Off to sea we went! San Blas, Panama to Cartagena, Colombia.
/I know, I know… I have been terrible at keeping up with the blog for a variety of reason so I'm trying to make up for it with updates on Facebook from time to time. We’re in Peru now, so what better time than to share our story of sailing from Panama to Colombia. I am reminiscing about the warm tropical temperatures while freezing our butts off every night in Cusco and Machu Picchu for the past week at temperatures close to 0 Celsius in the evenings. (Well, we are now in the hot desert. I just can't seem to keep up with myself, lol.)
When we laid out our six month itinerary on a map, Colombia wasn’t on our radar. It was a country I had written off due to my ignorance. My perceptions were stereotypical – Colombia is dangerous, drug-ridden, and not a tourism destination. How quickly this all changed after a few conversations with fellow backpackers. For many, Colombia was their favourite country and came highly recommended. “Do NOT skip Colombia,” is exactly what we heard over and over. I'll cover Colombia in my next post, but where else can you smother yourself in the ooey, gooey, glorious gunk of a mud volcano?! This is El Totumo mud volcano in Colombia, apparently this spot made an appearance on Amazing Race this season, which we missed:
The original plan was to simply fly from Panama City, Panama to Quito, Ecuador. Instead we found ourselves reserving two spots on a sail boat that would take us from the Atlantic side of Panama across open ocean to Cartagena, Colombia. The highlight of this four-night trip being the brilliant San Blas Islands of Panama. Before heading out on what's been one of our favourite experiences, we spent two nights in Panama City to check out Casco Viejo (the old city), hit a shopping mall to replace our flip flops (mine had since disappeared and Jonas’ had holes through to the pavement), and of course, pay a visit to the impressive Panama Canal (which really only takes an hour and sadly, we didn’t see a ship pass through the locks).
I'm not going to get into detail about Panama City, but here are some shots. I loved it - it was the perfect combination of history and culture, modern city amenities, and beautiful views overlooking the harbour. Jonas could have done without it, but that's because he doesn't much care for the big cities. I could have spent a few days in the Old City, but we only had one quick afternoon. The Spanish architecture blew me away and the cobblestone streets lined with dozens of boutique cafes and restaurants invite you in to with their charm.
Now, onto the sailing portion! Up until booking this trip, my idea of sailing was narrow and most definitely veered to visuals of the glamorous lifestyles of the rich and famous. Just like an episode of the Bachelor (because this is SO reality, right?!), where their “date” includes a massive, elegant boat effortlessly gliding across crystal clear waters of the Bahamas, not to mention two perfectly toned bodies lounging on the top deck soaking in the rays. Well, as someone who grew up in the interior of British Columbia with no expose to realities of sailing, this is all I had to go on!
Can you believe that our sailing adventure was exactly like this? Evidence:
I wish! As you can see it just doesn't look like the set of Bachelor, for a variety of reasons. However, it was a special and very new experience that will surely create vivid memories for Jonas and I years into the future.
On March 17 we boarded the Amande ship in the San Blas region of Panama. Looking at a map, the 300+ San Blas Islands are on the Atlantic coast, a few hours north of Panama City. Our adventure would begin in this pristine, relatively untouched area of the country. We feel very privileged to have been guests here. The San Blas region is home to the indigenous Kunas who have fought for and maintained their sovereignty from Panama’s government. As a result, their traditions and culture are intact and they live in a unique kind of simplicity that I only then witnessed for the very first time. While they are allowing guided tourism and benefiting nicely from these dollars, they’re keeping tight regulations on tour operators and, wisely, charging entry taxes to bring benefit to their people.
Food from the sea and coconuts are the foundation of the Kuna's diet. Dugout canoes provide access and are sealed with styrofoam soaked/melted in gasoline, which produces a glue. We witnessed this work firsthand, and wished he was wearing gloves!
Day one was an extremely early start; up at 4:30 am to wait for our shuttle in Panama City which was supposed to arrive at 5:30 am. Imagine our groggy frustration when it didn’t show up until 6:30 am (not fun in the wee hours of the morning waiting curbside because the hostel locked the door behind you!). We squished into an old 4x4 SUV with several other groggy backpackers and set out on a two-hour drive to the coast. Our driver decided to spend every waking moment on his cell phone, sorting out details for the transition of his passengers to water taxis, and making social plans with his friends. A bit unnerving as he passed vehicles at high speeds and showed his frustration with traffic in the process. The second hour was a winding, lush, brilliant mountain pass and thank goodness he lost cell service! The SUV barely made it up some sections of the road; I’m talking 20km/hr and severe lugging from being WAY overweight. It was just like the switchbacks above Whitecroft near Sun Peaks, but steeper and for an entire hour!
We arrived at the water taxi area with little time to spare. A theme in Latin America during organized transportation is most certainly the following:
(insert sense of urgency throughout) ---
Step 1) We've been patiently waiting, waiting, waiting... departure time has passed. It seems like everyone is ready?
Step 2) All of a sudden: “Please, we have to go! Vamos, vamos!” Hurriedly with a desperate expression the guide rushes off as we all frantically grab our bags.
Step 3) Reinforcement about the urgency of departure by the guide, even though we are all already rushing: “Come on! We have to leave NOW.”
Step 4) Arrival at destination: “Okay, we are here!" Now, we wait 30 minutes while the guides discuss some mysterious circumstances as to why we cannot yet begin the next step. It's really all quite a comical series of events that seems to repeat every time we have transportation or a guided tour somewhere.
This time, however, there was a surprising amount of organization and clarity despite the staging area being a simple clear-cut along a little river with two dozen Kuna’s organizing 100 or so tourists to various boats. Little wooden and paper handmade signs hung on huts intended for shade, with the final ship or island destination scratched onto the surface. Sometimes all that's required is a smile and well organized people, and everything works out great! We piled onto this small boat with our fellow shipmates and off we went.
The grogginess of the early morning disappeared as we sped across the ocean and were finally greeted at the Amande by our Argentinian captain Victor, and his co-captain, cook, and mother hen to us all, Sophia. Victor let us know (a group of 13 – three couples, three groups of girl friends, and one single guy) right away that “this is not a party boat” and that once we’re sailing on open sea for the last two days, drinking is not permitted. We found out in due time why exactly this is so crucial...
Now in his early 40s (I think he’s just 40…) Victor has spent the better part of his life travelling the world, has lived in Japan, has been sailing for only a few years, and is also a talented artist, making funky, unique silver jewelry in his downtime. Sophia, the bright, cheery, curly red-head from France (in her mid 20's) was travelling last year and her adventure turned into her now semi-permanent life sailing in San Blas. And let me tell, you she was made for it! Never gets seasick and bless her soul for tasty meals and taking care of us in OUR varying states of seasickness.
We only truly “sailed” for an hour or two during the first couple days, as Victor primarily used the motor. At one point he did put the sails out (the main one was torn and hence the reason for using the motor) and this hour of peaceful gliding across the water is what we all had hoped the entire trip would be like. Each day he selected an island for us to anchor at, would pay a fee to the Kuna family living on the island (only one family per island!), would shuttle us to the island in the dingy, and then we’d spend the day exploring - snorkling, tanning, wandering, seeing what the Kuna families were up to.
As you can see from the photos, weather was a mixed bag. Primarily overcast with fleeting windows of blue sky and sun, just enough to warm us up after playing in the water. What you don’t see in the pictures are the hundred or so fly bites we got on day two – barely visible but bit hard, drew blood, and lasted two weeks! I'm surprised we don't have scars.
We learned a lot about San Blas and the Kuna culture, primarily from Sophia. Here are a few highlights:
1) Pictures of the Kuna are not permitted, but I couldn’t help but take a few at a distance – I wasn’t the only one!
2) The Kuna women are textile wizards, trained from a very young age under a mentor to hand make delicate, intricate pieces called Molas. Molas are a treat for the eyes! With their bright colour palate, various designs, and fine craftsmanship, these artists command a lot of respect. Molas can be turned into virtually anything - purses, pillow cases, clothing (the women wrap them around their mid-section as part of their traditional attire), etc. The average Mola takes 25 hours to make. We selected a beautiful piece for ourselves, which I sadly forgot to take a picture of it before sending it home but here’s a link to check them out.
3) As a visiting woman, if you’d like to interact with the Kuna you must cover your mid-section – no bikinis! Women are the important figurehead of the family and the midsection a sacred part of the body. If a family doesn’t have a daughter, their last born son will be raised as a girl. Most of these men choose to remain women for the duration of their lives, as it’s a privilege and all they’ve ever known. In fact, the lovely "lady" we purchased our Mola from and who visited our boat to showcase her art, was one of these individuals.
4) The Kuna make a living off coconuts (all of the islands were actually bare until the Kuna discovered them and planted coconut trees from the mainland) and tourism taxes. They also farm on the mainland. Families are appointed to a farm by their "government" in a rotational schedule. After a family has completed their job during the given planting or harvesting season, their burn down their house and move on! Why they don't leave the house for the next family we didn't learn...
5) Don’t steal a coconut! They belong to the Kuna and they will fine you $300. Furthermore, don’t crash a boat into the reef and abandon your ship. The Kuna will deem the boat an extension of their land and will strip the boat of its possessions (hardware included) in no time flat.
After a few days of living internet free and seeing first-hand the simplicity and beauty of the Kuna way of life, we began the second leg of the trip – the passage to Colombia. The first step of transitioning away from the coastline to open ocean took place overnight, to “ease” us into rougher waters, said Victor. The journey from Panama to Cartagena is against the current and the waves – lucky us! We woke to the boat rocking gently, but significantly, side to side while the bow dropped and raised every 10 seconds or so. I thought Jonas and I would be okay - boy was I wrong! Jonas and I both saw about an hour of ocean over the next day and a half that followed. Seasickness got us bad and we were destitute to our little cabin, popping Dramamine seasickness pills religiously every six hours and passing out back to sleep. Lucky for us, our cabin was in the middle starboard of the ship. Our fellow passengers were at the front of the boat and when we hit two meter waves and strong winds the second night, the front cabins were doused in water while we just got a sprinkling. I took absolutely no photos during this time, but I'm sure you can imagine what it was like.
Our first glimpse of Colombia was an amazing sight. What a relief it was to see land after being so ill! We got through immigration seamlessly, in fact they didn't even need to see us in person, Victor simply delivered the passports to them. We even went to an ATM on the mainland to get money for our tourist Visa's before being approved through immigration... kind of weird.
I would love to go sailing again, but I don't know what can prepare me for the dreadful seasickness. Thanks to our captain, co-captain and wonderful boat-mates for a fun adventure!
Signing off from Peru,
Christina & Jonas