Isla Contadora, Panama

Isla Contadora is one of the Las Perlas Islands in the Golfo de Panama on the Pacific side.  It's a 15 minute plane ride from Panama City; four hours by sailboat.  It's a popular get away for the city dwellers and those who are better off.  Las Islas Perlas used to be loaded with oysters and pearls; hence the name.  They were stripped of their jewels and are now a Panamanian tourist destination.  After transitting the canal we could not sit still and we had to catch up with Alex and Leah on Reflections.  We hadn't seen them since the early fall in Vancouver. They were about to launch for the Galapagos and it seemed silly not to see them off when we were so close.  We snorkelled.  Randy and Alex caught fish with their spear guns.  I cleaned and cooked our fish but Parrot Fish have the texture of mud and taste like sand.  We found out later that because they eat coral; they are not good fish to eat.  Besides, I told Randy not to kill the pretty fish.  Later that night we went out for dinner to a fancy hotel restaurant where I ordered a whole snapper for $14; normally they are $6 or less.  We stayed for two nights.  By then our friend Paul Belna was a regular salty dog.  We said good bye to Reflections at dawn and made our way back to the big city.  The winds were about 15 - 20 and the seas relatively calm.  It was beautiful.  For contrast, on arrival to Panama, all three of us took over our friend Matt's house; listened to music, made pizza went for steak dinner and yes, even did laundry.  Thanks Matt for always being such a generous host.  Sometimes we feel like crusty cruisers but Matt always welcomes us. 

Panama Canal Transit #2

Here is Lost Elvis ready to go through the canal again.  It's the second time with us and the 5th time for her.   We have had two Columbians working on our boat for the last month or more; Jose y Jose Jimenez, a father and son team.  They re-caulked and varnished (5 coats) the cockpit, the companion way doors, the helm and the table for $700 plus materials (which are cheap).  Novi, a boutique Home Depot sells Marine Varnish at a good price.  Because Jose and Jose David needed a lift back to Panama City, they came through the canal with us as line handlers.  Papa Jose drove the boat over to the flats; he's a professional captain.  Our first advisor, Fernando, was outstanding.  He is a born again Christian, and immediately blessed me upon learning that I was a heathen.  He also blessed Randy and I as a couple and the boat on her journey; so we've got that going for us.  Honestly, Fernando was smart, interesting to talk to and was excellent and organizing our flotilla of two boats as we transitted the Gatun Locks.   It went off without a hitch. The second advisor who arrived at 6 am the next day, Hernandez, a gringo looking fat guy who claims to have been advising for over 20 years was USELESS.  He even argued with the advisor on the other boat.  He almost crashed us into the wall and then tried to blame it on the two Captains who had a system that worked flawlessly until fatty decided to scream out commands.  Again, my fellow cruisers (oh how I despise that word), they are ADVISORS.  They do not know your boat or any of the boats in your raft.  If they provide ill advice; ignore them and tell them to stand down.   Or in our case, give him more to eat and tell him to stand down.

Randy has been working like a fiend; 30 hour days with little rest.  While he has travelled around the world at least twice he has had no down time to enjoy it.  What little time he has; he tries to rest and even that's a challenge when you are in a different time zone every day.

He got very sick in Ethiopia which he discovered in Cairo; dangerously high fever, gastro mahem in every respect.  After a day of IV, Cipro, and about 4 other meds, his fever came down to 102 F and he wanted to come home.  Being sick to the verge of hospitalization in Cairo is probably the last thing any  non-Muslim person would ever want.  We owe a HUGE THANK YOU to Sue and Sarah in Crew Scheduling at Southern Air for getting Randy home safely and as quickly as possible.  He is still very, very sick but at least he's home thanks to our friends at Southern.