I wake up, bathing in sweat. I have no idea what time it is,
but I sure know the wind has totally stopped. Otherwise, my pillow case and
sheet wouldn’t be wet and sticky. I try to breathe, slowly. It would be easy
enough to turn the little wall-mounted fan on, but we have a problem: Irie’s
batteries are pretty low at the moment and we are out of gasoline for our
portable generator. Despite a few requests for the veggie guy to bring us some
gas (and eggs) – we are still out. So far, we have been able to bum some eggs
from our friends on SV Reach and a neighboring boat, after realizing a certain
recipe “unexpectedly” needed a non-existing egg. We don’t want to borrow gasoline,
however; this is a precious good and we can always run our engines, if really,
really, really needed. For now, I am thinking about our fridge and our
computers; they have more need for electricity than our fan. Or, do they?
Onion rings (with egg needed batter) and hamburgers for dinner before another sleepless night.
Soon enough, the stagnant night air attracts hordes of
no-see-ums from the closest shore, which is an island called “Bug Island”.
Yeah, right! They attack our hot, un-sheeted bodies – we’ll have to suffer one
way or another. Their bodies resemble the point of a needle and their bite the prick
of one. Unfortunately, they are more abundant than the proverbial needle in a
haystack. More sensory awareness follows, when our ears are filled with Spanish
dance music from one of the power boats a mile away. “Sound travels well over
water” is a more correct idiom than “There is always a breeze on the water”!
The Panamanian rich must be having a party and we involuntarily partake. The
mix of uncomfortable annoyances keeps us awake for a couple of hours, before we
finally give in. The fan gains importance and by now, I gladly trade an hour of
computer time for who-knows-how-many-hours-we-need of fan use.
When burning trash or doing a project on Bug Island, one can only escape the no-see-ums while hiding in the water.
The evening before, all the cruisers of the anchorage were awakened
with a start, when a massive search light shone into their portholes and
cockpit and a grinding, deafening, out of the blue sound penetrated the walls
of the boats. It was 11pm in an otherwise tranquil bay. Two of the luxurious
power boats that come en masse to this area over the weekends (during settled
“summer” weather), decided to move a mile and join their brethren, gathered in
a power boat village – based on the amount of lights in the distance. In the
middle of the night! This was a first. Normally, they only pass Irie at a
hair’s distance, passengers gazing into our cockpit and windows, during the
day. They go back and forth a few times, using bow thrusters, almost touching
our bow or stern, crew and passengers happily waving.
Motorboats outnumber sailboats over the summer/fall weekends.
They are a friendly bunch, all right. They tie up alongside
one of the pretty, palm fringed beaches and buzz around the place in high
powered tenders, sometimes slowly plowing through the water and creating massive
wake (hold on!), sometimes pulling a toy with kids on it. They have fun, all
right. Their owners are dropped off and picked up by helicopter, which is quite
a sight to behold on these primitive, indigenous and quiet islands. Imagine a
remote tropical island getting a
make-over and turning into a people littered beach, volleyball playing
Panamanians, white tent erected on the sand, string of boats tied together and
… a helicopter between the palm trees.
A peaceful island turned into chaos: people, tents, helicopter!
After another sleepless night – if it’s not the thunder and
lightning storms, there are plenty of other reasons to wake up and stay awake
during the San Blas summer/fall nights – the sun comes out and the solar panels
are used to their biggest potential, for a few hours. The wind generator tries,
but fails, due to lack of wind. Mark and I bite the bullet. We grab our empty
2.5 gallon jerry can and my wallet, and we head over to the prettiest, fanciest
power yacht; the one that has the friendliest and waviest crew. We talk to the
captain, he talks to the owner, we talk to the owner – who is very interested
in us “yachties” -and 15 minutes later, our jerry can is filled, while my
wallet remains unopened. They refuse money in exchange and are happy to help.
With renewed appreciation for Panama’s rich and famous, we return home. Now, we
have fuel for our generator. The same amount they use for a fast ten minute
dinghy ride with guests will last us up to a month! And, we can liberally use
our fan tonight!
The tranquil "Swimming Pool" anchorage in the East Holandes Cays during summer weekdays.
One of the helicopters dropping off or picking up powerboat guests on BBQ island.
How the scenery changes over the weekend.
Powerboats (yachts much bigger than Irie) tied together alongside the beach.
The tasty (and heavy) food and alcoholic drinks do not guarantee a good night's sleep!
Our goal was to reach the east coast of Taha’a – we still
had to figure out what to do and where to go from there, since we didn’t have
the time to check any cruising guides or charts – but from the moment we
entered the unprotected waters, our plotted course was impossible to maintain. Irie
sailed as close to the (light) wind as possible, in hopes of at least reaching
Raiatea, the island south of Taha’a, but in the same protected lagoon. Griet
and Wim didn’t feel too well on this upwind haul and I frantically read about
all the possible anchorages and mooring options in Raiatea. This time, I had
shaken my bottle of seasickness drops before taking some and I felt fine!
Skimming through the “Societies Compendium” cruising guide,
none of the anchorages on Raiatea’s east and north coast sounded attractive or
appealing, and people warned against staying at the town dock, so we hadn’t
decided on our final destination yet when approaching the island. The last
hour, Mark hand steered, so we could make Raiatea’s most northern pass to get
into the protective lagoon. No squalls had hit us, but the sky was very grey,
so a reef anchorage was out of the question. We poked Irie’s bows into the
public basin of Uturoa, the capital of Raiatea, and decided to tie up on the
town dock, rest for a night and regroup.
Irie rarely spends time on a dock (because of possible
damage while docking, noise, safety issues, rats, lack of wind, incessant heat,
and mosquitoes), but this one is not too bad, and free! It is so easy to just
hop off and run errands, especially with a Champion supermarket in view… And,
during a rainy period, being on the dock gives some options of things to do,
like grocery and souvenir shopping, which is what we did over the coming days.
Griet and Wim climbed Mount Tapioi and were rewarded by a beautiful view once
the clouds cleared. We had dinner at a roulette, cooked some nice meals, and caught up on a few
work-related issues. An outside shower “with a view” was located nearby, and we
picked up free WiFi with our Wirie.
When the weather improved a bit – still no wind – we motored
to the west side of Taha’a, Raiatea’s little neigbor to the north, and anchored
on a sandy bank near a few motus. The water was clear; the view of palm covered
motus lovely. And, the contours of Bora Bora lured in the background. Finally,
we felt like we were in a South Pacific paradise – an image conjured up endlessly
by the notion of this area. 
After lunch, we filled the dinghy with snorkel gear and
headed to the most beautiful “over the water” bungalow resort we have seen
since being here. Between its grounds and the motu to the north lays an
exquisite natural aquarium rarely stumbled upon… Some of the best coral and the
tamest, most colorful fish live here. The area has a little channel in the
middle where the current offers you a ride through, while floating. The whole
experience feels like a weightless amusement park ride. All you have to do is
walk a path (sand, rocks and sharp coral) to the north side of the motu, don
your mask and jump in! The current swooshes you through the coral garden, and,
without flippers to slow your speed, you barely stand a chance to pause and
take pictures of the many healthy creatures along the way!
