Wednesday, June 2, 2010 – At Sea

Up by 6 am, we prepared for our long passage to Isla Jicarita and left the dock just before 7:30 am. During the first two or three hours, we were bothered by so much trash in the water, we had to steer around it at times. There were large logs, oil drums, plastic containers and other smaller miscellaneous debris to be avoided. We even had to pull in the fishing lines for awhile to avoid snagging the hooks on things other than fish.



When the water around us cleared up, Gale put the trolling lines back in the water. Soon, the cry went up, “Fish On!!” Reeling it in, we had a large mahi mahi. After filleting that fish, Gale came back inside to shower and change clothes. Afterwards, as he walked back out into the cockpit he saw and heard the line being stripped off one of the reels. “Fish On!! Fish On!!” He watched a 6 to 7-foot fish jump completely out of the water! As he went to reel it in, the line on the lure gave way and we lost what we thought was a sailfish! Oh well, it wasn’t long before we boated another very large mahi and a big tuna. Towards evening, the weather seemed to be deteriorating around us; the skies darkened, the wind picked up, the rain began and the seas became rougher. We decided to pull in the fishing lines, but before we could get the last line in, we had another large mahi mahi. Gale did a fabulous job of filleting out the three dolphin fish and the tuna. We may grow gills before the trip is over, but that’s okay with us! We have a lot of wonderful fresh fish to enjoy for many days to come.




During the daylight hours, the seas were almost calm and we had a very pleasant ride. The swells built toward evening and we experienced a very rocky night. Since Captain Jim was gone, we decided on 5-hour shifts at the helm. Gale and Maureen took the 7 pm to midnight shift while Mark and Diane had midnight to 5 am. Gale got a little seasick during his shift, so he was happy to have Maureen up in the wheel house which allowed him to get some rest while she watched the radar.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010 – Flamenco Marina, Balboa, Panama

This morning, Captain Jim learned that his mother was failing fast and her death was imminent. She had fallen and broken her hip on April 1st and had been going downhill ever since. He was sorry that he couldn’t make the rest of the trip with us, but it was important for him to go home and be with his family. Arrangements were made for Jim to fly out early Wednesday morning and he also booked a room in a hotel close to the airport for the night. Because we had already done the paperwork to “clear out” of Panama, we called the agent we’d been using for our Panama passage, Tina McBride, and she assisted us with making the necessary adjustments to our traveling papers and our crew manifest. We didn’t want to show up in Costa Rica





with a record that we left with five people and showed up with only four!

We spent a couple of hours on the internet at the nearby café and at 1 pm, Dracula, Tina’s partner, showed up with the Customs and Immigration paperwork we needed. It was 3 pm before the documentation was in order and too late to start the next 200-mile passage. So after Jim departed in the taxi for the hotel, we went out for a dinghy ride with the dogs. The skies were still pretty gray, but we welcomed the respite from the heat.

We ate the last of the mahi mahi for dinner and hoped that we would be able to catch some more fresh fish tomorrow as we continued our journey towards San Diego.

Monday, May 31, 2010 – Flamenco Marina, Balboa, Panama

At 10 am, we met up with Oscar, the taxi driver arranged by Dracula, who drove us to a fresh fruit and vegetable market in downtown Panama City. We asked Oscar if he could also take us to a craft market to shop for more of the local souvenirs and to a tackle and bait shop where we could stock up on some heavy duty tackle for fishing in the Pacific.

There was a bit of a language barrier since none of us spoke Spanish and the driver didn’t speak much English, but Oscar called his English speaking friend on his cell phone a couple of times and that friend helped translate our desires to the driver. We were very pleased with the establishments he took us to and enjoyed making our purchases.

Back aboard Adventure we made a couple of sandwiches, and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. With the hot temperatures in the morning and the dark skies in the afternoon, everyone was ready for a siesta.

Sunday, May 30, 2010 - Flamenco Marina, Balboa, Panama

For those who were up early enough, the howler monkeys were putting on quite a show. Their howl was described to be like “grown men being castrated without anesthetic!”









At 7:15 am, our Canal pilot for the day came aboard and we made our passage across Gatun Lake to arrive at the Pedro Miguel Lock at the south end of Gaillard Cut at 11 am. There our vessel was lowered 31 feet to the level of Miraflores Lake, a small artificial body of water that separates the two sets of Pacific locks. We called





our kids to let them know we were passing through and to try to see us on the live web cam if they were near a computer at that time. At noon, we entered the first of two Miraflores locks and by 1:30 pm we were in the Pacific. We could see the Bridge of the Americas which spans the harbor and connects North America to South America.

At 2 pm, we were at the Flamenco Marina in Panama City where we tied up in a slip that was located as far away from the marina office as one could be. Gale and Mark walked up to the marina to register and see what they could see around the immediate area. Upon their return, we visited for awhile before getting cleaned up and going out.

After a cocktail at the Flamenco Café, we decided to stop at Beirut, a Lebanese restaurant, where the menu was entirely in Lebanese. Fortunately, one of the servers was able to speak a little bit of English so we let him help Diane choose several appetizers for the group. We ended up with some tasty hors d’oeuvres of cheese wrapped in phyllo, seasoned meat dipped and fried, hummus and a type of flat bread. Diane inquired about the water pipes we’d seen at some of the tables and ordered a fruit flavored tobacco. After the server showed us how to use it, Gale, Diane and Maureen shared the hookah, or narghile in Lebanese. It was a pleasant experience and both Gale and Maureen were reminded of the smell of their grandfather’s cherry pipe tobacco as children.

Saturday, May 29, 2010 - Gatun Lake, Panama

Maureen spent the morning on the internet updating the blog with photos. Gale and Jim worked on regular boat maintenance while Mark and Diane carried on with other chores. By noon, we were all ready for some pool time. As we relaxed by the pool, we called our kids and our parents to let them know we would be starting our journey through the Panama Canal this afternoon and to tell them about the live web cam focused on the locks. We hoped that someone might be able to see us pass through.




At 3:30 pm, Dracula and his friend, Rudy, joined us as crew and we left the marina to anchor out in the harbor and wait for the authorization to proceed. To transit the canal, every boat is required to have four line handlers so Mark and Gale along with Dracula and Rudy would handle the lines. Every boat is also required to hire a Canal pilot or advisor who provides communication with the locks and guidance through the canal. Our pilot was brought out to our vessel at 6 pm and we made our way to Gatun Locks.





The Panama Canal is 50 miles long from deep water in the Atlantic to deep water in the Pacific. It requires about 9 hours for an average ship to transit the Canal and its principal physical features are the two terminal ports, the three sets of twin locks, Gatun Lake and Gaillard Cut. Gatun Lake, through which the ships travel for 23.5 miles from Gatun Locks to the north end of Gaillard Cut, is one of the largest artificial bodies of water in the world.

Gatun Locks is a set of three locks that raise vessels a total of 85 feet up to the level of Gatun Lake. Before entering the lock, we tied up to another pleasure craft, a sport fishing boat, and the two boats traveled through together. The sun was just beginning to set as we entered the first lock and by the time we cleared the third lock at 8 pm, it was quite dark. Because of the late hour and darkness, we were instructed to tie up to one of the mooring buoys provided for the large ships and wait until morning to continue our passage. Trying to tie off to the mooring buoy was quite an event in itself, but we were able to secure the boat for the night with the help of our hired hands. The pilot was picked up by the Canal authority boat but Dracula and Rudy remained with us for the entire trip. We enjoyed learning about Panama and its history from our guests as we shared a terrific meal of grilled hamburgers, baked beans, chips and salads.

Friday, May 28, 2010 - Shelter Bay Marina, Colon, Panama

At 8 am, Dracula was at the marina with two taxis he had arranged for us for the day to take us on a tour of Colon. The city itself covers a small area but is home to many thousands of residents. Colon has a reputation for being a dangerous and dirty place and it was recommended that taxis be used rather than walking around unescorted. The state/province/principality of Colon is very large; in fact, our driver told us that you could drive for five hours in one direction and one or more hours in the other direction without leaving the state.

Shelter Bay Marina is located on an old U.S. military base that was given to Panama in 1999 when the US turned the Canal Zone over to the Panamanian government. At that time, all the buildings were in good repair, freshly painted, furnished and ready for use. Panama did nothing with the property and over the next five or six years, it was looted and vandalized so that no windows, doors, air conditioners or furniture remained. It wasn’t until around 2005 that armed guards were placed at the entrance to the grounds to keep unauthorized individuals out.

The first part of our drive from the marina to the city was through several miles of jungle. It was very green, lush and beautiful scenery. Our first stop of the day was the Colon Free Trade Zone where passports are necessary for entry and only non-residents of Panama are allowed to purchase merchandise. It was an amazing

gathering of over 1900 international companies from around the world with a combined trade volume of over $10 billion. The streets and sidewalks in the zone were old and not well maintained, but we covered quite a bit of area and poked our noses into several stores in the two hours we spent there. There weren’t any bargains here unless you were buying large quantities and could get the wholesale prices.

At 11 am, we found our taxis waiting at the entrance to the Free Zone ready to continue our tour. They drove us through the streets of downtown Colon and pointed out several highlights. We learned that education and health care in Panama were top notch but the roads were a “national disaster.”

Upon leaving Colon, we headed for Portobello, a small village over an hour east of the town of Colon. We were out in “the country” and saw many large ranches where cows and horses ranged for many miles. By 1 pm we were all getting very hungry and thirsty – none of us had really taken time for breakfast – and we were rewarded with

a cozy restaurant, Las Anclas, located on the outskirts of Portobello where we tasted some of the local fare. We tried the seafood and vegetable stew as well as an entrée of fresh fish.

The Bay of Portobello was discovered by Christopher Columbus on November 2, 1502 during his fourth trip to the new world and it wasn’t long before it became a very important port for the Spanish Empire. Today, Portobello is a sleepy little town whose present day claim to fame is the Black Christ of Portobello, a wooden statue of Jesus of Nazareth that is considered holy and worshipped because of the miracles attributed to it. Every October 21st people wearing purple vestments walk on their knees from as far away as Costa Rica to pay their respects. We lit a candle, said a prayer and took a few pictures of the shrine in the Church of San Felipe de Portobello.

Outside the church, there was a small market with locals selling their wares. We picked up a few souvenirs and trinkets. We also visited the Fort of San Fernando where we could see many old cannons that had been placed there to defend the port.








We left Portobello for a pleasant drive back to Colon Town and stopped at a very busy modern supermarket. We picked up provisions for the next four weeks and our drivers had us back at the marina at 6:30 pm. Each driver was paid $140 for an entire day of sightseeing.

After putting groceries away, we snacked on cheese and crackers instead of making a full meal. Gale and Maureen each took a glass of wine to the pool and enjoyed a romantic swim and a little time in the hot tub all by the light of a full moon.

Thursday, May 27, 2010 - Shelter Bay Marina, Colon, Panama

Gale and Maureen were both up at 5:30 am for Gale’s shift. We could see land, lights and many large ships waiting at anchor for their turn through the canal. We arrived outside the harbor about 6:30 am and were allowed immediate passage through the breakwater and into the Shelter Bay Marina at Ft. Sherman Point where we tied up to the dock at 8 am. Our agent, Tina McBride, had made arrangements to have Dracula, her representative, meet us at the dock. Yes, “Dracula” is the name he answers to – his given name is Hensley.

We had a little trouble raising anyone at the marina, but eventually someone came by and we were given a slip assignment. Before settling into the slip, Gale maneuvered the boat over to the fuel barge to “top off” the tanks with over 600 gallons of diesel. After fueling, he did an expert job of backing the boat up into the slip.


The day was sunny and hot – we were all sweating pretty good by the time we had the boat secured, the power connected and the water lines hooked up. It wasn’t long before an official from the canal came aboard. Since Adventure had already been through the canal once before, the measurements were all on record and our passage could be officially scheduled.


We relaxed with lunch at the marina restaurant and then decided to put on our swimming suits for a refreshing dip in the pool.

It was nearly sunset when Dracula returned with our Customs and Immigration clearances. He stayed to share a couple of cocktails with us and then promised to return in the morning at 8 am to take us sightseeing for the day. Gale, Maureen, Mark and Diane enjoyed dinner on the boat, danced to music from our iPods and brought out the “band in a box” before retiring for the night.