Giant tortoises, giant iguanas, giant costs and giant pain in the arse bureaucracy. Sadly, that about sums up our experience of the Galapagos, although it certainly wasn’t all bad and we don’t regret going there. I’m just not sure we’d go back again for another visit. Continue reading “Land of the Giants – Galapagos”

Leaving Las Perlas we were flying high, it was late afternoon and the sun was shining, the seas were flat and the breeze was nicely on the beam pushing us along around 7 knots. We were heading to Galapagos some nine hundred and fifty nautical miles away. A lot can happen during those miles and not always good! Continue reading “Flying High – passage to Galapagos”

Las Perlas islands (‘The Pearls’) are only a day-sail from Panama, on the way to the Galapagos. We’d been told that they were very pretty with some great diving sites, so we were keen to have a few days there exploring before going on to the Galapagos. Sadly for us, they didn’t quite live up to the hype… Continue reading “Much Ado About Nothing – Las Perlas”

La Playita anchorage on the Panama City side of the canal is the only place where you can drop the hook for free, so it was a no-brainer for us to stay there after the pummeling our bank balance has had recently. Continue reading “Rebel, Rebel – La Playita, Panama”

So the big day arrived and there we were, loaded to the gunnels with enough food, water and alcoholic beverages to supply a third world country, ready to experience the eighth wonder of the world, the Panama Canal. Continue reading “Locked & Loaded – The Panama Canal”

We had an easy 23NM sail from Portobelo to Cristobal Harbour, and the beginning of the Panama Canal. As we approached, more and more ‘targets’ popped up on the screen, many at anchor but a fair number moving in and out of the Canal. It was quite a sight. Feeling very small and insignificant we radioed Cristobal Signal tower and requested permission to come in and make our way to Shelter Bay Marina. Continue reading “The Pub With No Beer – Shelter Bay, Panama”