A Little Hope, And Colon

The last couple of days have come and gone quickly.  It’s still doing that “monsoon” thing here, daily.  The downside of this is that everything stays wet, electrical shorts are more likely, and it’s impossible to do much work on my engine’s electrical system.  The upside is that I’ve had time to read, and that I’ve figured out where my last (hopefully) leak is:  in my starboard side salon hatch.

 

A Little Hope  6.22.14

The last few days I’ve been making repeated trips to a local German guy (Guido) – who’s walking me through troubleshooting this electrical problem on my starboard engine.

With a bit of guidance, some dumb luck, and a ton of frustration I’ve finally figured out what I believe is the problem.  And the guys who know stuff were right on two counts:  a)  the problem is likely in the area that was being worked on (engine room) and b)  the problem is most likely a connection (rather than in the wiring).  Of course, to come to this conclusion I pulled the wiring harness and checked all 16 pins for resistance/shorts in two different spots, thereby tearing the boat apart.  What a PITA.

After checking all of the aforementioned connections (and finding no issue), I found another, hidden connection on the bottom of my starter and glow relay boxes.  On the starboard side it looked rough – likely both shorting and allowing water in.  So – I called Guido and he said he’d come look at it.  I have yet to speak with him since.  Fingers crossed.

Engine Trouble

 

Heading To Colon  6.23.14

Guido is supposed to come check that engine electrical issue out tomorrow.  Hopefully he has some spare wiring harness parts laying around.  If not, I can simply splice the wires together directly– removing the (bad) harness connections altogether.  So, if this is the issue – I should be in the clear.

I, however, won’t be around when Guido checks it out.  I’ll be in Colon.  Colon is a dangerous spot – there have been beatings, stabbings, muggings, and a variety of other not-so-pleasant experiences there, experienced by travelers.  Even the locals are looking for a way out of Colon. But it’s the nearest city and I desperately need some Rum and Whiskey.  Some wine and food would be nice too.

The ride there is via a bus.  They’re lovingly called Diablos Rojos here:  Red Devils.  They’re like a schoolbus, but older, with more people crammed in, and they run at about 10X the speed down the windy roads around Panama.  Make no mistake – you’re taking your life into your hands when you jump on one.

The good news is I’m traveling with Amy and Austin, and I’m renting a car while I’m there so I’ll have a way to get supplies and continue to refit the boat.   That also means we cut down on the time spent on the Diablos Rojos.  Bueno.

We originally headed to the Colon Free-Zone.  It’s a tax-free zone in Colon.  We were expecting something like a mall – but it’s not that at all. It’s outdoors, dirty, unorganized, and massive.  Needless to say it was a bit of a letdown, and we spent half a day there getting lost and wandering into stores that only sold wholesale.

Eventually we freed ourselves from the Colon Free-Zone.  We did manage to procure a “foldering iron”  - in most places it’s called a “soldering iron.”

Foldering Iron

So I went grocery shopping.  This is probably the first time in 5 years that I’ve actually shopped for groceries.  This is the first time in my entire life that I’ve enjoyed it.  A diet of bananas, rice, and beans will do that to you.  Also of note – they carry liquor, wine, and beer in the supermarkets here.  Bueno.

Amy said she’d never seen such a shit-eating grin.  It was ear-to-ear as I filled up a shopping cart with enough alcohol to drown a small country and enough food to feed a small village.  Hopefully it’ll last for a while.

Then we headed back to Puerto Lindo in my rental.  It’s the smallest car I’ve ever driven, and has something equivalent to a lawn-mower engine in it.  I had so many groceries piled in the back of it that the lights were actually angled up.

Rental car and Amy

There was a Chinese “restaurant” on the way back that Amy and Austin swore was the best in the area.  It was also dirt cheap, with huge plates coming in at $3.50.   And  it was also unmarked in a now-defunct gas station, which made it pretty difficult to find.  But we found it.  Here’s where you find the best Chinese food in the area.  It was, in fact, great food. And, as promised, dirt cheap.

Chinese “restaurant” and Austin

Finally making it back to Puerto Lindo around 9PM, I dropped off Amy and Austin at their new apartment in “town.” It’s $45/month.  Amy volunteered to help me get my groceries into the dinghy -  a non-trivial task when it’s thundering and lightening and dark.  We managed to get everything onboard, I dropped Amy off at her apartment.

We gambled a bit when we loaded the groceries in the dinghy.  We assumed that it hadn’t rained in Puerto Lindo.  Well, we were wrong.  So there was 3 inches of water soaking my groceries.  Everything faired alright except for the eggs.  They would have been fine, but the cartons turned to mush and I didn’t notice in the dark.    I lost a coupe of fine eggs.  This is my table, it’s a fine table.  But more importantly, it has my recreational substances on it – including spare starter relays (for my engine), a couple of Hunter S. Thompson novels, and yes:  my rum/whiskey.

My table

The good news is that I now had some whiskey to help with the loss of my eggs.  So I poured a whiskey neat and stowed the dry groceries, and left the rest in the sink to drain.   Then I got the best sleep I’ve had in the last three weeks.

Exhaustion, it appears, is a great cure for insomnia.

A Little Hope, And Colon

The last few days have been one of the circles of Hell.  If Dante had a boat, he’d have included marine electrical troubleshooting in his epic:  Inferno.

Promise.

 

Electrical Troubleshooting in Puerto Lindo

So, a “mechanic” was working on my engine when it decided to begin starting by itself.  Since then I’ve been quoted $2.5K to rewire the engine, have pulled every panel off my boat, have become fluent in wiring schematics, have ruined some clothes, and have managed to completely bloody both of my paws in the engine room.  The good news is that I have two engines, so I’m not completely dead in the water and I have a full set of (working) electrical components to troubleshoot with.  And it’s a damn sailboat – I can always sail.

Of course – I had no idea where to begin fixing this issue.  So I posted a heads-up on a cruising forum, and I received a wealth of knowledge, several recommendations, and some valuable contacts (see here).  During this time though, I managed to meet up with the only real mechanic in town – purely by chance.  His name is Guido (Goo – E – Doe), he’s German, and he runs a hostel here:  Hostel Wunderbar…  At first he just gave me some vague advice, but as he’s gotten to know me – he’s dedicated some time teaching me about the electrical system onboard and came out to the boat for a bit and helped me troubleshoot.  He destroyed my nice, clean boat,  - but he put me many hours ahead in troubleshooting.

It’s kinda like having a mentor.  Who is German, a sailor, a father, an ex-biker (like biker-gang) and a little nuts.  I like him.  Smart, methodical, and thinks/talks very quickly.  He speaks French, German, English, and Spanish.  The English part is huge for me.

 

The Charm is Gone

So, I’ve been pretty frustrated the last few days.  The remoteness of Puerto Lindo makes it very difficult to provision and refit my boat.  In addition it’s the rainy season, so I’m dodging torrential downpours to get this problem fixed.  And I’m running out of liquor and beer.  They should just call it “wet season.”  The entire time you’ll be wet.  It will be sweat or rain, probably both.  I d0n’t think I’ve actually been dry more than a few minutes.  Why would someone call this home?

And the diving here is shit.  Complete shit.  For three reasons:  a)  it’s the rainy season so the visibility is bad (on a good day) b)  I found that they’re gill-netting right next to my boat  c)  I’m not very comfortable heading out of here to freedive alone (it’s a little risky).  On the gill-netting:  they’re killing everything larger than a minnow less than 30 meters from my deck.  I hate it.  Gill-netting is a horrible, non-selective way to catch dinner (or feed your family).

It’s similar to the carnage the commercial fisherman and shrimpers wreak in the Gulf of Mexico – but of course, I’m on a cruise around the world onboard a 38′ catamaran.  The guy doing the gill-netting is trying to feed his family.  Hardly fair for me to condemn.

Anyways, I’m ready to get this engine fixed and sail away.  San Blas? Cartagena?  Anywhere but here.

 

I’m Learning

I’m now done complaining.  The silver lining is:  I’m learning a ton about the boat.  I feel more confident troubleshooting, installing, and wiring things.  I understand (somewhat) how my diesels  work.  Generally, I’m getting to know my boat.  Which is actually a good thing to know before one takes off.  So – the charm of Puerto Lindo may be gone, but I’m glad that it forced me to learn.  I’m also glad that I didn’t just fork over $5K to have the “mechanic” from Panama City rewire both engines.

So I may be here for a while, but there are things worse than working on a boat in Puerto Lindo (like being stuck in an office, or fighting traffic everyday).  And however long it takes, I’ll have learned quite a bit about the boat and have saved some money.  Both of which are super-important right now.  It’s not all bad, I’m just being forced to learn something new at an inconvenient time/place – which I reserve the right to gripe (a little) about.

 

Electrical Troubleshooting in Puerto Lindo

Last Few Days

Another mix of days around here.  Some wet and overcast (crap), the others clear and nice – but hot.  I wasn’t too happy about said overcast days, but I made it out to the local internet hotspot – Panama Reef Divers.   There I met a couple of fellow nomads – Amy and Austin.

New Friends

Amy is English, Austin is American – Cuban and speaks excellent Spanish.  I forgave Amy for being English, just to get that out of the way.  They met over craigslist, in the United States, when she responded to one of his craigslist ads – they were both looking for a ride to backpack through a national park.  Now they’re both in Puerto Lindo, Panama helping out at a local hostel.  She (Amy) manages it and he (Austin) works there part-time doing minor boat work and anything internet/network related. I desperately needed to get my WiFi network set up onboard – so his skillset was appreciated by me.

That  overcast day Austin showed me around the “town.”  Which mostly consists of a couple of places to buy cold beer (one French, one Dutch), one place to buy a hot meal, one place to pray to God, a small tienda (super-limited store), and a place to buy fuel (Jose’s house – he drives fuel in from somewhere else and sells it here by the liter).

Jose has a minor racket going on – everyone needs fuel (boats, cars, motorcycles), and he’s the only one who sells it in Puerto Lindo.  The good news – it’s not overly expensive.  He really could gouge you if he wanted to – but the prices are fair to slightly expensive.   It cost me about $125 to fill up the boat with diesel and my dinghy with mixed gas.  And I had some diesel leftover.  I almost spent that much every time I filled up my truck back home – down here that’ll last much longer.

Anyways – I ended up eating with them that night.  They made octopus, it was delicious.  They fed me ice cold beer as well.  Bueno.

A Network Onboard

The next day I met Austin early to get the WiFi network set up onboard.  Roughly 10AM.  Life’s tough.

He’d agreed to help me wire and set-up my wireless network onboard (yeah, I know how that sounds).  We poured sweat all day below-decks – fighting with some of the panels and figuring out how to get everything wired.  There were times when I really thought we’d never get it figured out.  But we did.   I bought this system through Island Time PC – great stuff, simple to figure out and setup.   The thing that took all day was running the wire from the antenna to the router (through the damn boat).

I now have a wireless network onboard, but I’m just out of range of  Panama Reef Divers, where there’s internet intermittently between 10:30 AM and 6:30 PM.

Amy and Austin have also helped me figure out my laundry issue, procure local fruit from the “fruit guy” (a dude that comes through in a truck that yells into a megaphone every couple of days), figure out getting to Colon, and finding a local mechanic.  Handy people to know.

Boat Projects

My starboard engine is still acting up.  There’s a short somewhere that’s causing the damn thing to start randomly.  I’ve cleaned connections, checked fuses, and tried what limited trouble-shooting I’m capable of – to no avail.  I have a local (German) guy coming out to look at it this afternoon, hopefully.   It would make my week if he could figure it out.   If he can’t, there’s a big decision to be made – and it could involve quite a bit of money.  No bueno.

I have two other boat projects that I want to get done before leaving Puerto Lindo – hook up my AIS and play with the watermaker.   When I say “play with the watermaker”, I really mean:  flush it, take it apart, replace all of the O-rings, and put it back together.  I have a feeling that both of those projects will take longer than I thought.  Good news is that I can do it all inside, so rain or no-rain I can work on those projects.

There’s a bunch of shopping I need to do.  I’d definitely prefer to do it in Panama City, so I’m seriously considering renting a car.  I need some bigger stuff – like a BBQ grill, a kayak, and a couple more fishing rods.

Finally got some diving in as well.  Turns out my French neighbor was right – the fish are small and smart.  It’s also a bit murky right now with the recent rains.  I’ll probably give it a shot again tomorrow.

Anyways – I’m off to try to make progress on those boat projects.

Last Few Days

I’m pretty stoked to be writing this.  When I was getting ready to head out of the US, I reached out to a couple of companies that I thought would mesh with my trip.  Pelagic was one of them – they specialize in offshore clothing/gear.  Needless to say, I got a positive response and a few days later got a package in the mail with some killer gear.  So – thanks Pelagic!  You can check out there gear here:  Pelagic Gear.

 

Pelagic Gear Sponsorship

Though I’m new to the sailing game, boat life is something I’m familiar with.  And there’s one constant when you spend alot of time on a boat:  on a boat it gets hot.  The sun’s beating down on you and there’s not always a spot in the shade.  So if you spend alot of time on boats, it really helps to have gear built to keep you cool and protect you from the sun.  That’s the kind of stuff Pelagic makes.  The clothing necessities are:

• Lightweight, breathable, quick-drying, long sleeve shirts (Pelagic Vaportek)


• Lightweight, quick-drying, board shorts.  Bonus points if they can be worn as regular shorts on shore (Pelagic Evolve Hybrid Shorts)


• A coupe of hats/visors.  When it’s really hot, the visor is king (Pelagic Flag Visor)


• Quality, comfortable, lightweight, polarized sunglasses (Pelagic Polarized Fish Whistle)


• Comfortable, lightweight, sun shields (Pelagic SPF Sunshield)


• A rasta-themed coozie to keep the refreshments cool (Pelagic Coozies)

In case you were thinking I’m just promoting a brand because they gave me free stuff – let me address that.   I’m a far-too-white boy that is now living in a tropical climate.  Everything is always wet (sweat, humidity, or rain) or burning hot.  If I didn’t get sponsored by Pelagic I was completely prepared to buy the very gear they sent me.  I lucked out, and I’m really happy to be sponsored by a company that I have bought and will continue to buy products from.

Fish Whistle Polarized Glasses – what I chose

One note on the sunglasses.  I’m big on quality polarized sunglasses.  There’s nothing that gets more use and is more bang-for-the-proverbial-buck than a pair of sunglasses that allows you to see fish and reef structure clearly underwater – in the glaring sun.  Equally important, they need to be comfortable and lightweight enough to wear all day.  Having blown through several pairs of Costa sunglasses, and not finding the “perfect” pair – I was curious how these Pelagic polarized sunglasses would compare.  I was super-pleased (and admittedly, a little surprised) to find they were of the same quality of my previous Costa’s – but far more comfortable and noticeably lighter.  It’s always a shot in the dark when you order sunglasses online – but this was an epic success!

So far, the Pelagic Polarized sunglasses, my Pelagic coozie, and my Flag Visor are hands-down the most-used gear on the boat.  I use all three daily, unless it’s pouring rain.  In which case the coozie gets the most use.

Colin is the guy around Pelagic that showed an interest in my trip, so here’s a little thank-you to him personally: thanks Colin, I’m using the gear daily!  Out of curiosity, I asked Colin why he responded so positively to this (out of the thousands he reads) sponsorship request:

 

Nate’s worldwide expedition perfectly encompasses what the Pelagic lifestyle is all about… A love for the ocean, fishing, diving, and simply spending time on the water.

 

Boom. Sounds like a match made in Heaven.  Thanks again Colin and Pelagic, I’m definitely celebrating the offshore lifestyle!

Pelagic Gear Sponsorship

Getting Settled, In Puerto Lindo

The last couple of days have been relatively uneventful.  I could venture out for a daysail, but I really want both engines functional for that. A sailing catamaran is so much more maneuverable with both engines.

The big accomplishments include:

• testing my new underwater LED light (designed to attract fish)


• catching a small dog snapper for dinner (the aforementioned light works as designed)


• getting my fishing gear organized


• breaking down (and more importantly:  putting back together) my 9/0 Penn reel


• restringing my 9/0 Penn with new line


• taking a couple of pictures


• not getting bit by an eel (more on this later)

My other list (the to-do list) is so long, I’m not even going to attempt it here.  It all consists of minor boat projects and getting settled in Puerto Lindo.

Getting Settled in Puerto Lindo

Yesterday was a horrible day – cloudy, overcast, and pouring rain most of the time.  I didn’t feel all that well either.  But the day before was glorious.  A little cloud cover, but not a drop of rain, sunny, and hot.  Which is exactly what I needed to dry/air the boat out.  The rainy season here is always wet.  Humidity, rain, or sweat.

I spent the majority of that glorious day pouring sweat below decks organizing the under-bunk storage and tossing a bunch of things I didn’t need.  I spent some time with my neighbors – a French couple that is repairing their trimaran for the crossing back to France.  When I left here in May, they said they would be gone by early June.  Now it’s looking like it’s going to be late June.  But that’s the way boat repairs go.

 

Neighbors

The guy, Michelle, is a good dude.  He’s a fellow spearfisherman and was genuinely surprised when he learned I enjoyed freedive spearfishing.  He said it’s rare to see an American that enjoys freedive spearfishing.  Apparently it’s a much larger sport in Europe.

Full Frontal

Anyways, I woke up yesterday morning kinda early and took a look around.  Michelle was out on the back of his trimaran having a shower – nude.  He saw me.  I waved, he waved.  He went back to showering.

I went below decks to give him a little privacy, but when I came back up his wife was in the same spot showering – also nude.  So I gave up and went around the boat hanging clothes off the lifelines.   This happened in May when I was down here, almost exactly the same way.  I’m not quite there yet, but I’m sure I’ll be taking showers on the back of the boat somewhere along the way.

After their showers I motored over and we talked dive spots.  Apparently there are a couple close by.  Not great, but decent.  Michelle says the fish are smart and small.  I prefer big, dumb fish.  But I’ll give it a go when I’m done with the dog-snapper in the fridge.  There’s also a nice reef out in the open water, off of Isla Grande that I learned about from the French girl that works at Panama Reef Divers.  I don’t know what it is about this place, but the only people I seem to meet are French and Dutch.   I’ll take a whack at that spot when I have both engines functional.  Hopefully Thursday or Friday.

 

Fishing in Puerto Lindo

So, about that eel.  Day before yesterday I had such a great day that I decided to pour myself an early rum and Coke.  Well, that rum and Coke turned into a couple.  And then I got a little bored so I decided to try out my 12V underwater LED light.  At night it is supposed to attract fish.  And it does.  That thing is bright.  A fun toy to liven up the night, which can get a little boring when sailing around by yourself.

Back to the story.  So here I was, a couple rum and Coke’s into the night, playing with my new light.  There was a ton of bait gathered around it so I decided to throw a hand-line out.  In about twenty minutes I had a good pan-sized dog snapper.  Not bad.  I refilled my drink and went back at it.   A little play on the line convinced me that there was something on the other end.  I jerked, it jerked.  I pulled really hard and eventually it gave way.  When it got into the light it looked like a ball on end of my line.  It was a damn eel.

 

Destroyer of drinks

I put it up on deck to remove the hook and it starting writhing all over the place.  Enough that it clipped my drink.  I watched, in slow motion, my cup tip over – spilling my fresh rum and Coke, and bouncing down the steps into the water.  What a disaster.

Now I had to get the hook out of this slimy, writhing, toothy critter without getting a handful of teeth.  Eels have a nasty bite; a friend of mine suffered a bite going after a lobster and it made him pretty ill.

Long story short:  I got the hook out and didn’t get bitten.  I’ll chalk that up as a win, despite sacrificing a rum and Coke and one of my four glasses onboard.

Another recent discovery is Monkey Beach – I named it that.  Apparently it has no name, and so that’s the name.   You can hear the howler monkeys all night, but they don’t come down from the hills.  On the other hand, on Monkey Beach – you can occasionally see Spider Monkeys out messing around.  I’m going to head over there one day when it’s not pouring rain and see if they’ll let me sneak a picture or two.

Monkey beach

And with that, it’s time to get back to the boat.  The boat projects are piling up and I’m finding it takes 300X as long as it should to do anything onboard. And there is some exploring to do, between the rain showers.

A beach that needs to be explored

Getting Settled, In Puerto Lindo

This is my first post from Puerto Lindo, Panama.  It’s a sleepy little anchorage, very remote.  At night the howler monkeys can be heard throughout the anchorage and during the day the birds create enough noise to drown out the occasional dinghy motor passing by.  It’s pretty isolated, but I like it.  I inherited a mooring ball here when I purchased my boat, so there’s no slip fees and it’s more secure than simply dropping an anchor.

This is the beginning of the rainy season, and it’s called that for good reason.  When it rains, it pours.  Bucketfuls. I’m learning quickly about the dangers of leaving the hatches open when I leave the boat.  Enough about that though – here’s what happened yesterday.

 

Back Onboard NOMAD

Yesterday was a day full of change.  At 9 AM I was picked up from my hotel by the mechanic who was sent to fix a water-pump on my starboard engine.  I grabbed groceries on the way, and we made it to Puerto Lindo around noon.  A short water taxi ride later I was home – onboard my sailing catamaran NOMAD.

I can’t possibly explain the feeling of stepping foot on my boat.  It felt great.  Better than that.  Awesome.  Finally on my boat, for good.  The mechanic asked me how long I’d be in Panama.  “Permanente” was my reply, which clearly wasn’t what he was expecting.

Luckily the rain had abated for the water-taxi ride out to my catamaran.  With everything onboard I began making the rounds.  For the most part everything was how I left it.  The mechanics had clearly played with my watermaker, and since I’d pickled it while I was gone – that made me a little unhappy.  No worries though.

On to the water-pump.

The mechanic (let’s call him Johnny) installed the new water pump incorrectly first time ‘round.  The second time he got it right, but it became apparent that the water pump was the wrong model.  So he re-installed the old one (which he claimed was faulty, I saw no evidence of this).  During the installation it began to rain.  Water in the engine compartment  caused a short, and after some trial and error Johnny decided there was an issue with corrosion in some of the electrical components on the starboard engine.  Needless to say, that wasn’t great news.

Johnny fiddled with the electrical stuff for awhile, blowing a couple of fuses and taking apart some other components by the cockpit.  Long story short, he failed to fix it and told me I needed several new components and should also replace the wiring.  Of course, if one engine component is bad – the other likely is too.  At the end of the day I had the original (faulty) water-pump on my starboard side engine and I was no longer able to start it.  When I arrived, both engines started flawlessly, the only fault being a minor leak in the starboard engine water-pump.  After the mechanic left; my starboard engine was inoperable, I was short a couple of fuses, the faulty water pump was still on the engine, and he was claiming I needed a ton of new electrical components and new wiring.

While the mechanic was busy breaking various parts of my boat, I aired up my dinghy – it was almost flat.  This wasn’t easy as my pump was a massive piece of crap, and I lost some skin figuring it out – but I got it done.  Eventually I dropped the mechanic off and I was alone onboard.  It felt great.

Yesterday I had suitcases and luggage scattered around my boat.  I’m wasn’t in the mood to unpack, so I didn’t.  Instead I made a rice curry, poured a Cuba Libre, and enjoyed the night aboard my boat.  Being the rainy season here in Panama, I got the privilege of watching a spectacular lighting show – thankfully nothing close to the boat.  The lightning makes you feel alive.   Today though, I unpacked and started cleaning the boat.  Clearly the previous owner and I have some differences of opinion as it relates to cleanliness.  Make no mistake, I hate cleaning and have lived in some really nasty places (Iraq comes to mind) – but I can’t make out why anyone would leave a boat this disorganized/unclean.

All this said – I’m finally really excited about what’s in front of me.  To date, there has always been some huge task looming in front of me that kept me from enjoying the moment.  That’s not the case anymore.  I’m free.  And it feels great. 

Some point next week the mechanic will come back out with a variety of parts and hopefully get everything under control.  Once I get the basics knocked out, I’m leaving for some sailing.  San Blas?  Or all the way to Columbia?  Truth is, I don’t know – which is exactly the way it’s supposed to be.

PS – this is my view as I write this.  Not too bad, huh?

Panama Reef Divers Bar in Puerto Lindo

Back Onboard NOMAD

The last couple of weeks have flown by.  There’s been some motorcycle riding, a few get-togethers, an epic Bon-Voyage party, tons of packing and plenty of downsizing.  I’ve also finalized a couple of sponsorship deals that I’ll announce in the next couple of days.

Admittedly, I’m not so great at the minimalist thing – but I chalk that up to spearfishing gear, boat parts, and underwater photography gear.  I’d love to be able to fit everything in a backpack, but it took three checked bags and two carry-on bags.  And there’s still a pile of “bring to Nate” gear that friends/family will bring down with them when they visit.

On goodbye:  I hate goodbyes.  I’m leaving behind a ton of good friends, family, a girlfriend of two-plus years, and a dog that I’ve grown pretty attached to.  Everyone has been supportive, which eased the burden a bit.  When there’s so much to do, that support means the world.  Thanks everyone (especially you, Tess).

 

Back In Panama

I really hope this was the last time (for a while) that I have to drag huge bags through an airport, explain what “spearfishing” is to TSA agents, and pay oversize baggage fees.  It was a heroic effort getting everything packed, hustled through the airport, and on the plane.  Simply getting my bags from the curb to the check-in line took the help of a third party.  I hadn’t slept well for a couple of weeks, so sleeping on the plane was a given.

My life, in 5 bags

When I arrived in Panama City, I chose to get a hotel for a night – The Continental Hotel being the best value for me at the time.  I was so beat after traveling though, that I didn’t get everything in order yesterday – so this morning I extended my stay at the hotel for another night.

TCOB

The first order of business was getting a local phone number, easily accomplished but it took a bit of trial and error to understand the various prepaid options.  All of the options were significantly cheaper than my Verizon bill in the States.

Next order of business was to figure out how to get myself and my insanely large gear bags to the boat.  My boat is currently in Puerto Lindo – which is about 2 hours from Panama City.  I priced various rental cars, but the cost was a little more that I wanted to pay as I’d need an SUV to move my baggage.  I opted for a van/cab to take me there at 11AM tomorrow.  He agreed to stop on the way at a supermarket so I could provision.  But shortly thereafter Andromeda Yachts called me and offered to take me to my boat, as there is a final repair to be made.  Hopefully my bags will fit in their vehicle, guess we’ll see.

Finally I made some calls – canceling my stateside cell service, vehicle insurance, and motorcycle insurance.  Then I put travel notifications on all my credit/debit cards.  After all of that it was time to head to a fishing tackle store.  Abernathy’s was the go-to spot, so I grabbed a cab and headed there.  I needed to buy one heavy-duty stand-up pole and get two reels spooled.  Abernathy’s didn’t have any heavy monofilament so I was directed to Alta Pesca – across the city.  Finally made it there and got the reels spooled. With the reels spooled and my new stand-up rod, I am finally ready to head to my boat.   It’ll be nice to get on her.

The Boat

Good news:  I got word that my generator has been repaired, a hatch has been sealed and that they’ve (Andromeda Yachts) changed the oil and all belts on both of my engines.

Bad news:  Andromeda Yachts is telling me I need a new water pump on one engine.  Both engines were running flawlessly when I left, and they’re telling me they’re both running now, but one needs a water pump.  Guess we’ll see tomorrow.

My boat-projects list is already pretty substantial.  I need to replace some O-rings in my watermaker, fix some of the headliner that’s falling down inside, install AIS, and install a WiFi antenna.  I would really like to install the fans that I bought stateside, but we couldn’t find room in my bags – so they’re waiting for one of my friends to bring them down. There’s a myriad of other smaller tasks as well, any boat owner knows exactly what I’m talking about.  Those small projects never seem to go away.

All that said – it’s such a relief to finally be here.  I have no idea what I’ll do next or where I’ll go next.  But my time is entirely my own, which is a really great feeling.  One I’ve been working towards for quite a while.

Now I’ve got to go pull money out of an ATM to pay for some boat repairs.  I have a feeling that’s going to be a regular occurrence.

 

 

 

 

Back in Panama