Fritz The Cat - Sailing Colombia to Panama

The voyage involves 2 days on the open seas before reaching and spending 3 days swimming, spear fishing, searching for crabs and crayfish, and exploring the beautiful San Blas Islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama, inhabited by Kunas the native Indian tribes of Panama. There were 18 of us on the boat including the Captain and his first mate/cook/cleaner/basically did everything, including stealing my bed but he deserved it. While sailing out of Cartagena the coast guard called out to us but Fritz just told them he would be back in 2 weeks... We found out later that the next boat that was meant to leave the following day was stopped, searched and made to stay overnight, and then process repeated the following day. Apparently the officials are trying to stop these private boats operating because a ferry service is due to start shipping passengers between the two countries.

While sailing on the open water we each had to take an hour turn at being captain throughout the night. I scored the 1 to 2am shift... But it was fine, I spent my hour sitting on the front of the boat keeping an eye out for ships but with no excitement. On the 2nd night an older fellow from Germany was on watch while we we sitting at the back of the boat having a few drinks. We had some good speed at this stage and were approaching the islands when we went flying past a 5 metre high marker buoy, missing by about 10 metres... I'm glad we trusted this guy with our lives...

We reached the islands early in the morning and awoke to the sensational clear waters and palm tree islands. We went for a swim and snorkel straight away and the water was so warm that you could spend all day in it. The visibility of the water was amazing and we found a few manta rays, a crab, and a reef shark that was sleeping just under a ledge in the coral, but nothing worth feasting on for dinner. This was repeated over the next couple of days before it was time to head to the main land.

The captain had informed us that the usual place he pulled into was now charging $100 to get our passports stamped so he had organised to meet a guy who works in the immigration department who lives on one of the islands to meet us and stamp our passports. It all worked out fine and so we headed into the mainland. Here a Kuna boat met us and ferried us up a remote river. On the way the captain realised he had left his mobile on the boat and quickly jumped off onto a passing boat and headed back out, leaving us with no idea what we were doing. We thought this may be his quick getaway. Anyway the boat pulled into a little community where a number of 4x4s were waiting to drive us to Panama City.

 

Tayrona National Park - Colombia

Tayrona National Park is on the northern coast of Colombia, full of dense jungle, big granite boulders, and crystal clear white Caribbean beaches. We made our way here by flying from Cuzsco to Lima, Lima to Quito, Quito to Medellin. We didn't really love Medellin like most people do, it does sit in a beautiful valley with big green mountains surrounding it but the city was nothing special, maybe we just didnt see what Medellin has to offer. From here we travelled by bus to Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast, and then to Taganga. Taganga is a small fishing village which recently has seen a massive influx of tourists, but the town can't cope with this and the beaches and town is littered with trash, such a shame. We got out and went back to Santa Marta and stayed at this cool hostel called Brisa Loca before leaving our packs there and heading to Tayrona National Park.

There are a few places that you can camp inside the park, the best being Cabo San Juan. It is the furthest to get to but the beaches there are sheltered so they allow you to swim. The beaches on the way in are guarded to stop people swimming as hundreds of people have drowned due to strong currents (maybe more like weak swimmers). We hired a tent for $25, not real cheap but we didn't realise that it was a few days before Easter, the only time of the year the park is busy with Colombians coming in swarms. After 2 days of swimming and chilaxing we headed back to Santa Marta, then up into the mountains nearby to a place called Minca to swim in the rivers, check out some wildlife including Toucans and Macaws. The town sits on the edge of a mountain range called the Sierra Nevada which has the highest coastal mountain range in the world at 5700m only 42km from the coast. It has only been in the last 7 years that it has been safe to travel to this region as it was a strong hold for Guerillas and Narco Trafficas.

After recovering from a bout of food poisoning I gained from eating at probably the most expensive restaurant we had paid during the trip so far, a sign that we should stick to the fresh inexpensive street food, we headed to Cartagena to hang out with thousands of police and security officers (Obama was coming to town along with his Americas President friends).

The colonial section of Cartagena is amazing! Surrounded by thick defence stone walls built by the Spanish in 1533, the buildings have all been renovated and turned into a classy neighbourhood with fine restaurants, bars, cafes and shops and is a nice place to just wander the streets. While in Cartagena I decided to head to Panama on one of the many sailing boats that do the voyage from Cartagena to Panama and stopping in the Caribbean San Blas Islands.

I had heard some good reviews about a boat called Fritz The Cat, a big catamaran that sleeps up to 20 people and the boat was due to leave in a few days time. After a couple of days I finally managed to meet the captain, an Austrian guy who has been sailing the route for the last 10 years. I said to him I want to join your boat leaving on Thursday, Fritz replied Super, give me you passport and some dough and I'll see you at 11am. So I handed over my passport and $500 and off he went... It all worked out fine and after loading up with some booze I headed to the boat, met the 15 others and off we sailed.