Well its been a few weeks since we have been in Panama and boy is it nice. Fish & lobster has become the main staple of our diet. We left for Isla Linton in Panama (About 40 miles out of the San Blas) a few days ago, and I caught a nice tuna on the way. Sam and I had some very good sashimi yesterday, yummy! Sam’s tooth was bothering her and we went to the dentist which only cost fourteen bucks (including x-ray), nice! Panama is such a livable country. Food, wine, and healthcare are very affordable. No one bothers you, there are no hurricanes or ciguatera, and it is the most beautifully diverse country I know. From the volcano in the mountains to the Darien jungle and the beaches I love this country. Cruising permit and all costs us about $25.00 a month to live here, not so bad eah?
Yesterday I introduced Sam to my monkey friends on Linton Island. As we approached the island in the dinghy we were warned to be carful of the monkeys as they have bit/attacked a number of people recently including my friend Gary’s wife Mavis back in the day. I had made friends with the 3 of them years ago and I think they still remember me. I used to go to the island and open coconuts for them as they can not do it themselves. At one point one of them took me by the hand and walked me up and down the beach showing me their island. We all became friends over the 14 month period I was here 4 years ago.
Yesterday I went to the island and opened a coconut on the beach. One of them was in a tree above me, watching me, and I’m sure he remembered me. I offered him the coconut as I always had and he came down the tree, took my hand for a moment to say “hi”, and started drinking the coconut water. Some people were watching from a boat and I think they were a bit dumbfounded at the monkeys behavior with me. They are big and strong monkeys (about 4 feet tall) and if they wanted they could certainly hurt you. That being said I did have a can of mace in my pocket as I always do, but I was just treated like an old friend. I think the monkeys of Linton just want to be treated with a little kindness and respect. I was told that some of the locals will get drunk on the island and throw bottles at them, and cruisers tend to gawk and take pictures of them. People are very cautious of them and I don’t think they have much respect for fear. It is my understanding that they were once domesticated and their owner got sick of them and stranded them on the island when they were young. It is not a monkeys natural disposition to attack or bite humans, I think they are just pissed off and have had a bad experience with people. I left the monkey on the beach as he scraped coconut out with his fingernails. After a handshake I returned to the dinghy.
A friend of mine gave me an old iphone which I should get in the 3rd week of July. It has a camera and I’ll take some nice pictures of the monkeys and post them. At some point, a few charters down the road, I’m going to get a nice Canon digital SLR. I want to shoot my next film with one. The new ones shoot true HD video as well as stills and have the ability to accept various lenses. I used to be a photographer and filmmaker before this whole BlueSphere thing and the one thing I’m really not so happy about is filming with cheap handy-cams. I really enjoy hunting for good images but it is impossible with a handy-cam and no lens selection. I want my next film to be beautiful to watch and an HD experience. I’m thinking of shooting an entire film on the San Blas and the Kuna Indians, or perhaps Panama. It seems that technology has finally got to the point I could do this myself, its exciting to me.
We are going to spend a few more days here before returning to the San Blas. Our charter arrives on July 20th (My God I’m turning 45 on the 14th, eeesh) and we will have a good week exploring the reefs and islands. After that Sam will return to the states to get Guin and visit her parents before returning in late August.
We wont have email in the San Blas but i did get a chip for my phone and can SMS some short blogs in. After my charter I’m going to get a modem that works through the cell signal so I can upload pictures and logs from the San Blas. I wasn’t so happy about the new addition of cell coverage in the islands but it does have its benefits. When I was here last time I had email through my satellite phone and was able to update my blog that way. The cell phone internet will be much more cost effective.
I wish you guys could hear the jungle this morning as I type this. Millions of parrots and various birds are stirring up a racket as howler monkeys roar in the distance battling the distant rumble of thunder. Low clouds are cascading over the mountains as the dark squallie sky brings the smell of rain and earth from above. The temp is dropping and I’ll have to go outside to catch some water and take a morning shower on deck. It will only rain for 20 minutes or so and the hot sun will follow. When the earth heats up it will become humid and time for a dip in the sea or perhaps spear fishing on the reef.
The afternoons are filled with the smell of Sam’s bread in the oven, priceless!
Peace, Love, and Panama
Sail far and live slowly.
Alex