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17
February 2001
On Saturday morning I went along with Willy, and we had a nice trip. During the
first three floodgates(/sluices), we were three boats that were tied together in
the middle of the canal with lines down to those farthest out(/on the outside),
and it went fine.
When we arrived at the anchorage we were told that there were no more large
ships we could go along (with), so we had to anchor for the night. Rudy, one of
the locals, who was along as a line holder wanted to catch(/take) the bus home.
Willy asked me to ask Frantz, who was right beside(/next to) us, if I could
borrow his dinghy since Willy had his own packed(/stowed) away. That I could, so
I swam over to get(/borrow) it. It's a small, damn unstable home-made plastic
thing with a 2.5 hp engine. We went through great trouble getting Rudy down in
it, and he was told to sit still. Then all of a sudden a wave caused by a tug
boat came our way and Rudy sat down in the same side as I, hey presto!(/pop!)...
and then we were in the water. The boat(/dinghy) capsized but luckily it was an
unsinkable one, with these???. We were in the middle of the canal and the water
was (nicely) warm. Quickly it appeared to me that Rudy couldn't(/didn't know how
to) swim and I had a hard(/tough) time trying to calm him down and explain to
him that he should settle down, not try to get up onto the boat, since it was
upside down as was(/along with) the engine, but instead help me turn it around.
As we were both lying there, I (suddenly, edit) got the good idea to talk(/tell
him) about the crocodiles we had seen the last day I was at anchor. A whole
bunch of them, and several of them were 5 metres long(/in length). He was
terror-stricken. And I don't think he cared much for crocodiles at all. But now
it went fast turning the boat around. From now on he'll be known as "Crocodile
Rudi", the hero from the canal who tipped over with the "gringo".
I have now been through the canal five times. Two of these times we were unable
to do it in a day and had to sleep(/spend the night) on our way(/en route). Then
you (drop) anchor in Gatun Lake, which is situated in the middle of the canal
and actually more of a pond((/dam?). Here you're surrounded by the jungle and
it's a really interesting place to be. You're able to see crocodiles, monkeys,
parrots, toucans - those birds with enormous yellow beaks, and lots of vultures
- scavengers and those with the big pouch under their beak, what are theu called
again.....pelicans, but the pouch they're just missing in this part of the
world???
18 February 2001
When the pilot got on board Willy's boat he said that we were to try something
they never did anymore. We would get(/be) taken through four yachts, two by
two(/by twos/in pairs), (and) alone through the last three floodgates. There
wasn't any traffic this day and they had decided that we shouldn't spend another
night at anchor, and for the time being they are having(/experiencing) a
surplus(/reserve) of water in the pond. Things went smoothly and soon we had
arrived at the other side.
When I shook Willy's hand was the first to say(/tell him) "Welcome to the
Pacific" (I'm getting used to it) he said that he and his wife had decided that
I should have an engine from them!!! A small 2.5 hp Mariner, perfect for my
small red rubber dinghy: "You're always rowing anyway. And it's just lying there
not doing any good (use)". It was in perfect condition. He had hardly(/barely)
used it (only used 15 litres of gas) before buying a bigger one.
The
engine on the (rubber) dinghy
- Willy gave me as a present as thanks for helping him
through the Canal
Making
ready for transit, the Panama Canal
(I think, edit) it's wild giving away an engine (like that) but I'm "Willy"
happy(/pleased) about it.... And all along I have been wanting exactly this
size. But they're expensive. I could live for 2-3 months for the amount they
cost.
When I returned to the marina and got to my dinghy, which I had moored(/made
fast) at Oliver's boat, an oar was missing. Just too bad, not just money-wise
but also because of the fact that it'll be hard or impossible to find another
(like this one, edit) since they're very peculiar(/special). |
