Page 35 of The Hitchhiker in Panama
I snuggled back into Eivind, the flutters of anticipation tickling my belly.
* * *
Finally we approached the second set of locks.Starry Horizonswaited, but the other boats coming through had not caught up to us. Jonas kept the boat drifting near the entrance, occasionally moving us upstream again and letting us float back down.
The small cruise ship we were waiting for arrived. It was five stories tall and a few hundred feet long, a miniature version of the cruise ships I had seen before. The ship entered the lock and tied up. When our advisor gave us the go-ahead, we motored up and tied on.Starry Horizonsfollowed us and we were all secure.
However, our big ship hadn’t arrived yet. It was going to come in behind us, so we waited. We resumed playing games, reading, chatting with our neighbors, whatever we could do to occupy our time. Some of the cruise ship passengers leaned over the rail and struck up a conversation with us.
I glanced over my shoulder; our bigger lock companion had arrived, a massive cruise ship approaching from behind. There wasn’t much room on this side of the canal, and I suspected the other side also had a narrow gap. The Panama Canal mules lined up: small locomotives that ran on a track and hauled the big ships forward. They were named mules because, before the rail existed, actual mules pulled the ships around. The bow came closer and closer until it finally towered over us and I had to crane my neck to take it all in.
A few minutes later the gates were closed and the water started to drain. We dropped ten meters in the first step down from Gatun Lake to join the Pacific Ocean. The rest of the locks went smoothly, repeating the same motion twice more. In the second lock, a behemoth of a ship passed us on the other side of the lock, headed to Gatun Lake. The advisor told us they called the ship a RORO—Roll-On, Roll-Off—and it transported vehicles like cars. It made the cruise ship behind us look small.
We reached the last lock. It took even longer than the others. Eivind and I perched on the bow ofEikas the water drop down the gauge. When it stopped dropping, we waited.
And waited.
I swung my legs in circles underneath me, kicking my bare feet out and bumping Eivind’s with every circle. When I annoyed him enough, he pinched my bare thigh, and I squealed and squirmed away before slinking back to knock him again.
“Look!” Jonas called out.
Like curtains being pulled away, the last gate opened to reveal a massive bridge and the Pacific Ocean. The sailors on both boats whooped and hollered. One of the crew members onStarry Horizonsblew a conch horn, low and triumphant.
We’d made it through the Panama Canal!
Seventeen
We motored out, passing under the Bridge of the Americas—the suspension bridge connecting North America to South America—and we floated in the river while Diego departed on a pilot boat. We stopped one more time for Robert to collect the fenders and dock lines, and then we pulled into Panama City near the delta and picked up a mooring ball at La Playita Marina.
The rest of the crew had a few things to do: lines were washed, coiled, and left on the lifelines to dry. Marcella walked around the deck with a bucket of water, scrubbing away dirt with a wet brush. Elayna cleaned all the dishes from the day. Jonas wrote his captain’s log and Eivind dropped the dinghy into the water, the small inflatable boat kept on the stern ofEikthat would take us to shore now that we were away from a dock.
We each disappeared into our rooms or the heads, getting ready for a night out to celebrate. I dressed in the nicest clothes I had, a pair of jean shorts and a flowing camisole. I even put on mascara and a bit of lip stain Elayna had shared. It had been weeks since I’d put on makeup.
I stepped out of my cabin the same time Eivind stepped out of his.
He looked me up and down appreciatively, while I did the same with him. He was dressed in a polo shirt, shorts, and boat shoes. One might have called it Euro prep, but that was how cruisers dressed up—their normal outfit without the threadbare holes.
“Lila,” he said breathlessly, “you look beautiful.” A finger came up and traced my exposed collarbone. I loved how much Eivind touched me, but it had been turning me on ever since I’d moved aboard. And now, knowing we were finished with our trip through the canal and I could stay here or leave for a hostel whenever I wanted.
As if Eivind could read my thoughts, he stared at me intensely, and his eyes held the possibility of everything we could do tonight.
I almost kissed him. But he beat me to it, bringing his lips to my shoulder, where his finger had just been. The kiss was wet and soft, and he followed it with more, trailing up my neck. I gasped, gripping his shirt in my fists and pressing myself against him.
“I love your neck,” he murmured against my skin.
A weak laugh escaped my lips. “I can tell.”
Eivind inched us back against the wall, his hands sliding down my body to cup my butt.
“LILA! EIVIND! DO NOT GET DISTRACTED DOWN THERE!” Elayna called.
I blushed furiously, but there was no way anyone could have seen us from the cockpit.
Eivind pulled away. “Later?”
I grinned, pulled him in close to kiss his cheek, and whispered, “Later.”
He sighed and adjusted himself, gesturing for me to go first. As I climbed the stairs up to the cockpit, Elayna craned around me to shout again: “EIVIND! THE CHAMPAGNE!”
