Cap'n Jack welcomed us into his hostel in Portobelo, Panama. Over breakfast he dished out lots of helpful hints to help us find a safe ride to Colombia. After several hours of deliberation we finally decided to take a backpacker sailboat instead of trying to piece together several small launches by port-hopping. Although our bank account has suffered a near-fatal blow to its self-esteem, we arrived safe and sound to Cartagena and in the company of good people. But back to the beginning...
We left out of Portobelo on Wednesday. Portobelo itself is a quaint little town, a far cry from its ominous neighboring giant Colon. After deciding against a cheaper ride with a drunken Frenchman in a tiny boat with a dinghy that looked like a bathtub toy (Mom, Dad, we didn't get on that one for your sakes), we hopped aboard Wild Card with John and Joy. John secured our bikes to the OUTSIDE of the railings (heart attack!), and we crammed all of our gear into the forward-most cabin. That afternoon the other passengers and the first mate arrived from Panama City, and we all took off. We anchored near Porvenir, the first in the San Blas island archipelago. Everyone enjoyed spaghetti with yummy bolognese sauce and I tried not to be seasick.
On our second day out we went to immigration, got our passports stamped, and visited one of the Kuna Yala island villages. The Kuna Yala are pretty amazing. They have managed to maintain their land and keep autonomy over its use and laws. For example foreigners are not allowed to own property in their state or run businesses, and many of them choose to follow a traditional life path. They live on amazing white sand, coconut palm filled islets dotting the coastline of Panama, and the Caribbean dishes up unbelievable shades of blue.
In the afternoon we moved to another island where we all went snorkeling and swimming. While we relaxed in the fading sun John whipped up a delish dinner of chicken curry and a couple from a neighboring boat joined us for the meal. We topped that off with a round of rum and coke and had a lovely night on the deck. Oh! As we were sailing we were suddenly surrounded by several dolphins playing in the wake of the bow. Very cool!
The next morning brought a new set of islands and more sun than Eric or I could handle. While everyone else was comfortable in their swimsuits and shorts, we looked like characters out of a bad spy film. Covered from head to toe with dark glasses, hats, long sleeves and pants, we did not play the part of sunbathing tourists very well! Even when we jumped in the water we kept our long sleeved riding shirts on to prevent our white, white, moontanned selves from getting burned. The hilarious part is that I actually, for me, have quite the tan at this point, but no one would be able to tell :c) Anyway, most of the trip was spent between a rock and a hard place for us - on deck was in full sun but better for not feeling sick; inside was unbearably hot, worse for feeling woozy, but shaded. What are two fair skinned Washingtonians to do?
In the afternoon Apio, a Kuna man, pulled up in his dugout canoe to sell seafood. John bought live crab and lobster and made us a delicious meal of rice, tempura battered mackerel, coconut curry and heaps of lobster. That night, although still full from our late lunch, we ate all the freshly cooked crab, hot dogs, fruit, ice cream and cake. Marooned on the deck by our full bellies, we talked and laughed until it was time for bed.
The next morning was time for more snorkeling. We took the dinghy out to a teensy little island ringed by a coral reef and spent a couple of hours flippering around. Later we putted out to another island to swim, and Eric and I gathered some coconuts. We asked permission from some Kuna men who were there, and they gave us the ok. Everyone thought we were a bit nuts to be gathering coconuts from the ground, but after opening one the next day we won them all over. That afternoon was the beginning of the end of sailing for Eric and I. The anchor was pulled up and we left the serene archipelago for open water. And a small storm. Despite taking anti-nausea medicine, it was all I could do to keep from getting sick. I even went so far as to sleep out on the deck in the fresh air amidst rain and lightning! Luckily we managed to avoid feeling rock-bottom bad, but we were very excited to see Cartagena growing taller and taller in the distance the next day.
So we made it to South America! We spent the last couple of days hanging out in Cartagena working out our land-sickness, me getting food poisoning, walking around the beautiful city, and having drinks with everyone from the boat. I feel a bit like dragging my feet on setting out into the unknown again, but it is inevitable and all a matter of getting back into the swing of things after 2 weeks off of riding.
PS Eric is being extremely unhelpful. I'm trying to write, and Eric is making up all sorts of ridiculous songs with the intention of distracting me. The most recent, being sung in a sinister voice, "Bacon, eggs, cheese, mayonnaise. Onion rings, french fries, yum, blue cheese. I call it death on a bun. Dunanandun. Death on a bun."
Photos: All of us on the dinghy going snorkeling!; Kuna Yala woman and her child; sunset off the coast of Panama; hold on Gigi!; Kuna dugout canoe
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