Our Guests Have Arrived

Richard and Rene, our good friends from St. Petersburg, the Dolphin Cruising Club and the lovely sailboat "Sea Tryst" have joined us in Kuna Yala. As with all travel, there are adventures from the very beginning. They are now aboard Astarte after a re-provisioning trip to Panama City. Loading up on food and supplies is always adventure. But the additional adventure of getting from SV Astarte in Kuna Yala to PC and back added to the fun. The following entry is from Rene who, together with Richard, will be guest "loggers" for the next few days. It's always fun to have a fresh perspective - so enjoy!

Rene's entry:
We met Barbara in Panama City on Sunday about noon just after returning from a 3 hour walk in Parque Nacional Soberania, an accessible rainforest about 40 minutes out of PC. We saw some beautiful birds and butterflies but we are out of luck when it comes to identification but did see and get a snapshot of a sloth. The best of sightseeing in PC is the Panama Canal. We saw quite a few freighters going through the Miraflores Lockes; what a feat it was to build this wonder. And now additional locks are being built to handle additional and larger ships.

Sun. afternoon we started with lunch at a "Café" that was really a cafeteria with a grill. Barbara and Richard ordered from the steam table and left me trying to order a bacon and tomato sandwich from two cooks who spoke no English and I, limited Spanish. Got that done but the bacon was only warmed for 2 minutes. I did manage to get the bacon cooked longer and it tasted great since I never eat real bacon anyway.

The three of us spent the afternoon shopping for provisions at a large grocery Reba Smith and a Sam's type of store, Mega Depot, where beer, wine, milk, tuna, etc. could be bought by the case. Barbara was also able to replace their broken stereo at a recommended store. The grocery was filled with American products at surprisingly reasonable prices as well as local items and produce. Some produce was high such as cauliflower was over $4. While I sat with the groceries at Reba Smith, Richard and Barbara went to Mega Depot but when finished they could not find a cab to pick them up because of their huge pile. Finally the cab that stopped would not come for me! So Barbara and I got a ride with a different cabbie who at first said no and as we found out, he had just stopped to pick up his wife. He had a 4-door truck so there was plenty of room. After he pulled away and Barbara went to check in to the hotel, she realized she had left her small zippered bag with money and passport in the cab. She immediately went into panic mode and then along with the hotel manager we went into crisis management mode. Shortly thereafter, a call came in from the cabbie that he would return the purse later that evening. This cabbie was meant for us. Barbara left a generous tip and we left for a nice dinner out. What a Wonderful World!

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