Sailing Panama to Colombia Part 1: Jeeps, Canoes & Sailboats

Sometimes the journey is really the adventure. My voyage from Panama to Colombia falls into this category. With the advice of Kathleen’s contacts we booked passage on a sailboat from Panama City to Cartagena. Let me walk you through the adventure, which I’d highly recommend…

The Jeep

We were picked up at 5 am at our hostel (Mamallena- good place) in Panama City. Our bags were stored on the roof of the (seen better days) jeep, and the driver pointed at me and told me to get in the front seat (which proved to be a blessing). We weaved our way through the dark streets of Panama, stopping a few times to pick up other passengers at other hostels. By the time the sun was rising we were making our way out of the city, blasting our way down the highway. At this point, with the window open I’d resigned myself to wild lady hair. I felt for my travel buddies who were two rows back and imagined they needed whatever fresh air was coming through my window -even if for me it was like continuously pointing a leaf blower at my face. We flew in our jeep towards our destination (with a side trip for our driver to conduct some of his own business) arriving in the Kuna territory known as San Blas or Guna Yala just in time for our real jeep adventure to begin. To say it was a twisted convoluted road through giant green hills wouldn’t do it justice. The roads led us up, down, on hairpin turns- it was like being on a roller coaster with no tracks. The route literally appeared to defy gravity as we drove on roads that only appear elsewhere as hot wheel tracks for kids. Careening down steep inclines pitched you forward in your seat, sometimes achieving weightlessness. Slowly grinding up the steep hills felt like you were getting ready to blast off to space, as the vehicle was practically vertical and your view out the front windshield was pure clouds and sky. This 3-hour (supposed to be 2) jeep journey brought us to the next stage of the trip.

The Canoe 

Arriving in the Guna (also spelled Kuna) territory by jeep we paid a small fee, about 10USD and were ushered through their border. We arrived at a staging area where the various tourists taking boats to Colombia or day trips to San Blas islands were milling about. Mostly young people from various countries were slapping on sunscreen, chatting, fixing their hair, and getting ready for adventures. Once our fellow travelers arrived we pilled into a small-motorized canoe to head down the river to the ocean. My heart skipped a beat when my backpack containing my laptop was tossed over the water into the canoe. This fearful experience was to happen a few more times as my backpack moved from boat to boat over the next few days. Luckily the sea gods were on my side and everything eventually arrived in Colombia safe and dry. Winding our way down the river we moved around the bend to a stunning view of the open ocean. Our little canoe brought us to our home for the next 3 nights and 4 days.

The Sailboat

To say the Stahlratte is stunning is an understatement. A beautiful, hundred year old sailboat, the Stahlratte was purchased and turned into a commune in the 80’s. The crew’s intent was to sail around the world, but they got stuck in and around the beautiful sunny waters of the Caribbean sea. Lucky for us! It’s now a registered non-profit that brings travelers around and operates based on volunteers who crew for a minimum of 3 months. One by one we climbed up the ladder, stepped on deck, were welcomed by the crew and were amazed at what we saw… I think this post is getting a little long- so I’m going to pause there and leave everyone in suspense. Check back tomorrow (or keep reading if you’re coming to this blog at a later date) to find out what we saw and to read the really amazing parts of the voyage. To be continued….

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