Jan. 19, Chichime Cays, San Blas
The day started with the preparations of our lobsters, which had gone to their final rest during the night. We have observed them being prepared in the Tobago Cays, but this would be a Skyelark first to make them ourselves. I spilt them down the middle as Dan got the BBQ grill fired up; we kept the flame low to slow cook them and basted them in some garlic/lime butter that I prepared. Jan likes his lobsters boiled so one went into the pot filled with sea water, as did the king crab. We were happy with the results, not up to John Claudes standards mind you, but tasty and not overcooked none the less.

Revenge of Charlie the Crab


Lunch is served

Arvil could not find his I-phone when he awoke so a thorough search of the boat was made and a call out to the radio net in case someone had found it on the island last night. When it didn’t turn up he and Dan took the dingy over to the island, where luckily the man there had found it and brought it of the open for safe keeping, glad that we had come back for it; good luck with that on some of the more “civilized” islands, but here crime among the Kuna is virtually nonexistent. After lunch we went to shore for some more swimming and lounging around; it is such an idyllic setting small strips of soft white sand with coconut palms overhanging the water, just what a tropical paradise should be.

Marita with a starfish

We left in the mid afternoon, setting sail for the Chichima Cays, where we would meet up with the WARC fleet for a potluck lunch on the beach tomorrow. It was a nice sail, the seas nearly flat despite the good winds, due to the surrounding reefs that protect the archipelago from the large sea swells.

Approaching Chichima

There were quite a few boats at anchor when we arrived, both WARC boats and many cruisers; we chose our spot and set the anchor then enjoyed a cold beer in the cockpit under Skylarks’ sun shade.
We took the dingy to shore for some exploring, but headed back to the boat before the sun set so we wouldn’t have to try to make our way through the reefs near the island in the dark.

Taking a walk ashore

Dinner aboard was fajitas with homemade hot sauce and a Jamaican Ginger cake served with custard for dessert. Everyone was tired from our long day in the very hot sun and we all headed to bed after just one little nip of Bligh.

Great stuff.
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