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!)
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