We were in Panama City for a little over a week at one of the rolliest anchorages we’ve ever been in, at the end of a causeway at the entrance to the Panama Canal. We could watch the ships anchor outside waiting for passage, then come and go all hours of the day and night. It was interesting to be there and fun to see, but boy were we tired of rolling around. The winter northerlies have started blowing, though, so we did’t want to move across to the other side of the causeway.
We had two primary purposes for coming to Panama City. First to get Maya “tutored” (Gary Larson fans will understand this), microchipped and vaccinated, and second to shop in stores that have products we haven’t seen since we left San Diego. Both objectives are complete, so now we’re at the Pearl Islands (Las Perlas), which are beautiful cruising grounds 40 miles south in the Bay of Panama with lots and lots of beautiful islands with white sandy beaches and lovely anchorages.
Yesterday on our way from Isla Bona to Isla Contadora we finally hooked a beautiful 25″ yellowfin tuna. We’ve not had the best of luck fishing (Maya spends more time in the fishing net than fish do) but finally got the tuna monkey off our back. After catching a couple of Mexican Bonitas I was a little unsure about how the yellowfin would taste, but we were delighted when it came off the grill last night. Maya came out while we were underway and Rob was cleaning it to get a little sample of fish straight off the hook.
We’re traveling in the company of friends from Germany we met in Ecuador and meeting other friends from Germany/Canada, Australia and the US in the Perlas for a Christmas potluck. The snorkeling, diving and kayaking should keep us plenty busy while we enjoy some truly beautiful cruising.
Today on Yohelah we’re enjoying a beautiful sunny day in the Perlas…….
