A hop skip and a jump to Colombia

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On leaving Belize I was faced with making a choice between spending more time in Central America or hot footing it down to South America (unfortunately I just don´t have the time to do both properly). After too many recommendations for Colombia I decided on the later and booked myself on a sail boat to take me to Cartagena, Colombia from Panama on the 17th September. This meant only three weeks to see the remainder of Central America - not an easy task, but an incredible experience. Highlights below:


Lago Yajoa, Honduras: Stayed in a micro-brewery set in the jungle amongst the largest selection of birds in Central America. Beer and wildlife are the perfect combination.

Volcano boarding, Leon: This involved hurtling down a volcano at 40km p/h on a sledge, and managing ensure all limbs remain remained intact by the time I got to the bottom.

Laguna Apoya, Granada, Nicaragua: A crystal clear and beautifully quiet lagoon formed from the crater of a volcano. A slightly ambitious plan to kayak to the other side was foiled when I realised it was just really, really far away. Headed back to a shore for a beer, for recuperation purposes.

Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua: An island on Lake Nicaragua, formed out of two volcanoes. Friendly locals, livestock everywhere and the best sunset I have ever seen in my life.

Tortugero, Costa Rica: Watching a 15 stone green turtle haul itself up the beach, dig a nest, lay a 150 eggs, then build a decoy nest (to distract the dogs/raccoons etc) and haul itself back down the beach. Incredibly awe-inspiring.

Although, for all the incredible things I saw in Central America, it was my journey to South America that proved to be the most memorable of all. It´s virtually impossible (or at least, extremely difficult) to cross from Central to South America by road. The Darien Gap in Panama is thick jungle full of threatening wildlife and drug traffickers. So, a popular option amongst backpackers is to take a sail boat from Panama, through the Sans Blas Islands, arriving in Cartagena, Colombia 5 days later.

A word about the Sans Blas Islands: you know when you see pictures of paradise; crystal clear water, palm tree lined beaches, star fish, coral and not a building in site? And you think to yourself 'that doesn´t really exist´. Well, it does. And it's the Sans Blas islands in Panama.
The inhabitants of the island are the Kuna people who are fiercely independent and have remained so for thousands of years. No non-Kuna people are allowed to live or buy property and on the islands and so, apart from low-level tourism, they have remained relatively free of Westernisation. Interestingly, the Kuna society is a matriarchal one, meaning the women own all the property and make all the decisions. Quite a change from the rest of Latin America.

If the beautiful Caribbean islands and interesting culture wasn´t enough to make the trip perfect, then the group of people I travelled with certainly added to the journey. From all the stories I heard about drunk captains, dodgy boats and lack of water I was lucky enough to get a personal recommendation for a boat owned by a British couple with an impeccable reputation. Their sail boat was beautiful (Gypsy Moth) with safety incredibly important (they ere travelling with their 1 year old daughter). Furthermore the rest of the passengers were great and we got on incredibly well (given the size of boat this was pretty important). Evenings were spent drinking rum, playing cranium and laughing until we were shushed by the other boats. Throw in wakeboarding, snorkelling, dolphins, ship wrecks, fun facts, break dancing, sunsets and you´ve got the recipe for 5 of the best days of my journey so far.

Mishaps: Each of us were meant to take turn doing night watches on the 2 nights we sailed (basically make sure no boat crashes into us or visa vera)– but I was deemed too much of a worrier/stresser to be given that kind of responsibility, probably rightly so.

Size zero: Although I barely had time to eat in the run up to my sailling trip I made up for it with calorie consumption on the boat. Our British couple made us food we´d only been dreaming off for weeks - steak and ROAST POTATOES. Roast potatoes two days in a row. Mmmmm.

Men: No time for men in Central America although I was offered romantic tandem reading on the boat (I declined, for the record).

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