Here we go!

Date: 7th January 2023

Location: Shelter Bay Marina, Panama

Today is Saturday. Tomorrow, on Sunday, we are due to transit the Panama Canal leaving the Atlantic and crossing into the Pacific Ocean. A big step. The fenders and lines arrived last evening and suddenly it all feels very real.

A few of you have asked if you can follow us as we transit. We hope to leave the marina at 1800 UTC (English) time arriving at Gatun Locks around 2000 on Sunday. We'll then spend the night on Gatun Lake before descending to Pedro Miguel Locks around 1700 UTC on Monday and out into the Pacific via Miraflores Locks around 1900 UTC.

If you have the Marine Traffic app you can follow us and you can see webcam updates of the locks at https://multimedia.panama-canal.com

However it might all change as the canal authorities are short of pilots, known as advisors for small boats like us, so we may go straight through starting at 1000 UTC either tomorrow or Monday.

So, what else has been happening? Essentially it's been a visa run to Costa Rica and final boat jobs with friends Hugh and Linda who will be crossing the canal with us.

Our 90 day Panamanian stamps were due to run out before we we set off for the Galapagos in February. We had two choices, overstay and pay $50 US (or Balboas as they are called here) each for every month we overstay or go the official route and leave Panama for a few days (estimates varied from 1 day, to 2 days, to 3 days to 30 days!). Costa Rica, whilst expensive in the touristy areas, was our choice. Luckily our French Canadian friend Andre was driving to Panama City so early one morning we set off for a day in the Old Town and a stay in a small hotel. I wanted to see the Panama Canal museum which much to Gill's surprise was absolutely excellent. It ran through the turbulent history of the country as well as the amazing building of  the canal. Spanish versus English invaders, gold rush, French canal attempt, Canal Zone, separation from Colombia, US invasion, dictators - Panama has seen it all.

The New City from the Old City.

After a good meal in the Old City we returned to our hotel to snatch a brief few hours sleep before quietly creeping out at 0415 to look for a taxi to take us to the big modern Allbrook bus station. Excellent, there's two immediately outside the hotel. There's also a couple of hookers hanging around. We get in, and so does one of the hookers. To say she is scantily dressed is putting it mildly, nothing is left to the imagination. The taxi driver quickly sprays some air freshener around (!) and off we set with her in the front seat next to the driver. His mind is obviously not on our fare and we just avoid crashing into another taxi before arriving at bus station where we won't accept out $5 bill. Turns out the vegetable man back at the marina has giving us a counterfeit note so we scrape together $4 in change instead and off we go.

We had our outgoing ticket booked but we still had to go to the booth to show passports before joining the queue for the bus. 15kgs per person was allowed. 45kg seemed to be the average on a packed bus to San Jose some 20 hours away. The journey was pretty uneventful despite a panic when we realised we did not have a return ticket out of Costa Rica. It was mayhem at the border. Which booth do we go to to exit Panama? We all pay $1 to avoid all the luggage being taken off the bus and before we know it we are out of Panama. But in front of us is a mass of people, shops, coconut sellers and huge semi trucks from all across Central America. You can just walk across the border into no man's land and this is where the cheap Panamanian shops are. Costa Ricans catch regular buses to buy there supermarket staples here. Anyway we find another shack and stand in line. But we need to pay an entry fee for Costa Rica. There are little shops where you can get one for $15 but by using a QR code we eventually manage it for $8 each. Another booth, no need to show our return ticket (which we managed to buy online on the bus) and we're off again.

We aren't going all the way to San Jose (do you know the way?) but its getting dark when we reach our stop and get off. Another bus is needed to Golfito where we are staying. None arrives but Gill talks to a lady who takes us back across the road and bundles us into a shared taxi telling us the price we should pay. The driver has a bit of English (well American) so after driving round for half an hour he drops us at our AirBnB. A cracking little hut in the jungle overlooking the bay in this famous wildlife area. Fantastic!

The view.

Our little yellow hut, high up in the jungle.

We spent a couple of nights here, relaxing and catching up on admin. One email resulted in us finding that James and Shelley on Carina who we knew from Grenada were just 15 minutes walk away as they had checked into Costa Rica there. A great coincidence and we spent good catch up time with them in the jungle.

Breakfast on day two was spent in a bar watching the world cup final. Great fun as everyone was supporting Argentina. One small boy was in tears as France gained the upper hand whilst his dad was pacing around the bar cursing.

After the game.

Next morning we needed to be back at the main road for our bus back to Panama City at 0450. In the end our AirBnB host got up early to take us there as we couldn't find a taxi. What a star she was.

Waiting for the bus in Rio Claro.

Very few people on the bus when it finally arrived including as it turned out a traveller called Nick that knew Hugh and Linda who were due to fly out to meet us a couple of days later. The border was closed when the bus arrived but crossing back into Panama went reasonably smoothly despite increased stress levels as to whether they would allow us back after only two and a bit days out of the country. Oh yes, and all the bags had to be unloaded and then put back on the bus again.

Immigration.

Off with the bags.

Finally we reached the marina after another packed 5pm commuter bus trip and taxi back to Colon.

Then it was back to work. Hugh and Linda arrived shortly afterwards with our 62kg of luggage. Luckily we hadn't given them the full story of our difficulties getting stuff into the country. In the event they were stopped and Gill's 20 year old sewing machine carefully scrutinised before being allowed in. "Do you have chocolate?" "No, of course not!"

Unpacking the goodies.

It wasn't long before we gave them their lists of jobs! They've been great. Hugh working with me installing and fixing. Linda on provisioning, medicines, storing and stocking.

Replacing old chain.

Fixing a broken sail slide.

Carefully refilling the repaired diesel tank.

Gill sorting Jack's Jordan drogue.

It's not all work though. At the end of another long, hot day.

Christmas Day arrived and it was party time in the bohio.

Cruisers here from many countries. Many chickens to eat and dishes from all around the world.

Hugh and Linda at home in the marine environment.

There are quite a few boat kids in the marina at present. Most of them are home schooled and they quickly become firm friends with each other. As well as the adult games(!) there was piñata for the children where they are blindfolded, spun around and then have to whack a drum full of sweets until they fall out and a scramble ensues.

The scramble.

New Year was a bit different. The Chagres River is just a few miles to the west of the marina and we wanted to try everything out that we had been installing and fixing. This river is the main river that was dammed higher up to create Gatun Lake, the lake at the head of the Panama Canal that provides the 52 million gallons of water required for a ship to travel the length of the canal. That's a lot of water! 

Previously the site of much Spanish/English aggro with a Unesco fort to show off, the river is now usually a tranquil, forest girded haven for wildlife. The entrance is a bit tricky but as long as they are not letting out water from the dam when it becomes absolutely untenable it's not a big problem. So that's where we spent New Year 2023 along with Ben and Eliza on Three Rivers, a Canadian Hong Kong couple from Victoria.

Chagres River entrance.

Peaceful anchorage.

Good friends.

Keen birders at work.

Dr Livingstone I presume.

Exploring upstream.

The river is a consistent 10m-12m deep once you are through the entrance and you can anchor anywhere. For some reason not many boats come up here and in three days we only saw one other small craft zip past us. Idyllic and just what we needed to recharge. Plenty of birds for Hugh and Linda. Herons, swallows, parrots, kingfishers, flycatchers, vultures, frigate birds, it had it all. And to top it off as the New Year ticked over a large crocodile came swimming down between our boat and the shore. We did venture ashore at one point but after only 30m or so the jungle was so thick that we were concerned we would not be able to find our way back to the dinghies.

New Year with Ben and Eliza

Traditional English Christmas Pudding for New Year.

It's hard to tell what the weather is like outside the river where it is protected all round from the wind so it was with a bit of surprise when we came out and had to motor into a nasty chop back to Shelter Bay. Not an ideal journey for seasick prone Hugh who was not impressed to se us write "Slight to Moderate" in the log. He prefers to call the conditions "Phenomenal"!

So that's about it for Shelter Bay and 2022. It's been great here but it's time to move on. Admin for tomorrow's transit is complete and we've just had initial confirmation of the times mentioned at the top of this post. The complex requirements for entry to the Galapagos are also progressing well and we are trying to decide whether to apply for an extended six month visa for French Polynesia. Hugh and Linda will leave us after a couple of days in the Pacific to visit some of the more famous birding sites of Panama and then we will look forward to the arrival of Peter and Sally who will come with us to the Galapagos.

That's all for now.

A Big Decision

Date: 12th December

Location: Shelter Bay Marina, Panama at the northern entrance to the Panama Canal.

Hurrah. Trundling back to the ocean.

So, we are booked to transit the Panama Canal from the north in the Caribbean where we are now to the south and out into the Pacific on 8th January next year. In less than a month we should be on the other side of the Americas. We'll have friends Hugh and Linda flying in to help us with the transit (bringing with them loads of boat bits). We've already done the journey as line handlers for friends Peter and Sally but it all feels a bit more serious when it's our own boat.

Our admeasurer. First step of a transit.

Once in the Pacific we'll be close by to the capital of Panama, Panama City itself. And there we will anchor for a few weeks in the shadow of this large modern city as we prepare for the arrival of Peter and Sally (who we helped through the canal earlier this year) and a week long passage to the Galapagos islands. After a month or so there we'll set off for the long passage to French Polynesia of which we are just starting to understand the geography. Included are the Marquesas, the Tuamotos and the Society islands. Then it's onwards to the Cook islands , Tonga and eventually New Zealand. We think this 8,000 mile trip will all be next year but we might split it and return to the UK at some stage. But whatever, it is a long way with very little opportunity to restock or get spares if things break (which they always do).

Which route should we choose?

The logistics of all this are pretty fearsome, especially as by default following Brexit we only get 90 days in French Polynesia. And the Galapagos have very strict rules on entry too. So much so that many boats give them a miss or simply sail to mainland Equador and fly in instead. We are hopeful we can sail there though and have started the two month autografo application process.

But that's all to come. What have we been doing since we rescued our baggage from Iberia airways?

The first and most important job was the rudder. This actually went pretty well. It was dropped and the rudder post found not to be bent after all. A new hull sleeve was fabricated and fitted and the forklift brought into action to push the 300 pound rudder back up into position. Sounds simple but of course the yard messed up the top bearing in the process requiring a bit of fibreglass work to repair and it all took longer than expected. But it's done and hopefully sorted.

Out it comes.

And back it goes

Whilst still on the hard I installed a new through hull for the water maker and replaced the main engine water intake. Gill started to stop various leaks that have showed themselves in this very rainy place, cleaned, serviced the steering chains and began to return Mehalah to passage making status.

Stemming another leak.

The new water maker membranes.

At the same time we were checking out my health following the collapse on the plane on the way out here. Various tests for diabetes and other sugar related issues and then a visit to a heart specialist in the capital indicated that nothing was basically wrong. It was diagnosed as vasovagal syncope, a type of harmless fainting. The consultant said "You won't die of it but it might happen again. If it happens at sea make sure you are wearing a lifejacket!" So that's sounds OK. Just need a good PSA before we leave and we're good to go.

We've also had some security issues with our PC which I won't go into now but were pretty stressful at the time. Panama is not the safest country in the world so every big supermarket has heavily armed and camouflaged guards posted outside. Colon City itself is pretty much a no-go town after dark.

Once back in the water everything becomes more fun. Still lots of jobs to do but a social life as well. Shelter Bay reminds us a bit of Gibraltar. It's a crossroads. Boats from the Yukon and British Colombia who have come through the canal and are either headed north to the east coast of the US or out to the Caribbean chain that we have come from, some via Colombia, others via Jamaica and across to the US Virgins Islands. Then there are lots that have made the tricky journey, the Thorny Passage down from Florida via Puerto Rico. And a few like us who have come across from Europe most of which plan a similar route to us.

Sunday evening Pot Luck.

Back in the water party.

Last week we went with a Canadian friend to see the Neo Panamax northern canal locks. These are the even wider, even bigger locks recently build alongside the existing just very wide, very big old locks. We watched one of the new Neo Panamax container ships which just fit in the new locks, enter the Atlantic from the lake on the watershed. On it were 6,800 containers!

Almost there. Looking north to the Atlantic.

As more boats arrive here it's a rare evening when we eat alone. It's either Sunday pot luck (bring your own BBQ food and a dish to share) or planning sessions with new friends on a similar schedule. We try to do some exercise each morning before we crack on with more prep. A walk in the jungle or more often now a jog, or yoga or a swim. We are more toned and less stressed than when we left the UK.

Crocodile spotting (unsuccessful).

And the jobs list is reducing too. The new water maker is installed so we should be able to magically turn seawater to fresh as we travel westwards later in the year. We've been ordering new chain and flares from the US and any number of items for Hugh and Linda to bring out with them.

There are crocodiles in the marina here which made for some very fast swimming times in the rain sodden triathlon a couple of weeks ago. And a sloth was recovered here and returned to the nearby jungle. Loads of agoutis and coatis scamper across the forest roads as the cappoquin monkeys laugh down at us and the howler monkeys shout out their noisy calls. Various eagles and vultures soar overhead whilst sandpipers flit along the shoreline. Today we saw some squirrels for the first time and on the bus to Colon last week the driver had to stop to let an anteater cross the road.

Very fast swimmer.

Jungle and lianas.

Another coati.

Unknown plover.

But our next challenge is renewing our visas. North Americans get six months in Panama but as the UK only gives Panamanians visas for three months that's what they give us too. And three months is up before we want to leave. Some people just overstay and pay a fine on departure but others have not been so lucky some even ending up in jail. So we've decided on a quick trip west to neighbouring Costa Rica which is supposed to be very beautiful. It looks like this calls for a two hour bus ride to Panama City, a night in the metropolis and then a further 8 hours(?) on the bus to the border crossing which in itself can take a further two hours of uncertainty. We'll spend a couple of days on the beach or in a nature reserve before reversing the whole process hopefully with shiny new visas in our passports. The return into Panama could be problematical as we don't have onward flights out of the country. Why would we? We are sailing out.

The Best Laid Plans...

Location: Shelter Bay Marina, Panama

Date: 19th October 2022

Well, we've made it back to Panama but not without a few hiccups.

Our time in Europe alternated between mother caring duties and friend and family reunions. We saw all Gill's sisters, plenty of friends as well as daughters Jenny (in Zaragoza, Spain) and Emma (from London), Jack and Fizzy in their beautiful French farmhouse and Marcus' parents. We emptied our storage unit, attended a friend's memorial service and spent social time with the canal restoration team. It was great to revisit our other life.

We also made the big decision to transit the Panama Canal early next year and to head across the massive Pacific Ocean, destination New Zealand sometime in the future probably via the Galapagos islands. That prompted the purchase of a Rainman watermaker which magically converts seawater to fresh water, as well as numerous other spare parts. After all you really don't want to be sourcing parts from distant Bora Bora or Tahiti do you?

Eight thousand miles of white chart!

We ended up with four hold bags, one of which was oversize and one over weight. Hopefully we could reclaim the VAT tax on the watermaker.

The baggage accumulates.

All ready to fly on 23rd September with our care commitments almost finished when my brother and his wife inconveniently contract COVID. So my mum's support team is decimated unless we can help out. We decide to stay an extra three weeks, and in that time move her into a permanent care home. We of course have no other prior commitments as our diary simply says "Panama". There follows a very hard three weeks when we do indeed get her established in Scarlet House care home and we even manage to clear her flat for sale. More social arrangements also magically appear.

Mum.

So it's a tired couple who set off for Gatwick Airport in a one way hire car. All goes swimmingly to begin with. The car hire price is dropped and the British Airways check in lady doesn't charge us extra for the big bag and lets us take the heavy one for free! This though after we find out that VAT reclaims are now only possible if shipped direct by the supplier. Thank you Brexit! We decide to spend a short night in a Gatwick hotel and the lady there upgrades us just because we had a nice chat at check-in.

Off we go to Gatwick at 2.45am and a big breakfast in the Royal Bank of Scotland lounge breaking all my no bacon, no honeycomb, no sugary baked beans rules (prostate cancer still held at bay with PSA at 1.4, down from an initial 643).

That's when things began to go downhill. Before we even took off I collapsed. Paramedics were called, Gill wondered whether I would come round and nurses appeared from nowhere. Eventually I did come round and amazingly was deemed fit to fly (mainly I think because they didn't want the hassle of finding and unloading all our bags). At one stage we considered breaking our journey and going to see Jenny in Spain but I was feeling a bit better by the time we reached Madrid so with ringing ears we transferred for the ten hour flight to Panama.

PTY, Panama International. We whizzed through immigration and into baggage reclaim. They are calling for Douch John to go to Customs. But first we need our bags. We wait. We wait some more. The carousel empties. Finally we spot the oversize bag on the next belt. But that's it. No sign of the other three bags. We go to Lost Luggage and fill in a form. Maybe they will come on Monday on the next Iberia flight. Maybe Customs have them. Is that why they called Douch John? Nope, the don't have them and can't remember why they called me either.

Ah well, let's at least take our one bag through customs and out to Olmedo (you will know him by his girth) the taxi driver. What's this? We need to pay duty? WTF, this is for a Yacht in Transit and duty free. Oh no it's not, we need to calculate the tax. We give them the, slightly undervalued, invoice and off they go. $200US dollars plus which is a bummer but at least we have the cash. Oh no, you can't do that, we need to keep hold of it, you need to employ an agent and it's Friday night so come back on Monday. All this of course carried out in Spanish with plenty of opportunity for confusion. Thank goodness for Gilly's Duolingo course.

It's a two hour drive from Panama City airport to Shelter Bay where the boat is and we don't know an agent and I bet Olmedo the taxi driver has given up and gone home. But no, he's still there and we sit quietly after a 37 hour journey finally arriving at 2am UK time on Day2.

But it's warm and Mehelah has been moved out of the quarantine yard into the workyard and they've even left a ladder for us to get on board.

Sleep.

Two days on and things look a bit less bleak. We've found an agent. We've learned that Iberia luggage usually arrives eventually and the boat is getting a bit more organised. This evening we've been to a very American Pot Luck (bring your own food to share) and we've filled our water tank. The electricity still doesn't work and there are a few dead cockroaches aboard though maybe our friendly gecko will eat any live ones. We're gradually modifying our expectations and things are looking up as we prepare to address the rudder problem. But that's for another day.

Graham our gecko.

2 Days later....

After another morning when I didn't feel too good things start to look up. Gill gets Juanjo  and his office lady Katarin involved. They of course know people who know people both at Iberia and Customs. Juanco saves us $700US by convincing them we don't need to pay duty and hence have no need of an agent. I talk in "Spanish" to the delivery man. We both say "Shelter Bay Marina" a lot and then up rolls a van with the three missing bags. One of them we were told had been vibrating. The new hair clippers must have switched themselves on when the bag was tossed around. Big bags require a trolley to transport them. Unfortunately the trolley is covered in thick grease that gets all over two of the bags. Still, that's a good start. Just the Customs bag now.

Off we set back to PTY airport in Olmedo's taxi. He's been primed by Juanjo so he knows the task. It's a bit like the Panama check in in the blue shack......

Drive to PTY. Eventually determine which terminal we need to go to. Go to Terminal 2. Go to Customs door. Need to go upstairs to get a badge to go airside where the bag is. Gill surrenders passport in exchange for badge. Back downstairs. Gill disappears through the Customs door.

Olmedo begins the long wait outside Customs door.

Inside she is starting the fight against the system. Show driving licence, fill in forms, wait, wait. Wait for customs lady who needs to come with us back to the northern end of the Panama Canal to Cristobal. After 90 minutes she arrives from Cargo and off we set. A further 90 minutes and we wend our way through a dodgy part of Colon to the northern customs team office. Here there is a complex handover to the tough looking Colon customs lady before we take the pretty petite Panama City one to the bus station so she can scamper back, relieved, to Panama City. Meanwhile Gill is left in the hands of Colon Customs where a violent shouting match takes place around her about who knows what and eventually we can drive back to Shelter Bay. Result. Reunited with all bags thanks to Juanjo, Katerina and Olmedo. Without them we are lost.

Oh. Did I tell you it rains here? A lot. Two inches the other night and more than that tonight with spectacular thunder and lightning. The boat leaks in a least three places.

Now we can start putting things away and looking at the rudder issue. Today I've exposed the bolts holding the skeg onto the hull and it's all gone quite well. An impact driver is need to extract them to allow the rudder to drop. Off to Novi in Colon for that on Friday.

Exposing the skeg bolts.

Wildlife?

Large cat.

Toucan.

Coati.