Blog #4

We are getting settled into life on the hook, our dinghy is the SUV and there are lots of other cruisers going to the same places we are. Today a lovely couple stopped by with photos they had taken of Always Saturday, on Sunday, going through the Miraflores Locks. What a surprise as they just happened to be at the lock and thought we might anchor where they are since there aren't many other places to go. We now have several good photos of AS going through the last lock and wonderful memories.

It has been hectic while we have been here and we are waiting for things to get simpler. We have had alternator issues but we do have a spare that needs to be working as well. Yesterday we were off to Panama City to get the spare repaired and try and find a few other things. Needless to say, we left early in the morning and arrived back late at night. Not to bore all of you with the details................we spent five hours at the alternator shop (they still didn't get it fixed right).

We found a taxi driver to take us where we needed to go after the alternator shop, but he texted the entire time he was driving. I have to say he was able to multitask quite well but then again I am sitting in the back seat. Ron is sitting in the front with his seatbelt on? All went well AND we have to remember that we are traveling in a third world country and everything isn’t exactly what we are used to. I believe the new term should be “FELEXIABLE”.

Every thing takes so much longer to accomplish and sometimes we can't help but get back to the boat and think that all we have done for one day is spin our wheels. Yesterday was one of those days but today seems better. Since Ron wasn’t satisfied with the status of our new spare alternator he spent the next day at another alternator shop and had a productive and delightful experience with a very competent and generous owner who personally solved the problem. I guess for every sticker there are many more wonderful non-stinkers.


Back on Always Saturday with the repaired alternator, we install it immediately and try it out. All systems seem a go and we are now back in business. The spare is packaged up for storage and we move on to a new project. Don’t think for a minute we run out of those. Tomorrow is another day of surprises.