Dransfields on the high seas: SailBlogs

Stuck in Panama

Zodiac Zoe — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:35:53 -0500

Hola from Panama City. It is very hot here and we would like to go for a swim but the water is dirty so we can't. Mum and Dad are very busy with boat work which is not fun. Yesterday we went out to the island of Toboga whi ch was lovely as we could swim and play on the boat. My schoolwork is missing in the post which is great news! Mum is a bit stressed about it but Jesse and I are very happy. We can't wait to leave Panama and go to the Las Perlas to find some pearls and Galapagos to see the turtles and seals. We have met lots of kid boats and will travel together with Aussie boat Grace (3 kids), South African/French boat Merlin (3 kids) and UK/American boat Pikkles (4 kids). Lots of playovers and fun with them all. Speak again soon from Zodiac Zoe. (View Post...)

The Pacific Ocean

First Mate Hels — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:17:41 -0600

Hola from Panama City on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. What a thrill to be on the "right" ocean and to know we are one step closer to home. The Canal transit was surprisingly uneventful and despite some anxiety about the big Panamax tankers and how hard it would all be it really went very smoothly. We were rafted up with two other boats with the middle boat a Canadian Amel 54 basically doing all the "grunt" work to get us through the 6 locks. We did 3 locks one evening and then overnighted in Gatun Lakes before completing the final 3 locks the next day. Lisa and Leon (JD's sister and husband) spent a week with us and joined us for the transit which was great. We also took them up the Rio Chagres for a night before our transit which was spectacular. It is the river that was used to make the canal and it is surrounded by dense jungle and lots of howling monkeys. The crocodlies remained hidden but friends reported seeing them so swimming was definitely off the agenda. It was lovely to have family on board and the kids had a ball with their aunt and uncle. (Continued...)

Panama at Last

First Mate Hels — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:21:01 -0600

Hola from Shelter Bay Marina where we are gathered with a bunch of boats awaiting the scheduling of our transit of the Panama Canal. The last few weeks have been brilliant. You will be pleased to know (sorry to scare you all) but things have calmed down considerably from the Cartagena Night of Terror. We had a great week in Cartagena absolutely loving the old town for its culture, historic buildings and general groovy atmosphere. The Columbian people we met were fantastic, really friendly and helpful. The cruisers we met were also full of great information and welcoming. After stocking up on some Spanish jamon we had a lovely easy passage overnight to San Blas. These are a group of islands off the Panama mainland and are truly the best cruising ground we have come across. The islands are basically uninhabited and unspoiled and look like real tropical islands. They are surrounded by reefs scaring off the loud yobbo charter market crowd and are just superb. The local people are the Kuna Indians who live a very traditional way of life. They paddle handmade dugout wooden "ulu' canoes and survive on trading coconuts and "molas". These are beautiful handmade embroidered stitching pieces about the size of a large placemat. They could be made into cushions or used as a decoration. They are quite stunning and we bought quite a few off Venanzio the Master Mola Maker. There was great excitement when he paddled up to our boat early one morning - we had heard from other cruisers that his molas are the best in the San Blas. Breakfast and schoolwork were quickly thrust aside as we pored over dozens of molas - they were all so good to was hard to choose which to buy. We spent about a week in the San Blas which was really fantastic and we met a bunch of great people including a bunch of family boats who are carrying on to the Pacific. We are now at Colon awaiting our transit and will soon be joined by JD's sister Lisa and hubby Leon which will be great. They have been to the States and Cuba and no doubt will have some stories to share. If anyone is interested on our next blog we will put down the webcam address of the locks on the Canal and let you know when we are transiting as you can then see us in the locks which would be kind of a hoot! We will leave you for now - hoping Sydney's rain is easing and all is well in your worlds. I will leave you with some funny questions sent to us from our good friend Benson in a recent email which put a smile on our faces. Adios amigos. (Continued...)