We left the San Blas islands on the 25th of Jan, heading for Colon, in preparation for our transit of the Panama Canal. (That will be the next blog.) On the way we stopped off at Portobello for a couple of nights. The bay was “discovered” by Christopher Columbus in 1502 and as the name suggests is a beautiful port/bay. In colonial times, all the goodies the Spanish plundered from S. America passed through this port. At one point, one third of the world’s gold passed through here. While passing through, however, the dreaded taxman took his share and the customs house built for this purpose is almost the only building of note left in the town.
Since such an amount of precious goods were passing this way, forts were built around the bay to protect it. However, the British still managed to level the place in the early 1700s and the forts that are still there today were actually rebuilt in the 1800s and never used. By this time, ship building had improved and the goods were being sailed around Cape Horn rather than being transported overland to Portobello.
John & Patricia
Our Sunday hillwalks are paying off. I was first up the hill. Catriona would be proud of me!
That’s the history lesson over. Today, Portobello is a hugely deprived town. People live in a small area squashed between the surrounding hills and the water. There appears to be no farming or industry. It isn’t geared up for tourists or passing yachts. It has 1 restaurant, 2 bars and 2 supermarkets. That’s it!! Nonetheless, they have satellite dishes and the bars have wifi. We spent the evening in Captain Jack’s Bar – which is also a hostel. Most people in the bar were backpackers stopping off on the way to Columbia by ferry. (Can’t drive from Panama to Columbia anymore). This was great for Gavin as he finally got to spend a night with people his own age. So did I because there was also an Irishman from Tipp and his friend, an Englishman from London, propping up the bar. They reminded me of the 2 guys in Waiting for Godot (sorry the names escape me). These 2 guys have been in this bay, living on their boats, for about 2 years. They are each single-handed sailors in their 50s and seem to be stuck there for one reason or another. They are doing odd-jobs on boats, supposedly saving up for the trip back to Europe. I don’t think it will ever happen for them. Anyway, I had a great laugh with the pair of them while the rest of the crew watched a re-run of some Giants game. Spare me!!!!
View of Portobello from the boat
Note the satellite dish!
Gavin - looks like he is running up the hill!
The magnificent Portobello bay
Did I say this was going to be a short blog? The only other thing of note from Portobello is that on the sail down there we passed a Spanish boat, Beatoo, also taking part in the Arc. We contacted them on the VHF to tell them where we were headed and they decided to follow us in to Portobello. They anchored beside us for a night and we have become good friends since. They have what I feel is the typical ARC configuration of 2 men in their 50s and 2 youngsters in their 20’s. (More company for Gavin). After Portobello, next stop was Colon where we needed to be measured and assessed for the Canal transit. 3 nights in a marina – a welcome change after 2 weeks at anchor. I’m not complaining – Sapphire has hot showers, flush toilets and air conditioning so we’re not exactly slumming it.
The scenery and weather look fantastic, so it’s a surprise Portobello isn’t more of a tourist destination. Looking forward to the blog about the Panama canal and to seeing some photographs with you in them.