The Panama Canal Crossing!

After a week of preparations in Shelter Bay marina in Colon we were all set for our canal transit. We decided to use an agent to help expedite the process, which was money well spent. He did all of our paperwork, arranged for an admeasurer to measure the boat, provided the 4 x 138ft lines required as well as the 10 tires to protect our boat and corresponded directly with canal authorities on our behalf. That was $350 well spent. In total it cost a boat of our size $1300 to transit the canal, which took 2 days.

Like most cruising boats, we were rafted up with another boat to go through the canal behind a commercial vessel.  We weren't too happy when a small tug came flying past us to sneak into the locks ahead of us RIGHT when we were rafting up!

Each boat needs four "line handlers" to release or pick up the tension in the control lines holding the boat steady while the water level rises or falls.  Our friends from Chilli Cat & Maloo were happy to help out - a great way to get some experience before they went through themselves.  Since our buddy boat line handlers were kinda slack about their jobs, we were happy to have Charles working hard to keep us from hitting the walls!

There are three steps to the first set of locks, which raise boats 26m above sea level

View when the lock was full

We transited on the centennial year of the canal!

The local line handler who throws the monkey ball, which then acts as a lead line for our main control lines.

After the first three locks, we tied up to a buoy in Lake Gatun to stay overnight.  The boys were pretty happy to have gotten through the stress of the first set of locks - it really wasn't that hard, but being constantly on edge takes its toll.

Sunrise at Lake Gatun - we had a great night here (with a quick swim since the lake is known to be home to crocodiles).  Up at 6am with a new set of advisors, we were off to reach the final set of locks at the other end of the lake.

We made it!!!!  It was an amazing feeling to pass into the Pacific - punctuated by a marked change in temperature just as we left the final set of locks.  While we are really only at the beginning of our journey in terms of sea miles, passing through the canal was a major milestone for us mentally - we are now "on our way home!"

Having passed through the canal in front of our buddy boats, we had a few days of waiting and exploring Panama (and trying to get final repairs/jobs ticked off the list) while we waited for Maloo & Chilli Cat to come through.

 Cosmopolitan Panama City

Megan enjoyed some exploring while Mike worked on a few things - the beautifully restored buildings in the Casco Viejo - Spanish for Old City were quite special - though the crime undercurrent was very prevalent.  The old city was settled in the late 1600s and is literally crumbling in places. It is undergoing a huge restoration and has a similar feel to other colonial cities like Cartagena.

 Church and Convent of Santo Domingo: The Flat Arch

 San Francisco Church

 The Metropolitan Cathedral - the main Catholic temple in Panama City

With the crossing out of the way - we now are focused on final provisioning, repairs & helping our friends cross before we head off for the Galapagos!

Kuna Yala - Panama!

After a great city sojourn in Cartagena we were back on the water; destination - The San Blas Islands. The San Blas is an archipelago comprising approximately 378 islands and cays, of which only 49 are inhabited. They lie off the north coast of the Isthmus of Panama and they are home to the Kuna Indians.

After a 2 day sail with high seas and rough winds, we were relieved to finally arrived in the Hollandaise Cays with our buddy boats - Chilli Cat and Maloo. We anchored in the protected waters of 'swimming pool anchorage' and did very little for 5 days except swim, eat and relax.

After months of searching, Mike finally found a speargun in Colombia. We're hoping this bad boy is going to supplement our diet with fresh fish in the Pacific.

(small) success!

With some practice Mike speared a decent size barracuda! Until now we've been hesitant to eat barracuda because of the ciguatera they generally carry- ciguatera is a food borne illness caused by eating certain reef fish whose flesh contains toxins. After speaking with the locals and many cruisers who have been eating the barracuda in these waters for years we decided to get out the curry powder and frying pan cook this sucker up. It was tasty!

We joined in a cruisers rubbish burn one afternoon - you can learn a lot about fellow travellers from their trash!

 Megan and Heather from 'Chilli Cat'

 Captain Charles of 'Chilli Cat'

 The boys enjoying some cold beers

The Kuna are famous for their bright molas, a colourful textile art form made with the techniques of appliqué. Mola panels are used to make blouses of the Kuna women's national dress, which is worn daily by many Kuna women. Each mola is unique and they usually show abstracted forms of birds, animals and marine life.

A Kuna woman selling her molas.

 After 5 days at anchor we were ready for a change of scenery and headed west. We spent 2 nights in the west Hollandaise Cays - very beautiful.

 The islands are very small and can typically be walked around in 30 minutes or less.

We had a few days of dark clouds and rain so Megan decided to tackle her 500 piece fish puzzle. Good times!

Freshly caught lobster we bought from a local Kuna. He paddled around in his "ulu" - dugout canoe to all the boats. They were small but $10 for 4 was the right price! Mike and Mark took care of the dirty work off the back of the boat and then we BBQ'd them quickly and served them with butter and garlic - delish!

We had a great time relaxing in the San Blas and really enjoyed socialising with our cruiser friends. Although the islands are beautiful, we were saddened to see how much rubbish - mostly plastics have washed up ashore. A real reminder of the effects western living has on small communities. It will be interesting to see if the Kunas can retain their traditional way of life or if they'll succumb to modern conveniences. Up next - our transit of the Panama Canal to the Pacific ocean.