I've been back on in Aus working the last 6 weeks and Julieta is home in Argentina. We left Sunflower in Linton Bay Marina, 30 miles east of where the Panama Canal Starts in Colon. Our plans are even more scattered than always, changing all the time. Julieta arrives back tomorrow, I'm delayed at work but hopefully will be back in a week. We will try and get through the canal ASAP if possible but have a fair amount to organise before hand. To go through you first have to be officially measured, then transfer money, pay and then you get a date, sometimes the wait is a couple of weeks around this time for yachts as it's the busiest time of the year. We have a lot to carry on with anyway, stocking up with LOADS of food and alcohol, cleaning stuff, fuel, spares whatever we can fit on basically! We may be in the pacific a couple of years and things aren't so cheap or easy to get apparently there. Also full service on engine, new bearings in headsail furler, clean the bottom ect ect, oh and fit a shower in cockpit for Julie😉
Also I have to try and figure out what's happening with my work if I'm coming back soon or not, as to stay in French Polynesia for longer than 3 months you need to apply for a long stay visa which takes a month so that's another spanner in the works. The idea at the moment is we go through the canal, straight down to Ecuador, I fly out for work and Julie applies for visa in the French consulate there and then we leave for French Polynesia maybe late May?? Or we apply in Panama then leave from there when we get it and I fly back to work from there. Only problem is it's 4000nm or at least a months sailing to get there so it's rather tricky to organise??! Maybe I'm just over thinking it all and then when we're ready we just do what we do like normal as plans never go to plan anyway, I should have learnt this by now!
Also Julie's Dad is arriving in 10 days which will be fun although he may be thrown in the thick of a few jobs although I'm sure we will find time for a few beers in between it all and he will see for sure it's not all sitting around nice anchorages catching fish and drinking rum but with some luck we might go to some islands on the pacific side and we can also do some of that at the end.
Anyway I'm really looking forward to a decent downwind sail as it's been way too long hanging in the Carib, although we've had some of the best short sails ever here it will be nice to be in the open rolling again.
