Carnival and Travel in Panama

The last group of yachts to cross from the Atlantic to Pacific coast reached Flamenco Bay on Wednesday 6th February, and Suzan Nettleship's yacht arrived having been cruising down America's West coast which is where the yacht's homeport is.

There's been plenty of activity on the docks with repairs being made to many items; biminis, poles, cars, tracks, navigations systems, sails, and SSB radio sets are amongst the main attention seekers from Leg 1.

The five day long Carnival - a marathon session of partying before the sobriety of Lent - was enjoyed by many of the crews who headed into Panama City for the finale on Tuesday 5th, and a crew supper the next evening brought the pace back down to a more gentle tempo.

Word got out that Panama City is very good for shopping, especially if you come from a country whose currency is doing well against the US dollar. Crews have been taking advantage of a specially laid on bus service to provide a guilt free retail experience... the first part of the tour is given over to exploring the many faces of Panama City, topping up on local culture, lunching in local restaurants, buying souveniers locally made by the indigenous Indian peoples such as the Gnoba Bugles, Kunas, Taribas, and Chocoes... whilst the afternoon is set aside for the perusal of global brands in the quite enormous Allbrook shopping mall.

We've had crews day-tripping into the interior to visit some of those Indian tribes and the rain forests, and enjoy the cooler air of the mountains.

Although it's currently the dry season here in Panama, the humidity remains high and daytime temperatures are around 30 - 32 degrees celsius at sea level. And it seems that some of the World ARC sailors just can't get enough of being at sea, with the temptation of day-tripping by ferry to the nearby islands proving irresistible.

Carnival Panama - World ARC