Sailing to San Blas

After we got out of Portobelo Bay, leaving all the pirates and old ruins behind, we put our noses to the wind and set course to San Blas.

It was this endless scenery of ocean to one side and beautiful greenery to the other side. It was very peaceful. The wind was coming and going most of the time.

I didn’t feed the fish during this voyage😊. Later that day we saw dolphins🐬! But sadly they were in the distance😔.

I was very excited because that night I would do my first watch shift!

Capo was not happy with the motor😔 but otherwise he was ok. He is getting used to the boat. During the night he snuck up on me and was lying with his back to my back. Then I turned around and we cuddled🥹.

When I woke up, it was already the next morning. I was very annoyed with my parents. They did not let me do my first watch last night😡. Dad had actually decided to let us all sleep, while he was keeping an eye out. The wind picked up during the night. He told us it was a perfect sail.

An eventful arrival at San Blas

Early in the morning we were approaching the San Blas islands. We were planing on going to the West Holandes islands, but just as we were getting close to the anchorage area, Capo started meowing plaintively, the motor started smoking and then stopped. Most of the San Blas islands are surrounded by shallow coral reef.

My dad immediately went to check what was wrong and discovered that there was water in the engine compartment, which is not good. So after hours and hours of trying to figure out what was going on my dad discovered that there was a crack in the engine water lock which is on the exhaust pipe, and while all this was happening we were drifting closer and closer to shore. 

My dad told my mom to steer in the opposite direction, but it wasn’t helping as the wind had died at sunrise and the current between the islands was pushing us towards the islands.

So then she jumped on the radio and was calling for help but no one was on the radio net😡. I suppose all San Blas sailors are still asleep at 7.50. So then it was time for plan B. We dropped our faithful mini Exodus in the water and my dad attached a rope to the bow and pulled Exodus to safety.

We dropped the anchor and we are safe now. Dad also found a way to fix our water lock enough that if we have to go we can go. And he ordered a spare one the same day, but it will take a long time to get here in the middle of nowhere.

We were very happy to see that the motor is still working and did not get damaged.

Capo, however, sees things differently.

*Note from the editor: All this transpired between 6.30 and 8 in the morning, but in eventful times the clock stands still, which gave Gitane the perception that it took ‘hours and hours’.

RANDOM FUN FACTS

Did you know:

1. Chimpanzees play with dolls, they use sticks and stones and pretend that they are their babies some females keep their dolls until they have their own kids!
2. Mother pigs sing while they feed their piglets!
3. The largest elephant on record weighed over 10,500 kilograms and was nearly 4 meters tall!
4. Sloths are incredible swimmers they move three times faster in the water than on land they can hold their breath for 40 minutes!
5. Some sloths are so slow that green algae grows on them!
6. Crows and ravens have been seen doing snowboarding! They live on every continent except Antarctica! And we can confirm they also live in San Blas.
7.  Crows remember peoples’ faces! A girl in Seattle USA gives food to a group of crows and in return they leave presents such as beads, screws, paperclips and buttons!

Hugs from Gitane

And wet nose kisses from Capo