Photos from Panama

The captain's station. The log book, chart, weather forecast and coffee...

It has become increasingly difficult to get a good picture of Porter as he would rather do just about anything other than smile for the camera. That makes this photo an especially cherished one.

When we left the Bahamas, we sailed from Conception Island, which is southeast of the Exumas. From there we sailed mostly south (a little east) to the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti and then across the Caribbean Sea to Colon, Panama. In this picture, you can see Porter and Christopher and one of many "Panamax Container Ships" behind them. These are the largest container ships that can go through the Panama Canal. At 295 meters (nearly 1000 feet long), we work hard to stay out of their way, especially at night!

There were several rough sections on this recent passage to Panama, including the Windward Channel where a lot of water flows through a relatively narrow spot causing steeper waves. Normally Jack does not struggle with seasickness, but this trip was hard on him. I think the heat,  many days in the 80s and even 90s, contributed to the discomfort. He spent a lot of time snoozing on the poop deck, the area right behind the wheel.

We are lucky that Porter and Jack have always gotten along well. This photo is a classic image of the two of them on passage. They sit together looking at the horizon talking about all kinds of things including the development of some fantastic fantasy worlds. Such great friends.

On the passage, we had about 24 hours without wind. And no wind means the heat is more oppressive so what better way to cool off than to go for a deep ocean swim. Here you can see me and The Rabbit enjoying the water, even though it was really only a couple of degrees cooler than the air. Honestly, I have taken baths in cooler water.

 The best friends are at it again in the cockpit

When I upload the photos from the camera to my computer, i often find out of focus selfies of the boys. Or worse, of the inside of the boys' mouths. This time, i saw the little miscreant taking one and photo bombed it myself.

As we approached Colon, the Caribbean/Atlantic entrance to the canal, the concentration of large ships increased dramatically.

This is the AIS screen (Automatic Identification System) as we approach Colon. There are 50 targets within 12 nautical miles of Sila. We were expecting lots of ships as we got closer to the canal, of course, but it was still an impressive sight!

 Just a few Panamax container ships behind Jack Rabbit.

A few minutes later, we were within about a quarter-mile of this particular ship. It was moving slowly, actually doing circles as it lined itself up to go in the southern entrance to the harbor. We were using the northern entrance.

Same image of the boys, different day. We arrived in Panama on Sunday.Tuesday morning, we motored from the marina across the bay to a designated anchorage, not too far from the container ship loading docks you see in the background of the above photo. There, a Panama Canal official boarded our boat to measure it carefully (using a low-tech measuring tape), and to complete the application permit to cross the canal. We are now scheduled to transit on Monday and Tuesday, June 15 and 16.

We took the shuttle bus from the Shelter Bay Marina to a shopping plaza in Colon. To get there, you have to cross the canal as the marina is on the north side and the city of Colon on the south. So this is a picture of the Gatun Lock, as seen from the shuttle bus.This is the first lock we will go through when we transit.

This picture just gives you a little better sense of  the movement of the water. They were letting water out of the lock to lower this boat to Colon level. The first time across the lock, we did not have the camera handy and there was a much bigger and loaded container ship towering over the lock itself. It was a truly impressive sight and made all four of us excited about the upcoming transit, although i will admit to having a little trepidation as I look at the scale of the ships and the locks up close.

 When one is helpful in the grocery store, one gets ice cream to eat while we wait for the shuttle bus

It took all four of us to carry our supplies back to Sila. When we were in Florida, we stocked the boat with all kinds of things that we do not expect to find readily in South America, but we still need regular supplies of fresh food and the primary staples of pasta and rice.

Yesterday morning we got up early and went for a walk near the marina. This photo hardly does any justice to the towering canopy above us. We had hoped to see some of the howler monkeys that we had heard from the marina a few days earlier. Unfortunately, they seem to have gone deeper into the jungle. We dared not follow as i think the prodigious number of mosquitoes might have carried Jack away entirely.

This was one of a couple overgrown batteries, probably used to secure the canal area when the Americans were still in charge of the canal. The Shelter Bay marina is located on a peninsula right near the abandoned US installment. On the shuttle bus, we drove right by 25 or 30 abandoned buildings that are now in disrepair, though not grown over like the batteries!

Jack, emerging from the jungle into the grassy edge near the marina with a large leaf.