Fingers Crossed....
Trip Start
Jan 03, 2007
1
11
14
Trip End
Feb 21, 2007
Cartagena,
Colombia
Friday, January 26, 2007
Next I flew from Pereira to Cartagena on the north coast, a gorgeous historic town I had visited in August 2006. The reason for such a quick return was that I wanted to take a sailboat from there to Panama, rather than fly. I phoned a contact then met up with the German captain Andres. After 3 weeks of cancellations due to strong winds, this was one of the 1st boats to leave, so my timing was spot on!
I packed my sea-sick pills, extra rations of fruit (all food was provided but I wanted to maintain my usual tropical fruit munching habit!). That Sunday, the crew of 4 Brits, 1 Canadian, 2 French & El Capitan set sail from sunny Cartagena into what was effectively the Atlantic.... & boy, did it feel like it! Within an hour, the smiles were wiped off a couple of faces
as sea-sickness set in! I took pills & managed to keep it at bay, although going below deck was unpleasant & had to be done as fast as possible! Going to the loo was a nightmare, with the diesel smells & a loo seat rather high up so it was difficult to mount when everything was lurching from side to side!!Several of us were taught how to sail so we could take on duties especially at night. Apparently, it is very hard to capsize that type of boat(!?). I did 3 hrs one night, navigating by the moon, stars & the compass, in a strangely peaceful yet rough sea that fought to take control of the wheel from my hands... an unforgettable experience.
