Sailing through the Panama Canal - Part 2

The adventure continues ...

Remember that hilarious night we spent anchored in Gatun Lake after conquering the first three locks of the Panama Canal? Sara and I had a slumber party with our daddies on the mega bed in the salon, while the rest of the crew snoozed in our guest cabins. Daddy Charly, the early bird, was already up at 6:00am making breakfast, as we snuggled up with Daddy Micha. The new pilot(s) for the next leg were due at 8:00 am, and off we went for the 35 nm journey through Gatun Lake to the final three locks leading to the Pacific Ocean. After the wild thunderstorm last night, the weather did a complete 180 and the sun was beaming down on us. We all gathered in the cockpit for brekkie - Daddy Charly whipped up some mouthwatering omelettes, and even Sara and I got a taste alongside our puppy chow. Delish! While waiting for the tardy pilot, we entertained ourselves by bouncing around on the trampoline with Trevor and Chris.

Finally, at 8:30 a.m., the new pilot showed up. Not as lively as the previous two, this one was a snoozer who seemed more interested in his phone than us or our furry friends. He barely lifted a finger, except to order snacks and drinks from Daddy Charly. Plus, he had Daddy Micha cruising at a snail's pace of 3 knots through Gatun Lake, which was a drag. The scenery was stunning, though, with more crocs to see. Occasionally, massive tankers and container ships passed by, forcing Daddy Micha to maneuver Samsara close to the buoys marking the channel for safety.

We were supposed to hit the first lock to the Pacific at 3:00 pm, but thanks to the pilot's sluggishness, we missed the slot and had to drop anchor once more due to being fashionably late. An hour's wait ensued before we could proceed and catch the next opening. The pilot was driving Daddy Micha up the wall with his antics. It seemed like he was stretching out the trip to rack up more hours (those "small" boat pilots do this for extra cash by the hour). I was this close to giving him a piece of my mind - or my teeth - to speed things up a bit.

A massive sailboat zoomed past us at "full speed," leaving us in the dust. Daddy Micha couldn't believe it - they were docked with us at Shelter Bay Marina and only just started the canal journey that morning, aiming to finish in a day. We wanted that too, but no luck with the one-day slot, so here we were, treading water thanks to the pilot's tortoise pace causing us to miss our Miraflores locks slot. Ridiculous!

By around 5:00 pm, we finally made it to the Miraflores locks, pulling in ahead of a colossal car carrier ship. It was a riot being in the left lock with the grandstand view, waving to the crowd and enjoying the entertaining speaker's commentary. Trevor and Daddy Micha even joined in on the Mexican wave with the spectators - what a riot!

Through the second lock and a bit more canal cruising, we hit the final lock and by 6:30 pm, we were officially in the Pacific Ocean. Daddy Micha wasted no time in dropping off the pilot and racing to the marina before the workers clocked out. Thankfully, all went smoothly, and Samsara was docked in a jiffy. Our pals hopped an Uber back to Shelter Bay, while we strolled with our daddies and hit up the marina restaurant for some water (which I generously spilled on the floor) and burgers and beers for our daddies. What a day!