By Grant
Here we are in the San Blas Islands of Panama enjoying probably the most idyllic conditions and settings of our whole trip so far. When you set off sailing around the world this is what you envision. Void of civilisation and tourists, filled with wild life, white beaches, palm trees and hammocks. Almost halfway around the world and we have finally found it. What a spectacular place this is. I don’t want to move. I am content. Whiskey, cigar, sunset and laughing kids playing on the beach. Happy wife. The end.
I guess you get the picture. Well the truth is the contrast from the Caribbean is extraordinary. After sailing almost all the Eastern Caribbean from Grenada to the British Virgin Islands, we headed south the the Dutch islands of Bonaire, Curaçao and Aruba. It is fair to say the Caribbean is filled with colours and flavour and a beautiful breeze all the time but there is something else you find when you hit the top of South America and the latin flavour. You find a rhythm, a beat, a smile and energy. Something we may have expected but didn’t quite know how it would feel. Well I have to say I LOVE IT!
We arrived in Cartagena in the evening and you could already feel the energy, even the way the Harbour Master spoke to you on the VHF. A casual friendliness. A welcome. After entering the ancient fortress harbour of Cartagena we dropped anchor and it is fair to say the party did not stop until we begrudgingly left. It reminded me of a fly trap that baits you with honey and sucks you in, until you get stuck and cannot leave. In our case thank goodness we needed to get to an appointment in Panama or else we would still be there. The Columbians know something the rest of the world doesn’t and we should all pay attention. This is the first country Ive left which I need, want and must return too. I think I may want to live there.
From Cartagena to Panama and the town of Colon. Colon brought us back to reality. The challenges of the drug trade and the need for a dodgy free port to help facilitate the blurred passage of narcotics. Sadly this little town also brought us another challenge where our dear friend Simon uncovered the mystery of a lump on his testicle and will now forever be named One Nut. The sad realities of life and getting older but also the fears of the dreaded C. It is not my place to discuss but a terrible challenge for his family. I can only say that as each day progressed we grew closer together and by the time we sailed away together we felt more like one family than two.
Delphine, the kids and I also took this opportunity to pop into Panama City to visit another couple of ex-hongkongers who had settled in the city and have developed the most wonderful hotel in the city. Sitting with them for dinner felt like we were re-living our own past building naked Stables. Kudos to both Chris and Vicky for an amazing project and if you ever visit Panama City I can assure you there is only one hotel to stay in Panama City – La Compania Hotel.
So with the meetings done and hospitals visited and surgery over we headed to Jacobo and his beautiful home in Linton Bay. Jacobo is a friend of my brother Williams and one of the world most accomplished bird breeders and protectors of endangered species. He also has one of the largest private collections of birds anywhere in the world. Adding to the birds are a variety of cats including leopards, jaguars etc and wild dogs and wolves. Quite an eccentric and beautiful human being with an energy you would struggle to match. If we weren’t spearfishing until well into the dark, we were eating wildly and drinking whisky to kill the germs. Jacobo brings life and presence to any gathering and that is why we ably nicknamed him The Bull. Jacobo was also instrumental in helping us sort our everything with Simon in Panama City and the hospitals etc. A massive thank you to The Bull and his most accomplished Harvard friend Susan.
Over the past month our family, Big Alex Van Nes and Simon’s family have got into a rhythm. Sailing with a buddy boat can be terribly rewarding for both kids and parents. The difficulty is finding a family with the same appetite as yours. And when I mean appetite I mean for life. The beauty about the Pollards is they love to live. A lot like the Horsfield’s and that drives us all on. Whether it is diving, snorkelling, spearfishing, wakeboarding, cooking hunting, backgammon, chinese checkers, cleaning and I could go on and on. We have the same antipodean enthusiasm. And it would be fair to say the last couple of months together have been the most fun and happy filled experiences of our lives. And that includes finally catching the dreaded Covid.
Yes, she finally came to our door. All aboard got covid and staggering intervals except for Big Alex who I now wonder if he is actually human. We were not really sure what to expect. Considering we are all vaccinated etc. But hell that is one ugly little bug. The kids got really high fevers and obviously Daddy milked it the most but I was proper sick. Shivering sweaty fever followed but days of lethargy and weakness. Still don’t feel back to my fighting best but certainly better than before.
I wish I could afford the time to write more. I have left millions of stories and anecdotes to tell. I need to tell you all about the other family and friends we hang with but alas…
Viva San Blas. Viva Pananma. Viva Life.