Arriving in Panama
I arrived in Panama after yet another gruelling flight and thanked god that I wouldn’t be flying home. If I see one more pair of aeroplane socks I think I’m going to cry. Even though I declared my Tim Tams at customs, the customs men didn’t want to see them, they ushered me through the arrivals gates. I saw James right away, he was looking for me. He was a lot browner and skinnier than the James I remembered from two months ago. Still as handsome as ever, holding a bunch of roses, he spotted me. It was good to see him!
I soon realised that I didn’t speak a word of Spanish. Actually, all I could say was ‘donde est a los banos?’ (Where is the bathroom)? In the taxi on the way to Shelter Bay Marina, after much asking on James’s part, the driver put on some Bachata music. It was a two-hour drive from the airport in Panama City to the Marina, which is close to panama’s other major city Colon.
We were in the middle of a highway surrounded by dirt mounds and rainforest when we heard a loud ‘POP’. It was one of our rear tyres. The driver stopped the car and had a look. When I saw the look on his face, I knew we had a problem. He got in the car and started the engine up. He was trying to tell us why he didn’t want to stop and wait for help but I couldn’t quite work out what he was trying to say. His hand gestures were alarming to say the least, first he had his hands wrapped around his neck and looked as if he was chocking himself, then he put his hand to his head in the shape of a gun. I looked to James for some clarity and he said that the driver was worried that if we stopped, bandits would come and kill us. Soon enough the hub of the wheel had cut through the floppy rubber of the tyre and was scraping along the gravel. I don’t think any of us had any idea what we were going to do. We were miles from any help…Or so we thought. As we rounded a bend we saw a truck, which had stopped on the side of the road for a pee break. They signalled to us that they had a spare tyre. We were saved!
Finally we arrived at Shelter bay and I got my first real look at the beautiful, buoyant Dagmar!
James had done a lot of work on her before I saw her. He had her in the water a day before I arrived. I soon found that he had already acquired a reputation around the marina. People who I met would say, “He sure is a hard worker” or “How is our hard worker going today?” The job he did was pretty amazing, especially considering he was out there sometimes all day in the 38-degree heat!
James has not only worked hard but he has also done a fantastic job on the projects he has taken on, just take a look at the before and after shots of Dagmar's mast!
-Posted by Isabelle
