7th February 2012:
Yesterday was a productive day at last; we overhauled and re-assembled our Duogen (water/wind powered electricity generator). Amazingly it is now working and charging the batteries very quietly indeed. We also took delivery of our Autohelm and installed it. We even managed to top up the diesel tanks and motor-sail across to the Las Perlas islands!
So this morning we woke up at anchor in the most beautiful little anchorage, off a beach by the "Hotel Romantica" in Contadora, Las Perlas. We will have the rally briefing today and a wander around the island tomorrow, with the usual welcome drinks, dinners and parties, followed by the start of our next leg to Galapagos on Thursday at noon.
We have given up on getting the generator to work, so we have to hope the Duogen will meet our (fairly minimal) power needs. It has caused us pretty significant anguish and frustration, so we just have to get over it and move on without it. Panama was great in many ways (the tours, the night out with Christopher in the old town) - but so many things have gone wrong it has been a real test for us. We're feeling very positive about everything now though, and we're looking forward confidently to the Pacific crossing.
The terrace at the Hotel Romatica has an amazing view out across the bay, so it is a lovely place to have lunch and do some emailing; the fleet is anchored just off the beach so it really is idyllic (see the attached photo taken just a minute ago on the iPhone).
We are excited about the crossing to Galapagos; just the 36 mile skip across here from Panama made us realise how much we miss being at sea. And two and a half weeks in Galapagos is something we have been looking forward to for so long.