Susan / overcast, calm, 93 degrees F
10/17/2012, Easterm Lemmon Cays, Kuna Yala, Panama

It was absolutely gorgeous morning, blue skies and calm seas for Renee & Bob's arrival in Kuna Yala three days ago. Renee has been snorkeling every day, seeing lots of colorful fish and coral. Yesterday we went outside the Kuna Yala reefs to fish while moving to the swimming pool anchorage in the Eastern Holandes Cays. We caught one and a half fish. A nice sized Cero was missing it's body from the gills down - something large got it before we could get it to the boat - and a large Barracuda, which we threw back. While Bobby was reeling in the Barracuda a pod of fifteen dolphins arrived to swim around Vida Dulce and the fishing line. I was worried we'd hooked one of the pod and they were around to help their family member so it was a relief to see that wasn't so. The dolphins stayed with us as we got underway after pulling in all lines, playing in the wake for several minutes. A real treat!

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Susan / morning rain, then partly cloudy, 86 degrees F
10/11/2012, Nonomulu, Kuna Yala, Panama

The anchorage beside the island of Nonomulu and the mainland at Punta Cupola is the perfect place for me to stay with Vida Dulce while Jerry goes into Panama City via the Carti 4x4s to meet Renee & Bob. It's a small anchorage and only good for this purpose because it's buggy and there's a steady stream of Kuna boats coming & going between the Carti terminal and other islands during the daytime so we get there before noon to arrive before any other boats who may also be doing a Carti - Panama City run tomorrow. As we leave the Eastern Lemmon Cays it's starting to rain. I look to the behind us after we enter the main channel and see a funnel cloud. It appears to be moving toward the mainland (south) so we continue on our way while watching it. After a few minutes it joins the rest of the angry looking cloud. We stay on the edge of the storm the entire trip, sunshine and blue sky just ahead of us yet a steady stream of rain on top of us. Half an hour after we anchor, the rain stops and the bugs arrive. I'm glad we're here just two nights, tonight to make sure Vida Dulce is safely set and tomorrow when Jerry will meet Renee & Bob at PTY. By early afternoon there are three boats here including us, one of which ran aground entering the anchorage. I'm glad we were first in to settle into the prime spot!

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Susan / partly cloudy to mostly cloudy, 88 degrees F
10/09/2012, Eastern Lemmon Cays, Kuna Yala, Panama

Renee & Bob will be with us in just a few days so newly fueled and provisioned, we return to Kuna Yala to stage for their arrival and to complete final preparations. The forecast called for calm winds and 1 ft seas, and that's what we have for the trip, against us but no complaints. We put up the main late to motor sail late in the journey to pick up a couple of tenth's of a knot. I rate the trip a 9 for the mostly accurate forecast and that we land two fish along the way, a Little Tuna early on and a Cero just before Punta San Blas. We arrive in the Eastern Lemmon Cays to see our friends Tom & Julie, s/v Gris Gris, still anchored here. We invite them over tomorrow for a fresh fish dinner. Tonight we enjoy a portion of the Little Tuna with wasabi / soy, rice and the last of the broccoli we found in Colon. Yumm!

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Susan / mostly cloudy, 88 degrees F
10/07/2012, Portobelo, Panama

The weather is mostly clear and calm this morning, a welcome change. Yesterday morning we read on one of the internet news sites that the most popular James Bond movie (in all 50 years) is Casino Royale. We have it in our movie collection so decide to watch it while having dinner. We run the generator to watch the movie on the iMac and decide to treat ourselves to air-conditioning as well. Two reasons for the air conditioning, movie comfort and to cool one set of the tomato plants. They're getting lots of pretty yellow flowers that attract bees, of course, so we have to watch ourselves, but they're dropping off rather than becoming fruit. I read that one cause is that the temperature is too warm at night so we bring in one containers for the coolness. Hopefully this will do the trick. As for the movie, I don't know who did the voting, it's certainly not our favorite. Where's the cool gadget & car equipment guy? I have to admit I prefer Sean Connery's 007, but we agreed the movie (to us) just didn't have a Bond feel to it. Nonetheless dinner & a movie in air conditioning was a nice Saturday night treat.

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Susan / 100% cloud cover, rain, thunderstorms, 79 degrees F
10/04/2012, Portobelo, Panama

Bahia de Portobelo is a rolly place when the seas come from the west as they did last night and again today. Thunderstorms rumbled through for most of the day, keeping everything outside wet. One lightening strike was very close, it sounded like it may have hit one of the large abandoned "hulks" anchored nearby. The monohulls get the worst of it, rocking side to side, back & forth, and up & down when the wind moves them abeam the swell. One said they had items flying out of cupboards that hadn't moved in eight years. We didn't have anything flying around the cabins but the motion prevents me from doing much of anything other than watching land. Somehow Jerry manages to keep working on his iPhone apps. With all of the motion all day long neither of us is hungry for dinner so we make a batch of popcorn, watch a movie then hit the sack. Hopefully the seas will return to their usual direction by morning.

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Susan / mostly cloudy, 88 degrees F
09/30/2012, Portobelo, Panama

It's been 75 days since I planted the first seeds that produced the jalapeño pepper, basil and mint plants, and 50 days since the planting of the cherry tomatoes, flat leaf parsley, dill and oregano. While we were in Shelter Bay people walking by the dock would say, looks like a forest in there! and, what plant is that? Some asked for gardening tips. Jerry is especially excited about the jalapeño peppers; the largest ones are an inch & a half long now. We sample one and find it to be more sweet than hot.

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