Henrietta II Adventures

I registered our arrival in the canal zone with the canal authorities in advance. As one would assume, the canal is a terrorist target, so there is some post 9/11 screening that must occur. But I read every guide, every blog, EVERYTHING I could about the process. I hailed Balboa (Panama City) port control on VHF 12 (not VHF 16, the normal hailing channel) on arrival, requested permission to cross the canal shipping lane to approach the marina, and got approval. We made it to Panama City. From what all the guidebooks/blogs had said, it would only be four days to get our clearance to transit. Once at the marina, I started what I thought was the canal transit process. I went to the port captain’s office, and, after much confusion, was told I needed to visit customs, immigration, and quarantine. Everyone wanted a cut. But quarantine wins for the most egregious abuse of power. Apparently, the port captain’s office and quarantine have a close relationship at said marina. After

Captain’s Blog #4 We are not cruisers. I had my suspicions about this, and they were confirmed at the Cruiser’s Rally to El Salvador. Cruisers spend months at a time at one anchorage. They are older, retired, experienced in the arts of whining and fear-mongering. We are not cruisers. We are transiters. Cruiser’s aren’t bad, nor was the rally, but we certainly didn’t fit in. I’m not a retired engineer. Sam and I still enjoy talking to each other. We watched a couple get in a fight over converting amps to volts. Seriously. Sam and I only fight about important things – like NCAA basketball. The marina in El Salvador was out in the middle of nowhere, making provisioning difficult. However, there was hourly bus service to San Salvador, the capital. The bus ride itself was worth the trip, and the city . . . I can’t really describe it. Everything from fake Ray Bans to child pornography being sold in stalls, set against the backdrop of the presidential palace and cathedral. Heavily a

Hopefully we will have a blog up soon that will describe in more detail about the last part of our journey to Aruba. Greg is working on it,but in the mean time I'd thought I'd share some favorite things about the journey. In no particular order..... 1. Seeing all the wildlife, especially the dolphins that would great me in the mornings 2. Jumping off the stern of Henrietta II for the first time in Zihautanejo 3. Meat plate off the food cart in Santa Marta, Colombia 4. The fantastic dinner and salsa show in Panama City 5. Arriving in Aruba! 6. Night watches, gazing at the stars 7. "Sampling" the beer in all the different countries 8. Watching Monty and Mazie go nuts when dolphins came up to the boat 9. Cooking at sea, pork and mango & black bean salsa, eggs with prosciutto and polenta, Jeff's pad-thai and his tarragon and cheese omelets 10. Bus ride into San Salvador 11. Date night out with Greg in El Salvador where we almost adopted a small boy at the circus 1