An Auckland man who’s spent the Covid-19 pandemic in Panama says he and his friends feared for their safety as crime rates soared.
Colin MacRae, formerly a West Auckland super yacht engineer, left New Zealand to sail around the Pacific on his catamaran. He also runs a YouTube channel documenting his adventures.
The Covid outbreak in March 2020 stranded him and his crew of six in Central America, and they had to ride out the pandemic on their vessel at sea.
Residents were allowed to leave their homes for only two hours a week during Panama’s six-month lockdown. The last digit on their passport ID determined when they were allowed out to buy groceries and other essentials.
MacRae recalled walking through dangerous parts of Panama City to buy crucial items.
“Parts of Panama City aren’t safe at the best of times. The city has a lot of poverty,” the 36-year-old said.
“But with mass job losses and people getting desperate, crime rates went up and people were stealing to feed their families. We were anchored off the coast of Panama. We were on high alert about people swimming onto the boat, and holding us hostage.”
MacRae said there had been stories of people cruising at night on canoes, stealing outboard motors to sell for quick cash.
One of the “godsends” of lockdown was the two dogs on the boat that would bark whenever somebody came close.
“They sleep outside. They know their job is to guard the family, which is what you become as friends when you spend so long out at sea,” MacRae said.
“We caught fish, lit fires on the nearby beach and cooked them. Just lived an old-school lifestyle.”
Panama residents wait outside a grocery store to purchase essential items.
In June 2020, MacRae and a few of his crew tested positive for the virus. The Kiwi traveller described his symptoms in an Instagram post as “three days of agony”.
“I could hardly move, huge headaches, sore throat, high fever and coughing up phlegm,” he wrote.
“It’s impossible to know how or from whom we got it, this crazy virus is so contagious, and the fact that people can be asymptomatic and still running around in grocery stores, exchanging money, eating at restaurants [and such] is very worrisome.”
Panama experienced challenges during the vaccination roll-out.
MacRae said the vaccine only became available to some residents from August this year. Since then, he and his crew have all been vaccinated and were looking forward to having freedom to continue their travels.
“Right now I'm glad I'm in Panama. We're wearing masks, social distancing, but there’s no lockdowns any more,” he said.
MacRae and his crew have all been vaccinated against Covid-19.
“Particularly the lifestyle on the boat is conducive – there aren’t any restrictions on here.”
MacRae has been travelling for 13 years. His catamaran was salvaged from a heap of damaged yachts from Hurricane Irma, which hit the United States and Caribbean in 2017.
His adventures landed him an appearance on the reality TV series Below Deck, and earned international news coverage from outlets such as Vice News.