Tracey’s last adventure - Bocas Del Toro, Panama

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Two months after this trip we found out that Tracey had passed away! We were shocked! She was so full of life and energy on our trip.
When she returned she had found out that her Cancer which she had successfully fought in the past had returned. After she had recovered she had vowed to live life to its fullest, and tried to travel as much as she could! She loved animals and wildlife, which made her choose such amazing destinations. We loved hearing all about her travels and adventures. She had plans of coming back on board with us when we reached French Polynesia - a destination she had been dreaming to visit!

In her memory her friends and family want to encourage as many people as they can to “live like Tracey” and make the most of everyday. They have printed a flag which people take on their travels with them and post pictures to a Facebook page in her memory. Tracey is now travelling all over the globe!
We definitely have her memory with us wherever we go - and wholeheartedly believe in her motto to - “Live a great story”

Life is short - make every moment count!

RIP Tracey Ashton 26/06/1970 - 04/04/2021

We had perfect sailing conditions for the overnight sail to Bocas. However thanks to the strong current that travel down that cost line from Costa Rica we were not going to reach our desired destination of Bocas Town by nightfall, so we opted to turn in sooner at the Zapatilla islands. We were so glad we made this decision, as these two national park islands are simply stunning.

When we got to Zapatilla 2 we discovered that the islands are very important breeding grounds for the endangered hawksbill turtles. Although it was not the breeding time, we saw evidence of last years season, in the form of old hatched turtle eggs.

We walked the island and looked at all the beautiful plants and animals before we relaxed on the beach with a cold drink and a freshly opened coconut, to watch the sunset.

The following morning after exploring the nearby reef from the boat, and spotting a black tip shark, we lifted anchor and headed for the mangrove anchorages in Almirante Bay.

We found the perfect deserted spot, and felt like we were the only humans around. With parrots flying overhead and fish all around our boat we enjoyed paddle boarding well into the evening, before enjoying an onboard evening bbq for dinner! Life is good!

Next on our itinerary was the well know Gap. Which is a small channel connecting Almirante Bay to Hospital Bight. The carts in Bocas Del Toro are not great, so you have to do a lot of eyeball navigation, looking out for changes in the water colour to determine the depths.

The Gap was a beautiful stretch of water, with lovely houses lining the shores. We enjoyed slowly making our way up towards our destination, Red Frog Marina.

Arriving at Red Frog Marina is super easy. As it is set within the mangroves there is rarely any wind to worry about, zero current and no swell. So you simply dive up to the dock, pass over the lines and tie up! I wish all marina docking was so easy!

Once tied up, we were desperate to go and explore Bastimentos island. The boys had heard so much about the waves in Bocas Del Toro that they were eager to find some surf. So with surf boards in toe we head off in search of beaches and waves.

We were absolutely gob smacked by the beauty of the rainforest clad island. With a paved road which wound all through to the other side. We spotted everything from tiny, red poison dart frogs, to sloths, white face monkeys and huge electric blue butterflies.

We found the beach club, which had a stunning setting overlooking the beach. We enjoyed lunch at and relaxed in the pool.

After lunch the boys couldn’t wait to go and try out their surf boards, so off we went to the beach.

The following day after a quick trip to go and see Bocas Town in the Marina Motor boat, we left the dock bound for Starfish beach. The marina manager had told us that when he was there last that there were thousands of starfish there, which we couldn’t wait to see.

We were very disappointed to find there there was only a handful of starfish...

So instead of admiring starfish we admired the beautiful beach and sunset instead.

The following morning we sadly had to start making our way back to Shelter Bay. Looking at the weather we knew the trip was not going to be as good as our journey here, so we wanted to leave with enough time so that we did not miss Tracey and Vanessa’s flight home. Lucky we did as the trip back was nasty! With 33knots of wind and waves on the nose we were beating into it all the way back. Poor Mokara fought on for over 30 hours and we safely made it into Shelter Marina after dark.

The following morning Tracey and Vanessa left us for their flight home.

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