From: John Barbie [jbarbie11@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 1:53 PM
To: rutharras@yahoo.com
Subject: The Famed Balboa Yatch Club

Hi again,

It hasnīt been long since our last email so this will
be brief but we do think it is a landmark to have
reached the Panama Canal.  Actually upon entering the
canal and looking for The Balboa Yatch Club (we still
canīt figure out where the Club part comes in) we
almost missed it and were about to go under The Bridge
of the Americas which would have been a $1000 fine. 
Fortunately we recognized so many boats in the
anchorage before the bridge that we did a few U-turns
and discovered we had reached our final destination.  

Our trip from Golfito began plodding against the
current at 1 mile an hour for 10 miles with a
lightning storm approaching.  It took 2 hours to watch
a tree pass on adjacent land and much less to get
drenched by rain.  Thatīs when I decided that on our
next journey south we will buy vespas and probably
make better time...  We spent the next 5 days in
windless seas littered with large freighters and
blanketed by humid rain bearing clouds.  Fortunately
our new video camera kept us entertained and John
spent the better part of 5 days filming each and every freighter that passed (some daringly close).  On our approach to Panama City we wove through a parking lot of freighters and made it to our final destination, the Balboa Yatch Club where apart from cold drinks and cold showers, has absolutely no amenities.  

We have already attacked the streets of this
unquestionably unique city with voracity.  We love the
old colonial neighborhood which has stood the test of
time but unfortunately without the same affluence
prominent when the buildings were erected in the late
1800s.  It is strange to see epic hotels converted
into housing projects and colonial churches used as
basketball courts.  Of course John wants to buy a
building thus becoming a true īslumlord' by riding the coat-tails of my Panamanian dual citizenship.  We hope to get a chance to visit some of the country side which is home to native Indians, Spanish, Swiss, French, Africans (you name it, the influence is here).  If we donīt succeed weīll return in a few years with a metal detector because John wants to find hidden Inca treasures buried by pirates like Scott and Drake.
 

Did I say it would be a short email?  I guess I type
as much as I talk.  My apologies and I wish I could
send photos to back up my observations.  

We will be transiting the canal in about a week and
then we are shooting north to Honduras and Belize.  

Regards from Panama,

Ruth, John, and Spot (now healed and on four legs)



	
		
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