The Morning After Groundhog Day

Full moon rising shortly after we returned home. Taken from the Cantina at Bocas Marina

After our two months in the States we got back to Amekaya with 16 boxes that we shipped, 300 lbs of luggage and additional provisions that we bought in Panama City. Our freight bill was high because in addition to the boxes shipped from Miami we had our bags shipped from Panama City to Bocas. This is all part of the logistics enterprise we need to continue our life in the condition to which we are accustomed.  The freight as I've discussed in previous posts consists of boat supplies (spares, replacements and upgrades), health supplements, specialty foods that aren't available in Central America and some specialty liquor that also is only available from a few sources.

 

Our dinghy loaded of luggage and our car loaded before shipping.

When we return to Amekaya each year with our goodies we always spend several days getting it onto the boat and then getting it away. One of the nice things about our boat is the generous storage and it just consumes hundreds of pounds of stuff easily. Unpacking is not an easy job as we unpack everything on the dock because we don't allow cardboard on the boat and the luggage is too heavy to lift on so we move it from the bags to the boat while checking our shipping manifests to be sure it is all there. Then, as we put it away we add it to our inventory. 

We left the marina when we could to get out on anchor.

We continued to live in Groundhog Day. The movie, a story of a reporter who is stuck reliving the same day over and over until he redeems himself and becomes happy. For about 2 years our engine issue has kept us from moving ahead. We make a repair hoping that will solve the problem but it doesn't and we're back to rethinking a plan. 

A beautiful sunset at anchor.
 

We planned to leave many times and each time our plans were dashed. 2022 slipped away and we stayed in Bocas. After returning we were determined to leave Bocas in November and seek solutions elsewhere, I decided that maybe we should continue the purge of the exhaust side of the engine in case there was back-pressure on the recently replaced turbo.  To do that I would need exhaust hose. I search around Bocas and nobody had 3" exhaust hose so I went online and thought I would order it from a West Marine Store in south Florida. Shipping to our freight forwarder would be overnight and we would have it very quickly so I could complete the job and we would be on our way. Well, as they say Murphy is an optimist. 

A full moon rising over the anchorage.

The convoluted West Marine online system which leads you to believe you are buying from a particular store decided to ship our hose that I was in a hurry to get, not from South Florida but from Charlotte, NC and instead of shipping it the next day they waited about a week before shipping. As a result of West Marine's incompetence the hose arrived in Panama about the time the Suntracs Labor Union organized a nationwide strike to allegedly protest a new mining contract (there's a whole bogus story about that) that shut down routine operations in Panama for about 6 weeks. So, instead of having the hose in about a week to do the repair it was about two months thanks to West Marine. Also as a result of the strikes food shortages occurred. We went into town frequently and bought what we could as we could and between those purchases and our boat stores we were able to get through fairly well. The biggest challenges were waiting for the supplies we ordered before the strike that we needed to do boat tasks.

Full moon rising over Bocas.

Throughout the six week strike we still went out to anchor 3 or four nights each week between boat projects where we could enjoy being away from the marina, we could make water and enjoy the beauty of being on anchor.

The new exhaust hose and where I had to work to connect it.
 

Finally, the strike ended and we were able to finish our boat projects. The key projects that I did was to completely redo all of our exterior teak and clean/replace the exhaust system of our engine. I removed the entire exhaust system from the turbo back to the tail pipe. I replaced all the exhaust hose and cleaned the muffler and mixing elbow. With that we still had the underlying engine issue but it was better.

Perspective on the previous photo.
 

By the time I was finally able to get the work done we were into the holidays. We could have left, but we were happy to spend the holidays among friends. For Thanksgiving the marina provided turkeys for dinner and everyone brought a dish. It was wonderful. For Christmas, the Cantina had special dinners and we had a New Year's Eve party.

Christmas in Bocas.
 

One of the biggest challenges before leaving was to gain confidence in the boat for an offshore passage so we planned an offshore shakedown cruise and several nights on anchor. We also had many friends we wanted to say good-by to before we left. So, by late January we were ready to leave. Our shakedown went well and we thought the boat would make it to Shelter Bay Marina where we had a mechanic standing by that would work on our engine.

Celebrating our 29th Anniversary in Panama City.
 

On January 31, we left Bocas Marina for the final time and went to anchor in the Red Frog Anchorage. That night we had dinner with our old friend Louis and the next night we had a happy hour with several friends and on Friday 2 February we hauled anchor to leave our 4 year home, Bocas del Toro, and left for the future not knowing what lay ahead.

 

 Our boat on the dock at Shelter Bay.

 

 

 

 

 

On the way out of the Bocas channel our Chartplotter shutoff. I headed toward the breaker panel to reset it. But, it came back up on its own and we continued. The last time we did an overnight passage in 2022 we had problems with our auto-pilot shutting off. This time, however, I decided to set the course but nor connect the auto-pilot to it. The result was we had the auto-pilot the entire trip and it didn't shutoff. This will be important later.

Bocas in the rear view mirror.
 

When we left the channel the wind was strong and favorable for us to sail and we did. For about 4 hours we had a great sail until the wind died. Between Bocas and Shelter Bay where we were headed there are 3 distinctive weather patterns. The first is from Bocas to around Chiriqui Lagoon, the second from there until several miles before the canal and then the system by the canal. 

We were able to sail for a few hours. But, it was rough so I stayed in the cockpit to take the photo.
 

A few words about these weather patterns. Bocas is in the extreme southwestern area of the Caribbean. The east winds come into there, bounce off the mountains and turn into a west wind. Then as the shore falls away on a heading of 90 degrees the weather is typical of the prevailing offshore weather. We have found the wind and waves go down in this area. Then when you get near the canal there are multiple diverse effects resulting in confused seas, including conflicting currents, fluctuating winds and the multitude of ships anchored in front of the canal that makes traversing that area a challenge.

Sunrise approaching the canal.

As you come towards the canal it's required to call the approach control and ask for permission to pass through the canal breakwater. In the past there's been lots of traffic and we were delayed. But, this time with the reduced traffic due to low water we were easily allowed through. 

The starboard breakwater in the approach to the Panama Canal. A very welcome sight for us on this trip. The breakwaters were built as part of the original canal construction.

A huge Panamax container ship awaits, along with others for its passage through the canal.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know I posted about this before, but, Shelter Bay Marina is on the grounds of the former US Army Fort Sherman. Fort Sherman was built over 100 years ago as one of the US Coastal Defense stations to guard the Caribbean side of the Panama canal from invasion. After WW2 when the defense mission became overcome by technology, Fort Sherman became the US Army Jungle Warfare Training Center right up until it was turned over to Panama. Now, most of the post has been abandoned. Some has been turned into a National Park of Panama and a little slice of it is now Shelter Bay Marina.  

Some of the old abandoned military housing that Panama took over in 1995.

Before we left Bocas we contacted a Yanmar dealer in Colon about our issue and asked for support which he promised. Instead of coming the day he agreed to he showed up 2 days later. The mechanic he sent only spoke Spanish so communication was a little difficult. His assessment was the problem was with the fuel 

This unusual bird nest belongs to the Oro Pendela that has a very unique set of calls and there were dozens of these around the jungle.
 

pump so after some discussions with the manager the mechanic returned and removed the fuel pump. A few days later the manager texted me that the lab found the governor was closed. It may have been an issue with translation and I never got to ask him but, my understanding is if the governor is closed it wouldn't run or wouldn't run more than idle. So after a few days he returned and reinstalled the pump. We tried the engine and it appeared to run fine so we made plans to be on our way. But, we had not done a sea trial.

Late afternoon in the jungle.
 

A few days later after clearing out of the marina we were waiting for the manager to come to collect payment, but we had to leave in order to get to our next port in daylight. So, we left. However, once out of the marina the engine was clearly performing badly and we returned to Shelter Bay. Shortly after we got back the manager of the mechanic service showed up and we talked. He said he would send his mechanic back out.

A frequent sight on our walks are the many Capybara that live in the jungle.
 

The mechanic came back and after several hours said the timing was off. Being Saturday he left early and said he would be back Monday. He returned and made some adjustments and now the engine wouldn't start. He tried for 3 days after that and the engine wouldn't start so I told him not to come back. Around the time we decided to fire them a friend gave us the name of a guy that worked on their boat and in fact he contacted him for us.

One of the many monkeys that visited us.

The following Monday the new mechanic arrived and did some tests. A few days later he came back and did some more tests and decided again it was the fuel pump. They came back on Saturday to remove the 

Atop this old barracks is a strange and rare cat known as a Jaguarundi. Small like a housecat with a huge tail and a mean temperament. After staring at us and hissing at us a while it ran off.
 

fuel pump (third time the fuel pump was removed) and he gave me the name of a lab in Panama City for us to take it to. The following Monday morning we had a driver pick us up early and we dropped the pump at the new lab. I asked the mechanic to call them and tell them what he thought the issues were since they only spoke Spanish. The next day the lab sent a video of the pump performance. They found that all the seals were bad and the replaced all of the replaceable parts in rebuilding the pump. 

 

    

                                                            Cotimundi are everywhere.

Because it was Semana Santa nothing happened after we got the pump back until the following week. The pump was reinstalled but still the engine failed to start. They took out the injectors and tested them. The mechanic said they were all blocked. I had a rebuilt set that they installed but still the engine wouldn't start. They then concluded it was the timing. Initially they thought they could adjust the timing externally but, after some discussion they agreed that the front of the engine had to be removed. The mechanic that removed the pump for us 2 years ago said that he would have to remove the front to adjust the timing so we had come full circle. 

We saw a troupe of monkeys crossing the road.
 

The next day they came out, removed the front and adjusted the timing gears so that they were all in line. Because of the first mechanics advice 2 years ago I had bought the seals and gaskets needed to pull the front and they used them when reinstalling the cover. Once everything was completed the engine started up as it should. We ran it at the dock and we got full power. Initially, there was some smoke that cleared up because of all the failed attempts to start the engine. Through all the attempts at starting I kept the water intake closed so that the engine wouldn't be flooded with seawater and result in a hydrolock.

Another friendly monkey.

During our trip from Bocas to Shelter Bay our fuel filters filled with dirt and water so I realized that even though we kept the tank full, lots of debris had accumulated in the bottom of the tank. Obviously, the injectors had become blocked from either dirty fuel or the incorrect injection timing from the fuel pump. Since the pump had been rebuilt and we put in clean injectors I decided to have the fuel cleaned. I wanted to do it before a seatrial but we decided to do the seatrial before cleaning the fuel.  

We often saw Woodpeckers

We went out for a seatrial that revealed a nicely working motor but it overheated. Several things came to mind. The first was that the bottom was dirty after sitting in the marina for two months. Second was that it could be the thermostat and I thought I had a spare. I later checked and I found that I had already replaced the thermostat 3 years earlier so I dismissed that as a possible issue. I also thought it was possible that the heat exchanger might need cleaning.

 

One Sunday we biked out to the old Spanish Fort San Lorenzo. It's a very beautiful site and a robust effort at restoration is going on.

The main Parade Grounds

The back facing battery

An old cannon

The old barracks being reconstructed

View of the mouth of the Chagres River. For several centuries the Chagres River was one of the key entries into Panama.

                                                                   The moats.

The grounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had the fuel cleaned and the filtering removed a very significant amount of residue in the fuel. With that done we decided to try and leave again. This time we left the marina and as we went into the large swells we weren't able to get the engine to high RPM's without the temperature gauge rising. So, we turned back to the marina again.

The mechanics working to reset the timing.
 

After returning I arranged to have a diver clean the bottom. But the more I thought about it I decided to remove the thermostat and test it in boiling water. It was bad. It didn't open. I went to the marina store in the off-chance that they might have one and of course they didn't. So I inquired about ordering one. The store manager called the Yanmar supplier who said they didn't have one so they would order it. I was encouraged by the updates about its arrival but each one failed. It finally came in about a week-and-a-half after it was ordered. I probably could have gotten it sooner if I had ordered it myself directly from the distributor in Florida. I considered having the heat exchanger cleaned but passed on that. I didn't have the gaskets for it so I wanted the mechanic to do it but he wasn't available. So, I didn't do that.

Once I received the thermostat I tested it in boiling water and it worked fine so I installed it. 

View from the roof of Casa Casco where we met a fellow sailor when we took the fuel pump back to Panama City,
 

We took the boat out for another seatrial and it ran fine so we started making our plans. 

The day our thermostat came in we went to Colon to check out at the maritime authority because our Panama Cruising Permit expired the next day. The next day we checked out of Panama at the authorities located at Shelter Bay. We planned to leave the next morning, Thursday 26 April but the weather was horrible. High winds, rain and storms that lasted all day. So we thought we could leave the next day and we did.

                                                I never tire of the beautiful views in Bocas.
 

The weather still wasn't good but it was better and we motored directly into big winds, seas and rain but we were out.

We had spent nearly 3 months at Shelter Bay Marina. We had many frustrating days. First of all we were exasperated with our badly and then non-performing engine but then we sat in the boat almost everyday waiting for the mechanics to come who some days never showed up and when they did it was several hours after they said. Our last mechanic often came at 4 or 5 PM and worked until 7 or 8. We were grateful for the effort but we sat here in the boat all day unable to really start anything or go anywhere for fear that they would show up at an inconvenient time. On those days they worked late we had gotten up early and ate breakfast and usually skipped lunch because we didn't want to get into it. Then dinner was after nine. And this routine went on for several days. 

We also never tire of the beautiful skies at anchor.
 

So, for the past 3 months our days were very frustrating although the final outcome was what we wanted. It was like living the same day over and over. Get up early and get the boat ready for workers that didn't come when expected if at all. They would work on the engine and it wouldn't start. Just like the movie Groundhog Day. When we could, we went for daily walks and saw some incredible wildlife in the jungle and somehow we managed to work around their schedule with occasional trips into Colon to do shopping. One day Linda went in by herself while I waited in the boat. Linda got back at 4 they arrived at 5. 

The one nice feature at Shelter Bay was the almost daily Jungle Walks.

When we finally left the marina and went to Linton Bay, we really didn't believe it. We had planned for over 2 years to make this move only to be turned back each time so when it finally happened it took a while to overcome the fears and anxieties of the failures. In the end, if the original mechanic had been able to complete the job we probably would have been gone almost 2 years ago. 

But, we're on our way to our next home in Colombia and it's the morning after Groundhog Day.

Our first stop after Groundhog Day, Linton Bay Marina and the start of our new experiences.

 

Biding Time

                                Amekaya at anchor in the early morning sun in Bocas del Toro. 

I've sort of fallen behind in my posts because we haven't done much in the past year. I've highlighted some travels we've taken but fell out of the frequent updates because we have been in a holding pattern. So, I want to cover that period in this piece and talk about issues and concerns as well as thoughts about where we are in our cruising life. We have been in Panama nearly 4 years. We love it here but want to move on to see other places.

 

A full moon rising behind some clouds at the Marina.

 

We returned from the San Blas Islands to Bocas del Toro, Panama in May of 2022. It's now late 2023 and we've been consumed with some boat issues that still are not resolved. As a result we did not leave Bocas this year as we had planned and spent way too much time in the marina. We've been in Bocas since January of 2020 before Covid changed the world. We have come to really like Bocas for many reasons because for a cruising liveaboard it offers many benefits. In some respects the Rio Dulce in Guatemala is better. There are skilled trades and craftsmen that are sorely lacking in Panama. Cruising to Belize and the Bay Islands offer great sailing and diving opportunities that are lacking in Panama. And, the northwest Caribbean is generally so much cheaper than Panama. 

                                            A Moonlit night at anchor facing toward town.
 

But, Panama on the Caribbean side has the San Blas which are a fantastic cruising grounds and in Bocas it's easy to find a secluded anchorage in an hour cruise from town. You won't find that in the Northwest Caribbean. But, we love the access to a myriad of fresh produce that isn't available in Guatemala and the ready access to pretty much everything we need. If it isn't available in Bocas, we can get it overnight from Panama City or in a few days from the US. Also in Bocas are many entertainment and dining venues that are lacking in the Northwest Caribbean and security is not a big concern. 

 

We enjoy many evenings with and without dinner at the Cantina in the marina. This was a full moon rising.

On a larger scale the western Caribbean in general offers a more reasonable environment than other places in the Caribe. It's more affordable, less touristy, less crowded and the Countries are real countries with real culture to delve into. They all have their own ag production so meats, fruits and vegetables are readily available at usually a very reasonable price. That said, we hope to make our way around the Caribbean to experience the other sides. I know I hope to visit many of the historic rum makers although we missed them in Jamaica.

 

A beautiful sunset at anchor.

We are executing on the plan we conceived in 2016 although we are 5 years behind because other things happened. But, that's OK. We haven't regretted anything we've done. If anything, we would have liked to spend more time in some places doing more things. Unlike many of our younger cruising friends our clock is ticking much faster but we enjoy taking things slowly after 50+ years of rushing. It would have been nice to start earlier.

One of our trips was to the Panamanian town of Boquete. This garden was from the Flower Fair that had been the week before we were there. The picture doesn't do the flowers justice.I did a blog post about our trip to Boquete.

So, in the time we've been in Bocas over the past year we've dealt with several boat issues. Of course the worst is the engine issue that we still haven't solved. In attempting to remedy it: I've had the fuel pump rebuilt; replaced the turbo; checked and cleaned the mixing elbow; replaced the hose from the mixing elbow to the muffler; cleaned the muffler; checked the manifolds; checked compression; checked the injectors; cleaned the breather and air intake; checked the back pressure; the bottom is clean; reset the prop pitch; the shaft spins freely; and the engine will get to full RPM out of gear, There just isn't anything else to check. I do however plan to replace the exhaust hose as the only other source of back pressure although that didn't seem to be a culprit.

 

A view of our engine with the newly installed turbo.I wrote a separate blog post about that.

Our plan to deal with it if the new hose doesn't resolve it is to try another mechanic in the Fall and if it doesn't improve we'll continue on to Colombia and while the boat is on the hard getting other work done we'll have someone pull apart the engine.

 

Doing a small repair ensconced in one of our lockers. Getting into tight places is a recurring requirement.   

Other issues we've addressed besides routine maintenance are: we had to replace the wind speed transducer as that failed; we replaced the windlass motor that burned out; had the bottom repainted; replaced the manual bilge pump; and stripped and refinished the teak. Next year in Cartagena will be 10 years that we've been on Amekaya. It will then be time to tear things apart to survey, clean and rehabilitate many items. We're working on our list now.

We also visited Quito and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. I have separate blog posts for those.

In the late summers of 2022 and 2023 we made our routine trip back to the States to visit family, friends, Doctors and to shop for many of the things that we need, can't find in Bocas and are hard to shop for online. Each year we go back it seems like we have so much to do but yet we would like to figure a way to shorten the time away from our home. Traveling back to the US comes with many unique considerations although we love spending time with family and friends. 

Another visit was to Cartagena and Bogota, Colombia. Bogota is a selfie from Montserrat overlooking one of the largest cities in South America. I have separate blog posts for those.

 

The first concern is that the cost of everything in the States is now extremely high compared to what we're used to. The sticker shock eventually wears off but renting a car and paying for gasoline and hotels isn't in our budget any other time. It gets very expensive.

A view of Miami  from the hotel we usually stay at by the airport with some rain in the distance. It's convenient to everything we need to do there. It's convenient getting to and from the airport with their shuttle. Our freight forwarder is close along with many stores and restaurants.

 

Each time we return to the US it is a confusion of feelings for us. When we go places that used to be routine for us there's a familiarity to them but being there is surreal. It's like we belong, but we don't. People we meet, talk to or engage have no idea how different our life is to theirs even though we look almost like we fit in. Unlike most people we engage we are detached and relaxed. When we disclose to people that we live on a sailboat in the Caribbean they often are in disbelief but, then they realize that we are people they only fantasize about. We also have a tendency to want to respond to people in Spanish because that's our typical response. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two restaurants we enjoy close to our hotel in Miami is the Little Latin Corner (El Rinconcito Latino Doral) and Grill 42.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing that happens is we tend to get off our normal diet and eat lots of wrong foods. This often happens because we eat out too much and make bad choices at the restaurants. To try and offset that we try to use hotel fitness centers when we can or walk. But, when we stay in Annapolis we can use the fitness center at the Naval Academy.

 

Spent one afternoon in suburban Philadelphia with a group of my college classmates (Mike Campbell, Ed Rogers and Cliff Trumbo) and their wives enjoying a lunch and later a wonderful desert.

Then comes the challenge of getting everything we bought back to the boat. We can check 4-50 lb bags on the airline for free and have 2 carry-on bags.  I'm usually pretty good about guessing the weights. This year we bought a postal scale to weigh our bags and boxes before shipping. We usually ship several boxes back as well. Typically, we have about 300 lbs of nutritional supplements, boat parts, household goods, liquor we can't get there, really good olive oil and balsamics plus many other things that are too hard to order online. Some of the places we've been it was almost impossible to ship packages to directly so packing the most into our bags was necessary. At least in Bocas we have options for quick shipping.

Ironically the same day I met my college classmates we got together for dinner with some high school classmates ( Ed Fasnacht and Ken Keener) and their wives in Lancaster, Pa.

 

Managing this is a logistical challenge. The first is identifying what we need. Many cases it's easy knowing what broke and needs replacement parts or we need to replace the spare we used. More difficult is anticipating things that could go wrong and having parts on hand for when they do. Next is the challenge of identifying the source for procuring the items. In that, lots of things are considered including cost, speed of delivery and where to ship it to. Is it something we want to ship directly? Do we want to get 

Last year some of our boxes showed up severely damaged. One didn't show up at all adding to an already complex task. The loss required filing a claim and then replacing the items lost. Unfortunately, it's more difficult getting replacements when you can't go to the source and get it adding additional time and expense that isn't covered by the replacement because now there's additional shipping involved. That's why this year we delivered the boxes directly to our freight forwarder.

 

it to check it out before getting it back to the boat? When will we be where to receive it? Then we need to get it, pack it and decide if we carry it back or ship it back. Somethings can't go in our baggage. Somethings are temperature sensitive. Then there is suitably and safely packing them. Everything we pack in our bags and for shipping is inventoried so we know where everything is. Of course, the real fun is when it gets back to the boat unloading, stowing it and adding it to our boat inventory. Since we don't take cardboard boxes on the boat we unload into bags to take inside and throw away the boxes. In the tropics corrugated cardboard holds roach eggs.

A Labor Day Weekend hike with Linda's son Seth who we stay with in Annapolis.

One other wrinkle in the process is getting the bags that we brought with us from the States back to Bocas. Air Panama only allows one bag each and we have 6. Our shipping company in Bocas is affiliated with a domestic shipping company who will pick up our bags in our hotel and deliver them to Bocas for about $15 a bag with overnight delivery to Bocas. Tracking all the moving pieces is a logistical headache and ensuring that they are packed well enough not to break.  

We were able to catch up with one of my son's and his whole family this year in Tennessee where they moved after he retired from the USMC. My son Jeremy, his wonderful wife Regina, beautiful daughter Abby and really smart grandson Jared. Taken in Knoxville.

Living on a boat is about living. That living involves boat maintenance, getting to know local cultures, sightseeing and then the everyday subsistence things. It's amazing how much time mundane chores take living on a boat. We eat little in the way of prepared foods (which we prefer anyway) so we prepare it ourselves which takes a great deal of time. In Bocas there is a bountiful supply of fresh fruits produce and vegetables although not in the diversity of good American markets. But, it is good quality and fresh. To take those goods and prepare them for storage, prepare them for meals and actually making the meals consumes a lot of time each day for both of us. Linda has the things she does and I have the things I do. Then we also have to be cognizant of the weather and what work can be done based on weather. 

This year we got to go into Center City Philadelphia and have dinner at a renown restaurant Vedge where our granddaughter Rebecca works. We had a wonderful evening.

One of the major tasks we accomplish when we return to the States is to visit our Doctors and get all of our wellness exams. This includes an annual physical exam; dental exam and cleaning; eye exams; any 

 

My oldest grandson, Alexander out for a trail ride.

needed radiology; other specific exams; and then getting any prescriptions filled and follow-up screenings. We can usually get emergent care done where we are but we always follow-up with our regular doctors in the States. So far, everything has been fine so it is all routine. At some point our health will require more issues and time.

The Florida "Welcome Sign" is always a good feeling.

 

We also like to spend time with family and friends. Trying to work into everyone's schedule is also a challenge. We often don't get to see all the people that we would like to each visit. If we miss someone we try to see them the next year. Depending where people are we often end up making domestic flights to save time. Then driving when we can. Every year is different depending on where people are. Also, school and college reunions occur that we like to attend. I've kept in close contact with many school and college friends. Linda, not so much. Unfortunately, our visits often slip by too quickly and we forget to take pictures so there are many that aren't here.

During our visit this summer I had the opportunity to reconnect with one of the students that was on the debate team I coached back in the 80's. We had a wonderful dinner with our friend Erik Grant and his lovely wife, Karen. What a special treat.

 We have many cruising friends that spend very little time back in the States. Some spend a great deal. Our Canadian and Alaskan friends need to spend 6 months a year at home in order to qualify for benefits. 

 

One of our perennial stops is with my college classmate Jack Andreas and his lovely wife Dora. We always have fun and sometimes too much to drink. If that's possible.

Each year we begin making plans for our visit months in advance as we try to iron out appointments, travel schedules and availability. Then the time comes and we pass through the time we knew we had for each activity and it's almost surreal when we realize, "oh yea, that's tomorrow." Instead of something we've been talking about for months. When it's over we're glad we're heading home but sad we only got to spend so little time with the family and friends we care about. As much as we'd like to spend more time with them we want them to live their lives. 

The back of our rental car loaded with our bags and boxes to be shipped back. In the end we shipped back almost 600 pounds of stuff.

 

In a short time we will be back home on board Amekaya. Getting back into our routine and getting back to boat work with a new year of fun and excitement that hopefully will find us in another new country to explore. 

Getting our bags and a little more back home to Amekaya