When I started this journey just over a year ago, my plan was to drive and surf my way to Panama, then turn around and drive back. After I got to Panama just shy of 10 months of driving and camping, I was reflecting back on my time on the road. And I rather quickly came to the realization that I was not eager to undertake that return drive. On the one hand, I would miss meeting back up with friends I had made along the way and stopping in the great places I had enjoyed on the way down--Las Flores, Barra de la Cruz, la Saladita, etc. But on the other hand, I have been living in a camper for the past year, and notwithstanding my newfound respect for small space living, I'd like to spread out a bit and enjoy a hot shower every now and then. I know, I sound spoiled, but that's just how I feel, and the one thing I am in control over is when and where I go.
Additionally, after I began investigating shipping options back to the US, it became clear that driving back would cost quite a bit more $$. My shipping quote turned out to be right around $2,000 from Panama to Miami, whereas my V-10 camper, averaging 10 miles per gallon, with gas costing between $4 and $5 per gallon in this part of the world and a trip back of around 8000 miles, comes in somewhere around $4,000, which I can also validate from what I spent on gas on the way down. That also doesn't include places to stay and/or camp, food, BEER, etc. You can make a case either way on the financial and fun side of the ledger, and I did wrestle with the choice for awhile.
In any event, I made the executive decision a month or so ago to put Nookie on a boat and ship her back to the US. And, so, this past week, along with help from my shipping agent Juan, I put Nookie onto the "Seaboard Costa Rica" which is setting sail for Miami sometime today (tues, May 22).
Pic of the ship Nookie is scheduled to sail on--pulled from the web. The camper will be somewhere on that ship, not in the containers but maybe underneath them or in that area towards the stern of the ship.
I also found this handy website which allows one to keep track of pretty much any ship via their AIS (automatic identification system) used by ships around the world. I plan on tracking Nookie's progress across the Caribbean to Miami this week on this WEB SITE.
I don't really have any firm plans, but will assess things when I get back and have spent some time in the states. I may take Nookie on a tour around the country, I may sell her, I may drive back down to Mexico again, or something else entirely. It has been a true adventure in all meanings of that word, and I hope to keep on that experiential path in the future.
Since the ship will take around a week to get to Miami, I decided to get out of Panama and take a bus up my old stomping grounds in Esterillos, Costa Rica. I spent nearly 3 months here back in the winter, and have been coming here on vacation for 5 or 6 years now. It's good to see old friends again, and I'll fly out of here next tuesday for Miami, where I hopefully will be able to negotiate the US customs process and get Nookie on the road in short order.
I'm not sure how much more I'll be posting here, but probably less frequently than before. If I see or experience something interesting then I will post it here. Thanks for coming along on this ride, and I'll keep everyone who is interested posted.
A few months back, I decided that while I was in Panama, I should do whatever I could to find a way to go through the Panama Canal. I had done some research online and knew that sailboats cruising this area and looking to transit the canal often need extra "line handlers"--mainly warm bodies to handle the lines as a boat goes up and then down the locks in the canal. I got on a couple of sailing-related message boards and eventually hooked up with Capt. Bill Beilharz and his Beneteau 444, Mirabelle.
The trip through the canal was originally scheduled for early May, but due to the vagaries of getting a little boat through a predominantly commercial/industrial area, the trip was pushed back until the second week in May. Leaving Nookie in Cambutal, and getting a ride to Chitre from my amigo Ron @ Los Buzos, I made my way via bus to Panama City. The place is huge, with skyscrapers everywhere, and even more being put up every day.
Panama City skyline from the Playita marina.
I met up with some fellow surfers I met in Cambutal--Charlie and Ben--and we had a fun night on the town. Safe travels, boys!
The next day I made my way to the Playita Marina and found the boat. I had no idea what to expect of Capt. Bill and his crew, but they turned out to be great. Bill, his son Conrad, and their friend Kent welcomed me aboard with a cold beer, and we started talking story and getting acquainted.
causeway and skyline as we motor towards the canal
new frank gehry museum under construction.
Up early the next morning, we left the dock just after 7am, aiming to meet up with our transit advisor (Francisco) by 8am. We had to motor around and hang just outside the main shipping channel, and our advisor arrived by about 8:30. We cruised past the giant causeway connecting the city and the marina areas, mostly made up of spoil material from the original construction of the canal. The advisor works for the Panama Canal Authority, and basically tells you when and where to go. For reference, we transited northbound, from the Pacific to the Atlantic (map below, fyi).
Our companions through the canal were a bulk freighter, a sportfisher from Charleston, and a sightseeing boat. However, the freighter didn't arrive on time, and we had to wait until somewhere near 10:30 am to start through the locks.
Loading up in the first lock.
We proceeded to the first lock and loaded up with our lock-mates, then they closed the doors behind us. We tied up to the sightseeing boat with lot's of fenders between us. They then flood that lock with water from the lake and lock above. It's actually fairly turbulent as they do this. After the lock is full, and we've all floated up by about 28 feet, they open the upstream lock doors and we all proceed slowly forward. The giant freighter spins their prop a bit, creating a giant wash back through the lock and we all bounce around a bit. There are also small little trains--called mules--that serve to maneuver and guide the big ships through the canal. These guys ride on tracks, that go up and over the locks with the freighters. We also passed by the large visitor's center, with a good-sized crowd watching us from the sidelines.
Conrad manning the bow as we exit the first lock and head into the second.
Observation deck and visitor's center at Miraflores locks.
Freighter coming in southbound as we exit northbound.
We exited the Miraflores and San Miguel locks as a giant freighter was coming down the other side (above) and into Gatun Lake. The lake is sort of the midway point--a giant river/lake system that takes several hours to motor through, at least on a speed-limited sailboat. Because the freighter delayed getting us started, we didn't exit the locks until sometime around 1 pm. Our advisor informed us that we probably wouldn't make it through the lake and to the other side before the last north-bound downlocking, so we would likely spend the night in the lake. The canal authority tends to send ships through in one direction for blocks of time, and we were subject to that process as well. So we spent the night tied to a giant mooring buoy in the lake, within sight of the next set of locks down to the Atlantic.
On our mooring in Gatun lake with lot's of freighters and car carriers for company.
Heading into the lock out of Gatun Lake.
It wasn't until 2pm the next day that we received clearance to head down, and our next transit advisor (Hector "the protector") boarded our boat. We moved quickly in front of the Liberian flagged freighter into the first lock. We waited a few minutes for the tug Hardin which was accompanying the freighter and us down the locks. After the tug squeezed by the freighter into the lock, we tied up and carefully rode down each of the three locks attached to said tug.
I'm including a little video I shot showing how the little mules (small train-looking things) maneuver the large freighters in the canals. On the radio, you can hear the canal boss calling out commands to each of the little mules, telling them to stop, move, their lines in or out. Pretty interesting stuff.
The downlocking process is less dramatic than the uplocking. You enter the lock, the door closes behind you and then the water level gradually drops, again about 28 feet per lock--kind of like draining a big bath tub.
Capt Bill looking back as the freighter enters behind us.
looking back at the freighter as the water drops out of the lock
After the water drains out, the doors swing open and we proceed over to the next lock, with the tug and freighter following behind us.
Doors swinging open and our friends on the tug "Hardin".
I took a little video of the door swinging open to give a little better feeling of the perspective and size of the process.
As we got closer to the bottom locks, we could see the channel/cut out to the harbor in Colon, thence to the Atlantic. We all took shots on the bow looking down from the last lock. It had been a longer-than-expected two days, but it was well worth the time. It's not every day you get to go through the Panama Canal on a sailboat!
In the last lock looking down into the Atlantic.
Capt. Bill Beilharz of "Mirabelle"
Looking back into the canal after we've exited into the Atlantic. We were on the left side in front of that freighter, and got to watch the giant car carrier on the right as we went down.
After exiting into the Atlantic, by now about 5 pm or so, we dropped off Hector the Protector and shot quickly across the busy shipping lanes to the far corner of the harbor of Colon and into Shelter Bay Marina. The place has hopping as an around-the-world sailing race had recently pulled into town and were spending a couple of lay days drying out and resting. I stayed on the boat that night, had a few cocktails with the boys, and got a good night's sleep.
I was up early to catch a ride into Colon about 7 am. I got there about an hour later, caught a bus into Panama City, from there a bus to Chitre, another bus to Las Tablas, yet another bus to Tonosi, then a cab to Cambutal, where I arrived back at Nookie around 6pm. Ron, Tina, Brad and the crew at Los Buzos were cooking up some burgers, so they threw me a beer and I tucked in to a nice little homecoming dinner.
Next up, big plans for Nookie (and me!). As always, more to come...
Well, it's been quite a stretch of time since I last checked in on the blog. Since the last time I posted here, not a lot has
happened, but then again, maybe it has.
I’ve returned to my sweet set-up in Cambutal, made friends with the new
owner of the development, and gotten my self into a good routine here. Wake early, grab a quick bite of
breakfast, then find a surf spot and spend an hour or two in the water. Rinse off with a quick shower, then maybe read in the hammock for a bit, most likely fall asleep and nap for a while, then lunch, post-lunch reading and nap, then an afternoon surf if the tide and winds cooperate.
The waves have been awfully good the last month or so, and
I’ve been able to surf most days.
This place has quite a lot to offer in that regard. On the other hand, there’s not too much
on the social calendar here, but there are enough people around to have a beer
or two with on in the evenings, and there seem to be few more people around all the
time.
aaron on a nice one at 411
big wave--tough to tell from the pic but probably a 12 foot face on a really heavy wave
another heavy one at dinosaurios...
I also took a quick bus trip (sans Nookie) back to Costa
Rica to check in on all my good friends in Esterillos. The bus trips from (and back to)
Cambutal were a bit of a grind; bus
from Cambutal to Tonosi, bus from Tonosi to Las Tablas, bus from Las Tablas to
Chitre, bus from Chitre to Santiago, bus from Santiago to David, bus from David
to the Border. Then things got complicated.
At the Costa Rican border, there are apparently no buses
that run down towards the central Pacific coast, so I wound up taking a taxi
into a nearby town, spending the night, and getting on a bus towards San Jose (the
capitol) the next morning, then hopping off at Esterillos. All in
all, a full day and half of bus travel.
And it was roughly the same path (and time) in reverse to return. However, all the bus travel probably
cost me $15 to get across most of Panama with a surfboard, so it wasn’t that
big a hit to the wallet. There’s
also always some interesting things to see on buses in Panama as well, like an
old-timer on his way to a Saturday night cock fight or a young dude on his way
home to his farm in the country with a cock in a box (see pictures below!)
old school hombre taking his prize rooster to a saturday night fight
young guy taking a rooster home to the farm
carrying case for said rooster, aka "cock in a box"--on the 2 hour bus ride with the kid the rooster would let out a loud string of crows every 20 minutes or so, inciting laughter from most of the 15 other passengers.
I”ve also made contact with a couple cruising down from the US west coast in a sailboat. They are planning to transit the Panama Canal sometime in early May, and I’m scheduled to be a line handler for them on this trip--basically you help keep the boat in position with all the other traffic as they transit up and down the lock system. You either have to have enough crew of your own to do this, hire locals to do it, or get gringo volunteers to help you out. From what I’ve heard, it’s a pretty cool way to see the Canal. I’ll have to go through the bus rodeo again to make it to Panama City, but I’m looking forward to that quite a bit.
I shot a quick video on my camera of the beach at one of the great local breaks just for reference/perspective. It's a few weeks old now, and as I was uploading it and watching it, I couldn't help notice how brown everything seemed just a few short weeks ago. Since then, we've had some rain and the surrounding hills and trees have greened up significantly. In any event, I'm posting the video.
Up next--what does the future hold for Nookie and me? Could Nookie be taking another voyage on the water? Stay tuned to find out...
After Venao, of which I forgot to take any real pictures, I made my way further west along and across the Azuero peninsula to a sweet little spot called Cambutal. I'd gotten a heads-up about this place from a few people, and it didn't disappoint.
I posted up at what was formerly called the Cambutal Beach Club, which apparently was connected with a larger development that never quite took off. Bad for them I guess, but good for me as Nookie and I had a giant Palapa all to ourselves. I strung up the hammock, took the Ruckus off the front of the rig, and had the run of the place. Right across the street was the "headquarters" of the nearby National Park, but I never saw anybody there. Also across the street was a restaurant/bar run by a woman named Nubia?(never got the official spelling), but food was $2 or $3 per plate, depending on whether it was simply chicken, or something fancier like tuna or shrimp--but plenty of pretty good food for not much $$. Beers are 50 cents. I liked the vibe and the Panamanians really like their beer. You'd see a table of 3 or 4 dudes with 20 or 30 beer cans after an afternoon of drinking and talking. But they seem a very happy group and I didn't witness any sort of confrontational behavior, just smiles.
Nookie's shady home for awhile.
Park office right across the street--nobody ever was there.
The beach in Cambutal/Las Buzos
More perspective.
There were several Canadians, Americans, and some other various and assorted Europeans in the area, but really, not much goes on there, which is nice. There are several good reef breaks just up the road, and I surfed every day but one (out of 8 days there). I also got a ride up the beach beyond where the Ruckus can take me with a guy from California named Chris. This spot breaks at lower tides and is even further out of town where there is not really any sort of development--no electric, no houses, not really anything. It's pretty much the end of the road, though I hear there are a few small villages accessible only by boat. The next place down the coast is the giant Cerro Hoyo National Park, so things are pretty remote here.
Lot's of cool rocks up at the rivermouth break.
There were a couple of fishermen working the area pretty hard.
Nice right. Note the guy paddling for size. Probably a head-high set on this one.
The wind was howling offshore or sideshore most days, like 20-30 mph. This was nice to keep cool hanging out in the evenings and for sleeping, but could wreak havoc on the waves. A couple of mornings the waves got blown out by the hard winds. The winds also blew some of the warmer water offshore and allowed some cooler water to fill in--I'd wager it was close to 70 degrees. That's not cold by most standards, but compared to the 80 degree-plus water I've been surfing for nearly a year now, it was quite bracing. The wind also was hot and dry--wet clothes hung on a line seemed to dry in a matter of minutes. That desiccating wind dried out lips and limbs really quickly, so lip balm and sunscreen were a must.
I took a quick video while driving up the beach. Sorry for the shakiness and poor quality, but so be it.
After a good week plus in Cambutal, the swell on the Pacific side appeared to dry up completely. However, the Caribbean side at Bocas del Toro looked to be firing, so I made the decision to pack up the rig and head over. I planned to overnight in David, then make the drive over the mountains to the Caribbean coast. Unfortunately, things have not worked out as planned.
Up next, Indigenous peoples apparently hate Nookie, too! As always, more to come!!!
When last I wrote, I had made it to the Costa Rica border at Paso Canoas with little trouble. That was soon to change. On my vehicle import permit paperwork, there were an assortment of dates, including my "leave by" date, 90 days (or thereabouts) from my entry into the country. I apparently developed some sort of deficiency in my date-reading ability during my stay in Esterillos, as I misread the actual leave date by ONE full day. Well, I got my comeuppance at the border. After waiting in line for an hour or so and filling out some of the paperwork, the helpful lady at the Aduana window informed me that I was just over 12 hours late leaving the country, and that it was a "big" problem. She told me I would have to come back the next day, as it was Sunday and the neighboring bank was closed. The bank at which I would have to pay some sort of "multa" or fine for my infraction. I took a room at the scenic Hotel Real Victoria, and the pictures don't quite do it justice. It's not the best hotel I've ever stayed in--let's leave it at that...
Nookie in front of the lovely hotel in Paso Canoas.
Yup! Sums it up for sure...
I came back the next day and promptly paid my $125 (U.S$) fine, and then was informed I could leave Costa Rica, but would be unable to bring Nookie back across their border for 3 months. I asked why, was told I had violated the law, asked again, was told the same thing, and no amount of protesting seemed to make a difference. I sought out some of the "helpers" always willing to give a hand to travelers crossing the borders in Central America, and they all looked at me forlornly and told me there was nothing they could do. I enlisted the help of an "Aduanero" or a sort of customs/import agent, and he couldn't do anything about it after assuring me that he could. So, bottom line, Costa Rica plain doesn't like Nookie. Their loss, I guess.
So into Panama I went, a bit frustrated from the border experience but resigned to the fact that I would most likely be spending the next 3 months here. I had done the least amount of research on Panama of any of the countries I visited, but had heard that there were some waves to be had around the Boca Chica area. Actually waves that break on nearby islands, as Boca Chica sits at the mouth of a large river/estuary complex. I made my way down a fairly long, windy, bumpy road, and made it into the town. I actually made it all the way to the dock where vacationers take small launches and ferries over to a nearby island resort, but not the kind of ferry Nookie could handle.
I made an Austin Powers-style 15-point turn to get back up to the main road, and tried to find a place to bed down for the evening. I stumbled down a couple of dead end roads, found a place that charged $200 a night, and then found the good guys at www.gonefishingpanama.com who set me up with a room more in my meager budget range. There really weren't any camping options and I was tired and sweaty after the border and a good chunk of the day driving.
View from the bar at the lodge.
From the front.
Nookie getting a little shade.
I had a few beers, talked to the guys who run the place, had a great piece of fish for dinner, and had a great night's sleep. The next morning, after breaking my fast, I chatted up a few of the guys who worked there. I quickly realized that boat trips to the island breaks were out of my budget, especially with no other surfers around. They told me I should definitely go to a place just up the road called las Lajas. I was warned, however, that it was still the last day of Carnivale, a huge pre-Lenten celebration that apparently is observed rigorously all over Panama.
As I pulled into the beach at las Lajas, several thousand revelers and festivarians were having a grand time, but the scene was supremely chaotic, there was nowhere really to camp, and the Reggaeton music was so loud I thought my ears would bleed, and I like some loud music. So I made an executive decision to just keep on driving, maybe to a place I'd heard of called Santa Catalina, or maybe to another place called Venao.
I missed the turn to Santa Catalina a few hours later, and not wanting to backtrack, decided to make for Venao, deep on the Azuero peninsula. I had to push on driving well past dark until I was able to find a place to stay in a little place called Pedasi, nice, but no real surfing options. The next morning I got on the road relatively early and made it to Venao by lunch.
Venao is a pretty remote spot, very idyllic, and also very crowded and most definitely on the backpacker circuit. The wave was a thigh-high closeout beachbreak with about 30 people sitting in the water, a beach restaurant that charged $10 for a hamburger, and $2.50 for a beer, though I had a decent spot to camp in Nookie for only $5 I'd heard talk of things being much cheaper in Panama, and this did not quite fit with my expectations.
Only pic I managed to get of the beach at Venao.
The guy who ran the place I stayed in Pedasi (Bobby, from Mississippi!) gave me a heads-up on a place called Cambutal, further down the road from Venao. I'd also heard about it from some friends in Esterillos, so I made my way there the next day. And stayed a week. And would have stayed longer, but I wanted to spend some time in Bocas del Toro while it was flat on the Pacific side.
Next up, Cambutal, and it was freakin' sweet. As always, more to come!!!
My three months in Costa Rica have come and gone in a hurry. I haven't been blogging much because I've been sort of unplugged from the road life and just enjoying moving out of Nookie for a few months. Much thanks to Vago for letting me store Nookie at his place while I enjoyed spreading out for a bit.
I spent tons of time in the water surfing, got to surf a host of nearby breaks, got some great waves, and endured some flat spells. I even had a visit from a friend from the states (G. Reils!) who unfortunately came during the flattest period for waves I've experienced on the trip. We endured, somehow, and had plenty of Flor de Cana to ease the wounds inflicted by the lack of sizeable surf. Thanks for the peanut butter and lemonade, bro!
I spent time with great people, and you all know who you are, but are also too numerous to mention all by name without having a giant list boring to anybody not from Oeste. I also met some great new friends, and you also know who you are. I hope I've gotten a few new followers to the blog from my time in Costa Rica.
The beach in Esterillos--heed the sign!
The little peak out front of the house I was staying in for a few weeks.
I also managed to take a quick trip up to the Nicoya peninsula to chase a large-ish swell 2 weekends ago. A large group of folks from Esterillos packed up 3 cars full of people and headed to Puntarenas to catch the ferry, thence across and over to a semi-secret break. Unfortunately, the area was experiencing a rather nasty red tide, which rendered the water copper colored, smelly, and slimy. We got some decent waves, stayed at a funky little hostel run by the self-proclaimed "King of the Irish Republic", and also made it over to the Santa Teresa area to surf some high-quality waves over there. I also reconnected with Ryan and Eva, who I met traveling in El Salvador and who live there. All in all, a good trip.
View from the Howler Monkey "lodge" in Cabuya.
After I returned from our road trip, I moved back into Nookie (again, thanks tons Vago for keeping watch on Nookie for me!) at my great little campsite on the beach. I had about a week before I needed to be out of Costa Rica as one only gets 90 days on a tourist visa here. It was good to get back into the swing of living small and get my stuff reorganized, plus the location is pretty darn sweet.
Back on the beach in Nookie.
Same view, note the nice wave out on the reef.
Today is Sunday the 19th, and I'm writing this from the border between Costa Rica and Panama, a "lovely" town called Paso Canoas. My border crossing has been delayed as I'm in the middle of a paperwork issue which I'll detail in a subsequent post, hopefully with a positive and not bank-breaking outcome.
Oh yeah, I thought some of the people who read this thing might appreciate a little local scenery I happened to catch (purely by accident) walking by my rig the other day. As always, more to come!!!
Apparently it was funny hat day on the beach on Friday.
Still here in Esterillos, still enjoying the people and the weather, still surfing most days. We've had a period of small surf, so things have been a bit slow around here. I took a few pics the other morning at sunrise while checking the surf. As you can see, there's not much in the way of surf. There is, however, plenty of other stuff going on.
In my previous incarnation as an environmental attorney, rising with the sun was not exactly my trademark. Now, however, I'm up most days by 6 and have the chance to check out what's going on in the early morning.
Sunrise looking towards Bejuco
I'll be here in town for another month or so, then down the road into Panama. A friend from the US is coming down next week for a visit and I'll probably have a few more pics and adventures to share from that one. As always, more to come!!!
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