Hotel Corbiski Ecolodge San Blas Islands

... sent to the hostel that we were staying at in panama of the 7 night and 8 day ordeal that we had on this trip. It was one (if not the) worst experiences I've ever had. The Captain was an alcoholic and a total prick (I'd really like to lump him one right on his bulbous, ugly hooter) and hopefully other travellers will not have the same experience as we had as we've also sent round the email to other hostels in Cartagena and trip advisor so either he ...

... showers (a coconut scoop and a barrel of rain water). Eulogio (self named 'pregman' due to his rather protruding belly) was our kind host and we dined on lobster stew with our new crew members.

The next morning we went out to the Ave Maria, our home for the next week, and met Paul, 'el capitano australiano'. The boat was a beautiful 50 footer, surprisingly spacious, although with 9 of us on board we all got to know ...

... would commonly fall asleep on any ground surface, regardless of how uncomfortable. Kealan was going out with Carol, an Irish lass who would party all night and hibernate all day. Then there were three Irish amigas who were travelling together. Amy who had a healthy addiction to swimming but an unhealthy addiction to Chitoes (those little cheese ball chips). Martha who mixed her Irish accent with an interesting way of emphasising words to make her a fantastic person to ...

... cheer, we couldn't have been more excited. He was a sight for sore eyes! After introductions the first thing I asked him was if the ship had a shower. When he said yes I couldn't help but give him a big ol' smooch. I hadn't washed my hair in four days!

After the weekend in Yantup, our bunk beds on the 40 meter Stahratte were pure luxury. We spent the next four days sailing through San Blas and enjoying a few more ...

... visitors and require permits from every person and tour company who does business with them. We picked up four more backpackers, stopped at a big grocery store to pick up water and some snacks, and headed east towards Kuna Yala.

About three hours later we arrived at a Panamanian immigration checkpoint on the highway. We all had to go into the little immigration building to have our passports and visas inspected and recorded into a logbook. While standing inside the ...

... Good business people these Kuna. We eventually arrived at the river port and only had to wait about 10 mins for our boat to take us to Carbanja Carti, or Nixia“s Place as mentioned in all the hostel posters. Nixia is apparently the only Kuna businesswoman and is the daughter of the Chief in the Carti island area. But more about her later. By this stage I was so excited to see the place we were going to stay at that I was really impatient at the pace that we ...

... great frontiers, is still impassable overland - the guidebooks and locals warn that if the jungle diseases don“t get ya, the guerrillas and drug-traffickers will. Admiring the ruggedness from a sailboat though is a true pleasure. A memorable stop along the way was a Kuna village. The Kunas are indigenous to the islands and have fiercely faught ...

... lasted 4 days, the first two navigating non stop. During the first night, we all had an hour and a half shift to check the surroundings and make sure we were going the right way, while others were sleeping. At the end of the two days, we arrived in San Blas. On the third and fourth day, we spent a lot of time swimming, snorkeling (we saw some amazing sea life), sunbathing and visiting the islands around and its population called the Kuna. The boat was very pleasant, with everything ...

... daily city life and remember to breathe....this was it...it was all this and I learned so much! As for the small plane that I had to fly in to get there and back...well, it wasn“t the higlight (Dad and Flor, I especially thought of your opinions of flying...hahaha). I am picking my mom up from the airport in a bit and we are off to La Amistad National Park tomorrow in search of los quetzales. Have a great day everyone : )

... the U.S.; but politically Panama is opposed to opening the route. Panama is happy to remain separated from the political unrest in Colombia. However, where there is a will there is a way and one could hike the route but you would need a native guide and at least two weeks. Compared with a pleasant Caribbean cruise the choice for us was easy. We are taking the sea route and paying $640 to Captain Mark to take the two of us from Cartagena to the San Blas Islands off the ...