We are safe and soundly anchored back in Isla Contadora, Las Perlas Islands. Tired but happy to be anchored next to good friends on Break Away, who not knowing that we were heading back got a little surprise this morning when we dropped the hook next to them.

And so we will try to enjoy the beauty of these islands while fixing boats… cruising is often described as fixing boats in paradise, this may well be true, but at least it’s still in paradise!

When you live on a boat there is SO much to do! The devil is in the details and there is no end to the details. The boat needs upgrading and repairs and maintenance and often jobs take longer than expected at the best of times and usually cause other boat jobs in most other typical situations. I am happy to report that Jon’s 20 year old Swede is more work than the slightly older one. Plus we do boat school and regular household tasks. We need clean clothes and a comfy bed and healthy food. All these tasks take longer and require some extra creativity  than they do in a bigger space and with the luxuries of a house on land. The Itchy Foot crew have been working hard, and I don’t know what we would do without Tina!

We have been working on the maintenance and repairs for a long while. Already back in September, Jon installed a new autopilot system that will help us keep our course and save us self steering on the long passages. That was six months ago! It is just an example of the planning and preparation we are doing. Jon has been busy busy busy looking after her and each boat job he does requires its own details. Listing all the jobs here would just be boring for you to read and actually hard to remember but enjoy some of the photos to give an idea of how things look mid job. Needs for repairs crop up and jump up the list of priorities. For example, Itchy Foot needed engine work so Jon replaced the raw water intake thanks to luck in timing we could pick up a replacement part. Unfortunately the exhaust hose we need to replace is not available here in Panama so we have no choice but continue to look for it. Another issue reared it’s ugly head back in Santa Marta. Our battery charger freaked out and damaged our batteries as well. That job called for a replacement of the charger/inverter unit, new cabling and some carpentry so nothing is sliding around. All these jobs take a long time including the research, the logistics of sourcing parts and the complications of working in a small space. These are just a few of the major repairs we have undertaken recently so that we are ready for the Pacific crossing.

Regular maintenance cannot be forgotten either. We have been making sure our safety equipment is up to date and reliable. We have set up devices and software that communicate with satellites to track our progress, life lines must be healthy to protect us in rough weather and there are preparations to be made to keep a good household. We have to be able to communicate and we need good clothing for the environment, plus we need to eat well on passage. So, Tina and I shopped for the household things and food many times and sometimes Teo comes along to help and other times he helps on the boat. And Tina has amazing friends who have helped us. We went to stay with her very generous friend Juan who let us borrow the kitchen. We cooked for 11 hours straight, finishing at 2am. We filled the freezer with meals so we have good stuff in the bellies even if conditions are rough. Only our friends who make meals in boat galleries can truly understand how much we appreciate this opportunity.

We also visited a market to fill the boat with fresh fruits and vegetables for the crossing. At the market we had a guy with a trolley and second one with a car and we went around collecting underripe goodies. These things should ripen gradually so you have an even source of good things to eat even at the end of the journey. We found a stall with three great women and we were off and running. There are tons of pieces of advice of how to store things. Tomatoes like to be wrapped individually, potatoes and onions do not socialize well, citrus must separated from apples and pears. We had a great time at market, especially asking a couple of flirtatious guys where to find the hue is grandes. Tina washed the stuff that needs it, no bugs please! And I ran around trying to squeeze in one last round of laundry, since you never know what it looks like on the other side.

And tonight as a treat we had a lively bunch aboard to enjoy a moment. Cruisers are self sufficient and usually show up with their own drinks and a yummy something to share. Some of the hardest things we do is part ways with friends, not knowing when the next time you meet will be. We laughed and shared stories and enjoyed the twinkles of the Panama City skyline.

And after all of the above we are READY to go. 4000 miles of Pacific Ocean awaits, we’re not stopping in Galapagos so we’ll likely be sailing for 35 days nonstop. Over a month without stepping onto land. It’s one of the longer passages that yachts normally complete and it is not without nerves and anxiety. But, we have an excellent boat, excellent crew and everything we need to get safety to French Polynesia by mid April.

In the middle of February we joined a lovely boat called Breakaway on their transit through the Panama Canal. Every boat needs four line handlers, two at the front and two at the back just in case you go through the locks alone, you must have four lines to the shore to keep the vessel centered in each lock. We were very well looked after by Yves and Marta who have the most beautiful home afloat where they have lived for 35 years. We learned some tricks from them and were spoiled by mouth watering treats. It was such an honor to share this journey with them. They are wonderful people, from South Africa and the Belgian Congo and we look forward to our friendship over the years to come.

On our journey through the Canal we had two amazing advisors. The advisors are meant to keep a close eye on the goings on of the approach, rafting up with other boats, the entrance to the canal and maneuvers in the locks. They tell the person helming how fast to approach and how to safely maneuver. What we didn’t realize until we had time to chat with them properly is that being an advisor isn’t an official position in the organization and these guys do this extra job on their days off. In return you feed them and take care of them during their visit onboard, but basically they do it because they love the Canal and they like meeting people and sharing a part of the journey. Most of the advisors are very proud to work for the Panama Canal.

We learned from our advisors that there are 9000 people working for the organization doing everything from scheduling to dredging. Most have tidbits of information to share. They are proud to tell you for example the Canal has not had a day off in 100 years. They told us about the increasing crocodile population because the American management tried to keep the numbers under control and the new management doesn’t. One of our advisors told us about the dredging they do to ensure the Canal is deep enough, especially near the Cut. We even witnessed an explosion as they did their work. Also, there is Smithsonian research center on Lake Gatun but otherwise there are no establishments and tourism is kept to a minimum except if you know the right people.

In order to become an advisor they have to do a few weeks of training, pass a test and then do a bunch of practical experience. Very often you get an additional advisor in training aboard. We also learned that Panama recently celebrated their 100 year anniversary. At the turn of the century Panama took over the leadership of the Canal from the Americans. We were sad to hear that the 9000 strong staff did not not get the huge party the rest of the world would have expected would have expected them to have.

The Panama Canal is incredible-you can even see it from space! And at the time it was built it was a huge undertaking not to mention a tremendous achievement. In an earlier blog post we mentioned the layout of the Canal and how it all works, but actually it is a very different thing that happens in your mind when you actually transit. For us sailors it is a rite of passage and an exciting and nerve wracking endeavor. You sign off responsibility and any mistakes or damage are solely yours. We all spend a lot of time looking after our homes afloat and the boats become real members of the family and even though there are moments when you have no control and the worst could happen and still you take the chance.

Our Panama Canal Transit was pretty typical in that we left in the afternoon and anchored in “the Flats” just outside the approach to wait for our advisor. We left for the first set of locks, “The Gatun Locks” at four in the afternoon. We were a raft of three sailing vessels and shared the locks with a cargo ship. Everyone rents long, floating lines and extra fenders, meant to protect your boat and the others. In our case, we rafted up once and released after completing all three locks. On the ascent the bigger cargo ship goes first and gets secured before the raft of sailing vessels enters. We pulled in slack from the long lines attached to the side walls and all went smoothly as we gained 40 feet for each of the three locks. There are staff walking the walls ashore to lead the raft through. They throw a smaller line down and they pull it back up after the line handler attaches the bigger line you have onboard. You have to catch the monkey fist knot on the end of the line and quickly tie a bowline so they can pull the line up to the wall and secure it. Our line handlers were a Swiss couple, David and Celine who were neighbors in the marina at Shelter Bay. They were incredible, lovely to have aboard and great at seeing where they were needed and going there and doing the right thing, plus they are fun people and all the smiling really helped morale aboard. As they fill the lock with water it makes the most incredible whirlpools and it is quite exciting to experience the craftsmanship up close. We were happy and relieved that it went smoothly and we enjoyed the sunset in the locks. It was late and dark as we tied up to a buoy in the middle of the lake which marked the end of our first day.

We slept moored to huge buoys in Gatun Lake and we enjoyed a meal and the company of our neighbors and had a long discussions about marketing rum.  Please don’t tell anyone but we had a quick swim in the morning in the lake, and there was no sign of the crocodiles known for the area. We spent most of day two motoring across the lake which is beautiful and lush and we would have loved to spend more time there. This is the first time we had Itchy Foot in fresh water. On the trip across the lake we swapped stories and enjoyed hearing the advisors tell us about the Canal. We moored in a waiting area near the three locks on the Pacific side. We were sharing the locks with four other boats, two big motor boats were tied up directly to the wall of the Canal, and each had a sailboat tied to it and of course a giant car carrier following us. In the Gatun Locks we rafted once and travelled through the locks as a unit, but on the Pacific side we tied onto another boat three times, once for each lock.

The locks on the Pacific side are more turbulent due to tide (the Pacific side has tidal difference and the Atlantic didn’t), salt and fresh water mixing  (the Pacific is much saltier) and the wall of displaced water from the approaching cargo ship as they are behind the smaller boats on the way down. In these turbulent conditions we were nervous as we had to tie onto another boat which was in turn secured to the wall of the Canal. In our case it was a boat full of tourists and they were so excited for us. It was fun because they were from Wisconsin and when I told them that my dad is too, they started handing over Wisconsin souvenirs. The process of tying up has to be quite quick  and there is a lot of pressure to get it right. Nerves ran high as we tied on each time, especially the last lock as the tourist boat failed to get secured and were sideways as we approached. It was nerve wracking and our advisors complimented us on handling the situation, saying we had mere seconds to get it right.

We were rewarded by entering the Pacific with our Itchy Foot. There might have been some dancing and jumping cheering from the tourist boat and lots of photos! Thanks for the screen shots from the web cam of the lock! Teo was proud to be the first to helm on this side and we were all jubilant as we motored under the Bridge of the Americas. There was much celebration as this feels like a huge success!

Written by Mia:

Before we set off to explore the Guna Yala we had a visit from friends on Mahina, John and Amanda were aboard Itchy Foot for a fleeting visit but they were there long enough to recommend stopping at Mormake Tupu. This beautiful little village is one of their favorite stops and they gave us the name of the family they always visit and we looked forward to it. Luckily our route with Gunnar, Mona and Nikolaj onboard worked out well and we spent some time there.

The Restrapo family took us in to see their home and it was interesting to walk through and see how their family lives. They cook over open fires and seem to have plenty of pots, pans and utensils hanging on the walls. It looks like everyone helps out and we often saw kids Teo’s age carrying around their baby siblings. The older women sew and do beading and teach the younger ones. They had a few cats in the garden and actually had a pig in a self cleaning pen, which used bamboo poles with big gaps over the water, no need to shovel! They also had a pond that resembled a small swimming pool full of fish that we are guessing would be dinner when they are big enough.

Each island village will have three chiefs or “Sailas”who tell the ancient stories, communicate with the gods act as medicine men and make decisions in the community.  Alongside the Sailas there are the “Argars” who interpret the message from the Saila, applying the message to modern day issues. There are also three head chiefs called “Caciques” for the entire Guna Nation, and one is voted High Chief. The Guna are largely autonomous and take interest and an active role in Panamanian government to protect their culture. We were happy to hear that the Guna are happy with the current government.

The Restrapo family introduced us to the Saila of Mormake Tupu and we were honored. We had read about the culture and were happy to have a customary gift for the Saila which in this case was a bag of rice and some reading glasses. I just want to pause a moment and thank John and Amanda for putting us in contact with this family, it was a very rewarding visit! Also, I would like to compliment Eric Bauhaus for his hard work and dedication that clearly went into writing The Panama Cruising Guide because it is not only full of important pilotage information which we really depended on, but it also contains a lot of interesting description and explanation about the people of Panama. We saw his very fancy catamaran in Linton Bay marina so he clearly doesn’t need it, but I would have happily bought him a drink to show our thanks.

We got a tour of Mormake Tupu and they pointed out the Chicha hut which is a place where they have a social event a few times a year. This hut should be big enough to hold the whole community and they spend a month preparing for such an event including making “chicha” which is an alcoholic drink made from sugar cane. They use two trees that are about a meter apart, one with a hole cut through the center and the second cut into a “Y” shape and they insert two bamboo poles horizontally through these holes. One person bounces on top of the upper pole making and closing a gap into which another person feeds sugar cane into the gap and the fluid is collected in a bowl underneath and then stored to ferment . On an average day the women are beautifully dressed in traditional dress which includes an intricately sewn “mola” and sarong-like skirts as well as bracelets and anklets of small glass beads but the men wear casual western dress, mostly shirts and t-shirts, probably because they wear better for their daily rowing and collecting activities.  But everyone dresses up for the Chicha!

On the tour they proudly showed us their school and learned that each island of considerable size will have a primary school. The kids start school at five and continue until the sixth grade. Most schools we saw in all of Panama are painted the same shade of blue and white so they are easy to spot. If students want to continue with school after the 6th grade they have to travel or move to a larger community like Ustupu or Rio Diablo. Learning happens their own language as well as Spanish. They have a long break in the dry season which is from January through March, similar to summer break. The school yards all have basketball courts and everywhere we visited used them regularly. Basketball is very popular throughout the islands even though the people are quite short statured.

Just as the “Guna Yala” is also referred to the “San Blas” islands, a name given to the area by the conquistadors, each island also has a Spanish name. Mormake Tupu is also known as Isla Maquina because the master mola maker lives here. We met him and he is very proud of his work. We were invited to view over 100 “molas” and it felt like buying one was very much the thing to do. He also had a book with a list of the boats he sold to and how many they bought. It felt much more pushy here than anywhere else we visited and I much preferred being approached by women or a family in an dugout ulu.

We had read that the islands get very dark at night as they do not have electricity, and we were even prepared to charge mobile phones for people because we read that people often row out to the anchorage requesting help. But there was more light than we expected to see and our walk through Mormake Tupu shed a little light on the subject (forgive me). Three years ago the Panamanian government helped install solar panels and batteries on all 39 inhabited islands with a sizable population.

We were invited to attend a “Congreso”which is a daily meeting beginning at dusk that is a cross between church and a town hall. In the Congreso hut the Sailas and Argars sit or hang in hammocks in the center of the room with benches in two rings around the perimeter. The Saila communicates with the gods and tells the history of the people and the Argars listen to them singing and chanting and at the end of the message which lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours, the Argars interpret the message and explain how it relates to the daily life. After this members of the community can ask questions and make requests. For example, individuals must ask permission from the Saila if they wish to leave the island to travel to Panama City. It is obligatory for everyone to attend the Congreso on Sundays and Tuesdays and there is a desk in one corner where secretaries keeps notes on attendance and decisions made. If you fail to attend you risk bringing bad luck onto the whole community. The Congreso was very interesting and Teo and Nikolaj sat quietly for longer than we expected they could.

We really appreciated our stop on Mormake Tupu and the Restrapo family were generous with us and shared their culture and were happy to answer some of the questions we collected in the Guna Yala.

Written by Mia:

Back before we crossed into the Pacific and were still in the San Blas islands we had some lovely visitors, here is a post about our wonderful time together and our short explore of Panama.

Our friends from Norway spent months planning a trip to Panama and we were very excited that we could spend time with them! We were especially excited that they were willing to come to see us on the boat which meant more time in the Guna Yala for us and a very exciting trip to the boat for them to join us. They took a 4×4 out of the comfort of Panama City for a few hours of muddy, bouncy tracks to Carti where they were picked up in a Panga which basically a small wooden fishing boat, with a powerful outboard engine. They were delivered straight to our boat  drenched from the rain and waves and a little stressed but with big smiles and hugs. The weather leading up to their visit was very rainy, in fact the day after they arrived we heard they had closed the road they had taken the day before. They are life savers cramming their luggage with them all kinds of goodies from Norway that will make Itchy Foot and her crew happier on the Pacific crossing. Visiting dignitaries of cruising families get used to and even embrace the “muleing” they are asked to do and we sure do appreciate it!

We spent the next ten days traveling west through the west. The western part of the Guna Yala feels different to the eastern part probably because it sees cruisers and tourism. The anchorages feel like the Caribbean and there are a lot more people around and there seems to be more company on the beaches. Ashore, it seems to be more western with TVs and less traditional dress and more people trying to sell stuff. But it is still full of Guna charm and a great time was had by all. Gunnar, Mona and Nikolaj are great sports and took to boat life with big smiles and were always willing to help with cooking and cleaning up. They are wonderful boat guests! Teo and Nikolaj did a lot of coloring together and they had a ball playing pirates thanks to Mona who bought pirate costumes. My favorite thing was the chance to catch up with friends! We caught up on what everyone is doing in Oslo and to hear what has been happening since we saw them in Lanzarote. We so much appreciate the effort they went to in order to come out.

We went to a big town in the Guna Yala called Carti. And even though they brought lots of supplies from town (thank goodness!) we were tempted into Carti for eggs, fresh veg and bread. The walk through town was interesting and it fun to see the kids interacting with their environment. Mona told me that they had an impromptu session of tug-of-war with some local kids in the street on a hunt to buy bananas and we visited a little Guna museum which was a bit of a tourist trap with painted signs next to pieces of cookery and statues. The person who gave the tour was not around that day. Another bonus of town was sharing cold beers in the “pub” with the lovelies from Sugar Shack.

Otherwise, we visited a few islands with beautiful beaches and everyone had time to play. There was a lot of swimming off the back of the boat and Bob the kayak got lots of use. Mona inspired me to do some exercise, too which is much appreciated. We had some pretty strong wind and had to make due with our third choice of locations. But as it turns out Salardup is lovely and there is a guy who set up a beach bar which means they clean and rake the beach every day. The boys created and played a boat game with drift wood and we enjoyed our days there.

We spent a day visited Mormake Tupu where we were shown around the island by a local family, introduced to the Chief and attended the daily Congreso. This was quite a visit and deserves its own post, so I will not go into too much detail here. But on the way to Mormake Tupu we had a wonderful visit from dolphins. They were incredible and I never tire of it, I always feel like it pulls outa special childish delight. We were all on deck calling to them, watching them play on the bow and giggling. We were so happy they made a special visit for our guests. In the evening we anchored in the middle of the mangroves with a hut built on stilts nearby. It was its own kind of beautiful.

Our last anchorage in the Guna Yala was Waisaladup. It boasted a beautiful beach and was another home to a beach bar so again was very clean. We had a barbecue lunch here with the crew of Joshua. The boys has a good explore amongst the trees and we had a lovely time swimming and relaxing. We drank water directly from the coconuts. There was less swimming off the back of the boat because there was quite a current plus we spotted a few Portuguese Man of War in the water floating by the boat. Although they are beautiful and interesting we have been watching lots of David Attenborough and we know they need lots of room! They are small but hot pink and stick up on the water’s surface like inflatable toys. They are a symbiotic collection of creatures including serious retractable stinging tentacles can be 30 meters long!

We had a long but quick and exciting day of sailing to reach Linton Bay. They got a taste of ocean conditions on the way, with 10ft seas, but I am happy to report that no one was sick and everyone was still smiling when we anchored. We passed the time trying to spot more dolphins and failing, but instead seeing lots more Man-of-War.

Gunnar and Mona organized a trip and treated us to some luxury. We got Itchy Foot safely into a marina and hired a comfy 7 seater SUV, then headed through Panama into the mountains with coffee plantations. First came the winding road along the coastline to Colon with the crazy buses. They are converted from American school buses but with so much more BLING than I remember. From Colon we took a major highway most of the way and the driving was a lot more comfortable than that we did in Colombia. It wasn’t long until we got our first glimpse of the Panama Canal as we crossed over it on the bridge. And soon enough we’ll be scenery for cars driving over Itchy Foot going through the Canal.

Our first stop was El Valle and it is a lovely place in the hills. We checked into our cute hotel Residencia and headed for a walk to the waterfall “el Macho” and even all got in for a refreshing swim in the natural pool. From our hotel we had a great view if the mountains around us which are indeed the rim of the second largest extinct volcano in the world, the crater is over 5km across. One view in particular, “La India Dormida“ is very clear in the mountains surrounding El Valle.

Legend has it that Luba, the daughter of the Indian Chief fighting the Spanish conquistadors was caught in a love triangle. She fell in love with Spanish soldier and a warrior from her own tribe loved her and that ended badly. She renounced the soldier and left the tribe and upon her death the mountains took her rest amongst them. I think she is beautiful. The next morning we visited a Mariposario or butterfly house and we learned so much and really enjoyed the tour which included some great information from knowledgeable guides. We actually saw a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. Teo and Jon decided to use the morning at the serpent house, holding their first snake, and also were delighted by the small exhibits in this small tourist destination. On our way out, we stopped at a viewpoint to see the entire volcanic rim, absolutely breathtaking.

And before lunchtime we were on our way to Boquete. We made some short stops and otherwise enjoyed the changing scenery, including dusty ranch like places a cool wind farm and twisty green mountain roads. We arrived at our little oasis, the Inn at Palo Alto in Boquete just before sunset. We each had a room with a double and a single bed and all the hot water you could hope for! It was a little chilly in the altitude and it was welcome. We enjoyed a drink at the bar overlooking the river and ordered in pizza to avoid piling back in the car.

While we were in Boquete we did a few walks in the area including one with six bridges over a river through a gorgeous rainforest that was different from the ones in Colombia. It was full of ferns and mushrooms and bromeliads which are cousins of pineapples. Our guide, Luis, was very passionate about telling us about all the life we saw here and he also took a liking to Teo and kept picking him up and throwing him over a shoulder for a giggle. Another walk we did followed along a pipeline that ended at a waterfall and it felt almost alpine, except for the toucans and sloths (that we missed) and the monkeys (that we saw). The town itself was worth a wander and we made the most of it, enjoying enjoyed the incredible ice cream and we had our goodbye dinner at BBC (Boquete Brewing Company), a micro brewery with an attached food truck that did amazing burgers. The boys loved the old fashioned popcorn machine and the WWF wrestling on TV.

All too soon we were saying a tearful goodbye, but they went to Tahiti on their honeymoon so maybe they will be tempted to revisit us in the Pacific.