We left Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador on an early morning high tide November 14th. We so enjoyed our months in the Bahia. The 'family' atmosphere of Puerto Amistad was so welcoming and the people living there very friendly. This is a super place for Summering over and a safe place to leave your boat while travelling inland or visiting home. It will remain one of our favourite spots. Icarian is once again in the anchorage called 'La Playita' in Panama City. It is so green here now as of course we have just finished the rainy season. Very beautiful! Our passage from Ecuador was great. It took us 5 days and 4 hours which is a very good time. We left Bahia with a SW wind about 12 knots and we had a steady reach for 4 days straight. Very little changes had to be made with the sails all we had to do was keep a look out for fishing boats and freighters. Our fifth day had no wind so we turned on the engine and continued into the Bay of Panama.
A highlight of this trip was the sighting of a big whale feeding on the surface. We are not sure if it was a Blue or a Humpback whale but it was waving it's pectoral flippers in the air and rolling over, just enjoying himself. We managed to get pretty close before he dove to find more feed. It is always so special to see these amazing creatures.
One evening on the passage we had a flock of a dozen tiny little land birds, like sparrows, come and spend the night. They flew down below to check out our living quarters but ended up snuggling down for the night huddled together under the dodger. They were so cute! At first light they were off again swooping over the waves.
The last few days have been dealing with officials. We have cleared with the Port Captain and Immigration and are now organizing our papers for transit of the Canal. We have been measured and inspected and this evening we should hear if we get the date, Dec. 12, that we requested. 
Our lists have been made and now the provisioning begins. Sure hope we don't forget anything!
Pix - Our good friend Janet in Bahia, colorful fishermen in the Bahia market and the new BC Ferry exiting the Panama Canal!
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