Ships Ahoy

My time ran out in South America and her lovely sister to the north was calling, but what does one do when a land crossing between Colombia and Panama is virtually impossible and catching a flight is so 20th century? Well, the answer is to reach back a few centuries and use the transport medium that Columbus had used to cross the Atlantic…wind and sail.

It turns out that there are actually quite a few sailboats ferrying backpackers between the two countries and the trip has become a highlight for many a vagabond. The catch is that it costs US$400 and one has to research the boats carefully because some are un-seaworthy and others are captained by drunks or coke addicts or just plain mean people.

So, I made my way to Cartagena and started researching boats. After meeting a few captains and seeing the boats I came across Bob and his catamaran, Viva. Bob is an American who’s been cruising the azul waters of the Caribbean for ten years. After putting in for repairs in Cartagena and running up some debt he decided to run the backpacker gauntlet for a stint to make some money. We were his fist customers.

We (being a group of six lads whom I knew from my trek to the Cuidad Perdida) decided to go with Bob because he seemed like a decent sort…actually he’s a fun loving guy with a great sense of humor, and his boat is a spacious and beautiful one. Plus the price was right and it came with our own chef, Arnold, a wiry Colombian who never stops smiling.

We stocked up on supplies (read beer and rum) and set sail. After a thirty-five hour crossing of the open sea, during which a massive pod of dolphins swam with the boat for an hour and showed us all kinds of acrobatics, we reached the San Blas, set anchor and jumped in the crystal clear water. The thing that makes the trip a memorable one is, basically, the three days that one spends in the idyllic San Blas archipelago. Think Robinson Crusoe meets Pirates of the Caribbean. More or less, the San Blas is a series of 350 small islands mostly covered in sand and palm trees and surrounded by reefs. It even comes with its own indigenous people, the Kunas, who are one of the most organized and autonomous native groups in Central America.

We're not alcoholics......I swear


So we sucked it up and spent three days swimming, snorkeling, fishing, having bonfires on deserted beaches, pickling our livers and playing cards. Overall it was a great trip with a great captain, a great boat, wonderful food (even the lobsters that we bought from the Kuna’s which turned out to be glorified shrimp – never trust a guy whose named Celery) and splendid weather.

Now Panama….who knows what will happen next…