Panama, San Blas Islands, Lemon and Chichime Cays – In search of an anchorage with no sand flees

Many of you regular readers will remember that we left our visitor Steve escaping crocodiles and succumbing to the thousands of hungry mouths of the sand flies found on the islands of San Blas.
Our mission, should we choose to accept it, was to find him an island where he would no longer be ‘eaten alive’.  We accepted entertaining Steve aboard the boat, but not his thousands of ‘little friends’ who had taken such a shine to him.  Poor Steve, we did initially fail him.  But you will see we did learn from our mistakes.

Chichime Cays, San Blas Islands, PanamaSee detailed chartlet for details Eastern Lemon Cays, San Blas Islands, PanamaWe were told that this area was overy touristy and not nice.  They were wrong.  We found the snorkelling here excellent with an abundance of fish species.  There is more Kuna developement, but it is small and pleasant enough.More details of anchorage on small chart Central Holandes Cays, San Blas Islands, PanamaGreat snorkelling and diving here, but watch out for the midges and sand flies ashore. More details in smaller chart Eastern Holandes Cays, San Blas Islands, PanamaWatch out for crocodiles and midgesMore details on previous blogs
We left our anchorage in the Eastern Holandes Cays and initially made our way west to the Middle Holandes and anchored off the rarely visited reefs off Wichubuala Cay.

Central Holandes Cays, San Blas Islands,PanamaYou need to look for the few shallow sandy passages that come out of the reef.  There are at least two.  Otherwise it is a steep slope down off the reef that surrounds this cay and the one directly to your west.  We found a nice sandy patch at:N 09* 35.473'  W 78* 45.415'  9m of good deep sand.Not a good anchorage in the summer when the winds can shift all the way around.  Fine in the winter months when the winds are consistant.Great snorkelling righ off the boat.  Channel bouy for dingy to the west.Big ship wreck on the outer reef and good shell and bean hunting on the island.

During his visit, Steve become became very good at snorkeling and kayaking and even went so far as to learn how to combine the two.

Reefs run the full length of the island offering great snorkeling opportunities.

We had been to Wichubuala Cay before and had no problems.  But the sand flies here could smell Steve coming a mile away. No sooner did the poor guy come ashore than every sand flee for miles was alerted to the possibility of a free lunch.

So we did not stay here long.

The search for an island or cay without sand flies continued.

With Steve’s present ‘midges magnetism’ I would not even want to bring him any where near an island with even a single tree on it.

Finally we found Steve an island with minimal chance of infestation. Welcome to the cay we fondly renamed Kuna-Henge.  Do not laugh.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.

East Lemon Cays, San Blas Islands, PanamaBit of a maze to get in here, but you will be rewarded with great snorkelling opportunities all around you.  Regular veggie boats too.  You need good light to feel your way through and the Eric Bauhaus chartes.We anchored between Yansaladup and Kuna house Cay.N 09* 34.432'  W 78* 51.184' 10m of sand in good holding off Kuna-hendge.

We found this little gem in the Eastern Lemon Cays. We were warned ‘You do not want to go there, it is too touristy’. But we found the snorkeling very good. In fact, the best yet in the San Blas Islands if you want to see a wide range of fish.
Being in a touristy section of the San Blas Islands is not all bad.

After some snorkeling in the Lemon Cays we moved over to the south side of the Chichime Cays.

San Blas Islands, PanamaGreat little touristy island, but very friendly.  Cold beer and warm bread available, along with all the other tat.Main achorage is good ventilation, but you need good light to get in and out.  If you are arriving late, or leaving early (as we were) use the technically simple south anchorage.The anchorage is suseptable to some rolling whether you tuck in close or hang back. so just choose a spot with good ventilation.N 09* 34.998'  W 78* 52.876' in 12m of sand 

This anchorage had two great advantages. First it put us in an easy launching position for a trip west down the coast to Portobello and second the island here has a Kuna bar, open to the wind to keep the midges away!

My humans could not resist heading in for an ice cold pint.  Not too much mates as we have got an early start and a long day tomorrow.

We leave the lovely San Blas Islands behind and head off to the Panamanian port town of Portobello.
Wish us luck!

 

PanamaN 09* 33.470'  W 79* 40.103'  15m compact mangrove mud (yuk!)We were recommended to anchor off the fort on this side of the bay as:It is quieter (the main road through town is very noicy)The holding is better (our neighbour dragged off town and moved over)There is a small beach and walk up to the fort for Quinn each day (but a longer dingy ride into town, but not by much)Much more scenic.  Howler monkeys and a beautifully lit up small eco-lodge on the shore line. Chichime Cays, San Blas Islands, PanamaEasy open anchorage for leaving from before good light.We chose this anchorage as a launch off spot to head to Portobello.  We were aiming to leave before first light but a broken pipe for a deck drain delayed that and we got off just after 6am

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VISITORS VIEW

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So the search for the ‘holy grail’ of San Blas islands that did not currently have an infestation of midges continued. And it appeared that this quest was answered when we did indeed stumble upon Kuna Henge. A small remote island that was uninhabited, had NO VEGETATION and NO STAGNANT WATER that should equate to NO BUGS. Nirvana for a man with more than 150 bites about his person.
What was even better was that the modern temple erected on this site looked worthy of a visit. So we headed over and as we approached it became clear that there was a sign erected here to greet us lowly pilgrims to this remote and surely most holy of places. What enlightenment would it afford us?
We got ever closer with due reverence (and a bottle of bug spray just in case) and hesitantly stepped forward to receive our future spiritual and moral guidance. What would these words of wisdom say? Would we be able to understand their true meaning? And the words said upon to us…

 

And finally, with the beer once again running mysteriously running short, this is what a San Blas Ocado Home Delivery looks like….

The veggy boat visiting Spirit of Argo
TRUE DELIVERANCE in the form of a dug out, home made boat. Remember, if the answer is not beer you are probably asking the wrong question!
Onwards and upwards. Onto new adventures