Whew! We've been busy doing a few repairs (normal for a cruising boat) and getting in some local adventures as well.

    Nancy helped Rick and Sue (SV Moonshine) as they got ready to leave for home in New York, Nancy sewed a cover for an air conditioner to vent into the hatch and help keep the humidity down as well. Rick had Nancy "Miss Windfall" sign the newest edition of Cruising Outpost as Nancy is one of it's centerfold pictures! Congrats to my Centerfold girl, Nancy! 

 

Nice job Sue and Nancy, that looks like a Professional made it!

    Made special for the Bocas Fire Department a classic 1928 fire pumper-truck. This "special" pumper-truck carries a full copper pump, copper tank, and copper pipes to pump salty sea water to the fire. (note the wood spoke wheels and hard tires)

   For Windfall, Nancy has made a nice Sun shade / Water catchment to to help cool the inside of the boat AND catch the rain water to fill our water tanks during the rainy times. This works great! And, to help keep the inside of the boat cool she made a wind catcher to direct the breeze into the V-birth hatch. Mike and Janet said it worked great while they were aboard...except when it rained and they had to close the hatch! We're looking for a new design to let wind in yet keep the rain out.

Sun shade/Water catchment (under the boom) and wind catcher for the front hatch. (Those are our bikes in the blue bags).

 Colorful Wounaan treasures that Nancy keeps on display inside Windfall

     We took a trip to the Finca los Monos (The Monkey Farm) Botanical Garden, a 30 acre area filled with plants from all over the world. It was beautiful with the flowers, trees, and many ginger plants, some ginger is eatable while others are just beautiful to look at.The Monkey Farm was true to it's name, we spotted several groups of Howler Monkeys, one with a new baby. With a sharp eye out, we spotted a couple Sloths lounging in the crook  a very tall tree about 70 feet up in the air, one Sloth had a small baby hanging on for dear life I'm sure!

Garden owner, Lynn, guided us on a two hour tour of the gardens, she has an experienced crew to help tend the gardens

Damage from a Rhinoceros beetle to a palm tree

A pretty Torch Ginger flower

Passion Fruit (Maracuya) and it's DEE-licious...when mixed with RUM...of course!

     We were sad to see Rick and Sue leave for home, we've sailed many miles together and had some wonderful adventures from Mexico to Panama. They plan to return next January to continue onto the Rio Dulce area of Guatemala. We hope to see them again. Fair winds and full sails Moonshine!

"Ahh Mate, THAT'S not a knife....THIS is a Knife!"

 Our propane ran out! "No problemo" I said (with Spanish accent) we carry two tanks aboard, then I found the "full tank" was not working...the propane's valve wouldn't function and we had to send both tanks to get filled and repaired. So, off to the local hardware store to buy a microwave to fill in while the tanks are away. Rick and Sue loaned us their propane tank till our's returns...which WAS to be one week, but now we hear it may be TWO weeks! Thanks for the tank Rick!
     This morning, we got a call from the Marina office that our new anchor chain and 7 new batteries arrived and will all be delivered Monday! Whew!! Now there's some work waiting for us on Monday. We not only have to remove and install the seven new batteries, but we also have to remove our old chain, stretch out the 250 feet of NEW anchor chain onto the dock and mark the depths with spray paint and colored wire-ties, then wind all the new chain into the chain locker. Monday is going to be busy for the crew of Windfall for sure. Oh, and now the kitchen faucet leaks...and just to give me something to do, it can't be repaired but has to be replaced! Sheesh! Who said the cruising life is easy, I just want those red sunsets and fruity tropic drinks with the umbrellas!
    We got word our friend, Donna, a 70 year old cruiser who lives full-time aboard her boat in Panama City, is going to be here in the Bocas Marina today! She's coming to visit a friend and asked if we'd introduce ourselves to him, come to find out he's at the end of the same dock we're on! Small world for sure. We'll meet them for dinner at the marina's Calypso Cantena here, the cantena has wonderful food, cheap drinks, and live music once or  twice a week...plus, the new managers live on their boat docked right in front of Windfall!We love it here!
     Bocas del Toro is a fun little place, a great cruising community, and wonderful places nearby to swim, dive, or sail to for a day if you like. Many cruisers have come for a week and ended up staying for years! We talked with a cruiser who were setting sails for Florida who said they really don't even feel like leaving Bocas! (We understand how they feel).