Playing in Panama City

We have been hanging in Panama City for a few weeks now, after only planning to stay a few days.  So what have we been doing?  “Not keeping me up to date!” I hear you say to your computer screen.  Well, yes, that’s true, but we have been doing a bunch of other things too.  

The anchorage here in Panama City – La Playita, is full of a fleet of boats all just waiting to cross the Pacific.  Everyone is fixing, buying and provisioning like crazy.  We have met up with a bunch of “young” boats here in Panama City, and have been social butterflies fluttering from one event to another while we wait for parts to arrive from America and tick off our to do list.

On one of the first nights we arrive, we are invited to a Try-Tin-Night, where everyone brings a canned meal for everyone else to try.  The logic being that we will be buying the good ones in bulk for our Pacific crossing, so we get to try a lot of different canned meals from different supermarkets, all in one place and all at the cost of one can.  Brilliant Idea!

One Sunday, we all take a day off fixing our boats to head to the Gamboa Rainforest Resort, set amongst the National Park and Canal.  The Resort puts on a buffet brunch/lunch for $35 that we hear is good value.  We rent a car, big enough for 6 adults and 2 children and hit the road to Gamboa.  With Patrick (from "Living") driving and wife Lisa doing a fabulous job on navigation, not to mention Sally in the back entertaining the kids, we make it to the resort in record time.  We chowed down on prawns, smoked salmon stuffed with cream cheese, paella, lobster, sushi, stuffed fish, NZ green lipped mussels, and pasta salads just to name a few...and then there was dessert!  Lets just say, we arrived at 1 and didn't leave until 5.30.

Coming home after the weekly cruisers' pizza night, we notice something hanging in the trees of the parking lot.  After closer inspection, we realise there are three sloths munching away on the leaves.  I reckon they look like Chewbacca from Star Wars.

Another day, while watching the world go by, we see a very unusual boat that has just passed through the canal.

I host a day of canning (or should I say jarring?) on Toodles.  Vicky of Dolphin of Leith was really the ring leader, having been instructed on how to sterilise the jars, then seal them so that the little button on the top goes down.  Vicky summed up the day perfectly on her Facebook page:

"4 massive pots of food, 2 pressure cookers, masses of boiling water, 4 people, a palatial boat - thanks Toodles - and almost 3 litres of wine. Drunk, not used in the cooking. As a result we have 33 jars of meaty goodness to hopefully make our trip across the Pacific even better. Nothing like beef curry in the middle of nowhere. OK, not so crucial for those boats among us that have the luxury of a fridge and freezer, but the tent-dwellers among us who have no such mod-cons will be loving a good bit of proper home cooked spag bol mid-ocean. Here's hoping we don't all get botulism. But I'm confident it all worked, after all my Mum did for years and years with fruit.....what could possibly go wrong...."

Vicky from Dolphin and Sally from Orion

Dolphin's resident Mother in Law Laurie

Jen from Waka Irie

Caught with wine in hand

More wine, less work!

Lisa from Living has a birthday and a surprise party is organised.  It is a bit hard to surprise someone who lives on a catamaran, as they can see you coming from a mile away.  All the party guests meet up mid way in our dinghies, raft up, and proceed to charge on Living, singing "Happy Birthday" from the top of our lungs.

So, all in all, a very busy few weeks.