We ran our generator almost all day, making water, doing laundry, and enjoying the AC. It is really hot out today, probably because it is so sunny. Eric checked the fan and shaft temperature several times, concerned that they had been running hot in Gatun Lake. The fan seems to be working great. The shaft temperature is actually lower than normal, and we assume it is because the water temperature is about 15 degrees cooler than it was in the Atlantic.

At about sunset, a big school of dolphins came to play with the boat. Usually they only play on the bow, but this set also played with the paravanes. They are a different species to what we are used to seeing. According to a flier we had picked up somewhere, they are called pan tropical spotted dolphins. They are either dark gray or black in color with white spots. They are interesting looking. The flier says the dolphins live in schools of hundreds and sometimes even over a thousand, but that they divide themselves into groups of about 20 and stick close to the group members.

Later in the evening, as we moved farther from land, the seas did pick up. It seemed like in addition to the beam waves, we were also being hit by head seas. The waves were small, but the waves colliding was causing some corkscrew action, which just isn’t fun. It really wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t fun, either. We again had stunningly beautiful full moon that lit up the whole sky, and visibility was excellent. At that point, there was virtually no traffic anymore and we felt like we had the whole ocean to ourselves.

We are excited to report that we saw a turtle this morning. He was a really big one, too. It is the first time we have ever seen a turtle underway at sea, which is kind of sad. We are pretty unobservant when we are at sea.

The wind died completely around 1400. In a short time, the wind waves also died completely and the swell was reduced to only about 1 – 2 feet. The ride was so nice! It was another sunny and bright and scorching hot day.

As of this writing at 2330, the ride is still fantastic. The water is so smooth it looks like a giant piece of satin cloth, bunching up ever so slightly as our bow disturbs the sheen surface. The moon is gorgeous and is giving off tons of light. The smooth water is reflecting the light like a mirror and the combined effect makes it look like daylight outside. It is really unbelievably beautiful. We can clearly see the mountains on the shore. Christi went outside and laid on the front deck for a long time, enjoying the bright night and calm ride.

Christi is thrilled to report she is finally completely over her traveler’s sickness. Yipee!

Even though it has been a wonderful passage, we are both feeling a bit miserable. We had a hard time putting our finger on it, but we think it is the same problem we had when we arrived in Colon. In Panama City, we spent way too much time on the boat in a rolly anchorage and not enough time on land doing fun stuff. So, even though this is such a great passage, we really just want to get the heck off the boat.

And a Q & A:

Q: Assuming price was not an issue, would you have been more happy on a N55 than a 43 for the trip?

A: First of all, when discussing costs, you have to remember there is more than just the price of the boat to consider. A bigger boat means exponentially higher fuel, maintenance and repairs costs. And sometime it can be harder to find slips in marinas to accommodate a boat that large.

Second, happiness comes from within, and we would be equally “happy” no matter what mode of transport we chose. We suppose what you really meant to ask is “would we have been more comfortable” on the bigger boat?

That said… if money were not an issue and the only choice was between a 43 or 55, Eric would happily take a 55. He likes the idea of a roomier lazarette and engine room, making his chores easier. Plus, men always want a bigger boat, right? While Christi loves the idea of a bigger kitchen, she would never pick a 55. First of all, it is tall and has a lot of windage. It is too big for paravanes, so you can’t do the dual stabilization trick to offset the extra rolling caused by the windage. Second, it is too big for her to do her chores. She would be spending all of her time doing things like washing the boat and scrubbing barnacles off the bottom, leaving little time to have fun. We’d have to hire professional help at every port to do some of the maintenance we normally do ourselves, and in more remote places, there is no one to hire. Finally, she thinks it is too heavy and big overall, making it more difficult for two people to handle alone. We’d probably want crew to help, and we’e not the kind of people who hire crew.

If you expand the scope of choices to any Nordhavn, Christi would opt for the 52 minus the flybridge and Eric would choose the new 63. If you open up the scope of choices to any kind of boat, we’d pick a submarine. No, we’re not kidding.

The entrance fee was only $2.00 each. The grounds take up the vast majority of Culebra Island. The aquarium is small, but the facility is a lot more than just an aquarium. There is a walking trail around the grounds with signs telling about the different species that live there, both flora and fauna. It is a scenic walk with a few small beaches and rocky shoreline in between them. The first shot is a view of the anchorage and Flamingo Island. To the left you can just barely see the Bennigan’s shopping center. The second shot is on the other side of the island.

The land on the Pacific side of Panama is considered a dry tropical forest, quite different from the rainforest on the Atlantic side. Plant life on the shore include the Jobo tree, which produces a fruit that feeds many species, including monkeys, deer, coatis, iguanas, humans and many more. The corotu tree one of the biggest in the dry forest and is a versatile plant. The corotu tree can suck as much as 125 gallons (500 liters) of water a day up through its roots. It releases the water through its leaves as a vapor. The tree’s cooked seeds are edible and the bark used for making soap, medicine and tannin. The hylocereus cactus lives in the branches of trees. The cactus blooms at night and is pollinated by moths and bats. Here is a picture of it. We think the cactus looks like hair and the tree looks like it needs a good haircut!

Of course, one of the most important plants for Panama’s ecosystem are mangroves. While mangroves exist happily on the Caribbean side, the mangroves seem to really like big tide swings and flourish on the Pacific side, as do the hundreds of different species that like to live in mangrove swamps, such as fish, birds, shellfish, etc. Something we hadn’t realized is that mangroves have a natural salt filtration system. We thought they were simply able to absorb salt water, but in reality, they turn saltwater into fresh water before they absorb it. Very interesting.

In addition to the animals mentioned above, the dry tropical forests are also home to two toed sloths. Sloths are often compared to Koalas because they live in trees, eat leaves, are hard to spot in the wild, sleep a lot, don’t move much, and move incredibly slowly when they do move. However, they are a completely different genealogical species from Koalas. Termites also reside in the forests. We found out that within a nest there are two types of termites — dark headed soldiers that defend the colonies and white headed laborers.

Creatures that live along the shore include tube worms, isopods and crabs. Whimbrels and Willets are two of the bird species that feed on these little sand creatures. In the summer they go to the Artic to breed and head back down to Panama for the winter. Wow, that is a long way for these little birds to travel! Brown pelicans are also abundant here. We were surprised to find out they only nest in the dry forests of the pacific coast of Panama. Wow. Yellow crowned night herons are another commonly found bird.

The signs on the walking trail also give great information on Panama’s ecosystem, including the effects of tide swings, upwellings and El Nino. El Nino years have a serious negative impact on the Panamanian ecosystem. It disrupts the upwellings – when nutrients are brought up from the bottom of the ocean – which adversely affects plankton’s ability to produce. Of course, that affects everything else up the food chain ladder.

Another few signs told of the history of Culebra and the surrounding islands. Since the shoreline around Casco Viejo is too shallow for ships to approach, back in the old days ships used to anchor off these islands and row small dingies in to shore. In 1908, the Canal Zone built a quarantine station for people suffering from yellow fever. In 1914, with yellow fever basically eradicated, it was demolished. The pilings from the buildings still remain.

The causeway was built in 1913 from material excavated from the canal. In addition to being a road, it is a breakwater and helps reduce siltation.

We enjoyed our walk around the grounds. There are some really pretty orchids in bloom.
We also saw some gorgeous red and black birds flying around, but we have no idea what they are called. There was no sign for them. We were hoping to spot a sloth, but we didn’t see one. Honestly, we didn’t look very hard.

The aquarium is in a surprisingly small building. It holds a series of fish tanks about the size you would see in a house. Some of the tanks featured species from Panama’s Caribbean side, the rest had species from the Pacific side. They are so different from one another! Each tank had a few species of fish, coral and so forth. We actually didn’t find the aquarium displays to be particularly interesting, but maybe that is because we have seen so many of these same species in the wild already.

A patio area just outside the aquarium building houses three small pools where you are allowed to touch the creatures inside. One pool features a sting ray, manta ray and some varieties of starfish. Another pool has some assorted fish. The last one has sea turtles, but sad for us, the turtle pool was being resurfaced, so the turtles were not in there today. Near the pool is a big display on sea turtles. It is believed in Colombus’s day there were 30 million sea turtles. Now they are endangered. Some species of sea turtles migrate hundreds, even thousands, of miles between their feeding grounds and nesting beaches.

While not big or impressive, we think the aquarium center is informative, interesting, and that the information is easy to comprehend. Definitely a good place to take kids.

After we left the aquarium, we walked to Bennigan’s for lunch. On the way, we saw what looked like a giant guinea pig crossing the road. We figured it had to be a capybara. The locals were telling us about them. Capybaras are the largest rodent in the world, with a length of 4.3 feet (130 cm) and weighing as much as 140 lbs. (65k). It is related to the guinea pig and chinchillas. They eat grass, fruit and tree bark. The locals told us that capybaras are popular pets and are kept much the same way that dogs are. They are socials and like human interaction, and like dogs, bark at potential predators.

Anyway, we aren’t Bennigan’s fans, but Bennigan’s offers free wifi and we needed to access the internet. We had planned to go to a wildlife preserve in the city after lunch, but it involved extensive walking up hills. We decided we had done enough walking and went back to the boat to do chores and get ready to go to sea again.

One the way back, we stopped to chat with another boat in the anchorage that is also from San Diego. They told us that another boat dragged today and almost hit them. They said that there are at least 2 boats a week dragging in this anchorage. Scary.

Back on board Kosmos, we did clean all the sea strainers, but we didn’t do much else. The rocking makes us so lethargic. We ventured back out again for dinner, finally braving being out after dark. We went to a sushi restaurant on island number 2. We tried a roll that had a local fish, smoked salmon, cream cheese, and avocado inside, topped with ripe cooked plantains and a sweet sauce. The plantain was definitely an unusual taste for sushi, but the flavor isn’t very strong and meshed well with the other ingredients. We thought it was really good.

On the way back to Kosmos, we were amazed by the amount of bioluminescence in the water. Usually, if the bioluminescence is active, the water will light up a little bit around the bow, but tonight the water all the way around the dinghy was brightly illuminated. It was really pretty to see.

We walked to another restaurant a few blocks away that was also recommended by Lonely Planet. They serve French/international fusion type of food and our lunch was awesome. We ordered three appetizers: jumbo shrimp spring rolls in a yummy tropical fruit sauce; pan carmelized octopus in a sweet soy based marinade and served with a delicious avocado cream sauce; and shitake mushrooms stuffed with pork confit, vegetable, and panko persillade.

We shared one main course, grouper in a rich, creamy coconut milk and curry sauce with broccoli on the side. For dessert we got passionfruit mousse. Everything was so good. We had been craving a really, really good meal like that ever since we left Bonaire. We even asked to thank the chef in person for such a great meal.

After lunch, we went to Casco Viejo to go sightseeing. The taxi took us through a neighborhood of all high rises, then turned into a very third world part of town. This area was reminiscent of Colon in that it was probably once nice, but is now incredibly run down. The streets were narrow and there was a lot of pedestrian traffic. As we drove, we crossed an intersection that seemed to mark a neighborhood boundary line. The buildings on both sides of the street were of the same era, but on the other side of the street, some of the buildings were fully renovated and beautiful. We must have officially entered the neighborhood of Casco Viejo.

After Henry Morgan burned down Panama City in 1671, the leaders decided to move the city to a rocky peninsula 8 kilometers southwest that was surrounded by reefs, thus making it more protected from sea attack. The town went through many ups and downs over the years, but never really grew much. In 1904, Casco Viejo was all of Panama City. After 1904, as Panama City grew into a huge and bustling city, Casco Viejo became a neglected slum. Today, the area is considered a Unseco world heritage site and the area is being gentrified.

As we continued on, the neighborhood suddenly reminded us of Siracusa – almost all the buildings were very old, probably from the 17th and 18th centuries. Many were fully restored to the glory of their heyday and were beautiful. Others were abandoned and had trees growing out of the middle of the foundations and out through the windows. And there was everything in between. We had asked to be dropped off at the Panama Canal Museum. The driver passed by the museum and pointed it out to us, then dropped us off at the esplanade a few blocks away, encouraging us to walk around and enjoy the beautiful scenery before going into the museum.

The esplanade is on top of the walls built to protect the city. It leads around the rocky point. Ferdinand de Lesseps fondly talked about taking walks along this walkway when he came to Panama City shortly before construction on the canal started. Part of the esplanade is covered in a lattice and there is bougainvillea growing up overhead to provide greenery and some shade. Part of it is open. Along the walkway there were several Kuna Indians selling molas, as well as a few other vendors selling typical low end tourist mementos. The views of Panama City are spectacular. Note the gothic style stone balcony behind Eric that has probably stood there for almost 400 years.

There are also nice views of the causeway and islands attached to the causeway. From the right vantage point, Panama City’s bay could easily be mistaken for San Diego Bay. San Diego also has a bridge that connects an island to the mainland, with a skyline full of new hi-rises on the mainland. As we looked out towards the islands, we noticed that the wind was screaming and the waves in the bay were big. We were glad we weren’t on the boat right then – it would definitely feel like we were at sea with such big waves.

The tide was low, and lots of rocks were sticking up out of the water. We could see the appeal of building here. A boat coming in at high tide would be grounded once the tide went down. A boat coming in at slack tide would likely hit a rock lurking just below the surface and sink. And at low tide, they simply couldn’t get close enough to fire the canons.

The walkway ended at a small town square with an obelisk topped by a rooster and busts of five men who were important to Panama’s history, including de Lesseps. There was also a small grassy area and another statue at the other end of the grass.

From there, we walked the few blocks to the museum. We were entertained by the buildings. Most of the ones that haven’t been fixed up are in really bad shape and look like they are beyond repair. But even these dilapidated structures show signs of their former glory, with impressive styles and beautiful appointments. Several buildings were in the process of being rehabilitated. The completed buildings are spectacular, and it is hard to believe it is possible to make such a run down shell into something so nice. These rehab projects must take a tremendous amount of money and work. But, what entertained us most was seeing the dilapidated buildings side by side with the newly renovated ones. It is such a striking contrast and probably adds a lot to the area’s character.

We found an ice cream shop on the way and sampled basil ice cream for the first time. It definitely tastes like basil. It is not very sweet and is definitely a different kind of taste. We only got a single small bite each, and it wasn’t really enough to decide if we liked it or not.

We came to the main town square, a cobblestones open area dotted with trees, named Plaza de la Independencia because it is where Panama declared its independence from Colombia in 1903. On one side is a big church, Iglesia de San Jose. Inside is a golden altar that is about the only thing of value that Henry Morgan didn’t take when he sacked the city. The altar was moved to the church here when the city was moved. We didn’t go in.

On another side of the park is the Palacio de las Garzas, where the President of Panama lives. We expected there to be a slew of security all around the place to protect the president, but there were just a couple of guards about. We didn’t even attempt to go in there.

The museum is on the third side of the plaza. It was originally built as a hotel, the hotel de Lesspes stayed in when he came to Panama on the visit previously mentioned. He subsequently bought the hotel and turned it into the construction headquarters. It is fully restored and looks just beautiful.

Lonely Planet had said the signs are only in Spanish, but that English audio guides are available. We were sad to find out the audio guides are broken. The museum is well laid out and really interesting, but, like the coffee museum in Guadeloupe, would have gotten more out of it if the signs were in English. We can certainly read in Spanish better than French, but it still requires a lot of concentration and effort and we mentally tired out quicker than we normally do at a museum.

The first floor is mostly devoted to the history of the canal building, most of which we had already learned in reading the assorted histories we have come across. We did learn some new stuff, though. Enough dirt was moved during the construction to build 63 pyramids the size of the pyramids at Giza. Or, to look at it another way, enough dirt was moved to make the Great Wall of China 60% bigger. That is pretty astronomical!

There is a small exhibit on the indigenous people of the pre-colonial days, including some samples of the solid gold armor they wore for battle. There is also a small exhibit on the history of the Panamanian short cut before the train and canal were built, when a combination of walking/mules and river boats were used to get from one ocean to the other.

The second floor is eclectic. There is an exhibit on life in the early days of the canal construction and the early days of the canal. We were most surprised that the Americans instituted segregation just like in the southern US states, such as separate housing, separate shops and hospitals, etc. In addition to the Jim Crow laws, they even instituted a different pay system. Non-whites were paid in Panamanian issued silver coins. Whites were paid in US issued gold coins, and got a minimum of 4 times more than a non-white worker would be paid for the same job. De-segregation took place in the 1950’s.

There is also large exhibit on the Panamanian money system. Panama does, and always has, issued their own coins. Since American money flowed freely in Panama, it was decided to make their coins the same size and shape as the equivalent US coins to prevent confusion. The two sets of coins are and always were used interchangeably here. Their constitution was not set up to allow the printing of paper money, and they have never bothered to change, which is why they still use US dollars. In 1941, President Arias did have paper money printed, but within 7 days the money was pulled from circulation and destroyed.

There is an exhibit on the technological advancements that came to Panama with the train and canal. Panama was the first place in Central America/Caribbean to get cable laid for morse code, and then, later, the first to get telephones. The assorted technological advancements are detailed through to today. Now the canal is fully computerized. It is strange to think how only 100 years ago things like telephones were state of the art technology here. It’s amazing how much we take technology for granted nowadays.

After we finished at the museum, we decided to head back to the boat. It was starting to get late, and we wanted to be back before dark. As we had anticipated, it was super rocky and uncomfortable on board. We are ready to get moving again. The anchorage here is simply too uncomfortable.

The restaurant is a cute place — a round hut made of bamboo and palm fronds with a very high ceiling. We got ceviche for an appetizer. Ceviche is a dip made of small pieces of raw fish or other seafood marinated in lime juice and flavored with things like onion, tomato, cilantro, and chili peppers. It is a Mexican staple and we all like ceviche. Usually, you can’t taste the fish at all. Everyone makes ceviche a little differently. Some are amazingly good and you can’t stop eating them. Others are just OK. This one was pretty good, but not great. Christi didn’t have any, worried that raw fish might be too much for her digestive system right now.

We all ordered fish, and the dishes came with fried plantains and yucca as side orders. The fish was great. The fried plantains were exactly the same as the ones we got in the marina, bland and tasteless.

The yucca looked just like French fries. The flesh is slightly firmer and the taste slightly sweeter than regular potato French fries, but the difference is so subtle that had we not known, we would have never realized the fries weren’t regular potatoes.

When we first read that yucca was a staple of the Panamanian diet, we assumed they ate the yucca cactus. Tom and Susan had explained that what is called yucca here is what other countries call manioc or cassava. It is a root vegetable that has a white, sticky flesh and a thick skin. Ah, so the “yams” Christi had made in Bonaire was actually yucca. Ah ha!

After lunch, Jeff caught a cab to the airport. Eric and Christi walked down the bridge to check out our surroundings. The first picture is the anchorage from the causeway, facing south. The second is the downtown Panama City, taken from the exact same spot but facing north.

The shopping mall on island two is mostly restaurants. Most of them looked good, but few of them were open, which was weird since it was lunch time.

It looks like island three has some sort of resort on it. Island four, where Bennigan’s and the marina are, also has some yacht brokers, a coffee house, and an industrial area for ship haul outs. While in Colon, we had inquired about staying in the marina. They said it would be $120 per night and they were full and couldn’t take us, anyway. The marina didn’t look like anything special enough to justify $120 a night, and it didn’t look full. Here is a shot of the marina – look at height of the floating docks! While the Caribbean side of Panama doesn’t have much tidal activity, the Pacific side has 20 foot tide swings.

We found a 5 gallon bucket of high grade engine oil at a really good price on the fourth island, which was exciting. The last island, Flamingo, has a cruise ship terminal and a duty free store on the north side, which aren’t visible from Kosmos.

We returned to Kosmos to drop off the oil. Christi considered getting in to scrub the bottom, but after sticking her feet in the water decided it was way too cold for her. If you are wondering why she’d get in to scrub when the barnacles are dead, it is because they don’t fall off on their own, they have to be manually removed. We debated going sight seeing, but decided to have a low key day, instead. We have been really busy and stressed with all the canal preparations and all the house guests, and a day of total and complete rest was exactly what we needed. As the day wore on, Christi felt worse and worse.

We got an email from Tom and Susan today that had some interesting information in it. They said that Joel, who has been through the canal a bunch of times, said we treated him better than any other boat ever has, which is a nice compliment. And, they found out that Edgar had never been through the canal before. We are a little frustrated with Victor since we had made it abundantly clear that only wanted people who have been through many times and knew what to do if there was a problem. But we won’t dwell on it since all went so smoothly.

And, on a related topic… people are often stunned when we tell them we have fresh water toilets. They shake their head and tell us that was a mistake. Up until now, having the freshwater toilets has never been an issue for us and we have been quite glad we have made that choice. But, we are currently in an anchorage that is unsuitable for making water at a time when Christi is going to the bathroom a zillion times a day. We are still doing OK on water consumption, though.

From where we sat, we could see four of the islands. They all seem to be itty bitty. We are directly behind the biggest of the islands at the end of the causeway, called Flamingo. This island looks to be mostly undeveloped with a lone guard tower at the top, at least from what we can see. The next island over has a shopping center with a Bennigan’s featured prominently. We know there is a marina behind the Bennigan’s shopping center that isn’t visible from here. The island next to that one also has a shopping center. The island farthest from us, called Culebra, also looks to be undeveloped, but it must be because we know the dinghy dock and a boat chandlery are there.

Today the wind was light and the bay seemed to be pretty calm, though, because the anchorage is so close to the shipping lane, it will never totally flat in here. We figured it was safe to go out, but waited to leave until after the local radio net. It is a good thing we stuck around and listened, because we picked up some important information. We found out that it costs $5.25 per day to leave your dinghy at the dinghy dock, which really surprised us. The anchorage is totally free, though. Unfortunately, this bay is really not suitable for water making. You can do it, but it is advised that you change your filter after each and every time you run the water maker. We also found out that the company that maintains the dinghy dock charges a tire disposal fee of $1.00 per tire, but usually you can find a cruiser heading to the Atlantic that is thrilled to take them off your hands. We offered our tires up, but had no takers. And, we found out a cab ride to town should only be $5.00. Many cab drivers will quote higher in hopes you don’t know better, but once they realize you know the going rate, will happily drop their fee down to $5.00.

Shortly after the net ended, we headed out. Our normal routine is that Eric gets in the dinghy and starts the motor. Once the motor is on, Christi and anyone else who may be with us jumps in, and then we cast off. Eric started the motor, Christi and Jeff piled in, and Eric put the engine in gear. The engine revved up, but the propeller didn’t spin. Uh oh. We all piled back out. We took the motor off the dinghy and brought it aboard for further inspection. Eric had assumed the propeller pin was damaged, so he checked that first. The pin was fine. Hmmm…. This probably means a transmission problem. Not something we wanted to deal with at that exact moment.

Eric retrieved the 6 hp outboard engine that we have on board for our inflatable dinghy. We keep it on the aft upper deck, locked to the railing. The super duper weather proof marine lock that we paid a lot of money for had totally rusted out and seized up. Eric tried all kinds of lubricants to loosen it up, but no luck. He finally had to cut the lock off using a Dremmel tool. He mounted the 6 hp engine to our little dinghy for the first time ever. It is a bit too big for the little boat.

Eric was worried it wouldn’t start because it has been a long, long time since he has run that engine. Much to his surprise, it started right up. He put it in reverse. It worked. He put it in forward. No dice. Eric opened the cover and wriggled the transmission wires around until transmission clicked in and presto! We had a working motor. Once again, we all piled in and headed to shore. Eric was like a kid with a new toy, all excited about how much power we have and how fast we can go with this bigger motor. And excited that we have reverse, which our little 2 hp motor doesn’t have.

We headed over to the dinghy dock, which is on the far side of Culebra in the most sheltered waters of all. There were lots of dinghies tied up there already, so getting in and tying up was a little tricky. Getting off the dinghy required climbing over all the other dinghies in our way.

On shore, we found ourselves in yet another small shopping center. We went to the office to pay dinghy dock fee. We were kind of surprised that the door was locked and we had to be buzzed in. This seems to be an upscale part of town, not the kind of area you’d expect to see such security measures. We asked them about calling a taxi and were told to simply wait and one would come. They were right. Within about ten minutes one showed up and we were on our way.

The first stop was to the Port Captain’s office to do our check in paperwork. The taxi took us across the bridge and into an area that we are 99% sure this was formerly an American military base. The blocky, functional, no frills architectural style and the layout of the streets screamed American military. After a few blocks we came to an industrial container area and a guard waved us through.

The guy behind the wheel was a pretty bad driver. Nowadays, we are pretty thick skinned to bad driving, but at one point he did manage to terrify us when he blatantly ran a red light with oncoming traffic approaching. We were relieved when he made a turn and came to a stop in what looked like a back alley, then pointed to a door and said “there”. The alley looked like it was straight out of the port scenes in the “Usual Suspects” where the criminals unloaded contraband off boats in the cover of darkness. We’re sure it is perfectly fine by day, but probably a little scary at night. Since taxis don’t normally come around here, the driver waited for us.

The Port Captain staff is amazingly nice and helpful. The clerk asked to see all our paperwork that we have gotten while in Panama, then filled out all our forms for us. All Eric had to do was sign. Of course, with such good service, the line moved slowly, so it was a long wait before we were served.

Once we were done, the taxi driver took us into town. His driving continued to terrify us. If the line of cars waiting at a light was too long, he’d just go around them by driving on the wrong side of the road. He also cut people off like crazy, tailgated incessantly, and ran more red lights. We tried to not to let it bother us, reminding ourselves we have been with worse drivers. The areas that comprise the former military base looks to be well maintained overall. There is a clear line where the base ends and regular Panama City begins. Beyond this line, it suddenly became very third world and poor. But the farther we drove, the more first world and upscale looking the city became.

When our water proof/shock proof camera that we got in Gibraltar broke, we emailed Olympus about it. They replied with a list of service centers in the entire world that we could take the camera to for repair. We had been pleased to see that Panama City was on the list, and getting our camera fixed was priority number one. Even though he had the address in hand, our cab driver had no idea where this place was. We had been warned by our friends on the Grand Banks that in Panama City they don’t use addresses, nor do they use maps, just major markers. Along the way, the cab driver stopped twice and asked people where to go. He tried to drop us off at a Panasonic facility, then again at a Samsung facility. The people at the Samsung place gave him directions to where we needed to go, which was a tiny shop in an office park literally around the corner.

Christi and Jeff took the camera in while Eric waited in the cab. Again, the door was locked and they had to be buzzed in. We suppose the door locking is standard operating procedure here in Panama City. Christi and Jeff were told that this service center doesn’t repair underwater cameras, but offered to send it to the US for repair. It would take 3 – 4 months to get it back. That wasn’t going to work for us. The lady was nice and confided that this particular model is defective and since the model’s release, they have gotten a flood of them back for repair.

Next, we asked the taxi driver to take us to a restaurant that Lonely Planet recommended in Bella Vista, the nicest part of Panama City. We are not sure where the part of town the camera repair place is in, but it has a lot of factories and looks like an average blue collar area in the US, with middle of the road quality construction that is well maintained. Bella Vista wasn’t far away. Bella Vista definitely looks newer and nicer. It is a mix of swanky, new looking hi-rises, low commercial buildings, and pristinely kept, charming single family houses. There is a lot of construction going on here, too. The streets are lined with trendy restaurants.

Eric showed the driver where the restaurant is on the map and gave him directions. But the driver clearly isn’t comfortable with maps, and after driving around a particular block a few times, dropped us off at a Chinese food restaurant, instead. The Chinese place happened to also be recommended by Lonely Planet, so we didn’t balk and ate there, instead. The food was pretty good. Our meal included lychees for dessert. Lychees are a fruit indigenous to China. They are grown in Australia, too, but we never had any there because it was out of season while we were in Aus. Lychees on the tree look something like a strawberry. They have an inedible rind and the fruit inside looks like a white raspberry. They taste pretty good.

After lunch, we caught a different cab and went to an airline office to get Jeff a ticket back home for tomorrow. Then we went to a grocery store our friends on the Grand Banks recommended called Riva Smith. Once again, it was mostly American products on the shelves, but they had a good selection of all-natural and organic foods, including a couple of our favorites from back home. We stocked up with as much as we could carry, then went back to the boat for the night. Because this anchorage is so rolly, we will probably never stay out after dark on purpose. Getting back on the boat in the roll is tricky, and in the dark it would even harder. Oh, and as an FYI, none of the other cab drivers were scary. It looks like our first driver was an anomaly, not the norm.

Once again, we were all in bed early.

We didn’t get handed any lines. Instead, we pulled forward, lined ourselves up to the tug and tied up. The tie up was a little bit tricky. We had to readjust all our fenders to line up better with their fenders. We realized there was a vulnerable spot that couldn’t be properly fendered, so Eric had to move Kosmos a little bit so that our alignment against the tug changed in a way that the fenders would sit better. Here we all are frantically adjusting lines.

After a little more minor fender adjusting, we finally felt comfortable that we were adequately protected and gave the all clear to Davidson. The tourists on board gawked at us as we were getting situated. Also, here there is a big viewing gallery on shore for tourists to watch the canal process, and they were all staring at us, too. We started going down within seconds of Davidson passing the message on to the control tower. Century Pacific was again behind us in the chamber.

We were fully lowered and the gates were opening at 1355. We untied from the tug and backed up. Atlas III moved forward first, and we followed a few minutes later. At 1410, we pulled into the second chamber, approaching Atlas III to tie up. They were still tying up to the wall. Just as we were about to pull next to the tug, a huge 20 knot gust of wind came that blew the tug towards the opposite canal wall. Eric had to maneuver quickly to avoid hitting Atlas III in front of us, while still being wary of the canal wall to our immediate right. He gunned the engine full force in order to move fast enough for the delicate positioning needed. Susan was watching the wall, letting Eric know how much space he had to work with. Her eyes were like saucers as she watched us come within two feet of hitting the wall. Thankfully, at this point Eric is something of a pro at handling Kosmos, and despite the wind trying to push us away from Atlas II, he made a smooth approach at just the right spot along its side and we quickly tied to it. Century Pacific followed behind us, and within a couple minutes we were moving down again. Eric commented that the wind, which no one warned us about, is a much bigger stress than the turbulence, which several people had warned us about.

At 1420, we were at the bottom and the gates opened into the channel that leads into the Pacific Ocean. Wow! We did it! We successfully transited the canal and are back in the Pacific! We untied from Atlas II and this time we left the lock first. Congratulations to us!

We moved forward in the channel a little way until we came to an island with a small ship grounded on it. Davidson told us to stop near the island and wait for the pilot boat that would pick him up. The area immediately around us was a gritty looking container port, but in the background we could see a more upscale part of Panama City, with lots of high rises along the shoreline. The second photo is of the channel leading to the ocean and the Bridge of the Americas above it. The Bridge of the Americas was opened in 1962 and, until the Centennial Bridge opened in 2004, was the only major highway bridge that connected North and South Americas (the bridge we mentioned in Colon is considered a “service bridge”, not a “highway bridge” since it can’t be used all the time).

His pilot boat came only a few minutes later, but in that time we sat and debriefed. Eric commented that it was stressful to be in such a narrow lane of the locks. He needed to be keenly aware of everything going on, ready to veer or bow thrust the moment Kosmos yawed or was pushed by the wind, and he did do a lot of small shifting around. He said the center lock position was better for him, because he had more room to maneuver and the line handlers were doing most of the work in keeping the boat properly aligned. The side tie position was definitely more stressful for him. Even when we were already tied up to Atlas, he still had to do some bow thrustering to keep the tension off the lines.

When the pilot boat came, we all wished Davidson a big farewell. Here is a parting shot.

At this point, we still weren’t sure how we were going to get the crew off the boat. We decided to try to unload them at the fuel dock near Balboa Yacht Club, just off the channel. The yacht club facilities include moorings, but dingies are prohibited in the mooring area. To get to and from shore, the yacht club offers a shuttle service. The shuttle service is only for the people staying on the yacht club moorings. We saw their shuttle boat and flagged it down. They seemed to be more than happy to shuttle Tom, Susan, Edgar and Joel to shore in exchange for a few dollars. The shuttle pulled up to us and instantly the four of them were gone! And just as instantly, Christi’s tummy illness returned.

Jeff did another engine room check and found the shaft packing was back to a normal temperature and the fan was still working. That confirmed that maybe the fresh water somehow affected the shaft packing.

With only Jeff, Christi and Eric left, we moved towards the La Playita anchorage, tucked behind some small islands that dot Panama Bay. The US military once controlled these islands and they were heavily fortified for canal defense. The Americans built a causeway that connects the islands to one another and to the mainland, and there was a US military base where the causeway connects to the mainland. The causeway adds another layer of shelter to the anchorage.

As we approached the anchorage, on the radio we heard animated chatter about oil cans floating away and an unmanned boat dragging anchor. 100 yards ahead of us, we saw a dinghy retrieving oil cans and several more dinghies rushing to a sailboat that was on the outskirts of the anchorage. We focused our attention on the sailboat and watched as several people quickly tied up and boarded, then started letting out chain. We station kept nearby in case we needed to tow them in. It is so great how the boating community takes care of their own. Dinghies kept arriving, and by the time all clear was called, at least 6 dingies and 10 people were there, if not more.

Once we got the all clear, we found a spot and dropped anchor. It was windy as all get out, with big, choppy waves. Except for the few boats literally only a few feet from the causeway, all the boats in the anchorage were rolling like crazy. Eric is always careful to make sure that the anchor is set well, but this time he was extra careful. He dropped 250 feet chain in the 30-40 feet of water to help that ensure that we didn’t drag, too. The wind was screaming. It was 1600.

Eric and Jeff put the paravanes out while Christi stowed the lines and fenders. The three of us all got the dinghy down. Getting the dinghy down in strong wind is a challenge, and having the third set of hands to help keep the dinghy under control helped immensely. It was now 1700 and we were planning to head to shore soon for a celebratory meal. Once the dinghy was down, we noticed that we had drifted next to a boat that had originally been well behind us when we dropped anchor. Our paravanes were alarmingly close to them. Eric ran forward and pulled in about 50 feet of chain to position us in front of them again.

We were shocked. We thought there was no way on earth we could get close to this particular boat given the wind direction. That was when we noticed something bizarre. At anchor, Kosmos turns to face the wind. But not right now. At the moment, Kosmos’ port side was to the wind. We have a crazy strong tide and/or current to have enough force to keep us from following the wind. On further inspection, we noticed something even weirder. The boats closer in to shore were facing into the wind, but there was an actual line where the boats shifted direction. So, half the boats in the anchorage faced one way, the other half faced another.

It was clear we couldn’t go to shore. Chances were we would be switching directions multiple times here as the wind/tide/current fluctuated. We couldn’t count on the boats in the anchorage following the normal patterns, so for safety’s sake, we should be on board to make sure we didn’t get too close to anyone. None of us really minded skipping the celebratory dinner. The conditions were terrible in the bay, and getting back to Kosmos in the choppy seas after dark would not have been fun. Plus, we were all absolutely exhausted and weren’t up for a big night out. We wound up going to bed at 1930, with the anchor alarm set very close.

As soon as everyone else was up, Christi made coffee, put out food for breakfast, and did dishes. Everyone helped with folding sheets and tidying up so Kosmos looked like a boat again instead of a dorm room. Outside, all was tranquil and placid in the early morning light. There were 11 big ships in the anchorage with us. The first shot is of our giant mooring and the second is of the surroundings.

The advisor arrived close to 0800. Today’s advisor is named Davidson, and he is just as pleasant of a person as Moises.

He got right to business with a quick orientation, then instructed us to get underway. By 0815, we had cleared the moorings and were headed for Banana Cut, a shortcut for small boats off of the main channel. It is only 3 nm shorter than the main channel, but the real benefit is there are no big ships to have to worry about in there. Banana Cut is also supposed to have a lot of wildlife that you can see from the boat.

We were scheduled to enter the first lock at 1130, and we would be in the lock all alone. However, we anticipated it would take us four hours to cross the lake at our normal cruising speed, so we needed to hustle along at top speed to make it. Shortly after we left, Davidson radioed over to the control tower and was able to change our appointment to 1230. We’d be sharing a lock with another vessel, which was fine by us. Phew. That took a lot of stress off.

We turned into Banana Cut. There is a line of buoys that clearly mark the channel. It is serene and peaceful, with lots of small islands and foliage sticking up out of the water. The jungle is lovely and it was a pretty ride. There were no other boats in the Cut, either, so it kind of felt like we were taking a leisurely cruise in an isolated paradise. We all kept an eye out for jungle animals. Susan had binoculars and she did see a few birds, including ospreys, frigates, roosting black hawks and black vultures. But even she could barely see them through the binoculars and no one could see them with the naked eye. No one else spotted anything.

A little before 0900, we could see tankers crossing up our path up ahead and knew it had to be the main channel. At 0905, we turned into the main channel. There wasn’t a ton of big ship traffic, but we did have a steady flow of ships passing from the other way, and a few overtook us from behind. When no ships were around, Eric would sometimes steer with his toes, but when ships were in sight, he immediately sat up and steered with his hands. The crew was very amused by his toe steering, thinking he was joking around, but the reality is we toe steer probably more than we should admit to. The autopilot dial is just in the perfect spot to be reached by our feet as we recline in the pilot chair.

Jeff did an engine room check and reported that our shaft packing was a little hotter than normal and that our brand new blower had stopped working. Sigh. Eric remembered that in fresh water the shaft runs hotter for some reason.

We passed an island that had a bunch of earth moving equipment actively being us on it. Davidson explained that the island was being removed to make the channel wider. First, they had moved all the wildlife off of it. Now they are removing all the loose dirt, and eventually they will dynamite the last of it to smithereens.

At 0920, we passed the Smithsonian’s primary site for the study of lowland moist tropical forests. The facility is located on the island of Barro Colorado, which, along with some peninsula tips near the island, make up a 5400 hectare nature preserve. The Smithsonian administers the preserve, in addition to doing research.

At 1035 we passed through the tiny town of Gamboa, which is located where the Chagres River feeds into Gatun Lake, and is basically right on the continental divide between North and South Americas. Gamboa was originally settled by canal workers who were displaced when the town they were living in went under water as part of the canal progression. The Panama Canal’s dredging division offices are located here and it is a popular bird watching destination. We passed a barge that Davidson told us is an explosives barge, used in conjunction with making the channel wider. We also passed a huge crane that Davidson said is used for lifting the canal gates. The gates are 7 feet thick and range between 47 and 82 feet high, depending on which lock it is on.

We passed a small compound. Davidson told us it was a prison originally built by the Americans and still used by the Panamanians for white collar criminals. It is apparently a controversial place because the prisoners have been known to have laptops, big screen TV’s and other such luxuries that you aren’t supposed to have in prison.

At 1105, Davidson suddenly told us to stop. He said there was going to be a controlled demolition explosion up ahead. At first we were a tad nervous about an explosion in front of us, until we realized how far away the explosives barge was. We were definitely far enough back to not be at risk, so knowing we were safe, we could sit back and enjoy the show. There was a big ship coming from the other way, and we had to wait a few minutes while it passed by us. A couple minutes after the ship passed, there was a huge boom and water went shooting up sky high, like a geyser. Davidson said there would be a second one, and we all watched in eager anticipation. But, it didn’t happen. After a few minutes, he got a call on the radio saying we could proceed.

At 1120, near Gold Hill, Edgar and Joel spotted a Three Toed Sloth swimming across the canal. Susan got a good look at him with her binoculars, but no one else was able to catch a glimpse at him. Gold Hill is a massive headland scored with cuts from the canal widening project.

It is very close to the Centennial Bridge, which was built in 2004 to help relieve the inordinate amount of traffic on the Bridge of the Americas. Here are Tom and Susan with the bridge in the background. It was weird to think that at that moment we were literally right in the middle of the continental divide.

At noon, were approached the Pedro Miguel lock.

This is a single lock, which will take us down about 30 feet (9.5 meters). Davidson told us to go right in. We would get situated and then wait for the boat sharing the lock with us, who would be behind us. We were center lock again, so we all were pretty good at the routine by now. We pulled up to the finger and the handlers on shore threw us our lines. Once our handlers aboard were ready, we progressed forward into the chamber, stopping close to the gate. By 1215 we were secured and ready. Here is the view from the front seat.

Yesterday we hadn’t noticed the ships in the set of locks next to us, probably because we were so absorbed in our own transit. But here, we sat back and watched a huge ship that basically filled up the entire lock all by itself pull in and get situated in the same manner that Pacific had yesterday.

We waited for about 15 minutes before we saw the ship that would be sharing the lock with us approaching in the distance. Jeff did another engine room check and found our new blower had magically started working again all by itself. But the shaft packing was still hot.

When it got to the edge of the lock, the little rowboat went out and did its thing. We could see it is named Century Pearl. Oh, Century Pearl was in the anchorage with us last night! When the cables were situated, Century Pearl pulled forward into the chamber and stopped behind us. At 1255, the gate shut. Almost immediately, the water level started going down. It happened so fast we hadn’t even realized we were moving down until Davidson pointed it out. It went down much faster than it went up. At 1305, the lowering was complete and the gates opened. The gates also opened much faster than they opened yesterday. Look at how much lower we are now than compared to the last photo!

The line handlers on shore dropped the lines, and we pulled forward into a small lake.

At 1320 we arrived at the Miraflores Lock, which is a set of two locks, and the final descent into the Pacific Ocean. We were told to wait a few minutes before we could enter. The wind had picked up to 20 knots and the water was choppy.

Once all the cables were in place, the tug turned around, the rowboats rowed away, and the locomotives slowly started to move forward, going up the little hill to the higher lock wall, while Pacific moved forward at the identical speed. Pacific stopped in front of the lock gate. The bridge for car traffic is above this lock, so there were lots of cars zooming back and forth above Pacific while they were getting it situated. For some reason, it seemed almost surreal to see the cars over the canal. It was just as surreal as seeing the cruise ship sitting in the middle of the jungle.

At 1745, we moved forward to the edge of the finger, where Pacific had stopped to be prepared. Here is what the lock ahead looks like. Two guys stood on each side of us, each holding a line. The starboard forward threw first. Joel caught the hook and attached the line.

Then aft starboard threw, and Tom caught and attached. The process was repeated on the other side. At this point we needed a lot of slack in the line because the men were about to walk up the little hill. Once secure, the men slowly walked forward. We crept forward, as well, trying to maintain the same speed as the walkers, passing the enormously large steel door. We were officially in the first chamber. The walls surrounding us seemed so tall over our heads and the chamber seemed enormously big. The chambers are each 33.53 meters (110 ft) wide by 320.0 meters (1050 ft) long. Pacific looks like such a big ship to us, yet we know comparatively speaking, he is a little shrimp. There are many ships that are too big for the locks, which is why they are building bigger locks right now.

Moises told us to stop a pretty decent distance away from Pacific. The gate behind us closed. We were totally penned in now. We marveled about the engineering. These walls are 55 feet thick in some spots! We knew it would take 26.7 million gallons of water to fill up the chamber and we wondered what it would be like to have so much water rushing in at once. And the water is gravity fed, not pumped.

We watched the water become turbulent in spots all around us, obviously the vents where the water was coming up out of. We had been warned that the turbulence is awful, so we were all braced for some terrible motion. But, it wasn’t nearly as bad as we had expected it to be. The water level started to rise, and the tall walls became shorter and shorter as the lock filled with water. We had also been warned about prop wash problems, but being that we were so far from the tanker, that wasn’t an issue, either. Here are shots of Jeff and Joel working hard to keep the tension right as the water filled. Edgar and Tom were working just as diligently on the aft deck.

When there was only a couple feet of wall left, the water stopped filling. Wow! We were really up higher! We were looking down on the ocean behind us! It worked!

Since freshwater is pumped in, we were now in brackish water. Christi was happily thinking about all the barnacles that were probably dying on the bottom at the moment. By this point, the wind had died completely, which was a welcome relief. It had been quite windy for most of the day.

After a few minutes, the gate in front of us opened. Pacific and its locomotive entourage moved forward into the next lock and took its position near the next gate. At 1820, Kosmos and her human entourage moved forward into the second chamber, again stopping a healthy distance behind Pacific. Once we were in place, the process was repeated, with the gate shutting and the water rising up in the chamber. And we were again amazed at how high up we were above the ocean behind us.

A few minutes after the water stopped, the gate ahead opened and Pacific moved forward. At 1850, we departed the second chamber and entered the third, where we repeated the whole thing for the third time. By now the sun was fully set, but the canal has powerful lighting and the visibility was almost as good as in the daylight. When the water stopped filling, the line handlers on shore dropped our lines into the water, and the line handlers aboard pulled them in. By now it was dark, so we missed out on the thrill of the ocean from the very top. But its OK, we’ll see it tomorrow.

This time, the gates opened to Lake Gatun, which looked pretty much pitch black to us as we peered into the distance. At 1900 we departed the third and last chamber into the inky darkness. We were all so incredibly excited. We were now 85 feet above sea level. Not only had we done it, the whole thing went incredibly smooth, with no problems or issues. We were all pretty darn proud. Jeff commented that we went from day to night, saltwater to freshwater.

Moises directed us out of the main channel towards the anchorage/mooring area off to our port side. He also told us the dam wall was to our right, but we couldn’t see it in the dark. It has to be absolutely huge. Now we were in 100% freshwater and Christi giggled happily knowing every last barnacle was probably dead by now.

We were heading toward a flashing light about a mile away. When we got close, Moises instructed us to turn on the spotlight to find the moorings. The moorings were easy to spot because they are enormous. Moises told Eric to pull up to it and have someone step off the boat onto the mooring to tie us up. Jeff volunteered. Or rather, Eric volunteered Jeff and Jeff didn’t resist. Another rain shower started just as Jeff was about to board the mooring buoy. What is interesting is that it has stopped raining the whole time we were doing the transit.

Eric pulled up to within a couple inches of the mooring and Jeff jumped onto it. He slipped both forward lines over the massive cleat in the middle of the buoy. Then it was time to do the stern lines. Eric masterfully backed up to another mooring and Jeff again jumped on and tied us up, then hopped back onto Kosmos. By 1925, we were secured and ready to relax. Within minutes, the pilot boat appeared out of the darkness to retrieve Moises. This captain was just as masterful behind the wheel as the last captain was, and we were once again impressed with how close he hovered without touching us. Here is a last parting shot with Moises.

This is such a great place. The anchorage is as flat as a lake. Oh yeah, that may be because it is a lake. We were bow and stern tied, so we weren’t moving at all. And, we somehow suspect that the moorings might be beefy enough to hold our weight without dragging, considering together they were probably as big as Kosmos!

Christi and Susan made dinner. After dinner, we put on a movie in Spanish with subtitles in English for everyone to watch. After the movie started, Christ got the linens out and got the various beds ready for everyone. Once she was done, she joined the movie watchers. Almost the instant she sat down, her stomach started roaring again. As the day had gotten busier and busier, her stomach had felt better and better, and by 1430, when all the excitement had really kicked into high gear, the pain and visits to the bathroom had gone away altogether. She thought the sickness had passed, but obviously not. Her mind had actually overridden her tummy sickness for the hours she absolutely needed to be fully functional. And now that the pressure was off, her mind allowed the tummy sickness back. Interesting how the mind and body work.

While the movie was going, we got some very, very heavy rain. We were glad to have a nice wash down, but even more glad it came after the transit was completed. The movie didn’t end until 2300, so it was a late night.

At 0800, everyone else was up and we got to work on getting the boat ready to go. Eric installed the new blower that Jeff had brought. It should have been a quick project, but unfortunately, the repair guy in Antigua had taken the mounting bracket with him when he took the blower away, but had not returned the mounting bracket with the blower. So, Eric had to custom-build a new mounting bracket. It took a lot longer than anticipated.

We were supposed to cover our solar panels. We couldn’t figure out what to put up there and how to secure it so it stayed on. After trying multiple things that blew away, we finally decided to skip it. Our solar cells are on top of the pilot house, which is so far away from where they would be throwing the lines to that we didn’t think anything would happen. Had our solar panels been in a more vulnerable spot, as is the case on most sailboats, covering the solar panels would be crucial.

Christi had to do some serious reorganizing to make room for all the people we would be having aboard. And, of course, we had to do all the normal “get ready to go to sea” stuff. We also did a flurry of last minute socializing in between boat chores.

At noon, our two professional line handlers that Victor had arranged for us, Edgar and Joel showed up. We know, you are wondering why we would hire two professional line handlers when we already have the required 5 people between Jeff, Tom, Susan, Christi and Eric? Eric felt strongly that it was important to have professionals on board who have been through many times and would know what to do in case of an emergency, one in front and one in back. Christi also decided that she should not handle lines because she is not very good with lines. While the line handling is not difficult, it does require good speed to keep the boat properly tensioned, and she is very slow. If the tension is too loose, the boat will fall out of proper position, making a crash possible, and if the tension is too tight, it could cause damage to the boat. She chose to play the role of videographer, instead.

Edgar and Joel immediately went to work on the tires. They tied two together to make extra fat fenders and then attached lines to them to hang them from the sides. Unfortunately, we didn’t have many suitable extra lines on board, so many of the tire fenders were hung with twine.

In the early afternoon, probably an hour or so before we planned to depart, yet another Nordhavn pulled into the marina. It was another 43! Unfortunately, all we had time for was a quick hi and bye.

At 1430, Tom and Susan arrived. We had an official meeting where we went over all the standard safety stuff that we do with all our new crew. We showed everyone where to find safety/first aid gear in case of an emergency, how to use key pieces of equipment, like the radio, and what is dangerous and needs to be steered clear of, like the rotating radar antenna, and so forth. We also did an orientation on where to find things in general, like food and toiletries. Then we discussed the procedures for the canal transit. Jeff, Tom and Susan have all been through once before, so the only newbies to the process were Eric and Christi.

Eric tried to start the engine at 1520, but the battery was still dead. The equalizing hadn’t done the trick. The poor starter battery leads a hard life. Eric went down to parallel the house batteries to the starter battery and started her right up at 1522. We departed the dock at 1530. As soon as we were out of the marina and in the bay, Eric did as the cruising guide had instructed and called Cristobal Control to tell them we were on our way. There was no response. He tried again and got no response. Over the last few days, he had heard other boats calling Cristobal Signal, so the next time, he called Cristobal Signal and got an immediate reply. So FYI, the control tower does not respond to Cristobal Control.

They told us to proceed to “the flats”, a designated area within the bay marked on the charts and surrounded by buoys. They said we would pick up our advisor at 1630. We proceeded over to the flats, which are located near the new cruise ship terminal in Colon. Since we had lots of time to get there, we went slow. When we neared the shipping lane, we got a call on the radio from the control tower directing us to cross the lane after the approaching container ship had passed us. Eric had just been about to call and ask permission to cross the lane. We also heard a couple discussions in Spanish where they definitely said Kosmos a few times, so we knew that something was going on that involved us.

We arrived to “the flats” at 1620 and started doing circles. About the same time, we heard the control tower strongly chastising a sailboat that had entered the bay without permission. The control tower was obviously watching everything in the bay like a hawk. At 1640, a pilot boat pulled up along side us. The pilot boat driver is incredibly skilled, getting to within a couple inches of us without ever touching. He hovered so steadily and so close to us that the advisor stepped from their boat onto ours as easily and gracefully as if he was walking on terra firma. You can certainly tell the captain of this vessel does this all day every day.

Our advisor’s name is Moises and he seemed like a nice guy from the get go. He told us we would be going “center lock”, meaning we weren’t tied to anyone else, which made us happy. We were scheduled to be boat number 26, sharing the lock with a Chiquita bulk cargo vessel. But a minute later, he talked on the radio with the control tower and announced that since we were ready to go now, we’d been moved up to boat number 24 and would be sharing the lock with Pacific, another bulk cargo carrier. How funny that we were going to the Pacific with the Pacific.

At 1650 we departed the flats and headed towards the canal channel, a man made channel that leads to the first lock. Moises explained that he was directed via radio by the control towers as to what to do, then would pass the instructions on to the rest of us. Moises told us what speed to maintain, how close we should be to the channel markers, etc, based on the other traffic around us. Moises pointed out where they were building the new addition to the canal, using the remains of the original French canal. When the Americans had taken over, they diverted the canal from the original route the French had started.

At first the boats were all passing one another, but within a few minutes, we were all in a single file line in the right order. Our lock mate, Pacific, was directly in front of us. When Pacific had passed us, Joel and Susan saw a dolphin playing on its bow.

Some of the big boats were accompanied by tugs. The tugs don’t do the transit. Big ships have poor maneuverability at slow speeds, so the tugs are there to help the ships get the cables in place, then turn around once the ship is situated. There was also a steady stream of traffic coming from the locks, including some massively large ships. A guy on one of the tugs going the other way shouted at us “nice looking boat!”

To be continued…

Neither of us felt like doing anything, but we absolutely had to go to the grocery store and get food for all the houseguests we would be having for the transit. Victor only has one day off a week from driving the bus, and today happens to be the day. So, there was no bus to town. The nice marina staff hunted down a private car for us. It appears they have sweet talked their husbands, boyfriends and friends into shuttling cruisers around in their spare time because even professional drivers don’t want to get stuck at the locks forever. On our way out of the base we saw several huge, and we mean really huge, buzzards hanging out on a cleared field on the base grounds.

And we did have to wait a full hour on the way out. This time the ships were going the other way. Two very large ships went in a row before they opened the gate for car traffic. We didn’t have a very good view, but we could see the locomotives pull one ship in, then the ship rose up out of our line of sight. Then the locomotives brought another ship in, and it rose up, too. We had an interesting chat with our driver while we waited. As has several people we have met, he lived in the US for a while and came back to Panama, and it was interesting to hear his perspective on life in Panama versus in the US.

Grocery shopping was incredibly disappointing. We had a hard time finding food Christi could eat, and with neither of us feeling good, reading label after label after label was tedious. We wound up buying food for the crew that she won’t be partaking in. Oh, and on a side note, we have mentioned the produce item christophene several times. We found out that they are a type of squash, and in Panama they are called chayotes. Here is a photo of a bin of them.

We lucked out and bumped into the couple on the Grand Banks. They have a car here in Panama, and they offered to give us a ride back. That saved us some money since we didn’t have to pay for the driver to wait and take us back.

Victor came by later in the afternoon to confirm we were definitely scheduled for Monday for an evening run, and we needed to leave the marina at 1530. Now that we have a set time, the transit suddenly seems very real and we are getting more excited about it. Eric equalized all the batteries. He is hoping that magically fixes the starter battery and prolongs its life, but it is doubtful. It was time to equalize the batteries, anyway.

Jeff Merrill, our salesperson from Nordhavn and now good friend, had wanted to do the canal crossing with us. A few days ago we had told him we had a sneaking suspicion it would be on Monday, so he booked a last minute ticket, knowing it was possible that we could go earlier or later and he may miss out on the canal transit. He arrived at 1700 today. It was great to see him. We wished we felt better. Jeff came completely loaded down with stuff for us. All the spare parts we had requested, all the cruising guides and Lonely Planets we requested, and then some. We felt like it was Christmas!