It is mid October and Brian and Marilyn are all set to return to Ecuador and Icarian. Our daughter Melanie was wed to James in Vancouver on October 6th and the wedding was a huge success. Marilyn made the wedding dress (a real labour of love) which turned out to be just what the bride wanted - a huge relief! It was wonderful to be part of this special event and so satisfying to see everyone so happy.
Weddings mean getting together with family and friends and we really got to enjoy everyone this year.
While Marilyn was home with her sewing project, Brian was doing maintenance on Icarian. Her teak decks are now in good shape with all the plugs replaced and hopefully sealed.Some mechanical maintenance was also in order and now we are set for another year of cruising.
Our plan is to be back on board by about the 20th of October where we will spend a few weeks getting all the systems like the fridge and freezer up and running again. We will need to do a major re-provisioning with a departure date around mid November. Our plan is to once again head towards the Western Islands of Panama as this route has proved to be very favourable. Then on to Panama City where we will start planning our transit of the Panama Canal. Hopefully this will happen about mid December and we can celebrate Christmas on the Caribbean side.
We plan to spend most of this cruising season in the San Blas Islands, which number over 300, and then summer over in Cartagena Colombia next year.
So that is it from here. We are excited to be on to year number 4 and will keep you all posted as we go.
Happy Cruising!
PS...yes that is black steam puffing out of the volcano just outside Banos, Ecuador
