There were some four or five yachts anchored off Club Nortico. The Club consisted of derelict jetties and rundown buildings. Some power boats were moored there and still used their facilities. A US$5 fee per day permitted us to dock the dingy at the Club which was secured within gates and with a 24 hour security guard. Our dingy would be safe, and the club was located only a short distance from shopping centres and the main part of the town.
Colon is a folkloric town with a lot of Jamaican style. The population is of Afro-Antillean descent. Colon is dangerous and dirty. Many of the buildings are rundown to derelict but filled with families who have nowhere else to live. It seems that the Government of Colon has given up on the town and crime is rife. We were advised not to walk but take a taxi everywhere and never go out at night. The banks have two security guards located at their doors. Bullet proof vests are worn, pistols and machine guns are held, and a metal detector is used to scan every person who enters the building. Security guards are also at the entrance of each shop or grocery store and are fitted with weapons. The police are also well armed and protected. The Guide books advise to run errands in the morning as gangsters usually get up late! Little of the great wealth generated by the Panama Canal, Free Zone (a wholesale shopping area), Container Terminal and Power Plants get to the inhabitants of Colon. The lucky few who do have a job get paid around US$150 on the 15th and 30th of the month. More people are desperate between the 10th to the 15th and the 25th to the 30th so during these periods, crime increases.
Colon is one of the world’s largest ports. We were amazed at the number of container ships in the port’s loading docks as well as anchored in the bay and out to sea. Some were just unloading and reloading and others were waiting to go though the canal. Below are photos of our chart plotter that show the number of ships in the port at the time of our arrival.
It was recommended that we hire an agent to organise entry and departure documents and fees and arrange our Panama Canal transit. Mal and I hired Tito, who was recommended to us by Lynn and Nicholas on “Girl”. On arrival, Tito drove us around to the relevant offices to arrange all of the above. Spanish is the language so Tito was very helpful as our Spanish is very limited. US dollars is the currency.
We were unable to transit the Canal with “Girl” on 27 April as we established through Tito, that our Canal transit would not be possible until approximately 1 May 2010. We arranged to meet them on the other side at the Balboa Yacht Club off Panama City after our transit.
While waiting to go through the canal and after arranging all that was necessary, we explored the shopping centres and grocery stores, buying supplies in readiness for our Pacific trip. Colon is supposedly much cheaper than Panama City and anywhere in the Pacific. Lunches at restaurants were included in our daily outings which are always enjoyed as it’s nice to be off “Hasta La Vista” and I get a day off from cooking. We also took a taxi to one of the Gatun Locks, the first set of locks from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We wanted a view of the locks in daylight so we had an understanding of how they worked. We were able to view ships going through from a viewing platform. The history of the building of the Canal was displayed in photographs throughout the buildings and in the small souvenir shop. It was an enjoyable outing and quite fascinating.
We were not able to use the watermaker as the water was so dirty in Colon and, as a result, we could not use the washing machine. A laundromat was required. So early one morning, we loaded the dingy and dashed across the bay to Shelter Bay Marina to use their laundry and wifi facilities. While in Aruba, we met Brian and Ann on “Cabillito de Mar”. Brian and Ann are from Sydney and live in Yamba. They purchased “Cabillito de Mar”, an American built Benetau, in the Caribbean, and are sailing home to Australia. Having met them again in Cartegna, we were hoping to see them in Colon.
While at the marina we ran into Brian. Brian and Mal enjoyed a drink at the bar while I was keeping an eye on our washing and using the internet. When in the laundry folding up the last of our washing, I heard two Aussie accents. I introduced myself to Steve and Sue Westwood who were delivering a boat to Australia and were in the marina for a few days before going through the canal. As it turned out, Steve and Sue used to live in Shute Harbour and knew many Airlie Beach Yacht Club identities who Mal knew as well. I introduced Steve and Sue to Mal and Brian and the next hour was spent talking about Airlie Beach and Australia and the people that we knew. Ann joined us at lunch time after returning from a provisioning trip into the city. The day turned out to be a great day spent with Aussie friends. Brian and Ann provided lunch on “Cabillito de Mar” for all of us and then we returned to the bar to spend the afternoon/evening continuing our conversation!!!!! What an enjoyable day! We all met up a few days later for dinner at a restaurant at Playita de Amador, an anchorage on the southside of Panama City, before Steve and Sue sailed to Tahiti and Brian and Ann and Mal and I sailed to the Galapagos Islands.
