When I started this journey just over a year ago, my plan was to drive and surf my way to Panama, then turn around and drive back. After I got to Panama just shy of 10 months of driving and camping, I was reflecting back on my time on the road. And I rather quickly came to the realization that I was not eager to undertake that return drive. On the one hand, I would miss meeting back up with friends I had made along the way and stopping in the great places I had enjoyed on the way down--Las Flores, Barra de la Cruz, la Saladita, etc. But on the other hand, I have been living in a camper for the past year, and notwithstanding my newfound respect for small space living, I'd like to spread out a bit and enjoy a hot shower every now and then. I know, I sound spoiled, but that's just how I feel, and the one thing I am in control over is when and where I go.
Additionally, after I began investigating shipping options back to the US, it became clear that driving back would cost quite a bit more $$. My shipping quote turned out to be right around $2,000 from Panama to Miami, whereas my V-10 camper, averaging 10 miles per gallon, with gas costing between $4 and $5 per gallon in this part of the world and a trip back of around 8000 miles, comes in somewhere around $4,000, which I can also validate from what I spent on gas on the way down. That also doesn't include places to stay and/or camp, food, BEER, etc. You can make a case either way on the financial and fun side of the ledger, and I did wrestle with the choice for awhile.
In any event, I made the executive decision a month or so ago to put Nookie on a boat and ship her back to the US. And, so, this past week, along with help from my shipping agent Juan, I put Nookie onto the "Seaboard Costa Rica" which is setting sail for Miami sometime today (tues, May 22).
Pic of the ship Nookie is scheduled to sail on--pulled from the web. The camper will be somewhere on that ship, not in the containers but maybe underneath them or in that area towards the stern of the ship.
I also found this handy website which allows one to keep track of pretty much any ship via their AIS (automatic identification system) used by ships around the world. I plan on tracking Nookie's progress across the Caribbean to Miami this week on this WEB SITE.
I don't really have any firm plans, but will assess things when I get back and have spent some time in the states. I may take Nookie on a tour around the country, I may sell her, I may drive back down to Mexico again, or something else entirely. It has been a true adventure in all meanings of that word, and I hope to keep on that experiential path in the future.
Since the ship will take around a week to get to Miami, I decided to get out of Panama and take a bus up my old stomping grounds in Esterillos, Costa Rica. I spent nearly 3 months here back in the winter, and have been coming here on vacation for 5 or 6 years now. It's good to see old friends again, and I'll fly out of here next tuesday for Miami, where I hopefully will be able to negotiate the US customs process and get Nookie on the road in short order.
I'm not sure how much more I'll be posting here, but probably less frequently than before. If I see or experience something interesting then I will post it here. Thanks for coming along on this ride, and I'll keep everyone who is interested posted.
A few months back, I decided that while I was in Panama, I should do whatever I could to find a way to go through the Panama Canal. I had done some research online and knew that sailboats cruising this area and looking to transit the canal often need extra "line handlers"--mainly warm bodies to handle the lines as a boat goes up and then down the locks in the canal. I got on a couple of sailing-related message boards and eventually hooked up with Capt. Bill Beilharz and his Beneteau 444, Mirabelle.
The trip through the canal was originally scheduled for early May, but due to the vagaries of getting a little boat through a predominantly commercial/industrial area, the trip was pushed back until the second week in May. Leaving Nookie in Cambutal, and getting a ride to Chitre from my amigo Ron @ Los Buzos, I made my way via bus to Panama City. The place is huge, with skyscrapers everywhere, and even more being put up every day.
Panama City skyline from the Playita marina.
I met up with some fellow surfers I met in Cambutal--Charlie and Ben--and we had a fun night on the town. Safe travels, boys!
The next day I made my way to the Playita Marina and found the boat. I had no idea what to expect of Capt. Bill and his crew, but they turned out to be great. Bill, his son Conrad, and their friend Kent welcomed me aboard with a cold beer, and we started talking story and getting acquainted.
causeway and skyline as we motor towards the canal
new frank gehry museum under construction.
Up early the next morning, we left the dock just after 7am, aiming to meet up with our transit advisor (Francisco) by 8am. We had to motor around and hang just outside the main shipping channel, and our advisor arrived by about 8:30. We cruised past the giant causeway connecting the city and the marina areas, mostly made up of spoil material from the original construction of the canal. The advisor works for the Panama Canal Authority, and basically tells you when and where to go. For reference, we transited northbound, from the Pacific to the Atlantic (map below, fyi).
Our companions through the canal were a bulk freighter, a sportfisher from Charleston, and a sightseeing boat. However, the freighter didn't arrive on time, and we had to wait until somewhere near 10:30 am to start through the locks.
Loading up in the first lock.
We proceeded to the first lock and loaded up with our lock-mates, then they closed the doors behind us. We tied up to the sightseeing boat with lot's of fenders between us. They then flood that lock with water from the lake and lock above. It's actually fairly turbulent as they do this. After the lock is full, and we've all floated up by about 28 feet, they open the upstream lock doors and we all proceed slowly forward. The giant freighter spins their prop a bit, creating a giant wash back through the lock and we all bounce around a bit. There are also small little trains--called mules--that serve to maneuver and guide the big ships through the canal. These guys ride on tracks, that go up and over the locks with the freighters. We also passed by the large visitor's center, with a good-sized crowd watching us from the sidelines.
Conrad manning the bow as we exit the first lock and head into the second.
Observation deck and visitor's center at Miraflores locks.
Freighter coming in southbound as we exit northbound.
We exited the Miraflores and San Miguel locks as a giant freighter was coming down the other side (above) and into Gatun Lake. The lake is sort of the midway point--a giant river/lake system that takes several hours to motor through, at least on a speed-limited sailboat. Because the freighter delayed getting us started, we didn't exit the locks until sometime around 1 pm. Our advisor informed us that we probably wouldn't make it through the lake and to the other side before the last north-bound downlocking, so we would likely spend the night in the lake. The canal authority tends to send ships through in one direction for blocks of time, and we were subject to that process as well. So we spent the night tied to a giant mooring buoy in the lake, within sight of the next set of locks down to the Atlantic.
On our mooring in Gatun lake with lot's of freighters and car carriers for company.
Heading into the lock out of Gatun Lake.
It wasn't until 2pm the next day that we received clearance to head down, and our next transit advisor (Hector "the protector") boarded our boat. We moved quickly in front of the Liberian flagged freighter into the first lock. We waited a few minutes for the tug Hardin which was accompanying the freighter and us down the locks. After the tug squeezed by the freighter into the lock, we tied up and carefully rode down each of the three locks attached to said tug.
I'm including a little video I shot showing how the little mules (small train-looking things) maneuver the large freighters in the canals. On the radio, you can hear the canal boss calling out commands to each of the little mules, telling them to stop, move, their lines in or out. Pretty interesting stuff.
The downlocking process is less dramatic than the uplocking. You enter the lock, the door closes behind you and then the water level gradually drops, again about 28 feet per lock--kind of like draining a big bath tub.
Capt Bill looking back as the freighter enters behind us.
looking back at the freighter as the water drops out of the lock
After the water drains out, the doors swing open and we proceed over to the next lock, with the tug and freighter following behind us.
Doors swinging open and our friends on the tug "Hardin".
I took a little video of the door swinging open to give a little better feeling of the perspective and size of the process.
As we got closer to the bottom locks, we could see the channel/cut out to the harbor in Colon, thence to the Atlantic. We all took shots on the bow looking down from the last lock. It had been a longer-than-expected two days, but it was well worth the time. It's not every day you get to go through the Panama Canal on a sailboat!
In the last lock looking down into the Atlantic.
Capt. Bill Beilharz of "Mirabelle"
Looking back into the canal after we've exited into the Atlantic. We were on the left side in front of that freighter, and got to watch the giant car carrier on the right as we went down.
After exiting into the Atlantic, by now about 5 pm or so, we dropped off Hector the Protector and shot quickly across the busy shipping lanes to the far corner of the harbor of Colon and into Shelter Bay Marina. The place has hopping as an around-the-world sailing race had recently pulled into town and were spending a couple of lay days drying out and resting. I stayed on the boat that night, had a few cocktails with the boys, and got a good night's sleep.
I was up early to catch a ride into Colon about 7 am. I got there about an hour later, caught a bus into Panama City, from there a bus to Chitre, another bus to Las Tablas, yet another bus to Tonosi, then a cab to Cambutal, where I arrived back at Nookie around 6pm. Ron, Tina, Brad and the crew at Los Buzos were cooking up some burgers, so they threw me a beer and I tucked in to a nice little homecoming dinner.
Next up, big plans for Nookie (and me!). As always, more to come...
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