Colombia to Panama by Sailboat

I was rather devastated to be leaving Colombia. I realized that not only am I crossing the border from Colombia, leaving my favorite country and moving on in my trip, but I am leaving the whole continent of South America behind. I cannot believe the places I have been and things I have seen in the last 5 months. Arriving in Santiago feels like a lifetime ago, really it does. South America is truly amazing for its people, variety and most of all natural beauty. I was really sad to say goodbye to one of the most spectacular places I have ever been. But, I went from Colombia to Panama by sailboat, so at least I was leaving in style!
For some reason, I felt this huge ending colliding with a beginning sailing away and watching Cartagena, Colombia fade into the distance. I felt like a chapter had been resolved in my life, like I was moving on to the next step. I can’t explain why this had such an impact on me, but I also felt this weight removed from my shoulders. I felt free.
Sailing was a great adventure, I still have the burns on my hands from the ropes to prove it. I spent most of the day up on the net on the bow of the ship, at one point almost 20 dolphins came to play in the ship’s wake. It was positively magical since I am pretty much obsessed with dolphins (or gay sharks as the boat’s captain called them). At night there was quite the storm but I couldn’t bring myself to go inside, it was much more fun to be out on the deck with the elements, the rain pouring down and lighting flashing. Eventually the storm cleared up with only these amazing bursts of lightning in the distance and dazzling stars just showing off for us. At first I thought it was clouds in the sky, but then I realized that was the Milky Way! And as our ship sailed through the Caribbean, it lit up the phosphorescence in the sea. There were stars above us and it looked like stars in the water.
After 36 hours of sailing we arrived at the San Blas Islands of Panama. They are really interesting because they are owned by the Kuna people, a small ethnic group with an autonomous government on these islands. But they live on very few islands, choosing to live very close together, which leaves hundreds of these islands uninhabited.
It looks like paradise. These coconut islands, nothing but white sand and coconut trees, floating in the Caribbean Sea, schizophrenic with blues, greens and aquamarines. Picture a postcard of paradise or a calendar of these paradise photos and you are probably picturing the San Blas Islands.
We had a couple days there of snorkeling and hanging out, I went with the captain spear fishing though I didn’t shoot the spear. Sunsets were unbelievable and so many times I just had to stop because I was shaking with incredulity that this is my life. There was some of the best snorkeling I have ever seen and whenever I felt like it I could swim to my own private island from where the ship was docked.
Visiting the Kuna people is a touchy subject. Because they are autonomous they are really one of the very few untouched ethnic groups left in the word, but with tourism this is quickly changing. It is your typical problem of a vicious cycle of tourists brining in money, which creates a demand for more things which creates a demand for more money. There are tours set up for people to visit Kuna villages but it is all pretty awful sounding to me, with the villagers feeling like animals, not wanting their photos taken in traditional clothes and just a whole touristy sham, so I decided not to go visit.
But one day, I was chatting with a Kuna fisherman (they speak Spanish) for a while and he invited me and the people on the boat to his village. I figured this was a different opportunity so we agreed. He took us by motorized canoe about an hour away to his village. There we were definite oddities so a crew of kids followed us around. They were showing off, walking on their hands, doing races, doing all sorts of tricks. They were hilarious. Everyone wanted to talk to us, to show us their homes, the school, ask us questions. It was one of the most rewarding experiences for me because they are this small indigenous group but they speak Spanish so we were able to communicate and close the gap between our relative worlds. I didn’t take any photos of people, though they seemed like they wouldn’t have minded, but it was so much fun to spend a few hours in their village.
Then, the excitement continued when we were heading back to our boat and our canoe’s motor died. We were in the middle of nowhere. We had been stranded for over an hour and the sun was beginning to set. With no water and nowhere to sleep, another guy from the boat and I realized that we should probably start to swim to the nearest island, rest there, then continue to the next until we got to the ship for help. I am not the greatest swimmer, but I figured I could kick and float on my back. We had been paddling the canoe to no avail, all it did was keep us from drifting to the tide. So just as we were getting ready to jump in, the motor started which was a huge relief.
I was sad to leave the boat and get to Panama proper. It is always hard to leave paradise and there is something about leaving the watery world of possibility and stepping back onto land- more chaotic, unforgiving and insistent. But, it was off to Panama and on to Central America.