February 3, 2013

The Panama Canal

So we talked about it, planned it and worried about it for so long that the actual Canal transit seemed like an absolute doddle (does this remind anyone of all our talk of the Bay of Biscay?). We had decided to use a canal agent as our month in the…

December 6, 2012

On crazy monkeys, hungry bats and lost camels…

Isla Linton is a sweet little island with a huge anchorage almost entirely occupied by French or German boats. Strange, first we found Bocas to be full of Americans, now Linton is full of the French – are there any Panamanians in Panama??? This huge…

March 21, 2012

Many hands make light work

Sint Maarten / St Martin is dual owned Dutch and French even though it’s only a tiny island. It’s an absolute boating mecca as the Caribbean’s two biggest chandlery stores are based here so it’s the best place to stock up on any spare parts etc that…

February 4, 2012

The French Caribbean

Martinique, our playground for the last week or so was a strange beast. Imagine everything that you have pictured in your mind about a tropical Caribbean island; then add the rastas, resplendent with their dreadlocks and spliffs; include the…

December 14, 2011

Gibraltar, Smir, Ceuta and Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

So we left Queensway Quay Gibraltar and Lis and Paul, our friends who joined us there, waved goodbye to what used to be their home. Next stop, Smir in Morocco to do a quick lesson in power handling, courtesy of Paul. We wanted to make sure that…

November 11, 2011

Escapees and explorers

We have sailed up the Rio Guadiana, a river which acts as part of the border between Portugal and Spain. It's a lovely spot and we've been here for a couple of days. It was recommended to us by Tom Meyer, who we met when anchoring at Alvor. He said…