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Written by Tania von Barkenhagen
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Sunday, 14 February 2010 |
I love waking up on a boat. The sound of water gently lapping nearby, rocking movements and the sun shining through your porthole that almost immediately changes your time clock for an early rising. Ahhh...
It was pretty grey out and even a little cool, probably only about 70 degrees instead of the normal 90. I joined Keith and Lee who were up in the front outside enjoying the view and their morning coffee.
Lee and his wife Mo were on the Explorer Panama cruise for the third time, they had just been on it the week before! Obviously they liked it and had nothing but great things to say, lots of great tips and hints of things to look forward to.
Lee mentioned we were heading to an area where there were pilings near the shore but no docks, which looked to be up ahead. Right around here was a wreck we would be diving after breakfast.
Although the clouds kept the air cooler we were hoping for a bit of sun to lighten up whatever we would be seeing during our dive.
Almost time for breakfast. I'm always amazed how quickly I acclimate to the catamaran and by 8:00 a.m. I am fully wide awake and ready for a hearty breakfast.
Our captain set the table for breakfast while everyone slowly made their way to the back of the boat.
Breakfast of champions! My favorite is the passion fruit which is actually a little bitter but such a wonderful flavor.
Half an hour after breakfast we suited up and tried to remember how to put together the scuba equipment. Nothing makes you feel stupider than after you haven't been diving in the past year and you are struggling in front of the crew to show you might have a brain cell or two but still not remembering what to do next. They were nice enough to help us, get the equipment on and toss us in AND in good time.
We were diving The Wreck, a boat down 45 feet with all kinds of stuff growing on it. The water was pretty choppy and surging but usually once you get down it is pretty calm. Unfortunately I had a hell of a time getting down; one of my ears was just not clearing and was pretty painful. I finally made it down but in a deal of pain which in hindsight wasn't a good idea. It never quite cleared and coming back up was also extremely painful. Needless to say the dive was a tad murky but interesting and definitely made me feel secure again underwater and was a good refresher for knowing the scuba equipment. There was a lot of interesting coral on the wreck although not a lot of fish life; it was a good easy dive. My one ear still wouldn't clear when I got out of the water and I was beginning to think I may not be able to dive this trip. :- (
After a nice hot shower and a good clean up I came out to Captain Chris making his infamous Bloody Caesar which was absolutely delicious.
Everyone else liked them too; it was a nice little afternoon cocktail mixer at the back of the boat!
We were now heading to Starfish Beach where we would spend the afternoon and evening.
I guess normally it is a secluded beach but it was right during Carnivale and on a Sunday and there were quite a few people out enjoying the beach.
I'll admit that I had a little bit of perverse pleasure being the person in the beautiful catamaran that everyone else probably wanted to be! Ahhh...life is good.
We lounged on the front of the boat trying to soak up what little sun was poking through the clouds.
More boats kept arriving bringing party-goers from Bocas, it sounded like there was a quite a party going on at the shoreline.
Screw partying right now, time to anchor, just breathe and relax!
Lunch time! I love how lunch just magically appears on the table. Today we had freshly grilled salmon and salad with a Argentinean malbec wine. Yum!
Ali was prepping for dinner, Martha Stewart better watch out!
The afternoon was wide open so we decided to use one of the kayaks and go discovering near the mangroves by the shore.
I bought a new camera this trip, a little Olympus Stylus Tough that could handle water and banging around. It didn't take the greatest normal photos but I was looking forward to being able to use it in and around the water.
The mangroves at shore were pretty cool, under the water mussels and other things were growing on them, above water little crabs would scatter up the limbs of the mangroves.
We spotted a blue heron near the beach; the water was so shallow I walked over to try to get a closer look.
The water had made the sand have a pattern of ridges in this area.
There's the Explorer in the distance...
...and off we go, following Judy and Brian, fellow cruisers, towards another bay.
Paddling the kayak was so easy, probably because I was letting Keith do all the paddling since the water was so calm and we were just gliding along.
Wow are we still white!
Time to head back to the Explorer, a diet Coke and rum was calling my name!
Next on the to-do list, more taking it easy and lounging around.
It also was Valentine's Day and later Keith and I exchanged some pretty nice gifts for each other. Some of the other guests did as well, and our new friend Coy decided to also model his gift for everyone.
Trust me; this was the most decent photo I could find. It was a pretty funny afternoon on the boat, we all just hung out on the front of the Explorer and bonded with each other.
Shannon decided to be really brave and jump off the front of the boat. Kudos to her!
Uh oh, Coy found the red wine he'd been looking for last night...
BFF!
Yep, tonight we became a party boat as everyone relaxed and had a good time.
Dinner time!
This was the little torte I caught Ali making earlier, tomato and goat cheese torte with a drizzle of balsamic, very good!
It's rough having to wait a little for the next course when you are still enjoying the first one...
Dinner was pork roast, potatoes and some delicious gravy, yet another fabulous meal!
It was a really enjoyable evening out under the stars with hardly any lights around. We stayed out late again talking into the night with our new friends, Shannon and Coy.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 March 2010 )
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