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hectorino1 · 5 years

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A Farewell To My Trusty Boots

There comes a point where you have to draw the line and as much as it hurts, you have to say goodbye to an old piece of clothing. In this case it happens to be my trusty hiking boots. Call me sentimental but in some ways it's like saying goodbye to a friend. Let me explain…

I can't recall the day or even the year I bought my boots. It was just another purchase to serve a need - I liked hiking and I needed boots. They weren't top of the line boots. They weren't expensive. Fashion wise, in my opinion, today's boots all look pretty darn similar and these where no exception. Simply put they are boots meant for hiking.

While trying out, at the time, my new boots I would occasionally get blisters, but in all fairness I’ve never worn a boot that didn’t. Besides those occasional blisters for the most part these boots felt comfortable. And so I kept wearing them. I wore them hiking across the front range mountains of Denver which offered panoramic views of the valley below including the city of Denver. I wore them while camping throughout beautiful Colorado. I wore them on the multiple hikes Margo and I took in Yellowstone national park as we stumbled upon geysers, hot springs, bubbling mud pots and the majestic Yellowstone falls. On days where I had nothing better to do I would head over to Rocky Mountain National Park and hike up to various alpine lakes, their crystal clear waters, surrounded by majestic mountains. As expected these boots would get dusty and dirty, but they never tore or came apart. Not even the shoe strings. And so I kept on wearing them.

Last year I planned a trip with Margo to visit some of the amazing parks in Utah - Arches, Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Capital Reef. We had a great time. Even though all the parks are in desert settings, they all offered their own unique topography, each beautiful in their own ways. We hiked on slick rock in Arches while admiring the graceful shapes of the rock formations. In Zion we meandered up the long windy trail leading to the top of Zion valley which offered us spectacular views of the river valley below not to mention a tad of vertigo. We zigzagged around the hoodoos (spires) in Bryce Canyon, half of which looked like people turned to stone, the other half (I have to say it) like phallic symbols. And we wandered between the unusual 'Swiss Cheese' rock formations in Capital reef. It was a great trip and again all the hiking was done in my trusty boots.

Not but a few hundred yards from my house exists an old canal that used to feed farmlands with mountain water from a reservoir sixty some odd miles away. Running adjacent to the canal is a trail that traverses the full length. As part of my preparation for the Camino, I decided to walk the full length of this Highline trail. Being that it’s sixty some odd miles long I would have to do it in sections, which meant that for every mile I travelled I’d have to double back to get back to the car. In other words I would be doing around 130 miles of walking. I again wore my boots. We, as in my boots and I, made our way through the windy trail past posh neighborhoods with their mega mansions and manicured lawns, crossed through other areas with simple style homes, not so opulent but still charming, followed by a small industrial park and finally into the dusty open plains that lead to the reservoir that feeds the canal. All along the trail the Rocky Mountains could be spotted beckoning us to move on westward.

As you can imagine, after all these adventures, my boots where looking pretty beat up from the years, the hikes, and the abuse. The soles where fairly worn. The outer lining of the shoe strings had separated, yet still in one piece, but with only the barren white inner string holding them together. The leathery parts where dry, cracked, withered, and looking ever more like Clint Eastwood. Many a soul would have replaced them miles ago, but not me. So, when it came time to get my legs and for all intents and purposes the rest of my body ready for the long 15-20 mile hikes I would be experiencing in the Camino, I trusted my worn old boots to get me ready.

(In all honesty, the intensity of the workout routine I’m about to share with you below is likely not necessary for doing the Camino but that it couldn’t hurt. Since I have had the time, flexibility, and the support of my wife Margo (thank you sweetie) to do it, I decided why not go all out. Maybe in a future blog I’ll tell you if it was worth it!)

The last few months of preparations for the Camino included long hikes, carrying a full backpack, throughout various front range mountains trails around Denver. Most of these hikes where between fifteen and twenty miles, lasting up to 7+ hours with altitude gains as high as 4,200 feet. On every hike I wondered if my shoe strings would break apart, if the soles would separate, or if the bottoms would wear down to the hollow interior sections, leaving gaping holes. And yet at the end of every hike and to my amazement my trusty boots, ever more worn down to nearly nothing, appeared to be pleading for more.

Today marks the one week - before boarding on a plane to Spain where I will be hopping on a bus to St. Jean Pied de Port and, the following day, on to my Camino journey. My last preparation hike with my trusty boots was last Monday. The time is past. My trusty boots cannot join me on the 490 mile Camino, as it would be too monumental an undertaking. And so I’ve reached the point where I must say goodbye to you, my trusty old boots and begin a new chapter of hiking with a new pair. But you won’t be completely forgotten, for my new pair of boots, the pair I’ll be taking with me on the Camino, the ones I’ve taken on short hikes and enjoyed the same comfortable feel as I did with you, is the exact same brand. I am sure they will serve me well as you have. Farewell my trusty boots! Farewell!!!

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haydenandtrish · 5 years

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Tour de Tulips: From Amsterdam to Lisse

Hayden and I quickly acquainted ourselves with life on two wheels in the Netherlands when we decided to ride from Amsterdam to Lisse – an 80 kilometre round trip.

Why on earth would we do that though? To see the Tulips of course!

Every year, particularly in the month of April, the tulips bloom and the thick green carpet transforms into a velvet rainbow. Thousands of little flowers open their petals and let their colour shine. We couldn’t miss it. But we’re back packing, so we looked for cheaper options. We read online that there are approximately 20 kilometres of tulip fields stretching from Haarlem to Lisse. So instead of travelling down to Keukenhof Gardens by train and then having to pay to see the Tulips, we rented a couple of bicycles for 30 Euros and began our first big Dutch adventure. Our blue rentals were rickety old things that rattled, and when it’s over bumpy cobblestone roads, it’s every body’s business. They had seen better days for sure. But these old faithfuls got us places, and by the end of the trip, we had melded right into them.

Now. We ride.

First destination? Haarlem. Leaving Amsterdam behind and heading out to explore the Dutch countryside, you couldn't tell we were on the outskirts of a city with an airport on one side and an industrial estate on the other – it was still an abundance of green.

Following the bike path, we veered away from the road and turned a corner, and we exclaimed something you start to say a lot on the road … Wow. We quickly realised that the beauty of The Netherlands is inescapable. We were up on a hill, a glistening lake to the right, dense forest to the left and the distant view was full of windmills lining the horizon. With smiles on our faces, we rode on.

Magic is everywhere.

Within the first hour of our journey, we had come across cute little towns made up of dark timber houses and farmland in the front yard. Sheep were kept, roosters could be heard and veggies were growing in neat boxes. With smiles on our faces, we rode on. We crossed dainty wooden bridges whose paths disappeared into what felt like enchanted woods, we milled in wonder as purple leaves rained lightly on us, and we laughed, true joyous laughs because everywhere we happened upon we had to stop and take in our surroundings. And then we would look at one another, and with smiles on our faces, we rode on. Through picture perfect Dutch towns, beside woods full of magic, past houses covered by vines and trees, along immaculately kept canals and over old cobblestone roads. We were left completely mesmerized. It was beautiful, to say the least, but there are some treasures we want you to experience for yourself, so we’ll leave it up to you to explore. We had no specific route and this was another little unplanned journey where we didn't know what to expect along the way. We have found experiencing somewhere with no expectations and no worry of whether or not you’re on the exact right path leaves a whole lot of room for unsuspecting wonder.

Google Maps became our best friend as we navigated our way down. We continued past stone built houses that were detailed with white trimmings. They were roofed in no particular shape – all obscured and quirky but following a similar colour scheme of black, orange or brown.

The canals flowed just as lovely as in Amsterdam and the people greeted you with a smile wherever you went. We had arrived in Haarlem. Our stay was short as we rode directly through the middle and out into more suburbs. We soon realised we were supposed to be on the other side of a particular canal, we needn’t worry though, because to our luck, Hayden spotted a lady standing on the side of the canal gazing out to the other side. Following her line of sight, there was a white barge transporting pedestrians to and fro. We saddled up beside her and waited for our ride. After a quick chat and a few points in the right direction we were back on our way.

Aaaahh the tulips.

We lulled lazily through unfamiliar streets noticing an increase in large oak trees, and the ladies earlier mention of a forest rang like bells in our minds when we came face first into an opening – with bike paths guiding the way of course. In our research before we had even left our Airbnb, we were told to follow the Leidesvaart Canal passing through towns Heemestede and Hillegom in order to find the Tulips. This is exactly what we did. We rode along the canal for some time and it eventually bent all the way right around a bend onto a dirt road, under a bridge, and then bam, on our left was a beautiful sea of red, yellow, white and pink.

After four hours of an incredibly flat but never dull ride, we had finally arrived at the Tulips. It was just as beautiful as I could have imagined. We ran around excitedly, getting closer to the flowers, smelling the sweetness, feeling the silkiness, celebrating that we had finally arrived. However, it was a little bittersweet as we looked around and realised that we were about one to two weeks too late to witness the fields in full bloom. Many had already been picked. We witnessed workers walking up and down the aisles and handpicking only the most perfect tulips. Once we had finished admiring the first destination we rode a little further up.

The place we came across was a quaint little set of houses along the canal we had been following. The yards were kept tidy, with tulips growing all around. We sat on one of the boat docks and had some snacks. We were quiet beside one another as we silently marvelled at what we had just gotten to do. We couldn’t believe the indescribable beauty of the Netherland’s. It’s just that, even as I type this I cannot for the life of me find the right words to perfectly describe how enchanting everywhere we went was. We just appreciated exactly where we were – in the middle of the Netherland’s, along some unknown canal, out front of pretty Dutch houses and looking out to bare green fields where Tulips usually lay. It was a dream come true.

We almost turned around there and headed home, but we decided to go just a little further. We are glad we did, because we ended up stumbling across more Tulip fields. There was literally fields and fields of tulips. This particular location had to have been laid by Willy Wonka himself as it was nearly completely purple. A church stood tall in the background surrounded by yet another town making it the perfect backdrop.

We decided to keep riding down to the Keukenhof Gardens, go around them and head back up the other side from which we came. Although we didn’t go in, we’ve heard they are beautiful, so if you want to see the tulips in a more artistic way then this is the place for you.

It was around the time we stopped in a lovely little café in Lisse that sat beside some train tracks that we realised we had been riding down for over six hours now - making it close to 4pm. We were meant to have the bikes back in Amsterdam by 7pm. A quick look at Google Maps told us we would be there in 7 hours on foot.

OOOooooohhhh how we rode like the wind back to Amsterdam.

We hammered our legs with no joyous stops along the way, we battled the wind coming down against us the entire way back, we cut through towns and parks and with barely 10 minutes to spare, we made the journey back up within 3 hours. All the while thanking the Netherland’s for being so flat.

Our advice

 - Enjoy the trip from Amsterdam to Haarlem  - Follow the Leidesvaart Canal passing through towns Heemestede and Hillegom - If you want to see our full route, click here.

- See the tulips late May early April if you want to see them in full bloom

- Oh my god wear sunscreen! We didn’t and man our faces were sunburnt. They didn't look red but they were so sore to touch.

- If there looks to be wind about, wear a scarf! I luckily had mine on and could cover my face. Hayden unfortunately copped it all which would have worsened the dryness from the sunburn.

- Leave yourself plenty of time – we left at 9:30am so admittedly we could have left much earlier. We’re just enjoying that European time clock of late starts later finishes – it's marvellous.

- Even if you don’t get to see the Tulips we really recommend completing the ride if you have a day to spare.

It wasn’t just seeing the Tulips that made this trip special. It was being able to see real Dutch living in its most authentic state, and it’s breath taking ❤️

Always with Love, Trish

#netherlands #tulips #amsterdam #Lisse #bicycle #dutch #keukenhof #garden #tulipfields

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excellentadventure2 · 7 years

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Feb. 1-24: Panama City (Mega Post)

On February 1st (day 93) Danielle and I awoke at the Hotel Aranjeuz in San Jose, Costa Rica. We enjoyed the legendary breakfast buffet, and packed up our stuff. We'd decided that we weren't getting anywhere when it came to figuring out what to do with the vehicle, so figured we might as well try our luck in Panama. Thus, we headed out to pack up Bilbo, which was parked in probably the most secure parking lot the vehicle had seen the entire trip. I'm talking locked gates, barbed wire, and security cameras. And yet, what do I find that morning but an attempted break-in of our Pelican Case we had mounted on the roof. The would-be thief managed to cut the straps which ran over the case as well as our traction pads (also mounted on the roof), but I guess decided they didn't want to bother with the locks so gave up. Luckily they didn't smash any windows.

Regardless, we checked out and headed back to our classic beach-side camp-spot in Dominical. We spent the night of the 1st, and 2nd (day 94) in Dominical (and I finally found a replacement hat!), and then said our final goodbye to the beloved town on the 3rd (day 95) and headed towards the border, staying one last night in Costa Rica in a small mountain resort's yard.

On the 4th (day 96), we crossed into Panama without great issue. We crossed at a small crossing and one that isn't very high-trafficked. While this made us the only ones crossing, it also led to some slow-moving workers. Nevertheless, we did eventually get through. However, it's imperative that I mention something that took place at this border: I cancelled the Costa Rican Temporary Import Permit. This is very important because Costa Rica does not allow a foreign vehicle to re-enter the country if the permit has been cancelled within 3 months, unless one leaves it open, which I didn't, thinking I wouldn't want to drive back in.

Anyway, we hit the road and entered Panama.

From here, the blog (and my memory) gets fuzzy. The time Danielle and I spent in Panama was an absolute mess, there's really no other way of describing it. We did so much, yet at the same time so little. My time there was some of the most frustrating times I've ever experienced. I'm not really sure there's any real value in me giving a day-by-day narrative of our time spent in Panama so instead I will try to summarize some key points to the best of my memory, so bear with me. I really need to stress that much of what I'm about to describe will be grossly out of order. I also need to add that because of the high-stress I didn't take too many photos.

I think the easiest thing for me to do will be to break our time spent in Panama into a few sections. Section one being Panama City – which I will cover in this post – and section two, David, which I will cover in the next post.

Okay, Panama City. Firstly, this is a really cool city and I would definitely visit it again. What's super cool about it is that it's a meeting of cultures from all over the world as is to be expected from not only the capital of a country but also a world business hub. What's also really cool about the city is the fact that in 20 minutes or less of walking, one could walk through streets lined with colonial buildings, to the gritty projects, to ultra-new skyscrapers. Basically the diversity of the city is amazing.

Now, while in Panama City, we spent almost all of our time between two places, staying at La Cresta Inn and camped behind the Country Inn on the Amador Causeway. Basically we would flip-flop between the two. When trying to organize shipping we would stay at La Cresta and then when trying to save money or when we thought we were about to ship out in a couple days we would stay for free on the Causeway.

Before I go into the shipping fiasco, I will cover other activities we partook in while in the city. Again, the exact dates are a blur so I will highlight some of the main things, absent of dates.

When we weren't in the hotel room cramming away on the computer we were usually at Starbucks (then later another coffeeshop closer to the Causeway) working on the computer there. When we weren't on the computer, we did check out the city a bit. One of the first things we did while in Panama City was hit up a Rob and Danielle Europe-Signature Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus tour. Even though they're super touristy, I do recommend these as they allow somewhat of a snapshot of the city. While on the tour we stopped in and looked through the Canal's museum/viewing building, which was super cool.

Also while in the city we visited the Bio Museum, which is a state-of-the-art, pride-of-the-city natural history museum located on the Amador Causeway. I would highly recommend visiting if you're in the city. Here, Danielle and I copped the wifi password which became very useful when we would camp on the Causeway.

Also while in the city we walked around checking out the various architectural marvals as well as a few of the local restaurants. On another similar day we checked out a number of art galleries which was pretty cool.

Pretty much every night we camped on the Causeway, Danielle and I would go for evening strolls along it. On one such night we saw a giant boa cross the pedestrian walkway right in front of us. It was a pretty incredible sight that unfortunately we weren't able to capture because we didn't have our phones or cameras. On one particular day, Danielle and I climbed one of the hills on the Causeway and overlooked the city while also checking out some old American bunkers.

Another thing I would recommend one does if they find themselves in Panama City would be to check out the Smithsonian's Tropical Research Institute, also located on the Causeway. It's very cheap to get in an provides some wildlife viewing opportunities pretty much inside the city.

Worthy of an extra special mention is the day or so we spent at the Westin Playa Bonita Panama all-inclusive resort right outside of the city, compliments of Danielle's Uncle Ted, who was staying there on a business trip. We got to live like royalty while visiting a slice of home. I can't thank Uncle Ted enough for his generosity.

Now, since I've covered most of the fun stuff we did in Panama City, and before I get to the bad times, I must mention the work we did in the city. Remember that Jeff guy we met in San Jose who said he might have some work for us? Well, in our times of desperation I ended up sending the guy an email and we ended up meeting with one of his co-workers at her office in Panama City. It ended up that they worked for an upscale hostel company called Selena. Danielle and I ended up doing some market research for them online and made some fairly easy cash doing so.

So now the bad. Basically while in the city we were let on by multiple shipping companies who all ended up screwing us, hard. I don't want to get into the exact details because honestly it will take too long but let me tell you that if you ever want to ship anything internationally, start researching many months in advance. At one point we were literally on the road to the port and got screwed by traffic and then to find out we were going to be paying around USD$5000 for a roll-on-roll-off boat where the chances of a break-in is incredibly high. Then, we'd thought we'd arranged to ship the vehicle properly (meaning in a sealed shipping container) for around USD$3000 to only find out two days before having to get the vehicle to the port that we needed an agent – thanks for letting us know. So after much frustration and having to get the customs officials to inspect the vehicle at least three times, we gave up on the idea of shipping the vehicle home. Now what to do?

Well, as mentioned before, driving home wasn't an option, as I'd closed my Costa Rican Temporary Vehilce Import Permit. Which left us with two other options, store the vehicle or sell it. We'd read online that the best place to store the vehicle was back up north in the city of David. We decided to head to David and try to sell the vehicle up there, and if that didn't work, we'd store it there and fly home, maybe to return in a couple months when the vehicle could enter Costa Rica again. I'd already posted some for-sale ads up on the web mostly as feelers, and had a hit from an American expat living in the David area, so it seemed like a decent idea. Therefore, I believe it was on the 24th (day 116, I think?) we drove to David.

#Rob Wilson #Photography #Travel #Adventure #Panama #Panama City #Costa Rica #Overlanding

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amishroadshow · 6 years

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Frozen Over

The transition from 2017 to 2018 was a chilly one. Looking at Facebook I saw a number of people going through the same trouble with frozen pipes that I was, and worse. Nearly two weeks with temperatures between zero and freezing is not the norm around here.

Ever the optimist I saw the opportunity to visit a few of my favorite frozen destinations to share with you. Here are five of my favorite nearby places to visit when everything is frozen over …

Frozen Places

Save this map and take it with you in the Google Maps App!

#1 Middlecreek Wildlife Management Area

A few years ago I headed to Middlecreek to take some pictures and was astonished by what I saw at the northeastern edge of Lancaster County. There are a few ponds near where I grew up in New Holland, but I had never actually thought about lakes freezing over. One of those humbling moments in adulthood when you realize you’re completely ignorant about something.

At that time a number of ice fishing tents dotted the lake. People in large bright puffy coats could be seen walking across the ice towing small sleds full of their gear. It was my first experience of both seeing a frozen lake and witnessing ice fishing.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission operates a visitor center, but it closes after hunting season until February. A few weeks after they reopen the first flocks of migratory birds will begin appearing around the lake. While the visitor’s center is closed, so are some of the parking and access areas. If you get a chance to park at the small parking area near the dam on Klienfeltersville Road you’ll just be a few steps from the ice.

#2 Ulmer-Root-Haines Memorial Park - Indian Steps Waterfall

The next two spots are going to take us to the York County side of the Susquehanna River. This is one that I had seen some pictures of but wasn’t exactly sure what to expect in terms of accessing the falls.

The Ulmer-Root-Haines Memorial Park is located just across the street from the Indian Steps Museum. That’s another place I want to visit, but it will have to wait for another post because they close over Winter. The Museum's Arts and Crafts Style buildings were quite charming blanketed with snow. I could see what appeared to be a very beautiful view of the river at the edge of the property, but I didn’t want to wander around their property. I was on a waterfall mission.

I expected the falls to be frozen over, but I was actually quite impressed with how big the ice became given the slow flow of the creek I had seen in photos. After parking in the small pull off along Indian Steps Road we proceeded to the small staircase across the street. There is a large sign to let you know it’s the park and a small rocky trail leading directly up the hill about a quarter of a mile to the falls. This trail could be a little challenging for some due to the rocks and roots, particularly in rain, snow, or ice. Be sure to use caution if visiting this waterfall, and be prepared!

#3 Millcreek Falls

Millcreek Falls is another York County waterfall tucked away along the shores of Susquehanna River. This happens to be one of my favorite places to visit in general. After crossing the Susquehanna River on the Norman Wood Bridge (which towers over the river valley below), you take an immediate right into the Lock 12 Historic Area. There are a number of interesting lock remnants in this area left in time from the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal that previously extended from Wrightsville, PA to Havre De Grace, Maryland.

After a short drive down the unpaved River Road, you’ll cross Millcreek on a bridge and see the blue blazed entrance to the Mason Dixon Trail on your immediate left. In about a hundred yards or so you’ll notice a pull off area to the right for parking. If you reach the Holtwood Whitewater Park or the Holtwood Dam you’ve gone just a little too far.

Probably the biggest reason this is one of my favorite places to visit is the convenient access to a beautiful waterfall. After starting up this very easy section of the Mason Dixon Trail it’s only about a hundred yards until you see the creek and cascading falls to your left. Where you’ll be standing on the hillside gives you a great view of the falls. Getting to the base of the falls is a bit more challenging and a little risky for inexperienced hikers. If you choose to go down there use caution.

If you continue up the trail to the top of the falls it’s just a light walk on a heavily used path. The pool at the top makes a great place to let the kids, or your inner-child, splash around in the summer. In the winter the ice forms interesting features all around.

From there the trail continues along the side of the creek. The sound of flowing water is very soothing, but after the falls there are a few spots along the trail that can get slippery. Further up there’s a branch which offers a slightly smaller waterfall, beyond that the Mason Dixon Trail returns to its normal level of intensity reserved for more experienced hikers. Snow and ice were making it especially hazardous when we visited, so we headed back.

#4 Kilgore Falls

Kilgore Falls is Maryland’s second tallest waterfall located in a satellite portion of Rock State Park near Pylesville, Maryland. To get there we crossed the Norman Wood Bridge (Route 372) like we’re going to Millcreek Falls, but instead of turning onto River Road head straight until the road stops at Route 74. Turn left and it’s only another 20 mins south and a few turns in Maryland.

A big thing to remember about Maryland Parks, you typically have to be in a parking space in a parking lot. When the lots fill up in Maryland they tell you to drive around and come back later. Honestly, It’s super frustrating and I’ve been turned away from a few parks. We had no problem getting a space in winter, or when they first open the parking lot in the morning during the Summer months. Typically by the time we’re ready to leave the lot is near or at capacity though.

However, the hassle is totally worth it. This is a beautiful waterfall, and it's a lot of fun to splash around in the pools at the base of the falls in the summer. I stopped by here before the deep freeze and crossing the creek did not look inviting, so we headed to the top of the falls. When I returned during the freeze the entire creek was frozen solid and it became the trail.

The trail to the creek is well worn with few rocks and roots scattered around. It’s about a half mile to the falls and a fairly easy hike. The paths around the base of the falls are a little different. With so many people playing in the falls these paths have a lot of erosion causing roots and rocks to be exposed. Definitely use caution, especially at the top of the falls as there are no safety railings.

#5 Chickies Rock Overlook

Chickies Rock County Park is another favorite place I like to visit. I enjoy the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail at the base of the rock, and the Breezyview Overlook for a great view without the hike, but the overlook at Chickies Rock provides one of the best views in Lancaster County in my opinion. So much so that we captured it a few years ago for Google Streetview. Check it out …

The overlook is about a half mile from the parking lot along Chickies Hill Road (Route 441). The trail is well worn so rocks can be a hazard, particularly when there’s snow on the ground, but the 200-foot view is spectacular!

Need more? Checkout the Grand View ...

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mamajeanetc · 7 years

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Hoi An, Vietnam

We left home on a Saturday morning and took a short flight to Kuala Lumpur. We had a two hour layover there before a 2.5 hour flight to DaNang. We were flying Air Asia -- a cheap regional airline that offers only basic service. So, I figured our layover would allow for a decent lunch. We didn’t realize that Air Asia has their own terminal in the KL airport and the service in the terminal is about as a basic as the service on the flights. There were only a handfull of places to eat -- about 1/2 of them were closed and some only took cash (and we didn’t have any Malaysian ringgits on us) which left us one option. And they were sold out of our first 2 options on the menu!! It was not a great start. But there was one saving grace in the KL airport:

Nothing like a good chocolate chip cookie to make things better!! Credit cards accepted!

We landed in DaNang and I had arranged for the hotel shuttle service to pick us up and drive us to our hotel in Hoi An, about 1/2 hour down the coast. Our driver didn’t say a word, but he got us to our destination!

Hoi An is rather uniquely situated with the sea and multiple rivers running through the area. Our hotel was in that little triangle between the crossroads and the big curve in the river just to the right and below “East Sea”, overlooking the river and about 50 yards down the road to the beach.

We arrived at the River Beach Resort about 4:00 and were given their traditional welcome drink as we checked in -- a nice refreshing glass of Tang! This was the view from the lobby:

We were then shown to our room -- very clean and spacious. We were on the 3rd floor with a balcony overlooking the river.

This was definitely feeling like a place we could tolerate for a few days (at about $45 US/night, great breakfast included)!

Hoi An means “peaceful meeting place” -- a name that reflects the influence of various cultures in the area. Originally, it was the principal port of the Cham Kingdom, which controlled the spice trade with Indonesia between the 7th and 10th centuries. The rivers and canals were used to transport goods between the highlands and inland countries of Laos and Thailand, and the lowlands. The Cham people most likely originated from Java and were Hindu. But during the 10th century some of the people converted to Islam due to the influence of Arab traders.

Another major cultural influence came from Chinese traders and others trying to escape the Ming Dynasty armies. They settled in Hoi An for some years before moving south and creating Saigon as their major port.

During the 16th and 17th centuries Hoi An became a major trading port as Portuguese, Dutch, Indian and Japanese traders settled here.

In the late 18th century a new emperor, to thank the French for helping him win a rebellion, gave them exclusive trading rights in nearby DaNang. DaNang became the new center of trade and Hoi An did not change much for the next 200 years.

In 1999 the Old Town of Hoi An was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it was a well-preserved example of a SE Asia trading port between the 15th and 19th centuries with buildings that display a unique mix of influences. Since then, due to the increase in tourism, most of the houses have been sold and turned into shops, restaurants and art galleries. But the architecture has been largely perserved.

After settling into our room we decided to walk to the Old Town for dinner. Our hotel was about 4 kms. from Old Town. At 6:00 on Saturday there was quite a bit of traffic between the beach and town -- some cars and an occasional tour bus, but hundreds of motorbikes and bicycles being ridden by both tourists and locals.

Not far from our hotel we had to cross a bridge which isn’t wide enough for 2 cars to pass. Cars on one end are forced to stop and wait until there is a break in the traffic; then the direction of traffic changes.

Crossing the river we could see a couple of fishermen on the river as the sun was going down.

We had expected that being farther north we would have longer daylight hours, but by 6:30 it was almost dark.

We had dinner at an outdoor restaurant on the river. Hoi An is also known as “the lantern town” because there lanterns of various shapes, colors and sizes everywhere. While we waited for our food I tried to get a photo of some the various lanterns and the moon in the background.

For dinner we ordered a famous local dish, cao lau, which consists of rice noodles topped with slices of roast pork, dough fritters, fresh herbs and vegetables. The secret to making authentic cao lau is using water from a special well in the city. We also had some stir-fried vegies.

While we were eating dinner a large family came into the restaurant. We learned they were celebrating a birthday when all the lights in the restaurant went out and the wait staff came out carrying a cake with candles and singing “Happy Birthday” (in English).

Deciding we’d prefer to explore Old Town in the daylight, we got a taxi back to the hotel after dinner. Since it was still early, Tim suggested we sit at the outdoor bar and play Canasta. I went up to our room to get our cards while he ordered drinks. I returned just as the waiter set our drinks down. Tim explained that they didn’t have any wine so he had ordered me a Seabreeze, which is cranberry juice and vodka. I took one sip and I’m sure it would have knocked my socks off if I had been wearing any. I took my glass over to the bar and asked the bartender if he could add some more cranberry juice. He picked up a bottle of alcohol from the shelf and started to take the top off. Putting my hand over the glass I explained that I did not want any more alcohol; I’d like some more cranberry juice. He didn’t have any cranberry juice . . . or any other juice . . . or soda . . . or anything without alcohol except tonic water. So, we added some tonic water and I returned to our table. It was still horrible. So, we proceeded to play cards while a group of 4 or 5 young couples entertained us with quite possibly the worst karaoke EVER!! The bartender noticed I wasn’t drinking so he brought over another glass, apologetically saying he had tried again to make me a Seabreeze and assuring us we would not be charged for a second drink. It was very nice of him to try, but it was still undrinkable! When we got the bill, it suddenly became clear . . . instead of cranberry he had mixed vodka with “Campari” -- a liqueur made by infusing herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. It’s red (so it looked like cranberry juice) and it’s about 25% alcohol (which is pretty strong, especially for someone who very rarely drinks hard liquor)! I’ll probably never drink another Seabreeze without fondly remembering our first night in Vietnam!!

Sunday morning came early . . . really early. Light started to peek through the shutters on our balcony door around 4:00 a.m. and by 5:00 a.m. it was full daylight. Not long afterwards we heard kids playing, and when we went down to breakfast at 6:20 I counted 16 kids in the hotel pool!! Looking at a map, Vietnam is east of Singapore -- you would expect it to be one time zone ahead of Singapore. But in fact, it is one time zone behind Singapore. So, as I expected, daylight did last about 2 hours longer there than it does in Singapore, it’s just shifted earlier which seemed quite strange. We have no factual explanation, but our theory is that the government made the decision about the time zone because it is so hot -- people get out and work in the fields, construction, etc. very early before it becomes unbearable.

Tim wanted to go scuba diving so I had booked 2 spots on Sunday with Blue Coral Dive Shop. I’m not as comfortable in the water and it takes me a couple of days to get comfortable diving. Since we were only going to dive one day I had opted to not get stressed about it and just enjoy the day on the boat and beach. The dive shop picked us up in a van and we drove about 15 minutes to a pier where we boarded a good-sized boat with about 30 other people.

When we boarded the boat there was an orange life vest on every seat and the boat crew made sure everyone put theirs on before we pulled away from the dock. Once we were outside the harbor area they collected the life vests and stowed them away. We saw this happening on other boats going out as well. There must be a law requiring life vests in the harbor, but once you’re out in open water it’s OK to let the tourists drown!

We saw several other boats of varying sizes leaving the harbor and everyone was headed to the Cham Islands -- a small group of islands about an hour out on a boat where the best diving and snorkeling in the area can be found. We stopped at 2 different locations for the divers and snorkelers to do their thing.

I had considered snorkeling but when I saw how many people there were (not only our boat, but 3 or 4 other boats anchored nearby) I was happy with my decision to stay on the boat with my book.

My decision was reaffirmed when the snorkelers started getting back in the boat after a short time, many of them complaining of itching and stinging. Apparently there were tiny jellyfish type creatures in the water. The divers were wearing wetsuits and weren’t bothered, but most of the snorkelers couldn’t tolerate being in the water very long.

Both the tourists and staff on the boat were an eclectic mix of nationalities -- US, Chile, Ireland, Britain, Australia, Germany, Norway, Canada, Korea, Japan, China, Singapore and Vietnam. This made for some interesting conversation and some good people-watching. I found this Korean mother and daughter who spent much of their time touching up their make-up (to get in the water) and taking selfies particulary entertaining.

After the 2 dive stops we went to the largest island to enjoy a seafood lunch on the beach.

We then had a couple of hours to hang out on the beach and swim before our boat headed back to Hoi An. I went for a swim, but encountered the same pesky little jelly-fish guys (they looked like little air bubbles in the water) so didn’t last too long. Apparently Tim is immune to such things as he spent most of the time swimming back and forth along the shoreline and had no problems. It appeared that the boat operators in Hoi An must have an agreement and schedule as this island had a steady stream of tourist boats coming and going during the 3 hours we were there, but there were never too many people to be seated at the one eating establishment at once.

As our boat headed back to Hoi An we could see dark clouds gathering in the distance. We made it back to our hotel about 3 minutes before the wind started howling and the rain pouring. We enjoyed the storm from our balcony and later walked to a nearby restaurant on the beach for a quiet dinner. We had a good chuckle when looking at the menu and enjoyed the food. Apparently if it comes with noodles it’s “nooded”!

On Monday we did a half-day bike tour with our buddies at Grasshopper Adventures. After meeting our guide, Ky, and fellow bikers (a Dutch family of 5) at the bike shop in town, we made it through a couple of precarious intersections, crossed a bridge and soon found ourselves pedaling on a quiet path along the river.

After riding a few kilometers we stopped at a house in a small village where the couple makes rice cakes and rice papers for the locals daily breakfast.

The man showed us how he grinds the rice (which has soaked in water for about 2 hours to soften) into a paste.

He made it look easy, but I gave it a try and it wasn’t. He runs this grinder for about an hour each day. My arms were tired and I’d worked up a sweat after about 2 minutes!

While he grinds the rice each morning, his wife gets the fire going in the “kitchen”.

They burn the rice husks for fuel and afterwards use the ash as fertilizer.

The wife showed us how to spread a thin layer of the rice flour paste on a hot skillet.

After putting the lid over it and letting it cook for a minute, you have to gently slide the “magic wand” under the middle of the rice paper . . .

and lift it off the griddle!

Ky showed us how to put one of these “pancakes’ between 2 layers of another type of rice paper which has been dried and grilled so it’s crunchy -- you smash it all into pieces and then dip it in a special sauce and you have a very typical local breakfast.

After our second breakfast, we got back on our bikes and rode a few kilometers through fields and villages to our next stop -- a family temple. The owners of this house have 10 kids and 28 grandkids. Rather than going to a temple to practice their religious traditions, which are a mix of Tao and Hindu, they built a temple on the side of their house.

Those are tombstones in the foreground -- a number of family members are buried there. This is inside the temple:

There was a smaller shrine off to the side. My understanding was that it was built to honor a stillborn child with the hope that his next life would be better.

We continued riding through the countryside

Ky stopped us as we approached another river and told us to ride in the middle of the bridge (because it’s not very wide) unless there’s a bike or motorcycle coming toward us -- then we should move to the right, but not too far or we’d end up swimming! Gotta love those guardrails!!

Our next stop was at a place where they build boats. We were surprised at how big the boats are. It takes about 6 months to build a boat.

It was interesting to see how they bend the wood and piece it together to make a hull. And naturally we were very impressed with all the sturdy scaffolding and ladders, safety harnesses, hard hats, steel-toed shoes, etc. -- OSHA would have a field day!!

As we left the boatyard Ky told us that our next stop would be in a village where they specialize in making sleeping mats. On the outskirts of the village we saw a woman cutting the grass that is used to make the sleeping mats.

Nearby we saw several bundles of grass by the roadside.

The bundles are taken to the village where each one is split in two lengthwise. Then they are laid out to dry for 4 days. We saw them in various stages of drying along the side of the road.

Once dry, some of the grass will be dyed various colors, others left natural, and then woven into a sleeping mat. The locals use these mats on the floor or a wooden frame, but do not use mattresses.

We stopped at a home and met this 91-year-old woman who weaves 2 mats/day. She has been doing this since she was 13 years old and now her 13 year-old granddaughter is helping her and learning the family trade.

Cycling on to another village, we prepared for our final stop in the countryside -- which would include rice wine tasting right where it is made! Once again the home proprieter walked us through the process. He uses 2 kinds of rice -- the darker one is from Laos and produces a higher grade of wine; the white rice is Vietnamese. Both rices are steamed and then spread out to dry.

The rice is then put in buckets with water where it ferments for several days.

Finally, he runs it through his distillery.

He produces variations by adding varous herbs, fruit and lizards. Yes, you read that right -- take a close look at the bottle on the left. They’re a bit difficult to see, but there are 2 rather large lizards in the bottle.

We tasted a couple different wines, but passed on that bottle!

The son of the winemaker is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. His medicinal supplies took up one wall in the front room of the house.

After our wine-tasting we rode our bikes back to the river where we boarded a “ferry” to take us across the river and back to Hoi An. We passed another ferry that looked similar to ours:

Our boat operator had a high tech accelerator system which he operated by pulling a string. Once he reached crusing speed he just held the string in place with his foot, but as we neared the dock and conditions required a bit more finesse he took off his shoes and used his toes!

We docked near the Japanese Covered Bridge. A famous landmark in Hoi An, it was built in the early 1600s by the Japanese community and includes a pagoda (temple) on one side.

We then rode a couple of blocks to the Grasshopper office and said good-bye to our guide and fellow riders. We decided to walk around town a bit and gradually made our way to the other end of the Old Town, where the hotel has a shuttle pick-up/drop-off point 4 times/day.

There are 2 small islands just across the river from Old Town. We walked across the bridge to one of them. This is the view looking back across at the Old Town riverfront.

The streets in the Old Town area are pedestrian only, which is nice. But they are crowded with tourists. There are tailors making custom-clothing everywhere you turn -- I read somewhere that there are 600 shops selling clothing and shoes in Hoi An.

We returned to our room mid-afternoon and enjoyed the air-conditioning! After a shower and a nap Tim wanted to get a haircut so we went in search of a barber. We walked a couple of miles on the beach and frankly, I wasn’t all that surprised that we didn’t find one. As we returned to the hotel I pointed out that every other shop on the street was a “spa” -- there were signs all over the place offering manicures and massages.

I said, “Surely one of these places can cut your hair.” There was a young lady in front of the shop directly across the street from the hotel. I asked if they could cut Tim’s hair. She replied, “Of course! And you ma’am should get a foot massage while he is getting his haircut.” That sounded like a good idea so we headed into the shop. Then she informed us that it would take a few minutes for her haircut gal to get there so “Sir, you could get a foot massage too, and THEN get a haircut!” We laughed and agreed! We started with soaking our feet in hot water with some kind of herbs, followed by a half hour foot and leg massage. As they finished our massages another gal walked in carrying a folding chair and some electric clippers, ready to cut Tim’s hair.

When she finished she told me to go to the restaurant next door to pay. We owed 590,000 VND (Vietnamese Dong) for all our services, which is about $25 USD! Our friendly saleslady was there as the restaurant is also owned by her family. They didn’t have the correct change in the restaurant so she went to the next shop (where they arrange local tours) and got change from another family member who owns that shop!

We had enjoyed our “nooded with vege” (and other dishes) so much the night before, that we decided to return to the same restaurant for dinner. We started with their special “Hoi An Spring Rolls” -- shrimp, pork and vegetables in a unique, kind of lacy, rice paper.

We enjoyed another good meal as the sun set and then walked along the beach in the moonlight.

We had no plans for Tuesday -- just relaxing. We slept in, had a late breakfast, skyped with Kelsey and then headed to the beach around 10:00. It was already so hot that we could not walk on the dry sand barefoot! Tim had a good workout -- swimming several hundred yards down the shore, then running back and repeating the process several times.

I alternated between cooling off and doing water aerobics until those little jelly-fish beasties got to me, and reading my book until the heat got to me! There are several restaurants with beach chairs and umbrellas you can rent for the day. The hotel we were staying at has a deal with one of the restaurants so we could use their “private” beach for free.

By noon we decided it was time to visit our air-conditioned room! Thinking it was a good day for a full-body massage I stopped by the shop across the street. Our saleslady greeted me with a hug and “My friend, how are you today?” When I told her we’d like to both come for massages at 3:00 she said, “OK. I will turn the air conditioning on for you!”

They were ready for us in a cool room when we returned. Unfortunately, about halfway through our massages the power went out. It got a bit toasty, but we enjoyed our massages. Then returned to the hotel, put on our bathing suits and cooled off in the swimming pool.

We went back into town for dinner that night. There was one more local specialty I had read about that we hadn’t tried yet -- “White Rose” is a type of shrimp dumpling made from translucent white dough that is bunched up to look like a rose.

Wednesday morning it was time to head home. After an early morning swim and run on the beach and a leisurely breakfast, we headed to the airport around 10:30. Our flight from DaNang to KL was delayed about 20 minutes, but we had about 2 1/2 hours in KL so we weren’t worried. This is the view out the window shortly after takeoff. You can see the city of DaNang with the sea on one side and mountains on the other -- very lush and green.

When we landed in KL we learned that our flight to Singapore was also delayed. Knowing there was not much beyond security, we found a sandwich shop outside security where we had some better dinner choices and a comfortable space to hang out for a couple of hours. Tim needed to do a little work so I wandered around a bit and decided that some things are worth 2 times through security, namely chocolate chip cookies!!

Wednesday was National Day in Singapore (and the reason we had a holiday and made it a long weekend). When I booked our flights I thought we might be able to see the fireworks from the plane as we came in. With our delays we were too late to catch the show, but we did get a nice view of the Marina Bay area as we returned to Singapore, grateful for another fun adventure!

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sailingbrisa · 7 years

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Shelter Bay and the Panama Canal

We arrived in Shelter Bay Marina on Friday … sent an email to the Eric the agent who would help us get through the canal and did our Customs clearance and immigration after a taxi and ferry ride into Colon. Easy and friendly… wouldn’t say fast though. We had to wait until Wednesday to be measured and spent our time exploring the jungles around Shelter Bay, swimming in the pool and meeting fellow cruisers from all over the world on their way to many different destinations. Significantly for me.. most of the people here were a different type of cruiser to what I was used to. Mostly the St. Martin cruisers are used to sailing around the Caribbean, always fairly close to land and a bar. In panama they cruisers were more exploration oriented and had stories of great remote little anchorages all over Central America. Elwin and Ross went for a mega hike… I think in all about 18km round trip in brutal heat and humidity, out to the old fort. Lots of cool animals and good memories.

We finally had everything we needed so we packed up and shipped out for a 132 nmovernight hop to Boccas Del Torro. A surf/ party destination. We arrived, had a Red Bull and went for a walk around. There were a lot of hostels and Europeans and commercialization, so we zoomed across to one of the nearby islands and explored the mangroves. We were hoping to see lots of dolphin, but we were only welcomed in and out of the main channel and didn’t see any others. We decided to pull anchor and head off to Bluefields Lagoon… supposedly a beautiful anchorage filled with fish and fairly remote. It got its name from a Dutch Pirate… so Elwin was happy. WE went snorkeling and climbing around a big gannet hatchery.. loads of fish everywhere and beautiful warm water.. Almost too warm I think! We got back to Brisa and ross had managed to get 6 lobster for 7 dollars… good size ones too so we got stuck into barbeque lobster with garlic butter off of the grill. LOVING IT! The bay was beautiful and we enjoyed watching the local school kids in uniforms so white it hurt to look at paddling across the bay in their little traditional dugouts. They would all stop by to say hi and get some candy from us! I gave one of the bigger kids who was learning English a book about Babara Kendals windsurfing history…. He didn’t believe I knew her, but said he would take it to his school for the English library… now apparently they had 12 books in English! He was very excited.. so Babara.. if you ever wash up in Bluefields I imagine the kids will now who you are. J We anchored very close to a little fishing village in deep water. That night we had a flashlight on the ladder… but crazy jumping fish hit it and knocked it off the boat and it sank to the bottom in 50 feet of water, leaving just a faint glow. As we were right beside some mangroves and had heard of big crocodile stories… I wasn’t about to go in there and get it.. but came up with a plan to use one of our sinking lures to hook the string on the light. I was sitting there for about half an hour bouncing the jig of the bottom and I had only caught a couple of plastic bags, when all of a sudden there was the unmistakable strike of a big heavy fish… I handed Elwin the rod and he pulled … but nothing moved. I think we hooked a big ray or Nurse shark.. because it wasn’t even noticing it had been hooked. Sadly we snapped the end off the rod trying to get it up to unhook it… and then the line broke too…. Needless to say I didn’t go down there to get the light……

We pulled up the anchor and motored off to Isla Escudo DE Veraguas…. A little island about 25 miles off of the Panamanian Coast. 5 hours later we anchored in a spectacular little island. Beautiful sand beaches, awesome little islands and caves and bays, potential for surf.. but we didn’t manage to time the swell well. We brought more lobster and went exploring the island.. snorkeling incredible reefs filled with fish and lobster, touched nurse sharks… and napped in the evening. The next day was my birthday and we spent it eating lobster, snorkeling and windsurfing on the JP convertible stand up board as there was only light wind. Elwin was a pro after his first couple of hours of trying. I received a great hammock, a thermos to keep my water cold and my midnight watch coffee hot and a great mug from the boys! Awesome gifts. I have to say I enjoyed the day there very very much with a great crew doing exactly what I had always dreamed of doing with Brisa.

We sadly left the little island.. but knowing we would soon be crossing Central America in the Panama Canal started to sink in and as we motored ( yeah that’s all we do these days as there is almost no wind anywhere here ) back towards Shelter Bay I told Brisa to enjoy her last few days in the Caribbean salt and to get ready to explore a new ocean.

Now I wish I could say the trip back up was routine… but this time of year in the tropics we have massive land mass thunderstorms.. slow moving very active and covering between 6 and 10 miles. Darkness really makes these monsters impressive as you can see the forks of lightening very clearly and they were slowly getting closer and closer. WE were about 20 miles out to sea but the closer we came to the marina the less distance there was between the storms and the coast .. leaving us about 2 miles offshore in the middle of a big thunderstorm… luckily we made it through with no damage and popped out the other side and made out entry into the breakwater by the canal just as the storm we just went through came back and got us again. It was now about 130am… puring rain and I was driving around using the radar to know where I was… I found a big ship and went over beside it figuring if the lightening came this way it would hit that big boat before Brisa…great idea until Ross comes up and asks me why we are sitting bobbing around in the thunderstorm by an LPG tanker… lol. Zoom off we go and arrive in the tiny entrance to shelter bay with about 500 yards visibility and lightening everywhere. The dockmaster standing there at 3am flashlight and radio in hand smiling at us form under his raincoat. Thanks Dockmaster Frank! You rule. We tied up.. I took a shower under the rain and curled up in bed about 430 am after a loooong day. The highlight apart from making it in one piece was just after dinner… literally as I Said “ Ross thanks great meal! Now all we need is to get lucky before sunset.. “ at that very second the reel took off and we hooked a great little spearfish… basically a marlin with a little nose. Thirty minutes later he was by the boat, we gave him a little slack in the line, the hook fell out and I didn’t have to wrestle any angry pointy nosed fish again! Ross had requested to catch a marlin on the trip so we ticked that off the list! I think for Elwin he was pretty damn happy with having enough lobster that he could throw one in with his ramen noodles…J For me the highlight was the night thunderstorms and dodging them .. and making it into Shelter Bay marina in the middle of it all. Great fun.

The next day we spent getting ready for the Panama Canal crossing. Checking the engines, receiving the buoys and long ropes we would need for the locks… 3 up +100’ and 3 down – 100’ and about 37 miles of motoring through the canals with all the big ships. And about 5 pm we motored across the canal and anchored at the flats anchorage awaiting our advisor to arrive between 4 and 5 am the following day. Debbie and Bob were also onboard as our line handlers. I went up[ the mast to see why the anchor light wasn’t working and basically the wiring fell apart in my hands�� oops .. maybe I should of waited until we got through the canala to “fix” that eh? I spent a very rolly hour and a half up there fixing the little wires back together and … voila problem not solved. Still no anchor light. So we had a look the next day in the control box in the anchor locker, joined a broken wire and voila problem fixed.

The advisor didn’t show up until about 1pm.. and with him onboard we followed a big ship up the canal and said our goodbyes to the Caribbean as we passed the construction of the new Panama Canal bridge and entered our first lock. We were with a big boat, a tug and a beautiful sailboat called Altos. WE tied up beside them and uneventfully passed through the three locks. We had to tie up to a mooring ball for the night in the Gatun Lake and as the sunset we spotted some manatees playing close to the boat, got some great photos and had a few Balboa beers as a reward for leaving the Caribbean. Brisa sitting 100’ above sea level in a fresh water man made lake!

The next day at 745 our next advisor showed up and off we went across the Gatun lake.. about 26 miles from start to the next lock… it was beautiful scenery, cool to see the huge new panama boats and be up close and personal with all the commercial traffic… but Brisa didn’t skip a beat. N fact since we left she has been nothing short of exceptional. We showed up at the next locks a little early so tied up to another bouy for about an hour waiting for the other ships we would go down the next locks with. We went in first, the dockhands threw us little lines on monkey fists and then pulled back out lines. As we would go through three locks, each about 30 feet down, we would need to pay out line evenly on all four corners to keep the boat straight. The three locks went by without incident and we pootled out into the PACIFIC! Brisa motoring under the bridge of the Americas and we took a mooring ball in front of the Balboa Yacht Club, went to TGIF and had some food and beer and then back to Brisa for a good sleep.

Bob and Debbie were a bit sad as they knew this was possibly the last time we would see each other for a while… but like all sailors.. they knew it wasn’t the last time. We really had a lot of fun going through the canal.. and it was an amazing feeling to see Brisa floating there with the Panama canal behind us and the Pacific Ocean calling her name. I guess that is one right of passage for every sailor, but not every boat.

The next day we went to Casco Viejo to take care of some paperwork with the rental of my little apartment there. We all stopped into the Red Bull office to say hi to everyone. Was great to see the guys and girls again!

Next we picked up some parts that had been ordered and went to the fishing shop to get a couple of our reels that were there being repaired, brought Elwin some flippers, a three prong spear gun and a replacement fishing rod for the one we broke in Bluefields. Heheheh. Great fun.

That afternoon refueled and relocated to the other side of the Amador Causeway. Interestingly the Marina wanted to charge us 21. Usd to park our dingy while we brought supplies and had dinner at their restaurant and shops….. ??? Huh? Incredible. So we told them we didn’t like their attitude and off we went to climb up the rocks and go get some supplies. Red Bull, beer, bread and coffee. The next day Ross and I zapped off to super 99 in the mall for some resupplying. WE had a great time there buying up everything we needed and an even more entertaining time while we watched the lady at the register try to work out how to use the Vale Panama food stamps that I had been keeping from my time working in Panama. Was pretty sad when even with a calculator the lady had to count 110 little $3 vale panama tickets 8 times to work out how much I had given her….. even with a calculator she couldn’t get that 10 x 3 = 30. It literally took us 40 minutes for her to sort that out and eventually the packing boy helped her count as obviously he had finished high school.

Then we head outside and I wont take the little yellow taxis in Panama. They continuously try and rip you off and have shitty attitudes. So I walk out with Ross and the bagging guy form super 99 that can count, and dial up an Uber. At least 40 taxis stop while im there and ask if I need a ride and a big police man comes over and asks why im not getting in the taxi. I explain the shitty time ive had with Taxis and that id wait a week for an Uber before getting in the taxi and he gives me some shit about Uber not being legal. The Uber dirver shows up, the cop stops him and asks for all his papaers… lol. Everything legal and the cop calls his boss… who explains that it isn’t illegal and the cop lets us go, saying Ubers time is almost up in Panama. Jajjajaja. The driver was super cool and wished the officer a lovely day.

We got back to the boat dropped off the food and I went for dingy gas while the boys organized the food. AS soon as I got back we started the engines and headed for Las Perlas Islands, showing up around 430pm and straight into glassy clean lefts and rights. Not so big, but just me and Elwin in the lineup. Lots of waves ridden before sunset. Very positive start to our surfing mission in the Pacific as the goal of it all is to surf un-crowded remote areas…. And this definitely was one of those.

Today we got up early and went for a look around the island. Dragged the dingy up the beach a little and went for a twenty minute walk.. when we came back the dingy was 20 feet up the beach. Huge tides here are something that will take us a while to get used to. We surfed a little bigger waves this am, but the wind was a little onshore in front of a big thunderstorm, so we came back, had lunch and played gin while we waited for the lightening to stop! Now as the tide drops we are foaming for another glassy evening surf session!!!

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