Home with family

Shelter Bay and home

Oh, now I remember what I hate about putting the boat away. Had a good motor sail up to Shelter Bay, with only a slight confusion. We swore they said A2, when they said D28???? New management in Shelter Bay has not impressed me so far, but we'll see what it brings.




Didn't help that I was sick for 2 weeks before we hauled, but I did as much as I could, so there really wasn't that much to do once we were in the marina. Took the shuttle into Novey to compare prices ... we'll be better picking up things in Panama than bringing them back with us! Love it, there's a first!




Roger picked us up from the marina at 9 a.m., along with Dick and Moira on Equinox, to take us into Panama City. Dropped us off at the Milan, and then took Dick and Moira to the American Embassy to renew their passports. Then picked us up for our trip to La Tapiz and to drop our EPIRB off to get a new battery. What a successful day. They say there's no rain and lightning in Panama City ... whoever they are, they're lying! It finally calmed down enough that we met Dick and Moira for dinner at the Brew Pub and had a wonderful meal. Up the next morning to explore the city. Well, malls to see, phones to buy, etc.





Again, Roger picked us up early to take us to the airport to fly home. Great trip! Connections fantastic and Kelly was there to pick us up with Brooklyn and Parker just as our last bag came off the conveyer belt.





Kid time again .... loving it! ~~~_/)~~~

Leaving the San Blas

Like I said, where does the time go? Left Chichime at 6:30 in the morning and headed towards Isla Grande, going on the outside of the Escribos Reef. At the same place we hooked (and lost) a wahoo the last time, we had three hits at once. Brought in the hand reel and had a wonderful blackfin tuna. The other two hits were too small to keep, but, hey, we had a couple of really good meals. I went below to check into the 6209 net, said we were out here, but had to get back up to help deal with the fish. Got back on deck, looked around ... I thought we had a fish?? Somehow the line that Dennis had hooked through the tuna to bleed it had unhooked itself, so there's a shark out there enjoying my tuna dinner! :( And, no, it didn't come loose from the fish, it somehow, line and all, came unattached from the boat. I wasn't going to check into the San Blas net, but Angel Heart said he had heard us on the earlier net and wanted to know how the fish was. Sadly, I had to admit that we were now a catch and release boat.

Amazingly, had a pretty good sail most of the way, with full main and both jibs. Pulled into Isla Grande, relaxed and swam. Enjoyed a couple of days there, finally getting some walking in, but also a ton of rain. That's okay, filling the water tanks and getting laundry done.

Took the dinghy through the cut from Isla Grande to Isla Linton and realized, with good sun, you could make it through easily. Well, when we went to leave, the sun was hiding, so we went the long way around, dropping our anchor in 40' of water. Enjoyed our time catching up with Lynn and Randy on High States, Michael on Panda (Edie was back in the States), and a quick hi to Bob and Jeannie on Island Dreamin'. Sadly, we heard that Petra from Kokomo had been diagnosed with colon and liver cancer and they were hoping she would be well enough to fly back to Germany. I'm glad we stayed around for an extra day and were able to say hi to Peter (Kokomo), tell him we'd be back in the fall if he needed anything for the boat, and just give a hug. Life is short all!

And, speaking of stuff like that happening -- Lara from Antipodes, the boat we went through the Canal on, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. She's had two surgeries and is now undergoing radiation. If you believe in the power of prayer, please send all you can her way! You can follow her progress at http://www.yorksafloat.com/

Left Isla Linton and headed up to Portabello, where we had a wonderful time for a couple of days ... until I felt horrible! Well, okay, just a fever, cough and feeling really bad. Didn't eat or drink for five days. For anyone who knows me, that explains how bad I felt!!!! Really wasn't a good time for that, since I was trying to get as much done before we left as I could.

Our dingy trip up the river and a beautiful rainbow over the anchorage

We were able to watch a Dockwise boat sending off two small ships, and then the Festival of the Virgin Del Carmen, where they decorated the boats with yellow and white balloons and flowers and drove through the anchorage.

With the free wifi we can pick up from the hotel, this is a wonderful place to anchor. Only rolled once when the wind changed. Had worse roll in Isla Grande and Linton.

Also took a few bus trips in from the Linton area and Portabello. These buses are amazing. Basic school buses with the most amazing artwork you've ever seen. The photos we have here actually have an airbrushed photo of the driver's daughters!

Finally, time to leave and head into Shelter Bay Marina. The main sail is the only one left up still, for stability, while we motorsail up there.

Where does the time go?? ~~~_/)~~~

Just Hanging Out!

Well, here we are, back in Cambombia, and it seems so strange to be the only boat here! We picked the only good day of the week to do laundry, since the rain held off until late afternoon, and then it rained for the next four days. Wow, what a change in the Mangles River with all the rain. We couldn't get as far up the river because of the shoals and shallow water.


The weather cleared a bit so we picked up and headed down the chain to Miriadup, seeing a lot of shallow water. Once again, we were lucky, and the rain held off until we did some snorkelling. Saw a couple of lion fish, which we're supposed to kill since they're such an invasive species. A shame, because they are beautiful.


A couple of days later, headed over to Moron Island to another shallow anchorage. Dennis loves that, with our manual windlass! Unfortunately, the the weather didn't clear up enough to snorkel, even though it looked interesting. Did we tell you, it is the rainy season!


Off to Porvenir to check in, then to the East Lemmons. The Silas was on the island (Kuna Chief), and while I didn't mind if he used my phone to call his family the one time, by day four it was getting a little old. We then headed down to BBQ island for the Monday night happy hour. We stayed a week, only because Tienda Eidi was supposed to come out the following Sunday with fruit and veg. It's a little tougher to get at this time of year because there's only 50 boats in all of Kuna Yala, instead of the 160-180 during the season. It rained hard enough to fill our tanks and do more laundry.

The Hollandes with rain ............................. And then beautiful!


Back to Green Island where we actually saw a shark feeding on the surface as we were pulling in, and I found lots of hamburger seabeans as I was walking the island while Dennis burned garbage. Went snorkelling and never did find all those crabs that were hanging out on the reef during the closed season. Hmm, guess they're pretty smart after all!


Down to Nargana for the day, where we picked up some more diesel and had our chicken lunch, then back to Green Island for the night. Had a nice motorsail down to Porvenir to check out with the Port Captain, and then spent a few days over in Chichime before heading towards Isla Grande. We did manage to get some snorkelling in between the rain showers.


Where does the time go? It's time to start heading west on our way up to Shelter Bay and home. ~~~_/)~~~