Seasickness, Snorkling and Starfish in San Blas

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After being delayed one day waiting for migration papers we finally set off on Thursday afternoon bound for the San Blas Islands. Excited and naivly optimistic we sat up at the front of the boat as we sailed out of Cartagena into open water ready for 50 hours without land. Little did we know what the next day and a half had in store for us. Realising it was a little bumpy, we moved off the deck to the back of the little boat and sat watching the land disappear behind us.

Lucas, an American who had been working in Paraguay for the Peace Corp for the past 2 years was the first to fall from grace. Soon, it was not just fish we were looking at, but Lucas' lunch was also floating past us. Next to be taken ill was Phil, from Sydney, who had sat assuring us for hours that he felt absolutely fine and wasn't seasick at all. Not long after, as night fell, we had all assumed our places around the stern, and a long, unpleasant night followed.

After surviving the rocking during the night, we awoke feeling only slightly better. We soon realised that the best place to stay was in bed, and sleep was the best way to pass time as concentrating on the tiniest thing had us running back upstairs again. It was like being on a theme park ride and not being able to get off. Thankfully the seasickness pills worked on the second day, and also enabled us to sleep through most of it.

Day 3 - Land. Oh glorious, glorious land. And not just any land - Paradise. Neither of us have ever been so happy to see anything other than water, but as we moored between two secluded tropical islands we soon put the nightmare of the past two days behind us and realised it really had all been worth it. Thank God.

We spent the next three days snorkelling in crystal clear waters, exploring the islands, which are inhabited by the indiginous Kuna people, and searching for starfish to play with - of which there were plenty. We sailed to different islands on the second day, where there were unfortunately other boats, however this didn´t detract from the picture perfect beaches much as we barely saw anyone else.

Our captain, Jose, and first mate, Israel, looked after us extremely well and we barely had to lift a finger. Perfect. Luckily, the five of us had a great time as a group, perhaps united in the first few days by getting through the terrible journey together. Despite the sickness, it was an awesome experience and an incredible trip. We can´t wait to show you some photos and make you all super jealous 😊

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