D179 – D184: Sailing from Portobelo, Panama to Cartagena, Colombia – 9 – 14 September, 2012

One of the things I was sure when I started my trip that I would sail from Panama to Colombia in the Caribbean Sea no matter the cost or time taken. At the around 6 o’clock in the afternoon of the D179 I embarked on the Gitana III sailboat together with nine more adventurers.

The group consisted of four friends from San Francisco: Nicole, Kira, Megan and Brian Ch; a group of three guys travelling together: Brian H, Sean and Blake; and two solo travelers: Lorenzo and Albert both from Catalunya. Our Captain Marc a Catalan himself was helped by a Cuban couple Orchidelia and Leondra and Maria, the Colombian girlfriend. The boat had five bedrooms and two bathrooms. The first evening on the boat we settled in and we were set to sail during the night to the Chichime islets of San Blas Islands.

When we woke up in the morning of D180, we were surrounded by three coconut islands and clear blue water. It felt like heaven on earth. 

The San Blas islands comprise of 365 islets (an island for each day of the year). They are inhabited and controlled by the Kuna indigenous group who are leaving off the coconuts harvested on the islands. After breakfast we started our habit to jump into the water to help to digest.

Later on Captain Marc took us with the dinghy to the bigger island. Here we admired the molas, the local handmade artwork and the ankle beads wore by the Kuna woman. Walking around the island felt like being in paradise but the litter kicked you back to reality. Later on the gang was brought back to have barbecue chicken dinner.

The next day (D181) after breakfast and the usual swim we continued to sail to Cayo Holandeses part of the San Blas islands. Just before sunset we reached our destination and anchored the boat in front of two uninhabited twin islands. Being in the sun and at sea the whole day sucked the energy out of most of us, so it was relatively an early night for everybody.

D182 was all about snorkeling and chilling at the islands. Nicole, Brian H and I decided to swim from the boat to the island. Everything seemed to be going well just before 100m before the shore when we found ourselves in shallow water with corals and spiny sea urchins. It was a bit of a challenge to walk to the shore knowing that we can be stung by a sea urchin. But we managed without any stings!!! 

Later on we were happily snorkeling around the island when suddenly Nicole and I were washed out to the shore by a strong wave scratching our backs and hands with the corals. 10 seconds later another wave came and were sliding on the sharp corals once again. It was not a pleasant feeling especially when we stood up and saw that both of us were slightly bleeding. Shocked, we walked back to the group and went to the boat to have lunch. Life is so funny! Even after this experience both of us had the courage to join others to snorkel in deeper water to admire the aquatic life. This time we saw tuna, huge eagle rays, a lot of parrot and other tropical fish. Definitely it was a full day and we were ready to start the continuous two - day sailing to Colombia. At least that was what I thought in that moment. 

Next day almost all of us had motion sickness and everybody was taking pills to be knocked out. Going to the tiny and claustrophobic toilet while we were sailing it was a torture. I tried to avoid it as much as I could.

The following day (D183) I woke up realizing that the sailboat was not moving. During the night the boat had a leakage and all the fuel was lost at sea. But luckily Leonardo (the multi-talented Cuban) mixed some chemicals to be used as fuel and managed to re-start the boat for us to reach the closest island. On top of the lack of fuel there was no wind either so we were sailing at snail speed. Just before we could spot some land a bunch of cute dolphins were jumping around the boat. What a treat!

Once at Islas de Rosario, Colombia, a friend of Marc brought some fuel to be able to finish the trip. 

It was already dark when we could see the lit skyscrapers of Cartagena. We were brought to short just after midnight and from here we took three cabs to the noisy and full of live Getsemani District of Cartagena. Finding a place to sleep for nine people at this hour on Friday night proved to be quite difficult. Eventually seven of us ended up sharing a ten bed dormitory with a non-functional air conditioner.  It was like sleeping in an oven. But at least I could lie in a bed which was not swaying with me!

For sure with this sailing trip I accomplished one of my dreams. Also I realized after meeting Albert (who is travelling the world for the last six years in a wheelchair without money) that the only thing that can stop you being happy and accomplish your dream is you and your controlling mind.