Dolphin Island Lodge San Blas Islands

... liquid has never tasted so good. After we rehydrated and stuffed whatever food we could lay our hands on down our throats we went to find a hostel in the Getsemani district of Cartagena.
Cartegena as it turns out also had a national independence day the day we arrived and a four day festival proceeded after this with people partying in the streets, men dressing up as women, dancing, drinking and a fair amount of 'the other stuff' me thinks to ...

... only about a mile out to sea from Panama). Well, we ended up being there for 5 days as The Pikey Boater (as we nicknamed him) just used to get ****** up and not want to sail on open waters to Cartegena.

I'll bullet point A FEW of little incidences that added to our nightmare trip -

- 6 beds 7 people - took in turns for 1 of us to sleep on the floor
- Filthy boat - we scrubbed it clean for him twice
- Roul only ...

... and crab, bought from the Kunas and cooked up by fellow crew member, and chef, Jonny. Milly even climbed a palm tree to pluck a coconut to contribute to the delicious curry. Each night we took responsibility for 2-hour watches, which were fortunately uneventful, but good opportunities for star-gazing and dolphin spotting.

We did have a few close calls... firstly seeing a tornado which came a little too close for ...

... an overcrowded boat on a five day sailing trip with only a quarter of the water tank full. He also had on board another paying customer, Wayne, who was doubling as a first mate (I think the first mate wanted to start up his own sailing company). Wayne was a slime ball. The kind of greasy ******* you would never trust with anything. We didn’t know this at first, all we could tell was that he was a perv, but we still decided to give him a chance. Even though none of ...

... the world.

Lowlights: Feeling a bit seasick, sharing one bathroom with 23 other people, running into a buck naked German crew member while waiting to use the bathroom at 4am. (what can I say? 'Good morning' was all that came to mind)

The four day sail was a perfect way to cap off our trip through Central America and start the next chapter in Colombia. Thanks, Stahlratte crew! You guys are the best!

... but already our mouths were watering at the prospect of fresh lobster on our plates for only 3quid, the price of a Pret a Manger sandwhich or a Happy Meal back in London. We were also joined by some new arrivals, hailing from Panama City, these four were spending the weekend here at Diablo and had brought some fishing rods to entertain themselves. We chatted to them for a bit and the next morning found out that they had caught three white tip reef sharks later in ...

... parina ekana paivana muutamaankin otteeseen ohimennen todella hamaran nakoisen amerikkalaiskaksikon. aluksi todella yhteensopimattoman nakoinen yhtalo koostui tatuoidusta, rastapaisesta kuivan kesan oravasta ja hanen pulskasta ja myos tatuoidusta ja lavistetysta rikostoveristaan. lyhyesti juttelinmme jonka jalkeen me kuljimme nimella finns koska heidan reseptaakkilinsa olivat siina kunnossa etta nimienkin muistaminen oli liian mutkikas yhtalo. no kun noin neljanne kerran ...

... fra San José til Puerto viejo, en tur på 4 timer. Turen føltes lang, for bussen var propfyldt med mennesker, de stod og sad overalt hvor det var muligt. Her skal nævnes at det var helt vildt varmt og bussen var faldefærdig og uden aircondition. Da vi nåede frem til Puerto viejo fandt vi hurtigt et rigtig dejligt men billigt hotel - tak igen til lonely planet. Vi fik taget et bad og spist frokost, og derefter gik vi en tur rundt i byen for at se det hele. Jeg har været i Puerto viejo ...

... feeding frenzy that is fun to watch. The islands are beautiful and are part of the Bastimentos Marine and Wildlife Park. There is an important nesting site for sea turtles on the Zapatillas. A ranger on the island collected $10 per person which supports the effort. We didn't snorkel today since it is still choppy and murky around Zapatillas. We spent a couple hours on the islands exploring the beaches and walking through the swampy interior on a boardwalk. Lunch at Coral Cay ...

... covered and dry and the temperature feels like it is in the upper 70's. Tomorrow we are taking a boat to Isla Bastimentos to check in at the Eclypse de Mar. Bryan, the owner of Hotel Lula's B&B will arrange to have them pick us up at Cocomo's dock across the street so we don't have to shlep our bags down to the water taxi stand.