Just the other day a fellow cruiser asked Clint how long we had been in the San Blas; a little over two months was his reply. That felt right but it sure didn’t sound right…we have been here FIVE months.

We may have not covered a lot of ground in the last five months but we have made some wonderful friends and created a lot of memories.



In my last post our good friends Tom & Susan had just come for a visit; it’s almost time for them to come back again……Ecuador?



On November 3rd we woke early to watch the rare “hybrid” solar eclipse.



Being in the San Blas for a while has allowed us to develop relationships with the locals living on the islands close to us. Clint helped one family move. They loaded up their ulu with all their possessions which included the thatch roof from their home and the treasured family pig.



There are no grocery stores in the San Blas. There is a veggie boat that comes by every 10-14 days and you can get some minimal provisions in the bigger villages. Having last provisioned in Colombia we were running low on a lot of important things like meat, coffee, peanut butter. Our provisions got as low as they had ever been; I almost had a mutiny on my hands. Our only real option for major provisioning was to sail to Linton which is 40 miles west of the San Blas.

On the way there we caught the biggest barracuda I have ever seen.



We spent a week in Linton anchored between Isla Linton and the small village of Puerto Lindo. It is a pretty spot and was a nice change of pace from the San Blas. The only residents on Isla Linton are a group of monkeys that have taken over an abandoned house.



While in Linton we were treated to an extremely unique experience. There is an American woman living in Puerto Lindo that is a retired cruiser. On Sunday’s she hosts a happy hour for other ex-pats living in the area and some of her cruiser friends. In addition to being known for her Sunday happy hours and great ping pong skills, she is known as the sloth lady. Over the years she has rescued several baby sloths that are abandoned when their mother’s are trapped and sold by the locals.



This is Dooger. I so want a sloth…please don’t tell Duke.

Unfortunately, we went to Linton in the rainiest month. When it wasn’t raining we were encased in a mist. We couldn’t get anything dry. After a week we were ready to get back to the clear waters of the San Blas.

The most treasured memories we will take from our time in the San Blas are those of our visit with Kurt and Courtney in December.



Neither we nor Courtney had seen Kurt since graduation from Navy Boot Camp in August 2011. The last time we saw Courtney was in May 2012.

Kurt flew in from Japan and spent a couple days with Clint in Panama City before Courtney flew in from San Diego and the three of them joined me in the San Blas.



We had a great sail to Salardup where we did the Rio Sidra tour that we had done with Tom and Susan.





Courtney had brought some toys to give out to the local children for Christmas. So we ran around playing Santa putting big smiles on the kids’ faces.



We got in some snorkeling and island exploration, but mostly we just spent time together catching up with each other. It could have not been more perfect. They are both GREAT kids (okay adults) and we are so PROUD!

Kurt left a couple of days before Christmas and Courtney on Christmas day. We celebrated Christmas Eve with friends on Eileen Farrell and Christmas Night on Thosyma.







By New Year’s Eve we were worn out from all our Christmas partying. We spent the day counting our many blessings, reflecting on all our adventures from the year and planning ones for the upcoming year. In the evening we shared drinks on the bow of Karma with friends Mike and Laura, very good friends that we will be sad to say good bye to.

We have truly enjoyed our time here and we can certainly see how some cruisers get here and don’t ever leave; not us though, we have Chile to get to.

So, this week, we will be leaving the San Blas on our final leg in the Caribbean. It is with heavy hearts that we will make this last leg to Shelter Bay Marina. We have made some great friends here and we will be sad to say goodbye. For me personally, crossing through to the Pacific is becoming more and more emotional as we get closer to actually doing it; it seems so definitive. The Pacific is huge; the passages are going to be a lot longer and a lot more challenging.

Happy New Year and will see you on the other side…..

Panama City here we come.



I think we are in for some culture shock!