Sailing Away - Colombia to Panama


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Published: October 12th 2012
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10 July 2012 began with a couple of unexpected challenges. First there was the heated argument over the phone with the hostel owner about the last minute hidden insurance and tax charges. These were not mentioned in the “balance to pay” email we received and so were a complete surprise when we were settling the bill. It ended with the arrogant owner admitting “this happens a lot and other people pay” then he declared that he had Leigh’s credit card number and so he could easily deduct the disputed amount. An unfortunate end to a lovely stay!

The next challenge proved to be changing our Colombian dollars into US dollars in order to pay the balance of our yacht fare. Leigh walked for an hour in the heat and visited four banks to discover each had run out of US dollars. In desperation he went to the booking agent, Laurel, and she agreed to send a “runner” to make the transfer. He returned an hour later, waited a further 20 minutes and finally he had the money in his hands. All this to save ourselves US$45!

We said our farewells at the hostel and we caught a taxi to
On our wayOn our wayOn our way

Leaving Cartagena Bay
“Club Nautico” where our yacht “Ave Maria” was berthed. Over the next few hours we shopped for onboard snacks, stowed bags, met our travelling shipmates and got settled in for the five day journey to Panama.

We were the mature couple on the boat. We were joined by Jorge and Kallum - friends from Australia, Juan and Ramiro - friends from Argentina, Ariana and Jean-Philippe – a couple from France, and Zoran from Macedonia living in Holland.

Our Australian skipper Paul and his Colombia girlfriend/cook Sindry outlined the important information for a successful voyage on the 50 foot ketch for the five nights and six days aboard. As we motored across the bay to refuel we passed the naval base and saw an assortment of confiscated drug running watercraft on display as a warning to boaties. Paul explained the navy are much more prone to destroy suspect vessels at sea rather than waste time and manpower to chase, detain and eventually confiscate the vessels. A sobering thought which had us all much more relaxed about the reason for our delayed departure ... waiting for our official paperwork to be completed!

At 7:45pm, once refuelling and repairs/adjustments to the water pump were complete, we motored out of the bay and into the Caribbean Sea. Sindry’s dinner of chicken, vegetables and potatoes was served at 10pm and it was handed to us in bowls because we were now in a significant swell. None of us had eaten since midday so we gratefully gobbled the offering before heading off to bed to escape the relentless “tossing” we would endure for the first 36 hours.

Leigh decided not to take advantage of a sleep before his allotted helm time so at 11:50pm he woke Eileen to begin the 12 – 2am shared watch. Eileen tumbled out of the steamy bunk and made an unsteady walk to the “head” (toilet for you landlubbers!). Nursing a banged ear, elbow and knee from her inexperience with these conditions, Eileen finally scrambled from the bow to the stern and took the watch keepers perch behind Leigh at the helm.

The two hours passed uneventfully but they were physically challenging. Leigh fought the increasing swell, wind and steering to keep the ketch on course while Eileen struggled to stay on the bench with little to hold onto as the boat pitched and rolled. We counted down the last 20 minutes and then it was time to wake Kallum and Jorge. The next eight hours were the roughest. During the first 36 hours everyone did what they needed to tolerate the conditions on the cramped, hot, steamy, and cigarette smoke filled boat until we reached calmer waters around the San Blas Islands.

The relief and excitement was obvious on everyone’s faces when we dropped anchor next to a beautiful uninhabited island. This meant a chance to swim, cool off, have a wash, snorkel, stand on solid ground, and most of all, to have some fun. It was great!

The next day was spent relaxing, meeting people from nearby boats, and preparing for an evening barbeque on the beach. Between dusk and dark Juan and Ramiro tended the open fire while the rest of us transported everything we needed from the ketch to the shore including the live lobsters sold to us by the local Kuna fishermen. We enjoyed a great meal together on the lovely breezy beach. Juan played the guitar and sang for us. We talked, laughed, and we all marvelled at the clear starry sky. It was a fabulous and memorable night.

Our second-to-last day we travelled on to Porvenir via Uwargandub, a Kuna village. While the boat was replenishing water we had a wander on the island and met some of the locals. We had a cool drink and then Leigh had the treat of using one of the island toilets; a four sided “box” covered with palm leaves situated over the water. The dimensions were designed to cover someone of about five feet tall (1.5 metres)! Eileen called it “a room with a view”. We found a woman selling ice cream and we sat under a shady tree and enjoyed our ice creams in the (hot) breeze. Eileen noticed a small group of children gathered behind Leigh and they were looking at Leigh’s bald head. There was pointing and giggling from the three boys as they got closer. Eventually one brave boy came up behind Leigh and touched his head. Leigh spun around as the boys laughed and jumped backwards. After some attempts to communicate, Leigh stood up and the boys’ laughter changed to caution as they stood staring at this six foot two inch man (1.88 metres).

We left the Kuna people and continued to another island to snorkel over a wreck where the water was clear and the fish life was varied. A couple of hours before dark we set off for Porvenir where we spent our final night aboard.

Eileen woke at 6am and decided it would be sensible to prepare for a speedy departure. Sure enough, she was right ... oh, so right!! Paul woke everyone at 6:30am and told us the longboat would leave at 7am. There was a flurry of activity from everyone as they hurriedly packed gear. Paul took the covers off the luggage which was stowed on deck and it was on the longboat before some people had their clothes on. We were told we could have a coffee and breakfast but there was no time and no food put out in the “Sindry only” kitchen. Also there were no clean dishes.

Bemused and hungry, the nine of us climbed into the longboat where we spent an hour or so travelling over open water with swells accompanied by flying fish. Then we crossed a sand bar and continued then upriver for a few miles spotting birds and crocodiles before arriving at the landing point. We clambered up the muddy bank and we helped each other transfer our bags to the waiting point. And then we waited ... and waited ... and waited some more.

No one we spoke to seem to know anything. Some of the men tried to negotiate rides for us with the 4x4 vehicle drivers but to no avail. A couple of hours went by and then two 4x4 vehicles arrived and one of the drivers started to load our bags onto the roof rack. During the mismanaged overloading of the roof rack, Zoran’s bag fell and was badly damaged so the boys took over the process and then we were soon under way.

The ride to Panama City was more expensive than we had been told with additional charges, steamy with heat, challenging with terrain and potholes, beautiful with scenery, frustrating with four passport checks and one full bag search, exhilarating with a huge road washout, and scary with a near collision. Finally, six and a half hours after leaving the ketch, tired and hungry, we arrived at our accommodation in Panama City.


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