Sapzurro, Columbia, on the border between Panama and Columbia.  Great friends and a great cruising Thanksgiving from the past.

There are still barrier islands with very little human interaction.  I love wandering islands where my footprints mingle with the blue herons prints.  

Beautiful spot.  There's an alligator sunning himself on the starboard side as you enter this lagoon full of manatees.  Once inside, be sure to shut down your outboard engine and break out the paddles so you can interact fully with the manatees! 

We took the dinghy down past the Love Canal today to visit our friend's the Eagles.  But they weren't home and we were bummed.  We walked the beach and enjoyed the solitude, but no Eagles was depressing. BUT on our way back across the island to the dinghy, the Eagles had returned.   They must have just been out fishing or something because two of them were back!  Not a good photo, I don't have enough zoom on the lense, but you can still see that it's an eagle sitting in her nest!  Her mate is perched on the tree nearby.  The Eagles have Landed!   Great start to this year's cruising season! 

We drifted about Manatee Lagoon today in the dinghy, outboard shut down to enjoy the show.  Watched about 12 manatees doing everything from mating to just hanging out.  This guy (or gal) has a crush on me and followed us around the little lagoon and even out toward the exit.  I'm standing in the dinghy and NOT using zoom for this photo - he swam under the dinghy several times - David was afraid he'd capsize us, but we escaped.  Manatees are SO ugly they're cool and this one had a crop of barnacles that betrayed his age!  :) 

I'm hoping that it's time to go sailing ... if even for just a week or so.

Do you know how hard it is to get a photo of a dolphin that's playing with the boat while you're trying to varnish the rail?  This dolphin along with her baby dolphin were cavorting around our boat, sometimes bumping the boat & under the dock next to us most of the morning.  Every time I'd put the varnish brush down & pick up the camera, they'd disappear.  Put down the camera & pick up the varnish brush, and they're literally within touching distance.  They pinned a fish against the stern piling while David was wet-sanding, not 4 feet away.  Amazing and so unphotographable.... (is that a word?).  :)

Not much time to think about photos of the day while getting the boat ready to go adventuring ... hopefully later this week, but only out to Cayo Costa, a barrier island just north of Sanibel & Captiva, FL and one of my favorite places.  Here's Winterlude getting her exterior teak redone, lonely with not many boats on the dock yet.