We left Golfito on Saturday, with our new crewman - Canaan. We felt rested and much better than when we had arrived. We hadn't planned on staying for eight days, but it turned out to be the perfect place to rest and get well. It was great to see Neville and Maggie on Blue again.
Because of our anchor situation, the timing (so far behind our planned trip through the canal) and the prohibitive cost in Panama we decided to head quickly to Panama City and get through the canal as soon as we can.
There are supposedly beautiful marine parks here. The problem is that they charge you $60 per night for the boat to anchor, then an extra $20 per person. So that's $100 per day for a cruising couple - WOW! According to the cruising guide, they are supposed to lower these outrageous fees.
In speaking with our new friend Eddie, who has been cruising for over eight years, he recommended not clearing in and out of Panama. He said it best "You're in transit. Do you think all of those commercial ships going through clear in and clear out their entire crew?" Since we plan to head north as soon as we go through the canal, it doesn't make sense to do the "paperwork cha cha". The fees to go through the canal are high enough. Once we base in Florida, we can always come back to Panama and cruise this area.