Balboa Yacht club, Panama City, Panama 27/4-2016
At the anchorage north of the pier we had an excellent view of the beautiful bridge, Puenta de las Americas over Around us we have a lot of different kinds of working boats that can produce great waves when they come and go. It was supposed to be a quick stop here in Panama but after 21 days we are still here. We have had a nice and informative meeting with ”Panama Karsten”, a Dane that help cruiser to get a round here and Galapagos, at Balboa Yachtclub. To get around here you use a taxi and you have to learn how to bargain. We have been around the city getting things done and provisioning three times. Now, 3/5, the ICOM is open for HAM channel. The fresh water pump has new drive belt, 18/5, and an extra gas tank is bought. Anchor winch and a pump for the cooling water are ordered from the US and should be delivered today. We are still waiting for the camera lens to be repaired. Heat and mosquito have made it tough here once in a while but a lot of good food and drink on board and a breeze make it bearable. People are nice and friendly here. Only one of the taxi-drivers has been bad. Also, good information on the 8:00 o’clock cruisers net have been helpful. We got gas that way, 6/5, with a communal taxi-driver that took al needed cruisers tanks to be filled up. Gas cost the same as our part of the cost for the taxi. The watermaker is not being used here because the water is not good enough. We have been over to the cay once, 13/5, to fill up water tanks. It is not easy to get a hold of one boy for and one aft but Ivar managed to do that. Alexandra is to big to swing around so therefore 2 boy attachment.
Also a tour to the huge Albrook centre were I finally find a vacuum cleaner. One day we walked out to Flamingo island to look for equipment and passed by a huge colourful building that turned up to be a Museo de la Biodivercidad (2013 Frank Gehry).
While waiting for the winch to arrive Lars and Ivar took the dive compressor up and filled the tanks with air.
Just now the Panama agent for Marine Warehouse Florida USA, Atoro, called to inform that the anchor winch will be delivered to Balboa in half an hour, 19/5!!! Happy time except there were no pump. Lars is now occupied with taking the old winch out and putting the new up. It is tough work in the heat. Ivar put sun-cover up and it helps a lot.
The 20/5 Lars connect power to the winch and immigration at the harbour and we took a taxi to Isla Flamenco to visit customs. If we had not gotten help from the, very nice, taxi-driver to speed up the procedure, we never had reach back to the harbour to pay the fee before closing time and after that immigration once again. Now we were al set to sail, early in the morning, on the 21/5, to Islas Perlas.
