It was a morning arrival after 40 hours of offshore sailing, and we first dropped anchor in a beautiful bay surrounded by the Cocos Banderas islands. Besides the other sailboats and two friendly Kuna in a canoe, there were no signs of civilization.
So how did we check in and formally enter Panama? We didn't- at least not right away. The San Blas Islands are part of the Republic of Panama, but have a long tradition of independence and self-administration. We were aware that it would be perfectly acceptable and legal to cruise the San Blas islands from East to West for a few days before clearing into Panama at a town called Porvenir.
So we did! We had an exciting and edifying time among the pristine home islands of the Kuna before arriving in Porvenir this morning to take care of customs and immigration.
We dropped anchor, called a friendly boater on VHF channel 68 to find out where the government offices were located, and rowed the dinghy to shore.
First was immigration clearance- a straightforward stamping of passports and payment of $30 USD. Next we visited the port authority office to purchase a 30-day Panamanian cruising permit ($29) and obtain a domestic Zarpe ($12.70), a document that would allow us to sail to our next stop of Colon.
We are now all set to make the overnight jump to Colon, where we will present our internal Zarpe and have our passports checked.
Colon also features the Caribbean entrance to the Panama canal, which we will be attempting to transit in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for posts on the interesting and unique process of transiting the Panama Canal in a sailboat!
SOG