Sailing Panama To Colombia
The Story About A Sailing TripSailing The High Seas
So, after two days in paradise, was it time to leave San Blas and head out on the open sea to Cartagena. It’s a route that should take 40 hours for a sailboat to complete, but it took us 55 hours because of different circumstances.
To get from San Blas to Cartagena you will have to sail north and then east. Because of the rough weather that we encounted, and the natural direction of the wind and the currents, we were sailing against the waves all the time. The waves were up to four meters high at some points of the trip. All this waves and the constant movements of the boat made everybody on the boat feel sick. Only two of us actually threw up, although all of us on the boat probably had times when we were very close to give our food to the sea.
Except for the captain, that was sailing all the time, day and night, were we all laying down, trying to sleep and trying to think of anything except the sickness we were feeling. Nobody felt like talking so it was a very quiet boat. All you could hear was the wind outside. It’s hard to describe the feelings when you’re on a trip like this, and the waves are so high. That is something you’ll have to experience your self to fully understand.
The second reason why it took us so long to get to Cartagena, except for the weather, was the fact that our captain used beer as a medicine against seasickness. That meant that our dear captain Salvador had to drink a lot of beer to stay well on the open sea sailing. As we all know, a lot of beer normally gets you drunk and our captain was no exception. And to cope with the loneliness of the nights he was smoking one or two joints. The result of this was that he managed to sail in the wrong direction for ten hours and we had to spend one more night on the sea. This is probably not very common though, and shouldn’t put anyone off this kind of trip.
So, after 55 hours sailing on the open seas, we arrived in Cartagena in the afternoon the 16th of December, one day late. The captain, sober and healthy again, took all our passports to the immigration office to get them stamped. He came back and told us we had to wait an hour for the passport to be stamped. One hour later he went in again and come back empty handed. After the third attempt, and three hours waiting in the Cartagena harbour, he told us that the immigration wouldn’t be able to put nine stamps on our passport until tomorrow. We then had the options of staying one more night on the boat or be illegal immigrants in Colombia for one night. Nobody on the boat even considered staying one more night on the water, so the captain helped us to find a place to stay in Cartagena and brought us our passports the morning after.
San Blas
After a rough night on the boat, with waves as big as four meters, did we arrive in the San Blas archipelago early in the morning. The captain made a short stop at the Panama immigration office on one of the island and he made sure that we all got our exit stamp from Panama. After breakfast on the boat, as every morning, sailed we further south in the archipelago. The sea was calm around the islands that are protected from the open sea by a coral reef.
Paradise Island
The San Blas is a group of 340 islands (although the locals say it’s 365, one for every day of the year) just outside the coast of Panama. Most of the islands are uninhabited and the majority of the one with someone living on them are only occupied by one family. Since it’s part of the Kuna region are no one that isn’t Kuna allowed to live there. The islands have very much of a paradise feel to them. They all consists of white, fine sand beaches and palm trees. The water surrounding the islands are as clear and blue as any travel catalogue would show you.
We had two days, at two different islands, in the San Blas. The first day were we on an island we’re a Kuna family lived. They didn’t speak Spanish, only the Kuna language, so there wasn’t much communication going on. But all we backpackers enjoyed our time on the beach, or playing in the water. I also had a near death experience when a big coconut fell from a palm tree, just one meter from my head. Apparently falling coconuts are one of the most common causes of death in the tropics.
After a quiet and calm night went we to a new island the next day. This island was very much the same as the last one, but there was no people living there. We were now closer to the corals and anyone that wanted could borrow snorkeling gear from the boat and snorkel for a while. After nightfall we had a barbecue on the beach. The captain made some kebabs for us all and together with some beer and a beautiful full moon was it a very nice last evening in the San Blas and Panama.
The Day The Boat Came. But Didn’t. But Did.
All the people that was going with the same boat as I had to be at the pier in Portobelo at midday and we would be picked up there by the captain. Since I came the day before had I been watching out for the boat all day at at midday was there no boat in sight. I went over to the pier where everybody going to Colombia had gathered. We were nine backpackers all in all and everybody was wondering where the boat was. Finally did we manage to make a call to the captain and got an explanation. Apperentlly there was some problem with the engine but they where on there way.
So, almost two hours late, was the boat there and we could all get on board. The boat was called Chirisa and was owned by the captain, a Spaniard called Salvador and his Italian girlfriend Daniela. It was a sailboat of 55 feet, had two masts and was built for eight people. Now we where nine passengers, plus the two in the crew so it was a bit crowded. Lucky enough was there room for one or two people to sleep in the kitchen and some people could sleep up on the deck.
The Boat
We got on board and was given a brief explanation of the trip ahead of us. We would stay in the harbour until late at the evening and then set of for the San Blas archipelago where we would stay for two days before crossing the Caribbean to Cartagena. The crossing from San Blas to Cartagena was estimated to take 40 hours of straight sailing. We would be given breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Water was free all day and there was beer and soft drinks for every meal. On board was also some snorkeling gear for free use in San Blas.
Dinner was served onboard and we all got a chance to introduce ourselves and get to know each other a little bit better. The paople on the boat was, apart from myself: Mark from England, Mike and Tyson from Canada, Paul from the US, Harm from Holland, Julian from Australia and a couple from Belgium: Sebastian and Virginie. It was a good mix of people and most people got along with each other during the trip.
After dinner and a beer or two was it time to start the trip. We sat sail (actually was we using the motor, as we did most of the time) at 10 and sailed out on the open sea. It was windy and the sea was quite rough. None of us backpackers were used to sailing and we went quiet one by one and as we got more and more seasick. Lying down is probably the best method to easy the seasickness so after a while were we all lying down and sleeping, except Salvador, our captain, that steered the boat to San Blas.
Portobelo
Portobelo, the town where we sat sail, is one of the oldest Spanish settlements in America. It got it’s name (which means beautiful port) by Columbus himself when he sailed along the Central American coast on his fourth and final journey in 1502. With time, as the Spanish found gold and other treasures, it grew to become one of the most important cities in Spanish America. For example was all gold that the Spanish got (maybe stole is a better word) from the Inca Empire in Peru sent to Europe via Portobelo. During the 16th century was one third of all gold in the world sent through Portobelos harbour.
All this gold created enormous riches in Portobelo, and riches like that obviously drew attention to the city. Even with four big fortresses guarding the city was Portobelo attacked and levelled to the ground several times by British pirates and the British Navy. In the end was the constant attacks on Portobelo (and Panama City on the Pacific Coast, where the treasures first landed before being transported to Portobelo) too much for the Spanish, and they started to sail all the way around the South American continent instead. Thereby Portobelo lost its importance and shrank to the small fishing village it’s today.
Portobelo as of today is not much more then one street along the coast and maybe a few hundred inhabitants. Two of the fortresses are still in place and interesting places to visit. Further more is the restored customs house (where the Spanish kept the gold while waiting for galleons from Europe to take it away), the church and the old hospital interesting places in Portobelo.
To summon Portobelo is it enough to say that it’s a city that was more then it is.
The Booking Of My Trip
I booked my trip in Panama City, at a hostel called Luna’s Castle. There was a few similar trips leaving during the upcoming week and I booked one that was cheap, seemed to include a lot in the price, and was sailing to Cartagena, the city in Colombia where I wanted to start my South America travels. It was suppose to leave from Portobelo in Panama on the 9th of December and cost US$ 350. It was five days until then and I had just arrived in Panama City so I stayed in that hostel for the whole time.
Two days after I booked my trip came one of the people that worked at the hostel up to me and told me that the boat I had booked had been cancelled. I never really got the reason for the cancellation, more than it was the captain that cancelled the trip. Fortunately was there another boat leaving on the 10th, sailing the same route and everybody that had booked the first boat was offered to change to that one instead. It was US$ 30 more expensive but with the alternative being to wait for another week was it an easy decision to leave one day later even for a bit more money.
After the second boat was booked and all was set, was there nothing much to do than wait and go about with normal tourist activites i Panama City, before I headed up to Portobelo, the town from where the boat left Panama.
The Basics
This is a blog about travelling between Panama and Colombia. I’ve decided to do the trip by boat but there are three other ways to do the crossing over the border:
- The easy way: Take a direct flight from Panama City to Cartagena in Colombia (or vice verse of coarse)
- The cheap way: Take a flight from Panama City to Puerto Olbaldia, near the Colombian border, then a short boat ride (if you lucky to find someone to take you on) to the Colombian side of the border and then bus through guerrilla and drug trafficking land to the safer parts of the county.
- The dangerous way: Walk over land through the Darien Gap. There are no roads across the border and the rain forest you walk through is lawless land with Colombian guerrillas, drug cartels and rowing bandits along with all the other dangers the jungle itself have to offer. This option to cross the Panama/Colombian border is doable but considered very dangerous and a possible suicide trip.
To find a boat can you either contact a captain of any of the sailing boats that takes people between the two counties, or do it trough most hostels in Panama. If you do it through a hostel will they have information about the different boats and captain that are sailing and when the are leaving. It’s important to know that all boats are private owned and there are no fixed schedule or prices for the crossings. In most cases will you have to wait for some days before you can actually go with the boat.
At the moment is the normal price for a trip US$ 350-400. All boats include accomodation on the boat, food, water and snorkeling/swimming in that price. Same also ad a few beers a day, some soft drink and/or snacks. Most boats sail down to the beautiful San Blas archipelago (part of an autonomous region governed by the indigenous Kuna people) where they stay for two days at different island and will then cross over the Caribbean for two more days. Coming from Colombia to Panama will, naturally, mean that you start with the crossing and finish in San Blas.
If you book through a hostel will they have information on the different boats and captains, their prices and what they include in their trip. It’s wise to ask around before you sign up for a boat. Maybe the boat leaving two days later have a much better deal?
