Day 141, Year 1: Final Preparation for Galapagos Crossing
Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Air Temperature: 83 degrees F
Water Temperature: 68 degrees F
Location: Rio Cacique, Isla Del Ray, Las Perlas Islands, Panama

We are still here in the Rio Caciques anchorage off the east side of Isla Del Ray, Las Perlas, Panama. I named yesterday’s log “The Land of the Pelican” and it is certainly that. Today there were more than 200 pelicans sitting beside our boat. They looked as it they were just taking a rest between fishing, and indeed, I think that is what they were doing. I’m so glad we stopped here and have been able to enjoy this special place. Tomorrow morning near high tide, we are going to take our dinghy into the Rio Cacique. Supposedly you can turn off your engine and ride the tide in and enjoy the sounds of the birds and other animals along the shore. After that, we plan to dinghy down to the village of Esmeralda. It is a fishing village and we are just interested in how the people here live.

Tomorrow will be our last day in the Las Perlas as we plan an early departure on Thursday morning for the Galapagos. We will have a full moon during our passage and will cross the equator as we get close to the Galapagos. We will probably cross the equator a day or two after the full moon on March 14, but it will still be a very special experience. Today Mark finished his varnishing job and I worked on the provisioning end. I had invited Sylvia from Windcastle over today to learn how to make bread and we did that and more. We were able to make 3 loaves of banana bread using the over ripe bananas from our banana stalk, 4 loaves of Handley whole wheat bread so that each of us will start our trip with 2 loaves, and we made a loaf of Wheat Germ Bread from the KISS Cookbook that was quick, easy, and delicious. We (meaning Aqua Magic and ourselves) had dinner aboard Windcastle tonight and we all sampled the new bread recipe. It was a big hit, and I have copied the recipe for Windcastle and Aqua Magic. We all agree that we will probably be making more of this easy bread during our crossing. I’ve copied the recipe below for anyone interested.

After our adventures tomorrow morning, we will double check everything to make sure we are ready to leave for the Galapagos. We had one fatality today that we will have to deal with. Our solar shower bag on the back of the boat has developed a leak and a faulty spray nozzle. Without this, we have no outside fresh water wash down, and this is really necessary when snorkeling. We have to figure out a fix for this, but otherwise, I think we are ready for take off. I’ll report in tomorrow night to let you know if we found other things that must be done before we leave.

060307 Day 141 Panama–Rio Cacique Anchorage, Las Perlas