We arrived home to Reach after yet another long day of flying… the last of 11 airport stops on our ambitious vacation. This trip was uneventful with a smooth entry through immigration & customs, a comfortable stay at Deb’s place and a provisioning trip with Roger back to the marina.
It was at this time that unfortunate events did occur while unloading our provisions. A box failed and Mark fed the fish some of our wine! A few of the stronger bottles survived and made a soft landing at the bottom of the harbor. A nice save, Mark was able to salvage a few hearty souls from the sea. At least he had to dive under Reach anyway to remove the bags from the props, which were put on before we left to prevent excess growth.
Home sweet home ~ there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed again.
Mark got busy on a few important boat projects (oh sh*t, a grinder!!),
while Michele did some gardening, organizing and provisioning for an extended stay in the islands.
Hopefully these supplies will last us well into next year, shooting for 4-6 months. When you do the math, that makes for a lot of staples… like flour, sugar, oats for granola, milk for yogurt, meats, cheese, toilet paper, not to mention gin & tonic!
Getting back into the groove of cooking, we were able to test out our new cast aluminum pan for some seared tuna scored from a local fishing boat.
Works perfectly ~ time to get some more fish!
Upon our arrival to Shelter Bay, we finally met up with Keith & Jaime on Kookaburra after 5 years, even though the initial reunion was only for a few minutes as they were off to line-handle on a friends’ boat through the Panama Canal!
They were the first cruisers whom we met when we left Connecticut in 2008 and we traveled together down the US East Coast to Florida together. Our first cruising buddies!!
We got in a few walks (with furry friends), beverages and meals together yet still have a TON of catching up to do, so will look forward to spending more time with them here in Panama.
