March Update!

March 8th, 2010
One of the beauties of the San Blas Islands is that there are lots of them and they are not too far apart so moving from one anchorage to another is only a short sail away. This past month we have been doing lots of moving around and when I look at our log we have actually moved 15 times.
Just naming a few highlights:
-The Western Coco Banderos where we were the only boat and the snorkeling was amazing. Lots of brightly coloured fish living in wonderful gardens of coral. The shell collecting on the islands was good too!
-Green Island where we welcomed friends on 'Slip Away' back to the San Blas with a pot luck dinner hosted by ourselves and 'Fortuitous'.
-Ogoppukibdup (you got to love these names), a tiny anchorage between two small islands where we were the only boat once again. Great snorkeling!
-Eastern Holandes where the two anchorages we frequent are known to us cruisers as the 'Hot Tub' and the 'Swimming Pool'. We like to come here every couple of weeks on Mondays as they have a great pot luck get together where we meet cruisers from all over the world.
-Esnesdup, a big favourite of ours! The snorkeling is amazing. This year we celebrated Marilyn's birthday here and our good friends on Fortuitous and Homer's Odyssey produced a fantastic dinner complete with cake!
-Isla Tigre where we took part in their yearly celebration of their independence. They re-enact the whole dramatic day that they took back control over their own lives from the Panama Government and the Church. It is very well done and a lesson they want their young people to never forget. The village is so welcoming to the cruisers and this year about 20 cruising boats attended.

The weather this last month has not been normal for this time of year. February is supposed to be the windiest month but part of it was absolutely calm with flat seas. Then the wind returned with high seas again and lots of clouds mixed in with the sun and also quite a bit of rain. It is always lovely and warm here with the temperatures steady in the high 80's. Unusual conditions seem to be happening in many parts of the world this year. It is all good though, no complaints here!!