GHOST

After a couple of days in Lemmon Cays we sneaked a quick dive on the Southern reef (pretty coral but not as many fish as Bonaire) and then headed to Chichime for our last night in the San Blas. As we sailed in to this lovely sheltered bay we were welcomed by Sunboy and High Five and after anchoring in 4m of beautiful water we headed over to Sunboy who cooked us a really delicious crab and lobster yellow curry - definitely a new recipe for me to try and what a treat. Sunboy had told us the the 2 lobster and crab cost US$15 - we are certainly going to miss those prices!

The following day with really itchy feel and very low on provisions we headed to Porvenir to check in and out and then had a fast sail with brisk winds on the beam to Isla Linton, 25nm from Colon where we dropped anchor as the light was fading. Had to defrost our tiny freezer to rescue a package of minced beef I had been saving and we relaxed with spag bol and some TV.

The following day we got up early to head into Colon and after dodging all the tankers made our way into Shelter Bay marina on the far side of the enormous bay which forms the entrance to the Panama Canal. The marina is nice with a pool and the best shower facilities we've ever seen in a marina! Unfortunately it's not safe to walk out of the marina due to muggings etc... but at least there are free minibuses to the shops twice a day so I am off shortly to replenish the stocks for this week and scope our for a big provision in a couple of days - this is the best place to stock up until Tahiti and even so will be much cheaper so I am planning to well and truly STUFF the boat with food.

We met with our agent Stanley last night (he comes around Shelter Bay most nights) and he is arranging for us to get the boat measured today so we'll hopefully transit the canal in 5 days or so. His price is $1,150 including relevant visas and check in to Colon, the hire of lines and extra fenders, the canal fee and the pilot hire fee (he comes with you all the way through). Apparently it takes 2 days and you anchor in the middle and have a big party which should be good fun as it looks like we will transit at the same time as Sunboy. We need to find another line handler though as you need a captain + 4 handlers. We are hoping to transit on the 28th/29th and I have to admit once it is all organised I will be a lot more relaxed!!!