After some confusion over the date, “Maya” is finally lifted ashore and “parked” with an overall cover on to protect the decks from the rain and the sun.
Because of the high humidity levels we bought a de-humidifier and left it on the boat. Hopefully this will keep the interior free from moisture and the dreaded mold.
After “Maya” is safely parked ashore, we take a taxi to the airport.
We knew that we had exceeded our 90-day visa by 12 days and were prepared to pay the 50 USD each at the airport.
The nasty surprise came when the immigration officer told us that we had to pay the fine at the main immigration office in Panama within the next seven days and then leave Panama within five days.
We would be allowed to leave the country but not re-enter for five years!
We hadn’t expected this and our thoughts flashed through the possibilities in a matter of seconds. The immigration officer suggested that someone else could go and pay the fine for us. The only person we could think of was the manager of the marina – Juan.
We wrote a message to him and he said he could help us. We were overjoyed when we got the message several days later that the fine had been paid and we now had our exit stamp.
Unbeknown to us, the rules had changed on 1st January 2024 so that the fine can no longer be paid at the airport.
Returning to Germany is always a bit of a shock, especially after a few months’ absence (this time it was nine months), life on the other side of the Atlantic in Hamburg is too much. Too many people, too many cars and too many offers in the stores. It always takes a week to get back into Hamburg life.
Our three month stay is, as always, incredibly busy with
Family reunions, celebrating friends, travelling, and planning the next stages of the trip.
During the first week, we stayed in an apartment in Heiligenhafen and visited my parents.
Back in Hamburg, there were many meetings with friends.
This was followed by a visit to my sister in Travemünde and then a trip to Ghent for my friend Tania’s 60th birthday. It was a great party and Ghent is a beautiful city.
From Ghent we flew on to Manchester and prepared for a 10-day trip through Scotland.
In Manchester we first had a family reunion with John’s three sons and his sister. The eldest son, Damien, had taken over a climbing center a year ago and of course we couldn’t miss an active visit there.
It was a great family event and fun for everyone.
The trip to Scotland with our friends Karen & Jon was pretty cold and wet.
We spent several nights freezing in our rented van. Fortunately, we were always able to sit in our friends’ cozy caravan in the evening.
Scotland is a dream in terms of scenery but the cold, wet and windy weather in summer were a bit of a turn-off. Well, we also had two very nice days where we could finally go hiking.
Back in Hamburg we had many meetings with friends.
The next trip was already on the agenda for me. A surprise trip for my sister as a present for her 60th birthday – a four-day cruise from Kiel-Oslo-Kiel with “Color Line”.
Sylvia had no idea what we were planning until the very end. It was such a great trip and the first cruise for both of us. The great cabin, the great food in the Ocean View Restaurant and the shows on the ship were unbeatable. We had a lot of fun during the whole trip and the city of Oslo was also great. The city tour took us to the Vigeland Sculpture Park, which is unique with its sculptures.
Last but not least, the annual sailing event with our friends Jana & Hauke and their Hanse 41 could not be missed. This time we went on the Elbe. From Brunsbüttel, the home port of the Happy our 2, we first sailed to Cuxhafen.
As it was too stormy the next day, we stayed there for a day and explored Cuxhafen. Then we continued our sailing trip up the Elbe via the Schwinge to the town harbour in Stade with glorious weather.
Once there, we had a wonderful evening in the historic old town.
An extensive bike tour into the surrounding countryside the next day rounded off the program. Unfortunately, we had to return to Brunsbüttel the next day.
A few more days and then it’s time to say goodbye again.
The travel bags are almost packed with lots of spare parts for Maya, as always. We will only make a short stopover of 4 days in Panama to check on Maya and pack our bags for our next adventure – backpacking through Peru for 2 months.
The flight from Panama to Lima is already booked and also the first hotel. It’s still the rainy season in Panama and we won’t be returning to the boat until the beginning of November. Then we’ll be working on the boat for two weeks before it goes back into the water.
Picture of packed bags
