After an overnight stay outside the Pacific side of the canal, we were all feeling the sense to move. With our delay to cross the canal, we were ready to put some mileage underneath the Gone Native hull.

Checkout procedures completed, we left the mainland of Panama and headed seven nautical miles off the coast (not a great distance, but it was open sea) to the island of Isla Tabaga. It felt great to feel the winds again. Our anchor down, a moment of celebration of jumping in the water, we took our dinghy on to shore. It was a quaint town, and apparently receives quite a number of Panamanians on weekends. The ferry personnel allowed us to use there dock for an hour or two, lucky for us it was midweek.

We enjoyed stretching our legs and soaking up the local scenery. After a short hike, Dave felt compelled to return to the dock and check on the dinghy. Shortly thereafter, the rest of us decided to turn around and head back. After a couple of blocks, we saw Dave sitting on someone's banister having a cold one. Amazingly, it was a couple from Ventura! In fact, when they came back to their home on Isla Tabaga on the ferry, they noticed our sailboat with the hailing port of Ventura.

Chuy and Susan left for cruising on their sailboat from Ventura in 2002, and eventually settled here in Panama, buying a home on Isla Tabaga. Bill continued talking with Chuy, thinking how many Chuy's could there be in Ventura??? As he became more familiar with Chuy, it suddenly clicked. Nancy, Bill's wife, had attended UC Santa Barbara with Chuy years ago, and they had known each other ever since. In fact, Chuy even helped move Nancy's piano into their home, which is a story in itself.....you should ask Bill or Nancy for those details. Concerned about the time our dinghy had spent on the dock, Chuy reassured us not to worry, and we enjoyed the remainder of the afternoon with them.

As we departed the following morning, we slowly headed toward a sailboat ahead of us. There was their boat, Libre, with the hailing port, Ventura, CA. Wow, it is a small world.