Transitions

Well, the next phase of the journey has begun, we are headed up to Shelter Bay on the  Caribbean side of Panama to join the Lor- E-Lai our soon to be home for the next few weeks.  A plush 63 ft motor yacht, upon whom, we shall make the Panama Canal Transit. Captain Joel has arrived and he seems like an okay guy to be on an adventure with. Made the mistake of accepting an invitation to eat pizza with a bunch of American cruisers ( those that live on their boats and travel the world) that are here in Panama that proceeded to scare the shit out of me mentioning things like the Papagallo Winds and the Techwantapecers--(hugh????) to watch out for that can be treacherous (even deadly!!!) the thiefs that love to rip off cruisers so" never ever let anyone on your boat or leave the boat by itself," all the dicey parts of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico that are best to say the hell away from unless of course you are escaping the Papagallos and the Techwantapecers-- Great!

Meanwhile they are telling me all of this while, Mark is off doing God knows what afer he recently slipped away from the table and I'm begging them to hold off on all this "wonderful information" till he gets back. Because quite honestly they were making me wonder if I was about to take my life in my own hands My new expats around the table carry on with" oh my God, gosh,your husband is undertaking this with only Catalina experience? What do you mean you don't have a sideband radio? I had not been feeling alot of  faith in him recently anyway. He is an absent minded professor which was quite endearing in the first couple of months of dating but no so cute 4 1/2 years laters when facing a potential death cruise  "what if he forgets his charts? what if he really doesn't know what he is doing ?Maybe he bit off more than he can chew and the machismo in him can't let him admit it?"

But after a lot of reassuring by Mark and now Captain Joel I am feeling confident enough again that we will be "more that fine" and I am carrying on as planned.

This by the way brought up all manner of heated discussion around why I don't have "faith in my man" which I don't have time to go into now--trust me when I tell you this vacation is bringing up more than a sun tan.

Gotto go--

Off to the 8th wonder of the world the transition between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean and more personally for me, between fear and faith.

Just Love,

Patrice