89 - Welcome to the Pacific Ocean

We did it!  We traversed the Panama Canal and are now sailing in the Pacific Ocean.  While I’ll admit that the hardest part is still ahead of us with a 3700-mile 30-day passage to the French Polynesian islands, we’re excited to at least get this far. 

For the past 2 months, the boat’s been comfortably berthed in Shelter Bay Marina in Colon, Panama while the boat got a few needed repairs and some maintenance and the humans enjoyed the comforts of marina life and the wonderful cruising community of the marina.  Within a couple of days of our arrival, we had the boat pulled out of the water to get the bottom repainted (the job we got done in Maryland last summer was not holding up) and a few other needed repairs completed.  Everything was moving along and we assumed we’d only stay for a few days and move on.  That was before we learned that it would take 6-8 weeks to get our long-term visas for French Polynesia.  Admittedly, we’d not given this any thought until we started talking to Dan and Alison (s/v Equus) and to our fellow cruisers in the marina.  The 118 islands which make up French Polynesia are scattered across a vast area of the Pacific Ocean (roughly the size of western Europe).  And as with western Europe, non-EU residents are only allowed to stay 90 days without special visas.  In this case, the 90 days also includes the time it takes to sail from island to island and that did not seem like enough time for us to enjoy them (most of our friends also agreed).  So, we decided to settle in, apply for our special long-term visas, get to know more of our neighbors and explore the area.

Since we now had a bit of a wait, we started thinking about how to fill our time.  The cruiser community in this marina is spectacular and we quickly made many friends.  One of the fun and helpful things a lot of people do is offer to help other boats who are transiting the canal.  Each boat is required to have 4 crew plus the captain so were excited when Ian and Drofn (Dee) aboard Sturdeee (a beautiful Lagoon 450 catamaran) asked us to be a part of their crew.  Not only were we happy to get the experience, but we now had the perfect transport to take us over to Panama City where we had an appointment for our visa application later that week.

After our thankfully uneventful canal crossing experience, we left Sturdeee at her anchorage and grabbed a taxi over to the Casco Viejo (Old Town section of Panama City) where we'd booked an apartment for the next 4 nights. Originally built by the Spanish, it became the hub for the French during their attempt to build the canal and the charming architecture reminded us of New Orleans. The area, full of restaurants and roof-top bars was so walkable that we clocked 5-10 miles of walking daily.

With our visa appointment complete, our time in Panama City was over so we headed back to the marina in Colon. We’d only been back on the boat for a couple of days when we got a call from Sturdeee telling us that they’d hit something just 2 days into their Pacific crossing damaging their rudder and forcing them to head back to Panama.  After assessing the damage and working with their insurance company, they decided that the best and safest option was to come back to Shelter Bay Marina where they could have repairs done and possibly order a new rudder.  So, that meant a return transit back through the canal and we were happy to help.  While not such a joyous occasion this time (and it cost them another $3500), we all made the best of it and enjoyed seeing the canal again this time from the opposite direction as we headed back north.  Sadly, Sturdeee’ s repairs would likely be several months so Ian and Dee decided to leave the boat and head back home to the UK for the summer to regroup.

Back on our boat again, we were waiting for a new compressor for our freezer and having no idea when the repair men would show up, we decided against taking the boat anywhere. So, we started talking about land excursions.  Most of our friends in Panama arrived from the Caribbean and made stops in Cartagena, Columbia and all reported that they loved it.  So, rather than fight the wind to get there by boat (and not knowing when they would show up to repair our freezer, we booked 3 one-way (less than 1 hour each) flights to get us to Cartagena, the inland mountain city of Medellin and then back to Panama City.  

Cartagena's (officially Cartagena de Indias to differentiate it from Cartagena, Spain) main attraction to tourists is its beautiful old walled city. I am just guessing but I’d say this comprises an area of approximately ¼ miles in diameter so it is super walkable.  For our 3-day visit, we booked an apartment in a gorgeous old building located right in the middle of the walled city and thoroughly enjoyed hours of simply meandering.   Just a few blocks walk away was another section of town called Getsemani. This area has made its reputation as the artsy and party area of town.  They have side streets lined with murals and artists selling prints on almost every corner.  Every other corner seems to be a restaurant or simply and enterprising local who has set tables out in the street in front of their house to sell really good mojitos and Cuba libras. Again, we loved just walking around managed to find several restaurants, bars, and a great brewery.

  

Deciding to get away from the adorable but touristy areas, we put on our walking shoes and walked about 2 miles to the city’s central market.  This was eye opening.  Reminiscent of the souks in Morocco but with a definite Latin American feel, this market was gigantic and had everything from electronics, to clothing, to fruits and vegetables, freshly caught seafood, prepared food and even a whole pig.  We spent a couple of hours just walking through the various sections and taking it all in.  We bought the most amazing Arepas (I think it had a pound of cheese in it) from a street vendor for about $1.   If we'd been able to, I would have bought a dozen and brought them home.

On our way home, we passed the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas which we’d seen from our rental apartment.  This massive fort is almost 400 years old and very impressive. However, as we’d already been walking for hours and were thinking about the mojitos and cuba libras, we opted to just appreciate it from the outside rather than take a guided tour.  Overall, I have to say, we loved Cartagena and found the people to be very friendly and helpful.  Plus, the food was fabulous!

We took so many pictures in Cartagena, that I decided to just put a link here:   Cartegena

Alas, our time was up so we headed back to the airport for our short flight to Medellin.  We chose Medellin strictly on recommendations from other cruisers in our marina who all spoke highly of the city.   Located in the Andes Mountains and nicknamed the “City of Eternal Spring” due to its temperate climate, the city, weather, and views did not disappoint.  We again rented an apartment (with a pool and hot tub) for our stay.  While I was honestly a bit disappointed that we were in a new and touristy area (it was super clean and safe albeit a bit boring to us), our apartment was only about a 25-minute walk (lots of hills mind you) to the metro line so we could get anywhere easily.   Not only does the metro include traditional elevated subway lines but they also have the Metrocable - a gondola system – that’s included in your nominal fare.  We took the cable cars to the end of the line for fabulous views of the city. 

Next, we went back down and headed over to the famous Comuna 13. The city of Medellin is comprised of 16 Comunas that were initially areas where people simply built their houses on city slopes out of whatever material they could find and even today, many of the houses appear to be hastily built into the side of the mountain and one on top of the other.    Comuna 13 however, has reinvented itself and is now home to an artsy and party area with great views, outdoor escalators and lots of restaurants and bars.  We spent hours exploring and loved walking around it.

Hoping back on the subway, we headed downtown to visit Plaza Botero.  Botero was a famous Columbian artist.  There is a plaza near the city center where 23 of the artists statues are located.  Collectively these are nicknamed “Las Gorditas” or “The Fatties.”    I finally realized that I didn't need pictures of all of them but it was fun to see them.  

Again, we found the people of Medellin to be amazing.  Our first day there, Pedro wasn’t feeling great and needed to catch up on a bit of work, so I decided to go check out the downtown area.  As I got a bit turned around and couldn’t find the metro station I stopped and asked a lady to point me the metro (my Spanish was limited to “Metro?” but she shook her ahead affirmative and started walking that way so I followed her.  She helped me get a metro card and explained how to refill it.  Her name is Policarpa and, thanks again to Google Translate and WhatsApp, we spent the next hour conversing about our lives, she explained to me how to get to the Metrocable and told me where to find “The Fatties.”  On our last day in town, she met us at the metro station near her house where we met her mother, daughter, son, and sister, saw the new store that she'd just opened and had lunch nearby.  We were almost tearful as we had to leave for the airport.  She told me that I was her first friend from abroad and we promised to keep in touch.  Pedro and I agreed that whenever we talk about what we liked about a place, most of the time, it’s the people we meet that make it memorable!

Back in Panama, go figure, our freezer is still not fixed and our visas still not issued (we knew visas probably wouldn’t be ready but the freezer was supposed to be).  So, again based on advice from fellow cruisers, we decided to rent a car and take a quick road trip to El Valle de Anton.  This quaint little town is located in the crater of an extinct volcano and is home to several well-known hiking trails.  The hiking, while much more difficult than I expected, rewarded us with stunning views and great exercise.  We'd again rented an Airbnb walking to distance from town and the famed "La India Dormida" hike (there is a mountain range on the top that resemble a sleeping Indian woman).  To top it off, the owners of the house (they lived downstairs) have a friendly cat who visited with us whenever we were home.

Woo hoo!!!! Back on the boat, our freezer was repaired and we got the call that our visas were ready to be picked up.  To top it all off, we were able to schedule our canal passage later that week (we were told it could take a couple of weeks to schedule) which was gave our friend Doug just enough time to fly in to help us and still get back in time for a family trip to Italy. 

To cross the canal in a pleasure boat, you are required to hire an advisor who travels with you the entire time through the locks and Lake Gatun.  Additionally, you need 4 line handlers and, of course, El Capitan.  So, with Doug and me, we still needed two more bodies.  Thankfully, our dear friends from the marina Mark and Amy volunteered to help.  With one last run to the grocery, our pantry, refrigerator, and freezer were at capacity and we were ready to head out.

We were advised to meet our advisor (they arrive by boat and jump onto yours – the first few times we experienced this I couldn’t imagine how the boats wouldn’t damage each other but the boat captains’ skills are amazing) at 4pm and head for the first lock thereafter.  Well, the advisor arrived a bit later and our scheduled time was moved back so we entered the Gatun Locks just after dark but accompanied by a full moon.  Depending on the number of boats going through, often your boat will be rafted (tied beside) another boat or even two boats.  As we were in the low season, we went through alone (well, except huge ship that took up ¾ of the lock leaving just enough room for us to squeeze in behind them).  The locks are thankfully well lit.  With 5 of us having already been through before so knowing what to expect, Doug being a very fast learner and Captain Pedro’s amazing skill, we operated like a well-oiled machine.  In no time, we were secured, the locks closed, we rose up 30 feet, moved ahead to the second section for the same procedure with another 30 feet and repeated a third time.   We waived goodbye to the Atlantic Ocean and headed to a mooring spot for the night in Lake Gatun.

The next morning, our new advisor (they do not spend the night with the boats) arrived and we set off for the 5-hour trip across Lake Gatun.  This lake (which was the largest man-made lake in the world when it was created in 1913) supplies the necessary water to operate the locks.  The beautiful scenery and wildlife made the trip enjoyable.  For the last 2 locks, we were told that there is party boat who would tie off to the wall and we would raft up to them.  Again, thanks to the amazing skills of Captain Pedro, we tied off and untied from this boat a total of 5 times between the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks without a hitch.  We made friends with the partiers on the other boat and exchanged photos so we were able to get a few extra good pictures plus, back in Kentucky, Fred and Beth were able to download live video feeds of the last 2 locks and sent us some cool screenshots.  At last, after dropping back 90 feet, we were officially in the Pacific Ocean.

We dropped anchor for the night, sent Mark and Amy back to our old marina and put Doug in a cab back to NY for his flight out the next day.   Thanks to our amazing crew, we were ready for our next adventure.

However, we apparently got a bit too cocky because the next day as we went to pull up the anchor to start our Pacific Ocean passage, our windlass (the wench that pulls the anchor out of the water) stopped working.  Thankfully, we were in a safe anchorage and even more thankfully, Pedro is amazing and figured out that the relay for it had blown.  No problem, we’ll just get a new one.  Ha!  We visited and called 6 local stores and no one had one in stock but they could "probably" get one in a couple of weeks.  Disappointed that our voyage was being delayed (and not believing that they would get it in 2 weeks), we pulled up Amazon.  We found the part, shipped it through Miami to local a freight company and had it in Panama in 4 days!  Deciding to make the best of our wait (we never dreamed we get the part in 4 days), we started thinking of things to do while we waited.  Mark and Amy along with our other dear friends Jude and Chris rented a car to make a road trip from our old marina for an afternoon visit. Another day, we visited the nearby Smithsonian owned Punta Culebra nature center.   It was great.  They have wonderful wildlife exhibits including a critically endangered Panamanian golden frog, a great buttery exhibit (there were tons of the them but it was difficult to get them to stay still for pictures) and sloths living in the wild.  While we couldn’t get the sloths (nicknamed Lazy Bears by locals) to wake up much – we were told they are nocturnal – we were excited to at least catch glimpses of them.

Pedro had our windlass repaired, I got one last load of laundry done and bought a few more fresh groceries and were able to take off with just a one-week delay.  As I type this, we’re on day 19 with about 8-10 more days to go.  The sailing early on was a bit rough (in all fairness the area we sailed through - the ITCZ - is typically nicknamed “the doldrums” because there is usually several days (most people reported up to a week) with no wind at all.  So, we were happy to at least have wind even though it was often too strong, accompanied by squalls and from the wrong direction.  After the first 4 or 5 days, it was like someone flipped a switch.  We had mostly good wind, a lot of sunshine and a wonderful current that helped move us along nicely. We crossed the equator a couple of days ago and are so grateful that we've had more absolutely gorgeous sailing days than not.  

While the hardest part of this lifestyle is leaving behind the people we meet along the way who in a very short time become entrenched in our lives, the other great part is the idea that we'll meet up again. We’re so excited to meet up with our friends Dan and Alison aboard S/V Equus who are already in the French Polynesian islands of The Marquesas but we’ll tell you about that next time.

Until next post!