than in California.  We could be happy spending a whole season in Golfo Papagayo.

A few miles from Playa del Coco is the very comfortable Bahia Culebra where Kalliope passes a pleasant two months of the “rainy season” July and August without suffering lightning, excessive rain or high winds.  In this well protected bay, you can chose from seven pleasant sandy beach anchorages or one marina.  We use the less developed Playa Panama anchorage and Playa Hermosa where there are laundry facilities, restaurants and a bit of social activity along the beach.

Also in Golfo Papagayo are the Islas Murcielagos or Bat Islands 10 51.5N, 85 54.5 W where we spend several wonderful days diving, hiking and watching the turtles.  There is a fee for use of this Parque National Santa Rosa but we find no one to collect it.  This is a must-see.

Playa Blanca 10 50.3N 85 47.4W just N. of the Bat Islands is a delightful place where we are all alone in late August.  There is likely to be enough surf here to make landing the tender a challenge, but the beautiful beach and unspoiled wildlife make it worthwhile.  It is possible to walk along an overgrown jeep trail toward the next bay and observe monkeys, birds and snakes.  North of this bay, our path is offshore, so we cannot offer any insight except for Amapala, Honduras in the Gulf of Fonseca and Puerto Chiapas in Mexico.

A shore excursion of several days to Costa Rica’s Lake Arenal region is highly recommended.  Would you believe this is cattle country?