Arrival day

After we had dropped the hook and the MaRe was secured, we took the tender, snorkeling stuff and drove in direction of the reef W of Zapatilla 1. Partially the water was pretty shallow but still deep enough for the outboard motor.

In a sandy spot we dropped the anchor of the tender. Then we’ll started snorkeling along and edge of the rock formation. If was too be seen that there is often a lot of sand in water; all was covered with a bit of sand. Still fishes were to be seen. Here and there a small coral.

Then we discovered a spiney lobster under a rock. As I did not have gloves on my hands, I did not date to grab it. Wanted to come back, hoping it’s still there. Going back to the tender,, we discovered that the other direction was more interesting. Plenty of corals.

Back to MaRe. Preparing and having dinner.

For 1900 we had the people of the SV UI invited for a drink and chat.
It was a nice evening with a exchange of experience and ideas. We will meet again.

Second day

It rained and it was a lot of rain pouring down on us. We closed the cockpit almost fully.

As rain always has an end, we took the tender, and went back to the islands to walk around the island when the train stopped. The first thing we saw was garbage from beach visitors. It’s a shame to see that people can’t take there garbage with them.

As expected we found a trail leading around the island. The eastern part has less coconuts trees then the western part. It was coconuts we tried to find to practice to crack them open with the machete. It’s not so easy! However, learning by doing was a good lesson.

At the end we cracked 3 brown coconuts and brought the nuts inside back to MaRe for opening.

So far we cracked one open and have the white fruit part now in the fridge. Always a good snack during the day. Putting the cracked open coconuts for about 10 min into hot water makes is easy to remove the white fruit part from the brown hard shell. If the white fruit part has still a brown layer on the backside, I use the potato peeler.

At the western side we saw that someone harvests coconuts. It’s also to be seen that coconuts trees and other trees are planted. Many young trees have labels with code numbers attached. It appears as an attempt to secure the islands from wave erosion .

We also found an abandoned house and one house in which 2 men are living. We did not approach them but went back to the boat.

Third day

Back to the reef for snorkeling. However, due to the rain we had the day before, visibility was poor. Too much sand and soil was in the water. Nevertheless, we saw a bunch of beautiful large corals.

Back to MaRe I started cleaning the hulls. This work became necessary again because the activation of coppercoat was not done properly at the ASCAR shipyard in Spain. I completed all but the keels and rudder, which I left for the next morning. I was exhausted from snorkeling at the reef for an hour and then again 1 1/2 h around MaRe’s hulls.

Thereafter we had a great guacamole because we both were pretty hungry. This lead to a skipped dinner later for this day.

Was it boring being 3 days at anchor in front of the little cay? No it was not! We could have gone back to the islands to explore the trails we saw going into or even across the island. Snorkeling at the northern and eastern reef was also another option we had. But we wanted to look at one more place. Thus, we discussed to go into the Laguna Bluefield at the peninsula Valente next day. About 8 NM from our anchor ground. I prepared the routing for next day. Easy. 4 WPT only.

We went to bed without our normal dinner and had a good night sleep.

As we saw plenty of mangrove island and small villages of maybe better called even only settlements. Thus, we wanted to see something more Caribbean. The Zapatillas, located at the edge of the Bocas del Toro (09deg 15.898min N, 082deg 03.271min W) and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea appeared to be right place.

I plotted the route from where we were to Zapatilla 1 using again the Bauhaus guide and the Navionics charts. A bit less then 20 NM.

We started early in the morning, even before breakfast. While motoring between Cayo Nancy at PRT and the northern part of Isla Bastimento at STB, Tob made breakfast. He took it at the cockpit table and I, while sitting at the helm watching the waters around and especially beneath us.

At the NW corner of Isla Bastimento, we turned N and then using a few WPT to turn in steps more and more E until the course got a more and more S component. Most important was the careful watching of the depth meter. For the last NM we had to go around a reef NW of Cayo Zapatilla 1 the cayo, where we want to drop the anchor at its SW side.

To make sure we have enough enough water beneath MaRe’s keels for swaying at her anchor, I made a kind of right circle to see the depths of the water. We had always more than 4 m water around the point where we finally dropped the hook. (Right circle because the depth sensor is built into the PRT hull and a break
of 7.1 m cannot be neglected.)

At anchor before a small islet, a cay covered with trees, a sandy beach, and reefs around we wondered what we will experience.

In the late afternoon of the day we visited the Green Acres Chocolate Farm, we took the tender and followed the shore line to reach a village around the corner of a mangrove covered shore.

We saw the village but the wooden piers looked so much attached to a private house that we did not want to bother the people.

However, on the way back, we saw one pier, which was a bit separated from a house. We approached it and ask a guy looking out of the window of the house closest to the pier, if we can dock our boat at this pier. He gave us a thumb up and we tied the boat to the pier.

The village consisted of many houses being built directly at the water, but also of houses being pretty far away from the shore.

We walked up a short but step slope and reached a small plateau from which we could see a big part of the village.

There was a big stone and concrete building with high fence and barbed wire on top. It seems it has something to do with the provision of water for the village. However, we are not sure, because we saw a lady transporting plenty of spring water in plastic containers to her house using a dugout boat.

We also observed a group of people sitting in a corner of s kind of community building and eating there their dinner.

When we walked across the plateau, we saw that the village extends into the next valley. It all looked nice and well maintained. Still it was clearly to be seen that the people are poor.

While looking at this scenery, a man came towards us and talked to us. Where from, where to go. With my 3 words of Spanish we had a pretty simple “conversation”. He asks us to follow him to his house. It was close by and he showed us his garden. It was a dream of plants with lots of booming plants. Lush in green and the colors of the blossoms. We were thankful for what he showed us. Shake hands and we moved on towards the pier with our tender.

Just when we arrived at the pier more people came towards us. One was a boy who had wonderful painting of a guitar. The painting was stretched over 3 frames, each with it own canvas, and skillfully connected to reach other. He wanted to sell. But where to put it at MaRe? We declined trying to be as nice as possible. Then there was a guy who worked for many years somewhere in resort and now returned to his village. Workers have to migrate very often.

With a lot of additional impressions we went back to MaRe.

We wanted to leave early in the morning. But, there is already as “but”.

In our case the”but” was the weather. It rained pretty heavily and we need sunshine for this day’s route to see when the color of the water is changing with the depth.
Thus we had breakfast and watched the rain, hoping it will stop soon.

Rain stopped after about an hour. We lifted the hook and took off.

Not even all mangrove island are in the Navionics charts. Thus, I had only the many WPT I took from the Bauhaus’ maps. Sometimes it was difficult to know going starboard or port side around a mangrove islet. Judging from the water color decision was made. Speed almost zero, we passed the most shallow parts. The minimum depth I saw at the depth meter was 2.5 m. Enough for MaRe, but there may be always a rock. Visible judgement and slow speed is key. Tob was standing at the bow to have a good visibility with his polarized sun glasses. And then we reached the final entry to The Gap.

In The Gap I decided there is always a current and I considered The Gap as a river. In a river I know where are the shallow parts. The strategy work out well.

Beside the challenge to make that passage, it was always am interesting scenery to be seen. Lush green of the mangroves and then also the higher trees of the jungle.

Finally we arrived at the bay south of Red Frog Marina at the NW corner of Isla Bastimento. We carefully checked the open space between the boats already at anchor and depth around possible open spots, found a good one, and dropped the hook.

After having eaten something and a time to relax, we took the tender to go at land to have a long look around.

Passing the neighbor boat and asking where a dinghy dock is, we learned that there are two. One in the marina, which cost 5 USD / person not per dinghy! The second in the next bay, price is the same but only until 1700. As it was almost 1700, our decision was clear.

I have to say the three path through the private property and jungle like forest is pretty well maintained, this easy to walk. As expected, we didn’t have to pay. Only between 0800 – 1600 reach person hat to pay 5 USD; and the dinghy dock as such is free.

The beach is just s normal beach. Back at the edge of the forest, there are a few bars, restaurants and lodges. Pretty well maintained.

We walked all the way down to one end of the beach and then went back. On this way back we suddenly saw a lady, collecting garbage. She was not a professional beach cleaner, but just a normal person like you and me, who collects always a bit of garbage to keep the environment clean. Like it’s proposed by “take 3 for the sea”. https://www.take3.org/

I went to her and told her that I admire her for what she does. However, deep inside I felt ashamed that I didn’t do the same.

We went back to MaRe and decided where we want to go early next morning.

The day before, in the afternoon, we decided to clean the cockpit thoroughly early next morning while the temperature is still comfortable. The result was great!

After shower and breakfast we lifted the hook for departure. Gary, who saw us leaving yelled a “Bon voyage” over to us. Very nice of him. We waved a farewell.

Moving with the propulsion of the engines towards the destination of the day, Dolphin Blue, we skipped this lodge at a shore looking like Green Acres. Dolphin Bay, a small settlement and our next destination we also skipped for the same reason, and decided to go out of Laguna Porras to anchor in the Cayon Gallego at a nice place between the many mangrove island and patches.

The first spot we approached carefully was completely wrong charted. Instead of 5 – 10 m water we found around 20 m and this already close to the little mangrove covered cays.

Thus I wanted to go around an eastern corner to see what’s possible in this area. Finallyv we dropped the hook at 13 m in the midst of a few cays.

Tob wanted to catch a dinner but no luck. Thus potatoes – the first ones on this sail – scrambled eggs with canned American ham. The canned American ham tastes undescribable. It fills the stomach but not more. I buy it because it can be stored with out cooling, just in la bildge.

Unfortunately we were a bit to exhausted to take the tender and drive around the cays surrounding us.

I worked on the route to go from our anchorage towards The Gap, a narrow but deep enough channel at the SW corner of Cayo Nancy and the Isla Bastimento. .

The route I plotted in both Navionic charts, the one in the tablet PC and one in the Axiom plotted. The data I took from Eric Bauhaus’ Panama Guide, which my OBM brought with her to Havana. The book is an excellent recommendation from friends of SV Anixi.

The Navionics charts are absolutely useless in the Bocas. I really wonder what Navionics does to update the charts they sell for a lot of money. Even the charts for the tablet PC are different from the ones they sell for plotters like my Raymarine Axiom. It’s time to consider support and usage of OpenSeaMaps, an open source project I need to study.

Then it was time for dinner, and more work on the route for the next day.

Tob took a good pre-sleep nap outside in the cockpit before he went to bed.

I took later a shower and went to bed as well.

From SV Amekaya, I got the name and phone number of Gary, the owner of this farm, and I called him in the morning for an appointment for the eco-tour he offers.

We took the tender and arrived at 1200. James, an American volunteer, welcomed us together with a local young man, Oazis.(I’m not sure about the spelling of his name.)

Immediately the tour started with explanations on 2 dugout canoes lying high up out of the water at the shore. We learned about the problems with a kind of sea worms damaging the wood of these boats, vital for the daily life of all families living in the Bocas. Making these boats it’s also not easy. The sap of the tree which must be used is poisonous.

Then Gary came and the tour got into full swing.

Gary founded the Planet Rehab NPO , which takes care of local plants and especially trees to protect the forests being vital for mankind to survive. More can be read at https://planetrehab.org/.

The eco-tour we took is done by the www.greenacreschocolatefarm.com

In Gary, both organization’s activities melt into one operation.

The tour through the slightly touched jungle was very interesting. About half of the property is slightly touched jungle, the other half is almost untouched jungle. They only plant trees there, which are endangered species.

Gary also explained about what, 150 years ago, was done by the United Fruits Company, now known by their Chiquita banana brand. They chopped down large areas of the rainforest to grow bananas. Thus, many of several hundred years growing trees got lost. One of that kind of trees is on his property; 350 years old. The banana business collapsed later. I assume there was no reforestation made by United Fruits Company. Destroying nature for money and run when no money can be made anymore.

On our walk through the jungle we saw sloths and a toucan up in the high trees. Oazis, the local young man is really an expert in spotting animals high up in the trees. This experience starting in his childhood. With a green laser he points to the animal so we normal people can also see the animals.

The atmosphere in this forest is fascinating. I could have sat down somewhere and just look around and absorb what is around me.

We learned a lot about plants and especially trees. Gary explained about a fungus in soil used by trees to exchange information etc. I was surprised about this theory.
I searched the web and herrb are some links to be found:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=hiw+do+trees+communicate&t=fpas&ia=web. Please note that this is only a search result; nothing read nor evaluated.

We also ate for the first time freshly cracked open cocoa fruit. The white part around the beans tastes sweet, whereas the cocoa bean tastes a bit bitter. The sweet-bitter combination tastes very well. Towards the end of the tour we saw the fermentation and drying process of the cocoa beans, the simple device to roast and a grinder, which even uses a vacuum cleaner to separate the nips from the husks. Simple, reliable, just the right size for the small chocolate production they run on the farm and selling some products only in the farm.

Returning to the main building we got to taste a bunch of products made from cocoa beans from this farm. Starting with a cocoa tea, small pieces of sweets with chocolate on top, to chocolate rum, and chocolate liquors like the known Baileys but much better tasting.

We purchased chocolate tea and bar of chocolate to be used for cooking.

With a lot of impressions we returned to MaRe and spent the rest of the day at anchor letting the impressions settle in our mind.

We took the tender and went into the small canal we saw the day before. The water was pretty shallow and i needed to tilt the motor. To be even slower to see more, we used again the oars and paddled slowly along the canal.

At ours end we came to an village with plenty of dugout canoes and also the motorboat with an outboard motor we saw the day before.

Asking a man, who happened to be on the concrete pie, if we can dock our dinghy here, with a smile in his face, which looked before and after more stone faced, he made us understanding we can dock our boat.

We walked towards the village.

The first house we passed was also a shop. The few things they offered are neatly stored in very simple shells. At a cloth line there were a handful of very simple but colorful dresses for girls. The house was also the living quarter for the family.

Being about 50 – 100 m further in the village, I saw accidentally that people came out of the house to have a look at us from a safe distance.

The houses we saw were really very simple. Some just made by unpainted wooden boards, some nicely painted. The surroundings in general pretty well maintained.

There was a concrete “street” about 1m and a half meter wide continuing to from the concrete pier through the village. We followed it.

Children looked at its with a lot of curiosity. Adults greeted back. Beside daily life, we also saw people attending an holy mass.

The concrete path continued through the village until the school, which appeared to be for several villages in a valley. There a man, speaking pretty well English, came to us and we had a nice chat. Where from? Where to go? Simple. Friendly. Warm hearted.

Then we went back. Out of the canal we followed the shoreline to have a closer look. We also passed the house we saw already from MaRe. Again very simple.

When I’m thinking about the people being unhappy with their life in Europe or Japan, I want them to see the simple life and the smiles of the people here.

Then we continued by motor to go to a big house we saw already when we entered the bay. It looked to us like a simple pension with 4 little houses, being rooms for guest. When we came closer a man started talking to us and invited us to talk. His house and the little house at the side were built on concrete piles. So we stood in our tender and the floor of the house was in the height of our breasts. The conversation was first about the house and the little houses. It was not a pension but a the private house of the French-American couple who live there their retirement life. A life with all what is needed, a bigger garden behind to grow fruits and vegetables. Their life has as a bigger element, the re-use of all which can be re-used. The 4 small houses at the side are additional rooms for the couple, with 1 little house for school children to provide them with internet for doing their homework. The couple also provides the children with tablet PC, so they understand this part of live as well.

We also got our lesson. A lesson on coconuts. What are the green and brown coconuts for and how to open to open coconuts; the basic lesson on coconuts.

The story about the unripe coconuts of the narration before turned out to be the story of the two of us being unripe for enjoying coconuts.

The green coconuts we got yesterday are only for drinking the coconuts water inside. Back on the boat we made the test. They are easy to open – no machete needed at all – and contain about 1/2 – 3/4 of delicious coconut water.

The man also showed us how to remove the thick outer layer of a brown coconuts using his machete. The inner part, with the hard shell, we got for us including information on how to get the water (maybe 300 come) out, crack the shell open and in several pieces. To remove the fruit part of the coconut, they gave us the advice to put them for 10 min into hot water. Back on the boat, we also tested this. So we have now coconuts fruit in the fridge for a meal in the next days.

Then we lifted the hook and went on to the next bay of our route. This bay, however, turned out to be too shallow and we continued to next anchorage we wanted to go.

The route goes zick-zack through reefs and shallow areas into a very big bay. At one narrow part the depth we experienced was twice only a bit less then 5 m. This is a bit nerve wracking, but with a careful and slow approach perfectly fine. For the rest of our route the water was 12 – 13 m deep. Nevertheless we moved on much slower than normal cruising speed.

At southern end of the bay and the end of the day, we dropped the hook at Green Acres / Chocolate Farm at a depth of 5 m. The tranquility is more amazing than in the places before. A few very nice houses are to be seen at the slopes of the forest, which looks even more like a jungle than what we saw before.

The sunset was incredible long and beautiful. The dinner we had was a sunset dinner at the end of an eventful day.

The morning in Big Bight was as peaceful as the evening before.

Plenty of work to be done. Bread was needed and some IT work for FMB. When the dough was resting for the first time, w had breakfast.

A local guy with a dugout canoe came by and offered us coconuts and fishes. We decided for the coconuts. With my brandnew machete I tried to open the coconut. Not easy, but at the end we saw that the guy sold us 3 unripe ones. His lucky day and I paid my study fees.

When the dough was resting for the last time, we took the dinghy and went to the mangrove covered shore. We used the oars as paddles and move silently, like with a canoe to the shore and followed the shore line.

The mangroves fascinate me always since i saw my first ones at Irimote island, the most southern Island is the Roku Islands, the group of islands around Okinawa in Japan. The roots of the mangroves appear like thousands of spider legs entangled into each other. In the water between them, there is a biosphere for all kind of fishes, little crabs, and many more creatures.

When we saw a little stream coming out of the mangroves we went into it and paddled a few hundred meters into the mangrove forest, which was followed by more higher trees. It all looked like a jungle. At one spot we saw started but not yet complete dugout canoe.

Finally we returned to MaRe, prepared her for departure, and took off for a bay at the northern corner of Isla San Cristobal.

For the short passage we just used the engines to also have power to recharge the batteries and cook the rice for the night using our electrical Japanese rice cooker, we have on board.

Tob wanted to steer by compass and got his chance. He did a good job with a pretty straight line. Chapeau, because it’s his first time ona sailing catamaran.

The Bamboo Bight it’s another mangrove surrounded bay with several side bays. We went into as far as we could an dropped the hook at about 10 m.

Quietness. Tranquility. Peaceful.

A few dugout canoes with fishermen, but here also small motor boats. We looked at a house at the shore and saw children sitting at the floor. This showed us again the difference in the way people can live and have to live.

We cooked, had a dip into the water, and enjoyed our dinner. Again talks about many topics.

As there was absolutely no wind and we are close to the shore, we were bothered a bit by the little sandflies. Burning Japanese katirisenko, an insect repelling incense coil helped, as always.

Tob went to bed and I had to do some IT work for FMB before I went to bed as well.

In the very early morning, even before 0400, I woke up from the crows of a rooster living nearby. He made sure that everybody was out of bed as early as he himself.

Today want to take the tender and go up a canal or stream, which leaves from the bay we are in.

Yesterday, after doing the last provisioning, we lifted the hook and motored the short distance into the Big Bight on the west side of Isla Colon. Tob, my new member and the son of an old friend of mine got his first experience in steering MaRe by compass until we reached The mouth of Big Bight.

BTW, Navionics Maps are extremely poor for this area and can not be used. I prepared my route using Eric Bauhaus’ Panama Guide. An excellent book, I have on board. It’s a recommendation from SV Aninxi and I’m grateful for it.

Very carefully I navigated into Big Bight. At the very end we dropped the hook at 8 m and the anchor got a good hold.

The quietness of the anchorage is incredible. Around us mangroves and behind there is jungle. From there comes the one sound to be heard. I assume it’s the bawling of monkeys. Then the sound of birds. That’s all.

Twice fishermen in dugout canoes came and tried fishing with beets and lines.

As it was hot, we took a refreshing jump into the water and then fixed a salad because we were a bit hungry.

Then we got rain. First a bit but then it increased and we had to use the cockpit enclosure. As it was raining already heavily, we got a free freshwater shower.

The doors we kept open. Through them we saw the sea surface being mottled by the raindrops. It was just a very peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.

Since our arrival here in the Bocas del Toro and the inbound clearance at the Port Captain’s office in Bocas town, many things happened and I also wanted to relax as well.

When we were approaching Bocas town I called the Port Captain on the official VHF channel for advice where to dock. We got a surprising reply and excellent advice from a lady in German with an Upper Franconian accent. Gosh what’s that? Somebody migrated to Panama? Following her advice we dropped the anchor and dinghied in to the the Port Captain’s office.

First person I saw was a colored lady. Does she speak German with an Upper Franconian accent??? Possible, but it would be a very special case. Quickly I found out that she was not the unknown lady. We made inbound clearance without a problem except that the bill was hefty. As for the cruising permit, we were asked to come back next week. Inbound clearance was about 150 USD for 3 person crew; crying permit goes on top.

Back on the boat, there was the request to go immediately into the marina to have access to i nternet, but I felt that my batteries suddenly were complete empty. Not single electron difference between plus and minus. I was not surprised. For 15 days I was permanently on stand-by. Sleeping twice a night for 4 hours was good but there were interruptions. Then the responsibility for the crew members draws my batteries as well.

It turned out that there is no WiFi connection anymore for this night as the office was closed. So we stayed at anchor where we were and this was safe.

Next morning we went into the marina but first to the fuel dock. After refueling, the marina captain told me that we have to wait for the high tide to go through the entry channel towards the box he had foreseen for us. I asked to please show me the boxes. Both boxes are even to shallow for MaRe. At the end, we docked just behind the fuel station. Not the best place but pretty good. Contacts to other sailors on the same dock etc were not possible in the normal, way because we were a bit outside.

First Nik needed to leave and got her flight to Germany and water taxi for the next day already. My OBM got her flight for 2 days later back to Japan.

Boat work started immediately. A topic was the water. We needed urgently water and I wanted to have clean water in my tank. Alex, one of the marina staff explained me that the water is clean, he drinks it daily, and he also told me people use 5 micron filters to get sediments out. I pretty quickly got a 2-filter-system in a hardware store. 5 microns and a carbon filter as a second filter. It works perfectly fine and tastes good.

We also took some time to dinghy over to the town and found a pretty protected dinghy dock for 2 USD a day with coming and going as often as we want. Nice people. It’s based on trust to put the money in a not locked box. The next day we had very nice conversation with the owner who told us he has 3 sons: a black, a local Indian, and a white one. Three wives, three sons, three colors.

Bocas is a very busy town. One sees plenty of back packers besides people coming obviously with their boats to the Bocas like us. In the same way it is obvious that there are very money supermarkets. All run by Chinese. Why does a small town like Bocas needs so many supermarkets. I got a possible answer a few days later from an US couple I met: money laundry. This explanation makes sense.

After Nik had left for flying home, I strolled with OBM through the streets. Houses are often pretty nicely painted. Colorful Caribbean. We also found a tiGo and a +movile shop where I wanted to go next day to check the plans they offer. On this day I just wanted to stroll around with my OBM and absorb together with her as much as possible of what we saw of the town, its people, and its life.

Then my OBM needed to leave. A very sad day, but we knew it will come. But, we had a great time from her arrival in Havana until here in the Bocas del Toro. I’m grateful for this time.
Early in the morning we dinghied over and walked to the airport. It was only a less than 10 min walk. After she needed to go through the security door, I waited outside to see her again on the way from the building to the plane. We waved good bye once again and then her plane took off for Panama City. I was alone again.

I went to the 2 mobile phone companies’ shops to see what they offer. tiGo had the best offer and was also recommended by friends, who sailed here a year ago. After talking to the shop assistant, another customer asked me if I’m from the sailboat MaRe. I was astonished. It turned out that he is the husband of the the lady with the Upper Franconian accent. We decided to have a cup of coffee and talk. Long story short: SV Sea Pearl have fair winds and following seas and always “Handbreit”.

During the last dinner OBM and I had at the little restaurant of the marina, we met a few very nice people. One of them, the mucisian of the night, even toured Japan a few years ago. We also learned that every morning there is a VHF radio call among all the boats in VHF 25 W range. After my OBM had left, I joined this group every morning and got interesting information and nice and helpful contact to the sailing couple of SV Amekaya. They sail in Panamanian waters since years. I got very valuable information about sailing in the Bocas as well as sailing in the San Blas Archipelago. Thanks Amekaya for sharing your knowledge with me.

As the internet of the marina was pretty slow and I had now my own connection, laundry was done, I knew sufficiently about the area here, and decided to leave the marina and drop the hook outside. There I did remaining boat jobs and worked on an IT task I needed to do back in Tokyo while waiting for Tob, the son of an old friend of mine from my student times in Würzburg.

Tomorrow Tob arrives.