“Jargo, Jargo, Jargo…..Marina Carenero”.  I heard the call just as I was attaching the snubber line to the anchor chain.  After two days at sea sailing and motoring into Bocas del Toro, Panama from Isla Providencia, Colombia I just wanted to ignore the radio.  The only reason a marina could be calling me at that particular moment was because they thought I was anchoring too close to their approach fairway and they wanted me to move.  I was going to get my anchor set, dive on it to be sure, and get ready for a fight before I called them back.

When I did I was shocked at the response I got.  They didn’t want a fight, the owner Mack Robinson turned out to be a huge fan of the Allied Mistress sailboat and just wanted to invite me to shore for a happy hour.  Realizing I had just arrived in Panama for the first time he quickly called the port captain and arranged for all of my check in procedures.  Once clear of the formalities I went to shore to thank Mack for such incredible hospitality with a load of fresh caught mahi mahi I’d landed on the way down.

Over dinner and a few sundowners we realized that not only was he a follower of the website, but we’d met when I’d had Jargo on the hard in Seabrook, Texas almost three years before.  Mack opened up his home and marina for me even though I was living on the anchor.  It was the kind of hospitality you never hope for and are dumbstruck when you find.  If you ever find yourself in Bocas and need a slip, contact Mack at www.careeningcay.com.

Two days later rested and starting to feel somewhat human again I ran the dink over to Bocas Marina and Yacht Club, the big outfit that runs in the area.  Just outside their breakwater is a huge anchorage with two or three dozen cruising boats resting comfortably on the hook.  Coming in I saw the lines of Uhane at anchor and in a slip was Lively Lady, two boats with crew I’d befriended way back in Isla Mujeres.  Walking around the marina and begging for use of the showers I heard someone call my name, sure enough, it was Brian from Uhane and a few hours later during happy hour I’d been introduced to the regular crowd of cruisers.  What a wonderful welcome it was.

Finally, just last Friday I headed into the Calypso Cafe located on the edge of the Bocas Marina.  It was a big night since one of the locals who helped out in the kitchen was having a birthday and it seems the whole town had turned up for the festivities.  The cafe is run by two great South Africans who took the time to introduce me to other Bocas locals.  By the end of the night I could barely keep up with the names of everyone I’d met.  Now, not only do I have the cruising community to call on, but a great group of people who live full time on the island who’ve taken me in as one of their own.  There is a young couple I met who are on a cruising boat just behind me, but who’ve been in Bocas so long it is essentially their home.  We are headed out in an hour to hit a favorite local thai place for some curry in the town of Bastimientos. 

I am still getting used to the novelty of stepping from the boat onto a dock.  Since the marina is so new they are not metering the power which allows me to run the air conditioner full blast.  Even Georgia shows obvious signs of enjoying the very cold boat.  I’ve already started ordering parts for the engine and getting quotes for a new mizzen sail.  I have an address in Bocas where I can receive packages and a local cell phone to boot.  Things are good, and strangely, maybe due to the dock lines being tied to the dock, I dare say it has a feeling of being home.  At least for now.

Lee Winters

www.SailingForSOS.com
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com