Casco Antiguo is a seaside district in what is now Panama City, located near the Panama Canal area. It was developed in about 1673, two years after pirate (and spiced rum spokesmodel) Henry Morgan laid waste to what had been Panama City and the surviving population were forced to relocate. Casco Antiguo perches upon a low rocky bluff surrounded by…
While GB and I scramble to get our act together for a Canal transit, here are some pics of the EASY way to see the Canal: come to Panama City, and take a day trip by taxi to the Miraflores Locks. They're the first set of locks that vessels go through when leaving the Pacific…
Thus far in our 4-year cruising career we have entered and exited eight countries. Of course each country has its own laws, and some countries are more demanding than others, but they generally all follow the same format in processing cruising boats like The Fox. At a minimum, most every Latin country wants to see your…
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…
In the town of Valdivia, around the corner from the archaeological museum and a couple yards back up a side street, is a modest-appearing artisan's shop. These are the premises of Juan Esteban Orrala, sculptor. This gentleman's workshop – like many throughout Latin America – is at the front of his and his family's house. Sr. Orrala makes…
If you're as big a fan of archaeology and anthropology as GB and I are, you will want to put your boat in Marina Puerto Lucia and visit some of the nearby archaeological sites. Downtown La Libertad itself – right along the malecon – has a pre-Inca cemetery that was excavated in the 1950s (but…
Downtown La Libertad, Ecuador, has the most extensive fish market open to the regular fish-buying public that we've seen since Ensenada, Mexico. Whatever's running offshore, will quickly find its way into the fishing fleet's nets and thence to the Mercado de Mariscos. Any local taxicab can take you there, no problemo. Have you ever been to…
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 have lots of excuses for not having even looked at this here blog for over 5 months. We got a new laptop which naturally led to pesky reinstallation of software; we were traveling all over the place with only intermittent opportunities to connect to teh Interwebs,…you've heard it all before from lots of bloggers.…
If you want to see more of Oaxaca than just the town itself, there are plenty of day trips to take. For the archaeology buff like GB, no trip to southern Mexico would be complete without a look-see at some prehispanic ruins. The Oaxaca area has some good ones. It's easy for yatistas to take…