Preparations in Shelter Bay

S/Y KO-KO
Haakon Dyremyhr / Ellen Bjerknæs
Wed 29 Jan 2014 23:14


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> Life in Shelter Bay, waiting for our day of transition from The Carribean Sea to The Pacific,
> Is soon coming to an end. We will leave the Marina and head for the Panama Canal
> together with the third & last group in the World ARC. We spend the days preparing the yacht, washing the boat inside & out, reading pamphlets on the Canal & Panama City, nice strolls in the rainforest & last but not least, checking technical problems on board.
> After hours & hours of work under deck, Glenn & Haakon finally declared that the steering system is now officially safe & good to go! We made a new provisioning list, and Ellen & Anita went shopping yesterday. Except some fresh fruit & vegetables, most food for weeks to come is on board.
> Ellen, on one of her strolls with friends, was lucky to stumble upon both howler apes & an ant killer in the woods. Glenn & Anita went for a walk 2 hrs later, but saw nothing, except hearing tropical sounds from local birds and insects. Bad luck!
> In the Marina, all boats exchange experiences on previous circumnavigations, technical solutions on board & general sailing tips. It's all about sailing..
> Today we had an excursion organized. We were picked up by buses, and driven into the rainforest, where we eventually entered long, narrow canoes & were driven up the river to
> an authentic Indian village called Embera Indian Village.
> We were met by Indians playing their self made instruments, and invited into their small community. 27 families live together, each family has their own house on poles & a small school. After an introduction to their daily lives held by the Indians, we were treated with fried local fish in banana leaves & a stroll around the village.
> We later got a dance performance held by all the Indians. They showed us their different local dances & the music was played by the men in their traditional costumes (or lack of costumes, I would say). The guys barely hide their private parts with some fabric, and the women dress in small colorful skirts, bare chested, wrapped local handicraft & Indian tattooes. It was quite an experience, and the journey ended with a walk up to a small waterfall in the forest, where we were allowed a dip in the lukewarm water.
> Nice, beautiful, friendly Indian people, and a great excursion it was!
> Tomorrow, after a briefing with the Worls ARC committee, we are cleared to go through the Panama Canal. Looking forward to that once-in-a-lifetime experience :0)
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