Things have been busy. We hauled out the boat, got the bottom painted and some of the fiberglass repaired near the shaft for the propeller, and some other sundry repair things, nothing really serious. The biggest unexpected and not-planned-for thing was the shaft repair. When we bought the boat, the surveyor thought the area looked sort of strange, but couldn't find anything really wrong. When we looked at it after three years (it has been that long since we hauled out) it looked as though it was degrading. We opened it up (thereby ensuring SOME repair would be needed, and discovered an earlier repair had leaked just enough to cause the insides to degrade. So we had it fixed (for a reasonable price) and now it is at least as good as new, maybe even better. It was the sort of thing that might never have turned into a problem, but if it did, the result could have been catastrophic if it happened at the wrong place and/or the wrong time.
While we were hauled out, we made a decision. It was not easy, but we felt we had no choice. Because we had not heard from the geckos in two weeks, we decided to fumigate. And so we did - the guy came and sprayed the hell out of everything. Again, every single space on the boat was emptied, cleaned, and sprayed. Funny, we found no gecko carcasses at all, not a single trace of one. Since then, life is back to normal, without the hell of a roach infestation. We have to get sprayed again in a couple weeks, and in the meantime, we have decided to spray (with Baygon from the store) every week or so until they are no longer sighted. I really did not want to go this route, but I couldn't stand the sight of those horrid little monsters.
We also, while de-roaching, cleaned out all the lockers of tons of STUFF, stuff we were not using, and likely never would, as well as some out and out right trash we could not figure out why we even had on board. There is more space now, and things look really good here in the cabin. We have oiled the hell out of all the teak, and it is rich and glowing. Because we got rid of so much STUFF, we were able to rearrange all our storage and everything is in better order, and there is less visible clutter. The salon is neat tidy. We hung some embroidered panels from Guatemala on the walls, leaving room for another piece of art. (We have stuff from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Belize displayed as this is written.) Although I am often fussing with the arrangement of the galley (aka the kitchen), it is still better than the last time I did it.
I was thinking the other day (after both of us bit our respective tongues and averted a stupid, but potentially yucky argument) how much Mike and I have learned since we left San Diego. Mike can fix pretty much anything on the boat unless a specialty tool is required. As we speak, the depth sounder is back on line, and we have all the stuff needed to fix the AIS and the watermaker (assuming the diagnoses were correct) on board and ready to go. We have a new solar panel on order (to replace the one that broke in El Salvador during a storm) as well as a hand held wind speed meter. We thought that might be a good idea for a number of reasons, many of them are the same reasons why we have a hand held GPS as well. You never know when the electric system could go down, and these items, along with a compass, will help one cope. Of course, we hope we never actually have to depend on them as primary instruments.
Mike and I are planning to leave Panama City tomorrow, and head out to the Perlas Islands for a couple of weeks, until our solar panel and other assorted items arrive. After that, we are going to head back to the islands for some more exploring, then south to South America. I am excited, really excited. I didn't really feel like a foreigner in Mexico, it has always been a really comfortable culture for me for a number of reasons, most of which have been already described here. Then I went to Central America. These countries are all very different from one another, and are very different than Mexico, despite the common language. I have been here for a year and could stay here for many more, and still not be satisfied, the same way as with Mexico. I am leaving just wanting more.
This is the Panama City skyline that we saw from one of the anchorages we stayed in. It is new Panama, which is surpassing Miami as the business capital of Latin America
This is old Panama City. The buildings are made of cement and wood. There is tenement after tenement, mixed in with some gorgeous historic neighborhoods.
Although it is hard to see clearly, the grey ball in the fork of the tree is a two toed sloth. They are nocturnal, so you almost always see them sleeping. They have three toes on their back feet, but only two on their front feet.
This egret comes and visits us every morning. As you can see, we are allowed to come pretty close.
Besides sailboats (all the fishing boats and the mega yachts go to the marinas), these are some of our neighbors here in Panama City. I don't think either of these two go anywhere.
The guys on the fishing boats are always friendly.
While the boat was hauled out, Mike and I took advantage of the situation and went to Isla Taboga, a short ferry ride from Panama City. This is the view from our hotel room of this beautiful island.
Anyway, things have not been dull here in the anchorage, either. We are well into the rainy season here, which means it will rain everyday at least once. And the anchorage in which we have chosen to reside is the one not recommended in the rainy season - we are exposed to southerly swells that make it untenable at times. We already left here once because of the swells, but the other anchorage has its drawbacks as well. The bottom is slimy, slippery and generally gross. Those characteristics require that you lay down a lot more anchor chain than you normally would. And this is because boats can drag anchor when the wind blows hard.
Although we are in the rolly anchorage and not the slimy one, yesterday Mike and two other boats had to rescue a boat that had dragged anchor and was but 20-30 yards from the rocks. The seas were rough, the wind was up, and the owner was not on board and could not be reached. A lock was picked, the key located, the engine activated, anchor pulled up, and the boat was moved to a safer location and the anchor hopefully set. The boat's captain had a proper anchor and plenty of chain, so it was a good lesson that this can happen even when you do everything right. The funny thing was we knew this boat. When we returned from going through the canal, we did not have our dinghy waiting at the dock. We had stowed it and gotten a ride from our boat to our friends' boat. We had planned to call someone on the radio, or more likely, just hang around the dinghy dock and beg a ride. This man - a real character, and we so enjoyed him - took us back. It turned out it was his boat Mike, Ron, and Joan saved.
So this is it for now. I have some before and after pictures of Magda Jean pre-and-post haul out, but that is for another post. Au Revoir! (Lots of French boats here!)
"It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done." (Vincent van Gogh)
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