Sapzurro- The Border of Columbia and Panama

Sapzurro is about 85nm from Isla Fuerte so this would be our first overnight passage in a while. We'd basically be leaving South America to cross the Golfo de Uraba to Central America.

We set off midday and by nightfall there was another storm quickly forming ahead of us. We could hear the thunder getting closer and more frequent. The big dark mass ahead of us was quickly revealed by a lightning strike and then hidden again in darkness. With each strike we could see the clouds getting bigger and closer. We furled in the gib and Ashley turned us head to wind. I hopped up onto the coachroof and quickly put a single reef in the main. Just as we turned back off and partially unfurled the gib the wind completely died. Our sails were luffing in the breeze as we heard Ryan from Seas Life come in on the radio. He was half a mile South of us and closer to the storm. "Whoa! We just had a big wind shift down hear. It's blowing 30knots from the South" Ryan's voice came in on the radio muffled by the wind in his microphone. His voice came in again soon after "Holy Shit! We just saw 40 knots!" We waited tensely knowing those gusts would soon reach us... We eased the main just as the storm hit us. The cold washed over the boat as she heeled way over. Feeling the cold air come was like walking into a refrigerator. We eased the main more to balance the helm and were now streaming along in strong winds at 6.5 knots.

This experience of squalls coming and going is pretty common for us. The anticipation is intense because you don't really know if the storm will just bring rain or strong wind or both. It's especially hard to tell at night. If you're coastal cruising you're advised not to sail in lightning storms at all but if you're passage making, it's unavoidable. In our experience with our boat properly reefed, we've never been in a storm that we felt was dangerous or uncomfortable. The squalls last for a short period (less than 1 hour) so waves don't have a chance to get too big and dangerous. You learn your boat and we know she can handle a lot. Shortening sail is absolutely key though! Because 40knots under full sail would be scary and slab reefing in 40knots would also be stressful. Fortunately we haven't been caught with our pants completely down yet.

So, on to Sapzurro! We arrived early morning to be greeted by the Armada Nacional for a quick search and scan of our paperwork. They told us not to leave the boats unattended or unlocked. Apparently, smugglers will hide drugs on cruising boats unknowingly to the captains/owners. Then these boats transit to Panama and smugglers on that side will take the drugs off. The yachties were international drug mules without even knowing it. I've never heard of anything like this before and it seems a little far fetched, but we locked the doors anyway.

Sapzurro is a perfect little bay filled with crystal clear turquoise waters and surrounded by lush jungle. Tropical tree filled hills tower over the waters and are teeming with life. At dusk and dawn you can hear the roar of howler monkeys echoing throughout the anchorage. Many tropical birds will fly out from the jungle to visit your rigging and sing you a song. Unfortunately, all they'll ask for in return is to use your decks as a bird toilet. Sea turtles will pop their heads up all around the boat taking a breath of air and a quick peek at the newcomers.

We landed the dinghy ashore and went for a walk in the Jungle. There are well marked paths through the Jungle that lead to neighboring towns. We hiked to a close by Cascada/waterfall for a fresh water shower. During the hike we encountered many insects familiar to us from the rain forests of Peru. Trails of 'Leaf Cutter Ants' were all around us. They were more like leaf cutter ant super highways stretching 10 ants wide for many many miles. The trails they'd form would flatten dirt, kill grass and displace twigs and branches. It looks like something else had formed the trail for them, but its just the ants changing the landscape over years and millions of little footsteps.

As we walked through the jungle Bella quickly found her stride. She loves walking through dense forest landscape. The more twists and turns, rocks and logs to navigate around the better. We found a great vine in the jungle next to the river for swinging. There was a 6ft drop down a ravine to swing from. Ryan and I tried it first swinging from one side of the ravine to the other. Then, Bella quickly followed. She got so excited seeing me swinging that as soon as I dropped the vine, she jumped up to grab it in her jaws. She was suspended by her mouth and started swinging back and forth. We didn't know if she thought it was a stick she could rip down from the trees, or if she just wanted a go at swinging on the vine. According to Ashley, it was the cutest thing she'd ever seen.

We hiked the 400 steps over a mountain and into Panama on a hot, hot day. We huffed and puffed and sweat but found a beautiful beach on the other side to swim in. The security on the border was very relaxed. The Panamanian officials asked to see our passports. I showed them my Canadian one, even though I used my Italian one to enter Columbia. So, there was no record of me being in Columbia coming from Columbia. That didn't seen to bother anyone and they let us enter and exit Panama no problem.

We were entering Guna Yala territory next and realize we made a mistake by not any US currency on board. We wouldn't have access to an ATM for the 4-5 weeks we'd be exploring Guna Yala and we didn't have enough provisions on board to last that long. So, we really needed some dough. The only ATM around was 30 miles away in a Columbian Town called Acandi. The town had no roads going to it and was only accessible by water. I hired a water taxi to take me and 4 other people from Sapzurro to Acandi. It was a Jamacian boat with a 200hp Yamaha. That boat hauled ass. Andy from WolfPack brought a handheld GPS and clocked our top speed at 39knots. That felt like magic being on a sailboat traveling at a maximum of 8 knots in perfect conditions. We hugged the coastline and rocketed between little islands. The scenery was beautiful. The hills of the Darien jungle were untouched by civilization and awe inspiring. This was some of the nicest coastline I've ever seen. The jagged rocky coast was draped in green moss and vines. There was a fresh water waterfall cascading into the Ocean. It was a thrilling and scenic ride.

Sapzurro was one of the prettiest anchorages we've ever been in and we'll always remember it well! We spent the last of our Colombian Pesos on beer ready to head out to Panama the following morning.