We should be gone but here we are still! What does it take to get us out of here? Our plan was to get through the canal early so that we could haul out, paint the bottom, provision and be on our way. Yeah sure! What is it about this cruising life that things never go according to plan?
To begin with, our proposed haul out hasn’t happened. The equipment broke down and, true to the Panamanian way, they don’t have the necessary to fix it. Paul has been diving regularly to scrape the incalculable number of hitchhikers and muck off our hull in the hopes that we’ll be able to, at least, achieve more than a couple of knots across the Pacific. However, this appears to a thankless task, as the little blighters have an affinity to Calypso and manage to find their way right back again.
Another delay came in the form of a mugging. Unfortunately, Paul was attacked by five thugs while trying to catch a bus from the old city. He was savagely kicked in the head and back, the latter causing cracked ribs that, regrettably, put him out of action for some time. He could hardly move let alone do any strenuous work. On the positive side, he heals incredibly quickly and now has very little to show for the incident.
The third setback was created by some minor medical issues which had to be resolved before making such a long passage. News just in has finally given one an ‘all clear’ so we can breathe a sigh of relief and will now just wait for the other.
During our stay in Panama City, we’ve watched two racing/cruising regattas pass through. Firstly, the ARC Round the World rally which races past everything (do not pass GO and do not collect $200…..) and then the Blue Water Cruisers rally which goes a tad slower but still much too fast for our liking. They round the globe in two years while we don’t expect to get much past New Zealand in that time. The canal was quite busy with the number of yachts passing through over the past couple of months.
We’ve also had to contend with the bureaucracy involved in getting a French Polynesian visa for Paul. South Africans, unfortunately, seem to be considered the pariahs of society and have to jump through all sorts of hoops in order to get there. The actual visa wasn’t so much the issue as was all the requirements needed to apply for it in the first place. These included having to have certain level of health insurance for the duration and producing all sorts of documentation to prove that we could afford to pass through their hallowed lands. EU citizens need nothing and most other civilized countries do not require a visa but only entail hiring an agent or, alternatively, posting a bond. South Africans are subjected to the full works and, although not impossible, it all takes time.
This particular anchorage has not been our favourite by any stretch of the imagination. It is hideously expensive with no facilities for cruisers, very rolly and has possibly the worst dinghy dock we’ve experienced to date. Also, we feel about as welcome as the gypsies must have felt when traveling through their neighbouring lands. However, remaining buoyant, Panama City is an excellent place to provision and get parts etc sent in so no complaints there. It’s just a pity we’ve had to hang around for so long.
When Chili suffered that dreadful earthquake, we were awoken early with warnings of a tsunami heading our way. There must have been sixty/seventy yachts in the anchorage all picking up anchors at the same time to head out to deeper waters. A better part of the day was spent hovering a few miles out until we were given the all clear to return and re-anchor, however, Panama did not appear to experience any abnormal wave action, possibly due to the way the isthmus is set back between the two continents. We were lucky not to have been further down the coastline; I’m sure there were a few yachts that were not so fortunate.
Another ‘’all-action’’ moment was when there was a strange wind reversal. Not that much wind but huge waves coming in from the unprotected south. It was a bit like ‘’musical boats’’ as so many started to drag and, unfortunately, a few suffered damage when they collided in the heavy seas. Calypso has quite a small anchor for her size but we held tight while all around us spent many hours trying to reset their hooks. Fun and games!
In between all the work, we managed an evening out (a large group of South Africans and one Kiwi) to watch the movie ‘’Invictus’’ which is about Nelson Mandela and the 1995 Rugby World Cup that was held in South Africa and won by SA. A bit of nostalgia for all of us who reminded the one Kiwi that the years hadn’t altered the result, they still lost!
Our little casita 
further inland is almost complete and we managed a visit up for a day to see how things were coming along. Once the big sliding doors and windows have been installed, it 
will be virtually finished and, hopefully, we can let it out during our absence. Some of the construction we have seen around the Caribbean coast of Panama leaves a lot to be desired but not so with this building. It is straight, solid and very well constructed. We’re very happy with the way things have gone and hope we can consider building the main unit when we return to these parts in later years.
The boat repairs list included water maker, gennaker sock, bilge pump, outboard engine, alternator, wind generator and wind vane and probably a whole host of things I’ve already forgotten. For any of you who may think that we must get bored living this life, think again - we simply don’t have the time!
Our water line has risen sharply with all the months and months worth of provisioning now stowed away on board – we shan’t go hungry. We’ve been told that the Marquesas in French Polynesia are second only to Japan as the most expensive place on this earth so we’ve stocked up on everything we could in the hopes of not having to purchase anything of significance there. We’ve bottled chicken, cheese and ginger in an effort to supplement the meager supplies our little fridge and freezer can store and can only hope it won’t be too difficult to find a few fresh fruit and veggies when we get to the islands. Here’s hoping the fishing is good en route.
This will be the last entry for a while that will be sent from an internet café. I’m hoping to send updates via the ship’s radio that will automatically be added to our blog so our families can keep track of us on a fairly regular basis. If you have the inclination, just check on our blog site from time to time to follow our progress. In the meantime, cheers to all of you for now.
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