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St. Louis/Colombia/Panama January-June, 2007
When we left off (January, 2007), Rankin and I were touring Cartagena, Colombia and enjoying the beautiful historical sites of Cartagena. By the end of January, it was necessary for me to return home and assist my family in St. Louis. It was nice returning to the states and I had a great time with my family. I worked out, shopped, renewed my CPR and First Aid skills, shopped, took an online photography class, shopped, studied and passed my HAM test, went swimming, went to the St. Louis zoo, shopped, helped my mom and played with my great nephew. Of course, I missed Rankin and our lifestyle a great deal but thanks to Skype we were able to speak with each other almost daily. You may have noticed mandatory shopping was required while in the states ... well, you know it was mainly boat necessities like a new 80gb iPod which we thoroughly enjoy. Okay, here are a few photos from St. Louis
In the meantime, Rankin began his adventures as a single hander leaving Cartagena three or four days after my departure. It took him about two weeks of cruising along the coasts of Colombia and Panama before arriving in the San Blas Islands. During his travels he was surprised to find that he was quite a popular guy and had many visitors ...
Rankin now has a renewed appreciation for teachers and mothers. He mentioned many times how difficult it was entertaining so many guests and therefore learned to find more secluded anchorages. He enjoyed the single hander life but there were challenges especially when our dinghy (basically our car) was stolen and his laptop dropped out of our backpack and broke. We've since recovered our dinghy by offering a reward but were forced to purchase a new outboard engine which we just received. With my family well in the states, I returned to Panama around the end of June with a new laptop for Rankin. I can honestly say I am not sure which he was happier to see ... the laptop or me. Upon my return, we spent about a week at Shelter Bay Marina loading all our music onto our new iPod ... we hope to have no more skipping discs in our future ... hoorah. It's the little things in life. Rankin's mother (Janie) soon joined us in Panama for a two week adventure. Janie could have easily been one of the early explorers because she's a fearless adventurer and devours different cultures with a voracious appetite. During her visit, she floated down the Rio Chagres which is known to have crocodiles; she was a snorkeling machine and even snorkeled a shipwreck; she hiked up the Rio Sidra along deep muddy paths where one wrong step and you're up to your shin in thick mud with the power to suck the shoe right off your foot; she then proceeded to float down the Rio Sidra allowing the current to sweep her around and over boulders to our meeting point; she shopped with much vigor but was also able to fend off rather persistent Kuna women when necessary (not an easy feat); she can farkle (a dice game) with the best; and I think she can drink Rankin under the table (just kidding) ... they were just beer tasting. As always we truly enjoyed her good-spirited company and can't wait for her return. Below are photos we'd like to share of Janie's travels with us.
Shortly after Janie's departure we motored a short distance to Linton for fuel and then continued to San Blas where we enjoyed the many natural pleasures of these islands. If you wish to continue the adventure, take a look at What's Happening to get the latest scoop. Don't forget ... keep coming back.
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