Sailing Panama to Colombia

Between Panama and Colombia, the countries that link Central & South America, is the Darien Gap. A piece of land that is largly unpassable, mainly due to the difficulty in road building in this region, there is no easy route through without a 4x4 and a knowleagable guide. Further to this, the presence of FARC in this area makes it slightly risky to make the effort of passing through. Due to this, there are only really two options to go from Panama to Colombia, plane or boat.

So, along with 12 other backpackers I decided to get onboard with the most popular option of taking a sail boat from Panama to Cartegaña, Colombia.

Our boat was a fantastic 60 foot sailing/motor yacht called Wild Card and was skippered by an Aussie fella called John, who was supported by his first mate and fellow Aussie, Nigel. The passengers were a mix of Brits, my travel buddies James & Will - the Aussies, a Swiss couple and a lone Norwegian.

After boarding at Portobello in Panama, we sailed for 10 hours overnight to arrive in the amazing San Blas Islands, home to the native Kuna Tribes. First stop was passport control - which was a corugated iron hut with a desk and a broken chair on a tropical island no bigger than a few football pitches. Passports stamped, we headed a short blast away to a cluster of idylic deserted islands a moored up here for a couple of days of jumping off the bow, snorkelling, fires on the beach and eating fresh lobster.

Following this little piece of paradise we set sail for a 35 hour straight trip through open water across to Cartegeña. En route we saw a family of Sperm Whales and a large pod (perhaps 30 - 40) of Pilot Whales who were very interested in our vessel and got up very close and personal.

All of this, combined with sleeping on deck under a full moon and stars, and witnessing an incredible sunset at sea without being able to see land in any direction made for this to be an epic journey that i am sure none of us who were on the boat will ever forget.

Cayman Hunting in Bocas Del Toro

Whilst in Isla Bastimento in Bocas, we embarked on a midnight Cayman Hunting adventure with the Hostel manager and a few of his idiot drunken american friends. After searching the freshwater pools on the jungle edge just off Red Frog Beach this little adventure ended in the capture (and swift release) of this little fella.

Panama

I wasn`t expecting much of Panama before I arrived. Nobody on the gringo trail mentioned much about it, and I didn`t know much about it. However, in my brief 10 days or so there, it has to be one of my favourite Countries so far.

First stop was the stunning Bocas Del Toro, an Archipealigo of Islands in the north east, packed with dense jungle and stunning remote beaches. Surrounded by mangroves, crystal clear sea waterways and colourful coral reefs. A crew of 7 of us who were on the move together at the time stumbled across Isla Bastimento and the only Hostel on this almost uninhabited Island. With amazing beaches, jungle and a table tennis table at our disposal, we ended up staying a week and loving it.

Next up was Panama City. After a 10 hour overnight bus journey and a couple of valium we arrived before sunrise at our Hostel. Set in a huge old colonial town house in Casco Viejo, the old town, we could see across the Harbour to the modern part of town, which would be best described as similar to the Miami skyline. The City was a great mix of old colonial architecture, barrio slums and modern excess all mixed in together. It felt surprisingly safe and was a great base to go about selecting a Sail Boat to take us on the next leg of the journey, to Cartegeña, Colombia, via the San Blas Islands.

July

So, my goal for July is to get through Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama in around 3 weeks, leaving the last week of the month to take a 5 day sail boat trip through the San Blas Islands from Panama to Cartegena, Colombia.

This would mean that I get to Colombia for the start of August, starting what feels like stage 2 of my trip, South America.

This is pretty quick to be venturing through these countries, especially Nicaragua, but looking at the vast scale of South America and taking into account the many good things i've heard about the countries down there verses Costa Rica & Panama (which are very Americanised), I think it's the best decision right now.

As I write this, i'm on schedule and on the road almost daily with a couple of Aussies and a fellow Brit who are on the same timeline and course.