Trip Log: Distance: 6.5 KNM Weather: Sunny with light winds Dinner: Soup and Fire Baked Cheese Buns Story: 
In the Night it poured with rain, we awoke to a soaking wet tent floor as the ground sheet had been sticking out from under the tent and collected the rain. Taking time that morning for some photos and to indulge in some filming, we eventually left Granito de Oro and headed for the Islands that spanned the gap to the mainland. On this morning journey I quickly found myself doing a deep water snorkel entry from the kayak to film some colorful fish feeding on the surface, this turned into some really nice free diving for me in about 45 feet of water, allowing me to film the kayaks from below and experience the presence of numerous curious fish including about five large Cubera Snapper. Back on the surface the water was so thick with Zooplankton I could barely see where I was going, some even stung my wrist a little. Back in the TRAK Kayak we were once again under way for the islands leading to the mainland. 
Arriving at the first Island, “Isla Rancheria” we enjoyed the nesting area of pelicans on the surrounding islets and then headed off on our 5.5 KNM crossing too Isla Canal De Afuera. This is where Allie came across the first Yellow Bellied Sea Snake sitting on the surface resting, the beautiful yet deadly snake happily floated about my boat as I took some pictures. Luckily these super toxic snakes are not aggressive and also have very small mouths with rear fangs, making it hard to envenomate a large target like a human. 
An hour into our crossing and Allie paddles alongside another Yellow Bellied Sea Snake, wow cool, we are seeing a lot of these snakes. The crossing was calm and beautiful, with lots of turtle sightings, some dolphin, lots of big fish sightings and then on arriving near Isla Canal de Afuera we came across some strong currents. Battling the currents that swirled along the cliffs of the Isla we eventually made the
West side and tucked into a beautiful channel to find a shaded spot for lunch and a swim, then after a siesta in the shade we paddled a few minutes more to find a good beach to camp on, most were very sunny with no shade and had very little room above high tide for camping as they affronted cliffy banks. We found a nice one easily enough, made a fire, cooked some cheesy buns in the Dutch oven over the fire to go with our soup and also another loaf for the next two lunches, and then enjoyed a good night’s sleep. 
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| The gold beaches of Isla Granito De Oro (Grain of Gold Island) |
J.
Isla Coiba, Feb 2nd 2012: Prisons, Police and the Bahia Damas (Women’s Bay)
Trip Log Distance: 14.25 KNM Weather: Over Cast, Cooler than previous days then becoming sunny and hot in the evening. Dinner: Falafels Story: Awake in the dark this morning, hoping to beat the heat and the biting bugs, we were quickly out the zippered doors of the tent, cooking oatmeal, packing boats, eating and leaving. Paddling in the early morning light we headed for the arcing stretch of water that is the Bahia Damas, it is a shallow sandy bay edged by a lot of scrubby trees, marshland and estuarys; we chose to cut across most of it, bouncing from our camp point to the point across the way, 5 knm across the Bahia towards the Old Penatenciaria (Prison) of Coiba. 
This prison is the only highly developed area of Coiba and has a slightly notorious past and is also the reason Coiba island never fully got developed and used by people. In the bay a Large turtle swam up to me an circled my boat curiously underwater as I sat and waited for Allie, a few moments later it was also the place Allie and I came to heated discussion about communication and her getting left to far behind some times. Right before we could properly bring closure to the heated discussion (or perhaps a blessing to break the stale mate), a boat came whizzing and bouncing towards us from the prison. In the black military looking vessel were three men, the captain had a stern face and a military vest, the other two wore black balaclavas one of whom held an M16 military rifle. 
The guys idled up to us and on realizing what we were (kayakers) and that we were just a couple of crazy gringos, the balaclava’s came off, awkward Spanish was exchanged and our story was curiously gobbled up with amazement and statements of “Moy Leho” (very Far) and “Mucho Sharks”. Realizing we were not a threat, the guys bid us come visit the old prison and once they got there boat started again (an embarrassing moment of power) roared off with a wave as we paddled on. 
Pulling our boats up on the beach in front of the unused prison, it wasn’t the neglected ruins of a bye gone era we expected. Yes there were some old decrepit buildings, though most had a glossy new paint job and brand new roofs, one block of cells was all set up with lights….. this place was fully operational it seemed. One of the officers who was stationed at the area came down and gave us a tour in Spanish. We came too discover the government was using the place as a central out post for Drug smuggling enforcement and initial containment of offenders. At the moment there 
were 2 shifts of 6 officers at 14 days on and 14 off; we assumed the number of officers would increase once this shiny new compound was fully operational again (in another month we partly understood). Thanking the guys for their time and after perusing a chart of the island, the officers smiling at the places we showed them we had been and nodding approvingly, we ate lunch on the stairs of the ruined church then paddled around the point leaving behind the Bahia Damas. 
Looking for a beach we could have a fresh water stream to bath in, we found a great pebbly beach with two streams. We were ecstatic as, though it wasn’t your picture postcard beach, it meant no sand and an ability to wash the sand and salt of all we had. Oh heaven. Digging a big pit in the gravel beach were the stream flowed to the ocean, we had a basin to wash gear and ourselves in. very nice. Quickly the trees and beach became strewn with rinsed and refreshed gear and bodies, oh how nice it was to have no sand all through our gear Ahhh. That night we fall asleep clean and smelling sweet on non salty sleeping mats and there were NO bugs again or Hermit Crabs. 
The TRAK FIles Episode 4 Part 1 is Out!
This is the beginning of the real meat of the series. First with a journey with gaint sea beasts in
this episode, which explores British Columbia Canada, and then int the tropical wilds of Isla Coiba, Pnama, in the coming part 2.
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed being on and filming the adventures.
J.
Feb 1st 2012: Bugs, Bugs Everywhere and not a Hermit Crab in Site
TRIP LOG: Sunny Hot Light breeze from the E for the morning none in the afternoon. Distance 13KNM ? Dinner: Pizza Baked in the Dutch oven over the fire STORY When I was a kid I used to go to the rock pools at low tide on the beach and look for critters. I would find the usual ensemble; Anemones, Blennies, Crabs, Limpets, Chitons, Small fish; occasionally I would stumble across something unusual like an octopus……… Today at lunch, I took Allie to see some bats I had found in a small coastal cave, on the walk back meandering through the rock pools I stood next to one pool full of sand, my toes hanging over the edge near the water. I focused past my feet and on to the shape mixed into the sand submerged in crystal clear water…………… A CROC lay there! Wow what a great surprise, here was a 3 and a half foot croc, staying dead still hoping I wouldn’t notice it, and it remained there the full 3 hours while we had our lunch on that beach, quite a bit different than your average rock pool specimens. “Gotta love Coiba!”
This morning we were up late as my alarm didn’t go off, then to top it off, Allie discovered the Hermit crabs had found the pre made Breakfast ( just needing hot water this morning) tipped it out and eaten it all. Allie was not impressed, she had been complaining about them as it was, and was sick of the ground constantly moving and the leaf litter rustling with their constant search for food, and this act just topped it off. I thought it all a bit funny, one because Allie hadn’t thought to secure the food in a more inaccessible place; and secondly because I had been feeling guilty about all the hermit crab lives we had been taking in order to catch fish; and thought it appropriate they seek some payment, thus I was happy they hadn’t attempted to eat us in our sleep.
On the water, we made good time despite our late start, and rounded the SE point at about 11.30am, there was a good E wind blowing which brought a good size fetch and made the sea very messy and lumpy around the point, this made for some fun for me and a bit of anxiety for 
Allie. We survived though and Allie even gave a poor shark a fright as she came cresting over a wave and slamming down right in front of him, the spooked fish disappeared in the blink of an eye. By 12.30pm my back was aching and I had rubbed some patches raw on my lower back, so I was happy to pull in for lunch, have a picture session with a rock pool Crocodile, a snooze and a taping of my open wounds before continuing on for the afternoon. 
Come 3pm we pushed on for some more distance, the seas were now oily flat; we were gazing across now at the mainland and not the open Equatorial Pacific Ocean. Eventually we found a good place to camp, pulled up, ran around looking for firewood, then realized how bad the bugs where. For the first time in our 7 days around the island the sand flies where incessant, frustratingly so, we had to stand in the smoke of the fire to try and get away from them. The one bonus for Allie however was that, strangely, there were NO hermit crabs on this beach; one plus and one minus, I think Allie would take the hermits over the bitters any day if she had the choice. We fall asleep salty and scratchy (no fresh water at this camp site to bath in) to howler monkeys roaring in the trees behind us and the soft lapping of the incoming sea as we lay hidden from the bugs in the bug screen tent. Finally some unglamorous camping, despite the fact that we made fresh pizza on the camp fire and had a glass of red wine as we watched the sunset, while wearing lots of bug spray.
Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson Imprisoned in Germany
I personally believe this is a crap situation considering the politics of the reason this is occurring! I was looking at bringing a group of 16 school kids to Costa Rica(CR) to run an “Educational Adventure Trip” based on marine conservation. The trip and others like it would bring thousands of dollars into the country and promote CR and its Green Image. Now I am not so sure that CR is the place for such a program.
I no longer wish to support this country (CR) if it promotes Shark-Fining and imprisoning Paul Watson for acts done in Guatemala (of all places) in the name of conservation and sustainable fishing. Read the article below yourself and make your decision on the situation.
I believe Germany should get it’s nose out of this and set Paul Watson free, and CR should BAN shark-fining, and support anti poaching!
Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson Imprisoned in Germany
Photo by John: Flickr
Toronto-born animal activist, star of the reality show Whale Wars,
and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Paul Watson is
currently being detained by German officials as he faces possible
extradition to Costa Rica on the basis of a 2002 maritime violation.
Watson was arrested this past weekend at the Frankfurt International
Airport due to the 10-year-old Costa Rican warrant, and should learn
tomorrow whether or not he’ll be extradited at the country’s request.
According to a statement from Watson
posted on the Sea Shepherd website, the “extradition request was in
reference to a complaint from Costa Rican fishermen who I caught
poaching in Guatemalan waters. The fishermen were not injured and their
boat was not damaged… Interpol originally denied this extradition order
and deemed it as politically motivated.”
Sea Shepherd maintains that Watson cannot possibly hope to have a
fair trial in Costa Rica, where the country’s illegal shark-fining
mafia could also try to do him personal harm. The environmental group is
calling on the German government to dismiss the case and deny the
extradition request. They have set up a donation form
for the Free Paul Watson fund, which will help support the legal defense and public education. They also ask supporters to appeal
directly to the German Ministry of Justice, and ask them to deny the
extradition request.
ROAD TRIP USA 2012.
I am loaded up with 3 TRAK kayaks, one has custom white water thigh braces that where made for Ken Whiting when he ran the Ottawa river a couple of years back. This should improve the surf play abilities and the river running abilities of the TRAK, I will test it out in the coming week during a 6 day raft supported Journey Down the Salmon River in Idaho………….IF I GET THERE! 
The bus is loaded up and I am now stuck in the car park f Goodyear Tires just south of the border, as I got a flat tire and I do not have a jack or spare ( I am still figuring out what i need for this strange vehicle). thankfully I have CAA and they towed the van for me here for free last night. 
I slept in the bus in the car park and now I am getting a new tire fitted as the old one exploded. $200 USD later I will be on the road with a day and a half to get to Stanley Idaho, which is about a 12 hour drive still. Ahhhh! the adventures continue with the bus. I am little stressed, hopefully she (the bus) will get me to the river and back? The goal of the rest of the TRIP is to Head to Tahoe after the Salmon River, do some Filming there for TRAK Files, then heada out to the Coast and paddle and explore the coast back up to BC before the end of the month. We will see if this happens I hope the Bus does not let me down. Stay Tuned
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.
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| 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.
Looking Back on Kayaking the Coast of New Zealand
It is now a year since I, pulled into wellington harbour in New Zealand, and called an end to my attempt at paddling the length of NZ’s east coast form the north of the North Island to the South of Stewart Island. 
What an amazing trip it was and it feels like a life time since that trip…. so many more adventures have come and gone, yet I look back on the Kayak Down Under NZ expedition as a corner stone of my life’s new momentum. Read more about the Adventure on the Blog site www.kayakdownundernz.blogspot.com and stay tuned as I strive to share the adventures I find myself on. Keep exploring by whatever means! J 
Isla Coiba Jan 30TH: Up Crocodile Creek
I am super glad we are not going anywhere today, my back is sore and after a big days paddling in some real hot weather yesterday I am more than happy to sleep in lounge away the morning with pancakes, then walk up the long extensive beach before returning to camp for another nap. I am happy Allie is doing so well she was up before me and seems really chipper, she handled her first big paddling day well and I think I may be in worse shape for it than her? 
On our walk up the beach we encountered the 7 Macaws again and the flu right over our heads, we also encountered the local troop of Capuchin Monkeys. These cute little monkeys were raiding the Coconut palms for Coconuts and amongst the hoots and chatters, took time to check us out cautiously. On the walk back from the far point (around which we discovered another far point; a lot of beach on this southern end of the
island) we had invaders. A fishing boat had come and anchored in our sheltered cove and brought clients to shore on a sit on top kayak, we felt incensed “ how dare they come and land on our beach!” ha ha ha ha, they were probably thinking a similar thing “ there isn’t meant to be any one on these beaches!”. the eventually left us to our afternoon snooze and we never interacted, preferring our solitude form pointless chit chat. 
In the afternoon, we paddled back around the headland to the river we saw the croc come from, and we landed through the surf, portaged our boats over the sand bar and paddled up a little creek. We were cautiously inspected by the resident croc who quickly disappeared not to return, we came across our friends the monkeys again who probably thought we were the strangest crocs they had seen in this river before and we headed up as far as we could paddle. We came to a stony rapid and here we bathed and rinsed the boats, and I tried once again to catch a fish; this time I caught a fresh water shrimp put it on a hook and cast to a couple of good size fish lurking in a pool, they were on it quick snap and soon I had a fish on fighting hard, as soon as it was on, it got a little slack spat the hook and was off! GRRR! I tried again with anew shrimp which took half an hour to find, though no good they were wise now and wouldn’t fall for it. We paddled back on dusk, no fish, but I had caught a very large prawn to eat. We pushed out through some pretty dumpy little waves from the sand bar and enjoyed the sunset as we paddled back around to camp for a pasta dinner and a fire roasted prawn. Oh an d I made some cinnamon swirl buns for lunch on the fire as well. Yum yum! 