December 25, 2020 After we had dropped the anchor and took a minute to breathe, we greeted some new friends that had been in contact with us via satellite email. They had been super supportive and helped us to have confidence in our decision to head west around the island. The cruising community is pretty …
December 5, 2020 On Saturday morning, December 5, we completed all of our pre-trip checklists, checked out of the marina and said goodbye to several friends. Marina manager Juan Jo and our favorite dock guy, Eddie, along with neighbors on Ruby Vi, John and Molly, all cast off our lines. We motored out into the …
December 5, 2020 It has been 16 months since we first entered Panama from Costa Rica. On the Pacific side we explored many islands before rounding Punta Mala. We struggled to reach Vista Mar and then enjoyed the Perlas Islands before heading into the canal. Once through the canal, we rested at Shelter Bay Marina …
November 10, 2020 For most of September, we waited and watched for an opening to go to the states to visit family, friends and take care of a few business items. The Panama City Airport (only major hub in Panama) had been closed since March 17, 2020. There have been rumblings about an opening since …
September 23, 2020 We quickly adapted to life in Shelter Bay. We rode the bus to Colon to shop and actually had hardware stores as an option! We went on nature walks through the jungle and ended at the beach. We met up with some friends that had been in Bocas and became acquainted with …
September 7, 2020 It was finally September 2, the day that we were to leave our long time home, Bocas Marina. It was November 7, 2019 when we first checked into this water paradise. We had checked out of the marina and were completing a few last details when we got a message from Shelter …
August 31, 2020 We have worked on obtaining the correct permits to leave Bocas del Toro. We think that we have them all. Francisco has gone up our mast to check all of our rigging. Everything seems to be ready for a trip. This was to be our last weekend in Bocas and we were …
August 23, 2020 So Ken and our friend Francisco got the new panels installed and we are ready for long-term anchoring. And the “lockdown”……surprise! We were just kidding! Seriously?! What the heck! Just weekends now. We went to town and provisioned, then left Bocas Marina again. We were careful to reserve our spot in case …
July 25, 2020 Six weeks into a stint at the Bocas marina, we were planning a jail break. After waiting and waiting for our solar panels, they arrived….broken! So to address this, and order again, meant several weeks and we had certainly had enough marina life. Even though the authorities had said no movement, they …
After a month in the Bocas Marina, we were ready to head back out to the islands. We had replaced the water heater as well as some coolant hose. We have ordered new solar panels that are somewhere out in the sea aboard a ship, heading this way. We ordered and received a heavy duty …