We arrived at Shelter Bay Marina from Portobello on January 11. We needed a break from the rain, the rolly anchorage and to repair our generator. We were originally going to stay for a month but have extended our stay until the end of February because Greg has been making such great progress working on the boat. Also, my Dad came to visit in late January, and there is no way he could have stayed on the boat in the anchorage in Portobello, it can get really rolly and it can be rough getting in and out of the dinghy at the dinghy dock there.
The Panama Canal
Being this close to the Panama Canal is pretty amazing. Here is a brief history on the canal, and a link to the website where you can read more about it, and the expansion currently underway.
A vessel transiting from the Atlantic to Pacific side enters through one of two openings at the Cristobal breakwater. This approach to the actual canal is 5 miles long and 500 ft. wide, running through a mangrove swamp that in most places is only a few feet above sea level. The extensive breakwater effectively shelters vessels from seas and chop. When a vessel moves into the Gatun locks, it is raised a total of 84 ft. in the three steps, or chambers. Each chamber is 110 ft. wide and 1000 ft. long. Upon exiting the Gatun Locks, the vessel enters Gatun Lake, the largest man-made lake in the world. The lake covers an area of 116 square miles, and was formed by erecting the Gatun Dam across the Chagres River. The vessel then travels 20 miles across the lake to enter Gaillard Cut at the north end. The vessel proceeds into the Pedro Miguel locks, which lowers the vessel 30 ft. in one step from the level of Gatun Lake to that of Miraflores Lake, a small artificial body of water that separates the two sets of Pacific Locks. After crossing Miraflores Lake, the transiting vessel is lowered the remaining two steps to sea level at Miraflores Locks, which are just under a mile in length. The vessel exits the locks and enters the Pacific Ocean, just west of Panama City. The canal is currently undergoing a major expansion at a projected cost of $5.25 billion U.S. The project includes new locks whose chambers will be 1400 ft. long, 180 ft. Wide and 60 ft. deep. The new canal is scheduled to begin operations between 2014 and 2015. Driving from Shelter Bay to Colon, you can see the construction. The area is busy with huge trucks and machinery, and hundreds of workers. One parking lot is full of just busses, which take the workers to and from work each day. Here is the link for the website: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/index.html
The Marina
Shelter Bay Marina is located just inside the Cristobal breakwater. It is sure a treat being at a marina again, we haven’t been tied up to a dock since last July at Cartagena. Forgot how easy it is to get used to this lifestyle : ) The marina is very nice, solid floating finger docks with side tie, has a restaurant/bar, swimming pool, and yes, flush toilets and hot showers! There is also a laundry facility with coin operated washers and dryers that are always busy. There is a convenience store, chandlery, and a gym. Friday nights are pot luck nights, where a few cruisers get together for some good eats and drinks. We have made new friends here, and have been reacquainted with cruisers we have me in the San Blas and Cartagena. There is a kettle BBQ here, and everyone takes a turn at buying the charcoal. Remember those old kettle BBQ’s??? Nothing like cooking on charcoal! Everyone brings a salad or side dish, their own meat to grill and booze. We bring chairs and tables down from the pool area. It’s always a good time. Here is the website link for the marina: http://www.shelterbaymarina.com/
Harvey's Third Visit to the Dutch Dreamer
Yes, this is the THIRD visit my Dad has made to Dutch Dreamer. The first was in January 2009 in the Bahamas, and the second was February 2010 in Aruba. In mid January my Dad flew in to Panama City and took a taxi the next day to the marina. It was so great to see and hug him again! We had a wonderful visit with him, and spent most afternoons sunning and visiting by the pool. As galley wench, I enjoyed spoiling him rotten as usual, making his favourites like rice pudding with LOTS of raisins, pineapple upside down cake with REAL whipped cream, and of course, a few steak frys. His first night on Dutch Dreamer we had steak along with lobster from the San Blas (I still have a few in the freezer!) and Caesar salad. One day, we hired a taxi to take us into Colon, to do some touristing. We went to the local market downtown, and to my favourite shop to get some tenderloin and ground beef. It is all cut fresh there, and they grind the hamburger with your choice of spices while you wait. A whole beef tenderloin runs at about $15 to 20, and from that, I cut about 8 filet mignon, and have enough leftover for stir fry meat. Can’t beat that price! The only downside to Colon is that it can be dangerous, lots of theft and crime, mostly in the downtown area, and especially the market area. When we got to the shop, Dad was going to go wander around, and I grabbed his arm and said, “no, you’re not!” He didn’t realize how bad it was. So he waited inside, and a fellow from the market across the street came and stood by the door to watch over us. From there we went to the cruise ship shops, where Dad picked up some “mola” things for Aloma. We drove up the coast, to a place called the Aquarium, on Galeta Point. It is a marina laboratory and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. We didn’t know you had to make a reservation for a tour, and the fellow who does the tours had just left. Regardless, we got to walk around and see a few sea critters they had in some tanks, which included a giant lobster, some sting rays and turtles, and got some beautiful views of the ocean along the way. We did some other shopping and had lunch.
Another day we went in to Colon on the shuttle bus the marina runs daily. It is a free service and takes you to the 4 Altos Mall where you can shop and provision. It is much safer here : ) It is about a 30 to 45 minute ride, depending on how long you have to wait at the locks. We have to cross the Gatun locks to get to Colon, and often have to wait up to half an hour for a ship to go through. It is really amazing to see. At the shopping centre there is a Rey store, which is one of a chain of supermarkets in Colombia. We do our grocery shopping here. Just down from Rey’s are an assortment of shops, a hardware store, and three huge 3-level department stores, where you can find pretty much anything you need. There are a few restaurants: a Subway, a Pizza Hut, a grill type restaurant and another one cafeteria style where you can get local as well as Chinese food.
When he left, Dad headed back to Panama City a day early and had a whole day for touring Panama City and a Panama Canal tour on Saturday. We had a great time with him, and can’t wait to see him again in June. He is celebrating his 85th birthday on June 14th. On Saturday and Sunday, June 18 and 19, we are having birthday celebrations at his home. I (and possibly Brett and Dylan) will be flying out for that and staying for a couple of weeks. I have not yet booked our flights because we are not yet sure where we will be flying from. After Dad’s party, some of the family (myself included) will be going up to Dad’s cabin in Snow Lake for about five days. We might also try and get up to our family cabin on Davidson Lake. We will want to spend a few days in Roland of course, so it will be a busy time. I will get a schedule together as soon as I book the flights to let the Manitoba relatives when I/we will be there.
Sanding, Sanding, and More Sanding!
Greg has been real busy working on the exterior of the boat. It is expensive to haul out here, so he has been doing all the work at the dock. This means no electric grinders or sanders though, so he has been chipping away at the loose paint and rust with his chipping hammer, and hand sanding with wet/dry 80 grit sand paper. He works steady all day, every day, and is stiff and sore, but it is sure coming along. He has started wearing gloves, because he said he was not only sanding the boat, he was taking off skin as well. He said he was wearing off his fingerprints! He has most of the port side done and painted with primer, and is now working on the starboard side. Right now she is a combination of white, blue, grey, black, and the latest colour, dark green (the primer). Greg tells everyone we are going for the camouflage look : ) Cruisers that have been here a while stop to chat to him every day, and comment on the progress.Brett and Dylan Update
Brett and Dylan have been busy too, working on their schoolwork, and working on other boats. There is an awesome air conditioned lounge area upstairs at the marina, with leather couches, a big screen TV, tables, and really fast internet. The boys love having space to do their schoolwork, so have been really working hard at it. In addition, they have been doing work on other people’s boats, mostly polishing, but some painting and sanding. They charge $8.00 per hour and are kept quite busy. Our Aussie friends Terry and Elaine (we first met them in the San Blas) are also here. They hired the boys to help them paint and sand their bottom (blue) when they hauled out. You should have seen the two of them when they were done, they looked like Smurfs, especially Dylan, who is a dirt hog like his father: ) They have befriended a teenage boy Luke from Switzerland, and enjoy hanging out together at the pool and in the lounge during their spare time. A cruiser in Portobello hired Brett to do some computer work for him. He is a single hander, very quiet and loves to watch movies, so he hired Brett to download movies for him. He pays very, very well, so both boys are putting away some serious cash. Sure beats working at McDonalds or pumping gas.
Report From The Galley Wench
I have been busy as well. I am still finding mould on the boat from our rainy three months in Portobello. Washing walls and headlines was nothing, now I am attacking cupboards, closets and drawers. Yes, even mould in the drawers. Finally got myself a pair of rubber gloves, as much as I hate wearing them, the bleach was doing serious damage to my hands. In cleaning cupboards in my pantry, I noticed how sad looking the paint is, so I picked up some good anti fungal paint, and am painting my pantry and galley cupboards. It is a big job, but needs to be done, and it will feel so good when it’s all finished. The pool and the hot showers sure feel good after a hard days’ work!
I have spoken before about critters on the boat, mostly the bad kind, but we have on board now some of the good kind. A family of geckos has made Dutch Dreamer their home. We have had one gecko, named Jack, who is lighter coloured, on board since Colombia, but lately have seen smaller, darker ones. There is one in particular, Jack Jr., who likes to hang out at the bar. We usually find him sitting on a wine carton, or sometimes the Jack Daniels bottle. One evening, I was sitting on the computer, and looked over to see him on top of an open Pepsi can, lapping away at a puddle of pepsi on the top. I snuck over, got my camera and got a few photos. Seems “Jack” likes Jack and Pepsi. Too cute! The best thing about these little guys is they eat bugs, which we haven’t seen on board in months (I am touching wood while saying that).Happy Anniversary to us!
We celebrated our 17th Anniversary on February 19th. It’s hard to believe, where has the time gone? I made a lovely dinner, and we spent time reminiscing with Brett and Dylan. 17 years ago, after a week’s honeymoon in Cozumel, Greg was packing up his half ton with tools, and left to begin work at Ptarmigan Airways in Yellowknife on March 1. I thought then I was crazy to be marrying this guy, who was dragging me across Canada and up into the frozen north. Now look where we are! Guess I wasn’t too crazy after all! I have a life most people only dream of having, with a terrific husband and two kids whom we are so proud of!It's a Small World After All
We have run into a few Canadians here at Shelter Bay, met a nice couple from Saskatchewan, and mostly recently, Brian and Dianne Proctor from Fort McMurray, Alberta. They are a super couple, who have left to head north, they are now in San Andres and are heading for the Rio Dulce. We never thought in a million years we would ever run into anyone from Yellowknife. Last weekend, the dock master came over to our boat and told Greg there was a boat coming into the dock from where we were, from Yellowknife, did he want to come and help with the lines? The Andron, a 53 ft. Trawler, pulled into a slip just one over from us. The owner, Ron Williams, owned the Cable TV business and the Trappers Cabin building in Yellowknife. His Dad worked in Natural Resources with Art Look, Bruce Look’s father. Bruce was Greg’s supervisor when he worked at Ptarmigan Airways; and he and his wife Maureen are boating friends of ours from Great Slave Lake. Ron had a boat at a slip at Great Slave Lake Yacht Club when we had our slip for Slim Pickins there. It turns out Ron has moved to Campbell River, B.C. He bought the boat in Florida, and hired a crew to help him bring the boat to Vancouver. They went through the canal on Sunday, and are now on route to Costa Rica. They plan to arrive in Vancouver around the first of May. He is a super nice guy and has a beautiful boat. It’s a small world after all...Well, that about wraps up this email. Sorry it’s been so long. I am on Facebook, and “chat” a lot with my family and friends, so I forget about these emails that are important way of keeping all of you abreast of our cruising life. The big question you all are asking is, where are you going next??? Well, we think we will be transiting the canal in March or April. We will be spending time on the Pacific side of Panama, and then can work our way north up the coast. We have to stay below the hurricane belt (12 degrees) until November; that would mean not going further than midway up Nicaragua. After November, we will continue up the coast to Mexico, where we plan on staying for awhile.
Hope all of you are well, happy and staying warm. Remember, we welcome visitors, flying into Panama City is relatively inexpensive and we would love to see you!
Love from the Dutch Dreamers
Carol, Greg, Brett and Dylan
Carol, Greg, Brett and Dylan
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