Teresa missed our trip (boys only) from Cartagena, Colombia to Quepos, Costa Rica via the Panama Canal last year, but returned for the return trip. She claims the boys left the boat in deplorable condition, but we naturally disagree with her.

Our return trip would take us back through some previous stops, including another transit of the Panama Canal and onto Bocas del Toro, Panama on our way to Cuba.  As you can see from the tracker map below we almost did a complete circle.

We had our send off lunch at Windjammers Restaurant in Pez Vela Marina.  Kay and Don on the far left have joined us as crew for the trip.  Both are from British Columbia.  Mike decided after our last trip sailing was not for him and will be staying on land for the foreseeable future.

The trip started off with Teresa giving the return car rental company a piece of her mind when she found out the local return office was closed due to staff shortages.  You would think a sign in the window notifying customers of the closure would have been an appropriate notice.  Instead, she had to call the main office to learn why the office was closed.  She was not happy.

With the boat cleaned and the rental car returned it was time for some relaxing sailing to Drake’s Bay.  The wind conditions were ideal for flying the Code O sail.  Teresa was in better spirits.

Enjoying the beautiful Costa Rica coastline on our way to Drake’s Bay.

Arriving in Drake’s Bay which is named after Sir Francis Drake. Yes,he was here too.  More famously known today as an ecolodge destination place because it sits in the Corcavado National Park.

The following day we went ashore to explore the area.  Teresa is ready to go and Don is still getting his shoes on.

We left Sea Rose anchored in the bay unattended.  Hopefully, she’ll be there when we return.

We hired some ATV’s and took a day tour which included a guided tour in the national park.

Teresa, Kay and Don hiking through the hot steamy Corcovado National Park.

The Corcovado National Park is full of old growth trees.  A loggers paradise.

Bob and Don leading the way home.  Our impromptu guide spoke no English and had no knowledge of any of the plant life.  Our hike turned out to be very non-informative.

After leaving Drake’s Bay our next stop was in Golfito where we will needed to clear out Costa Rica immigration.  That’s a US Coast Guard ship docked in Golfito.  They’re a long way from the US coastline fighting the war on drugs.

Don at the helm as we enter the Golfito harbor area with Kay taking photos on the forward deck.

We spent 3 days at the Fish Hook Marina, Golfito, Costa Rica.  Simple nice clean place.  The people were extremely friendly.

Morning sun rising over the mountains in Golfito.

Teresa stepped out to see who our new neighbors (Chasing Daylight) were that just arrived.  Beautiful yacht.

My birthday just happened to arrive while we were here.  Teresa, Don & Kay were thoughtful enough to buy some celebratory cup cakes and candles.

The next day we departed Golfito and Costa Rica for Panama.  We has a personal seagull escort to the open sea.

Just another day on Sea Rose.

It was an overnight sail to Panama, so we were able to enjoy another fantastic sunset.

In the morning we arrived at Coiba Island, Panama.  Coiba Island use to be a penal colony, but is now a national park.

The water at our anchorage was incredibly clear.

The view to shore was a fantastic beach.  This used to be the site of a world famous fishing camp, named Club Pacifico.  Now all the buildings have been converted to eco-lodges for rent.

Teresa had her mountain goat spirit going so we went for a hike up the tallest mountain (400 feet) in the area.

Don running Teresa and me back to Sea Rose after a day ashore.

Here’s a view of the tallest mountain.  You could hear the monkey’s all around us, but we never saw one.

The Captain catching some sleep after a day of activity and before our next overnight sail to Panama City.  This is definitely one of my favorite anchorages.

You never get tired of these sunsets.

We finally arrived in Panama City, Panama.  The last 12 hours were a rough ride through the Panama Bay.  20 knot winds on the nose, sorry Teresa.

 

A view of Panama City from the top of the mast on Sea Rose.  We stayed in the La Playita Marina.

The deck of Sea Rose from the top of the mast.  Once again the Captain is safe below looking up.

Thank god for crew like Don.  He was more than anxious to climb the mast and untangle the main halyard from the reflector can.  He took a few pictures while he was up there too.

A closer view of the Panama City skyline.  It was a surprisingly large skyline rivaling Miami.

Teresa awaiting the arrival of her good friend Alina.  She just happened to be in Panama City at the same time.

 

Sea Rose all lit up at night.

 

Panama City skyline at night from La Playita Marina

It was time to depart Panama City on the Pacific Ocean side and begin our canal transit to the Caribbean side.  The are freighters anchored all over the bay awaiting their turn to transit.

Here’s what it looks like on AIS.  Every triangle is a boat a anchor.

We are instructed to be at a rendezvous point in the morning to pick up our adviser.  Every boat is required by the Panama Canal to have an adviser, or in the case of the larger vessels a pilot.

We received our Panama Canal adviser in the morning.  It’s such a small world, we got Victor again as our adviser.  He was one of our two advisers when we transited last November.  Great guy and happy to have him on board.

Teresa takes over the helm and leads Sea Rose into the Panama Canal.

A large car carrier exiting the Bridge of the Americas.

A closer look at how large some of these ships are.

We just learned we are going to have to raft up to Sea Monster for the transit through the locks.

Once they come along side we secure ourselves to them, making sure all the fenders are properly in place.

Teresa beaming with excitement in crossing the Panama Canal.  The Miraflores Locks are the first locks when crossing from the Pacific to the Caribbean.

This Captain Bob’s second transit, so he is an old hand at this now.

The gates are open and we are entering the Miraflores Locks.

The Panama Canal line handler throws down a line, so we can attach our lines.  The canal line handler will then pull our line up and secure it to the canal wall at the top.

Our blue line is now secure to the canal wall.

Once we are secure in the lock the doors close behind us.  The lock will begin filling with water and Sea Rose will rise about 27 feet to the second lock.

We have now moved to the second Miraflorres Lock.  Once the lock is filled with water Sea Rose will be level with the white building above.

It only takes about 10 minutes to fill the lock.  We can now say goodbye to the Pacific Ocean behind us.

Entering the Pedro Miguel locks now.  The Pedro Miguel lock is the third and last lock when going east before entering the actual canal.

The Pedro Miguel lock is one of three locks that separate the canal from the Pacific Ocean

The huge doors are closed.  Now the lock is ready to be filled.

Our line handler Eric securing the blue line to the canal walls and watching the water rush in to fill the lock.

Once through the Pedro Miguel lock with are in the canal.  It will take us about 3 hours to motor the 20 miles to the Gatun Locks on the Caribbean side.  A warm welcome to boaters transiting the canal.

Many Cruise ships use the canal….

…and of course many huge container ships also use the canal.

Teresa at the helm with our adviser Victor keeping an eye out for ship traffic.

Entering Gatun locks.  They are a series of three locks that will lower Sea Rose approximately 84 feet to the Caribbean sea.

The Gatun locks connect the Caribbean with Gatun Lake.  Gatun Lake is a man made lake designed to provide the water necessary for filling the locks.

Selfie in the Panama Canal.

The last lock and the Caribbean awaits us ahead.

We made it.  Sea Rose is tied up back in Shelter Bay Marina on the Caribbean side.  We arrived late under the cover of darkness so we tied up at the first pier that was available, out on the end.

Teresa was up for some exercise so we decided to go for walk in the jungle in search of the elusive monkey.

This looks like good monkey country.

Unfortunately, we only came across theses busy cutter ants.  It’s amazing how they carry these leafs that are three times their size back to the nest.

We arrived in Shelter Bay the night before Teresa’s birthday and surprised her with a birthday cake we purchased in Panama and hid from her for several days.  She was happy to have cake and champagne on her birthday.

From Shelter Bay you can watch the ships enter and exit the Panama Canal zone through the breakwater.