Hello Everyone! It has been a long time since we were in touch, but we are glad to be back in civilization so that I can fill you all in on what has been going on with our adventures. Well, here it goes...
July 27-28, 2007
After saying goodbye to the beautiful Chagres River we made a quick stop back in Colon on our way to the tiny fishing villageof Portobello. Portobello was a very welcome scene with our last city experience bieng in Colon. We arrived to a calm bay lined with mountains, the village itself in the foothills. Howler monkeys can still be heard from somewhere in the distant treetops as we bring Max in and drop anchor next to Calico Jack. The town itself has a very laid back feel to it. The locals are reserved, but amiable. It was the weekend and there were families sitting on their doorsteps enjoying the afternoon, children playing in the quiet streets and amongst the moss-covored ruins. In the 1600's Portobello was one of the most important places for the transfer of South and Central American riches, due to it's central location. Tons of gold and silver passed through the area, making it necessary to build two large forts lined with cannons, one at each end of the bay for protection from pirates. The remainder of these stand strong today, as do other ruins which are strewn about town. The houses and shops are just built right alongside some of these great remains, giving the entire village an ancient feel. The locals say that old relics and silver pieces can still be found in the surrounding mountains. We settled into a little cafe/bar called El Drago where the owner, Marco, gave me a tiny old glass bottle which he had found in the mountains for our collection. Jeremy guesses that it may have held mercury used for gold-panning.
July 29, 2007
Curiosity about a rumor involving some friendly monkeys brought us to our next stop, Isla Linton, which is East about 5 hours from Portobello. The moment the anchor was set Jeremy and I wasted no time dinghying in to shore to explore. The only building is a deserted Florida State Research Center which has been reclaimed by the jungle. We had been walking around for just a few minutes when two monkeys began a noisy descent from the treetops. One, all black, reached the lowest branches and swung there by it's tail, teeth bared. The other, more slender and lighter in color, reached the ground, stood up on two legs, and strolled over to a bucket filled with rainwater, not paying us any mind. We took a couple of pictures and continued our walk, watching the ground closely for vipers this time. When we came back about 15 minutes later, the vibe had completely changed and the two monkeys were ready to be friends. The black one came right up to us. Now, this is going to sound funny, but though it's teeth were bared he seemed to be doing so in a "friendly" manner. I know what you're saying, "Riiiight. Friendly fangs", and perhaps we should have been so wise... The lighter one soon joined the party and we all hung out and had for a half hour or so. Towards the end the black one was begging Jeremy to let him crawl onto his shoulders. It knew better than to beg me as I was keeping a bit of a farther distance. Jeremy sighed and damned his better judgement as he shook his head at those big brown eyes and turned to leave. The monkey was still making it's innocent face and saying softly "whooh. whooh." as I turned to leave, at which point it very quickly became a different story. I began to make my way past, still keeping what I thought was a safe distance according to their behavior so far, when, without warning, the black one pushed off from the tree, it's tail still wrapped around one of the branches, and dug it's monkey paw into my side, fangs jutting & screeching loudly. Freaked out, I lunged to the right to escape it's strong grip, but this put me directly underneath the other monkey. Startled, it grabbed my hair, which was pulled back into a bun, jerked my head back, and sunk it's teeth into my bun. Jeremy was there in seconds, yelling in his loudest captain's voice & ready to pull it off of me. Luckily, the captain's voice was all it took- it knew he meant business. The monkey released me, but in my shock I stayed put, frozen with my arms wrapped around my head, and the monkey attacked again. "Get out of there!!!" Jeremy yelled, and I ran for it. I believe I was pretty lucky to escape with just a few monkey paw marks on my side and a stiff neck. I was certainly glad for the unique experience, I just don't think I'll be seeking out more monkey friends any time soon. According to my sister, Tigra, it is already a joke back home that Jeremy got the monkey off my back!
We left Isla Linton and anchored for the night right off of a beautiful little beach on the neighboring island of Isla Grande. This is a popular beach town getaway for well to do Panamanians and the place was pretty hoppin'. Much of the beachfront is dedicated to colorful bars and loud reggae. The residential area was much quieter with lots of families in chairs out in front of their houses, enjoying the evening's cool relief. Across the street is a big old Mc Donald's Playplace, just sitting in the middle of the neighborhood. It is the closest to a McDonalds we have seen in months, and I am happy for this fact. Back on the boat we had Travis and Joanne over for sunset cocktails and we even had a little sunset bonus as a noisy flock of huge scarlet macaws flashed red and blue overhead.
