I wouldn’t consider myself to be a ‘mojo’ kind of person. But whatever it is, it’s felt like mine went walkabout for a few miserable days. Miserable for me, but also for Dave. Sorry mister. Can’t have been fun having a mojoless wife in a small space.

I just felt swamped, contained, restricted. My head was in conflict. The dichotomy of ‘sod it, let’s just go” against “its irresponsible and disrespectful” turning up in a country that isn’t your own and expect to be accepted in when their borders are officially closed. Our particular situation here in Panama, when we’d hoped to mid Pacific by now, felt endless to me.

My tried and tested solution when feeling confined is simple. Get out and walk. Space, hills, freedom, a goodly stomp provides a head clearing medicine which necessitates no chemical infusion. Thing is, this option is not currently available to us. No walking for Helen.

However. My mojo is back. I needed a change of scene. A change in energy. Something different. So for the last week or so we’ve been journeying around Las Perlas islands. It’s been great. Some cruising in company, some on our own. It’s been just what I needed. We’ve made a point of sailing everywhere. Uninhabited islands have meant we’ve been able to get ashore. Activities in the mix have included crocodile spotting, extreme frisbee, spear fishing, body surfing, card games, hull scrubbing and water making for a couple of other boats who’ve unfortunately had water-maker problems.

We’re currently anchored off San Jose island. There’s a posh resort here. (Hacienda del Mar Hotel – San José Island, Las Perlas, Panama if you want to look it up). At present, rain lashes, thunder rolls and lightning sparks. This maybe the start of the wet season. It’s 9.30 in the morning and the lack of light makes it feels like 4pm on a November day in the UK.

I said to Dave, it’s not really a sailing day. It’s a movie day he replied. I think we should remove the drain pipe that goes from the sink to the outside. It needs cleaning as it is starting to smell in the heat, was my response. His look said it all. It’s a pig of a job. Limited accessibility means skin removing positions to access the jubilee clips. Movies or pipe removal and cleaning? I wonder which will win out?