Panama and the Canal
The whole time in Shelter Bay Marina has been overshadowed by the Canal – every time you leave the marina in a car you go over one of the locks or across on a tiny car ferry in the shadow of the locks. Shelter Bay Marina greatly resembles a Butlins Holiday Camp. Activities abound daily – a couple came here a few years ago on a boat and decided to stay living in a boat on the hard – mind boggling. They are the official party organisers and jolly good at it they are. Cruiser Olympics, Aloha Evening, Pool Fun and Games, Volleyball, Mardi Gras Night and on it goes…. Obviously they are American but even that can’t explain it! She is bouncy and blonde and fond of showing an awful lot of flesh bouncing around in miniscule bikinis and lots of flowers and tassles. Cruisers shedding all memory of sensible life cavort – sink to depths of cringeworthy behaviour never before seen!!! I joined the Book Club early evening meeting and as we waded through – with no wine to be seen -suddenly our scantily clad resident redcoat appears – she of the enormous boobs defying gravity (medical intervention detected) clad in a tiny white bikini top and aloha skirt saying we absolutely must go to the Aloha Party because we are all going to have such excellent fun. She was right next to me and I just could not take my eyes off her bobbing bits – nor could the lone man in the Book Club with his Jesus sandals and a much too keen look on his face.
The masquerade party for the Oyster fleet was held at the San Lorenzo Fort in utterly scorching sunshine! I had managed to buy us pink masks in a little party shop in the mall in Panama City and off we trogged. After totally cooking for an hour and having all the requisite photographs taken we took them off and our faces were totally pink – didn’t wash off for three days!! The fort was amazingly interesting and sits above the entrance to the Ria Chagres but it was just so hot I could only briefly imagine the history and grandeur of the place before taking refuge under the shade of the marquee. We were entertained by Panamanian dancing devils and an assortment of dancers in a very strange mix of garb – I feel very sure there is some major historical and cultural significance in all of this but managed only to get my photo taken with them! Oscar flew his drone to get the aerial view – Oyster seem to be using all his footage for their own purposes!
And none too soon we were leaving the marina and heading towards the Panama Canal. Motoring out to an anchoring zone – on the way going past at my count at least 38 gargantuan tankers all at anchor waiting for the word to go through. The Canal was carved out through the Isthmus that joins the North and South American continents. There are cranes everywhere and they resemble a scene from War of the Worlds – it is truly hard to describe what the whole experience was like. There are three locks on each side and they have functioned pretty flawlessly (apparently) for 24/7 for nearly 100 years. From the Atlantic side you go into the Gatun Locks – three locks reasonably close together and the boats are raised a total of 26 metres in the three steps. We sat at anchor with 8 other Oysters for four hours waiting for each boat to be given a transit advisor who comes onboard and gives advice. Francisco duly joined us being dropped off by a transit boat (he had to jump across) – we then motored up to the Gatun Locks which was about half an hour. Then we tied up (nested up) to Tianelle and Miss Tiggy two other Oysters on either side of us and doing this in quite a bit of wind was terrifying – we were the centre boat so the one controlling the other two. It was so scary getting both 60 foot boats secured to us in the right position and then we motor into the first lock with Richard helming us. The whole experience was totally awesome. When you are in position we have to go full reverse to hold the boats in position then lines are thrown to the outside boats’ line-handlers and they have to secure the boats as in a normal lock. The guys on land walk along beside us way up high with the lines. Then water fills the lock and up we go whilst controlling the boats to make sure we stay central. Then on to the next lock with the shore men walking alongside holding the lines before resecuring them in the next lock – it was utterly terrifying and even Charlotte who has nerves of steel had to go downstairs for a moment. The water fills up from underneath and it is an awesome sight. It was really a momentous occasion seeing huge boats coming the other way into the locks towering above us and then as the lock empties their side going down below us. At the other end we go into Gatun Lake and release the boats on either side. We then moored up overnight to a Catamaran who in turn was moored to a huge metal buoy. A drink was needed by us all! Gatun Lake is man-made and was created by erecting the Gatun Dam across the Chagres River – really unbelievable experience to see all this up close – it is truly a vast area. There are crocodiles in the water apparently – didn’t see any!
Next morning bright and early Charlotte gave Richard a haircut! Really long overdue! I had to hoover to stop the hair going everywhere!!
Francisco joins us at 7am – he has to be given breakfast! – and we head off at 8.15am to the Miraflores Locks. The Cat started motoring off before our lines were even removed – and Malcolm, theory proven they were French!! Going between the Lake and the Cut was about a 20 mile journey motoring amongst the most beautiful scenery – the Lake provides fresh water for both Panama City and Colon. We were passing huge tankers literally feet away (flat calm though) – then into the next three locks and we are going under the Bridge of the Americas and into the Pacific.
Now spending a few nights up in Gamboa at the Rainforest Hotel to recover. View from our window is yet another wow! 
We have to hang around in Panama City until the seals turn up for the vang – we are hoping this week. Plan was to sail to Las Perlas Archipelago for a few days but dependent on vang – if the seals do not turn up we will be heading for the Galapagos in any case with a rope kicker to arrive there on 28th March. We are not missing that for the world.
Sophistikate 