Back to Panama

After two long flights, it was back to the warm wet jungle of Panama.

We flew out of Auckland to Los Angeles then after 6 hours on the ground direct to Panama City. Checking in online with AirNZ was torturous, having to fill in all the same days that you have already done so again. Check-in at the airport was painless. We were very early and it was worth it. 6 bags at 23kg each and 2 lots of hand luggage each.

Since there were three of us rather than two we used the Strata lounge which was peaceful and quiet, unlike the usually full and bustling Koru lounge.

The flight on AirNZ was uneventful and arrival at LAX standard was normal with all the queues.

Transit to LAX was 6 hours and painful. The Check-in counter didn’t open until 3 hours beforehand and there is almost nowhere to sit and wait in TomBradley and the food options are atrocious. I doubt if this problem will ever be fixed as there is not enough space in that part of the terminal. There is also nowhere to leave any bags for a few hours and go for a walk.

Check-in with Copa online was easy and at the terminal simple. Surprisingly all the bags arrived at each airport and none were damaged.

The flight to Panama was surprisingly good compared to our flight on Delta on the way home. New B737 Max and excellent food. The choice was Chilli con Carne or Chicken Chow Mein.

Departure and arrival on time. Easy smooth transit through customs and immigration – what a pleasure after LAX. The immigration asks for the total number in the group and then the individual total luggage and hand luggage. We had 4 pieces each total of 16 pieces of luggage and they did not blink!! Obviously used to large family groups. As the pieces went through the scanner the only item they queried was the fibreglass batten for the sail, they thought it was a fishing rod!! But when we explained, all smiles and waved us on.

Our pick-up was there but unfortunately, at the wrong terminal – it is all one building but the plane was parked in T1 and the bags were at T2. A short conversation and all sorted.

The view from the plane at dawn into Panama was beautiful. Calm, sunny, patches of fog and mist.

We arrived at rush hour so the first 20 mins from the airport to the freeway north was slow, but we saw some more parts of Panama that we hadn’t seen.

Panama City is very compact and surrounded by jungle.

The Atlantic Bridge is 4.6km long and has a clearance below it of 75m constructed by the Chinese Communication Construction Company. Finally completed in 2019.

Marina was unchanged same smiley faces, happy to see us, and lots of boats. Those that have been here longest with no owners on board were covered in mould. All our exposed sheets were mouldy. One of the first jobs was a full washdown.

During the unpacking, we were looking through the escape hatch to see a 1.2m barracuda looking back at us – seemed totally unconcerned.

Get gear on board, power up the yacht, remove the dehumidifier, turn on the water, get fresh food, and new seals on fridges before we could turn them on. Swim.

Wash the entire outside of yacht2 scrubbing one on the hose, unpack the new microwave, unpack other non-clothing items, and put swim fins back together. Swim! Lunch, siesta, Feeling shattered.

Continue unpacking. Visit from Office to ask when we wanted the 11 items delivers – we said the next day. Continue tidying up, and sorting out error messages on the fridge. Power to the solar controller to sort.

Also along with us are two yachts with chicken coups on board!! Apparently, it was a fun project during the covid lockdown and they have stayed. One of the chickens in Theo’s coup( it has 2 ) has done 5000 miles !!

Catch up with François who tells us he is staying on yacht 4 boats along as cook for a maintenance crew that is on board. Also tells us that many yachts have been struck by lightning this year including the 75ft motor yacht that he had a job on- it is completely dead. Apparently, the technicians are thinking that the new boats with electronics are creating a magnetic field in the boats and attracting the lightning!! Another thing to check.

Tomorrow off to town in the bus to get some groceries / check out the closest town.

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