First Week at Sea!

Well, I made it to the boat in El Porvenir, Panama and have since cruised to the East Holandes Cayes, The Lemmons and am now currently anchored in Portobelo. I took the bus this morning into Sabanitas, the first "town" since Panama City! Still can´t find wifi, but will post my journals when I do! I promise! In short, I have had an amazing time, and incredibly steep learning curve, but I´ve only managed to really embarrass myself twice by rowing away in the dinghy with it still tied to the boat! Navigation is very basic! a crude chart plotter and a panama cruising guide. Glad i brought my GPS! The anchor and lines are all manual. A good workout! and the boat is small! 33' but it is loaded down with food! Believe it or not! we eat a lot of ramen noodles on board, but it is always mixed with cheese and sprouts grown on the boat and fresh fish or lobster we caught ourselves or bought from the Kuna natives!

The natives are very interesting, colorful, and my spanish is getting a good workout! Very few speak english, even here in Sabanita! well my hour is up on the computer, but please email me! i need to hear from my peeps!

Panama City

August 24, 2010

Panama City
Hotel Stanford provided a good nights sleep once the air conditioner
caught up and I put my ear plugs in! It's cloudy this morning, but the
veiw is so colorful below. I stood by the window for an hour just
taking it all in. Eventually my need for food and water made me get
dressed and venture out. I stopped in the lobby and used their
computer to check my email. Since my phone went in the river, it's my
only communication with the outside world. I tried a phone card
yesterday in Miami, but I could only hear and not be heard. Maybe it
was just that phone. But the phone in my room doesn't work either.

The keyboard is different. Especially the punctuation. But I don't use
it correctly anyway. My friend Rob sent me the best new name idea!
Actually I think it was his wife's idea to use "Jellyfish"! It made me
laugh. I really like all the comments both on Facebook and the blog so
I hope they keep coming!

Out in the street, there are lots of buses and taxis. Police officers
blow a whistle and stop traffic for people to cross. Most are dressed
in causal western wear, but there are many Kuna natives in very
colorful dresses and sandals. I got a bag of Cheetos and water at a
little store and ate them under the raised highway and deciphered the
altura libre 5.50 m. I guessed first it was the highway name with the
clearance height. Then my Spanish started to work a bit more and I
realized that it wasn't the name at all, just "height free" or
"clearance" duh!

Across the street and actually on the sidewalk, 8 barber chairs were
lined up under a tin roof. I couldn't tell right off who was waiting
for a hair cut or if they were all barbers waiting for clients. Then I
saw a couple guys get their heads shaved. You know what I did don't
you? Yes, I went over and in my poor Spanish and with a lot of hand
gestures managed to get a quote of $3 and sat down on the curb to wait
my turn. It's an interesting way to spend time at the barber. The bus
stops only 10' from me and unloads passengers who pay their dollar as
they exit the bus. People of all kinds. School kids in uniforms.
Nurses. A family carrying their little girl with braces on her legs.
Polio? A traveler like myself with a small backpack. Old men with long
hair and sandals. All the while the kid in a black rock band T shirt,
black jeans and a silver belt buckle in the molded shape of a pistol
shaves around my ears and cuts my hair! Ok so now the grey shows on
the sides of my head, but it's an improvement nonetheless.

On the way back to shower and get the loose hair off my shirt, I
stopped and bought 2 bananas for a quarter and climbed the four
flights to my room. Then, anxious for more of Panama, I walked down
Avenue Central. I looked at phones but couldn't tell what I was
supposed to do for a sim card or minutes. Found the equivalent of a
walmart and looked around. Foods about the same but other stuff is
pretty cheap by US standards. I bought 5 cards and got charged for 6!
Didn't pay attention till I got back to my room. Oops!

A 74 year old man, Conrad Grant, very dark skinned, and only a couple
teeth, asked me what country I was from and proceeded to give me a
"free" tour. He did show me where the good hostel is. I guess you want
to stay at the hospedaje Casco Viejo. It's $10 a night but looked very
clean. A nice upstairs dorm and balcony and a buzzer to secure the
door. The other hostel is supposed to be only $5 but dirty! He
recommended the restaurant Coca Cola. He said tip many times and so I
sent him on his way with $5. He asked for 2 more! I was aware this
would happen, but this one time I followed my instinct and he
delivered. After all, I wouldn't have found the hostel on my own or
known where to eat. And it was very good. It's the oldest restaurant
in panama! I had the chicken Parmesan with rice and beans. The owner?
followed me out to tell me where the post office was. I guess I walk a
little fast. He was out of breath!

Sent from my iPod

The Long Flight!

August 23, 2010

Phoenix to Miami
I can relax a bit now. The backpack took some stuffing to get it in
the bin, but I can close my eyes now for a while. I'm wondering what
it will be like. There's a young boy sitting next to me. He keeps
bumping my elbow and kicking me. Accidently of course. He's curious as
to everything I do. His father, well dressed, downloads his very
impressive camera to a laptop that is his constant amusement. I'm so
glad it's not me! I feel already like I'm free to be who I want to be.
That I can go where I want to go. It's all in my head of course. Right
now I can't even stretch my legs out comfortably.

I'm looking out the window at the United States of America. My
homeland. I've driven most all it's highways. Ridden many of it's
byways and hiked the Pacific Crest and Appachian mountains. And yet
there's so much I haven't seen. I'm a restless wanderer and I need to
seek out new experiences, new places, new people.

Well...they're out here! The guy hitting on the stewardess. The fat
lady with too many carry ons. The arrogant, the nervous, the geeks.
I'm the only one dressed for the outdoors and I'm really not sure when
I will ever wear the dress I wore to Teri's wedding.

Will I fit in with the Captain and crew? Can I handle the sea
sickness? Did I bring enough bug spray? Can I survive malaria? Dengue
Fever? What if nothing happens? What if it's like heaven with no bugs,
no disease, no sickness or sorrow. Will those endless days of
snorkling along beautiful coral reefs and lounging in a hammock
stretched between cocnut palms on a white sandy beach become mundane?
Will I tire of the simpleness of reading books snuggled in a cozy bunk
and sipping hot cocoa?

What if it's not! What if it's all hell broke loose all the time. The
water tank leaks. The stove smokes up the cabin. The rigging bangs on
the mast annoyingly allowing no sleep. The waters are polluted with
oil and the officials are always boarding the boat and checking
papers. It's too hot or too cold or wet.

How long will it take before I wish I could just go home and
everything be as it was before? Or will I never want to go back! And
what does it mean to circle the globe? I can't stop at evey port! How
long does it take to really know a place?

Miami to Panama City
Met a lady while charging our gadgets from panama. She gave me a quick
run down of what to expect. Says it's absolutely beautiful in the San
Blas and the wind blows the mosquitos to the mainland! Told me what to
check out near my hotel tomorrow too! I got to tour the whole of the
Miami airport as the first delayed the flight two hours, then it was
on time at the other end of a mile long concourse. Then when I thought
we should be boarding, I noticed another gate change. Yes, back near
where I started. So far I've forgot my book in the car, lost a bottle
of water on the first plane and a salad in the Miami airport. I might
be able to keep the weight under control if I keep this up!

Panama City
Traveling solo is definately different than with a group or family.
There's more interaction. At least for me. I needed a taxi to the
Hotel Stanford. The first quote was $29. I told him that was almost as
much as the room, but he didn't budge. He kept saying "collectivo"
which I finally figured out meant I might share a cab with two more
people then it would only be $11. Since I didn't know two more people
who might just happened be staying at the same time, I put my pack
down and figuered I was in for a long wait! It really surprised me
when almost immediately they found a guy who would need a ride to the
cruise terminal which is in my direction. A couple others declined to
share, but it wasn't long when a lady needed a ride to the Hotel
Veracruz and we were on our way! It took a while, a couple toll booths
later, I realized it probably was a long walk and was happy to pay the
$11 and a tip.

The motel is a huge corner building. My room has tile floors and
marble top furniture. The TV cables hang from the two tone walls. But
it's clean and perfect for my rest day. I love the veiw from my 4th
floor window. I can see the plaza below with a round pool and a
triangle pool and a tall phalyx statue. It makes me think of the
Washington monument in DC. Taxis and buses slowly beep and brake their
way through the streets. I went out and sat on the bench and set off
my SPOT.

Sent from my iPod

I'm on my way!

Still sitting at the gate in Phoenix. Last chance to chicken out.
Stomach full of butterflies. Leaving everyone and everything I love
behind. My bags are too big for the overhead. Betting they make me
check one. That means an even longer night at baggage claim. Watching
a hurricane on the TV and hoping it will all be worth it!

Sent from my iPod

Water and Electronics...They don't play nice together!

It was my birthday yesterday and it also just so happened to be Martigras on the River! My sister and niece (The best sister and niece in the world EVER!) surprised me with costumes! So anyways, we went tubing down the Salt River outside of Phoenix, Arizona! I got this really cool pelican waterproof case for the iphone for my birthday too! Trouble is...I'm an idiot! While in a hurry to get on my alligator and get in the water...I left my phone in my pocket and didn't put it in the case! So here I am happily floating down the river, laughing and catching beads from the bystanders on the river, and popsicles! (Yeah, that was way cooler than a strand of beads!) when it dawned on me that music would be nice. So I checked the fanny pack and sure enough, no phone in the case. Checked my pocket...yup, It was there all right, but not working of course! To make matters worse, my alligator was leaking. So, I'm holding the wet phone in one hand, plugging the hole in the alligator with the other and trying to get to a shore that isn't getting any closer and I can't touch bottom!

I ended up floating the rest of the day holding on to my sister's inner tube and putting my feet on my niece's inner tube. I have a great set of sore abs this morning!!! I think I even had more fun once everything was all wet and there was nothing else to worry about getting ruined. We continued down the river of debris and drunken tubers to the cliff where we like to jump off. Kristie had no problem jumping off the 20' cliff, but there was a huge crowd and that made Lexi a bit nervous. We were afraid one of the more drunken guys would push her off, but they were nice. By the time I got half way up the cliff to rescue her, she had jumped!

I've put the phone in a bag of rice, but I don't hold out much hope for it! In fact, since I fly out tomorrow, I'm not even going to replace it. I am now not only free of the automobile licensing and DEQ...but also free of the cell phone companies. Even the SPOT got water in the battery compartment. Water is no friend to electronics!

Packing for a lifetime adventure in 25lbs or less!

It's a new life. I turn 46 tomorrow and on Monday I will fly to Panama to crew on a 33' sailboat. They only allow 25 lbs of luggage on the small connector plane that will take me to the dock where I will meet my ship's captain. What do you take when you're leaving for the second half of your life with the possibility of never returning to life on land?

The old saying is true. You can't take it with you! But I want to.... I have been doing long distance hiking since 2002 and so I am familiar with weight limits, but I always could get mail drops. I don't know where I'm going, so that kinda makes mail drops out of the question. Then, I've always travelled by car or truck. I've not had to deal with customs except on vacations, where they practically hold your hand through the whole process! Well, there was that one time coming back to the US after finishing the Pacific Crest Trail. I bought a roast beef and cheese sandwich and had a bite left when the bus crossed into the US. The customs official really gave me the what for. Apparently there was a mad cow disease outbreak! (They weren't rushing me to the hospital!!!)

OK, so back to the question. What do I pack? Well, my pack of course. That's what I know. I won't feel comfortable with a duffle after so many years of backpacking. Then I want shelter and a sleeping bag. How can I take a bulky bag? I love the compactness of goose down. But will it survive the obvious moisture issues of living at sea? And for shelter? I probably should not be worried about it, but since I have a Hennesy Hammock with mosquito netting and tarp, I thought it would hang nicely on a deserted island between palm trees!

Clothing! again a hard choice. The captain suggests I bring lightweight, quick drying, light colored, but not white clothing! Perfect...I already have that in my hiking wardrobe. But I got this ingenious idea of wearing several layers so as to get more options and not use up my luggage weight. I'll wear my underwear, tight shorts, running shorts, and zip off hiking pants. My sports bra, sleeveless top, surfer top, and long sleeved hiking shirt all at the same time! Maybe if I can get away with it, my windbreaker and wool sweater too! Then my spare hiking set, swimsuit and dress clothes can be tucked away with my new snazzy crocs in my carry on.

Speaking of shoes, I was told the deck is Teak and it's not a new boat, so I can bring my trail runners! Yay! But I got white soled crocs with the heel strap just in case. I may not always be on this boat. After all, It's a long way around the world and it might take more than one boat to get there! And I may go around again and again anyways. Maybe even on my own boat someday!

So then the survivalist in me wants to take the cool little sea-land-air kit my mom found me a long time ago. Turns out the most important parts of those kits are not allowed in carry on baggage anyways. So of all the cool knives, hatchets, and multi-tools I could take with me, I'm basically down to just a GPS and a light strobe from my whitewater kayak days. Oh, and the SPOT! The satellite personal transponder. I'm thinking...I have so little knowledge of what my daily life will be like, but...I'm thinking I'll set it off everyday at noon when at sea just like the navigators always took noon sights with their sextants. (That's gonna be cool to learn too!) So check below for the link to see where I'm at!

The last concern is can I fit my computer in! I'd sure like to have it. Phone service could be far and few between. But how often will I find wifi? How fast will it upload pictures? Yeah, so much to know! So little info. So little time. As I will be leaving it all behind, I've even thought of not taking the computer and just using what I can find along the way. It's almost as if I am just now abandoning ship. I truly am starting out on a life raft. Having only grabbed a 25 lb survival grab bag and making do with whatever comes my way. My first rescue boat waits at the end of 48 hours of airplanes, hotels, and taxis in a foreign country that strangely uses US dollars and Panama Balboa coins.

Cheers,
Jellybean