Panama

Hey Guys!
Next stop, Panama City. It was a lot like any other massive metropolis, full of skyscrapers and traffic. It was pretty at night, but once the next day dawned we headed out for the jungle. We stopped at the Panama Canal along the way to see the locks. We just caught a boat going through the system.








The basic principle behind the Canal is really quite simple. There are locks on the Pacific side, locks on the Caribbean and a lake in between. The lake was artificially created by a dam, and it is 26 m above sea level. So to get in, the boats go through three locks to gradually raise the level. They then sail through the lake, and then use three locks on the other side to drop back to sea level. It all works on gravity, but there are train engines on rails flanking the ships that pull them through the locks. It takes about 8-10 hours to get through, and it isn’t cheap. The most expensive tariffs are over $800,000!

















A boat making its way through
The thing I was most excited for, more than the Canal itself, was the rainforest it cut through. When the Panama Canal was built (1903-1914), it cut through some of the most virgin rainforest on the globe, and there is still a lot of really interesting wildlife to see here. The main draw are all the birds, beautiful and colourful. We found a place to stay with a real character of an old man, Don Mateo. He had a house that backed out on to a garden and then jungle, and we stayed in a little cabana out in the garden.








These were some agouti hanging around looking for food.








The turquoise crested mot-mot, which also happens to be the national bird of Nicaragua. Check out those tail feathers, they groom them to look like that themselves!








Don Mateo called this the ‘gato solo’ It was like a raccoon








Trying to get bird pics








Woodpecker








Here we are the next morning, walking out in the jungle at dawn. At the start of the Second World War, the United States built a supply road into a remote part of the Canal in case the Japanese bombed their existing lines. The road kind of leads to nowhere now, so there is no traffic to scare away the wildlife. It just makes for a great opportunity to walk through the jungle and watch for whatever pops out.





Can you see the brown frog hiding in there?





Old bridges crossing the jungle streams. Just stable enough to get across 😉





Just us and the jungle











Seeing the micro-fauna was really cool





But nobody does ‘macro’ like the jungle!





Can you see the monkey flying through in the middle of the shot?





Leaf-cutter ants traversing through the jungle. They chew little sections of leaves, carry them back to a pile and then a fungus grows on them, which they feed on. Nature is crazy!





As we emerged from the jungle, we saw an ocean liner going through the waterway. It was a weird feeling coming out of the bush onto the Panama Canal, one of the most famous waterways in the world.











A few more bird shots as we packed up and got ready to head back into the city

















Marmoset





Don Mateo feeding his creatures

Next stop is Belize

Until Next Time!

Sailing from Columbia to Panama

After being in South America for over 10 months, it was time to move on to Central America for a short stint. We had heard really good things from fellow travellers about the sailing trip through the San Blas islands to Panama. Roberta was worried that she might get sea sick, but decided to give it a try after talking about it with others.

We got onto our 50 foot catamaran around 5 pm on the first evening. We introduced ourselves to the other 6 passengers, to the captain and his girlfriend, and to the owner of the boat who was serving as the cook. It was a beautiful sunset in Cartegena harbour. Shortly after sunset we started cruising and had ourselves some dinner.







The first leg of the journey was out in the open ocean for about 44 hours. The captain and owner switched spots every 4 hours as we went nonstop. There were a few rain showers overnight, so we had to close the windows in the cabin which was a bit stuffy.

Overall the seas were quite calm to our relief. We tried fishing a bit by just trolling, but were unsuccessful. It was cool to be cruising and not see any land in sight. We only used one sail the first morning as there was a head wind most of the way.




At one point, a pod of dolphins raced in front of the boat.







On the second morning, we woke up to the sight of land which was Panama. Around 10 am we anchored at a spot between 4 small islands.










The San Blas islands consist of around 350 islands off the coast of Panama. They are inhabited by the Kuna Yala people who are almost self-governing. Upon anchoring, many canoes came over to sell numerous handmade clothing, jewelry, and other crafts.







A couple fishermen also stopped by to sell us some lobster which we thoroughly enjoyed that night.




It was nice to be able to jump off the boat to cool off in the water. We spent much of the day snorkelling. There were a few coral reefs around and there was many fish although most of them were quite small. I saw a few squids ripping around as well.







That night we headed over to one of the islands and played a little beach volleyball and then returned to the boat around dark for an amazing lobster dinner.










The next morning, we lifted up the anchor and drove along for a couple more hours to the next island stop. Hear there was some really good snorkelling. There was lots of soft coral, sea fans, many fish, some squid, and a few spotted eagle rays. We spent much of the day in the water. There was also a huge barracuda that hung around underneath our boat for most of the day. At one point he must have been spotted by a Kuna fishermen as he came to us later trying to sell it to us for dinner.




The kuna are spear fishermen which involves free diving and shooting a spear with an elastic apparatus that has a line connected to the spear.

The next day was our last of the journey. After a morning of snorkelling around a shipwreck, we headed to customs. Once we got our passports stamped, we jumped on a fast boat to the mainland. After going upriver a bit, we got off the boats and headed in SUVs to Panama City.



Our captain flirted with some Kuna women a bit and here they are giving him some bracelets.





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Cartagena

Hey Guys!
Our stop in Cartagena was definitely a highlight. This walled city is absolutely full of history. The Spanish used it to hold their massive quantities of gold that they had plundered from the continent, and as a result the pirates were all about trying the rob it. Cartagena was originally founded in 1533, but it suffered a number of serious sacks by pirates, the French and the English. So they started building walls to fortify it, and they built a big fort just outside of it to defend the city. The walls were complete by the early 1700’s. The fort, San Felipe de Barajas, suffered a major attack attempt by the English in 1741, but they were not successful and the city of Cartagena remained under Spanish control. It continued to serve as a major trading port in the Indies, as well (sadly) for many African slaves brought to the continent.












Having a city that rich for that long definitely has it’s payoffs in terms of architectural splendour. It is also a UNESCO site, and is a real treat to walk around. There are Spanish balconies full of bougainvillea everywhere, narrow streets, and at night the cars are replaced by horse and carts to whisk the tourists around. Sure, it’s touristy, but it’s famous for a reason.












Iglesia San Pedro de Claver, a priest who dedicated his life to helping the African slaves. The woman in the brightly coloured dress in the foreground is a palenquera, a woman that sells fruit. Down in the Old Town, the fruit is pretty much just for show and they charge to have pictures taken with them.












The Plaza de la Aduana, which used to be a former marketplace for all of the goods coming off the ships, including Peruvian silver, African slaves, Incan gold. Classic colonial theme of ill-gotten gains.
























Different door knockers indicated the vocation of the family within. A fish meant you were fishermen. A lion was for politics, a mermaid for the merchants, and lizards for the aristocracy.












I love how many palenqueras I was able to capture in everyday Cartagena life. There really are just that many of them around.




























































Pretending to be Belle while I look for Spanish books I could actually try to read
























The Palace of the Inquisition. Coming from an edict from the Vatican, the colonies started conducting investigations into people accused of ‘heresy, superstition, witchcraft, and the like.’ This was a process that began in Europe in the 1100’s, became law in 1231, and was adopted by Spain in 1478. The Americas began Inquisition courts in the 1570s. The Court would receive complaints about other members of the community (usually anonymous), and they would have sole agency over investigation, imprisonment and subsequent punishments. Punishment was usually torture and then imprisonment. When you were released you had to wear a garment indicating your past crime. In the 200-some years the Cartagena council was in operation, they investigated 800 people and 5 were burned at the stake. I realize these numbers kind of pale in comparison to what was happening in Europe, but the population was much smaller here.












The Clock Tower









































































Hanging out on the walls watching the sun go down












A great view from up on La Popa, a monastery up on a hill overlooking the city











Inside the monastery























That night we took a horse and cart ride because I reaaallllyyy wanted to. It didn’t disappoint, I felt like I was transported back in time. However, I didn’t have to wear a big full skirt in that heat.























Another great sight was the Fort of San Felipe de Barajas. It was instrumental in staying off the English in 1741, and keeping Cartagena Spanish.











There is a complex system of tunnels underneath the fort to connect the separate parts. It was pretty hot and muggy down there and the rocks were really slippery. I can’t imagine actually trying to do real army-guy stuff down there.











Jared caught this dog appreciating the view



































This is a monument to Blaz de Lezo, a one-eyed, one-armed, one-legged war hero that helped defend the Fort when it was under attack.











Appreciating the street art in Getsemani



































This is Catalina, a famous Indian princess captured by the Spanish. The Colombians liken her to Pocahontas in the US. She is also the equivalent to the Oscar statue for Colombian film awards.











Cartagena is also celebrating their annual independence right now. They fill the streets with colourful costumes, pounding drums and throw flour all over each other!























Next adventure is a sail boat across the open ocean to Panama 🇵🇦

Until Next Time!