Catching up ...

A whole bunch of unrelated paragraphs from the yang side.

We were told by a local that one could live like 'a king' on US$2000 per month in Panama. New car every two years, great condo in the best neighborhood. Not going to do that though. Buying a $200,000 CD entitles you to a resident visa, which, if you renew the CD and the visa for 5 years, could lead to citizenship. Of course, enough money up front and I imagine the wait could be significantly shortened. Is tomorrow convenient for you, se�or?

Hope related the passage here. We are very pleased to find out that we are more resourceful than we thought, that we planned ahead appropriately, that ceilidh is stronger than we knew, that our sailing skills continue to grow, and that we're more and more in love with each other and our choices as time goes by.

When we returned to Panama to diagnose and the replace the battery bank, we didn't check back in so we were (technically) illegal aliens. The port captains are understanding (we're told) about vessels returning with problems so there wasn't much to worry about.

The rainy season was starting in Panama and Central America just before we left. Each afternoon huge black clouds would form over the isthmus and move out over Panama City and sometimes us. Good news for the canal as that what's fills the lake for the locks to continue operating. A daily downpour is pretty much how it remains through the summer. We were out on deck taking showers, filling buckets to catch the rain and add to our drinking water tanks, and generally having a good time in the rain. (Can't remember the last time I've been in the rain intentionally!) But come October (again, we're told) the lightning is so constant that you can see to pick up small things off the sidewalk during the night. No thank you!

On passage we had a few clear evenings, at least for awhile. It's a whole new sky, little is recognizable. The north star is gone (has been gone in the haze of the horizon for some time) but here in Ecuador, even the big dipper has to be just right to be seen. Think I recognized Scorpio, or at least a bunch of stars over the Milky Way that SHOULD be a Scorpio. Will check it out on the star charts sometime.

Hope and I celebrate our anniversary on the first full moon after the winter solstice. We celebrated our last anniversary (after the winter solstice you know and love on 21 December) on 14 January. But since we're in the southern hemisphere, 21 June is the next winter solstice, so another anniversary coming up! The back up in Panama, yet another come December!

All these extra anniversaries because we crossed the equator. We did so at 2 AM our last night out. Didn't have any hazing of each other, but it was a small moment to share as an accomplishment. Happened at a watch change so we were both up. That's a long way from San Francisco! More to come though.

One can never get ready on time. While getting ready to leave Panama, we seemed to be working many hours and very hard. But the date to leave slipped a couple of times. Not much, but it apparently takes much more organized workers and gifted schedulers than us. We're not as bad as others, not as good as others. We seemed to be hurrying and hurrying and tiring ourselves out, but the list wasn't shrinking appreciably. One of our friends declared that the whole week was a D-O-I-N-G N-O-T-H-I-N-G set of days. Maybe it's our attitude ... too beaver-like? (That's a joke ...) Actually, we're glad we pushed a little. With the delay caused by the batteries, we had a hard enough time because the wind had more of a chance to turn from the south and build itself and the seas. Those coming after us have even more wind and seas to contend with.

No big insights on what we'll do next year. Will go to the Galapagos in October, then we think turn north to Panama and Costa Rica. Maybe up to Isla del Coco before turning to the mainland. Maybe go through the canal and spend a season in the Caribbean. Probably not the south Pacific yet. This last passage gave us some insight and experience, but more will be in order. Just like we spent an extra year in Mexico and are very glad we did it.

Lots of pictures to catch up on. More to come.

yang

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