Day 1: As I peacefully sleep in my dark, cool hotel room I can’t help but feel pure pleasure my bed is so comfortable, and my pillow is like a cloud of joy. The sheets feel good against my skin. I can hear a child crying in the reception area and then the door to our room flings open and David walks in jumping on the bed giving me kisses all over my face. “Wake up” he says, “it’s time to get up”. It’s 7.15am and we have a busy day ahead of us. We are boarding the Stahlratte boat and sailing from Cartagena, Colombia to Panama. I have allot to do!! I slowly wake up as I’m not really a morning person have a shower and then pack the remainder of our room. The bike and most of our traveling gear were loaded onto the boat the day before so it’s just our clothes bag, personal things and a few snacks we need to pack. After this is all organized the only thing on my mind is coffee ☕️
Catching a taxi to the mariner seems like a simple and easy task….. Not in Cartagena where the traffic is horrendously busy, and the roads are flooded from the rain we had last night. Finally, we wave down a taxi who proceeds to take us to our destination slowly…….. and I mean slowly…….. ???? We arrive at the mariner late and both David and I are a little concerned. “I hope they haven’t left without us” I say to David as we are running along the footpath. There are a couple of local Colombians waiting for us when we reach the meeting point who grab our bags and lead us onto a small boat. We then board the Stahlratte!!
There is a small crew onboard busy loading the boat with food and drink for our four-day travel and a group of eight people who will be sailing to the Panama. Three backpackers, two cyclists, a solo motor-biker and us. The German named Stahlratte is bigger than I thought it would be with a kitchen area, a lounge room, toilet and shower and off course the bed cabins down stairs. It used to be a fishing boat some time ago but now sails from Cartagena, Colombia to Panama City a few times a month carrying motorbikes only no cars. We set sail around midday much later than expected and I wonder why we panicked in the morning thinking we were so late!!
Day 2: I wake to the smell of coffee being made and think to myself what a rough night on the sea we had. I slept on and off, much better than expected. Thankfully I haven’t felt any sea sickness unlike some of the others on this trip. I lay for a while on my bed feeling the motion of the boat as it crashes up against the waves. What will the day bring today? We are expected to reach the San Blas islands this afternoon how exciting!! After a delicious breakfast and numerous amounts of coffee I decide to head down to the cabin area. As I am fussing around I suddenly feel a massive urge to vomit I stumble for the stairs and proceed to climb up I can feel the water in my mouth increase. I make it to the toilet just in time banging into walls on my way, I try to kneel down in front of the toilet, but the swaying of the boat stops me. I get down just in time and then it happens….. man, that feels better and then I lay down on my bed for the rest of the morning ????
The afternoon is quite I’ve never slept so much since boarding this boat and as the winds have been chaotic today the San Blas island will have to wait till tomorrow.
Day 3: It’s 6.30am when I get a kiss on the cheek and a cup of coffee brought to me. How lucky I am!! The boat feels calm much different from the day before. Breakfast tastes amazing it’s so great to eat when you’re not feeling sick. We are all in high spirits and we can see the island approaching. How exciting it is and finally we get to go swimming ????
The lobsters and beer arrive for our elaborate lunch and I am glad I’m feeling so much better than yesterday. The water feels warm and I duck under to wet my head.
After such a large festive lunch I decide to have a nap I can hear the crew laughing as they are playing cards upstairs. It’s a great day.
Day 4: I feel David stir around 5.30am and I think to myself why does he get up so early? It’s warm in our cabin area and I wipe the sweat off my brow. The captain has given us an extra day on board as we made it late to the San Blas islands. After an early morning swim and another great breakfast, we set sail, what a life!!!! When we arrive not to far from the port dock in Panama we anchor and relax for the rest of the day sleeping, swimming, eating and drinking till the sun goes down. I think about the last few days on the boat and the people I have met. What a journey it has been. The bike has been well looked after we have eaten like kings and queens (when we weren’t feeling sick) ???? and the captain has been quite accommodating not to mention all the new friends i have made on board. The following day we will all go our separate ways after being in each other’s pockets for the last four days. Time to explore Central America and all it has to offer, but first let’s check out Panama City!!
