Eric let Victor know we would use him as our agent as soon Victor’s work day started and gave him all the necessary paperwork. In the afternoon Victor showed up at the boat with 4 super long lines and 20 tires. The tires are used and cost $3.00 USD each to buy. The lines cost $100 USD each to rent, which we thought was a lot of money for a rental.

Victor said our measuring appointment was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, but the guy might come tomorrow, so hang around the boat and wait all day. Sigh. We hate sitting around and waiting knowing it is probably for nothing. We’d rather Victor said there was zero chance the guy would come tomorrow so that we could be free to do other things. Once the measuring is completed, Victor will take us to the bank to pay the transit fees, and once paid, we can schedule an appointment to go through.

The fact that the measuring appointment wasn’t scheduled for today or tomorrow is an indicator that Victor is not connected yet. The two day delay doesn’t really matter to us, though. We had been warned that we may have to wait in line for up to seven weeks to transit the canal once the paperwork is completed, but apparently right now there is no wait at all. After the paperwork is completed, we should be able transit the very next day. Eric is patting himself on the back for his good judgment to come in when we did. Apparently, just a couple weeks ago it was a week plus wait to get through, and we know when the glut of boats arrives in a few days, it will be back to being a week long wait.

Eric spent most of the day researching potential places to stop along the Pacific Coast. Because of the notoriously rough head seas, this last leg from Panama to San Diego is actually going to be one of the hardest stretches we will do. Normally, we compile a list of places to stop at in a region that sound nice. This time it is different. Our plan right now is to run whenever the weather is cooperative and tuck into shelter when the weather turns bad. So, rather than pre-choosing places to stop, we’ll end up where we end up. Eric compiled a list of potential places that offer good shelter in bad weather that we can tuck into.

Christi spent most of the day doing interior cleaning. We have mentioned in previous posts that Christi gets incredibly lethargic at sea, but we can’t remember if we have mentioned that she struggles with lethargy when we are at anchor, too. In a rolly anchorage she will cook and do dishes, and she will do the most basic of cleaning when it really needs to be done (ie bathrooms), but she won’t do any more than is absolutely necessary. Now that we are in a flat marina, she is getting caught up on all the housework she has been postponing.

We also arranged with the marina office to have someone come and wash the boat. He did a beautiful job. Kosmos was absolutely gleaming when he finished”¦ and then about ½ hour later, the used and dirty tires arrived. The clean was nice while it lasted.

For dinner, we ate in the marina restaurant. Two dishes worth mentioning are tortilla soup and fried green plantains. Tortilla soup is a savory chicken soup with pieces of chicken and chopped bell pepper, with generous helpings of cheese and small tortilla chips sprinkled on top. Tortilla soup is a typical Mexican food dish. We have had some phenomenally good tortilla soups back home, but this one was only OK. Plantains are similar to bananas (actually, technically bananas are a type of plantain), but they are always served cooked, never served raw. The plantains were sliced horizontally and deep fried. They are a side dish similar to French fries, but they were tasteless, and even salt didn’t help. Christi once made fried plantains, following a recipe that called for lime and a splash of rum. They were delicious, so we know there are delicious fried plantains out there somewhere.

We have been doing a lot of socializing, too. This is an especially friendly marina.