The Journey Continues: SailBlogs

Lasik Surgery

Debbie — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:07:10 -0500

Well, just thought I'd let everyone know that I flew back to the States and had Lasik surgery 3 days ago. It is WONDERFUL! I can really see. It was easy and painless. And, even better, I'll be able to see those channel markers and reefs without glasses sliding down my nose or getting splashed... Yeah!! I also think that I can see a little better at night than with my glasses. Wow! I am sooooo happy. Check y'all later,..... Bye. (View Post...)

Shelter Bay Marina

Debbie — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:25:58 -0500

We left Bluefield Saturday morning around 11:15 am after it stormed all morning. The trip was really quite pleasant and got some sailing in until the last 20 miles. Just outside Colon, the squally weather hit again and the current had been pushing us the whole way (for a change) and we were going to reach Shelter Bay by about 5 am Sunday morning (yesterday). We definitely don't want to go into a new anchorage or marina in the dark and not in the rain, so we turned around and motored back out for a while. Once it started getting lighter and between squalls, we headed back toward Colon. This was another humbling experience as we motored through the 300-400 ft ships anchored outside waiting to head through the Panama Canal. Some of the ships called Panamax can be up to 1000 ft with less than a foot on each side to get through the Canal. It reminded me of the game 'Battleship' with all the big ships pointing every which way. We jumped in behind one of the big ships heading in the breakwater and into Limon Bay and turned abruptly right toward Shelter Bay Marina as the large ship headed toward the Canal. It started raining again so we made loops inside Limon Bay til it cleared and headed into the marina about 8:30 am. Our friends, Susie and John off of Cabaret, had got us all set up with a slip in the marina and were standing ready with dock lines. Bryan and I both breathed a big sigh once we were docked because we had not been into a marina in a year, but all went well. Bryan and I napped most of the day. Bryan played volleyball with folks in the afternoon, and then there was a big dock party pot-luck last night. That was fun. There are several other boats here with cruisers that we had met elsewhere and met a lot of new folks also. This morning Susie came by to get me to go to the store with her. OK, not what you would think. We donned helmets and backpacks and headed off on her motorcycle to Colon about 20 minutes away. We passed a sloth beside the road, dodged a huge iguana crossing the road, and then drove over a lock in the canal. Wow! We were there and back within 2 hours. Pretty cool, huh? (View Post...)

Meeting the Locals

Debbie — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:30:00 -0500

Sometimes we create our own monsters. Before we even had the anchor down, we had cayucas coming at us from every direction. The first cayuca had a couple girls aged 12 and 13 that giggled a lot. We asked them if they could take us to the waterfalls that we had heard about. So, tomorrow for $5 we'll head off to the waterfalls. They asked if we could take their picture for school. Of course, we said sure. They giggled and said that they'd be back at 7 am tomorrow morning to pick up the pictures and off they went. Their uncle was also in his own cayuca wanting to sell shells. He also asked for his picture to be taken but he waited for me to print it. Then a single girl came and asked for a pencil which we gave her. Then a lady with 4 tiny kids came, sold us some fruit and asked for cookies for the children which we gave her, and asked for clothes which I had already donated to the hospital in Bocas so I had to say no. Then she asked for our trash. We were confused but gave it to her and said thanks. Then she asked for $1 for the trash. OK, we gave her a dollar to dispose of our trash....its worth a dollar. She then asked for a photo but we said no again and waved goodbye. Then a cayuca with 4 kids from about 4 to 8 years old came up. They asked for pencils which we gave them but then we couldn't understand anything else they wanted so we waved goodbye again. We were really glad that we were clued in before leaving the States to bring school supplies. When people in the States ask for something you know that it will probably end up on E-Bay but here they actually ask for things that they need and will use. Its also really good experience practicing our minimal vocabulary in Spanish. I also giggle a lot. P.S. Bryan wants everyone to know that we actually got to sail today from Cauchero Bay to Bahia Azul. It was great! (View Post...)