Colon, Panama

Sea Topaz
Duncan Briggs
Mon 23 Feb 2009 21:56
09.22.050 N 079.57.047 W
 
We arrived in Shelter Bay Marina at around 8 o'clock yesterday morning after a gentle sail overnight from the San Blas Islands. Many big ships around the entrance to the Panama Canal.
We cleaned up the boat, getting ready for our next crew. We met some nice people here, including a couple from Holland: Jolanda, the wife comes from the same village as me! Amazing to find somebody from that far in your past in a place like this. We had supper with them last night. Today we had a marathon session checking in, getting a cruising permit and immigration. This took all afternoon. Tomorrow we still have to go and report to the Canal authorities, get measured and pay before we are given a day when we can go through to the Pacific side.
We are expecting Mike and Carol to arrive tomorrow. Unfortunately we have not been able to hire a car to go and collect them from Panama City, but there are taxis and busses.