Hola! Panama was our last Central American country and by then we were tired so it became our rest destination.Arriving at 3am saw us taking a taxi straight to a bed at a hostel which thankfully had air conditioning in the small room. Panama city is hot and humid and like any big city crowded and a bit dirty in places. Affter 2 days in this cramped hostel we moved into a hotel nearby for 1 week where thankfully we got a big room with kingsize bed,air con,own bathroom,TV and fridge for only US$7 more a night. We certainly enjoyed the space and the air con for our nana naps as well as at night for a good sleep.The big highlight there was going to the canal. We went on a Sunday as early as we could and just missed a boat going thru the locks. WE saw the back end of end being pushed across the "lake" to the next locks. It was very disappointing and the next boat thru was not until 2pm - a few hrs away.That sunday was the day of the world cup final and I promised Gary he could watch the final at the hotel and thus couldn't until 2pm for that boat. Some things take precedence. But away the display was good and the grandeur of the locks was awesome. We also went to the old town which had some nice architecture and a small national park. Both had nice views of various aspects of the city,but like every day there it was hot and sweaty.Also visited Allbrook mall - a big shopping centre like chermisde but bigger - lots of walking.On the 18th we moved back to the hostel to be ready to catch the shuttle next morning at 5.30am to our boat for the sailing trip to Colombia.I nwas a bit anxious about it but had my seasick pills and sea bands at the ready. The boat was small - 36ft,with only the captain and 3 couples. Amazingly one of the couples was a young irish pair that we met in a hostel in El Salvador so it was nice to know someone before setting off. The other young couple were german.After a 3 hr trip to the coast we were on a wooden outboard to the yacht where the captian greeted us with the news that because of a big storm the day before he was having trouble getting fresh water on board (piping issues on land) and he had to go off to hunt further afield to load on water.So the outboard to us to Portvenir - the island where outward immigration took place and waited out the rest of the day there lazing around. The captain finally returned around 5pm to get us.By the time he processed our passports thru immigration and we were on board it was 6pm.So then it was a 2hr motor to a couple of islands nearby for our safe mooring for the 36hrs.Finally at 9pm we were moored and eating the captians dinner - pasta - backpackers staple. The next we woke up the beautiful surroundings and a day spent swimming,snorkeling,lazing,walking on the island,eating,talking,and drinking.Lunch and dinner were on the island - cooked by the locals. We swam across for lunch but were dinghied across the tea ( it was dark). The next day we motored/sailed 4 hrs to another island and did much the same. These moorings were calm and so no need for seasick pills.However that night the captian started the open water sail/motor to Cartagena,Colombia - a different matter. For 2 days I didn't hardly left my head off the head w/o feeling sick and dizzy. Both the germans and myself were the worst but even the captain had to resort to a pill and lie down at one stage.Gary is proud of the fact he did not have to take 1 pill the whole journey. The third day saw it a bit calmer as we were a bit protected by a bit of coastline so I did manage to get above for the final leg into Cartagena. We finally arrived around 4pm. It has taken a few days to regain land legs. Even though the last part of the trip was a bit of an ordeal,it was still a great experience and the other passengers were great companions.Even the captian relaxed on the last day to have a bit of a chat with us.It would be difficult to stay constantly on the watch day and night on the open sea.Anyway we are now on the second phase of our jpourney - South America here we are.
