Panama to Cartagena

Columbia certainley was not on the cards but travelling by yacht from Panama to Cartagena via the Archipielago San Blas was to tempting. Well tempting once you manage to put the thoughts of pirates and drunken sailors at rest.

There are lots of boats that leave regularly but it is finding one with a good reputation and a good captain that is key. I booked to travel on Esmirelda with captain Olivier, French Canadian and experienced Sailor. The rest of the crew were three Swiss Germans, Pascale, Pascal and Dominic.

There was to be one more passenger and thankfully he decided not to come. His name was Armin, upon first meeting him it went something like this -

Armin - Hello you must be Sara, you were announced for yesterday why are you late.
Sara- i decided to go to Isla Grande and party for the night.
Armin - Where are you from
Sara - England

Armin - Well i am a German and i hope you are not offended by nakedness. At which point he whipped off his trunks and proceded to dry himself with the worlds smallest towel. Oh yes i got an eyeful. Nakedness i am comfortable with but this was outrageous, he was stood about a meter and a half infront of me. So, i was pleased when he pulled out, i could not have put up with a week of that!

Aboard Esmirelda looking over Isla Grande.
There is no photoshop on this, the water really was this clear, this was looking more like the paradise that i appear to have been searching for. the weather was a little coudy once we got out to sea but it did not take away from the beauty of the Islands that we were approaching.

The San Blas Archipelago, part of the Comarca de Kuna Yala, is a chain of approximately 400 islands stretching along the Caribbean coast of Panama. Picture football field-sized cays covered with palm trees, ringed with pearl-bright beaches fronting the dazzling Caribbean Sea. Small indigenous villages cover some of the islands, while others remain uninhabited.

Chi Chi me Island. We anchored in between two islands for two days. We swam to them and relaxed under the coconut trees, it was so peaceful. There are only 10 inhabitants on the island so we tucked ourselves out of the way so as not to intrude to much.

Locals selling fresh fish and crafts. The dug out canoes are facinating, it really is just a dug out tree trunk.
The other island, also Chi Chi Me, it has gradually spilt. A little different but not much, white sands, coconut trees and clear water. We did sot around eating fresh coconut, a little chocolate and it would have been perfect.

The first of may amazing sunsets. Me with Esmirelda in the backround. We had bbq fish and rice as the sun went sown, and a few beers.

The sunrise.

This is Venicio, he lives of Chi Chi me and is the master behind my new purchase. The Kuna Indians are known for their decorative art, known as molas. Molas are usually very bright and colorful and are often worn as clothing. Before the missionaries converted the natives to Christianity, they wore few clothes but decorated their bodies with colourful designs. When encouraged to wear clothes by the missionaries, they followed their body painting designs in their Molas, which they wore as clothing.

There were so many massive starfish hanging out in the crystal clear waters.

After the dissapointment of Little Corn Island in Nicaragua i was happy that i really had found paradise.

Makeshift sail boat

We met many people here that had packed up life, bought a boat and were travelling where ever the winds took them. Some made jewlery and sold it to tourists, many of them were self suficient and caught their own food. They were interesting people but i don´t think i could likve like this.

Looking out to some of the other small islands. The islands are owned by different clans, somre are inhabited and many are not. I don´t think i would have any problems staying here.

fishermen, who are actually quite naughty. They were catching lobster that was to small. We spoke them, as there are laws, and they threw them back. Well, for that day anyway, they don´t understand that if they take them that small there will eventually be none to take at all.

We did have a lot of fun, this is Dominic, complete with war paintbuilding sand castles, the afternoon was finnished off with coconut football.

Getting ready to set sail.

We took in turn throughout the night to steer, by this point Pascale was feeling really sea sick and the captain was drunk. The boys took the night shift and i did the early morning 5am to 10am. The seas were a little rough and it was quite scarey out there on your own.

It has seriously made me think about my dreams of crossing an ocean. It is true, you do see things in the dark and you have no idea what it is. Dominic thought we were about to crash into an Island, there was no fear of that we were still 15 hours away from land.

Finally enough wind to get the sails up.

Another beautiful sunset

The walled city of Cartagena, and not a moment to soon. I think all four of the crew were about to make the captain walk the plank. He was partial to a glass of vino, normally starting at about 11am. He was more than a little opinionated!

The left side of Cartagena as we came in the port, looks amazing but, 70% of them were unfinnished. It was a large building site with lots of half finnished buildings.

The old town of Cartagena, very impressive. It has a great history and many impressive Colonial Buildings.

The crew, Pascal, Pascale, Domonic and me. Ready to leave the boat and have some beers on dry land.

I didn´t spend long here, four days to be exact. It was enough time to take in this beautiful city, see where they sold the slaves, walk around the wall and get a much needed pedicure and a chinese meal.

I will leave you with some photos of the lovely Colonial walled city of Cartagena. I will return to Columbua one day and see the rest, everyone we met said it was one of their favorite countries.

There was one other little excursion to Volcan do Lodo El Totumo. This was advertised as a natural mud volcano with minerals. It really was a hole filled with mud where you climbed in for a dodgy massage and then sat there for 40 mins. The mud was so dense that you floated on top.

Dominic and Pascal had a mud fight, apparently it didn't taste to nice!

Panama City and Panama Canal

18 hours after leaving Costa Rica i arrived in Panama City. This is such a cool place very cosmopolitan with a very different vibe, that could be something to do with the fact that as a country they are loaded, and little bit corrupt!

There is a large business district but i headed for Casco Viejo, a dilapidated neighbourhood with cobblestones, old churches and scenic plazas.
This is the goverment buildings. You can walk through the streets but everything is armed so no entry.

´Following the destruction of the old city by Henry Morgan in 1671, the Spanish moved their city 8km southwest to a rocky peninsular on the foot of Cerro Ancon. The new location was easier to defend as the reefs prevented ships from approaching the sity except at high tide. The new city was easy to defend as it was surrounded by a massive wall, whic is how Casco Viejo got it´s name (old Compound)´

´The capture, sack and burning of the city of Panama in 1671 marked the climax of one of the most extraordinary campaigns in military history — perhaps the most remarkable aspect of which was the fact that it was not a military campaign at all. The ‘army ‘ that reduced the second largest city in the Western Hemisphere to ashes did not act on behalf of any nation, sovereign, religion or political ideology.

No, these were men motivated solely by the spirit of free enterprise. They were, in point of fact, a gang of criminals — pure, unadulterated pirates.

The leader of this enterprise was equally remarkable. Indomitably courageous and charismatic, Henry Morgan had a rags-to-riches life that would have made a fine subject for a Horatio Alger novel had he not also been one of the most rapacious, ruthless and unprincipled villains of his age.'

There were so many incredible buildings.

Plaza de la Independance is in the heart of Casco and was the site where Panama declared its independance from Columbia on November 3rd 1903.

Looking back over the skyline of Panama City. High rise building and full of huslte and bustle.

Ingelsia De San Jose. This church protects the famous alter do Oro (golden altar), which was the only thing of value salvaged after Henry Morgan sacked Panama Viejo. According to local legend, when word came of the pirates impending attack, a priest painted the altar black to disguise it. The priest told Morgan that the famous altar had been stolen by another priate and convinced Morgan to donate handsomely for its replacement. Morgan is said to have told the Priest ' I don´t know why, but i think you are more of a pirate than i am'.

This has been one of the highilights for me. It is a combination of being a secret boat spotter and the importance of one of the greatest engineering marvels of all time.

'The Panama Canal is approximately 80 kilometers long between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This waterway was cut through one of narrowest saddles of the isthmus that joins North and South America.

The Canal uses a system of locks -compartments with entrance and exit gates. The locks function as water lifts: they raise ships from sea level (the Pacific or the Atlantic) to the level of Gatun Lake (26 meters above sea level); ships then sail the channel through the Continental Divide.

Each set of locks bears the name of the townsite where it was built: Gatun (on the Atlantic side), and Pedro Miguel and Miraflores (on the Pacific side).

The lock chambers -steps-- are 33.53 meters wide by 304.8 meters long. The maximum dimensions of ships that can transit the Canal are: 32.3 meters in beam; draft -their depth reach- 12 meters in Tropical Fresh Water; and 294.1 meters long (depending on the type of ship).

The water used to raise and lower vessels in each set of locks comes from Gatun Lake by gravity; it comes into the locks through a system of main culverts that extend under the lock chambers from the sidewalls and the center wall.

The narrowest portion of the Canal is Culebra Cut, which extends from the north end of Pedro Miguel Locks to the south edge of Gatun Lake at Gamboa. This segment, approximately 13.7 kilometers long, is carved through the rock and shale of the Continental Divide.

Ships from all parts of the world transit daily through the Panama Canal. Some 13 to 14 thousand vessels use the Canal every year. In fact, commercial transportation activities through the Canal represent approximately 5% of the world trade.

The Canal has a work force of approximately 9 thousand employees and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing transit service to vessels of all nations without discrimination'.

I went to the Miraflores visitors center which is an expression of the permanent commitment of the Panama Canal Authority to strengthen the public’s knowledge of the Canal. They are very focused on environmetal issues and there is a whole floor dedicated to showing their comitment to the public. From the top of the center you can see the boats passing through the Milaflores, i spent hours here watching two massive tankers pass through.

They have trains along side so that the boats stay central and don´t hit the sides. There were about 6 trains on this boat.

Moving through the second lock.

This boat was from Hong Kong. It was huge.

Ships pay according to their weight, with the average fee around USD 30,000. The highest amound paid was around USD 200,000, by a cruise ship in 2001 and the lowest amount was USD 0.36 by Richard Haliburton, who swan through in 1928.


The gate house of the Milaflores lock

The next day i had booked a trip up the Panama Canal. It was a 5 hour trip and took you through three locks and up through the Gatun lake. All boats, even submarines that occasionally pass through, have to have a port captain who is responsible for getting the vessels through. I overheard that they get paid about USD 300,000 per annum. This is a huge amount of money in this part of the world, an most other parts come to think of it, so it really is a huge responsibility.
There are two briges that connect the two sides of the canal.

This boat is to big, with its cargo, to pass through the locks. They unload all the containers which are then taken by train to the other end and reloaded once the shop passes through.

It takes a few hours for the boats to pass through the first three locks and then they cross the Gatun lake to the other side and spend a few more hours dropping down to sea level on the Atlantic side.

We shared a lock with this monster. This is a fuel carrying boat but there is very little or no cargo on this ship. If it was full the red part would be underwater, and you would only see the black.

It was a tight squeeze, this thing only just fitted in. They are building an extension to the lock which will allow bigger boats to come through. The new locks are being built along side the current ones so there will be no disruption to day to day manovers. They will have more advanced technology and will be more efficient.

The gates

The gates closing. It was all pretty quick, i think it fills at 3 feet per minute.

There is lots of wildlife on the canal. This pelican did quite well for his lunch, at least 4 fish. There were also crocodiles and lots or birds.
The little train keeping the boat from hitting the sides, although it did look like it had taken a bit of a battering.

The lock chambers -steps-- are 33.53 meters wide by 304.8 meters long. The maximum dimensions of ships that can transit the Canal are: 32.3 meters in beam; draft -their depth reach- 12 meters in Tropical Fresh Water; and 294.1 meters long (depending on the type of ship). These doors are actually hollow and if they need to be repaired they are taken off and floated up to Gatun for repair, then floated back down.

Taking a rest

The Pedro Miguel Locks, the last of the three locks on the Pacific side.

Travelling from the Atlantic side through the Gatun lake, heading for the Pacific.

These white tubes are to put explosive down and clear the land. This is part of the expansion.

Thes are drills that are drilling into the canal. They drop explosives in and then come along with a barge to clear it up.

I hope this hasn´t been to boring. I found it so intersting and it was cool to see the types of containers that were being carried. Bananas, coffee, Fuel, electronics etc etc.

A big day out for me and afterwards i headed up to Isla Grande. I booked to take a boat from Panama to Cartagena. On the way i met some really cool people that lived in Panama. I went along with them to Isla Grande and partied the night away, a great laugh and some new friends.

Bye for now

love

Sara

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