Dang this writing stuff!

Last post in here was when? Totally blowing the blogging thing. OK here we go on a rapid blast.

We left Bahia Honda headed for the Golfo De Panama and the Las Perlas islands. Anchored overnight the first night at Isla Cebaco and caught up with CB and Tawn on Palarran. Cool anchorage with what I thought of at the time as a little swell- really nothing in comparison to later.

We blast out of there early in the AM and planned on getting around Punto Malo by the early evening. Funny things, those plans. We were about 50% of the way there, smoking along on a great beam reach when Kelly points off into the distance- “That looks weird”- it was almost like what you would think of as a tsunami wave, but what it really ended up being was a massive shift in winds that put us on to a close reach and a double-reefed, staysail only one at that. And thus it begins.

Blahblahblah, crappy weather, etc. Except- the currents were not nice, the water was full of large floaty bits and when you aren’t making any progress forward the Monitor cannot drive, and---- when you are going sideways up to windward a regular belowdecks autopilot cannot drive either. That was a very long and arduous journey. We are not the only ones to say this- It was the hardest 100 miles I have ever sailed.

That earned a well-deserved rest at Hacienda Del Mar on Isla San Jose. We just stopped there- really, we just stopped. It was great to not be getting beat up, It was great to not to cook (though after a few days I was ready to kick the cooking jams up again), and it was really cool just hanging out in something out of a TV show. I like to remember it as a Gilligan’s Island place, but actually it is where the show “Naked and Afraid” was being filmed as we were there. Met the production crew, but none of the naked folks.

On we go to get up to Panama City. Only 40 miles, piece of cake…….. a day and a half later we pull around Flamenco Island heading to the Las Brisas anchorage- we have to make it in time to watch the Seahawks Dammit!

Anchor down, dinghy launched, we head to the dinghy landing. We did not really have this type of dinghy access in mind when we left, but it is known as the “Escalante De Muerto” the “Stairs of Death”. Surprisingly very accurate terminology. I really have nothing more to say about it, but we both fell.

A couple of days of that and we decided it would be simpler to just put up with the crowd in the La Playita anchorage as there is a much less sporty landing there.

Hook up, hook down and set, and now we are surround by a fleet of voyagers from all over the world. Very cool to see all of these boats, all of these sailors from all of these different backgrounds with that common thread of wanderlust and sense of adventure.

Enough reading, you must be bored by now; I know my two fingers are sore so that’s enough. For now.