Day 66 - November 18, 2012: Panama City, FL

Every day is new and every turn presents another view. 

We left our anchorage, crossed Choctawhatchee Bay, and entered a man-made canal that connects to West Bay and Panama City. This canal was as different as anything we had seen before, as it was dug through the swamps. You can tell this area has sand as reflected by the high banks. The canal would run straight for miles and then would take a gentle bend before another straight run. It was a nice change.

Canal through the swamps

High sandy banks

On the way we saw dolphins or porpoises (and we are not sure which). These are closely related species and are almost impossible to tell apart. They differ in subtle ways, such as a slight flattening of the teeth and a different number of vertebra in the neck. To keep things simple, I'll just call them dolphins.

The dolphins would appear in front of the boat and dive under it, sometimes coming up to surf the boat wake. Or they would school around the boat as if they were looking for a handout. So far, we have been unable to capture any usable pictures as they come into sight and disappear so quickly.

We also saw many pelicans sitting on the water or on the many day-markers. They would soar and then dive at great speed into the water looking for food and causing quite a splash.

This pelican never budged as we passed by

As we approached Panama City, the skyline revealed the more familiar bridges, city buildings, commercial businesses, and in this case a container port loading dock. We arrived at the the Bay Point Marina which is filled with very large cruisers and offshore fishers. They claim this is one of the top five marinas in Florida, and this is where we plan to leave the boat for a week as we take a break for Thanksgiving. More on that tomorrow.