After about 4 days of quality time in Panama City (including a day at the mall, I'm embarassed to say - and hey all you cruisers in Panama, did you know the Albrook Mall has an ICE RINK? 2nd floor by the movie theatre), we flew to back to Bocas to see how Ute was faring and dump off some of the bags of goodies that Nancy hd been so kind to cart down for us all the way from Maine. (Tim, you owe us one on those 14 pounds of stainless steel bar. Aeroperlas did not smile upon us)

Ute is spending the month parked at the Bocas Marina, so that we could go off on these jaunts and know that she would be safe. It's a great spot and having land access, bathrooms, showers etc. for our guests is a major bonus. (check out Ute's new spot at http://www.bocasmarina.com/panorama/panoramic.html ). Daily happy hour at the cantina ain't a bad feature, either.

Bocas' big drawback? BUGS. the no-see-ums are absoultely merciless, totally indefatigable. little bastards, they are. so hanging out on the boat is an ballet of mosquito nets. You can't move too far without having to go over or through one. and they still get in!

even though there were only three of us on the boat, somehow it was just too cramped and buggy. I guess it was the rain and the bugs combined. All I know is it was driving me over the brink in a way it hasn't before or since, so I hatched a plan to head for the hills. After 2 shorts days in Bocas, we were on the move again - this time, we would take a water taxi, another water taxi, a land taxi, a bus, and then another taxi to make it over the Talamanca mountains to the Pacific coast city of David. It wasn't nearly as complicated as I've made it sound here, and the bus ride over the mountains was spectacular.