DAY 26 - EMERGENCY

Relaxing day.  We spent the day walking the streets of the Historic District of Panama (Casco Antiguo).  The original city was founded in 1519 and was the oldest continuously-occupied European settlement in the Pacific coast of the Americas.  In 1673 the Old City was abandoned and moved to this current location in the wake of a devastating pirate attack in 1671.

There are several restored historic buildings to view along with many buildings currently undergoing restoration.  It appears that most current building restoration is being carried out by private companies or individuals reflecting their economic value in the burgeoning tourist industry of the area.

I have not received any communications from Juanita today despite my several attempts to contact her.  I will keep trying.

Late in the afternoon, after asking Ryan (in Calgary) to give her a call at home, I finally heard from her.  She has been at the hospital emergency for most of the day due to a weak spell she took in the morning.  Our neighbors took her to Emergency early in the morning.

In the evening, I was having some intermittent contact with her when it ceased around 8:00 p.m.  A short time later, I received a message from Ryan saying that his mother (Juanita) was taken to hospital by ambulance after suffering the same weakness as she had earlier.

I contacted Delta Airlines and have arranged for a flight home tomorrow.  I will be home by 8:00 p.m.  I told Delta about what was happening and they bent over backwards to arrange my emergency flight home.  They kept me on the phone for about 30 minutes while the girl worked through all the possible connections.  I have nothing but good things to say about Delta.

Restored historic building

Old City restored street

Awaiting restoration

Cathedral Metropolitan

DAY 25 - HOP ON, HOP OFF BUS TOUR

Got up at around 8:00 a.m.  We planned to have breakfast at the hostel as it is included with the room.  Went to the kitchen for breakfast but there was nothing left, no toast, a little cereal, no milk and no fresh fruit.  We were a little put out but decided to go to the nearby Burger King.  I ordered egg and ham croissant.  Ugh!  Terrible, never again.

After breakfast, we joined the 'hop on, hop off' canal bus tour.  We donned the bus headphones and sat back, relaxed and listened to the commentary as the bus rolled along.  There were only two 'hop off' points that we were interested in - the Canal Locks stop and the Old City area of Panama City.  The canal stop was interesting as we toured the museum there as well as watched a couple of ships clear the locks.  After an hour at the locks we boarded the next bus and stopped off at the Old City.  We spent a couple of hours here and booked a hostel for tomorrow night and for our remaining time in Panama.  We are not happy with the Siriri Hostel where we are currently staying.  After touring the Old City we boarded the next bus and completed our tour.  We headed back to the hostel for a little rest and then to the Wing Zone fast food restaurant for supper before retiring for the night.

Panama City Suburbs

Ship passing through the locks

First set of locks on the Pacific side

Anchored yachts and Panama City skyline

 

Panama City night skyline

DAY 24 - PANAMA CITY

Up early this morning at 6:30.  We have a fast boat pickup at 7:30 to take us into Panama mainland, thus ending our cruise through the San Blas Islands.

While packing and waiting for breakfast, Todd relayed a story to me about the partying last night.  Apparently they were playing some sort of card game and depending on what card you draw, you are required to do crazy things; in particular, if you draw a 7, you get to make two rules - rules A and B.  Anyway, as a result, one girl ran around the boat naked while some guy chased her with a camera trying to get a picture.  This must have been what was happening when I heard the loud laughter and cheering in the middle of the night.  Anyway, I'm glad I was in the bed because all on deck have to participate and it might well have been me running around naked.  That would have been quite the sight!  Ha, ha.

The fast boat picked us up about 7:45.  We all said our goodbyes to the captain and the first mate and headed off to the mainland.  After about 45 minutes we came to a narrow shallow river flowing into the sea which we navigated up.  We arrived at a little encampment where we disembarked the boats and were loaded into 4 x 4s for a 2-hour drive into Panama City.

Once in Panama City, we were delivered to our destination hostels or hotels.  We arrived at the Siriri Hostel around noon and booked into our room which we assumed would have had two single beds - not.  They have no other rooms available so it looks like Todd and I will be fighting over the sheets tonight.

Once we got settled we headed out to do some exploring.  Wow!  Panama City is awesome!  Huge modern skyscrapers dot the skyline at every turn.  On the walk we came across a 'hop on, hop off' bus tour stop.  We have decided to do the 24-hour tour for tomorrow.  We continued to explore for most of the afternoon, stopping for a late lunch at the Red Lion Pub.  In the evening we headed down to the waterfront to view the night skyline, it was beautiful but neither of us had our cameras, we just weren't expecting to see such a sight.  We then headed back to the hostel, stopping at McDonald's so I could get my M & M McFlurry fix.  Bedded down about 10:00 p.m.

Paradise Island in the morning sun

Navigating up the river

Transferring to the 4 x 4s

Panama City

Beer and burger at the Red Lion

DAY 23 - FINAL DAY OF SAILING

Got up at 7:00 a.m.  A few in the group did a bit of snorkeling before breakfast which was ready around 8:00 o'clock.  After breakfast we set sail, using the engines, to the Panama Immigration.  We arrived around 12:30 p.m. but had lunch prior to going ashore so it was about 2:30 when the captain took all the passports into the office.  While the passports were being processed, some of the group, Todd included, entertained us with a game of beach volleyball.

After a couple of hours we cleared Immigration and were on our way for our final stop for the night and the cruise.  We anchored off a small sand island which appeared to be privately owned by a Native family.  There was a traditional Native thatched-roof home on the island as well as perhaps a dozen full-grown palm trees and well-maintained white sand beach.  Among the palms was a Caucasian family camping with a tent.  I assumed that the Natives run this little island as a small campground, very neat setup for private-family camping.

It was getting late in the day so we settled in for a great sausage supper with potato salad.  After, the younger passengers started drinking and partying.  I watched for awhile and eventually grew tired and went to bed.

Later in the evening I was awakened by a large empty plastic container falling through my rooftop vent.  I was startled for a few seconds and then realized what had happened.  Somebody on deck hollered "Ralph, sorry Ralph, are you okay?"  I replied in the affirmative and then pushed the container back up through the vent.  They were having a riot with whatever game they were playing.  I eventually fell asleep despite all the laughing and cheering.

Sunrise

Immigration Office

Welcoming young visitors aboard

Natives setting sail

Children enjoying our treats

Children enjoying our treats

Enjoying life to the fullest

DAY 22 - LOBSTER, LOBSTER AND MORE LOBSTER

Very early in the morning about half the party(ers) returned to the boat with the Zodiac; the other half stayed on the island for the night.  At daybreak they swam back to the boat for breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon.  At around 8:30 we hauled anchor and carried on.

When I awoke this morning my right calf was sore and stiff and noticeable swelling of the ankle and the foot.  This condition seemed to be related to my earlier joint stiffness and pain.  Around noon we dropped anchor at another small island.  We all went snorkeling for a short while - the snorkeling is awesome.  We then returned to the boat for lunch.  Aside from my sore calf and swollen ankle and foot, I'm feeling great.  After lunch we rested, tried to hide from the noon-day sun and some went snorkeling.

For supper tonight we went ashore for a feast of lobster prepared by the local Natives.  If you enjoy lobster, you would have been in lobster heaven.  Christa, the first mate, prepared a passion fruit sauce which was poured over the lobster, very good.

After a couple of hours on shore, we returned to the boat, chatted for a bit and then to bed around 10 p.m.

Sunrise

Our new anchorage for tonight

Sunset with a little new moon to boot

Tonight's supper

Enjoying the feast

DAY 21 - SAN BLAS ISLANDS

My joints are still very sore today; hopefully, things will get better shortly.

We reached the San Blas Islands this morning and are anchored off a couple of small islands.  As soon as we arrived a Native came by in his wooden boat and was selling rum for $10 a bottle.  He chatted with our captain and left.  A short while later a couple of more Natives came by and the captain bought a large lobster and a crab from them.  We all snorkeled around the island and then returned for lunch.  We were served Spanish mackerel which we had caught earlier in the day.  Later in the day, the first Native came back with a large supply of beer and other supplies.

For supper we had lobster and crab along with some kind of shell fish.  After supper most of the passengers headed back to the island in the skiff to have a bonfire and party.  Todd and I stayed on board, to bed around 10:00 p.m.

Catch of the Day

Behold!  An Island!

A good buy

Cooking a large lobster in a small pot

DAY 20 - AT SEA

No significant winds today so we have been travelling with the engine propelling us.  We are on the wide open sea today, no land in sight.  After lunch a light wind started blowing so we were able to travel under sail for a few hours.  I have not been feeling well today.  My joints, ankles, knees, wrists, fingers, etc. have been very sore - it has been difficult for me to get around so I have been doing a lot of sleeping and resting.

Wide Open Sea

Swimming in the Wide Open Sea

Relaxing in the Wide Open Sea

Setting Sun on the Wide Open Sea

DAY 19 - START OF 5-DAY CATAMARAN TRIP TO PANAMA

We won't be departing Cartagena until the evening.  We thought it would be this morning so today is just a bit of a lost day.  We did some shopping and then hung out at the hostel till around 6:00.  Then we joined a few others who are at the hostel, who will be taking the cruise with us, and went out for supper.  After, we got cabs to take us to the Club Nautical where we boarded the NACAR.  We departed Cartagena at 10:20 p.m. for the San Blas Islands.

Shopping - the secret is out

Supper with some of the passengers

Departing Cartagena

DAY 18 - MAMALLENA HOSTEL

Up at 7:00 am.  When I am traveling I just can't sleep in.  We started to pack for our move to the Mamallena Hostel, about a 30-minute walk from here.  Around noon we said are goodbyes to Ashley as she is on her way to work at a winery just outside of Bogota. The work is voluntary and gets no pay, but she does get free room and board.  We left for the Mamallena Hostel about the same time as Ashley left.

After settling in to the Mamallena we headed out to an ABM again to withdraw more COP (Colombia Pesos) and then to a money changer to exchange the COP for USD as Panama uses the USD as their currency.

We met with the captain this evening to go over the agenda for the next five days.  It turns out that we won't be leaving until the evening of the 22nd.  So we have another day in Cartagena to prepare for our departure tomorrow evening.  The boat we travel on is a newer 41' catamaran.

There is a resident parrot at the hostel.  He is quite a character and everybody gets a great kick out of him. He is free to roam and fly around and has quite a vocabulary which includes a hearty laugh that gets everyone laughing at him.  I am including a pic of the hostel as well as a little video of the parrot hanging out with some of the patrons.

Mamallena Hostel

DAY 17 - TOURING VIA SEGWAY

We were up today about 7:30, had breakfast and then at 10:00 o'clock we headed to the Segway Tour Office to arrange a tour of the Old City which lasts for about an hour and a half.  It took the first five minutes learning how to use and control the Segways and then we were off.  They are a very natural thing to use although it does take some practice to get over the fact that you don't fall off these things; they always keep you in a vertical position.  We made several stops where our guide would describe the history of the city - its parks, churches and historical buildings.  He was very knowledgeable and spoke good English.  I enjoyed travelling on the Segway and it is certainly a neat way to get around but they are a very expensive machine, running about $6,000 in the US and here in Colombia with taxes and everything, they run about $10,000.

After the Segway tour, we met with Ashley, the young girl from Colorado, and went for lunch which started with fish soup.  Now I'm not one for fish soup but it sounded very tasty, and this was followed by a chicken breast and fries.  Once again, very good, and it was in a little local restaurant.  Ashley speaks good English and has been our interpreter on several occasions.

Following lunch the three of us headed for the tour of San Felipe Barajas Castle, an old fort built by the Spanish to protect the Old City in Cartagena.  We had an English guide and he took us throughout the fort, down into the subterranean tunnels and described everything well including the history of the fort.  It was an ongoing construction that took about 150 years to complete.  Both the French and the British invaded the fort but were never very successful.

After the fort tour we stopped for a lemonade at a little place across the street from the fort where Todd and I had eaten earlier.  We then returned to the hostel to rest before heading out to a free presentation at the historical theatre, after which we had supper and then walked the streets of the Old City until about 10:00 p.m.

All in all, it was a very good and interesting day.

 

 

On Segway tour- ready aim, fire

Castle (fort)

Castle (fort)

Old fort overlooking modern city

Entering the network of tunnels

One of many tunnels

Taking aim

Old fort (castle)

Fire!

DAY 16 - RELAXATION

Today was a take-it-easy day.  Spent most of the day around the hostel and finalizing our plans to get to Panama.  Went out for lunch and supper at small local shops.  I will put up a few pics of the hostel.

The back yard area is the quiet part of the hostel, this is where our room is.  The patio area is where the rooms for the party types are located.

 

Our room

Back yard area where our room is

Registration desk and front area

Patio area

Patio bar

Patio area

Lunch - fish, rice, fried banana slices, real lemonade