With so much happening in the Lemon Cays anchorage I forgot to mention the visit of the fisherman with his canoe full of lobsters. Many were undersized, but there were 2 that looked over 1lb each. We bought those and had them for dinner with a nice bottle of white wine. Delicious!
Friday 20th was set aside for an adventure trip for Jerry's last day in the San Blas. All 6 of us took the RIB over the shallows and into the aptly named Rio Diablo river. The slow flowing river twisted and turned into the interior. The river banks we crowded alternately with mangroves, then tall palms, then large canopied rain forest trees. A variety of birds occupied the river, ranging from white herons to grey herons to swallow-like small birds. Every now and then Kuna Indians came by in their dugout canoes. The whole experience was reminiscent of Conrad's Heart Of Darkness. Every one of us on board was thrilled by the exotic nature of the river and it's canopy of rain forest.
After going about 3 miles up the river, we tied up the RIB and started on our hike through the jungle. We believed that a lake and waterfall lay uphill about 2 hours distant. The first hour was relatively easy going along a well trodden path. We met a couple of Kuna on the trail and asked them how far we had to go. They told us it was another 2 hours! And while we weren't going to go for that long, we did keep one trekking. Soon the going got tougher. We crossed a number of ravines stepping gingerly across tree branches which served as makeshift bridges. Higher and higher we climbed, stopping occasionally to listen to the strange sounds coming from the jungle all around us. After going some 5 miles and not hearing the sounds of any waterfall, we stopped for sandwiches and water at a river bank. The consensus was to turn back, expecting that the downhill hike would be more difficult than the climb. We actually made good time back to the RIB although everyone was drenched in sweat, with footwear that had an inch thick coating of mud.
After a swim in the river to cool us down we set off back down river carefully navigating to avoid the many shallow spots and half submerged logs. Again, the experience of drifting quietly down river brought "oohs" and "aahs" from all of us. The whole experience was an adventure we will never forget.
BTW - I should mention that we are in the 3rd group of yachts to go through the canal. We are scheduled to start the transit on the 29th January. We still have another week to explore the Panamanian coast between here and Colon, the entry to the canal.