Hooray for us. We are at the entrance to the Panama Canal! We
\narrived here today, Monday, at about 12:30 p.m., having sailed
\nfrom the nearby island of Isla Grande this morning. We were in
\nIsla Grande just overnight – having sailed there from the San
\nBlas Islands on Sunday. It was a beautiful, very windy sail
\nboth days along the coast of Panama. Coming into the harbour
\nat Isla Grande was a bit hair raising as we entered a fairly
\nnarrow channel between the small island of Isla Grande and the
\nmainland of Panama. There were big green crashing waves on the
\nshore and huge swells that rocked the boat a lot – then suddenly
\nit was calm and clear and we were in a nice protected anchorage.
\n Apparently Isla Grande is a huge week-end place for
\nPanamanians and the small beach there was packed with locals –
\nswimming and picnicking on the beach. Little water taxis
\nferried people back and forth constantly and we enjoyed seeing
\nso many people after the solitude of San Blas. We had a nice
\nquiet evening on our boat – dying to go to a restaurant – but
\nnot having the energy to set up our dinghy and engine and go to
\nshore. We were very excited to arrive at the Panama Canal today
\n– passing dozens of huge container ships outside the harbour
\nentrance. We are at a very pleasant and clean marina here –
\ncalled Shelter Bay Marina. It was quite a thrill to have the
\nchance to go for a little walk, and have both lunch and dinner
\nat the marina restaurant. As much as we enjoyed San Blas we
\nwere starting to miss some of the amenities of modern
\ncivilization. We found a Panama Canal agent right away –
\nsomeone who is quite well known among “yachties” – and he has
\nalready got us set up in the official Panama Canal registration
\nsystem. Tomorrow he is sending over the official “admeasurer”
\nto get the exact dimensions of the boat – a requirement for the
\nPanama Canal transit. He is also getting us a transit date (
\nprobably about March 13th), with all the required equipment and
\ncrew that we need. We will fill you in more about all that as
\nthe time progresses. In the meantime just wanted to let you all
\nknow that we are safely here, and very thrilled about being here
\non the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal in our own boat.
\nP.S. We just heard from someone that there were crocodiles in
\nthe water near some of the San Blas Islands. Oh, my – sometimes
\nit is better not to know such things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hooray for us. We are at the entrance to the Panama Canal! We arrived here today, Monday, at about 12:30 p.m., having sailed from the nearby island of Isla Grande this morning. We were in Isla Grande just overnight – having sailed there from the San Blas Islands on Sunday. It was a beautiful, very … <\/p>\n