5 days on the Caribbean Sea

From Cartagena to the San Blas islands of Panama takes 30 hours of blue water sailing. Despite the assurances of our Italian skipper Eduardo, I sense this is a less than typical crossing. Riding down into the troughs of the swell the waves pass beneath the boat and crunch the hulls on the way through, before rising up in front of us and then appearing again nearly half-way up the mast. The mainsail is reefed twice and still we manage 12 knots. Nicolino, the cook, is courageously preparing a meal when he narrowly escapes injury as the knife block is sent flying across the room. It leaves a hole in the side of the wood panelling. 

Dinner and lunch are restaurant quality which is especially remarkable given the conditions, but of the 12 people aboard Nic and I are the only ones who manage to keep both meals down. Retiring to the master cabin (graciously awarded to us by Eduardo with the remark, "for the New Zealand couple, because you travel the furthest to be here") it's like trying to sleep inside a bass drum as the waves pound against the side of the boat. This wasn't on the glossy brochure.

Farewell Cartagena

Sponsored by Napisan

Camera was on underwater mode so the colours came out a bit strange. You get the idea.

The next morning and things have improved slightly but still there's precious free space to sit without being caught in the deluge of the breaking waves. The passengers who opted not to pay for one of the 6 cabins have spent a damp and sleepless night on the squabs of the deck benching. The seas remain like this for most of the morning and the spirits of everyone on board are at a low ebb. But the mood picks up when the coast of Panama comes faintly into view and at some point after this the seas flatten and the wind dies down. Only nobody notices this because palm trees and white sand and turquoise waters have now appeared also. 

Buon Vento

Woman from the Kuna tribes native to the islands

The San Blas archipelago is made up of around 400 mostly un-inhabited islands about 40 miles off the coast of Panama. Three days pass as we cruise between various islands, shipwrecks and reefs. We swim and snorkel and return to the boat only when Nicolino rings the dinner bell for fresh pasta or risotto. Given a kitchen bench that stays horizontal he puts together meals that defy the tiny space and facilities. My own experiences of cooking on charter boats are put to shame. This is what cruise ship food should be, not the stodgy spag bol I served up as clueless 19 year old!

The Caribbean lives up to everything we expected. I won't waste a thousand words trying to describe why. When we disembark in Panama that familiar feeling rolls in that always accompanies us after leaving somewhere special - were we ever really there? The third degree sunburn on my back says yes. 

Special thanks to the Coopers who gifted us the proceeds of a sold cow that contributed to this sail trip. A moment of luxury travel amongst all those bus rides!

Thanks also to everyone for the birthday wishes yesterday. Was spoilt by Nic and had an amazing day. More from Panama and the Caribbean soon, ish.

xN&G