Well my last week has been out of the ordinary. I’ve been driving a big fancy SUV (Ford Everest), eating at restaurants, shopping, and having a ball.
I took Sandra (Momma D) to see some beach front property and we ended up doing some real four wheeling through some pretty deep mud…, too much fun! 
Sandra thinks I drive too fast and screamed “we gonna’ die” a few times, we had lots of laughs. The funniest thing to me was when we were driving to my friend Jim & heather’s property for his birthday party. We had a few cocktails before the party and Sandra had an epiphany. She looked at me quite seriously, shrouded in realization and said…, “I like tequila the best”!
The picture was taken from the balcony of my friend Binnie’s house. Sandra is an acting teacher and owns Dorsey Studios & Theatre for the performing arts www.dorseystudios.com , too cool :) Sandra, your a great lady, thanks for visiting!
The second picture is of my friend Jim (left) and the other of Heather at her awesome “Piggie” mud oven, great place to cook pizzas!!! I have good friends here in Panama :)
For the majority of the time Sandra stayed with Binnie here in Puerto Lindo. Binnie 
has a really spectacular home over looking the bay with a few guest houses that are very comfortable with kitchens, satellite TV, and air conditioning.
After that we stayed in a very nice hotel on the Panama Canal watching the ships pass from the balcony. Momma D spoiled me a bit and bought me a really nice hour massage at the hotel. My back feels so much better. This is one of the things I miss about having a steady income stream, some of the luxury items :)
Speaking of which If I have any Yogis reading who are interested in a charter and 
can get me on a better tract with my yoga your welcome to visit, I like barter :)
I must say I found the amount of television I watched poisons. It was in many of the restaurants , malls, and hotel rooms. When I had command of the remote I would always end up on MTV, the discovery channel, national geographic, or the travel channel. Fox & CNN and for the birds. If “ignorance is bliss”, I hope to become more ignorant to the atrocities being committed in the world. I don’t want this “programming” (news?) poisoning my soul. I much prefer the sound of wind, water, the jungle, or music.
In spite of the television I feel refreshed and ready to get back to focusing on my beautiful little ship. Its a big week coming up. I’ll be painting the name “Splendid” on the stern, re-installing the stanchions aft of the cockpit along with the solar panels, netting, and non-skid. I also need to install the deck hardware and hand rails. Within two weeks I should have everything aft of the cockpit done!!!!!!
After that I will focus mid-ship port & starboard, and then throw some more paint on the bow. I will be stocking up on supplies with the last of my funds and heading to San Bas to avoid the northers that turn Puerto Lindo into a lee shore in October/November.
The question that keeps rolling around in my head is, will I be able 
to go voyaging in March? I don’t get stresses about it anymore as I know I will follow the path I’m meant to but I do find the idea exciting! There is so much to see in the world and I really do want to see as much as I can.
Well guys, I’m really happy to be home and need to get to work :)
Well I just updated the blog. I was going to just paint over a stencil for “Splendid” but it didn’t work so well. I used it as an outline, took it off and had to hand paint the rest. Its a bit rough & crooked but it suits me and I like it :-)
Cheers.
Sail far & live slowly!
alex
Well there you have it. Sounds like a great week and your Spirit is up and running. Good times, R&R and good friends make life so much more enjoyable.
My Mom didn’t tell me to get a massage once or twice a month when I was a kid either, but I’ve learned that I’m much better having one now and then to get my body in shape.
The name looks great. Splendid is coming along just fine. You seem to be on the right track and I look forward to your book, when you have time to write. I’ll sell it on my site too.
So take care. Another couple of months of watching the hurricanes roll through and then it will be back to work for me. Can’t wait.
Be safe my friend and stay in touch.
Capt. Paul
s/v Panacea
so glad you’re looking back out to the horizon!
I got an email in to the site guys, the second picture of the name on the stern is blocking some of the text but if you just select that chunk of the site and paste it into like an email or word doc you should be able to read around it)
I like the name stencil the way it is.
it’s a keeper.
i’m preparing for crewing/delivery work in the next couple of months, and possibly another cruise ship job with globaltec for december, then i’ll be off to Guatemala for a scumbag sailor workshop. i have to learn some young scummy sailors like myself a thing or two about a thing or two, and do some serious fishing. :D
i’ll be down in panama before next ‘cane season, but it seems like you’ll be gone by then.
lame!
Well I fixed the blog, strange ?
Man, I’m kind of bumm’n. I think I took some
lightning while I was away. The fuses on my solar
charge controllers are blown and I can’t keep the bank over 12v’s, arrrrgggg!!!!! My batteries are fried :(
went to Colon today and bought
more paint and scheduled a little med procedure for next Tuesday, no fun. I’m Hopeing to have a
sunny weekend to lay down some paint.
Man I love this place :) Panama ROCKS!!!
Hi Alex
I just finished watching your latest video and you were talking about your bike purchase. I think it’s a great way to see the countries you visit. You said you could lift it your self so how much does it weigh? I’m also thinking about loading a bike on my boat as well
regards Steve
Koolekat,
The bike weighs about 235 pounds, about 25 more than me. Funny thing when I was in Panama city I saw that Yamaha is still selling the DT 175 here in Panama, 3k brand new. However If I had my druthers I’d look at a dual purpose bike around 350 – 450 cc as I’m really pushing the DT175 on the freeway (+/- 45mph). With a bigger bike I could do things like tour S. America and camp all for about 45 MPG, pretty cool! I like the Yamaha XT350 262 lbs dry weight and easily rides at 70 – 80 MPH.
I’m going to make chalks on the deck for the tires to fit into, then 4 wratchet straps going to stainless eyes on deck. The whole bike will be covered by a sunbrella cover and water tight. I’m going to stow it port-side mid-ship, where I need the weight. It is easily hoisted by a halyard and is deployable to either a dock or small launch. I can higher a launca here for five bucks each way.
I’m really enjoying having a bike. It would be cool to sail and motorbike around the world at the same time, that’s kind of turning into the plan :) The motorcycle is becoming more important in my life traveling. I’ve traveled over half the world and done next to nothing inland, the motorcycle is the key to a fuller travel experience for me :)
Good luck, let me kn ow if you get a bike.
Look what I found in Panama:
http://www.encuentra24.com/panama-en/cars-auto-trucks-motorcycles/vendo-moto-xt350-en-buenas-condisiones/1242842
I’m going to have a chat with a guy who might want to buy my DT, basically I can sell it for the same price as the owner of the XT seems pretty negotiable? Its a 5 hour bus ride away tho, shopping for anything in Panama is difficult. I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday but if I can pull a few bucks togeter I might try to upgrade to the XT350. I i get it I will take it to Costa Rica as i have to check out of the country.
S&M baby (sailboats & motorcycles)!!!!!
Hi Alex! I have a question. I’m looking at a professionally built (well known canadian shipyard), ferro cement boat.
Price is great, and boat has been extremely well cared for. Its ready to go. What are your thoughts? I have heard good and bad on ferrocement, depending on who and how they were built. Do you see many out there? This boat is beautiful, but I’ve only been with fiberglass.
And it has room even for a bike. :) THat bike in your link looks great. BTW Cheers!
Mark,
I have no experience with cement boats however personally i would never own one, and no, i don’t see many cruising. Maybe someone else has some input? Cement boats always seemed like a bad idea to me. I wanted to buy one years back it was so cheap, but my intention was to strip it and find another hull. It had lots of good gear.
Cheers