Off we go again (or not!) 11/3
Salamander
Sun 11 Mar 2012 01:48
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Flying back to Panama did not start so well; up at 03:30
to arrive in plenty of time, we were lucky not to be charged for our oversize
bag full of boat bits (brownie points for Iberia). Then, despite telling the
security staff about the metal in her foot, Caroline was dragged off to a
separate room. With no warning and no permission Caroline was subjected to the
most detailed repeated feel of her boobs ever (?M). We have no idea why since
the full body scan showed up only a metal zip. Having booked a gluten free meal
for the transatlantic, which Iberia remembered (another point) they then blew it
by handing out sandwiches, the smell of which had Caroline salivating, but they
were 'extras' so there was no GF option. A distinct lack of any in flight
entertainment confirmed BA and Virgin as still the best carriers - if only we
could actually book a flight with them!
We picked up the hire car in Panama and promptly failed
to find the right turning, going through several extra toll booths to see the
right signpost only from the opposite direction. Caroline said not to go off the
road, but on one of several U turns this happened, unfortunately just at the
point of a missing manhole cover - 5 minutes to change a wheel in Colon. Finally
arrived in Shelter Bay exhausted at midnight Panama time (05:00 UK
time).
The engineer who promised to work on the engine hasn't.
The steering seized up, the shore power is dodgy and we have some leaks and
stuck winches - all pretty normal after dashing off last July. So loads of work
to do, but the weather is rubbish for sailing, so we're only missing out on
lounging by the pool!
On the plus side we had 40 minutes off to go for a walk
which produced the usual sensations of Panamanian jungle. Screeching parrots,
howling monkeys and lots of iridescent blue butterflies. This time we bumped
into the resident group of Capuchin monkeys.
Sorry about the quality of pics, but we had really poor
light and no tripod. These monkeys looked like grumpy old men - to Caroline
anyway!
So, we have no idea what is going to happen next, the
rest of the boat seems to be OK - Caroline's heavy handed use of bleach seems to
have worked well. Little is likely to happen, other than us working for a couple
more days and hopefully having the boat launched this week.
The only change for the marina is that it appears to
have gained a Caiman/alligator.
The turkey vultures lazily circle around as yet again we
are back for their annual migration. We left our scruffy sailing stuff, plus
some other bits on the boat. Murray's swimming shorts that were in danger of
falling off in the Caribbean are now snug (very). Caroline sensibly brought a
larger size swimming costume from the UK. We have both put on at least a stone
and a half in England - it's all that easy access to food and
shops.
So we will continue to work on the boat hoping that
everything will be OK. We can't check the engine until we are back in the
water. |
