After the incredible hike and all the adventure afterward Liz and I stayed in Cartagena for two nights and then literally set sail across the Caribbean towards the San Blas islands of Panama.
1 Apr 15
Wow. After finally leaving around 5am Tuesday morning (I was exhausted), we’ve made it almost 35 hours later to the paradise of the San Blas islands. Those hours on the open water of the Caribbean were not quite as serene as I’d imagined. It was downright painful. We are on a 43-foot sailboat with 10 people. Finally we landed in the archipelago of 370+ islands of which only a handful are inhabited, the San Blas.
I felt like I spent last night sleeping in a washing machine. I was pretty miserable. We got here late this afternoon, in time to pay the docking fee charged by the natives, swim a bit, and enjoy the fresh grilled Mahi that our Captain, Sebastian, caught and our First Mate, Ricardo, grilled. It was amazing. I drank some beer before and after dinner and then took a shower on the back of the boat with just about everyone watching. That was a first and it was hilarious. I dropped my soap in the ocean too, but I feel fresh now and I will sleep clean.
The German asked me how I felt and a well of tears built up. Something in the tumbling through the Caribbean may have knocked loose even more built up and buried emotions from the past year. I told her I was finally here, in this pristine paradise. She asked how I meant my year was, on balance? No, I told her, not until now. I stared at the islands during the sunset, palm trees and sailboats silhouetted, and allowed tranquility to blanket me.
3 Apr 15
It was hot sleeping last night. I had to leave the bunk and sleep outside for a bit to cool off. I played outside like a little kid all day. I snorkeled in a beautiful reef most of it, and laid on the boat and ate the rest. We had some drinks throughout the day. It was lovely. Paradise.
Two Swiss friends from the boat invited us to Bern for a weekend in June when we’re there. How exciting! Today Liz and I are planning on shooting our video takes to put together and submit to the Amazing Race. I can’t believe she’s talked me into trying this. We’re currently having coffee and sitting on top of the boat. The crew is busy chopping some papaya. I also found a beautiful seashell yesterday. We tried to get everyone to play cards, but now it’s time for breakfast. Ciao.
4 Apr 15
We are on the boat, of course, waiting for Sebastian to turn in our passports to Panamanian authorities in order to immigrate into Panama. It’s about lunch time. The little island he went to has a small runway, it’s pretty cool. There’s also a Panama Navy ship parked here. We’re all kind of laying around enjoying the last day, catching some rays. It’s a little cloudy, though.
Last night I slept in the hammock below the mast. It was windy and kind of chilly, but I probably got 6-7 hours of sleep. Before that we went to the island next to where we docked along with people from our ‘sister’ boat, The Perla. We are on the Corto II. We brought all the rest of our drinks and had a palm branch bonfire. We stayed up later than we had been, so I was tired. The sailing had been exciting that day before docking. The wind was strong and it felt like we were going to tip over. We spent all (hot) day exploring the island, snorkeling, laughing and eating. The island is where some people come to camp. I even saw kiteboarding gear. It was ridiculously beautiful.
So, last night was my first introduction to Swiss humor. We were all sitting around talking about cliches in different languages. The translations are quite funny. One in Swiss is ‘Throw the rifle into the field’. It means give up on something, I think. One of their jokes is “Two giraffes sit on an electrical wire, knitting rifles. The earthquake came down the stairs but the gorillas said ‘it’s okay because I have some yogurt in my pocket'”. Marc thought this was hilarious! His girlfriend just kind of stared at him with a pleading look to never tell that again. I was just confused and wondered if he translated any of the words wrong. Eventually though, I began to laugh too. I guess that’s how their jokes are. He told it over several times.
I want to document that the other night I went to bed early and Liz stayed up drinking and socializing. When she came down to our shared cabin the size of a foxhole she woke me up like a little sister and couldn’t stop talking to me and telling me stories and laughing. One she couldn’t get over was in Cartagena when I had no idea that the very nice hotel we were staying in wasn’t a hostel. In my defense, the hostel we had stayed at in Santa Marta was incredibly nice and that was my first experience. Hotel and Hostel sound a lot alike and after that nightmare day of sickness it’s understandable I could be confused. She just kept laughing, recounting that we repacked right in the lobby like ‘dirty little backpackers’, and I even showered in the public bathroom (which had a shower – correct me if I’m wrong but that is what a shower is for, right!?). I even went back to that hotel well after we had checked out to use wifi and lounge on a couch like a hostel hippie while she went shopping and we waited to board the sailboat. Again, I thought it was a hostel so no one would care. It wouldn’t have been a good sail trip without a case of the giggles, I guess.
4 Apr 15 (second entry)
The most terrifying part of this trip was the drive through the lush, mountainous Panamanian jungle to Panama City. After waiting 2 hours for our cars to take us from where the boat taxi dropped us off to the city, I had to ride in the car with the Dutch and the dog, Frankie. Frankie unfortunately had to ride in a crate strapped to the top of this diesel 4-wheel drive beast of a vehicle. Four adolescent (I later learned they were in college) Asians had all the front seats and alternated between passed out sleep and singing unbelievably annoying Asian pop songs.
My anxiety kicked in right away as this driver (don’t know why this would surprise me) took us on a narrow, 2-lane paved road through treacherous terrain. He’s even passing cars as we get jarred around in the back. I can’t imagine how the dog is doing. About 10 minutes into the white-knuckled ride I realize the driver may actually be skilled. We are careening down slopes and grades that put the Vail pass to shame. The ups and downs are so sudden and numerous I realize it must be hell on the engine. Stuck behind another car, my theory proved correct. If he didn’t let it accelerate almost dangerously on the downhills, we would hardly manage up the next part. We almost didn’t make it behind the car. I just kept seeing a pile of metal hanging from jungle trees and branches. Sure, there is a guard rail here and there, but nothing that would keep us from launching into the upper canopy around us. Closing my eyes.
The Asians finally stopped cheering and videoing with their GoPro. This makes me feel better because I thought it may be encouraging our driver to push his reckless limits. The temperature reading on the center console is 22C, and steam is rising from the jungle all around us. The vistas, when I can bear to look, are breathtaking. I hope the bracelet I bought before we left the sailboat today from the indigenous Kuna has protective powers.
Finally we get to my hotel and I meet Liz in the lobby. Like a couple of dirty gypsies we check in at the Hilton. They looked at us politely, but also like we were lost and there just wasn’t anything anyone could do for us. We checked in, dropped our bags and headed right back downstairs to the bar for a huge bacon cheeseburger.
(end journal entries)
Overall this adventure was a once in a lifetime experience, except I’m definitely going to search for something like this to do again, specifically in S. America, as soon as possible. I can’t wait to go back. I want to do more hiking. I don’t know that I’ll do more sailing unless it’s just island to island. I loved waking with the morning light and going to bed when it got dark, meeting new traveling friends, exploring, eating fresh food, and learning about new cultures. I saw two indigenous peoples, four new cities, and a lot of wilderness. I’ll never forget my trip. Thank you Liz for the invitation! Anyone who enjoyed this I hope it at least inspires you to do one thing you’ve been considering or take that leap into the unknown completely blind. Obviously we don’t have enough time or resources to take advantage of every single opportunity, but maybe listen to that voice in your head that says ‘Wow. I could really do this’.
