STILL IN PANAMÁ CTY
Las Brisas de Amador anchorage, Panamá City, Panamá, Sunday, 09 August 2009

We are still at anchor here near the Pacific entrance to the Panamá Canal. We know for sure that we have an oil leak under the engine Several experienced cruisers including a German-trained mechanic and a well-seasoned French fisherman advised simply to leave, taking lots of spare oil with us. If the voyage were not so long, we might consider this. Costa Rica or Ecuador, perhaps. But, The Marquesas? 4,000 Nm.

To fix the leak will definitely require pulling the engine. The German mechanic, Henning, said he could do it but not sure when that will be as he is, first, busy on a project in Colón, and second, has pulled a muscle in his back and can hardly move. If we are in no hurry to leave for the South Pacific, that’s fine I guess since we have to save up a bit of lolly to pay him anyway.


Meanwhile, we let other options run through our minds: returning to Frankfurt; Kathleen finding an interesting music job; caretaking again somewhere interesting (even back to Rancho el Nogal, Mexico, where we had such a good time); settling somewhere interesting like Venice or Florence and starting from scratch. We keep coming back in our minds to Europe, though; we may have had enough of Third World countries for the time being.

But who knows. We might still head for the South Pacific, either now or in 2009.