28 nm from Islas Secas to 3 nights at Ensenada Muertos
July 11, 2008

The snake that we found on the bow

From Isla Cavada, we decided to head over to a place called Ensenada Muertos, about 29 nm away on the mainland. As we got RHAPSODY ready to go and I went forward to raise the anchor, I was surprised to find a small snake had made its way aboard and was resting on the anchor roller. I showed him to Trish and then we pushed him off with a boat hook. A few miles later I was surprised to see that he had found the painter (tow rope) for the dinghy and had climbed up it and was still riding along with us. A few shakes of the rope and our visitor hopped off and the last we saw him he was swimming along back to Isla Cavada.

WAHOO had left Cavada a day earlier and had gone over to Isla Brincanco, in the Coiba National Park, and had reported to us on the radio that they were approached by a park ranger and told that they had to go to Isla Coiba to check in and pay to stay in the park. Once they got to Coiba they found out that they had to pay a one time fee of $20 per person and a daily fee of $30 for their boat. They checked for us and found out that we would have to bay $60 per day for our boat (which is bigger), so visiting Brincanco/Coiba would cost us a whopping $100 for the first day and $60 a day thereafter.

Our Track from Isla Secas to Ensenada Muertos and Bahia Honda Click on map for larger version, or click HERE to see our track in Google Earth

Our original plan had been to follow WAHOO to Brincanco and Coiba, but after finding out the cost, along with the fact that there is no fishing allowed, we decided instead to head over to the mainland, which we did. When we pulled into the bahia at Ensenada Muertos we found it to be absolutely lovely, so we think we made the right decision.

It took us 3 tries to get the hook down in a good place, as the bottom is all mostly hard rock & coral, but after we were down, we quite enjoyed the quiet place, spending three nights, seeing only a few huts, and hearing howler monkeys.

On the first day, we swam from the boat to a reef near the shore and did some snorkeling. We didn't take any pictures but the snorkeling was quite good with even better visibility than we had found at Cavada. There were tons of large Parrotfish swimming around, as well as schools of many of the "usual" fish we have become familiar with: Sergeant Majors, Angel Fish, Tiger Fish, and so on. Trish saw a new kind of fish, a masked, bright yellow Panama PorkFish, that she was pleased to find.

Pat burning Trash

The second day we took our trash to shore and burned it. In these primitive locales, accumulating trash on the boat becomes somewhat of a problem, as there are no landfills or trash cans around. If we did give it to a local, they might very well just throw it on the side of the road. So we separate out all the glass, aluminum, steel cans, and organic matter and take the rest, paper and plastic mostly, and burn it. We break the glass and dump it overboard (where it becomes "sea glass") and we save the aluminum and steel cans for later (when we eventually get to a city).

After making a nice hot fire from driftwood, we quickly disposed of our stuff. While we were burning our trash, we also policed the beach and gathered and burned a fairly large collection of stray plastic bottles, styrofoam, and other debris that we found.

On our third morning at Ensenada Muertos, we were surprised when two other sailboats, SPIRIT, with Dan and Erin aboard, and PIPE DREAM, with Tim aboard, showed up. We went over and chatted with them and found out that they had been to all of the same places we had been and that we had several cruising-boat friends in common.

1. This snake tried to catch a ride with us!   2. Leaving Isla Cavada, Islas Secas   3. Leaving Islas Secas, KETCHING UP   4.  5. Ensenada Muertos   6. Pat tending trash fire   7. Shack on Beach   8. RHAPSODY from Beach   9. Jungle Canopy   10. Check out this spider!

16 nm from Muertos to 1 night at Bahia Honda

Panorama of Bahia Honda

After three nights in Ensenada Muertos, we felt it was time to move on. Our plan was to go around the corner to the next bay, to a little village called Pixvae, and see if we could anchor and get some provisions. But when we went there we did not feel confident about our ability to land the dinghy thru the surf, and so we motored on, to our next planned destination, Isla Medidor.

As we approached Isla Medidor, we heard WAHOO, KETCHING UP, and DELFIN SOLO on the VHF radio. The crew of KETCHING UP were excited about their previous day fishing when Noel had landed a 200 lb Marlin (released), and they caught a four and half foot, 45lb Dorado! We were headed into the anchorage at Isla Medidor until KETCHING UP told us that they had anchored there a few nights before and were concerned about some of the Panga fishermen who appeared to be eyeing their dinghy for a possible theft. When we pulled into the anchorage, there were about 3-4 pangas all parked there, and so, especially since the other three boats were headed to Bahia Honda, only a few more miles away, we decided to forego Isla Medidor and join the party at Bahia Honda.

Village on Isla Talon

Our total distance from Ensenada Muertos to Bahia Honda was about 16 nm. DELFIN SOLO was already there, and after we, K.U., and Wahoo joined them, we only stayed one night. We anchored off of the little village on Talon Island in the middle of the bay. It was a very busy few hours as we went ashore and got what provisions we could (Eggs, Potatoes, Coke, Beer, and Chocolate, but no Bread) and then, working with a friendly local named Domingo, every boat took on diesel fuel.

RHAPSODY was the last boat to take on fuel. DELFIN SOLO had gotten theirs previously, but by the time KETCHING UP and WAHOO got theirs, it was already 4-5pm and starting to rain. Using jerry cans borrowed from the other boats as well as a few of Domingo's, along with a nice electric pump we borrowed from WAHOO. we transferred 55 gallons into Rhapsody's fuel tanks as it got dark and then rained pretty hard.

By the time we got the boat back together, returnd the jerry cans and pump, had a bite of dinner, and I took a shower to rid myself of a coating of diesel fuel, it was already 10:00 pm and time to call it a night. When we got up the next morning, the consensus was that all the boats were leaving. By the time we got RHAPSODY ready to go by about 10:00 am, WAHOO, KETCHING UP, and DELFIN SOLO had already left. We upped anchor and followed them out to sea.

Our next destination: Isla Santa Catalina.

1. Approaching Bahia Honda   2. Islet off Isla Talon, Bahia Honda   3. Playground, Isla Talon   4. RHAPSODY from Isla Talon   5. Dog and Parrot   6. Kids on Isla Talon   7. Baby and Piglet   8. Piglet