Had a good run and anchored in Portobelo around 4 p.m. Checked the weather and decided we had better leave for the marina the next day, Thursday, since some pretty nasty weather was forecast for Friday. Sid and Manuela from Paradise stopped by the next morning for a short visit, and we were underway by 11. Dennis wanted all the sails out to dry them off after all the rain we'd had. Once we got out of the harbor we had the best sail we've had all year, sometimes getting up to 7 knots, which is great for us. Asked the boys if they wanted to come on deck for the sail - no noise, a beautiful day, light wind and calm seas - but they decided that they'd sleep again and come up when we got to the Canal. Really, I didn't know it was possible to sleep that much.
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| One of the pylons for the breakwall |
Both boys eventually came on deck for the last part of the sail and motoring through the big ships, into the Canal Zone and then into the marina. Got tied up, Dennis hooked us up to power, I went to the office to register, and the boys discovered the swimming pool. The last couple of days were hectic, running into the grocery store Friday morning for juice, pop tarts and bread, getting all the laundry done and everything bagged up with dryer sheets to keep the mold off. Dennis took the boys for a hike, but they spent most of their time either in the pool or up in the air conditioned room with a TV. Had Mark and Deb from Sea Cycle over for dinner before they left for their summer of hiking.
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| Cody in the pool |
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| Zack in the pool |
Checked with the hotel and somehow they didn't have our reservation. Well, that's a pain. I wanted everyone off the boat so I could do a last wash down with bleach and water. That didn't happen, and we headed into Panama City a day early.
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| At the Lock |
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| The boys with Roger |
Luckily, they were able to take us a day early at the Costa Inn and there was a pool there as well. Roger picked us up Tuesday morning and we did a tour of the Miraflores Lock, the Old Town and the bluff overlooking the City. On Wednesday we took the free shuttle to Albrook Mall, where the boys did their shopping, until Dennis could stand it no longer and we headed back to the hotel and the pool.
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| View of the Pacific |
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| View of Panama City |
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| A ship going through the Lock |
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| At one of the churches |
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The flag atop the hill --
as big as a basketball court |
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Luckily, all the luggage fit in the car! Our Panama flight was on time, but the Miami flight was delayed for an hour, so that made our late night even later. Zack's parents, M.A. and Chris picked us all up, and then dropped Dennis, myself and Cody off at Kelly and Charlie's around midnight. Cody will be going on vacation with his family the next day, so his parents will pick him up here. Dennis and Cody went off to bed and Kelly and I sat on the back porch drinking wine till around 2 a.m. It's good to be home!
~~~_/)~~~
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