at last sailing san blas..

Headed for our first stop...still under motor

Typical of the islands of San Blas...isolated and beautiful...

Crystal clear and awaiting my exploration...next purchase...

an underwater camera...

We're not alone... apparently this is a meeting place for boats to hook up and party.. What fun! I'll bring the Rum...

after a morning of sailing it's time for lunch...Simonetta is making the best potato gnocchi I have had in a very long time...and in a galley of a boat... she's a master at Italian cuisine and why not she is from Florence Italy... after hours of diving or sailing... I looked forward to her next shipboard creations... Yum! you should try her coffee...Italian percolator with frothy hot milk...I can't wait to go back...

 Alfonso and Bruna, my mates on board...lovely couple from Spain and Brazil living in NYC

after a great lunch it's time for a siesta on an isolated beach in the sand or own private hammock

if you need a rinse... here a fresh water pool..big enough for one... maybe two if you are friendly..

beach scenes...I walked the island before finding a resting spot to contemplate...silence

 from my towel I could watch the pilgrimage of the hermit crabs making their way to an open coconut...what a feast!

natures design...shells I thought would make an interesting wedding cake design...maybe 3 tiers only

our launch awaits...

time to go back and board the Dream..in more than one way...a hui hou...

San Blas...Day 1 false start...

Things to know when traveling as a tourist in Panama...before three months are up you have to leave the country for at least 72 hrs and then re-enter...or when you do leave you have to take a cab to Immigration office on Ave. Cuba and spend 3 hrs (if you are lucky) getting copies of your passport, new photos, and finger printed BEFORE you are allowed to leave the country... oh don't forget the $50 / mo fee for extending your stay... here I am in the back of the cab going back to fetch my luggage at the airport...Thumb black from the fresh ink of my fingerprint 

Dawn at Air Panama... Beware of Panamanian Holidays... to complete the story of yesterday...Air Panama took my boarding pass when they turned me away and sent me to immigrations.. when I returned the next day it was the 4th Holiday to be celebrated by Panama.. their freedom from Spain... no one I recognized was working from the day before was in yet... mind you it's 5am to catch the 6am flight to Corazon de Jesus a small  the island air strip in San Blas... from there I will board a launch(a?) to be taken to the anchorage of the Dream, a beautiful mono-hull I will be guest on for the next 3 days

(pardon the photo my lens was fogged up...)
Group of guest awaiting their launch... they had inflatables..I had a carved out canoe.. resemblant of the 5 man canoes in Hawaii with a motor...too much fun... 
my adventure had begun finally! 

It looked seaworthy enough.. he was preparing my luggage to keep it from getting wet...next was the 6mil plastic sheeting I was wrapped in... it kept my camera dry...I on the other hand was drenched...laughing the entire time thinking it had to be this way...   it was perfect!

I was in good hands...as we crossed over what seemed to be an endless stretch of water.

 Getting closer to the Dream... they were waiting for me to arrive.

My captain and "weathers" (protective plastic gear)

Bruna was the first to greet me.. a lovely gal traveling with her charming husband Alfonso.. she is Danish and he is Spanish... what a lovely couple...
we had met in the airport the day earlier...

Alfonso and Bruna...shipmates visiting from NYC

as I said goodbye to my trusted guide...I dried off and settled in for breakfast...the best coffee I think I have ever tasted...