Starfish Bay

 

one happening place!

       Hello faithful readers!  Your truly is anchored just off the beach at Starfish Bay, as it is referred to by the locals.  (On the map, it's called "Ground Creek".)  It's Sunday, and I tell you, this is one happening place!  All day long, the tour boats out of Bocas Town have been dropping off beachgoers by the boatload, literally.  Meanwhile, all sorts of yachts, ours included, have been pulling in and dropping anchor.  Vendors all along the beach have set up shop and selling food and drink, and there's like a contest going on to see who can blare the loudest Caribbean music. 

looking outward from the beach

       Robert and I dinghied ashore, walked along the beach, mingled with the partygoers, imbibed on food and drink, threw frisbee, and did some swimming around.  With a snorkeling mask, you really can see starfish below - hence the name.  (Signs on the beach implore swimmers not to touch them.)  Also, we've visited with some of the other yachties.  It seems that Skipper Robert knows many of them.

inflatable towed banana-boat ride

jet ski

       Powerboats and jet skis are buzzing all around.  There's this banana-shaped inflatable thing that the powerboats tow and partiers can ride.  It's a wild, wet ride, and the kids scream with delight.  

      But, with all those spinning propellers and swimmers in the water all around, I kinda cringe.

beach bar selling drinks and fruit

      What's really cool is the diversity of the beachgoers.  Grandmas and grandpas and little bitty babies and everything in between, in every skin color that God created.  And oh yes, the pretty beach girls, too.  Yes, the prescribed Uniform Of The Day for them is still the sub-bikinis made of microscopic string, but, it's so common that I don't even notice it anymore.  Nope, not me.  Just another ho-hum, ordinary … (OMG check out THAT one!!)  Um, where was I?  O yeah, I don't even pay attention to them anymore. 

art shop in Bocas Town

 

      Yesterday, we anchored near the Bocas Marina, then dinghied into Bocas Town to do some sight-seeing and some shopping.  It's the largest community around here, and is supported mainly by tourists.  There are bars, restaurants, souvenir shops, hotels, grocers, bicycle rentals, and lots of tours and excursions out to the islands and beaches.  There's a ferry going to the mainland, catering mostly to supply trucks.  Along the water's edge, the water was crystal-clear; rather unusual, for an urban center such as this.  

one of many tour vendors

      At our anchorage, the tour boats and water taxis zoomed by all day long, non-stop.  We wondered where they were all going.  Now we know:  right here at Starfish Bay!

vegetable boat

      Another type of boat that comes by regularly are the food merchants.  At Isla Escudo, a boat came by selling freshly caught lobsters.  Near Red Frog Marina, a mom and daughter rowing a pirogue came by to sell freshly-baked bread.  Yum!  Then at the Bocas Town anchorage, we acquired fresh fruits and vegetables.  All this, delivered right to your boat!     

dinghy dock in Bocas Town

      Robert is working overtime to find a crewman to replace me when I leave Milagro at the end of September.  We met a gal back at Red Frog who seems VERY interested.  Her name is Ursula, from Switzerland, and she's here in Panama on vacation.  He's arranged a lunch meeting for later this week.  In my next post, I will update you all.

rainwater catcher at work

      Meanwhile, the weather cycles around from pouring rain to blazing heat.  Comfortable in-between conditions are precious and few.  At least when it rains, we can collect fresh water.  And when it gets hot as hell, we can always jump in the ocean.  The sun rises promptly at 6:00 am, flooding the boat with light; sleep time is over.

      The terrain here is mostly low, flat islands and peninsulas, with shorelines covered in dense tangles of mangroves, and behind that is jungle.  The seabed is mostly sand and grass, with scattered reefs.  Water is nice and deep.  Winds are variable, but blow mostly out of the west.  Mountains on the Panamanian mainland to the south are visible when then sky clears.  But we don't see the rocky walls and islets here like we did at Isla Escudo.

Bocas Town Marina

      In other news, tropical storm Nicholas is headed for the Texas coast.  And I got a boat moored down there in a marina.  Hopefully, the storm will be just a rain-maker.  Updates to follow.  Stay tuned!

 

another vendor in Bocas Town