As May went on, we noticed a few boats moving about. The Aero Naval were apparently not checking or didn’t care if we moved. So after a month in the marina, we ventured out to Starfish Beach where we anchored for 11 days. We again cleaned off the accumulated barnacles and crud that we had picked up in the marina. We enjoyed swimming and met up with our friends on Nilaya. Ken and Jim took Jim’s “go fast” dinghy the seven miles into town and picked up groceries for both boats. Laura and Dale enjoyed snorkeling along the mangroves. It was a very relaxing 11 days. We decided to go to the anchorage near Red Frog beach and marina. Here we were able to go to a small store as well as walk the island. We stayed at this protected anchorage for 10 days. There are a lot of small mangrove islands in this area and we spent many hours exploring the waters around them. All was well until both of us developed some type of blisters from the water. We were never sure if they were from jellyfish stings or possibly algae blooms, so the water was off limits for the time being…..and the water heater leaked again …..and we were not generating enough power to keep up with our usage. We had been running our small portable generator daily, but it was having more and more trouble starting. And the weather was hot!! So on May 26, back to the marina we went, put in the air conditioner and replaced our 5 gallon water heater with a brand new one that we had ordered. We are also using the time to upgrade our solar system with larger panels.

June 1 represented the first easing of restrictions. The only curfew was from 7 p.m. through 5 a.m. All days and hours were open to us. For the first time in months, we could go to town together. Still no airports open as well as restaurants and most types of stores. No Central American countries are open and we would not be allowed into any other Panamanian ports without a 14 day quarantine. So we stay in Bocas waiting for another day.