WEEK 12

Panama to Colombia ... Sailing the San Blas Islands
- I wake up around 6am, and move from my bed to the couch near the entrance to the hostel ... good thing I did, because Fabian buzzes at 6:30am, and no one else in the place is remotely alive

- I buzz him up, and go wake Isaac up, then hit the shower to get ready

- shortly after 7am, the three of us are in a cab, heading over to Luna´s Castle, to pick up the others

- Fabian told them 8am, so we´re early when we arrive ... Isaac and I get our cabbie to take us to a pharmacy (for sea sickness pills), and then to a grocery store (for essential supplies like water, rum and coke, chips and hot sauce) ... we got a LOT of water

- we get back to Luna´s Castle, and the others have already headed off ... so we head off too ... only we head straight to the bus station!

- this is a surprise, because our original understanding was that we´d be taking a shuttle to Portobelo (otherwise, we would not have bought all that water so early!)

- so now we´re taking the same trip I originally took to Isla Grande, only we stop a couple hours earlier at Portobelo

- this means lugging all our water onto the Panama to Colon bus, then lugging it off and getting it all on a chicken bus to Portobelo ... ugh

- and lugging around all this water is how we are introduced to the rest of the people we´d be travelling with (lovely)

- two couples ... Willie from Scotland with Heather from Ireland, and Joe and Laura from Portsmouth, England

- we say hi, we apologize for the misunderstanding with the water, and we board the big comfortable bus towards Colon

- an hour and a half later, we get off a few minutes before Colon, as we can catch the bus to Portobelo from here

- within the next half an hour, we pile onto a fairly populated chicken bus headed to Portobelo ... this bus was kicking good tunes, and was decorated more than any other bus I´ve seen

- so we had a pretty pleasant ride hour long ride to Portobelo ... where we got off near a dock, and there we saw Fabian´s boat ... the Sailing Koala (officially named Mano II)

- we take a dingy over to the boat and unload our bags ... then we return to land to hang out in Portobelo for a couple of hours, while Fabian preps the boat (this would have been the perfect time to do our water shopping)

- our group of 6 hit bar beside the dock and have a pre-trip beer together ... then we head off in various directions, exploring the town, and looking for a decent lunch spot

- Isaac and I find a cheap hole in the wall that makes some pretty decent food ... we get the fried chicken special for like $2 ... Willie and Heather wind up getting the same ... Joe and Laura opt for a fish filet at a different restaurant

- after the meal, the others do their water shopping, and then we all head back to the boat

- on the boat, we get a tour of what´s what, and we get assigned our beds ... everything is a pretty tight fit, and every square inch of free space gets used (my bed requires gymnastics to manoeuvre into without bumping into various communication and engine devices)

- it´s mid-afternoon, and it doesn´t take long to figure out the boat gets HOT ... below deck has little fans, but really, it´s like a sauna during the day ... on deck can be cooler, but pretty much impossible to avoid the sun

- we wait until about 5pm, because the first night´s journey is about 12 hours long, and we don´t want to arrive at our destination before sunrise (because there are reefs that need to be avoided)

- 5pm hits, the sun starts to weaken, and we set sail (not literally, this part of the trip has no wind, so Fabian has to use the engine the entire way)

- a couple of hours in, it´s almost dark outside, and Fabian makes us sandwiches for dinner ... canned chicken with mayo, with tomato and red peppers (and onions for those who want)

- not half an hour later, someone makes the comment that Joe looks incredibly green (and indeed he does) ... no one has taken any sea-sickness pills, and apparently the rocking of the boat isn´t agreeing with everyone

- Joe moves towards the bow to lay down (on Fabian´s recommendation) ... and not long after that, Willie has also moved towards the bow to lay down

- in the meantime, Isaac has popped one of the pills we bought

- even Fabian isn´t feeling great, so he tries to lie down for a bit too

- the girls and I don´t really feel sick at all

- a little bit later, Willie is the first to get sick ... this is a great relief to Joe, because he simply didn´t want to be the first ... so he then got sick (and instantly felt much better) ... somewhere in that timeframe, Isaac also got sick (and felt better) ... Willie, unfortunately, was sick for most of the night

- it gets late, and the couples go to bed ... Isaac stays in the sitting area on deck, using one of the mats as a nice outdoor bed ... Fabian still isn´t feeling great, so he sleeps by the bow while I keep an eye on the sea (i.e. just make sure we aren´t heading for a collision with any massive boats ... his auto-pilot takes care of the rest)

- despite barely sleeping in the last several days, I´m not feeling very tired, and I´m enjoying the boat ride ... the entire sky is being lit up by lightning from every direction, but the weather is calm and enjoyable where we are

- eventually Fabian gets up and takes over the watch ... so I grab the mat on the other side of the sitting area and make my own outdoor bed

- I wake up around 4am, because Fabian has turned off the motor to the engine ... apparently we got to our destination too soon, and now he has to wait until dawn to navigate us safely through

- next time I wake up, the sun is up, and we´re anchored near 3 other boats ... there is an island about 50 feet away from us, and another two smaller islands not too far off ... the water is a gorgeous green/blue and you can easily see to the bottom ... everything gives the feel of a tropical paradise

- the main island is called Chichime, and Fabian is friends with the Kuna people who live there ... he tells us to go explore for the morning, giving us snorkling equipment

- we spend most of the morning swimming and hanging out on a tiny empty island at the far end of Chichime ... then the Kuna served us lunch - coconut rice and fried plantain and fried red snapper (that Fabian purchased from the Kuna in the morning)

- the afternoon we spent playing frisbee in the water, just off the shore of the island ... then various degrees of sunburn were noticed

- the remaining hours of sunshine were spent trying to find shade ... then it was a return to the island for dinner ... this time the main was Caribbean lobster (again that Fabian bought from the local Kuna and they prepared for us) ... a bit fishy, but the tails were big and the meal was very enjoyable

- for dinner, Fabian also got us some wines (Clos - a very cheap and yet tasty boxed wine we´d been enjoying throughout Central America) ... by the time we were back on the boat, everyone was pretty happy

- the music came out (Isaac´s portable speaker being the only speaker anyone had, but many iPods were available), and one of the big bottles of rum was cracked (we brought one big bottle, so did Willie and Heather)

- a couple of hours later, everyone on the boat was drunk - including Fabian (but not Laura, as she wasn´t drinking) - and we all crashed out for the night ... Isaac and I again opting for the outdoor bed

- next morning, we headed to the other island (the one we hadn´t been to) ... a mix of swimming there and taking the dinghy

- we again played frisbee, this time on the island, under the shade of the palm trees

- eventually, a Kuna guy joined us ... he had no idea how to throw a frisbee (first couple of tries were upside down) ... but by the time we left, he was pretty decent at it

- we returned to Chichime for lunch ... this time it was a traditional main of smoked fish ... it really seemed to depend on which whole fish you got ... some were pretty dry, others were moist and much more tasty

- after lunch, we got back on the boat and prepared to set sail again ... this time, Fabian was hoping that there was enough wind to actually use the sails

- he got me to steer the boat between the islands and out to the open waters, while he raised the anchor and then raised the sails ... I then steered (i.e. held our course) until we arrived at our next destination (steering in open waters is fun and relaxing ... steering around other boats, between islands and avoiding reefs is a bit stressful)

- after a few hours of sailing, we anchored at Porvenir ... where Fabian took our passports to shore, and took care of the Panama departure side of immigration for us

- we spent the rest of the late afternoon and evening on the boat, Fabian making us pasta for dinner

- a friend of his was anchored on a neighbouring boat, so he came over for a visit, and we all had a bit of rum ... but eventually the weather turned, and we spent quite a while watching a fantastic lightning show ... until the rain showed up ... sending us below deck, and to bed for the rest of the night

- next morning, we sailed about 15 minutes over to a fairly full Kuna village ... Fabian gave us an hour to walk around and check out their homes, the school, the basketball court, etc.

- the highlight of the village was the store that had essential items like more boxed wine!

- once we were down with the village and back on the boat, we sailed a few hours to the eastern edge of the San Blas islands ... there we anchored in this amazing blue lagoon area called the Caya Holandes Islands

- as soon as we anchored, I saw this massive cloud in the water, and I exclaimed, "Look at the size of that ray!" ... pretty sure it was an eagle ray ... it was MASSIVE ... Fabian jumped in the water after it (with the under water camera), and he got some amazing video footage ... at least he would have had he pressed the right button!! Oh well.

- we spent the rest of the day swimming and snorkling, and when night came, we had pasta and wine for dinner

- after dinner, the rum came out, and so did the music ... then the rain started, which lead to Willie, Isaac and I all washing ourselves at the back of the boat

- there wasn't enough rain for us to properly rinse off, so we all jumped in the water ... it was really neat, because every time we moved, there was this glow around us ... something to do with some kind of algae that glows when it's disturbed or something like that

- then getting back on the boat, the ladder wasn't properly propped up, and it collapsed, pinching my right big toe against the boat (ouch) ... and then I had no footing, so I fell backwards back into the water (with toe still stuck - OUCH) ... a month later, the toenail is still purple, and I think some bone on the joint is poking out a bit (but it doesn't hurt much)

- eventually the rain won the battle and our group left the party and opted for bed

- next morning we were mostly rained out ... but by noon, the sun broke, and we were able to sail to another part of the lagoon, where we spent the day snorkling and hanging out on an island

- Fabian calls this island "Koala Island", as he figures he's the only one who takes people there

- we saw a couple of stingrays up close, and there was a bit of a reef that had a lot of pretty fish

- the day started to fade, and our time in the San Blas Islands was almost done ... and Heather was fairly disappointed, because more than anything else, she wanted to see dolphins ... but this trip was destined to meet everyone's hopes and expectations ... so before we set sail, we lucked out and saw two dolphins passing the boat (they even made a couple of passes for us)!

- after that, we set sail again ... out into the open waters ... 40 hours of nothing but sailing! ... the nights were super rocky (but no one got sick), and the days were pretty hot with no escape from the heat or the sun (and no jumping in the water to cool off) ... this stretch was definitely the least pleasant, but it wasn't miserable ... I spent most of my time reading a book, so the trip passed by fairly quickly

- two days after we left San Blas, around noon, we arrived in Cartagena, Colombia ... the sail into the city was scenic and pretty exciting, but more than anything, it was HOT ... we anchored the boat at a marina, and Fabian took our passports to land to send them off with someone (who apparently takes them to the airport to get stamped) ... we then unloaded the boat and made our way to the marina's restaurant

- a round of drinks later, Fabian sent us off in cabs to check in to a hostel ... we thanked him immensely for an amazing and unforgetable experience ... and then it was time for a new experience ... Colombia, we're here!

- EoW