Sunday, December 13, 2009

Nonomulu and Snakes

Astarte moved from the Lemmons to the Carti group of islands after filling the propane tanks and doing some serious cleaning. We enjoyed meeting George and Pixie aboard Silver Seas and laughed at the "North Shore" (Massachusetts) connections. Pixie's from Beverly and George is from Danvers - nearby towns where Barbara grew up! We had a nice supper with them aboard their Island Packet 38 the other night and enjoyed hearing those strong Boston accents.

On Friday, we sailed with a nice downwind breeze to the Carti Islands. We are anchored between the mainland of Panama and a small island "Nonomulu." The birds are fun to listen to and watch and it's a pleasant anchorage. Good thing there is a steady wind to keep the bugs at bay - they look like they would like this place! Can't really swim here as the water is a bit muddy from the nearby rivers. But we learned that snakes CAN swim - and do! We found a small boa constrictor on the boat huddled between the rail and a bucket - enjoying the warm sun. We're guessing it swam from shore and climbed up the swim platform and on-board. Michael got a boat hook and carefully (after many photos) scooted him off the boat. He didn't want to leave - preferring the luxury and company of SV Astarte - but we had company coming and it would already be cozy enough without him! So he took a swim back to shore. We watched him go quite a way - and hopefully he didn't turn around and head back. It's kinda scary in a cool sort of way.

We chose this location because it's close to the "aeropuerto" where Barbara will catch a taxi into Panama City to meet Richard and Rene and do some re-provisioning for their visit. The wine supply is just about non-existent! Plus we need some other basics like flour and sugar and noodles. It should be an adventure.

Finishing up the cleaning and organizing for our guests. We bought two nice crabs from the local Kuna fishermen yesterday. It takes awhile to clean them - but they are mighty tasty. This is a nice spot other than the not so clear water (and maybe the snakes). Hope the breeze stays with us and the snakes stay off us.

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