Our search for the trade winds continues as we sail across the Pacific Ocean. Light winds shift to higher winds which morph into squalls taking all the wind with them upon departure.

We are continuing our 4,000 nm voyage across the Pacific Ocean, going from pollywogs to shellbacks as we cross the equator, hoping for wind, catching fish, marveling at dolphins, learning we may need to hand steer more often than we’d like and now our rudders are even giving us problems.

We are finally setting sail on a 4,000 nm passage across the Pacific to French Polynesia. This dream has been years in the making and it’s finally coming true!

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 scheduled to go through the Panama Canal tomorrow morning, so we’re embarking on our last sail on the Atlantic side of the world for the last time in what may be years. It’s the end of a chapter and the beginning of a grand adventure.

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.

Today we’re sailing 90nm east to Rio Chagres, a tropical river meandering through pristine jungle. The weather is not in our favor and the entrance to Rio Chagres is shallow and flanked by reef on both sides. We’ve been warned not to enter unless the conditions are ideal and with daylight.

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.

In this episode we’re sharing how our performance catamaran sails itself, without autopilot, and of course the latest hurdle we have to jump. Watch now to see how it’s done!

Diving in remote, cold, shark infested waters with extreme currents. Why would we do such a thing?

There’s no denying visiting the Galapagos is the experience of a lifetime. Sailors crossing the Pacific from Panama to Marquesas are faced with the decision to stop at the Galapagos on the way, bypass it or fly there as a separate trip apart from cruising. This week we’re chatting with our friend Dale to give you the perspective of someone who sailed to the Galapagos with his wife Katrina, compared with our experience of flying there.

Is it still possible to find wildlife in its purest form without humankind’s interference? We wanted to find out. So we headed to the Galapagos, the inspiration for Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. Upon arrival we learned 70% of the indigenous plant species have been killed, and many animals endangered. We began to wonder if the Galapagos would be the pristine wilderness of our imagination or if we were too late.

Often times when we’re attempting repairs on our boat we feel like detectives working to solve a mystery. In this episode we’re trying to figure out why we lost all our instruments starting with depth and tackle some maintenance that should have been straightforward but leaves us scratching our heads.

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.