Sailing the San Blas

'Boat Ahoy!'

Sal fancies herself as a bit of a sailor, I however have lubbed the land as long as I have known how to lubb anything, and never much desired to float around on top of the opaque ocean with who-knows-what (Kraken? Killer Whales? Nuclear Submarines?) beneath you. However when the opportunity to sail from Colombia to Panama via deserted tropical islands surrounded by warm turquoise waters arose - which is precisely what the San Blas crossing entails - it was too good to turn down. Beats another boring flight anyway....

Ian gets his sea legs on 

We found the only boat leaving Cartagena on the 2nd January and boarded the 85ft vessel with 28 other hardy travellers and five crew. After an extensive safety talk by our wild eyed Slovakian captain that primarily focussed on the importance of using the ships toilets correctly (delicate machines whose failings - usually inspired by the malpractice of his passengers - would force the Captain to get up to his elbow in the brown stuff. He disliked this intensely).

The first night was 24 hours of non-stop sail from Cartagena to the islands which lie just off the north Panama coast. It was extremely rough with the boat pitching and rolling back and forth so much that water came through one of the top hatches and flooded one of the downstairs bedrooms. Another passenger, as the boat lurched 12 feet on its axis nearly disappeared overboard. I spent most of the time in the cabin, clinging to the bed trying not to throw up and militantly focussing on episodes of Game of Thrones. Sal slept on deck - rather more debonair and adventurous than I.

One of the 300+ 'Robinson Crusoe' style islands that make up
the San Blas archipelago

Tattered, sick and bedraggled we arrived at the islands which were both beautiful and serene. A series of reefs surround them which acts as breaks to the rough waves of the sea, making the water calm. As you can see from the photos they were totally deserted and there was nothing much to do apart from swim in the incredibly salty and therefore buoyant water, read constantly, and sadly discover that kayaking against a current is really quite a lot harder than it looks. For me anyway, Sal took to it like a professional.

San Blas = White sands and turquoise waters

Not all was harmonious. The much heralded 'all you can eat' lobster buffet - our captain had made a big deal of this - did not materialise due to the weather (first world problems eh....) which nearly prompted a mutiny. The toilets (surprise!) stopped working, as did the showers. And the captain entertainingly/alarmingly turned out to be a nutbar of the highest order, gathering us around the table to share an authoritative and endlessly intertwined series of conspiracy theories. Topics included the African continent only having separated from South America in 3000 BC to Spaceships being stowed under the Easter Island heads. He was keen to tell us how he was very good at martial arts - surprising as walked with an Ozzy Ozbourne style ponderous gait. A real character as people used to say...

Despite the lack of lobster, the food on board was absolutely outstanding. We loved it. How the two cooks managed to produce the food in the storms on the first night with the boat pitching and rolling over 120 degrees was truly incredible. Perfectly grilled and breaded fish, even cooking one that one of the passengers managed to catch himself.  

It was truly an outstanding experience, living and floating between desert islands.

Cartagena - Feliz Ano Nuevo

The clock tower is the entrance to the Old town of Cartagena

New Year's Eve in Cartagena is a slow run up. We headed out into the backpacker area of Getsemani around 6pm for an early dinner and to give ourselves adequate lubrication time for the festivities. The streets were so quiet as we wandered the lanes surrounding Plaza de la Trinidad and we had to question whether we even had the correct night.

Last dinner of 2014

In true Colombian style the party starts late. After dinner, we met up with some friends we had made the night before and found the crowds gathering by the clock tower - the main entrance to the old town of Cartagena - and along the magnificent adjoining city walls. 

A mass of old and young, women, men and children, locals and out of town-ers, all who had brought their own food, drink, chairs and in some cases what looked like the kitchen table - had gathered to create a massive street party picnic. We got hold of a couple of bottles of Aguadiente,- the local 'fire water' - and shot glasses and as we edged closer to midnight we would have a periodical 'Salud.'   

Fireworks at midnight

The count down for New Years was very haphazard without any central clock on display. Coupled with the growing fuzziness from the liquor, no one knew precisely when we actually passed into the New Year. It turned out that we were based right near the lauch pad of the fireworks which signalled the start of 2015. It was no Sydney Harbour Bridge or London Eye display but the heart palpitations gained from the fact that there was no safety zone surrounding the launch area and sparks seemed to be going in all directions, more than made up the for the somewhat underwhelming show.  

Drinking Aguadiente near the city wall

Afterwards people started to gently drift away from the walls and we feared that the night was over and we would have to make our way back home - a decidedly un-Colombian outcome. However, fear not, we found the pressing mass inside the walls of the old town taking part in what would be a night and morning long party that would rage and tumble from one gorgeous cobblestone street to another.

Cartagena's old town, constructed by the Spanish during the colonisation of the country and now a UNESCO world heritage site is wonderfully beautiful and rivals anything in Spain I have seen certainly. And they really know how to enjoy themselves. Whole families and groups of friends - sometimes in the hundreds - dressed in their most elegant attire were lined up throughout the narrow roads on long tables, Champagne was flowing and everyone was eagerly chatting to one another or dancing to the huge stereo systems blasting out music ranging from salsa to dubstep.

Feliz Ano Nuevo 2015

Loads of the squares were turned into concert venues with dancing girls, salsa bands, djs, turntables, even Carlos Vives - Colombia's own Meatloaf, middle aged, open shirted. tanned and permed, the apple of every Colombian lady's eye - performed. A throng watched as the video relayed the action from the main concert area (which you needed tickets to get into). We hung around and had a sing along to his most famous recent hit 'Volvi a Nacer' with thousands of other revellers. We ended up seeing in the first morning of 2015 looking out at the ocean at the trendy 'Cafe del Mar' up on the city walls.

The beautiful streets of Cartagena's old town

The city walls in the daytime