We left Cartagena, Colombia (and South America) on a sailboat called the Amande. It can hold up to 14 passengers, but there were 11 of us altogether. Some people were from Germany, others from England, and another from Argentina, and one of the staff members on board was able to speak fluently to everyone in their native language!
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| The Amande! Doesn’t look too big, but it can hold up to 14 passengers and 3 crew. |
We boarded the boat late at night and set sail for the next 4 days. The first night and the next day had everyone questioning why they had made the decision to travel on a sailboat for 4 days.
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| The quarters were a bit tight, but they were just enough! |
During this time, we were sailing on the open sea to get to the islands, and it was rough! I think that we were the only ones who did not bring motion sickness pills! Everyone was feeling so sick that most of them stayed in bed. Some of us ventured to the front deck and clung to whatever we could to get some fresh air and see the horizon...
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| The breeze up front helped calm the sea sickness! |
It was not a pleasant day. But by the next morning, we had arrived to the shelter of the islands and when we awoke everything was calm.
We awoke to beautiful crystal blue water and picturesque sandy islands with palm trees right out of a travel magazine.
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| The beaches were absolutely beautiful! |
We all jumped in the water before breakfast and swam to the nearest island. There wasn’t anyone living on this island and as we made it to shore, excited to explore, we found…plastic bottles and old lost sandals! Keep the oceans clean people!
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| The blues of the ocean are like none other! |
After breakfast, we motored to a different island that was inhabited. This island was clean and had beach volleyball set up and some hammocks between trees. We went onshore and the kids built a mouse house out of conch shells and coconuts. David had a nap in a hammock. Dreamy!
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| A mouse house made of coconuts, conch shells, driftwood and sand = amazing! |
That night we had dinner onshore and a bonfire made out of coconut husks and palm leaves. Charlie had fun feeding the fire well into the night!
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| That’s one big pile of palm leaves and coconuts. |
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| Charlie worked hard, but kept the fire going! |
The next day we motored to another island (there are approximately 365 islands in the archipelago). This was a great place for snorkelling.
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| There were lots of coral and fish to explore close to the islands. |
Luckily there were goggles and fins that fit the kids! It was exciting to show the kids the coral and fish. I introduced them to Christmas tree worms and how, if you wave your hand close to the small creature that looks like a tiny colourful Christmas tree, it will quickly retreat into its tube to hide. Adeline had a blast diving down to the coral scaring all the Christmas tree worms she could find. It seems a bit mean, but it's always fun to interact with wildlife in a safe way.
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| There were so many startfish and they were so big! |
We had dinner on one of the islands again. David claims that the red snapper was quite possibly the best fish he’s ever eaten! After dinner, it was impressive how we were ferried by dinghy back to the boat in near complete darkness except for the light of the moon. With all the other sailboats anchored in the same area, it was a wonder our driver was able to navigate back to our boat.
Our last day amongst the islands we had to go to immigration to have our passports stamped for Panama and to pay our San Blas entrance fee to the indigenous Guna people.
Panama uses the American Dollar for their currency and they will only accept cash for payment. Luckily all the passengers on our boat were well prepared. We heard that a Dutch family sailing around on their own boat only had Euros, so one member of their family had to take a flight to Panama City (yes, there was a tiny landing strip on the island), take out cash and fly back. One of our crew members said that she heard that a ticket to Panama City was $600, so that must have been a costly mistake! If you come to the San Blas Islands, be prepared and bring US dollars!
The rest of the day was snorkeling, beach play, and endless fun jumping off and swimming around the boat. It never gets old…
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| The kids spent hours jumping off of the boat. |
The crew on board fed us and sent us to bed quickly that night. We had to travel across open sea again and it was going to be a rough night, so it would be better if people were sleeping before the boat started rocking!
By the time we woke up, we had arrived at the marina of Puerto Lindo. We caught a shuttle to Panama City where we spent a few days exploring the Panama Canal and local parks before we caught out flight to Calgary, Canada!
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