El Dorado, Panama
This is the first place that has an internet since we left Golifito on June 9th.
We left Costa Rica on June 9th and did an 85 mile cruise to Isla Parida. We had Thunderstorms and lightning along the way, but arrived safely. Filo, who lives on the island with his family came by to trade with us. We got mango, avocados and pineapples. He got pencils, notebooks and a baseball cap. We were all content!
Then it was off to Islas Bolanos . On the way, where we found some turtles caught in nets. Well, we couldn't just leave them so we deployed the kayak and Dave managed to cut two loose. One was missing a flipper and the other seemed okay. It took them awhile to recover but then one came over to the boat as if to say 'thank you'. We tried to lift the net into the boat but it was much too heavy, so we cut it up as much as possible. We made it into the bay and just got anchored when a heavy squall hit us-fast and hard. The anchor was holding but we were being pushed closer to the rocky shore, so Dave pulled up the anchor and I repositioned the boat. She responded well, and soon we were out of trouble , reanchored, and sat out the rest of the squall.
The next day we took off for the mainland and went to Bahia Honda and met a fun character named John and his dog on FLAIR. He was a very interesting person who had owned a drilling company in Nevada and had been living in Bahia Honda for 4 years now.
Next we set off to cross the Bay of Panama and timed it for as much daylight as possible so we wouldn't have to worry about the ships in the shipping lanes.All went well at first. It was calm and we saw dolphins and whales and knew the ships were crossing 4 to 5 miles ahead of us. Then night comes, and along with it a thunderstorm and high winds, and our autopilot decides to die. Now we are working hard. It never fails, but it goes with the territory.
The next morning was calm and we anchored at Perlas Island, San Jose. We saw a sailboat and hailed them and it was a boat that had been with us in the 1998 Baja Ha Ha -Margaret and Jim from JOY RIDE. On beautiful Don Mernardo, we met with other wonderful cruisers-Danny, Chris and their two boys on JOURNEY.
Next stop was Isla Cadora -a populated island with supermarkets and hotels. Here we met other wonderful cruisers-Mike and Hunter, two surfer dudes from SKAL; Joy and Lorry from FREELANCE; Peter and Marlene from KA SALA; Dorothy and Darryl from ISLAND PRINCESS ; and Tim, Maryanne, and their sweet little girl Megan, on the TUAC. Some are going through the canal sooner; others are waiting for guests.
We are waiting for our friend Duff, who will transit the canal with us. First we have to have the boat measured and pay the $750 fee. We need lines and line handlers and that costs too. We have to pick up an advisor for the lock transits and when we are in the Lake, he gets picked up and returns the next morning to bring us through the upper locks.The lake is 23 miles so to do the whole canal in one day is almost impossible for us. Anyway, we will keep you posted. There is a live camera on the Miraflores Locks.
Love, Fran & Dave
BULLETIN - Friday Aug. 6
Early this morning a white sailboat with blue mast covers was
seen on a WebCam going through the MiraFlores Locks in the Panama
Canal. Although the resolution wasn't good enough to see the people
on board, we are sure that Fran was there waving!
Tuesday. Aug.10
Hi All:
Yes, that was the Sorrento you saw because we were the only sailboat
'transitting' the canal that day.
It was a great experience going through the Panama Canal and very
exciting. We had great weather which also helped. We had 4 linehandlers-
Duff, Daryll, Dorothy and myself (Fran). Capt. Dave was at the
helm with the advisor. We 'side-tided' to a tug for 5 of the 6
locks. We went center-tied which meant we all had to work while
the water was filling in the locks. We wore gloves and held the
line taut and had to slack it when needed.
We cut through the Monkey and Banana Cuts to save time in the
Gatun Lake so we could catch up with the ship we followed in the
uplocks. It rained during the lake transit for awhile and I took
an outdoor shower -delightful! Dave maintain steerage and the
Sorrento handled well through the entire crossing.
We celebrated with champagne and pineapple upside-down cake when
we tied to the dock in Colon. Colon is a story all by itself.
It is economically depressed and you will get mugged if you don't
look Panamanian. So we cab it everywhere. The large supermarket
will come and pick you up by bus and drive you back to the Yacht
Club, so it is pretty safe.
We are just waiting for a part from the States and then we will
be out of here! Heading first to Portobelo , then to Isla Grande
and on to Porviner, and then the San Blas Islands. We plan to
be there 6 or 7 weeks and then it is off to Cartagenia in Columbia..
Other cruisers who have come from there say it is safer than Colon.
We will need to haul the Sorrento out of the water and have some
work done there. We'll spend some time in Columbia and Duff, our
crew for this portion of our trip, will fly home to San Diego
from there.
We will then continue to San Andres which is an island off the
coast of Nicaragua but it is owned by Colombia.
So we will keep you posted on the future of Dave and Fran , the
Sorrento and her crews along the way.
Send regards to all!
Love, Fran & Dave
Return to Costa Rica (April 28, 1999)
Go to First Leg Recap ( May 15, 1999 Brought Pictures to Reno)