Today the plan was to get an early start. We’d check out of the country and go to the grocery store in the morning, then spend a leisurely afternoon getting the boat ready for sea and pull up anchor at 1700.
It all started off well. On the way in to shore, we saw a big, pretty jellyfish in the water. We stopped to watch it for a couple of minutes. They are so graceful and elegant. Over the few days we have been here, we managed to pawn off 14 of the tires to assorted cruisers getting ready to transit. We had our 6 remaining tires in the dinghy with us. We carried them up the huge ramp to the trash dumpster, and paid the disposal fee at the same office we pay the dinghy fee. It was low tide, so it was a steep walk up that ramp.
We hopped in a taxi and went to the Port Captain office at the container port. Just like last time, the paperwork was slow but the people were super nice. Since we were checking out on a weekend, there was an extra $20.00 fee tacked on to the bill, so our total exit fees came to just under $30.00. Panama has turned into one of the more expensive places we have been to in terms of government entry/exit fees.
Next was immigration, also located on the grounds of the former base, just a few blocks away from the Port Captain. It was closed. The Port Captain had told us that since it was a weekend, there was chance it could be closed, but that the office at the marina would be open. We asked the driver to take us to a restaurant so we could get some breakfast. He took us to a near by place that looked to be very popular. The menu is absolutely enormous and the food is super cheap. But, it also wasn’t very good.
From there, we took a taxi to Riva Smith grocery store and did as big a stock up. We bought as much as we could physically carry. Then we went back to the boat to unloaded groceries. Once groceries were put away, we were back out the door. We walked over to the marina and asked where the immigration office was. We were directed to a small building behind the cruise ship terminal. We found the immigration office and went in. The office was open and someone was working, but he said they don’t do clearances on Sundays. He told us to go to Balboa Yacht Club, which is located near where the causeway joins the mainland. Sigh. Here is the dock the cruise ship ties up to and a nice view of downtown.
We got into a taxi and told him to take us to Balboa Yacht Club. He tried to charge us $40.00, the highest quote we had gotten yet. Up until now the highest quote was $25.00 in to town. When we told him $5 or nothing he really pushed for $10, but finally backed down and accepted $5.00. He again asked us where we were going. We said Balboa Yacht Club. He looked confused. We repeated ourselves two more times before he nodded and drove off. While on the causeway, he asked us why we were going there. We said we needed to o to the immigration office. He drove right past the turn off to Balboa Yacht Club, and when we objected, he gave a long explanation in Spanish that we didn’t understand at all.
He took us into town and pulled up to the Central Immigration Office. It was closed. We again asked to go to Balboa Yacht Club and he again gave us another long monologue in Spanish that we didn’t understand. He delivered us back to the cruise ship terminal. We honestly think the guy is a new cab driver that had absolutely no idea where Balboa Yacht Club is. We were so mad that we had wasted an hour of precious time and $10 in cab fare for a wild goose chase. In retrospect, we probably should have refused to pay him. After all, he didn’t take us where we asked to go. But, we weren’t up for a big fight over the $10.00 and just wanted to get away from the guy.
Eric went back into the immigration office behind the cruise ship terminal to verify there is indeed an immigration office at Balboa Yacht Club. He was told that not only is there an office, it is open 24-7.
By now were both pretty grumpy. We decided to get lunch before heading over to immigration. We figured some food would help improve our sour moods. Another cruiser had recommended a restaurant in the cruise ship terminal, telling us the food was excellent and the prices were reasonable, so we went in there.
We are so sad to report lunch was not a good experience. The service was terrible. The server brought Christi’s food fairly fast. When Christi was finished eating, Eric’s food still hadn’t arrived. We also noticed the people at tables seated after us were almost done eating. We finally asked the waiter when Eric’s food would be coming. He came back a second later with Eric’s food, which had clearly been sitting there, totally forgotten, for a while. Sigh. The food was fine, but not really good. And the worst part of all is that it was by far the most expensive restaurant we had eaten at in all of Panama. For the amount of money it was, we were expecting nothing less than phenomenal food and service. The more we thought about how we could have been eating at the wonderful French place for less money, the more our grumpiness factor increased.
After lunch we hopped into another taxi. This guy knew exactly where the yacht club was and only charged us $2.00 for the ride since it was so close and there were few lights. Oh, on a side note”¦ You have probably already gathered that here in Panama taxis are abundant and you don’t have to wait very long until one comes by. We have forgotten to mention that most taxis will take multiple groups of passengers. Meaning, if the two of us are in the cab alone and the driver sees someone on the side of the road hailing him, he will pull over and pick that person up. We certainly don’t mind sharing a taxi. What made us mention it is that on the causeway the driver picked up an especially chatty passenger, a tourist on holiday from South America.
On another side note, there are usually a lot of people out and about on the causeway. There are power walkers, joggers and bicyclers getting their exercise in. There are couples and families leisurely strolling along. There are tourists taking in the pretty views. It is nice to see so many people out and about.
We found the immigration office in a little, non-descript building off to the side of the dock. At first we were dubious that this could really be it, since the area outside the office was being used for storage of miscellaneous odds and ends for the yacht club.
Before we went in, we stopped to admire the mooring field. Wow, it looked nice and protected in there, which surprised us. Being as close as it was to the shipping lane, we expected it to be just as rolly as the anchorage. No wonder why the yacht club was full and didn’t have room for us. We think we would have enjoyed our time in Panama City more had we stayed here. The scary and very uncomfortable anchorage has clouded the time here for us. Of course, Christi’s tummy illness and Eric’s still healing toe haven’t helped matters much, either.
The immigration office is absolutely tiny, barely big enough for his desk and two chairs. The officer was engrossed in a baseball game when we arrived. We have seen a baseball games on TV at various restaurants and such. Baseball seems to be a popular sport in Panama and we chatted with him about baseball as he did the paperwork. Check out was smooth and easy, but slow since all the paperwork is done by hand. We wonder when Panama is going to computerize its immigration system. The museum had been proud that the canal is all computerized now, so you’d think all aspects involving ship transit would be brought up to speed, as well.
By the time we finally made it back to Kosmos, it was already 1600. Leaving as planned at 1700 looked unlikely. We got right to work. The wind was screaming, so getting the dinghy up was a little tricky. We were rocking like mad and eager to get going, so we kind of did a half assed job of getting ready for sea. For example, instead of properly stowing things that are kind of a pain to put away, we simply put them on the floor in the living room. We pulled up anchor at 1730. Since the paravanes were already out, we just left them out. We weren’t going to be passing through any shallow areas where the paravanes would be a concern.
At first it was a rough ride, but as soon as we got away from the shipping lanes and out to the open ocean, the seas flattened out the ride is smooth and wonderful. Of course, the water was protected. When we poked out from protected waters, the seas picked up some, but not much. As of this writing at 2300, the winds are light at 6 10 knots apparent from the starboard aft quarter. The moon is full and visibility is great, making the conditions close to idyllic. We wish every day at sea could be so pleasant. We can’t get over how much more comfortable it is on the open ocean than it was in the anchorage and are now regretting that we didn’t leave days ago.
Even though we are quite far from the shipping lane now, we are still seeing a conga line of big ships passing us going both directions.