Isla Coiba Feb 3rd 2012: Howlers in the Trees

Trip Log:
Distance: 6.5 KNM
Weather: Sunny too overcast too Slight showers
Dinner: Tuna Pasta
Story:
Tonight a coconut fell from a palm tree and landed with a thwack right between us, and there was only about a foot of space between us, the coco nut even bounced onto my foot. That was a good sobering reminder of how dangerous falling coconuts can be, the hard small green air to surface missile could have hurt one of us severely. At this point I we stopped trying to tie up the solar shower in that particular place and looked elsewhere.

We had a slow lazy start to the morning today, enjoying our non sandy beach, we swam in the sea, bathed in the creek and ate pancakes for breakfast. Now only a mere 6KNM from completing our circumnavigation of Isla Coiba, we were in no rush to get there.

Granito De Oro and rainbow.

Aiming to camp tonight somewhere near the ANAM station where we started at, we wanted to avoid the cruise ship hordes we sighted in the distance arriving this morning in the large thumping, floating resorts, so we headed to the forest Trail of “los Manos”. Sitting in the shade of an overhanging tree, by a gurgling stream that flowed over a rocky point into the salty sea, we watched across the turquoise waters the tiny yet stunningly beautiful island appropriately titled in Spanish “Isla Granito De Oro”( Grain of Gold Island), become a hive of activity. Boats raced from the cruise ships, multi colored umbrellas went up, along with deck cheers and tables ( we even imagined the luxurious food spread that was more than likely put upon those tables); Another boat came towing sit on top kayaks, we giggled at the luxury of it all as we snacked on nuts and chocolate in the shade. Both we and the cruise ship passengers will say “we visited Isla De Coiba and Isla Granito De Oro” but what different experiences they will be; we just kayaked around Coiba, and tonight we plan to stealth camp on Granito De Oro; both Allie and I fell very privileged we have had the chance to experience this amazing island in such an intimate and special way. We can only imagine what the cruise ship clients will remember.. the turtles that are abundant around the little island, Being pulled behind a power boat on an inflatable ring in a stunning place that was called….. hmm I don’t remember, Panama it was! Or perhaps some will remember the place and quote informative text they read in books prior there visit or on the info panels at the ANAM station, I am not a big fan of cruise ships and I will stop here with my bias towards them.


Walking up the trail behind us we left the cruise ship hordes to enjoy paradise and we came across the allusive Rufus Howler Monkeys we had been hearing the whole time we sat beneath the tree on the beach and in the far distance deep in the trees during the entire trip. Now they were right above us e us, these little monkeys let go a megalithic roaring cacophony that alluded to a monstrous devil waiting to eat your soul, not a small brown primate. No wonder the Spanish conquistadors who came to colonize Latin America thought the forest full of demons and beasts.

The sun sank on the horizon and rain clouds built, as we paddled across the small gap of water to the tiny golden sand island that is “Isla Granito De Oro”; as we paddled across a Rainbow came into bloom over the tiny Islet. A large school of big Tuna or similar, milled about on the surface feeding and splashing as we paddled past, then right next to Allie surfaced a Huge golden turtle, Allie’s jaw dropped as she cruised quietly past this big gentle giant who slowly sunk into the depths again.

Looking back at Isla Coiba and the nine days we spent circumnavigating it.

Tonight we camp under the half full moon on a gorgeous island, we have done our yoga, eaten a big pasta meal, showered under the solar shower and now drift off to sleep ready for our next step, the paddle back to the mainland. We are sad and emotional to be leaving this magical treasure that is this island paradise called Coiba, an oasis of untamed life in and ever more industrialized world. What an unforgettable yet hard to fully grasp adventure this has been; I would love to spend more time here, 25 days would almost be enough perhaps? Good night Coiba thank you for accommodating us and sharing your beauty.
 

The gold beaches of  Isla Granito De Oro (Grain of Gold Island)

J.

Jan 31st: Red Eyes Glow amongst the Mangroves

 

Sunny, Hot, light wind form the NE
Distance 6.5 KNM to camp another 4 paddled in the mangroves.
Dinner: Coconut and Garlic Poached fish with beans lentils and rice.
I sit writing by the campfire as a young Crocodile sits quietly watching me from the water that is barely 3 meters from me. When I look up and out across the lagoon, the crocs eyes glow back at me in the light from my headlamp. The Croc is maybe 5 feet long at a stretch and quite curious (especially compared to the other one who came around for a look and swam off as soon as I shone a light on it), this one will let us approach and observe, seemingly as much as it is observing us. In the light of our headlamps we can see the large reptiles whole body, when Allie and I approach to close the croc submerges and we watch it walk off along the sandy bottom, only to pop up to the surface a little further out. Perhaps it is the smell of freshly cooked fish that brings these crocs to us, or maybe it is just the movement and the firelight? Either way I am sure it is in hope of food. Allie and I caught 3 fish for dinner, Allie 2 and myself 1; they are Small fish but more than enough to feed us, especially poached over the fire in Coconut water fresh from a young coconut with a touch of garlic. Hmm hmm!
Today we paddled only 6 KNM down the coast before we came to the estuary mouth of Barco Esgadelan and we had to go in, the time was only 10am and there was the planned 12 knm we wanted to do today; however the area looked amazing and beckoned us in. The entrance to the lagoon was a touch tricky we had to work our way through surf around and past a rocky, crocodile tail like, natural groin. Dog legging through the surf, timing the swells, Allie was nervous sitting in the surf zone, though she followed me through and we cut first right through the small waves, and then took a sharp left behind the rock wall entrance before avoiding the bigger surf. Then, in the calm behind the jagged rock wall, we entered a lost world, a big lagoon of clear water and golden sand bottom.

Surrounded by giant mangrove trees, some 50 feet tall, my mind instantly was thinking “we need to camp here and explore!”; Allie was also awe struck and we mutually decided to paddle up the river into the heart of the mangrove and consider a place to camp on return to the lagoon. This was a pristine and diverse mangrove forest, at least 4 species of mangrove existed here, some as tall as 50 feet with big leggy roots, others a tangled mass of tangled support roots and twisted trunks, some had buttressed roots like the fins on a rocket ship. It was a beautiful place and a prime example of how amazing these, often misunderstood and underappreciated, forest are.
 

Spot the Crocodile.

We returned from the tight clustered depths of the mangroves after paddling for well over 2 hours and set up camp under an almond tree on a beautiful beach. After a siesta it was fishing time were once again hermit crabs on hooks caught us dinner (I really like hermit crabs and feel terrible that I use them for bait, however they work a treat). In front of the camp is a deep main channel and it is like being at an aquarium; while fishing we saw a number of large fish swim by, a shark, a big Snook and very big Jack, two big Moray eels. At one point Allie hooked a huge Sheep head snapper (it must have been a 30 pound fish) and even before it got to fight, the hook in its mouth snapped, leaving us relieved we didn’t have to deal with the hassle of a huge fish on a small hand line. There are Macaws here as well, they seem to be everywhere on this island, quite magic. At dusk, Grey throated Wood Rails settled into the trees to roost with their cackling “whoot a coo” of a call, and the sun set on this yet again magical day.
I look out again now as I finish up this log entry and the crocs eyes still glow across the water; it is time for me to go to bed, where Allie is already asleep. We aim to round the SE point of Coiba tomorrow and finish the exposed section of coast; it has been truly magic.

Jan 23rd Shopping and the Rush to Produce Episode 2

 
Allie and I speak English to each other, “we need at least 10 days on Coiba!” “yes I Agree!” “Just tell him that we are experienced kayak expeditioners and have a locator beacon and a VHF radio”.
Allie turns too Yann and discusses the issues in French (Yann’s native tongue and Allie is fluent), he then picks up the phone and calls the number on a piece of paper. In fluent Spanish Yann request Senore Santiago Rojo the Jefe Grande of the ANAM Coiba. It is our third call that day in a French, English, Spanish communication train that has been us trying to confirm permission to circumnavigate Coiba Island by Sea Kayak. The first call found Senore Rojo, not in the central ANAM base in Santiago town (funnily enough also the first name of the man we were trying to track down) , so we had to call isla Coiba. That last call found Senore Rojo not at the main office and we would need to call back, though it sounded positive from his underlings there that it should be ok.
Yann now made the call and Senore Santiago Rojo came to the phone, a fray of quick Spanish conversation began, during the course of it, the tones in yann’s voice and the little Spanish we could understand, made Allie and I both feel we were losing. However at the end of the conversation, Yann thanked Senore Santiago hangs up and exclaims in French, Spanish and English “tout va bien”,” Todo es Bien” and finally “it is all good!” wonderful, it appears we are all good to go.

That was two days ago, yesterday we were shopping for our food supplies in Santiago town, we hitched a ride into town with Mike McKenzie of Fluid Adventures as he was purchasing the food for the trip with his clients we will be guiding. He also took our supplies back for us, as we remained at a hotel here to use fast internet to allow me to get the final edits of the second Episode of TRAK Files through for work. I had worked on it all night and I am still working on final edits right now.

9pm
I am sitting and waiting for the final good version to upload to the server before Allie and I can leave back to Santa Catalina. The first upload was full of errors and now we have missed the last bus back to Santa Catalina. However we found a taxi who would drive us for $50 now we can leave here when the video uploads again, the taxi and driver wait for us outside (  other drivers tried to charge us $70). It is a close push for time and it has been very unfortunate that internet in Santa Catalina has not been fast enough to allow me to upload regularly from there, however that is filming editing and producing on the road while adventuring in Panama. Let’s hope this cut is good enough as tomorrow we leave for over 2 weeks to Isla Coiba.

12am
We have just got back to Santa Catalina, the upload went through just before 10pm, we hoped in the taxi and dark safe ride of 2 hours has us back at our tent. In 6 hours we must be up again, pack up our tent and gear load on the launcha with the clients and head out to Coiba; we are soon on our way, for now a short sleep waits.
J

Sibun Gorge Solo

Here is a story and some images and a little video I got from my four day solo up the Sibun Gorge into the heart of the Belize Jungle.
I took an inflatable Aire Canoe which enabled me to pack it small then pump it up and have a very stable boat to line up river and run the white water back down.
This trip was an amazing. Challenging, rewarding, astonishingly beautiful and it left me wanting more
 
Day 1
I caught a ride from the office to the Sibun River put in, with the PACZ tours bus on their way back to Teakettle (a small town in Belize). I had been hearing stories of Xateros and how they steal things from people camping in the bush. Xater os are men who illegally collect the Xate palm for florist industry. They can be mischievous and are known to be occasionally Violent. This had me a touch nervous, as well as the stories of man eating Jaguars (though I Know there a very rarely attacks on humans from wild Jaguars) I was mostly nervous as I wanted to see one.
The trip started in agricultural land though by the third rapid and the end of the fourth big pool, I was entering the George and the jungle slipped closer and the signs of humans vanished. The pools where crystal clear and full of fish, and reflected warped impersonations of the large green trees that towered up and over the river. The rapids, slick with green algae and smooth granite boulders, where very frustrating and exhausting to line the boat up. However the pools got larger and longer, so more paddling was possible as I progressed.
I wonderful sandy spit on river left gave me a great first camp for the night. I witnessed Neo tropical Otters feeding right in front of me until they noticed my curious gazes and disappeared with a  splash.

That night I paddled further up stream and searched for what I could see In the Flashlight beam. I found a coffee snake swimming across the river, large water spiders on the banks, and a really big frog about the size of my foot.I ran back down the rapids, lit only by my head lamp, and paddled back towards my tent. Out of the night there came a gentle rumbling on the air. It sounded almost like someone snoring and sent shivers up my spine. I shone the light across the river towards the noise, though nothing was there to announce itself further. Was it the elusive Jaguar?
I slept sound that night; however I did dream of Jaguars drinking hot chocolate outside my tent.

Day 2

I awoke to the cool tranquil peace of the jungle, as the sun started to sneak over the mountains and flood the gorge with a golden light. I was on the water early and wanting to push as high as I could in the day. As I progressed the river started to resemble a New Zealand west coast river, big granite slabs that create deep pools that the beautiful rapids fill with an ongoing song like noisy gurgle and splash.The Rapids got increasingly larger and harder to portage, requiring me to carry the gear and then the canoe around the rapid, they would be fun to run back down however.

Large fish swam in the waters and I wished I had brought a spear gun, so I could roast one over a fire for dinner. I found a great camp site that evening on a granite slab that stuck out into the river. The wonderful thing about the site was the hot tub in front of the tent. The river diverted into a channel towards my tent slab then ran into a large pot hole, swirled around and flowed back into the main stream. The best thing about the pool was that you could stand in it and the depth was right at neck height for me, a perfect tub. The view up and down the gorge and the jungle covered mountains made this a spectacular camp.

That night I watched the stars while drinking coco nut rum, and then feel asleep, exhausted.The days are hot, and I am struggling to drink enough water, minor dehydration and sun burn are leaving me shattered after such a physical day.


Day 3
i sleep in a bit the next morning, and decided to keep my camp and head up river for the day then boat back down before night. It gave me a great opportunity to travel lighter and push later. I calculated that what I would take me all day to get up would take me about an hour to get back down.

The day was spectacular, some large portages due to tricky and slippery rapids, though I sighted many more otters as well as Toucans, Parrots and signs of Tapir. The side streams where spectacular to explore up as well. Some held deep pools to swim in that had a garden of Eden landscape around them ,as the sun glistened through the emerald backlit leaves and across the water I wanted to live here or at least make my bath tub like this.
My last pool for the day was a beautiful long shallow one, and as I crested up over the rapid and stepped into the boat to paddle forward, I sighted a large black shape swimming away into the shade. “Wow now that is a big fish”! I exclaimed to no one else but me. I followed it into the shade below the tree. Looking into the water I saw the debris at the bottom of the pool get kicked up and a line of bubbles lead of to the bank. As I paddled over looking for the big fish in the water, I happened to scan up across the bank. There on the edge was a big Croc about 8 feet long, I stopped paddling and watched it with wonder, as I glided past the croc exploded into the water and left a stream of bubbles as I swam away. It wasn’t a fish I saw but a big Morlets crocodile. Cool. However after that I couldn’t talk myself into swimming in the deep pools anymore.
An hour from sunset I turned the canoe and headed down stream. It was great to finally be able to run some of the rapids I had worked hard to get up. The feeling was exhilarating, even though the rapids were not huge, the feeling of being alone in the jungle, makes many simple things feel allot more risky. I arrived back at camp in good time and my camp and gear was still there, the Xateros where not in the mood for mischief today it seems. It took me two hours to come down a relaxed day of upstream travel.


Day 4
On the water by 8 am I enjoyed the ease of the trip out, Running shoots and drops, though I hadn’t brought my helmet so I backed out of a couple of bigger rapids. However the funny thing was that the smaller rapids caused the most issues, catching the boat and flooding it, where it just bounced down the big ones.What a spectacular river. It took me four hours to reverse two days of upstream travel though it was worth it. I wanted more time there was so much more river to see and on the map it splits and then there are two rivers to explore. I promised to return with two weeks’ worth of time and perhaps a Helicopter lift into the fork of the river?
I rolled up the boat and loaded my gear into my pack and sat on the side of the road and tried to wave down he buses travelling along. Eventually the PACZ bus turned up on its way back to Dangriga and I got a ride back with them, telling of course the stories of Xateros and Jaguars.

J.