We have spent the last seven days in Las Perlas Islands and Pinas Bay enjoying beautiful anchorages, exploring, interacting with the local native tribes, and fishing--all with the company of our friends Chuck and Karen. Fishing was a little sporadic this trip--definitely not what we anticipated for Pinas Bay (Tropic Star Lodge). However, Chuck caught a nice 12 lb. corvina off Isla del Rey in Las Perlas--made for some tasty dinners. But the thrilling catch of the trip was Chuck hooking into a huge black marlin outside Pinas Bay on Sunday. It was a grueling 1-1/4 hour fight but Chuck maneuvered it up to the boat and we had a nice release. We estimated the marlin to have been 500 lbs.!

Karen and I enjoyed another unique shopping experience on the boat with handicrafts from the local Darien Kuna tribe. This time we were all tempted with purchasing a hand-carved canoe--decided against it--we'll probably kick ourselves down the road. We will be departing Pinas Bay late tonight and plan to arrive in Panama City by mid-afternoon tomorrow. Chuck and Karen fly out on Thursday--their fun company will be greatly missed.

It's been decided for Chinook to head back north. Matt and I will fly home later this month and the crew will be bringing Chinook back up the coast to Seattle. Shawn has hopes of keeping the Blog updated so stay tuned.....

Pictures will be posted once we have available internet.

Air conditioning is up and running! Our air conditioning went down on a Tuesday afternoon; we had the part from the States on late Thursday afternoon; and the part installed on Friday morning. We felt very fortunate with the timing. We departed Panama City at midnight that Friday and arrived Pinas Bay (Tropic Star Lodge) 16 hours later. We had plans of spending the week at Pinas Bay but on the crossing from Panama City, we noticed oil spewed all over our back deck; it was coming from our skiff motor which sits above on the upper deck. The fix was beyond the skills of our crew so now we're 16 hours away from the City, no mechanic, and no working skiff for fishing. We spent three nights on anchor in Pinas Bay fishing off the big boat, surrounded by incredible wildlife. I enjoyed a very unique shopping experience onboard Chinook. As soon as we anchored, the local native Darien Kuna tribe rowed over with their local wares--amazingly beautiful handicrafts (see pictures).

After three days, we decided to head back to Panama City to get the skiff motor repaired. We arrived here Wednesday and after much scouting, the motor is currently being repaired. (The seal in the lower unit had failed). It's actually being repaired with the skiff on the upper deck as we sit on anchor. Our satellite TV also went down when at Pinas Bay so upon returning to the city, we also found an authorized repair service, and the technician had the system up and running after 30 minutes of diagnostics. Repair service in Panama City has been far beyond our expectations.

We had a few fun surprises yesterday. As we were sitting on anchor, a male voice comes over the VHF and says, "Matt, are you onboard the boat?" "Yes." "Great, we are approaching off your stern." We go out on the back deck and our two former crew members, Ray and Shelley, were on the bow of the boat they are currently working on, the "Big Fish" (approx. a 150 footer). They had just come through the Panama Canal the day before. What a fun treat to meet up with them in Panama! They are headed to Tahiti. After that, we headed in to visit the Panama Canal Locks (Miraflores Locks). We had the treat of a very special guide, Don. Our friend Ken Scheffler from home gave his former co-worker (Don) a call in Panama and we were on our way for a tour. Don is the Project Manager for the new Panama Canal Lock Expansion. He has lived here 4-1/2 years. What special treatment we received! Thanks to both Don and Ken.

Our good friends, Chuck and Karen from Seattle, arrive on Tuesday. We are excited to head back out to Las Perlas Islands and to Pinas Bay for an eight-day trip.

Pictures have finally been posted in the Gallery Manager.