“The Dolphin – considered to be the strongest fish and believed to be the carrier of the soul across the waters to the world beyond.”

Having left Punta Mala to Moody Blues’  port quarter, we were cruising along nicely, resting in preparation of an overnighter and reminiscing about our charismatic friend Toni Whisenhunt who passed away exactly one long year ago. Silently I wished for a sign from her, when suddenly a herd of Bottlenosed Dolphin appeared. Hallelujah!

Toni’s special gift can be seen in the photograph below. I believe it is a mama dolphin having just given birth to a baby dolphin. All I can say is it didn’t seem to slow the mama down and the baby held on tight. It was phenominal. But that wasn’t all from Toni. That night when I was on my watch gazing up at the clear, starfull night sky, a brilliant shooting star blazed by like a smile. It was Toni’s charming smile. I smiled too. 

(This post is dedicated to Bob, Little Mother, & Sister-Sisters, and all who also loved the alluring Toni.) 

SOMETIMES YOU HAVE to put the peddle to the metal and GO! This is how we got around Punta Mala—Bad Point—Panama. We put full sails up and flew.

(This post is dedicated to my brother Mark who’s getting set to walk his daughter, Erin Mae, down the aisle. You GO bro!)

PUNTA MALA (Bad Point) can be no easy feat, and that’s where we were heading. Think of Pt. Conception, California, Lookout Point, Oregon, Cabo Corrientes, Mexico, and you have Punta Mala, Panama. We planned to “stage” ourselves from Naranjo Cove in the SW corner of the Azuero Peninsula. The Azuero Peninsula has old growth tall trees and dense jungle, but apparently the interior is bald. Fortunately six ecological parks are now on the Peninsula. Naranjo Cove is and 65 nautical miles (nm) from Punta Mala and only 29 nm from where we had spent the night in a calm anchorage just east of the Puerto Viejo Village on Isla Gobernadora.

About two-thirds across the unnamed strait we reach Naranjo Cove as the squall hits.

Two other boats were in the small cove, so we couldn’t get tucked in.

It poured and we bounced land rolled like crazy. But we managed to collect a lot of fresh, sweet rainwater. Why are we collecting rainwater when we have a water maker?  I won’t go there . . .