Reported by SV Totem:

We arrived in Panama recently and cleared into Panama’s eastern Caribbean corner at Puerto Obaldia on January 27, 2018, after hearing positive reports on the ability to check into this relatively frontier post from other boats.

Clearance was a three-step process:
Police checkpoint (no document given, no fee) at the head of the dock; officer wrote down details from each crew members’ passport.

Immigration (visas for the crew, $105 per person for US citizens): office in town, the basic direction from a police checkpoint. Passport.

Port Captain (clearance provided, total cost $197: the cruising permit is $185, a few other nominal fees are noted on the receipt): around the corner from Migracion, blue/white building is also visible from Anchorage.

The crew should all go ashore. We were able to avoid doing this because conditions in the bay were unsafe for leaving the boat unattended – officials relented in our case, but we know they’ve required all crew to disembark in other clearances this season.

During peak trades, Jan-March, swell rolls in and this anchorage are barely tenable. We found good holding, but given the pitching of the boat in swells, did not want to linger.

Puerto Perme, approx. 10 km east from Puerto Obaldia, is a very well protected bay and the perfect place to move once formalities are completed.

Behan & the Totem crew