Colombia to Panama - the hard way

After standing on the Equator for a good few hours we didn´t spend much time
in Ecuador but hot footed it over to Colombia. Despite getting stuck in the
middle of violent student protests and accidently staying in a red-light
district, Bogota was an amazing place and home to the friendliest people in
the world. Fact. Next, the coastal town of Cartagena which was beautiful and
ridiculously, ridiculously hot. Not able to fork out for the luxury of
air-con we had to sleep under the shower everynight.


We met up with some friends Kristen and Dawn (who we met in the Galapagos)
and decided we would all get a sail boat to take us across the Carribean sea
to Panama as an adventurous alternative to flying. An adventure it was but
not really in a good way. Ignoring the advice of many we decided to go on a
very small boat, thirty feet in all. Our ´crew´consisted of a one man team
- an insane and very dirty German who didnt seem to like us all that much.
Three uncomfortable days sailing across the waters battling nausea and small
tropical storms and with a real lack of space and we arrived in the San Blas
islands for a few days of absolute paradise. This almost made the trip worth
it but our captain then attempted to take us captive for a few more days
rather than take us to mainland Panama as planned, despite Kristen needing
to see a doctor. Being in the very unfortunate position of having absolutely
no money between us (who would have guessed that some sparsely populated
islands in the middle of the carribean sea with no electricity or running
water wouldnt have cash-points?) we couldnt make our own way there. A
guardian angel came to our rescue in the form of a Kuna (native of San Blas
islands) man named Eric. A trusting fellow, he paid immigration for us and
took us to land on his motorized log which we shared with tonnes of lobsters
that he was preparing to sell. We finally arrived in Panama city stinking of
fish but very happy.

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