Preparing to cross the Panama Canal

Anchored in the Rio Chagres

After leaving Portobelo, we headed to Colon to prepare for our Panama Canal transit. When we used to go through the locks that separated Lake Michigan from the Chicago River, we just pretty much just went through when they opened up. There's quite a bit more involved with the Panama Canal.

Isla Linton and Portobelo

After the San Blas, we had a very unpleasant sail over to Isla Linton. The winds were still high and the seas were filled with 10-foot swells. We caught a mahi but Matt got seasick (for the first time on this boat) when he tried to fillet it on the side deck because the seas were too big to have him on the transom. Apparently the combination of the leftover head cold and having his head sideways was too much.

Getting out of Dodge

Boogie boarding boat buddies

Being in the San Blas and seeing all the boats up on reefs reminds me of a story told to me by a friend about her friend ("Suzy"). Suzy had failed the road test to get her driver's license four times. But she had figured out her problem: "I just don't know whether to err to the left or to the right!" My friend's response was, "Oh, Suzy. You don't err..."