Great place for the head. Saves cleaning out the holding tank.
Now that we had the experience of transiting the Canal, it was time to get ready. We managed to spend a few days out and about in Colon, navigating the public transport system out here in the countryside. We knew that old USA school buses end up in Mexico but then Mexico send their old school buses down here to Panama where they fix them up, give them a paint job to make them stand out, put on a good set of air horns and large exhaust systems. Top this off with some bright interior, fluffy dice and a sound system that would sink our boat and we have a competition for “Pimp my Bus”. They are amazing and really only recognizable as old school buses by shape only. Some have had suspension lifted, large wheels and huge exhaust pipes that decorate the back of the bus. We ordered a new sail from New Zealand and that arrived as expected, albeit with some misinformation from our shipping agent that made it more expensive than we anticipated. We also had to shop for food. With 3 extra people on our boat for 3 days, catering was a challenge. We had our canal transit date so with a galley full of food and everything clean, we finally set off for Colon for the last time. We were lucky that fellow cruisers Geoff and Chris from Shamabala 1 were able to help up. Dagma from Matylda also arranged to join us. We felt blessed that we could get experienced cruisers to act as line handlers for us. A few last minute phone calls to confirm delivery of lines and fenders and transit time and we were set.