Surviving Hurricane Otto

About a week prior to Thanksgiving Day a low front started coalescing just offshore as we waited at Shelter Bay for our final packages to arrive from the States. On Friday we were faced with a decision to go or stay a little longer, so we stayed to see what the weather would do. Fortunately for us that was the correct decision because as the days ticked by the low front became more organized and the predictions centered around what forecasters said would be a Tropical Storm by early Thanksgiving week. Instead we were all surprised to see it gain strength and eventually become a Category 2 hurricane by the time it struck Costa Rica and Nicaragua on Thanksgiving day.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Otto is the latest hurricane to form in the Caribbean on record. It is also rare in that it formed so far south in the Caribbean in what is normally considered the hurricane free zone. Lucky us we were safely tucked in at Shelter Bay for the duration!

Rare, late forming hurricane Otto pins us down in Shelter Bay Marina in Panama.

The calm after the storm passed the first time saw everyone scrambling to gather up blown tarps and re-secure their boats. 

Trees went down everywhere, including a couple palms here in the marina. The roads were blocked and the power went out for three days. Fortunately we had the generator!

 Otto on Thanksgiving Day