Having been eaten alive by bugs at Nalia, we left there two days ago and went the short hop to the bay near Isla Porvenir. Feels like we are anchored in the middle of the ocean because you can see the swells crashing on the reef that protects this area, but that's really all that's around. Its not as calm here, but its a nice safe spot to anchor and there are no bugs. Within minutes of our arrival a cayuca pulls up. The guy introduces himself as Lionel. He explains that he can deliver anything we need from the nearby islands. Dave tells him we could use some gasoline. He says this would be no problem. Dave gives him an empty 5 gallon gas tank (brand new - we paid $20) and $28 cash because these guys never have enough cash to float the purchases. The native Indians out here are known for being honest. Most cruisers leave their dingy's down at night in the San Blas Islands with no worry of them being stolen. Though we have a hard time breaking the habit of reeling it up every night as on the Pacific side you would not dream of leaving it in the water and think it will still be there in the morning. So we were a bit surprised when Lionel never returned that evening.
The next day we had planned to leave to make our way back towards Turtle Cay Marina. But we would really like our gas can back. So we decide to go see if we can hunt up Lionel. We started on Isla Nalunega - the island he had pointed and said was home. Sure enough, Dave found a hut that the locals assured him belonged to Lionel. But no Lionel. What Dave surmised was his wife and daughter were there and they said that Lionel had gone fishing. Hmmm. One guy in a cayuca carrying a bunch of fuel in cans (though not ours) points and gestures like he knows where we should go. So we follow him to Isla Wichubhuala. There this helpful guy says we need to talk to the one guy that speaks English. We wind our way through the huts to find an elderly gentleman who does indeed speak English. Alas he has never heard of Lionel. Suspicious as this is a community of maybe 200 people. We wander around checking all the huts where there are "SE Vende Gasolina" signs to see if we can at least find the gas can. No luck.
So we start tracking down all the cayucas in the area that look like they are fishing. One group points off into the distance, "he went that way". We return to Apsaras and swap the small 2.5HP engine for the big 20HP engine. Dave sets off in search "that way" but no luck.
A few hours later we decide to try again. We find another group of fisherman who say, "Si, si, Lionel!!" and they point at the dock for Isla Korbiski, and say "whiskey, whiskey". Whiskey? Ok, that would explain a lot, now wouldn't it? We approach the dock and ask if any of the kids there has seen Lionel. One older boy says, "si, si!" and gestures for us to follow him. We wind our way through the huts and sure enough, find Lionel in one of the huts - apparently asleep on a bed. The dirt floor of the hut is covered with garbage and a small girl of maybe 4 years of age is running around. Lionel jumps up to greet us, and is obviously tipsy and surprised to see us. He shakes our hands vigorously. We ask him where our gas can is. He mumbles something and points to Isla Nalunega where he lives. He assures us he will deliver it full of gas at 8am tomorrow in time for us to depart. We figure the odds are 50/50, but what else can we do?
This morning when he doesn't show up, Dave goes looking for him again. The folks where he live tell Dave that he never came home last night and they have no idea where the gas can is, despite Lionel telling us its on this island somewhere. Bye bye gas can.
We pull up anchor and head for Turtle Cay Marina. Its a 6 hour journey in 6 foot swells, and Melissa is sick the whole way. Bleck! We finally get to the entrance to the marina that was scary the last time, but as the swell has died off is now no problem for Dave to navigate. Melissa scrambles to get the dock lines on the short run through the marina entrance once we are out of the swells and stable enough to run around on deck. We pull in and tie up. Now its time for a margarita and a hamburger at the bar!