Sailing through the San Blas islands

A bad start to our return to Cartagena as there was absolutely no rooms available in the entire city so we had to settle for an overpriced room in some random family’s house which smelt of dog poop and wee. Then there was a 2 day delay with the boat as our captain, Gwen, attempted to gather the 9 passengers on board and get our passports stamped. On the evening of the third day we had exited Cartagena harbour and, set sail towards the San Blas islands (all 375 of them). As we slipped off to bed we were rocked to sleep by the calm seas only to be woken 4 hours later with our French captain shouting “merde” over and over again as he jumped from the helm of the boat to reel in the sails and then suddenly a loud crash as one of our passengers, Pedro, lands in the kitchen as he’s thrown off his bed! Well, it was a fun two days ahead of us with lots of vomiting (although the Irish & the British stomachs stuck it out!), zero food and very little sleep. But there are no words to describe the beauty of what appeared before us on the morning of the third day. After a broken GPS system (because of a ginormous wave that covered us and the electric equipment) we breathed a sigh of relief to arrive in the correct location. We quickly put on our bathing suits and dived into the clearest seas we’ve ever laid eyes on. While our captain fished for crab and lobster we took our snorkels to the shore and explored the island…which took all of about 8 minutes! We arrived back on deck with rumbling bellies only to be greeted by a feast of fresh seafood and a passion fruit filled with rum and sugar. Mmmmmmm…dee-lish! The next day was spent exploring a nearby ship wreck and lazing on the beach, drinking fresh coconut milk and nibbling on papaya. That evening we feasted on fresh lobster bought from the Kuna indigenous community who govern the San Blas islands (they managed to keep them from the Spanish and the Panamanians all this time). They would visit us every evening selling seafood and artesania while we moved from island to island. Once again we dined fantastically and spent the evening delving into the rum once more…there was a lot to get through! The following morning we moved on to another island surrounded by fantastic corals. We all grabbed a snorkel each and made our way around the island to explore. It was our last evening staying stationary by the islands so we made the most of it. We moved on to another island the next morning for some more snorkelling and spear fishing (for the boys) and then set sail that evening for Panama. It would take another day and a half to get to Portobelo. ..and a rocky one it would be! We spent the rest of the journey horizontal until we arrived to the lovely little port town of Portobelo, Panama. After an unforgettable week it was time to shower up and make our way to Panama City!
(pic 1: first day arriving on San Blas islands; pic 2:Mitch gets his snorkel on!)

Christmas in the Caribbean

Snow…bloody hell! Mama and brother Mitcheson arrived one day late due to the snow at Paris airport so we spent Christmas all alone in our big beachside apartment. Deciding to make the most of the day we indulged in a scrumptious fresh fish Christmas lunch for our festive feast. Late Christmas day with a full squadron of Mitchesons we headed back to the apartment to get the real celebrations going. The apartment didn’t disappoint and was by far the best (and most comfortable) accommodation we experienced in South America. Santa managed to find his way to Colombia with some fantastic gifts and, more importantly, Cadbury’s chocolate. After some traditional Christmas games and a midnight feast it was time to get some rest for a busy 2 weeks ahead. The next few days were spent exploring the old town of Cartagena and getting some beach time in. Then it was time to show our guests what a typical Colombian bus ride is like…it didn’t disappoint!! 6 – 8 hours torturous hours later we arrived at Santa Marta and enjoyed some HUGE steaks and beers on the beach. But we didn’t stop for long and quickly made our way back to Taganga. We were looking forward to a fun filled day in the beautiful Tayrona Park (where we’d already been earlier in the year)…things can change quickly in South America! What was a pleasant 45 minute boat ride 2 months earlier turned into a hellish 3 hour boat journey over 2 metre waves. Conditions in the park weren’t much better and we quickly made our way back to the mainland disappointed and thanking God we survived. We quickly all about it as it was time for some New Year celebrations. We headed to the fantastic Pachamama restaurant and enjoyed a “muy rico” buffet washed down my many many cocktails. Then it was off to the beach for midnight. After some confusion of the exact timing of midnight we indulged in a sing song and a bit of dancing and thoroughly enjoyed the celebrations around us. After another couple of days of beach time we headed to the tiny town of Palomino further along the coast. For a couple of days we lounged (and slept) in hammocks and entertained ourselves with the many games brought along from London...because of the rain that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Then it was back to Taganga to soak up some sun in the remaining few days we had together and indulge in the “complementary” cocktails (i.e. from mum and brother!). After a tearful goodbye, it was back to Cartagena for me and Sharon (for the third time) to hop on our boat to sail through the Caribbean to Panama.
(pic 1: Sharon & I having lunch on Christmas Day; pic 2: everyone enjoying some evening cocktails)