Yes, that's right. We finally left Panama City yesterday and are now anchored at Islas Chapera and Mogo Mogo. We had a wonderful trip here - until we hit something. As best as we can tell, it was a tangle of plastic and tree branches and that sort of thing. We were able to back up the engine and get some of it off, but there is still something there and we need to dive under the boat today and see what is up. There was definitely a problem - the engine acted weird, and there was a leak in the area where the shaft to the propeller goes through the hull. Mike managed with an incredible amount of trouble to fix it as soon as we were safely anchored. It was almost impossible to get to - he was twisted up like a pretzel while I held the flashlight and dripped sweat all over everywhere. It also took a new tool we didn't even know we had, but Mike remembered seeing it and wondering what it was for. Anyway, I am hoping against hope there is nothing wrong with the engine. I DO NOT want to have to go back to Panama City for repairs - we have been there long enough and I want to move on. However, we are still close to PC and if things have gone seriously south with the engine, we might have to. I am hoping that at worst we can wait until we get to Costa Rica. There is a haul out facility where we plan to stay.
Other than possible engine problems (too depressing to dwell on now) everything is great. The islands are wonderful and I am glad to be back. Our plan is to spend a week or so here, and catch some fish to beef up our stores. We plan to smoke it and pickle it. I haven't fished for a while now and I miss it. Both Mike and I have decided to give up sport fishing, as we have caught enough big fancy fish and now concentrate only on catching what we want to eat. But I have to keep reminding myself when I get greedy for a really big fish. I just want the photo op, and that is certainly NOT a good reason to kill a fish that is so big you can't eat it all.
I really enjoyed Panama City, but it is time to move on. We will likely stop by again when we go to Ecuador. Of course the timeline I have been going on and on about is completely shot. Except for two family events in May and June in the US that I will be going to no matter what happens with this boat, and hopefully a visit from a dear friend in July, I am going to stop making anything but the vaguest of plans. We never do what we tell everyone we are going to. Not purposely, but things just come up and then everything gets thrown out of whack. I am not unhappy about it, it is just something that happens in the cruising life, for lack of a better term. I think it has taken these three years on the move to learn that lesson. I knew better than to make any really firm plans - for example, planning to be somewhere on a certain date. A lot of people get into trouble trying to adhere to a strict schedule. That is when people roll the dice and take chances with weather they really shouldn't take, and were they not on that strict schedule, it is likely they would choose to change their departure time. So be it.
As I write this, we are the only boat here in the anchorage. There is a military station nearby, but all we can see of it is an antenna, never any people. Their boats seem to go a different direction instead of right through the anchorage. So I can skinny dip if I want to. (A side note: there are some definite advantages to skinny dipping over wearing a bathing suit. First, it feels better. Second, there are no wet bathing suits to dry. Both are good reasons, especially the first. I have never been a person who feels comfortable running around naked, but when it is this private and this nice, and it feels so good, why not indulge myself? That was probably TMI, but again, so be it. But it is gorgeous here. The water is clear, the islands are green, the sand is a lovely golden, and the fish are jumping all around the boat. I had my coffee in the cockpit as the sun was coming up. It can't get much better!
"True or false, that which is said of men often occupies as important place in their lives, and above all in their destinies, as that which they do." Victor Hugo
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