June 18-22 - San Blas Islands, Panama

We arrived in Portobelo, Panama around 2 in the afternoon to meet up with the captain of the Wild Card boat that we would be taking through the San Blas Islands and into Colombia. It was a five day trip, three spent on the islands and two days of sailing to Cartagena, Colombia. We all met up with the captain, met the other people that we would be sailing with and boarded the boat. We set off sailing around 4pm and not long after were able to see a couple of dolphins swimming past our boat. We arrived at our first destination during the night, although everyone was sleeping when we arrived.

Kuni village

The next morning all of us woke up to a beautiful island. The water was crystal clear and an amazing green color. The sand on the islands was perfect. We started off the morning with a swim in the ocean, then moved onto another island with a group of indigenous people living there called the Kuni. We wandered around for a about a half an hour on this tiny island to see how they lived. It was very small and didn't take long. All of the women were still in traditional garb and they all lived in little one room huts.

The next stop was at an island with a ship wreck off shore that was really good for snorkeling. Reefs had colonized the wreck and there were plenty of different fish living in around it. We even spotted a lion fish! We then quickly headed to another island with even more amazing snorkeling, which is pretty much all I did the entire day.

The island we had our bonfire on

Our last stop on the next day was at an island that had tons of starfish around it. It was the most beautiful place I've been in my life. The captain anchored the boat close enough to the island so we could easily swim back and forth from the boat to the shore. We spent the day doing exactly that and just hanging out on the beach. At night we were served a delicious lobster dinner and then headed over to a nearby island for a bonfire. The island was like one out of those cartoons where people get stranded: it had two palm trees in the center and you could literally walk around it in 60 seconds. 




The next day in the afternoon we set off to Cartagena, Colombia. Although we had good weather, the seas were a little rough and the majority of us were feeling a little sea sick. For me the sickness went away if I slept on my back so I spent the evening on deck on the bean bags and slept. The next day consisted of napping on deck and sun tanning. We arrived in Cartagena around 5pm and decided to all head to the same hostel. The boat ride was one of the best experiences I've had so far in Central America and if anyone is looking for the most beautiful beaches in the world, I think I found them!

June 15-18 - Panama City, Panama

Casco Viejo

I took a morning bus to Panama City from Bocas del Toro and arrived around 6 in the evening. I ended up catching a cab with three other people all hoping to get a bed at a the same hostel. When we arrived there, there was only room for one so the two other girls, Paula and Izabelle, and I made our way to the nearest hostel from there. It was simple but clean and we all shared a room. I also ran into someone I had met in Bocas.
I woke up early the next morning to explore the old part of the city called Casco Viejo. All of the buildings were old colonial style and most were under repair since they were falling apart. It actually reminded me a lot of Havana.

Skyline of Panama City

After wandering around the old part of the city for several hours I walked downtown. The downtown was very modern and a lot of people said it looked like the Miami skyline. It was an interesting contrast between the old and new parts of the city which were side by side, only separated by about a kilometer long walkway/freeway. From Casco Viejo I decided to walk down the path next to the ocean to get to downtown. I then met the three from my hostel room at a pub in the downtown to watch the soccer match. After that we headed up to the Hard Rock hotel to their pool which overlooked the city.

Isabelle, Paula and Ian at the Hard Rock

Pool at the Hard Rock

Our last day there Paula, Izabelle and myself decided to try the city touring bus. Unfortunately it poured all day, so we had no interest in actually getting off the bus to see any of the sites. Instead we decided to head to the biggest mall for lunch at the food court and then back to the hostel. When we arrived back, we managed to book some spots on a boat called "Wild Card" that was making its way from Portebelo, Panama to Cartagena, Colombia the next day. We packed our things and woke up early the next morning to head to Portebelo.