Anchored outside of La Playita marina in Panama City we’re putting in long days to get Wanderlust ready to cross the Pacific Ocean. A project that should have taken a few hours turned into days because of one small mistake.

After transiting the Panama Canal we headed to La Playita Marina in Panama City to continue preparing Wanderlust to sail 4,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean. We have quite the list to tackle and we’re hoping to set sail in just over a week.

Today we are transiting the Panama Canal and motoring our own vessel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean in less than 12 hours!!

We are gearing up to transit the Panama Canal and sail about 4,000nm across the Pacific Ocean to the Marquesas in French Polynesia. It’s probably the longest passage one can make so we need to make sure our boat is as seaworthy as possible.

Today we’re starting the first page of a new chapter, of a grand adventure we’ve dreamed of for years, sailing across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia.

Seeing men with guns and hearing shots fired from what you thought was a safe anchorage is never what you want but that’s what we experienced in Rio Chagres.

Out here things can become dangerous in the blink of an eye. One moment you’re cruising along and the next your world is flipped upside down. Literally.

This week we’re continuing our journey in San Blas, sailing 50 nautical miles east to Mamitupu, reputed to be one of the most traditional Kuna villages. Most cruisers do not visit this area, just 50 miles from the Colombian border at the foothills of the Darien Forest. Turns out our biggest challenge didn’t have anything to do with nature.

We’ve been cruising for 16 months now and it makes us proud to know that we generate our own power and make our own water, and as long as we provision enough food we can take our home so many places and experience the beauty of our amazing planet on our own terms. Today we’re sharing how we live off-grid on our sailing catamaran, how some people we meet in remote places like Kuna Yala live their lives, and the one thing we all struggle with.

The reality of off-grid living, especially as digital nomads, is we need internet and we need to eat, lol. So we had to head back to Linton Bay marina to use the internet and upload some videos. Once back in the San Blas, we anchor in the postcard perfect Holandes Cays for some spearfishing, snorkeling amongst the beautiful reefs + marine life, and enjoy some of Fabio’s delicious cooking.

This week we spend our time doing what we set out to do when we embarked upon this lifestyle; sailed, connected with a local who took us diving for lobster and octopus, and cooked a delicious meal onboard with the bounty. This is truly #boatlife at its finest! But of course it doesn't come without challenges.

After finalizing the work on our main sail we FINALLY head out to the San Blas Islands aka Guna Yala. The archipelago of 365 islands on Panama's northeast coast, are remote, undeveloped, pristine specimens of what tropical paradise dreams are made of. But because of its remoteness and extensive reef formations, navigation is quite tricky. Watch now to see how we handle the challenge.

Sailing is our means of transportation and the boat our platform from which to explore. We are now travelers, not tourists. Witnesses to different cultures, ways of living, eating, working and playing. Attempting to understand what makes the world tick and tock but also trying to gain a deeper comprehension of ourselves and identify what will satisfy that hunger for further exploration.