New photo round-up: Panama North Shore

May your trails be crooked, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. 

May your mountains rise above the clouds. 

-- Edward Abbey

                                       Exploring the San Lorenzo National Park


      Well, the uprising in Colon has settled down, Superstorm Sandy has moved on, but Chris and I are still here at Shelter Bay Marina in Colon dealing with ongoing battery problems.

    While we're here waiting for parts, we've had the chance to explore the rustic Caribbean coast of Panama.

              The area we've explored in northern Panama ranges from slightly west of Colon, across the canal and east to Portobelo, and further yet along the coast to the tiny towns of Puerto Lindo and Garotte (neither of which are on the map).

                          A tree groans with fresh papaya in the front yard of this home

                                                    A swing hangs lazily over the water

                                                                 Lost horizon

                                                     Children swim in their skivvies

                                                           Coconut palms

           We were thrilled to trip upon a pair of Shetland ponies! I grabbed a handful of
   grass and slowly, gently approached the little guy to see if he would eat out of my hand...

                                      "Hey, come back!"   Ah, well... LOL...    :-)

          We went on a 12 mile round trip bike ride deep into the rainforest. Our destination was the San Lorenzo Fort, shown above at the mouth of the great Chagres River.  It is the oldest fort in Panama.

                                  Our only company at the Fort besides a snake and dozens of
                        howler monkeys was an armadillo. Who knew they lived in the tropics?

                                There is a bit of fall leaf color change here in Panama

                                                       Rickety dinghy dock in Garotte

    ...and another view (note the shipping palate on the left -- no need to waste perfectly good wood!)

           We were curious about this Star of David cinderblock around a home in impoverished Garotte

                                                            ...and just up the road...

           A street artist draws a family in distress on a wall in Colon. This could be related to the
         recent uprising and shootouts with police, where many were killed, including two children.

                                                                        Boathouse

                          Yes, I crossed this uber-rickety foot bridge, and lived to tell the tale...

                                                   Dreamy little dinghy dock

                                                             Child's toy gun at rest

                                                             Interesting cloud formation

                                                            Bus stop

                                                Panamanian youth clowning around

                                 Cruiser's hang-out and book exchange in Puerto Lindo

                                                 Dugout canoe as planter

                                             ...and another view...


           And lastly, a sailors favorite thing:

                                                                    Wind

Persistent anxiety in Colon...yet life goes on...

                                      Yesterday in Colon, Panama


       Chris and I remain here in Shelter Bay in Colon, Panama, where riots, violence and shootouts have been ongoing for almost a week now. 48 hours ago the President stated his intent to overturn the new land law which was the cause of the uprising.

                                             
         But the protestors have stated that they will not rest until the President actually overturns the law. As of this writing he has only stated his intent to do so. Our understanding is that the insurgents plan to increase their activity today with more rioting, blocking of roads and commerce, etc., until the law is actually overturned.

     We remain protected by the military here in the marina, and we have not actually seen any of the violence here in the aptly named Shelter Bay. And -- life goes on.

    Several of us took a trip into Colon proper yesterday to provision at a grocery store there. We had a Panamanian driver with us in case we should run into any trouble on the way.

                                      Armed military police guard the grocery store in Colon

    We were happy to see the shelves were well stocked at the supermarket, which was up and running, no doubt thanks to the large military protection force there. Several other stores next to the market were closed, however, as was the bank, which was out of money and shut down until further notice.

   So, we've been doing our best coming up with ideas to keep our minds and spirits occupied with positive thoughts...

                                                                   How about a tea party!

           The tea party was the brainchild of 7 year old Ella of "Rivers2Seas," who also invited her dolls to participate (Notice the coffee mugs, which would have to do, as no-one has fine china teacups aboard their sailboats).  I participated eagerly as, in this time of unrest, keeping the children distracted and occupied is a top priority.


    When the uprising began last week we were in nearby Portobelo, where we participated in the annual Black Christ Festival.

                           Thousands of pilgrims from around the world come to the sleepy city
                of Portobelo once a year to visit the famous carving, which is hundreds of years old.

                                                   A powerful sight

          Worshippers crawl on their hands and knees during their journey to the Black Christ.
     Many wear purple adornments that are similar to the vestment that the Black Christ wears.

                 Some drip hot wax onto their backs as they crawl in an act of self-flaggelation


                     As interesting and at times emotionally powerful this was to watch,
                               there were some bizarre and amusing moments as well.


               At times I felt like I was at a flamboyant parade in West Hollywood. For example:

                              This fellow was quite proud of his ruffly Black Christ vestment...

                                                      ...and that of his chihuahua...   :-)

 
                                                                     Mixed messages


     
         At the Black Christ festival I found a couple more additions to my occasional series:
    "Latinos unknowingly wearing mildly-to-wildly inappropriate donated American t-shirts."

     This very sweet, very devout and sincere Panamanian woman bearing a purple candle during her pilgrimage most certainly has no idea what her donated American t-shirt says -- and I didn't have the heart to tell her.

 Portobelo has 5 tiendas, all owned and operated by Chinese immigrants who speak fluent Spanish and Chinese, and absolutely no English.

                                              One of the Chinese owned tiendas in Portobelo

           Keep in mind that this sweet Chinese tienda owner speaks NO English.  Sigh. Then there is the obvious irony that since she owns and runs a successful retail outlet, and OK, let's face it, she IS Asian -- I'm certain that she is very good at math and appreciates it's importance in society. LOL...


      Anyway, we are expecting our new battery to arrive from Panama City today. But that is a big "IF," as many of the roads remain blocked by insurgents. But IF the battery arrives, and Chris is able to quickly install it, then this afternoon we will throw off the dock lines and make the two night passage to  Providencia, about 260 miles to the north. We will be buddy boating with "Rivers2Seas" and "Tension Reliever."

    So, that is our plan. More to follow. Onward!   :-)

    UPDATE: Due to the roads being blocked, our battery never arrived this morning, so "Tension Reliever" went on to Providencia without us. We should be here in Shelter Bay for another week at least while we wait for the battery and a battery charger as well. No worries!   :-)

Panama uprising: "Chaos in Colon"

  "Chaos in Colon." Those are the words of the local Panamanian TV news to describe the violent uprising that has been happening here in the second largest city in Panama for 4 days now. Streets are blocked. Businesses shut down.

 While technically Chris and I are in the city of Colon, we're on the far edges of it -- in the Shelter Bay Marina. The good news is, the marina is protected by the Panamanian military, with armed guards. So we are safe here.

             What could be a problem for us in the short term, though, is the fact that the protesters are blocking roads. As of last night, the main road from Panama City to Colon was blocked. And with Colon in it's current state of chaos, we will not be heading to the grocery stores there for any happy little gringo shopping trips anytime soon.

          The U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning for U.S. citizens regarding Panama




         Unfortunately, this uprising may get worse -- far worse, according to my Panamanian friends. And it has the potential to spread throughout the country.  As best as I can understand it, the cause of the uprising is the President's decision to sell off giant chunks of land in Colon to corporate interests that are currently rented to local citizens. This impending sale will have a massive effect on jobs for the poor and middle class of Colon.

      There have been violent shootouts between police and protesters which have resulted in the deaths of many -- including, unfortunately, one young child. Another child, a 6 year old girl, was shot and critically wounded yesterday. Obviously these tragic events only add the metaphorical fuel to the fire.

    To make matters worse, the President has left the country. Panamanians are hoping that he overturns the decree to quell the violence, but the fact that he and his entourage and family have flown to Japan is certainly not a good sign (although the trip was a pre-planned diplomatic visit).

   Unfortunately for Espiritu, our alternator and battery charger failed on our short trip sailing to Colon from Portobelo.  So until they are repaired, we're tethered to the dock here in Colon.

 If the roads in and out of Colon and Panama City remain blocked, our biggest problem other than the alternator and battery charger may be dwindling supplies of fresh food. The goal of the protesters is to stop commerce, and this is definitely happening.

While we have enough canned food, rice, etc., aboard Espiritu to feed us for weeks and weeks, as a precaution I bought as much fresh food as our little fridge can hold from the tiny marina store. Who knows when they will be able to restock their shelves.

 Same goes for the marina restaurant!  So Chris and I enjoyed a hearty meal there last evening, because they may not receive new food for awhile either.

"Make hay while the sun shines" as the saying goes.   :-)

 So please don't be too worried about Chris and I.  The marina here feels very safe.  The protestors have no issue with us, and we're fine as long as we lie low, which we will certainly do.

 I'm more concerned with our local Panamanian friends. There are several employees of the marina whose neighborhoods in Colon are engulfed in a cacophany of AK-47 fire. So if you pray for anyone, pray for our Panamanian friends Maurice, Alex and Corinna.


UPDATE: The little girl who was shot by the police yesterday died overnight.

LATEST (October 24, 2012): Good news! President Martinelli had announced that he will retract the law to sell off the Colon land. This is a great source of relief for the crew of Espiritu and our Panamanian friends. :-)