Doreen has been without a working computer since the beginning of November when her machine died one morning while we were in Ecuador. Ecuador was not the place to replace or repair it, so we made due. We left Ecuador after Halloween and then spent the next few month traveling to and within the Perlas Islands of Panama where there are few stores for food and not much else. We arrived into Balboa just as Carnival was getting going, so all shopping was put on hold until after Ash Wednesday.
Yesterday we went into the city to take our dead underwater camera in for repairs. It leaked sea water into it the first time we took in snorkeling. Hopefully the warranty will cover the repairs and we get the camera back soon.
The shopping center where the factory-authorized repair shop is also has a large MultiMax electronics store. After turning in the camera we went looking in the electronics store. They “just happened” to have an English computer (meaning it doesn’t have a Spanish keyboard) in stock, complete with factory installed English Windows 7 software. It was not quite as full of goodies as the computer that I had been looking at on the web - and a little more expensive - but we decided that a computer now was worth the difference and we returned to the Balboa Yacht Club with the new laptop!! Bill spent the rest of the afternoon – and well into the night – getting this machine set up for me with my favorite programs and all my many photos, eMails, FotoAlbums and video clips. Now I am back in business and, maybe, this blog will see more current updates. No excuses now!!!
We spent the last two months enjoying the Las Perlas Islands of Panama before coming into Panama City.
Christmas Dinner – both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – was shared with friends at Örnen House on Isla Contadora. Werner and Ginny were our dock neighbors when we spent time in Chula Vista on our way south many, many years ago. They now own the residence they call Örnen House in Contadora – named after their boat.
We had some bright sunrises while anchored off some of the islands.
Local fisherman fishing nearby to our anchored boat.
Bill navigating us thru a narrow, shallow channel.
We arrived at the Balboa Yacht Club a week ago. This is the marina office, probably an old control tower for the Panama canal from the days before radar, racon, GPS and AIS.
Yesterday Bill and I made the run-around to the many offices that we had to visit to complete the check-in procedure. It took all of two hours – what a change from our week long hassle to check out of Ecuador. When we finished with immigration we were just a few blocks from a strip mall that included a donut and ice cream store, so off we went to enjoy a treat. A quick trip to the nearby grocery store and Bill’s phone rang while we were in the check out line. Shirley was on the line to see if we were interested in lunch at Crepes and Waffles in the big Albrook mall. Of course we were up for it, so we spent a few wonderful hours catching up with Frank and Shirley and then they returned us to the marina.
Today we got started with a morning walk along the causeway and I got a large load of very salty clothing washed. Bill is making good use of the great internet connection here, checking out things that we need to order and questions that need answers.
We picked up a mooring at the Balboa Yacht Club about 3 this afternoon (Tuesday, 9 Feb). It took us several hours to get Lanikai put together after our travels and getting the paperwork together with all the necessary copies, before we could start the official check in routine. By the time we were ready it was almost 5PM so much of the running around will wait for tomorrow morning. We did get our passports stamped with arrival by the officer on the dock here and then enjoyed nice showers. Bill and I then walked off to TGI Friday’s for large ice cream sundaes.
Our original hope was to arrive here the 9th of February, but when we checked on the availability of buoys about 2 weeks ago we were told that it would not be until Feb 15 that one would be free. But yesterday when Bill called to check up on things no one remembered the Feb 15 promise, but one was available the next day (meaning today! The 9th! So here we are!).
We spent yesterday afternoon with Ginny and Werner at their home on Isla Contadora and pulled up the anchor early this morning to travel here on the incoming tide. If we had had to wait until the later date we would have had to travel much at night to catch the tide, so we were very happy to get the buoy today.
We have spent the last two months enjoying the Perlas Islands of Panama. We have enjoyed many spectacular anchorages. Doreen took off kayaking most mornings exploring the areas near our anchored Lanikai. We had swarms of beautiful black and turquoise green butterflies at one of the anchorages. At the last anchorage we had lots of birds to watch. The pelicans dove for fish very near our boat and small black ducks filled the sky with ‘black writing’ as they passed overhead in long lines. We also had a large flock of white egrets on the nearby reefs. Snorkeling was great the first month but more recently the cool Humboldt current has invaded the islands with cooler and therefore greener water.
Now it is getting time to head on into the big city of Panama. There is supposedly a buoy for us at the Balboa Yacht Club starting on February 15, so we are making our last visit to Isla Contadora now. We have stopped here about every other week to shop at the small tienda. The supply barge arrives each Thursday at high tides, so on Fridays there was an ‘ok’ supply of fresh vegetables and of course they do have a stock of ice cream. Bill and I usually bought one of the smaller containers to enjoy at nearby tables. There is also a much needed trash barrel at the dinghy landing, to dump our two weeks’ worth of plastics and other emptied containers. We will probably stick around this area until we move into the big city in about a week.
Without internet connections, Bill has spent the time working on his FotoAlbum program. The FotoAlbum can now accept and show movie clips that we are now taking with the new digital cameras. The program is getting good attention as well to much internal clean up and bug fixes from his previous sets of improvements.
Well, chores and trips to stateside await us in the city, as well as well-stocked stores and great restaurants – which we are certainly looking forward to next week.
