Location: San Carlos, Panama
Hello all! Welcome to my second blog! Today started off with possibly the creepiest wake up we’ve had thus far. as usual; Gabby was waking up Watch Team 2. Quite normal, I thought. Wrong. Apparently, all of Watch Team 1 was gathered in our cabin. it was so dark in our cabin that my sleep-fogged brain had no clue. I did find it unusual that there were more people from Watch Team 1 in the salon than usual, but I brushed it off as I made my way to the cockpit to get briefed. Only after I had shuffled over was I informed that everyone had been in our rooms. I was also told that Cosmo was leaning over our beds, and Kirby was chanting, “wake up, wake up, wake up.” Watch Team 2 was thoroughly terrified. However, I found that the cockpit had a whole different vibe. Smash had hung up some barbecue-esque string lights, and Dylan and Ula were talking about vertical hotdogs. What is a vertical hotdog? I cannot answer that. I would imagine it’s similar to a corndog. Anyways, Watch Team 2 settled in. a few hours later. we saw an interesting ship on our AIS system. it was labeled “Nat Geo Sea Lion” and was headed to the same port as us! Steph was super pumped at the prospect of showing off her master’s degree to some Nat Geo scientists. Unfortunately for her, as the ship drew nearer to us, we realized it was more like a small cruise ship. Boooo. We shook off our disappointment and got the ship ready to dock, which included getting dock lines and fenders on. a short while later, we were pulling into a nice marina. We docked like pros, shoutout out to Saskia for a nice throw of the bow dock line! Then we made our way downstairs to get ready for the day and were greeted by the most delicious-smelling galley. Alexis was chefing it up. Safe to say, we were all excited about breakfast. most people were already up and moving for the day, perhaps because of the docking or maybe because of the aroma of potatoes wafting from the galley. I did have to wake up a few in Starboard Six, which I achieved by bouncing up and down and greeting them with “good mornings.” What can I say? I was ecstatic to be docked! So, with everyone awake and breakfast waiting on deck, we headed up. Now, let me tell you that I feel very lucky to be skipper on the same day that Alexis is head chef because I get to tell you wonderful people about the mindblowing potatoes she created. they were spiced up to perfection and had a nice cheese combo mixed in with them. After tasting those, I’m pretty sure Alexis is a potato God. I’ll need to give her more potatoes to test my theory. after going back for seconds, we did clean up and rolled into classes for the day. In marine bio, we learned about different types of fish tails, and in leadership, Charlie and Fargo taught us about communities. Then we had free time for the rest of the day! we all were itching to get to shore, but to our dismay, we had to wait for customs to clear us in. So instead, we napped, worked on homework, did laundry, and just generally chilled. We also met Travis today! He’s our hero as he booked a flight down here and is shipping a new propeller here for us. He arrived before the prop. We are hopeful that it will arrive in the next few days. So, he went along with Tom to get us cleared into Panama once again. They came back with a lady from customs, and we all lined up in number order. She sat on the dock and stamped our passports as we smiled from the deck. Despite Ted and Toria’s passports momentarily getting mixed up, it was a success! We just have to wait for them to go back and make it official. So, back to chilling, we went. Soon enough, it was dinner time, and once again, it was delicious! My squeeze question was, “if you had a pirate ship, what would you name it?” Answers ranged from “The Guppy” to “Nothing to see here, just a normal ship” I myself would name my ship “Red Tide.” we cleaned up and began to wind down for the night. but then Tom asked me to muster everyone in the cockpit. For what? A mystery. So I did just that as confusion spread throughout the cabins. Normally announcements are made at dinner, so we were all surprised to be called back up. However, it was probably the best news Tom could’ve given us. We were officially cleared in and could join him in a quick exploration of the marina (and hopefully find ice cream!). So, most of us scrambled to grab our shoes and money, and we were off! We ended up finding a mini market which we promptly invaded. What followed was in my top ten experiences of the trip. We were greeted by blasting music and friendly faces. We quickly turned the store into a rave. Kirby, Fargo, and I started fist-pumping and going crazy at beat drops, someone started flickering the lights, and people at the store were cheering us on. Our dancing earned us high fives from the marina workers in the market! Through all that, we managed to buy candy, ice cream, and sodas. It was a perfect if unexpected, end to the night. Well, that’s all I have, folks! Until next time!
Ps. Hi mom and dad! Love you both, give tons of hugs and kisses to the kitties for me!