Back to sea, at last! We up-anchor in an hour and leave the Galapagos to head for the Marquesas in French Polynesia. After 11 months aboard Macha, the 3-week passage across open ocean is no longer intimidating, but instead is exciting. We've packed plenty of provisions aboard and hope to supplement [...]

Hello Friends and Family,

Good bye Panama! We leave you in the grips of Carnival, with fireworks, music and traffic! We are leaving the dock this very minute to head for Isla del Coco, Costa Rica, which is almost on the way to the Galapagos. 1-2 days there, then on to the Galapagos. My dear friend Suse Shane is on board with us for the adventure. Will send SPOT GPS messages daily, but please remember that the SPOT signal will fade somewhere in the Pacific, so we're not necessarily lost if there's no SPOT signal! Hi to all - we miss you!

Happy Holidays to everyone! We are in Panama City, anchored within view of all the ships as they enter and leave the canal. Quite an amazing place..

Sailing brings new things to life every day: Some are small, some profound. This week it took me back to those precious years when, as a young child, one could walk up to almost any other kid your age and say "Hi! Wanna play?", and the answer was an automatic "Sure!". That spontaneity and willingness to reach out to strangers disappear as we grow up, and "play dates" are much more-carefully orchestrated. One of the things that attracted me to the cruising life is what I'd often heard about how the cruising community was essentially an instantly-bonding, widespread family. Yet since we'd set sail during the "off-season", we'd had few chances to interact with other cruisers. Those we'd met had been wonderful and welcoming, just as I'd heard. But by early November our buddies in Marina Papagayo had mostly departed for points north or south, and we were feeling a bit lonely as Thanksgiving approached. Then came a chance meeting with Pamela from Precious Metal while in the Port Captain's office in Playas del Coco, Costa Rica. It was the day before Thanksgiving, and we walked out of the office with a play date; an invitation to share Thanksgiving with four other boats! And what a welcoming, hospitable group they were. Ironically, the host boat, Elysium, was berthed at the next dock over from us in the marina. They had only recently arrived onboard, and we hadn't met them yet. But they welcomed us into their boat home and we all shared a magnificent feast, largely prepared by the talented Jewell. How special is it to sit down to a traditional meal with six strangers, and yet feel at home?! This is a gift that cruisers have and that cruisers share, and it makes the whole world feel like an ever-growing home. Happy Thanksgiving!

What is an oceanographer to do when it rains... (which is quite often, here in Costa Rica!)? When there is that much water pouring out of the sky, it's fun to see how much the ocean's saltiness is getting diluted by the downpour. So out comes the salinity meter (affectionately known as "the YSI" by thousands [...]