Back to the Future
Enjoying the buzz of city life again
We reached the end of the line on the Pacific, a major milestone on our journey so far. We can’t believe we sailed over five thousand nautical miles since we left San Francisco. Apparently, we’ve earned the right to get a “swallow” tattoo which is a tradition for sailors who sailed five thousand nautical miles. It also symbolizes returning home, given the swallow’s famous migration pattern. We didn’t get swallow tattoos, and maybe that’s because we haven’t returned home, at least not to San Francisco, but we have returned to city life and that was worth celebrating too.
Since leaving San Francisco, we sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge and turned left, down the coast of California, to Cabo, up through the Sea of Cortez and across to mainland Mexico where we stored our boat for hurricane season, and then back across the sea to Baja California and then we crossed again to Mazatlàn, before sailing down the long coast of Mexico, to Costa Rica and finally along the coast of Panama to Panama City.
On our journey, we met many different people, experienced a broad range of sea states, landscapes, tropical forests, and saw some amazing wildlife along the way. We visited mostly small towns and remote anchorages, and some of the most remote by far had been in the islands of Pacific Panama. We loved being away from civilization in nature but after a solid four months on the hook, we were looking forward to spending time in a major city again.
It took us about two years to get to Panama City from San Francisco, only moving at roughly seven knots (about eight miles per hour) when underway, teaching us to slow down and take our time in life which we appreciated, but after so long, we were craving a faster pace again for at least a short while.
On our arrival we immediately pulled into Flamenco marina. Flamenco is a large marina, in fact, the largest marina in Panama. Our slip was just inside the entrance by the sea, but would be nearly a quarter mile walk down the dock to get to land. Needless to say it was a lot of walking which is probably a good thing after sitting for so long on passages.
After just a day or two in the marina, the dock pilings were really striking! More accurately, the way the twenty foot tidal change would make the pilings appear and disappear over the course of a day really jumped out. At high tide, the pilings only stood about four feet above the tread of the docks. Over about four hours, the pilings slowly rose to tower some twenty six feet above the dock, where they stayed for about two hours before the floating dock rose to hide them again. The tidal change was very dramatic.
With our arrival in Panama City, access to the usual urban cornucopia of foods that are difficult to find in the hinterlands resulted in a certain amount of indulgence. Imported beer, wine, cheese, and charcuterie all found their way into our shopping bags. We made good use of them all while entertaining our friends on Salacia.
One night after hors d’oeuvres on Salacia with the crew of Via and Jubel, including Monsieur Richard, Jubel’s Shibu Inu, we went out to dinner. The next day we heard the story of M. Richard’s attempt to stow away aboard Salacia.
Upon returning to Jubel after dinner, Ricky who stayed home, was caught in flagrante delecto amidst all of the charcuterie wrappers, which had until then been in the trash. As Kyle and Leah were making their displeasure known to their furry miscreant, he decided that he didn’t have to submit himself to such undeserved reproof, and took himself up on deck, where he promptly hopped off the boat onto the dock, and walked himself down to Salacia’s berth. After hopping aboard, he slipped under the dodger to find a dark boat and closed companionway. We were still out. Yet Ricky’s displeasure was such that there he remained until Kyle and Leah discovered his escape and found his hiding place.
Of course, maybe if I hadn’t been slipping slices of prosciutto to poor Ricky under the table, maybe he wouldn’t have gotten in trouble in the first place. The smell and taste of prosciutto has got to be worth a lot to a dog, especially after being in such remote places himself. Or maybe he was just lured by the meticulously prepared hors d’oeuvres he received often on Salacia. Only Ricky knows for sure, but to this day, Ricky was always excited to see us and obviously we were excited to see him too.
He’s got a quirky personality with attitude at times and he is also very sweet and mellow. His eye is missing due to glaucoma. Sometimes Leah and Kyle would put an eye patch on him like a pirate would wear, which suited his personality perfectly.
After much time at the marina, we decided to take a break from the boat to spend our much anticipated time exploring Panama City. We had heard a lot of great things about the historic quarter, also known as Casco Viejo, so we put that first on our itinerary. We wanted to share with you many of the pictures we took that day since we found this part of Panama City to be the most interesting and photogenic.
Panama City was founded in 1519 by the Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias Dávila, then attacked and looted by the British pirate Henry Morgan in 1661, and subsequently destroyed by fire. Two years later, the city was rebuilt and moved 5 miles southwest of the original city. This new location is now the old quarter of Panama City, one of the earliest-founded capital cities in the Americas. It was designated a World Heritage Site in 1997.
The city has a blend of Spanish, French and American colonial, art nouveau and neoclassical architecture which make it all feel very charming. The level of preservation of the 400-year-old buildings is remarkable. The brick-laid streets and iron balconies reminded us a little of New Orleans, and we enjoyed taking in the sights and sounds of city-life again. I see now why so many of our friends told us how much we would love Panama City.
We walked the different streets and plazas without an agenda. Sometimes we would step inside a boutique or two, or stop to pet a cat, or roam around looking for a museum. Most of the time we were just interested and curious where each of the streets would lead us. We enjoyed the variety of the city and the diversity of its people!
Most Panamanians identify as Roman Catholic, and there are seven churches in Casco Viejo. During Holy Week, Semana Santa, which is the week prior to Easter, many people make a pilgrimage to each church in order to pray for health and good fortune. Our travels didn’t lead us into the churches, though!
There were so many beautiful trees, flowers, and plants lighting up our senses in the warm humid air, that we simply enjoyed being in the tropical urban landscape rather than doing the normal touristy things. After spending so much time on the sea, we appreciated the beautiful parks and squares.
The heat and humidity often started to feel uncomfortable by mid-day, and with all of our walking, we needed to step inside to cool off for a bit. There was one museum we wanted to go into since we were going to transit the canal soon. The Museo de Canal was very beautiful inside and we learned a lot about the history of the Panama Canal which gave us a great introduction before going there to check out the actual site.
After the museum we were super hungry and got lucky because we walked past an American restaurant that served cheeseburgers, fries and milk shakes! We decided to eat there and they were super tasty but very filling, so after lunch we took a longer walk over to the water’s edge to see the modern skyline of Panama City. The sky in the afternoons always looked threatening. It was not often though, that a storm would hit. In fact, while we were staying at the marina, which is close to the canal, it didn’t rain at all.
The Panama Canal has been experiencing a drought since early 2023, with the driest conditions starting in late 2022, marking one of the most severe droughts in the Canal's history. This drought has significantly impacted water levels in Gatun Lake, the main water source for the canal operations.
We really enjoyed our day exploring the old quarter of Panama City, taking pictures and meandering around the different streets, parks and plazas while popping into different boutiques. We loved experiencing the vibrancy of city life again and missed our beloved home of San Francisco, but we felt Panama City scored high in comparison.
After living on Salacia for so long, and traveling to different places, I’ve learned how home can also be a state of mind. I’ve learned to go with the flow of the unknown future and appreciate the here and now and looking back on our journey since we left San Francisco, I see how much I appreciate the similarities of places and people, but also the differences and how these differences give me a change of experience and perspective in life. I sometimes crave stillness, slowness, and routine, a break from the constant change that traveling brings. I guess home for me is when I find the balance and center between these different experiences, while I can, as we continue on our way.
As the sun began to set that day, we wanted to sit down to have a drink. We found a great roof-top bar with a view of the modern skyscrapers in the background. It was the perfect view with an upbeat vibe and we enjoyed our drinks while resting our tired feet. Later that night we found a pizza parlor with some dogs and cats to entertain us while we ate. They were either being taken care of by the restaurant owners or by the people eating at the restaurant. So everyone seemed happy.
This roof top bar is worth checking out in this video, especially by the end. We spontaneously found it while walking aimlessly around. We loved exploring Casco Viejo, getting a feel for the history of Panama City and how it sets against the modern landscape. It was the closest we would get to time travel.
The modern part of Panama City had more of a major city vibe with people moving quickly to get to work inside the skyscraper buildings or to stay inside the hotels and there were lots of shops and malls, a diverse choice of restaurants. We went out for Sushi one night and Korean Barbecue another night. That more modern part of Panama City reminded me of downtown San Francisco. The opening of the Panama Canal created a boom for the economy which Panama City has depended on for a long time. It’s no wonder it’s such a big, modern city today.
Our time enjoying the faster pace and culture of Panama City while catching up on boat projects was coming to an end and our canal transit was drawing near. We were excited to see our friends, Sam and Keegan, who flew in from San Francisco to assist us with the transit. Mike from Via and one professional line handler named Tito also ended up helping us. Below is a picture of us all hanging out onboard Salacia. We tied up at anchor next to Jubel while we waited for the officials to arrive. This picture shows all of our excitement in anticipation.
Stay tuned for our next post detailing our experience on board Salacia while transiting the Panama Canal. It was truly epic!
I love reading about your travels! And as always, the photos are beautiful! Thanks for sharing ❤️
Aw lil Ricky and his best day ever! So many fun memories in PC. Also, that picture of Kyle lol