Made it to Panama
- Capt. Eric
- Apr 17
- 5 min read
After going to all the authorities' offices in Golfito, Costa Rica, we were granted permission to leave, with the all important "international zarpe", the document confirming our clearance to sail.
In the meantime I contacted an agent in Panama, to arrange clearance for our entry into the country. We had 2 choices for entry: Puerto Armuelles or Boca Chica. The first is an open beach where boats anchor off, and a shore agent takes you from office to office as needed.
The second is a small very well protected bay where an agent can arrange for all authorities to greet you on arrival.
With the large swells currently running in the Pacific Ocean, we decided a simple arrival in a sheltered bay was much safer than an arrival in big surf on a beach. We also have the added "problem" of Princess: She requires a whole separate process by herself, involving not only Customs officers but also Sanitary/Veterinary authorities so she can obtain a "home quarantine" certificate for the first 40 days.
Getting the sanitary doctor right there on arrival was a huge added advantage to the Boca Chica option, even if it cost a little more overall.
The entrance to Boca Chica is narrow and rocky, reminding us in some ways of those tight passages in some British Columbia passages.
We left Golfito at noon, aiming on a very slow and easy to achieve 5.5 knots whatever seas or current we encountered. That way we'd be sure to have plenty of time to arrive by next morning in Boca Chica, well in advance of the authorities. We sure didn't want them waiting on us.
The last twist in the arrival process is that Enfin is too tall with her mast and booms to fit under an electrical cable spanning the width of the access to the small marina, so we navigated that last section by dinghy.
The passage was easy, and I kept slowing Enfin down to keep our arrival in the rocky narrows just after daylight. By the time the sun was well up, Enfin was safely at anchor in the very protected bay of Boca Chica, and we splashed the dinghy in the water.
Soon after, I got word that some of the authorities were early, something about them anticipating a main road closure later, and making their way before that time. So, Di, Princess and I jumped into the dinghy and motored the mile or so up stream towards the marina to meet them.
We spent the next couple of hours comfortably sat in the shade of the marina's main office, with all officials on one side of a table, and us on the other.
Formalities were easy, if a little slow, but our agent produced a delicious and cold local tomato-based smoothy that hit the perfect spot as things progressed. As often in these cases, we repeated the same information over and over on a number of suspiciously similar forms.
Our names, passport numbers, boat name, official number, and so many more details being entered in space after space on yet another form.
Princess' official documentation, international health certificate and French passport (where all her veterinary visits are recorded) were examined much more thoroughly than our own documents. We apparently missed having the Costa Rican's veterinary's own visit certificate, despite having the international document based on it, properly stamped of course.
This small obstacle was promptly overcome when Di produced Princess' passport page with the Costa Rican veterinary's signature and date/time of her Costa Rican check: It was clear that these officials were both doing their job while willing to be flexible and welcoming.
They had great smiles all along, and we chatted with them openly about a lot of topics remotely connected with our entry into their country. One of the agents, history lover and Francophile even sang with Di parts of the French National Anthem. When all was done and said we thought it was a very nice welcome to the country, and Di was even given a "friendship bracelet" before they left. As a frequent traveler, I'm not sure it's a common experience, but it sure gave us a great first impression to the country.
With our clearance and Princess' quarantine secured we got back to Enfin for a well deserved rest and stayed overnight in the calm waters of the bay.
The next day we set sail towards Isla Gamez, part of a national park.
Arriving early, at low tide, we thought we'd arrived in paradise. The tiny island has all the cliches of the tropical photos: large white sandy beach, clear blue waters lapping up to coconut trees at high tide.
The island is very narrow, being only a few yards wide in its middle. The other side is more exposed to the ocean with large black volcanic rocks and impressive cliffs.
We figured this was a good spot to spend the next day, or two, or three, or more. I'd been able to anchor Enfin fairly close to the beach, making our kayak trips ashore even easier than usual.
During the height of the days, a few tourist pangas would show up, but never disturbing or noisy like in so many public places in Mexico, and by no later than half past three we had the place all to ourselves again.
Princess agreed with us that this was paradise found, and she loved her walks ashore, always asking for the obligatory swim when we'd turn around at one end of the beach.
Not only had we been warmly welcomed in Boca Chica, our first stop was just heaven. What a great start to our Panamanian adventure! We were a lot more enthused than in Costa Rica.
We'd told the authorities we'd love to spend a year cruising around the country, and they gave us standard tourist 180 day visas, but we understand renewals are easy, like in Mexico, so we should be able to time things as needed.
Since then, we've realized there are thousands of islands spread around both coasts, so we expect a good exploration of the country will indeed take time.
We've still got quite a few miles to head towards a safe marina while I travel to France for my 5th anniversary medical checkup, so we have to move on but I'm sure there will be plenty more paradises to be found along the way.
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