Monday, July 13. Where do I begin? Three thousand miles later we are finally settling down in Bocas. Well, not really settling down, the social life constantly keeping us busy. We are far more socially connected than we were in the states. We (as many others), straddle two worlds- cruisers and land folk. This has provided us with many new faces, names and destinations. We are feeling very fortunate as we can simply sail our home from the anchorage at the marina, to the dock at Discovery Bay, to our island in the Darklands also known as Tierra Oscurra and our bay is Lagoona Palos. There are so many people down near our island now. Our closest neighbors are Josef and Maria and they run Rana Azul, (Blue Frog) which is a Pizza restaurant open only on Friday evening and Sunday afternoons. It is amazing to see the number of gringos that show up each week. The is also Mahjong on Wed afternoon, Mexican Train Dominoes on Friday afternoon at the marina and of course "Chicken Fried Chicken" Wednesday evening. This doesn't even include visiting or shopping or being in town. Everyone is friendly and helpful with tips on where to go, shop and who to trust. Sadly the Indians (some I should say) spend all of their time begging rather than trading or working . This creates a very poor situation as they will never be able to help themselves or their families get ahead. Cultures are slow to change but hopefully we can provide a positive impression rather than a negative one. The area is beautiful and the mountains against the clouds and sky take my breathe away. The ocean is so beautiful I can hardly believe we are really here. The view from our house is like looking out from a treehouse. The house is coming along and we will soon have to fly to David to buy sinks, appliances and furnishings. But in the meantime we are happily, comfortably, ensconced on our boat. I have planted a pina (pineapple) patch and a few other things- now I have to keep the goats away. The green parrot flocks fly overhead several times a day and they are noisy. We also have toucans and caymans that are about five feet long, so no swimming in Discovery Bay, but at the mouth of the bay there is beautiful water and several shallow reefs. I know this because a few days ago I ran aground on one. Luckily I was going slow and we were able to back off and find the deeper channel - it doesn't pay to lose track of your course or ignore your crosstrack on the GPS. So much to do and so many people and things to see - I am amazed and tired. I'm working on maintaining my health and I usually feel quite good but there are days when all I can do is sit and rest, which is ok because I'm retired. This is an incredible adventure so far and I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have it continue.