from the British chill to the heat of the tropics!!

Thanks to you all for your messages of support, cards and gifts. They were really appreciated and will be read over & over as I sail the seas.
In true Suzi style, my adventure started before I’d even boarded my flight. With a mixed combination of snow, a closed motorway and more significantly my inability to read flight times, the plane gracefully departed minus one passenger, whilst I enjoyed 5 hours of the same section of M25. After enjoying some more quality family time and a chance to unwind, I finally arrived in Panama City 2 days later than expected.
I am now an official crew member, aka "First Mate Suzi", onboard Barrraveigh, complete with assigned roles and responsibilities from Captain Bobby. In a nut shell I’m going to be chained to the galley (kitchen), cooking & cleaning and have renamed myself “Cinderella”. I have unpacked and settled in, although I can’t believe the boat didn’t sink with all the extra weight from all my books & clothes! Bobby has given me the front berth as my own dressing room, chilling out & Bobby freezone! I’ve made it home with photos and memories of you all.
We are currently moored on the Pacific side of thePanama Canal, very close to the Bridge of America. Huge container ships go past frequently causing us to bob up and down in their wake but so far nothing too bad to make me feel sea sick! The moorings are all full & people arrive daily as they stop to make repairs and stock up on provisions before they continue on with their journeys. It’s a pretty big community of boaters. Everyone is friendly; they meetup for drinks and meals, trade goods & advice…pretty cool!

Other than socialising & sight seeing, Bobby & I have loads of work to do to get everything ready before we leave. I have had my nose in books learning about how to provision a boat and have been having nightmares about it. The price of food and alcohol is huge in the South Pacific Islands so we are aiming to stock up here as much as possible. The dilemmas I now face are highly amusing, with the hot topic of conversation being “How much toilet paper are we going to need for a year??” It took serious tactical negotiations to convince Bobby that the conditioned double quilted velvet roll was an investment, opposed to thin tracing paper!? There are some luxuries us girls just can’t go without. (Ok, yes now I’ll just be grateful not to run out.) Just about got all the first round of purchases & ourselves into the taxi – not that I could see where I was going for the amount of loo roll!! Happy point yesterday when I managed to wedge 32 rollsunder one of the sinks. (All individually wrapped in a freezer bag in case water appears from anywhere!!)
Have you seen how much food comes in tins!! Had any of you heard of tinned butter? I’m yet to find it but they mention it in the books! Not yet convinced about the thought of eating tins of corned beef for the next year but am sure I’ll get over it! I’ve been dutifully writing the contents on each tinin case the label comes off, but did start to question Bobby’s motives when he asked me to cover the eggs inVaseline – don’t ask!!
Flying to Bocas Del Tora (northern Panama on the Caribbean side) for a few days to meet up with Bobby’s friends on a huge catamaran. Should have a few days of luxury and relaxation before getting back to work so we can get out of here and sail south!