Yesterday, Ricardo and Andres Felipe, Efrain's son and grandson, drove me (Kay) from Panama City over the mountain to Carti.  I am returning to Valentina after three weeks in the US getting our ICOM 802 clipping problem repaired and getting a grandma fix.

However, it has rained the past few days, so the road was very slick and muddy.  One and one-half hours of the trip involves a very steep and curvy road, similar to one of the best roller coasters in the U.S.    It is definitely a ride worth your money, but you are sure thankful when this one comes to a stop.

When we approached the security gate at the entrance of Kuna Yala, the guard informed us that the river that you have to drive through, is too high due to the recent rain.  So, they drove me to the river, where there were already probably 10 loads of people waiting for a launcha to take them across the river.

I had talked to Sonny on the cell phone to let him know that we are stopped at the river and he said he would try to come up the river to get me.   But, the Kunas would not let him come up the river in our dinghy; said it was too dangerous.

So, Ricardo, Andres Felipe and I asked each boat that came up to the river if they would take me to our boat, anchored in Nonomulu.  They were all too full.   Finally, a boat said he would take me to the dock at the Carti airport, so we agreed.

I called Sonny and he met me at the airport, and, finally, with a totally loaded down dinghy, made our way back to Valentina.

It was so good to be back with Sonny and Valentina.  I was so tired, that I slept like a baby.

It was like Christmas opening all the bags and suitcases for Sonny to see what all I had purchased in the land of 'stuff'.

So Rick and Lois arrived on time in the small airplane from Panama City.  After breakfast at the small cafe on the island, we jumped in the dinghy and went to a nearby island of Wichiwaula to go shopping.  In Kuna Yala, this is the best tienda, and it only has the bear necessities.

On the way there, our dinghy motor sputtered....then a little bit later.....just quit.   Out with the oars.  We rowed to Wichiwaula.  Great first impressions, right?   After shopping, we got a tow back into the wind and to Valentina.  We decided to head to Nabadup, near Cambombia, for some good first time snorkeling experiences.

On our way, we put the two fishing lines out to troll.  When we were near Salardup, one line started screaming.  We all jumped to action.   Sonny grabbed the line, Rick grabbed the gaff, and Lois and I grabbed cameras.  After we finally got him on board, it was a nice, nice Wahoo.   WAHOO!   We will have fish tonight....and tomorrow...and.....

Upon arrival, Rick and Lois were so excited, they donned their snorkel gear and jumped in the beautiful water to snorkel while I was preparing some baked Wahoo and Sonny was working on the carburetor on the dinghy motor. 

They did very good snorkeling around the boat.   Rick picked up a conch for photos, and they saw some sand dollars, starfish, sea urchins, and lots of beautiful fish.

When we were sitting in the cockpit talking after sunset, and Lois said, "Look at the water!"  There was bioluminescent in the water.   It looked like a lime green spot, then, all of a sudden, would spin in a circle, then dart away from the circle until it finally disappeared.

This island truly does look like the Windows Desktop island.

After lunch, we decided to go upwind to the East Holandes or the Swimming Pool, as cruisers call it.

This is the most manicured and clean island in San Blas, thanks to the daily efforts of Reggie on S/V Runner.  The grass is similar to a golf course surrounded by all the different shades of blue and green water.

Under your boat at anchor, it looks like you are in a swimming pool, so it is rightfully named.   But, today the wind is blowing 25-30 knots, so it is not a lot of fun to play in the water.

When we returned to Valentina, Lois was resting and Rick beat us two games in farkle.   We said it was 'beginner's luck' but we did smell a skunk nearby.  

	With the wind and current so strong, we decided to head back towards Porvenir, where they fly out in the morning.   Along the way, we stopped at Dog Island to snorkel the shipwreck and enjoy the island.
	I stayed on the boat and fried Wahoo while Sonny and Rick snorkeled the wreck.  Lois enjoyed digging her toes into the white sandy beach while the guys snorkeled.

We sailed to Porvenir and dropped anchor.  It was so rolly.  It was pretty miserable all night.  We were rocking and rolling.  We had wind on the bow and waves were hitting us on the side.

We ate our fried Wahoo, patacones, and salad and ended the evening with a game of farkle.  Sonny and Rick won the games tonight.

Rick and Lois were a fun couple that we treasure their friendship and look forward to seeing them again.

On the same plane they flew out, our friend Andrew Burnett arrived.  We met Andrew on the plane when we were returning to the US for our son Gentry's wedding, in July 2007.   We have kept in contact by email and he decided to come visit us on Valentina.

We were ready to pull up the anchor and head to a place with protection, out of the wind.  We decided to go to the island of Gerti, which is probably the most purest of villages we have seen in San Blas.  It is the most westerly island in San Blas, therefore, not frequented much by cruisers.  We are friends with several families on the island.

When we dropped the anchor and I put Valentina in reverse to set the hook, there was a very strange noise.  I took it out of gear and asked Sonny to come back to listen.  He knew immediately what was wrong.  Our prop shaft had pulled out from the plate near the transmission.  We had previously noticed the shaft was loose and three bolts were holding it in place.  Only one bolt would come out, the other two were seized.  When we were in Colombia, Sonny tried to get the shaft out, but was unable, so he put a zinc on the shaft close to the back, so if it was to come out, the zinc would stop it from coming out too far, as to cause damage to the rudder and the prop.  Thank goodness for the zinc.  We will not have reverse until we can get it repaired.

We dinghied into the island and tied up to Florena's dock.  Ingy's elderly grandmother came out to see us and started saying, "Valentina.....Valentina!"  She was very, very ill when we were here before, but is getting around very good now.

I took in reading glasses for the elderly women, candy for the children, marbles for the boys, and Bible tracks to give out to them.

We were visiting with some children when Andrew went ahead of us.   When we caught up with him, he had brought in his laptop and was playing videos of Bible stories and had a crowd of children and adults surrounding him.

We could hear in the adjacent hut, a man chanting.  We were told that a young boy was very sick with a high fever and the medicine man was with him.

 

We talked to Alberto, a local Kuna, who told us there are 278 people living on the island now, and Bradio came out to our boat in his ulu, with his son Freddy, who is now 4.  Freddy sat at the very back of the ulu and could control the direction of it with his small oar by using the J-hook stroke.  He was very serious in his role, but oh, so cute.

This morning at 9 a.m. we dinghied in to attend the services at the Baptist church on the island.   There were 10 people there, and mostly children.  The pastor spoke in Spanish/Kuna, so we were able to understand most of his message.

One of the songs we sang was "How Great Thou Art".   We recognized the tune but look at the words.  Do you recognize anything?

OK...it is time to pull up the anchor without reverse and head to another island.  A little nervous....but, we did just fine.  Once the anchor was up, the wind pushed us back, so it was good.

The wind was blowing 25 knots and the seas were around 5' while we were sailing in the open area.  When, all of a sudden, we all heard a different noise, and all looked at each other and said, "What was that?"   Sonny said he thought our shaft had slipped back out.  So, while sailing, he emptied the lazarette and climbed inside, and began attempting to put the shaft back in place.  Then, we turned the motor on and kept it in gear to keep the drive shaft in place.

As we neared the island of Salardup, our friends on M/V DoveKey were also coming into the anchorage.  We called them on the VHF and asked if we could follow them in, as we have not entered from the south before.  It would be difficult to enter around the reef because we need to keep our speed up and keep it in gear, so the shaft will not come out.

Of course, they agreed.   Cruisers are so good to each other.

Once inside the reef, we motored around looking for a spot we could anchor, and found a 30' mound of sand on the outside.   We did not want anyone behind us, because we were unable to set our anchor without reverse.  But, no problems, the 25 knots wind did an excellent job of that.

We were all relieved to be anchored and we very hungry.  So I fixed a pepperoni pizza and we all relaxed.

Andrew makes excellent videos with his small camera and showed us how to do it, so we will be making movie clips now to put on our website.  We are excited and anxious to begin.  You can check out some of Andrew's 800+ videos on YouTube.

Sonny went down in the lazarette and placed another zinc closer to the packing gland so it would not be able to come out of place again.  We can now use forward and reverse (miserly) until we get it correctly fixed next week.

Sonny and Andrew went snorkeling this morning while I cleaned up Valentina and cooked a pot of beans.

The sun is finally out today and the wind has dropped to around 15 knots.  Nice.....we all played Baja Rummy until the wee hours of the night.  (OK....it was 11:30 p.m., but to us it was the wee hours).

We anchored near the island so we can swim ashore, if we want.

Sonny and Andrew took the dinghy and went snorkeling to what cruisers call, the island of Disneyland.  Andrew snatched two fish, which we fried for dinner.

He is teaching me how to make videos and it is so exciting.  We are anxious to get some on our website.

It is pecan pie day, so I stayed on the boat and made a couple of pecan pies while Sonny and Andrew snorkeled around Nabadup and the reefs surrounding it.

Y'all better enjoy the pecan pie today.... because.... tomorrow is ......... bananas! This is our stalk of bananas we bought for $2 at Gerti four days ago.  I counted over 60 bananas on one side.  We gave bananas to everyone in the anchorage.

With the bearable wind, we put up the awning and the hammock so we could enjoy it.

What a treat! When Rick and Lois came, they brought us their Cruising World magazines they had already read.  How fun to read articles and see advertisements of the latest gadgets.

Then, at 3:40 p.m. the wind was calm, and we decided to go to the Swimming Pool.  So we prepared the boat and pulled up the anchor.

In the pool, we could see the spotted eagle rays swimming around the boat in the dark.

We left We left for Nargana, where we ate lunch and went to see Sammy.   Andrew talked to the Baptist preacher about bringing a mission group down in the future.

Our first project was to do some plumbing.  We had to replace the impeller in our head, a yucky job, but it is done!

It feels like home here.  Nice...peaceful...We have heard rumors that Alberto, the Kuna on the island here, has internet.   We will check it out tomorrow.

So, we are not sure how long it will work, but today it did.  Not sure about manaña......

We started out early by washing clothes.  Of course, it was in a five gallon bucket with a plunger.

So, when that job was finished, I made a pizza and (leftover) spaghetti and we took naps.  Then we played two complete hands of Baja Rummy.   Sonny won the first one, then I skunked him on the last one.  ☻

So, we dinghied to the island to update our website before the crowd started arriving in the anchorage.  It will be a very good business for Alberto and a great service to cruisers in San Blas.

Once we got back to the boat, Sonny left in the dinghy headed to the East Lemons, which is about 1  1/2 miles away.  He is going to borrow a drill bit from Monte on S/V Akka to drill into our stainless steel shaft.

I waited on Valentina for the veggie boat because we heard on the VHF he would be coming today.

When Sonny returned, there was still no veggie boat sighting so he began to take the cast iron flange off transmission.  It is the piece we thought we would have to take into Panama City to a machine shop to get the seized bolts out and re-drill with new bolts.  But, when he got the piece out, he was able to get the seized bolts out. 

Hiraldo, the veggie boat finally came through the anchorage.  You are always so glad to see him, whenever he arrives.    We bought potatoes, a papaya, a pineapple, some avocadoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers.  We spent $25 on our vegetables today.

I would be down below in the lazarette watching the shaft as he moved it and would tap on the hull when the shaft was at the correct angle for him to drill.

After several attempts in and out of the water, he was able to drill two dimples into the shaft so the screws would hold better.

Then, he started putting it all back together.   It went back together beautifully.  We are so, so thankful!

You know there are times cruising when boat problems can be overwhelming, like trying to get through the reef into an anchorage without a motor or reverse.  You always wonder how you would react in times like that.  But, that is when your true character takes over.  Sonny was much more confident during our ordeal and I was more cautious.  He knew what it would take to fix it, and we are so thankful he was able to do so.  And, now, Valentina is whole again.

Kate and D.J., our friends on S/V Hello World are on their way to the West Lemons today.  When they were close, they called us on the VHF and said they are having a problem with their engine, and would have to sail into the anchorage. 

Sonny offered to come out in our dinghy to tow them in.  So we did.  This is not an anchorage you would want to sail into.   So, we have our good friends on Hello World from Cholon safely nearby again.  Just another character building exercise in paradise.

Their problem was the impeller in their water pump, so D.J. replaced it and S/V Hello World is whole again also.

Today is Damon's birthday, so I made a pecan pie for him and they came over to celebrate, along with Kate and D.J. (S/V Hello World) and Richard and Pam (S/V Tisha Baby).

Later, Damon and David stayed for a game of Baja Rummy.

We bought a nice Grouper, a red snapper, and a yellowtail snapper for $10.

 He sold the big red snapper for $15 to our friends on Bruadair.,

Then we went over to Pam and Richard's (S/V Tisha Baby) for dinner and Baja Rummy.

We will do our provisioning and get supplies for our spear guns in preparation to make a trip back to the Hobbies in a few weeks.

We are staying at Efrain's home in Panama City.   He is such a wonderful man.

Once in Carti, he had a launcha there to take us to the West Lemons, about 6 miles to the north, into the wind and waves.   We wrapped all of our bags in trash bags and put one on us too.   The waves were coming over the boat and by the time we got to Valentina, we were all soaking wet.

This afternoon at 4 p.m. all of the cruisers in the anchorage went to Alberto's island for a pot luck and music.  Bill and Pam on S/V Songbird were amazing!  There were so many talented musicians....it was a very fun evening.

3/25

We received an email today that our very good friend, Barry Lower, had passed away in Texas with cancer.  He had fought it for over a year.  He probably influenced my life more than any other person.  He was one who lived his life to the fullest, worked hard, saved money, and retired early so he could have fun in retirement with his wife, Judy.  He was the Plant Manager who hired me when I started working at the cement plant and was the one who got us into sailing.   Our lives have been touched by him and he will truly be remembered and missed.

A Day on Valentina.....

We dinghied over to the island so I could give Sonny a haircut

Hiraldo arrived with our 55 gallons of diesel we ordered (at $4 a gallon delivered to your boat).   He siphoned it from the 55 gallon barrel into our 5 gallon containers, while Sonny filtered it into our tank.  The diesel was very clean.

Then, we bought some veggies from him.

George and Pixy (S/V Silver Sea) came over to learn to play Baja Rummy.

We met S/V Hello World, S/V Respite, S/V Makai the catamaran, at Alberto's island at 5.  What a good group of friends!

Carl and Mary on S/V Fandango invited us over for coffee, so we dinghied over to their boat.   They are such an interesting couple.  They have sailed around the world 1  3/4 times, on a much smaller boat and have been married almost 45 years.   He is from South Africa and she is Canadian.   A real treat.  I am glad I finally got to meet them.  

My laptop, which I have used since early 2006, has 71 gb memory and I only have 6 gb left.   So, we have to make CD's of the photos.   I have 15 gb of photos on my laptop.  So, the project begins.

No fun....it is beautiful outside, in the swimming pool, and we are down below working on the computer.    I feel like the guy in the cubicle looking at the beautiful island on his Windows desktop.  Not for long, though.

There were five ladies at the water aerobics today...One from Germany, one from Spain, one from Switzerland, one from Canada, and me (from Texas).  On one of the arm exercises, for each 10 reps, they counted in a different language.   I was glad there were not ten ladies present.