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This calm spot on Escudo de Veraguas was a pleasant walk though too far for a finicky dinghy motor. |
Guide books are great, but given me local advice and fellow cruiser feedback for really swaying our discretionary stops. Guidebooks rarely say, DO. NOT. MISS.THIS. Even when they do, often it's more the touristy kind of destinations, rather than the quiet wonder you find in the raw beauty of a pristine, isolated spot.
Kirk's lived in the area for several years, and strikes me as a pretty understated guy; trustworthy. And there's nothing like sweltering, deet-covered in a dusty, no-see-um-ridden yard to inspire you to plan your next fun stop.
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Cayo Zapatillo #1 (of the two "twin" Zapatillo Cays). It's rumored to offer good snorkeling, though not in our anchorage. |
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Escudo de Veraguas between Bocas del Toro and Colon Panama. |
A pleasant teenaged couple greeted us as we came ashore and in our stumblingly inadequate Spanish, we got the blessing for walking past their village. To our surprise, it appeared they were the only ones one the island; we're guessing at least some of the other residents were off, fishing. We didn't envy them in their kayukas in those conditions.
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Escudo de Veraguas jungle trail. |
The teens we met earlier offered us several small green coconuts. After Bluefields, we assumed we could only take them if we had something to offer in return, and we had nothing to offer. In our vast language barrier, we hope we did not offend them by not accepting their gift.
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Miniature sloth! Oh, umm, errr, it's just a termite's nest. |
After a night of moderate rock 'n roll, and no sense the conditions would calm, we made way for our next stop.
Later, when we bumped into a fellow cruiser who'd stopped at Escudo de Veraguas, she commented, "Oh, that place is rolly when it's calm. You must've been really rolly!" Yup; though we've stayed at much worse.
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My crocks, which I had to carefully yet forcefully pull up by hand when the mud sucked them off my feet just a few yards into the jungle trail on Escudo de Veraguas. |
We're in Shelter Bay, Panama right now (N09.22.033 W79.57.097). This is a recent retrospective of our January 26, 2015 stop at Escudo de Veraguas (N09.05.307 W81.34.099) between Bocas del Toro (N09.20.041 W82.14.606) and where we are now. We'll stay near the area for another week and a half as it's our start point across "the skinny bit" -- gateway to the Panama canal, where we'll cross from the Atlantic (Caribbean) side to the Pacific. From there we'll begin our South Pacific adventure.
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