You Tuesday morning we checked out of our hotel and got a tiny taxi with all our bags to get the first sight of our home for the next six days; 'Sailing Koala'.
We had made our decision and were booked on this yacht for the next 6 days as we made our way to Panama via the Caribbean San Blas islands.
Our Captain, Israel, met us at the dock and walked us to the boat where we met Phillip, one of our co-passengers for the journey.
It was 10:30am and it was already 30 degrees so our orientation meeting was called at the supermarket cafe across the road from the harbour.
Israel introduced us to Mike, our boat host and chef who took us through safety, boat rules and most importantly, how to flush the toilet on board!! Mike had trained as a chef in Italy for 2 years so we were looking forward to eating his culinary creations over the next few days.
They told us that as it was so windy, the seas were too rough to leave that evening as planned so instead, we'd sleep on the boat that night and leave at 5am Weds morning, whilst the seven passengers 'slept'.
With a bit of intrepidation we left the supermarket to see as much of Cartagena as we could before 5pm when we had been asked to meet at the boat for dinner and to meet the remaining passengers.
We pottered around the shops, changed some money into US Dollars for the trip, bought a few bits and bobs and ended up back at the boat on time ready to meet the five others that we were going to share our adventure with in close quarters for the next 6 days.
They were:
Phillip (we'd already met) from Switzerland
Nick from Australia
Lynsey, English girl living in Sydney, Australia
Mags, Irish girl also living in Oz
Martina from Switzerland
We all got on really well right from the start and headed over to the supermarket to buy beers for the journey, each trying to estimate how many they'd need bearing in mind there would be no shops for 6 days!
At 8:30pm we returned to the boat for a chicken dinner and retired to our cabins early as we were hitting the water at 5am for approximately 36 hours at sea non-stop before we landed at the first of 3 San Blas Caribbean islands.
Sailing Koala at sunset
Well, sleep we did not as our room was like an inferno! It was so warm it was untrue so at 4am we gave up, got up and took sea sickness tablets, 1 hour before we were due to hit the rough water then tried again to sleep.
Around 6am, after they'd hit the starter motor (in our room) twenty times, the boat started and we were off.
Goodbye Cartagena
The first hour or two we were rocked back to sleep by the gentle sway as the yacht gently listed from side to side but in hour three that soon changed.
I was rudely awoken by the sudden lack of oxygen in my lungs as I was completely winded by Lauren being thrown across the cabin as the yacht hit a huge wave and listed to around 45 degrees.
When we'd recovered from the shock we got up and attempted to make it up on deck which was a challenge akin to a cross between Gladiators and Total Wipeout.
When a few of the others had made it up on deck, Mike tentatively served us breakfast which we ate one minute with our heads nearly on the sea, the next, 50 feet in the air, looking down on our co-passengers the other side of the boat.
Looking at the horizon was the only way of trying to avoid sea sickness but unfortunately Lauren was feeling rough so she ran the gauntlet back to our cabin where she remained for the rest of the day, desperately trying to sleep off the sea sickness.
Most of the rest of us remained on deck chatting to each other with zero eye contact as we kept our sight firmly fixed on the horizon which was often masked by giant 30 feet, aqua blue, Caribbean waves.
Before I'd left port I'd arranged for the boat company to lend me a fishing line which I trawled behind the yacht in the hope of catching a Tuna, Baracuda, Dorado or any of the many Caribbean ocean fish.
The rest of Wednesday was spent drinking as little as possible to avoid unnecessary trips below deck to the toilet and lots of chatting as we tried to distract ourselves from the ever present threat of sea sickness. If you went to the toilet you genuinely ran the risk of being batted around the tiny cubicle like a pinball. If you were lucky, you'd get away with a mild concussion, a welcome break to the queasy feeling we'd become accustomed to.
By this point, our chef and first mate Mike was well and truly sea sick and for the first time in his life, Israel our Captain was also ill. I'm not exaggerating when I say the sea was rough. We later found out that the Cartegena coast guard had a red flag out (don't sail) when we left and other boats had postponed their trips until the weather changed. We now knew why.
So, apart from the fun of meeting 5 new co-passengers and getting to know them, Weds was pretty much a right off for us as Lauren couldn't come up on deck without feeling violently ill and I couldn't go below deck for the same reason! We hardly saw each other all day!
Weds night was rough again. We had to sleep in the recovery position with our bent leg jammed into the side of the boat for stability. Weirdly though, I slept better than the first night as at least it was cooler as the boat was moving.
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Thursday morning we awoke to the welcome news that we'd made good progress overnight, the wind was in our favour and we were likely to reach San Blas around 1:30pm rather than the previous estimate of 5:30pm.
Lauren was feeling a bit better but Linsey had eventually fallen to the seasick gremlins and spent most of the morning on deck with her head in a carrier bag. Kids, don't try this at home.
There are no pictures from the hideous journey to San Blas for a number of reasons. 1) No one, apart from Kermit the Frog, looks good green 2) There was no way I was going to get my phone out on deck when the boat was constantly at 45 degrees!
As we approached San Blas, the seas started to calm, the music went on and Lynsey developed one party arm, waving in the air as she lay on deck trying her hardest not to vomit again.
As soon as land was in sight, Lynsey's one party arm became two and the party boat sprung into action as sea sickness became a distant memory and Caribbean life became our reality.
Our first close up view of the beautiful Caribbean island, Ogopuki, in San Blas.
Ogopuki was to be our home for the next 24 hours and as we anchored 50 yards from the shore we couldn't help but pinch ourselves. We were in the Caribbean, moored just off a tiny island that you could walk around in just 5 minutes. Its white, sandy beaches stretched around the whole island broken only by stunning palm trees and the occasional coconut that had fallen onto the island's golden borders.
Between our floating home and the island were Caribbean waters that had to be seen to be believed. Every direction we looked, different shades of aqua and shimmering blue were smiling at us, beckoning us to dive into its warm embrace.
So that we did! Every one of us, jumped or dove in various spectacular fashions into the clearest sea we'd ever seen. It was like something out of movie and soon the endurance test of the previous 33 hours was a dim and distant memory.
The next few hours were filled with a mixture of snorkelling and sunbathing, chatting and chilling.
Mid afternoon we got to meet Robinson, one of Ogopuki's only residents (one family). He was out fishing in his boat for our supper (the plan was for us too eat at his house that evening) and I was keen to see what technique he was using as my trawling had born no fruits!
We took our dinghy out towards his boat and watched from a distance as he caught fish after fish after fish. Every cast, he caught a fish.
He had a tiny minnow on his hook and just before he cast it out he would flick a bowl of salt water where he was about to cast. This spray of water droplets would attract the fish to the area, making them think it was a shoal of tiny fish on the surface. At this point, in his minnow would go and hey presto, a fish was caught EVERY TIME with his line attached to his fingers.
As planned, that evening we all boarded our dinghy and sailed the 50 yard journey to the Kuna island of Ogopuki and dined on pork cooked on coconuts and the fresh fish that Robinson (his real name!) had caught that afternoon.
As we arrived on the island and walked up the beach to Robinson's hut, we heard a shout for help from Mike. The dinghy had come loose and was floating away in the strong current!
Ex lifeguard Nick jumped into action and before we knew it, the Baywatch theme tune was blasting through our minds as he dived into the waves and powered his way to the wayward dinghy.
The food was great and the evening was like a dream. Eating on a desert island, beautiful weather, mild breeze, great company and no worries. Another moment for us to pinch ourselves.
We headed for bed with smiles as wide as the sky, knowing we would be sleeping in our own little piece of paradise and tonight we wouldn't be thrown from our beds!
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Friday morning we awoke for another day in paradise.
I cannot begin to explain the feeling of waking up, walking on to deck and seeing a view normally found on computer screensavers and picture postcards.
Our senses were in overdrive. The stunning views were made 4 dimensional by breathing in the salty sea breeze whilst not having a care in the world. For the third time on this 3 month adventure we'd found another 'happy place' - somewhere we could go in our minds when life was tough and recall tranquility, peace and total happiness. This memory was going to last for our whole lives and would be treasured forever.
After breakfast we were visited by a family of Kuna people from one of the neighbouring islands selling hand made necklaces, bracelets and tapestry. Lauren and I bought a beautiful piece of tapestry with a Hummingbird on it. Hummingbirds had featured numerous times over the last 13 weeks so it was fitting to buy it and at the same time, support the local community.
Linsey having her bracelet 'installed' by the lovely Kuna lady.
Only the boys had snorkeled the day before so today was the day for the girls to have a go.
Left to right; Lauren, Martina, Linsey & Mags.
In the afternoon we upped anchor and made our way, 3 hours, to our second island, Chichime.
This one wasn't going to be our own private island like Ogopuki as there were a dozen other yachts there but it was still every bit as stunning and once we'd found a place to park Sailing Koala, we were off the boat, snorkeling, swimming and walking on the beach.
We got another visit from more Kuna people, this time selling fish and seafood.
We bought a fishing hook from them so Phillip, Nick and I could try our hands at fishing Kuna style.
We found a stone, carved a small hole through out and threaded the line through it, tied on the hook and used a small bit of that evening's dinner, sea snails, as bait.
Within seconds fish were nibbling at the bait but we were not able to be quick enough to catch them. So, Nick took to the water with his snorkeling gear and dropped the bait directly above where he could see fish and watched as they approached, giving us regular updates.
Soon we ran out of bait and had to resort to trying the leftover vegetarian pasta dish Mike had served us for lunch!
To our surprise, the fish loved it and within a few minutes we caught the first of our 2 fish.
They weren't dinner worthy so we put them back to live another day but with a huge dose of satisfaction!
Whilst we were doing this, the girls had swum ashore and were busy exploring the island and doing their own Caribbean photoshoot!
Myself, Phillip and Nick swam ashore and collected fire wood so we could make a bonfire in the evening on the beach.
After our delicious sea snail dinner we used the dinghy to take us onto the beach and lit our bonfire. We recounted funny stories and played '2 lies and a truth' where we found out some very interesting facts about our fellow voyagers!
After completing the 'most embarrassing moment your parents have ever seen you' conversation (sorry, nothing will be detailed here!) we headed back to the boat for a second night sleeping in paradise.
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Saturday started similar to Friday except with a different paradise view.
Mike served us another great breakfast including toast, peanut butter and nutella which went down really well, with some passengers more than others!
I joked with Mike about wanting squares grilled into my toast and 2 minutes later this arrived:
After breakfast a few of us went with Mike to one of the neighbouring islands to buy some fresh lobster but unfortunately, for the second day running, they didn't have any and our lobster dinner was looking less and less likely.
When we returned, the girls went off with Israel to explore that island whilst I tried my hand at fishing again with Phillip using a little bit of chicken that Mike spared us from the freezer.
We'd bought 2 new hooks from the Kuna people as we'd lost the previous hook in a HUGE fish the day before (it's true, it was THIS big!) but these hooks were much bigger making catching these fish much harder.
On our last piece of chicken, I was in the process of bringing the bait back in when a fish jumped out of the water and swallowed the chicken whole! We landed it on the boat and he was on our plate within the hour. He was delicious and his insides made great bait for his cannibalistic friends!
Around midday we upped anchor and headed for Panama Immigration Island to get our passports stamped to enter Panama the next day.
None of us had ever gone through immigration in our swimwear before!
We swam from the boat to shore and explored the tiny island whilst Mike and Israel did the paperwork (& bribery apparently) to get us through.
Within 40 minutes we were all back on the boat but when we found out the plan was for us to stay in this spot (nowhere as nice as the previous islands) for the next 24 hours until our speedboat arrived to take us to Panama, there was nearly mutany on the Koala!
After a slightly awkward conversation, Israel agreed to take us back to Chichime and within 30 minutes, with a little bit of sea sickness once more for Lauren, we were back in our little corner of paradise that we'd grown to love so much.
The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming, sunbathing and for Philip and I, fishing. He'd challenged me to a fishing competition and after I'd set up both our lines, we sat on the back of the boat with our lines in our hands and left over lunch for bait on our hooks, hoping and waiting to tempt some unfortunate (but large) fish to be the main attraction of our dinner!
As afternoon turned into evening the beers, wine and rum (or ron as it's called in South America) started flowing. The thinking was, it was our last night, we had lots of drink, we fancied a party and we couldn't take it with us!
So, after dinner the fishing lines came in, the music went up a notch and Sailing Koala became the party boat of Chichime!
Early on, Mags developed an unquenchable desire to push any of the guys off the boat and unfortunately for Phillip, a weak moment caught him unaware and with a swift shove in the back, he was swimming in the Caribbean.
After much laughter and a quick change of clothes he was back on deck but just as quickly back in the aqua bath when Nick decided to join in Mags' game!
Darkness fell and lit only by the moonlight, the Salsa dancing started led at first by Nick and Martina but soon joined by pretty much everyone!
In pitch black, my iPhone definitely struggled to get any decent pictures!
Martina and Nick
Mike & Linsey
Lauren and Mike (with Nick taking in every move)
Lauren and I did actually dance some Salsa (i needed some gentle persuading) and I was surprised that I remembered anything from the fateful salsa class 5 years ago in Milton Keynes!
All the other boats in the bay had retired for the night and I couldn't help but feel a bit aware of them cursing us as screams of laughter and loud music followed every ten minutes by shouts of "blebleblublublubleble MIKE!!" echoed into the night (you had to be there!).
Around midnight, mischievous Mags needed another fix so crept up on Nick, gave him a swift push and as he fell, his inclusive character wouldn't allow him to go in alone so he took her arm and off they went overboard into the fishless, Caribbean ocean!
Around 1am Lauren and I were the first to head to our beds and as we drifted off to sleep, gently rocking with the sway of Sailing Koala, the party continued above our heads.
Another wonderful day in paradise.
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Sunny Sunday was to be our last day on Sailing Koala. It was a sad thought that we would be leaving our idyllic surroundings but the thought of our first shower in 6 days, dry land, running water and not having to hand pump a toilet 20 times after your performance was enough to soften the blow.
After breakfast the fishing competition continued (it was at nil nil from the day before) and Phillip and I sat on the back of the boat using left over octopus pasta to lure the fish to us with the winner claiming a beer from the loser at our hotel that evening.
It didn't take long for the competition to heat up.
This little fella became Martina's lunch and put me 1-0 up!
1-0 soon became 3-0 and as my confidence grew, so did the banter!
Phillip soon brought it back to 3-1 and after the fish had stopped biting we decided to try a different technique; Snorkeling with the line in our hands and letting ourselves drift in the current as we watched fish take our bait.
As we stepped out of the water after our third 'drift' Phillip brought it back to 3-2 with a lovely Red Snapper and on the next run he exited the water with a huge grin holding up another beautiful fish. His smiles were soon quenched when he saw that I too had caught one making it 4-3!
We decided to use our latest catch to lure larger fish and what happened next I have never seen before! Skip forward if you're squeamish!
As I trawled little Nemo in the current, there was an almighty commotion on the sea bed (we were in about 30ft of water) and a HUGE sand coloured fish that had been lying camouflaged on the bottom burst into action and attacked Nemo!
In 2 mouthfuls he was gone and luckily for me, my hook had become dislodged as I had visions of me being pulled out to sea in a comedy fishing/waterskiing moment behind a giant fish!
That was all the fishing excitement I could take and with a 4-3 lead I retired for lunch leaving Phillip, after lunch, to try and even the score from the back of the boat.
Unfortunately for him there were no more catches and her eventually shook my hand and admitted defeat. Generous in my victory I told him the only thing that tasted better than beer was free beer. His response is not suitable for this blog!!
The girls meanwhile had been swimming, chilling, recovering from hangovers (No names mentioned...Mags) and sunbathing.
Sailing Koala
Deck area where we sat, ate and hung on for dear life!
Upper deck, often used for sunbathing. There are sails up there too I believe.
Our crazy 'gangsta' companions.
Back row, left to right; Martina, Lauren, Mags, Lynsey.
Front row; Nick, me and Phillip
As 2pm approached we knew a speedboat would be appearing to take us to the mainland and everyone put off packing their bags in the hope that it would defer the reality that our Caribbean dream was nearly over.
Around 3pm, in true Caribbean timing (an hour late), the 'speedboat' arrived, we said goodbye to Mike & Israel and left Sailing Koala for the final time.
The boat took us around an hour and we docked somewhere deep in the Panamanian jungle where jeeps were waiting to take us 3 hours to our respective Panama hotels.
The drive through the jungle to civilisation
Our first view of Panama City
Lauren and I had found a really good deal on the Hard Rock Hotel in Panama City so we got dropped off and Phillip decided to join us and get a room there too.
At 10pm the girls and Nick joined us to eat pizza in the hotel and chill out in our room.
The Caribbean capers had ended but some great friendships had just begun.
(Lauren's thoughts will follow in a separate blog post)
