Oh Panama!
Oh, how beautiful Panama is.
After more than five months, Anja left the Yum Yum and continued her journey as a backpacker. It was an amazing, eventful, and fun time. Thank you! After that, I spent a few days alone on board at the Linton Bay marina. The days were filled with maintenance work, repairs, and cleaning the entire boat. I crossed items off the to-do list, but the more I crossed off, the more seemed to pop up. It showed me once again just how much time has to be invested to keep the boat in good shape. Afterward, I headed to Colon for two days to have the boat measured for the Panama Canal. Yes, that’s right—every recreational boat is still measured by hand. Boats under 50 feet qualify for a “lower” price, though USD 850 for the transit is still a hefty sum. The transit fees and a security deposit equal to double the transit fee must be paid in person at the bank counter in Colón. Colón is one of the most dangerous cities in the world; no gringo (white person) would willingly wander around this area. That made me feel all the more uneasy trudging through the city with so much money in my pocket. I quickly got off the bus, hopped into a taxi, and headed to the bank. It was a strange feeling once everything was taken care of. The Pacific—the vast Pacific—is so close. Europe will soon be a damn long way away. Now there’s no turning back; I’m going through the canal.
But before heading through the canal, I spent a few weeks with a rotating crew enjoying the stunning San Blas archipelago (also known as Kuna Yala), which consists of about 360 islets. The first two weeks, however, were marked by frequent thunderstorms. Never in my life have I seen so many flashes of lightning per minute. At times, there were up to 40 flashes per minute, and the entire sky was brightly lit. A lightning strike on the boat—or even in the water 100 meters away—can be fatal for all the electronic devices on board (here’s a short video). Whatever could be saved was stowed in the oven, since it served as a galvanic cage and is protected from high voltages. So I’d have to get up in the middle of the night, gather up the devices, and put them in the oven—and this happened more than once.
Although there was nothing we could do about it, sleep was out of the question on those nights. That uneasy feeling lingered, and every time thunder struck, my heart would skip a beat for a fraction of a second. But after two weeks of thunderstorms and heavy rain, we were rewarded with weeks of sunshine. We swam and snorkeled in the crystal-clear water, caught fish and octopuses with a speargun (If a shark approached, I was back on board in a flash...), paddled around the islands on a SUP, or simply enjoyed life. Check out the two drone videos for yourselves to see how amazing it was; no more words are needed.
- Chichime Island from above
- A day on a dreamlike island
At the end of December, we finally made our way through the Panama Canal. Every boat needs four line handlers in addition to the captain. On top of that, the two-day journey is accompanied by a Panama Canal advisor.
On December 18 at 1700, we finally set off; the advisor came on board, and we began our journey to the first of three locks. In the dark, we mastered the first two locks without any problems, though not without a certain amount of nervousness. It’s quite impressive to be hoisted up through the lock as a small sailboat behind a huge tanker. At the third and final lock of the day, things suddenly got hectic. Instead of being directed to the left side of the wall as planned, we were ordered to the opposite right side. Before we had even fully secured the boat, water was already pouring in; the bow of the Yum Yum was pressed against the wall, and I was helpless at the helm. My crew tried to push the boat away from the wall, with limited success given the force of the water. Fortunately, only the anchor sustained a few scratches; the rest of the boat was unharmed. We were very lucky! We spent the night at a buoy in Gatun Lake, which lies 26 meters above sea level. The next day, we motored—sailing is prohibited—for five hours across the lake and through the canal itself, which is about 29 kilometers long. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t quite on our side, and we got a little wet at times. We went through the three locks on the other side, in the Pacific, together in a group with another sailboat. Behind us, however, was a huge car carrier. It was impressive to see such a monster right behind the little Yum Yum. Hopefully, this will be the only time I see a freighter like this so close to the Yum Yum. At 4:38 p.m., the last lock opened, and for the first time, the Yum Yum glided into the waters of the Pacific. Of course, we toasted the occasion!
After that, we headed to Punta Chame for a few days—the hotspot for kitesurfers. Of course, we couldn’t resist unpacking our own kite gear and getting out on the board ourselves. Thanks to Thierry’s kind help—it was practically like having a kite instructor on board—I made huge progress in no time.
The four of us—four Swiss guys—spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve on the Las Perlas Islands. But we never really got into the Christmas spirit. How could we, with temperatures over 30 degrees and a sandy beach? We did, however, cook ourselves a delicious meal and enjoyed several evenings with our friends from the sailing yacht Seatramp. The rum also flowed freely. Another highlight for me was a simple BBQ with a campfire on a secluded beach, far away from any sign of civilization. It proved once again that it’s not the place that matters, but the people you’re with. Here’s a short video.
Coming up next: Preparing for the Pacific, from Panama to Ecuador.
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