When we left San Diego last November our overall plan was to head south to Panama and then decide, turn left through the canal or right across the Pacific, with the ultimate goal of getting to Europe. To head across the Pacific now and then later return to Europe would entail a commitment of at least a further two years, whereas a canal transit, some time in the Caribbean, up the eastern seaboard of the States and then perhaps across the Atlantic is realistic within a year. At this point everything points to another year and therefore we have decided on the canal option.
For eight months and nearly 4,000 miles our route planning has been simple and largely predetermined, with only the anchorages and duration of stay to be decided. Even the weather issues have been straightforward and needed very little analysis. That is about to change.
With Panama always seeming so far off and buried in guide books of Nicaragua and Costa Rica we have spent little time planning the next stage, but now Panama is within sight. Here in Golfito, comfortably waiting out the incessant rain storms at the Land and Sea Cruisers Club we have dug into the charts, routing guides and cruising guides for the Caribbean. At this little cruising crossroads we have met others with Caribbean experience. Jean-Claude Fleuret, an Swiss salty old dog, arrived here from Portugal, via the canal, on his way to the fiords of Chile. For the last eleven years Jean-Claude, a retired school teacher, has run a school taking groups of eight thirteen to fifteen year olds on eight month voyages across and around the Atlantic on his 60' "Drisar IV". His experience of the Caribbean is deep and he tells his stories with the enthusiasm and wonder of the youngsters he has guided. A fascinating fellow and wonderful resource.
So, armed with charts and guide books given us by Jean-Claude, Jimmy Cornell's "World Cruising Routes and Virtual Passage Planner, a very clever computer program based on the Pilot Charts, we are trying to formulate a plan to accommodate the following criteria:

- A crossing of the Caribbean to the East or North from Panama is easier in November than December when the Trades fill in hard and it becomes almost
impossible.
- We will need to leave the boat somewhere safe and secure during the latter half of October to return to the States for Daisy's wedding
- We would like to visit Cartagena in Columbia

This leads us to the realization that we must now push on and get through the canal as soon as practical. It is a shame that we will not be able to spend time exploring the west coast of Panama, which looks intriguing and could easily occupy us for some months, but we cannot dance with every girl at the party.
Once through the canal we will push on east along the chain of San Blas Islands as far as we can before turning north to Cartagena. Here we hope to leave Mandy whilst we visit New Orleans and returning in early November we will try to get north to Cuba or Hispaniola before December.
All sailing plans are written in sand at low tide and if we have learned anything it is to be flexible, so don't be surprised if this gets changed a thousand times, but for now we have checked out of Costa Rica and are making haste to Panama where we will see how one of man's greatest engineering feats deals with Mandy.

The accompanying map shows our prospective route to Cartagena and three possiblities onwards from there.