On Saturday, February 22, the sun was about to peek over the horizon when the giant black cloud to the left blew in front of it and blocked the sunrise completely. 

This morning, the water was still not working. The dockmaster assured us that this time, he was being more proactive. He was making arrangements for water trucks and working on a strategy on how to get the pressure up enough to ensure that the water made it to the boats. However, the plan didn’t need to come to fruition because water was restored  in the mid-afternoon.

In the afternoon, Eric led another kids D & D session. Afterwards, the kids went to the pool and Eric joined them. 

While they were playing, Christi decided to explore more of the ruins that we’d seen along the road to Gatun Bridge. We’ve already mentioned that the marina was directly northwest of what had been the military air strip, which was now used as a Panamanian Coast Guard base. The majority of the Coast Guard Base was set back from the road, and there were several ruins along the road that were not currently utilized by the Coast Guard.  

Where the road turned south, Christi spotted some birds walking around. What made the species noteworthy were the red, beady eyes, which made them look a little zombie-esque. We’d seen some of them at the beach on Wednesday, and as they walked amongst the trash near the derelict buildings, they’d only added to the creepy feeling of the beach that day. 

The first structure that she passed looked like it could have been a gas station. 

She turned into the gate for the Oficina de Inspeccion. 

It appears to have relocated. 

She went on to the next building, called Ocean Breeze DCA, which appeared to have been a recreation center. 

As she wandered around, she saw it was much larger than it had appeared at first glance, with all kinds of amenities, including a theater, billiard room, and a fitness room (which was a large gym).

At the T-intersection, instead of turning onto the road that followed the bay and eventually led to the bridge, she went straight onto the road that led into the National Park. She’d remembered seeing that a visitor’s center was under construction near the intersection, so she walked by and checked it out. 

If she recalled correctly, there was nothing but jungle along this road for another 8 km or so until the Castillo, so she turned around.

She walked back on the other side of the street. At the corner of the T-intersection, it looked like there was once solar panels. One of the cruisers told us that those weren’t solar panel frames; they’d tested new paints there. We were unable to confirm if that was accurate information.

This side of the street was a series of low, blocky buildings. Christi didn’t go into any of them. 

These cute little birds were flitting about throughout her walk. Christi was happy that one rested long enough for her to snap a photo.

It was a quiet night onboard.