Sailing, Sun and Plenty of Rum

Sorry about the delay in writing this however some serious partying over the festive season rendered me intellectually incapable of writing anything worth reading.

After a few days in Cartagena we headed off on our boat "The Independence" for five days of sailing from Colombia to Panama via the San Blas Islands. We booked with The Independence due to the fact that it was a large boat sleeping up to 24 people. We arrived at Colombian Immigration to find an Austrian couple and no-one else; for the next two hours we waited for others to arrive however this never happened so it appeared a relatively boring few days would follow.

"The Independence"

One of the unlucky boats

Sailing the Seas

Due to a lack of common sense we had a rather large night the day before the boat and consequently faced the large seas already feeling somewhat queasy. Alex came to regret this later that evening when I found him leaning over the railing losing a couple of kilos.

Searching for Rose

We arrived at the San Blas Islands the following afternoon where we spent the next few days relaxing and swimming. The weather wasn't as good as it could have been however we were also entertained by Captain Michel's theories as to how the Earth was created and the stories associated with that. Just one example is that the world's oil supply is from when Venus collided with Earth about 5000 years ago!!

One of the Islands

The Last Supper

We got to Panama City about midday on Christmas Eve and booked into the hostel looking to involve ourselves in some Christmas festivities. The afternoon was spent with a few beers before a steak dinner and plenty of rum ensured that similar to The Newport Arms in Australia, Panama City was able to provide us with a Christmas Day hangover!

Panama City Skyline

On Boxing day we headed to the Panama Canal in the hope that we could avoid the crowds; unfortunately this was not the case. The Canal itself was well worth a visit and the history behind its construction was very impressive and highlighted its importance in modern day shipping transits.

Waiting to enter The Canal

Entering The Canal

Miraflores Locks

After Panama City we headed to Bocas Del Toro for what turned out to be five nights. The majority of these 120 hours were spent in some state of intoxication so it would be hard to outline all of the stories however I will provide a couple. One afternoon we headed over to Aqua Lounge; a bar built over the water that had incorporated the ocean into swimming pools. Alex at this stage was rather intoxicated and I managed to convince him that we would buy him six beers if he managed to stun and catch a fish. Two hours later Alex came up empty handed declaring that even as hard as he was slapping the water the fish were still moving...such a worry! On one of the larger nights I managed to get lost on the wrong island for two hours and only made it home with a few cuts and bruises once the sun had risen; turns out I had tried to get a boat to the island on which I was standing...

New Years Eve was mostly forgotten and therefore one to remember. It involved playing cards, drinking beer, shots of jager and copious amounts of rum followed by running around the streets avoiding fireworks and generally having a good time...the rest I will leave in Panama.

We are now in Nicaragua and over the past week we have taken part in some adrenaline pumping activities that will be outlined in my next post. I hope you all had a fantastic New Years Eve and made plenty of resolutions that will no doubt be broken! All the best for the New Year and I resolve to be more prompt in my updates...