Panama

October 2012

Volcan Baru

3 October 2012

Early morning at the summit of Volcan Baru, 3474 m.

The clouds below, like the waves of an ocean.

Cold! We arrived one hour before sunrise…

The sun slowly rising in the east, over the Carribbean Sea and the cellular towers on Volcan Baru.

Clouds over the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Finally a bit warmed up!

Loma – Jungle Lodge and Chocolate Farm

4-6 October 2012

Waking up early morning in our jungle hut at Loma. Our hut has no walls and only a mosquito net is separating us from the jungle, the sweet fresh air and the sounds of the cicadas, the birds, the monkeys and the big banana palm leaves rustling in the wind. It is fantastic! It is like sleeping outside in a tree-house but in a luxurious bed and with a hot shower!

The hut by daylight….

Our view over the jungle and the sea.

Path leading to the hut.

Details…

The Loma cacao farm – green cacao pod.

Ripe, red cacao pod.

Cacao tree at Loma.

A walk around the Loma property…

It is the rainy season and everything is incredibly green.

My favourite strange flower – red with bright blue berries/seeds!

Heliconias.

The Loma chicken under the heliconias.

Lucho giving Marco a swing. In the background the kitchen where the most delicious food is prepared for the guests.

Riding a canoe up the nearby creek.

One of the small dug-out canoes which the locals navigate without problems.

We had to give up on the dug-out canoes and went instead in the nice and stable ocean going kayaks!

Toro Seduto exploring the jungle of Panama!

The Panama Canal

7 October 2012

A rusty Maersk Line ship entering the Miraflores locks on the Panama Canal! In the background, more ships are waiting their turn. The canal is 77 km long and connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. It takes some 8-10 hours for a ship to pass through the canal.

Safety First! The small locomotives along the side of the ship helps to keep it steady in the narrow lock and to prevent it from bumping into either sides.

Exiting the Miraflores locks to the West, the ships are now entering the Pacific Ocean.

Panama City

8-9 October

View to the ships exiting/waiting to enter the Panama Canal.

The beautiful renovated old part of Panama City in Spanish colonial style.

Outside the tourist destination of the old town, Panama City is a chaotic and not very pretty mix of old, new, rich, poor.

Shipping Frida from Panama to Colombia

10 October 2012

Today was the big day when Frida was going into the container for the shipment from Colon, Panama to Cartagena, Columbia. Here arriving to the port in Colon.

Double checking the paperwork.

On the scale, checking the weight!

The two Defenders, ready to go in the container.

Frida squeezing herself into the container!

Securing Frida so she will not move around.

Locking up everything.

Ready to go! Both Defenders secured in the container.

Closing and sealing the container for the shipment.

With Fritz and Jacqueline from Panama to Colombia through the San Blas Islands

11-15 October 2012

We sailed from San Blas, Panama to Cartagena, Colombia on board the catamaran Jacquelin. Our Land Rover Frida and Thomas’s Land Rover covered the same stretch of sea by container vessel from Colon to Cartagena.

Beautiful San Blas Islands – approximately 375 islands of which only 49 are inhabited.