We made it through the Panama canal and we were taking some time to catch up with ourselves before attending a friend’s wedding back in the States. We accomplished a lot on our journey so far and we felt we earned the right to relax at the marina, swimming in the pool or going on walks inside the jungle surrounding the marina. It was time spent chilling while our boat was tied to the dock and that was a great feeling after sailing over 5000 nautical miles. We spent this time slowing down a little and reflecting on all the places we sailed to and what was still to come.
One of our walks took us away from the marina towards the water that faced the canal. We were innocently meandering around the area when a man approached us dressed in a military uniform, animately telling us in a raised voice that we were trespassing and we needed to leave immediately, and began escorting us away from the area. Peter attempted to get him to smile while we were walking together and he seemed to soften a tad. We had no idea how we found ourselves in the middle of a secret military training ground for fighting against the cartel, but I guess life continues to be an adventure!
Every day some cruisers hop on a shuttle to go shopping in Colon for the morning. The marina organizes this shuttle service, enabling us to get to a grocery store since none of us have cars, plus it ensures our safety since Colon can be a dangerous city. Each trip on the shuttle had us meeting other sailors who were out in the world doing something similar, which made for some interesting conversations. Sailors were either crossing over to the Pacific side or the Atlantic side which created a great opening for: “Which direction are you headed? South Pacific or the Caribbean or Mexico? And what are your long-term plans?”
Around the time of Peter’s birthday, and after mine, we decided to rent a car to drive seven hours to the mountains to a town called Boquete. We rented a house that friends recommended. We were looking forward to experiencing mountain life as a change from living at sea level. The Airbnb was a whole house with a huge balcony and a very large kitchen and we couldn’t wait to cook in it!
When we weren’t hanging out on our balcony, we went into town. We came upon a local brewery where we had lunch and sampled some of their very tasty beers. We listened to rain falling heavily outside and passed the time listening to the music they were playing on their stereo. It was a fun place to hang out until the rain stopped.
It rained most of the time we were in Boquete but we spent time hanging out on our porch sitting or reading or just looking out at the view and taking in the smells the rain kicked up. It was very sweet, especially listening to the rain hitting the tin roof.
We spent a day hiking up in the mountains. This trail took us to the city water shed that provided water to everyone in the region. There were water falls and streams and you can see the actual pipes they used to transport the water. There’s lots of fresh water in Panama since it rains all the time.
This cute kitten greeted us on our path and Peter couldn’t resist picking it up to say hello. I love this video of Peter. The kitten lived with a family who had a home next to the entrance of the hiking trail. After Peter let go of holding the kitten, he ran towards the woman who came out of the house to greet us.
Below is also a video of the many wild parrots who would perch in the tree next to the balcony of the house we rented. They were eating the nuts of the tree which was such a delight to watch.
I woke up early on Peter’s birthday to make us a big breakfast before we packed up our bags to drive back to the marina. It was going to be a long ride and we wanted to be sure we didn’t have to stop too often. We came across an Italian restaurant that we couldn’t resist for a birthday dinner. It was too bad we were driving that day, but we were used to being on the move and a road trip is fun for seeing all the sights. What wasn’t fun was being stopped by a police officer on our way. Not sure how fast Peter was driving but as soon as he saw Peter’s driver’s license showing his birthday, the officer let us off the hook! Not a bad birthday gift!
Our next post will be after we travel back to the States to see friends in San Francisco and up North for a wedding of our dear friends Tracy and Daniella. It was an amazing wedding and we loved seeing a lot of our friends in one place! Then we flew to Oregon to see another best friend, Elinor, who just bought a house in Portland. Below are a few pictures from our travels.
Next time we will share about how our boat took on water while sailing to the San Blas Islands, forcing us to return to port for an emergency haul out. Stay tuned for more exciting times on the Enchanted Voyage!
You two look fantastic! I don’t know maybe less stress. More confidence in sailing. But you both look fit and trim too. Our plan is to retire at the end of this year. Hopefully we can join you in 2026!
What are the beers of Panama like? Any favorites?