We are back in Linton Bay Marina, preparing Mistress for the next leg of our journey. When ready we will travel north to the small Colombian island of San Andres. It is still hurricane season til the middle of November, then there is a short break before the Christmas winds kick in. Right now, here in Panama the rainy season is in full swing, the seas are calm and the wind very light.
By the time we got back, the bottom of the boat had grown quite beard. It took 2 local divers more than 2 hours to scape all the barnacles and growth off. The bottom looks good, the paint is in good shape. Humidity is around 85%, with the temperature most days in the mid 90s. Need to get things done early in the day.
While going over our systems on the boat, we discovered a faulty alternator. This was caused by the sea water bath our engine took last season when the heat exchanger broke. We had washed everything down with fresh water and sprayed with WD 40, but I guess that wasn’t enough. We now learned about, a new to us product called, Corrosion X, which if performs as stated should rid or stop any ongoing rust. So far it seems to be doing a great job.
We found a company in Panama City that service Starters, Alternators, and other electrical components, so we caught the bus early in the morning to visit them. It involves a 2 hour ride to town, where you cross the highway and catch the Expresso to the City, as it’s known.
We were kicked off about 1/2 way due to a demonstration that had the only road blocked off. Apparently the small town are not happy with their officials. So a group of women decided protest, the police stood by and made sure it didn’t get out of hand. We had to walk past the blockage and get the bus on the other side, to continue our journey. We were only held up for about 1 hour.
Around 11 o’clock we finally arrived at Internacional De Partes Electomecanicas, a leading dealer in downtown Panama city.It seems the more we come here the easier it gets to find our way around. The cabs are great.
After determining that our expensive Balmar alternator could not be fixed, we were offered a replacement at a very good price. Successful shopping trip.
We treated ourselves to lunch in the mall before boarding the bus to return to the marina.
Everything here seems to take all day to do, it was a long day. we arrive just in time to see the sun go down.
Installing the new alternator will be put on the list of things we have to complete before we are ready to move on. Hopefully we get in done quicker than some of the residents here, who have been working for years.
Leave a Reply