We hadn't planned to go there. We'd plotted a gorgeous rhumb line from Puerto Lucia, Ecuador, to one of the southern anchorages in the Perlas Islands in the Gulf of Panama. Sure, this rhumb line put us about 200 miles off the Colombian coastline at one point, but the weather was fabulous: 10-20 knots from…
We haven't had much Internet connectivity since we left Ecuador on December 9, 2010. We even had trouble making contact while underway, both then and now, through our Skymate satellite link. Seems there aren't very many satellites in this part of the world that can transmit messages. Or something. But we bought a 3.5G modem…
So, we recently anchored at Mogo Mogo, a popular island destination in the northern part of Panama's Las Perlas islands. Apparently one of Mogo Mogo's claims to fame is that one of the "Survivor" TV series was filmed here. We never saw the reality show itself, but the ads for it gave us the impression that it…
Interested in birds? Marina Puerto Lucia sees a lot of snowy egrets – wading birds who in this environment have actually taught themselves to (clumsily) dive for fish. There are the other usual suspects: great egrets, cormorants, the occasional brown and masked boobies, and terns. Early mornings, the sandpipers (or are they plovers?) graze along…
I like Puerto Lucia. There's always something going on in the marina itself most of the year, though it's generally fairly low-key until about November, when "the season" starts and people start either prepping their boats for cruising east to Central America, or gearing up for the local sailing season with its warmer, sunnier weather and southwesterly…
Ecuador's top two destinations for cruising boats are Bahia de Caraquez along the coast toward the Colombian border; and Puerto Lucia, the marina nestled between the towns of La Libertad and Salinas and just east of Punta Santa Elena, South America's westernmost point. Find the Galapagos Islands on a map and draw a line due…
Yow. Last time y'all heard from the likes o' me it was early June 2010 and GB and I were halfway from Costa Rica to Ecuador, just sailin' along. And now, it is late November. We are indeed in Ecuador, been traveling & whatnot for over 5 months; and now the Fox is on jackstands…
Mornings at anchor in the lagoon of Barra de Navidad are special times. About 8 o'clock the local cruisers' net comes up on VHF radio, a time when many cruisers greet the day with their first cup of coffee. By the time they're on their second cup of coffee, another voice comes over the VHF:…
Underway – halfway to Ecuador The 1st 2 days from Costa Rica to Ecuador were fine – 6/5 was glorious all day & nite – max. 15 kt., broad reach; partly cloudy day, starry night. Then a low pressure system nobody forecast, arose on 6/6. Life got breezy & very bouncy – max.25kt. from S/SSW,…
Slowed The Fox down to less than 5 kt. so as to stay well offshore Golfo Dulce entrance until sunrise. Still 20 mi. offshore when we encountered a couple of local fishing boats: wood, ~45', unlit or with non-regulation lights, not picked up by radar. No mishaps. Sunrise: entered Golfo Dulce, anchored off Puerto Jimenez…