While transiting the Canal was the purpose of our visit to Panama, it was but one success of many during our two-week stay. We spent our first 5 days at Shelter Bay Marina - a nice place to be sure. It was, surprisingly, a welcome relief to be in the marina. Usually, we like to anchor. Marinas are crowded, there's no privacy, grilling isn't allowed (the gall!) and most of all, they aren't free. However, as I explained in my last post, the marina offered us the chance to meet people from all over the world. I made a friend from South Africa who I definitely plan to be in touch with, and in fact, already have been. Additionally, one night at dinner we met a great couple from Virginia who are sailing around the world as part of the World ARC Rally. We decided that we'd definitely have to meet up on the other side of the canal.

Indeed, the Nexus folks, as we referred to them by boat name, dinghied over to us while we were anchored in Balboa and asked us to come out to this fish restaurant with them. They explained that there is a nice restaurant upstairs from the outdoor fish market downtown. OK, sounds great, we said. The folks on Nexus weren't traveling alone, though, and we got to hang out with their crew, another couple of South Africans. Their niece was traveling with them too for about 5-6 weeks, having sailed with them from Grenada, and it was a welcome relief to have another young person to hang with. So, we hopped in separate cabs, since there wasn't room in one, and decided to meet at the restaurant. Upon our arrival, we found out that the restaurant was closed, but that the market was still open. Ceviche seemed to be the crowd favorite, and we wandered over to a place that looked enticing. Ceviche at this establishment comes in various sizes, all the way up to a gallon! The ceviche was very good, and the price was right. After a few cups of the fishy delight and some cold beers, we decided to try to find a restaurant nearer to our boats. We ate at an Italian joint and called it a night. The night was a total success, and we planned to rendezvous in Las Perlas.

After doing mass provisioning and finishing up with officialdom in Balboa, we departed for Las Perlas - a small island chain in the Gulf of Panama. The islands themselves are a constantly changing landscape due to the enormous tides in the region, which rise and fall about 20 feet per tidal cycle! At high tide, steep rocky islands protrude from the green waters, only to reveal sweeping, expansive beaches at low tide. This was certainly the most interesting feature of the island group. Personally, I wouldn't go back. But, that's mostly due to the fact that the water was incredibly cloudy - like the Gulf of Mexico on a bad day. I had really hoped to do some spearfishing but the visibility made that impossible. Alas, more time for other activities. The Owens, from Nexus, told us about this river on the south coast of Isla del Rey that's dry at low water. But, on the flood tide, you can kick the outboard of your dinghy up and ride the current up river. It was pretty cool, for sure! We made it a little too early in the tide swing and we had to wait for the water to rise enough to float the dingy up river. It was almost like slow motion white water rafting, minus the white water, and plus a RIB fiberglass hull dinghy that you don't want to crash into the numerous rocks littering the path! Thankfully, we didn't see any saltwater crocodiles, which apparently are kind of a thing in Las Perlas. Out for that.

After, we cooled off with a quick dip in the harbor. The Owens asked us to have dinner aboard their boat. They had caught a mahi mahi and a few tuna on their sail down and wanted to share. OK by me! The mahi mahi ceviche Ness (1/2 of their South African crew) made was insanely good, and the sushi rolls were great too. I'd never eaten dogtooth tuna before, but I know about them from their mythical status in the spearfishing world. This particular fish was no monster, like the ones hunted by spearos, but he certainly was tasty. After much too much beer and plenty of fun hours of dining and chatting, we motored back to our boat and got to bed.

The following evening, we invited the Nexus gang over to our boat, to return the favor. Now, just like the previous night, we were going to be 8 at the dinner table. That's a little easier on Nexus, a 60 ft catamaran with a 33 ft beam. Our humble Leopard 40 was a bit of a squeeze for 8, but we made it work. Mom made a delicious dinner, as always, and the whole party was very satisfied. Just as the night before, drinks flowed freely, conversation got a little raunchier by the hour, and good times were had by all. After we'd eaten, I nudged Erika, the Owens' niece, and asked her if she wanted to plop on the trampoline up forward and look at the stars. I don't know the first thing about various constellations, and it was really fun having Erika point some out. Now, I can successfully identify Orion (not just his belt!) and maybe, maybe, Leo. Probably not, though. As I said before, it was so nice to have another young person around, and it certainly didn't hurt that she was cute! I found Orion last night while offshore (en route to Galapagos) and I smiled remembering the nice evening.

For my final day in Las Perlas, I decided to investigate what all the sea birds were eating in the harbor. Absolutely THOUSANDS of pelicans and other aqua-fowl were dive bombing big schools of bait getting pushed around by some predator. I hopped in the dingy with my light inshore spinning rod and trusty Rapala X-Rap slashbait (the zippin setup, as Rob and I would call it) and casted towards the birds. I could see something lunging at my lure from below, but it missed a few times. The next cast, bang!, hooked up. The fish absolutely screamed out line and dove down. I figured it was probably a tuna, and I was right! I'm not sure of the species, but the fish had black stripes from about halfway back all the way to its tail, and four spots on each side of its belly under its pectoral fins. Similar to a skipjack/little tunny. The fight was intense. I've never caught such a powerful fish on such light tackle before! I ended up boating all three that I hooked up - great success. As I was motoring the dinghy back to Andiamo, I noticed Nexus departing the harbor. They had to head back up to Isla Contadora to drop Erika off for her ferry back to the mainland. I raced over to Nexus, and proudly displayed my catch. Want one?, I asked. They were impressed with my angling skills and grateful for the fish. One of the true pleasures of fishing: sharing your catch with friends. I hope they enjoyed the tuna - I know we gobbled ours down! The day concluded with getting ready to depart in the morning. An early night to bed, and we were up at dawn to begin the long slog toward the Equator.

Now, we're most definitely still en route to Galapagos, which is our longest passage to date. It should take 6-7 days to cover the roughly 920 miles, and I'll try to write another post soon recapping some noteworthy happenings. If I successfully remotely post this from our SSB radio, please read knowing that it took an insane amount of effort to accomplish that!