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…
So, yeah. We've discussed various scenarios about where we sail next. "Plan A" was to cruise the anchorages in the Gulf of Panama, then return to Ecuador for another 6 months or so for more South American tourism, especially in Peru. "Plan A, v.1.0" involved direct travel from Panama to Ecuador. "Plan A, v.2.0" included…
Approaching Panama City from the water, you are first struck by the incredible number of freighters and cruise ships anchored for miles around the entrance to the Panama Canal, all waiting for their turn to either transit the Canal or proceed a short way into the Canal entrance to Panama City/Balboa's commercial docks. Everything you…
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…
Bahía Piña is one of the last anchorages in Panama before you cross the border into Colombia. It is pretty and protected from northerly winds (though not from southerly wind and seas). It has a couple of anchoring options, though like many places a mooring field has crowded out the best spots in the best area. It's…
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…
Perlas Anchorages Guide books show lots of anchorage choices, but the reality of squirrely weather keeps us bouncing from one to the next & back again. Example: Isla Espiritu Santo is practically an all-weather anchorage w/ easy entry & lots to do & see, & is generally bug-free at least in Dec.-Jan.; yet in flat-calm…