May 19, 2007 - We earn our Panama Hats after a salty saga

When to leave Aruba became a cat-and mouse game with the weather. 'When will we know when to leave boss..er..skipper" said crewman Phil. "I check with the buoy weather" said Cap'n Max. "The boy whether what?" said Crewman Phil. "Whether we go or not of course" said crewman John. "No, no " said Cap'n Max, "there are buoys stationed out in the ocean that tell us the wind speed and wave heights." "Good luck to them." said crewman Phil. "Definitely not a job for women" said crewman John. After a week of strong winds there was at last a change...

Nov 25, 2006 - Segeln an der Kueste Panamas

Zurueck auf den San Blas Inseln treffe ich mich mit Mark wieder und wir Segeln noch am gleichen Tag los. Wir haben super Wetter und leichten Wind- optimale Bedingungen. Die ersten Tage geht es immer die Kueste hinauf bis zum Fluss Rio Chagres. Unterwegs stoppen wir unter anderem in Portobello, einem heute winzigem Fischerort mit unglaublicher Vergangenheit. Alles Gold von Suedamerika ging durch diesen Hafen. Die Geschichte liesst sich wie ein super spannendes Abenteuerbuch. Anschliessend Segeln wir den Fluss Rio Chagres hinauf. Eingerahmt...

Mar 29, 2006 - Portobelo

With only a few days in Panama we were restricted to the areas around Panama City, but wanted to make sure that we got out to see life outside of the capital. The nearby town of Portobelo was exactly what we were looking for..... a small town on the Caribbean coast (which is only 80km from the Pacific Coast) with some Spanish colonial ruins. We caught a local bus from Panama City (a.k.a. the Chicken Bus) which gave Ryan and I one last exciting trip in third world before we wrap up our trip. The buses that transport people around and...

Feb 4, 2006 - Portabello

We left San Blas even though it was hard, but the adventure must continue right!?! We landed in a small town called Portobello. Portobello is known for its central role in the Spanish treasure route from Peru to Spain. We only spent one night here, but there was a lot of history to take in. Many Spanish fortresses still remain in this quaint fishing village. We walked around all day taking in all the sights, then ended the evening with an excellent seafood dinner along the water. Today we are off to Isle Grande which is an island about an...

Jan 9, 2005 - Cruising into the Canal

Our alarm clock woke us up at 5:45 AM, scrambling for a cup of black coffee, we greeted the sunrise on deck. At seven AM, we were traversing the first canal. Fortunately, the weather forecast was for a partly cloudy day and consequenty, it would not be unbareably hot.