A weeklong charter on the Caribbean side of Panama ends and takes on a new life—on the Pacific side, at the entrance to the world-famous canal.
By
Cruising World Staff
Updated: February 22, 2013
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We kayaked into a narrow creek at Isla Colon.Elaine Lembo
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Yours truly can’t resist another typing session, even when aboard.Juliana Linsdell
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Elizabeth reaches in for a sample of the bounty of Starfish Beach.Elaine Lembo
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Rick Martell takes a dip in the cool waters of Bocas del Toro, Panama.Elaine Lembo
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Starfish, and more starfish, are everywhere you turn!Elaine Lembo
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A feather duster sways in the calm waters of the Hanging Gardens.Elaine Lembo
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Starfish are everywhere, even at the Hanging Gardens.Elaine Lembo
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Elizabeth is caught in a starfish shower.Elaine Lembo
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Rick and Elaine relax in the hammocks.Juliana Linsdell
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How could I resist an onboard hammock?Juliana Linsdell
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Delicious meals like this one, skewered teriyaki chicken and coconut rice, were presented round the clock on this charter.Elaine Lembo
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Sarah Gignoux-Wolfsohn conducts tests on coral to assist in her research of white band disease, which has destroyed up to 95 percent of Elkhorn and Staghorn coral throughout the Caribbean.Elaine Lembo
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A carrier approaches the Bridge of the Americas; boats moored at the Balboa Yacht Club anchorage are in the foreground.Elaine Lembo
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Captain Paul shows the Linsdell girls the day’s itinerary, using charts of the Bocas del Toro area.Elaine Lembo
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Elizabeth makes friends with Freddie the Gecko.Elaine Lembo
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Trade Winds Explorer rests at anchor while its crew explores the Cerutti cacao plantation and chocolate factory.Elaine Lembo
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Dave Cerutti offers up fresh seeds from a cacao pod he’s just cracked open, he says, “like an egg.” He swears that this “is the best way to eat chocolate.”Elaine Lembo
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The Explorer crew and guests walk the Cerutti property.Elaine Lembo
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Cacao seeds dry in the hot Panama sun.Elaine Lembo
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The Spastic Sea Slugs perform a nighttime light show.Elaine Lembo
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CW editor Elaine Lembo kayaks to the mangroves on a hunt for the elusive three-toed sloth.Elaine Lembo
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Diehard sailors, the Linsdell family grab as much time outdoors and on the water as work and school schedules allow.Elaine Lembo
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A sailboat motors through commercial craft with the dramatic Panama City skyline in the background.Elaine Lembo
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Any sailor with her salt can’t miss a visit to the Balboa Yacht Club off the entrance to the Amador Causeway.Elaine Lembo
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Bill Nokes and Barbara Wade of the Gulfstar 41 Someday rent a mooring from the Balboa Yacht Club when they need to reprovision and do boat work.Elaine Lembo