St. Lucia to Panama ....

From Jared:

I have been quite remiss in posting a blog as to the activities of the good lady "Brown-Eyed Girl" and her seafaring crew. This is probably the best testament as to the amazing time we are having visiting some of the most beautiful places in the world were, though it may be heard to believe, internet is hard to find. Begining January 6 from St. Lucia we finished 4th among a fleet of 31 boats in beautiful San Blas islands of Panama. With boat ratings penalties, we may find ourselves winning first place. We won't know until Ecuador but we are keeping our fingers crossed. Not bad for a crew who managed to catch barracuda, mahi-mahi, wahoo, whilst facing some turbulent seas in the Caribbean (especially off Colombia). The real gift was seeing land for the first time in six days and having made it through safely. Life can't be all bad when you are getting tired of eating freshly caught fish.

The San Blas Islands. Picture that postcard you see on the tourist shop spinning rack of turquoise waters, coconut palms, white-sand beaches. Now add extremely friendly Kuna indians, friendly bartering, great snorkeling, and the best conch and spiny lobster you have ever eaten. That, my friends, is the San Blas archipelago.

Next we transited the Panama Canal. Having read David McCullough's "Path Between the Seas" and then seeing first-hand the marvel of the Gatun and Miraflores locks, it made me appreciate the hardships, strife, perseverance, and ingenuity of the French, the Panamanians, and, of course, the great United States of America in completing one of the greatest feats of mankind. It is quite an emotional experience to traverse the locks and Gatun Lake where an estimated 30,000 lives were lost to malaria, yellow fever, snakebite and the inumerable toils that Panama and her jungles hold. Trust me, folks, the heat and humidity is enough to make you beg for your next breath. It is hard to simply exist in this heat. I can't fathom working in this heat.

Panama City is an interesting experience. One minute you are in beautiful Casco Viejo walking along streets near the Presidential palace among traditional architecure and gold-lined Cathedrals and the next minute you are wisely having your taxi driver get you ought of some neighborhoods that would make a New York street-thug cower and look over his shoulder. It is a city full of vitality, growth, and juxtapostions. It has a lot of nightlife and the metro park is huge and not to be missed. In less than two hours walking-time; we saw monkeys, agoutis (rodents that weigh 20 lbs), toucans, coatimundis (cross between a monkey and a racoon), and an incredible vista of beautiful Panama city. The fish market is off the hook. Alright, that was pretty bad.. but it is an amazing experience. When was the last time you paid $1.50/lb for fresh flounder?

Las Perlas, Panama is where we just sailed from having spent three days there. Dad and I broke out the spear-guns and managed to harvest 18 grouper over the course of two days. I fixed them last night in a carrot coconut curry sauce with rice. Dad quickly forgot about the labors of cleaning fish(I wasn't able to due to spear-fishing mishap-possible broken finger). Mom, Dad, and Tom enjoyed a nice walk this morning on Mogo Mogo island in Las Perlas archipelago. That is where they filmed the first season of "Survivor", so it can't be all that ugly of a place.

Folks, it is an amazing world with amazing people we are getting to know. Tomorrow we begin the 5-6 day sail to mainland Ecuador and from there the Galapagos.

We miss and love you all and will keep you updated as soon and as best we can.
"Brown-Eyed Girl" out... Jared