Michelle Comes to Visit....

Welcome to our Blog. Our latest entry always comes up first... 
Click this link if you want to start at the beginning:
FIRST BLOG ENTRY
If you want to start at the beginning of our trip:
START OF TRIP
If you want to see the story of our trip from South Carolina
(where we bought the boat)
 to Lake Ontario Click this link:
  SOUTH CAROLINA

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A good friend who lives in Cozumel and Oklahoma, came for a visit and stayed on the boat last week. Michelle arrived at the Bocas airport a week ago today and we have been going non-stop ever since!

We were scrambling last week to get the rest of the jobs done on the boat so we could get off the marina dock while Michelle was here.  To that end, we were successful!

We sold the air conditioner that we bought for $50 when we arrived, for $50 when we left... A good deal... Michelle also was kind enough to bring a few things that we ordered from the states but were too late for the container.

One of the items was a new pulley for the engine.  The Perkins dealer in Panama City wanted $312 for a pulley and we found a farm supply dealer in up state New York who sold us the same thing for $88....  Hmmmmm.  I will eventually get it installed.

One of our highlights last week was that we had enough school supplies on the boat plus a few things we bought locally, to supply one of the three schools we visited last week.
Take a look at our Right to Write Blog...

It was POURING RAIN when we visited, but that didn't dampen ours or the kids spirits.  We will get stuff to more schools in the area after the next container arrives next month...

On Wednesday night we anchored beside our friends on s/v Ultra and had an awesome pot-luck pizza night...

On Thursday we motored to Dolphin Bay (about 8 miles from Bocas) and anchored beside Ultra in front of the Green Acres Chocolate Factory... We met Carl & Mary who live in a beautiful home in Dolphin Bay with their sailboat parked on a mooring ball right in front of their home (the BEST of both worlds!). 

S/V Ultra

A Million Dollar View

A GREAT place to anchor...

On Friday morning (it was raining again) we toured Green Acres and loved it! The tour was as much about the flora and fauna of the Panamanian rain forest as it was about cocoa and making chocolate...

Waiting for the tour to start.

One of the owners, Robert, showing us where cocao comes from.

Yep, it's in that gooey white stuff...

A Cacao pod still on the tree (still not ripe)

The property was FULL of beautiful flowers and trees

There were hundreds of these little green frogs (with poison skin)

Many orchids growing wild...

Cocoa beans drying...

All the production equipment was McGiver'd and solar powered...

The chocolate "factory"

The really good stuff at the end...

Julie & Robert, The owners and workers...

Don't show Quacky!

Time to return to Blowin' Bubbles

Wile we were in Dolphin Bay we took an afternoon and toured the mangroves in our dinghies and in the evening we enjoyed a "Blue Moon"

Joanne, Bill & Michelle

Shelley and I

Our "Blue Moon"

On Saturday we sailed up to Starfish beach where Michelle got a great beach day in the sun.  We anchored there and have a wonderful few days.

This bird (and his mate) decided to build a nest in our bow pulpit.
As fast as we cleaned it, they tried to re-build.

Beach Day...

Even at the beach, the girls found somewhere to shop....

Our parking lot.....

I'm not sure life gets better than this....

It is sad that people need to be told NOT to harass the critters....

Last night we returned to the Bocas Marina where we stayed the night on the fuel dock.  Shelley took Michelle to the airport at 07:00 and when she returned, I had fueled the boat and was ready to return to Dolphin Bay..  I am sure there will be more adventures this week... Cheers!