We are at a very interesting crossroads. The Shelter Bay Marina (with the destruction of the old Panama Canal Yacht Club to make way for more container terminals leaving Shelter Bay as the only marina facility on the Caribbean side of the canal), is a very busy spot. It is now a conflux of boats preparing to cross the canal and head off to the South Pacific, boats having just crossed the canal and heading for the Caribbean, boats preparing for a stint ashore in the storage yard after cruising on either side, and boats like us heading north towards the States or Europe or wherever. It is fascinating to meet and talk with people from all over the world (Dominican Republic, Belgium, France, Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Ireland, England, Norway, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, Canada, heck even the USA!), as they prepare for the next leg of their journeys. Everyone is fount of information and questions. It does not matter where you are heading or where you are coming from, someone will have the answers you are looking for or will benefit from your experiences.



And then there are the kids. They hail from all over the world as well (duh), and they all have a ball whether or not they can actually talk to each other. Most can speak a smattering of English but it doesn't really matter when there is a pool involved. It seems the game of Marco Polo knows no language barriers.



The departure from the marina was a crowded affair as all the kids and adults came to see Migo and ourselves off the dock. It was hard to say good-bye to our good friends on Uliad as they are heading through the canal and off to the South Pacific, and the Good Lord only knows when we'll see them and Independence and Sonrisa and . again. The friendships that are formed while cruising may only be a year or so old but they run very deep with a wealth of shared experiences and loads of quality time.



I'd like to say that the 43 hour passage here to Providencia was nice, but I would be lying. It sucked. Two weeks of sitting at a marina and a few days ashore in Jeff's apartment removed any sea legs we had. Combine that with having to beat into sloppy 5'-7'+ seas, after we've had wind on the beam to stern for about 4 months, and no one was happy. Of the 4 boats we left the marina with, all were in agreement that it was the least enjoyable passage anyone could recall.



Being here in Providencia, however, has made it worthwhile. I had never even heard of Providencia until we were doing some planning a few months back. Providencia and the busier San Andres are part of Columbia, yet are just off the coast of Nicaragua. This is a true Caribbean Island with the main language being Creole rather than Spanish, and a very, very laid back style. After so many months in Latin American cultures it is a nice kind of odd to feel like we are back on the island of Bequia! We have had some great adventures here already, but I'll let Michaela tell you about them in another blog!