A Delicious Diversion

“Area F” is the official waiting area for small boats scheduled to transit the Panama Canal from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. It’s a forlorn little corner marked by one sad wreck, a jumble of forest, and a skyline of cranes in the adjacent port area of Cristobal.

There’s not much here to capture your attention - except the clock, counting down the hours to the moment when your boat is summoned to enter the canal. For many, it’s a culminating moment after years of dreaming and planning, not to mention weeks of passagemaking.

In the west, freighters stacked high with containers steam slowly past the setting sun, bound for the first of the Gatun Locks.Small pulot boats zip to and fro, their efforts coordinated by succinct radio exchanges. Aboard Namani, our 1981 Dufour 35, my husband Markus and I absentmindedly played cards to pass the time. We stole glances at the handful of small boats in Area F, speculating who we might raft up to in the massive locks, and in which of several possible configurations. It seemed nothing could drag our thoughts away from the canal - until we dug into a hearty fish stew to fortify us for the coming hours.

It was a stew with a history, based on tasty wahoo caught during a tempestuous Caribbean passage, combined with fresh snapper and a complement of herbs chosen by a cook with a knack for her craft (cruising friend Anne-Marie). Cruising is as much about the sights, sounds, and tastes of each day as it is about landmark moments like transiting the Panama Canal.

Before we knew it, the call to enter the canal had come: the moment we had all been fixated on - except during the interlude provided by that delicious diversion!

“A Delicious Diversion” originally appeared in the January 2015 issue of Cruising World Magazine.
More information on Panama and the Panama Canal in Pacific Crossing Notes.