S/V L'ORIENT

Not our favorite sight There are sailors that tempt the "roaring 40s", make winter runs in the Bering Sea, and even brave tropical storms to test....we're not sure what. That's not us. We try to keep sailing safe, relaxed, and mellow. How is this done? We keep L'ORIENT in great mechanical shape but, more importantly, we check the weather obsessively. Storm coming? We can wait (after all, we don't have a whole lot going on). What throws off these intentions is when the weather report and actual conditions deviate in a meaningful way - like last week. Colon to Bocas del Toro, Panama should have been a milk run. Heading due west...only 120 miles...should be relaxed and fun. Until it wasn't. An unscheduled mega-lightning storm emerged at that witching hour when all bad things happen on passages, 3:00 AM. There is a fear and helplessness that's hard to describe in this situation. You are seated between two lightning rods (your masts) on an otherw...

So our loyal readers have become worried........where the hell is L'ORIENT ? No blog posts for three months. Sometimes we forget the huge role we play in people's lives. This doesn't surprise me, it just slips my mind because I'm me-centered. Once again an empty promise- we'll try to do better. But for those readers who don't live in the third world........you should try to come here yourself and manage probably the most important and influential lifestyle blog in Central America.......not easy. Bad internet, extreme heat, lethargy, sloth, alcohol..........all these combine to create a toxic stew of inaction. Whatever. But now to something important.......money. Snoop Dogg's seminal invocation lamenting the high price of narcotics and escort services in Long Beach County is apt here. We too "got our mind on our money and our money on our mind".  Wait, that doesn't look like Central America ! We're spending kilo-dollars on ...