Day 205 : Horse Riding in Boquete

Boquete

Boquete is located in the mountainous region of Panama, and we were welcomed by cool weather upon arrival in Boquete around 11am. We were looking to do zip lining in the afternoon, but as it was full for the day, we booked ourselves in for a session early tomorrow morning.

One of the waterfalls

 So instead of waiting around, we decided to go horseback riding. 

The idea was good, but unfortunately the tour wasn`t. We were ¨picked up¨ at 3pm, and followed the guide in our car to a farm located about 30 minutes drive away.

When we got there, we were the only ones there, and the guide interacted with a guy at the farm, whom we later learnt to be the owner.

Day 204 : Car Rental

Niklaus felt bad that he had put me in a situation of not going anywhere, and since the boat will not be operational until parts can be replaced, he suggested to show me around Panama. So off we headed to Colon to rent a car.

The ironic thing was that we used my driving license (Niklaus has misplaced his license) but his details for the insurance coverage – something which I don`t think will be allowed elsewhere?

Day 203 : Engine Breakdown

We were planning to leave for San Blas this morning, but due to strong winds in the wrong direction, Thomas suggested that we wait till the afternoon to monitor the weather, as it may get stronger, and may not be advisable to leave as scheduled.

While waiting, Niklaus decided to do an engine check, and it was at this time he found water had entered the engine! Olivier came by the boat to check what had happened, and discovered that the water pump had burst, resulting in water leaking into the engine.

Day 197 - 202 : Puerto Lindo

Puerto Lindo

Niklaus boat is located in a sheltered bay in Puerto Lindo, located about 1.5hour from the city of Colon and 30 minutes from the small town of Portobello. Both Puerto Lindo and Portobello is where most of the sailboats heading to San Blas islands and Cartagena departs from.

Puerto Lindo is where we had spent most of our days at, having a meal or drinks at Han's (an open air restaurant by the sea side), if we were not on the boat. Most of the people residing here are blacks (vs the fairer skin Panamanians residing further inland) and had a more fishing village feel.

Monkey Feeding

Located near our boat was a small jetty, where lived 3 monkeys. Thomas said that they often come out to the pier in the evening, waiting for people to feed them, and that they are really funny to look at.

We invited Jim to come with us, and we were surprised at his answer.

Portobello

Portobello

We had to make a trip to Portobello today to the port authorities to get the paper work done for the boat to go to San Blas, and Niklaus took the opportunity to show me around.

It is an extremely small town, which can be covered within an hour. It used to be a historical fort, with remnants of the fort structures still remaining.

Day 196 : Flight to Panama

It was a 1.5 hours flight to Bogota, followed by a transit in Bogota airport for about 3 hours and then another 1.5 hours to Panama - 4 times the time needed to fly direct from Cartagena to Panama city, but with a USD50 savings, the slight inconvenience was marginal. In fact, the journey was not as bad as I imagined it to be and COPA airlines had been much more comfortable than I expected.

2 interesting things happened when I was in Bogota airport though.  First, when I arrived at Bogota airport, we were met by a couple of COPA staff, who led a few of us transiting to Cartagena to a terminal to process our boarding passes.

I was subsequently led by one of the staff to one of their counters, and for some reasons, after being asked to sign a document, I was handed with COP65,000 in cash!  I was extremely puzzled as I was the only one in the group that was led to the counter, and additionally handed cash!  

Knowing not to complain when money is handed out to you, I took the money without asking why and left.  Yay, more money in my pocket!

The 2^nd interesting thing was with the immigration.  I had been extremely concern that I would encounter problems with immigration since I had overstayed in the country.   But when I presented my passport, they seemed to be more intrigued with the passport numbers found on the top of every page in my passport, as well as the particulars page on the passport.

Day 193 - 195 : Cartagena

It is hard for anyone not to like Cartagena... ok.. maybe just the weather (read : hot and sunny), but just walking and exploring the streets of Cartagena city is a pure pleasure.

Modern Cartagena in
fortress background

Cartagena city is enclosed within the fortress walls located next to the sea. Sights of historical buildings, colourfully dressed black women parading their bowl of fruits on their heads, the warmth of the locals, the gush of cool breeze flowing through the streets, walking along the fortress walls admiring the view of the sea on one side and the historic city, horse drawn carriages trotting along the narrow streets, are just some of the things which makes up the Cartagena charm.  

Day 192 : Baranquilla

I must say that Baranquilla is perhaps the most disappointing city I have been to in Colombia!  Baranquilla was never a planned stop in my original itinerary, but just because there has been so much mentioned about it, (famous for a Carnaval held once a year here in this city), and being enroute to Cartagena, I thought I would stop here for a night to explore the town.

Day 189 - 191 : Tayrona National Park

Just came back from spending 2 nights in Tayrona National Park, sleeping in a hammock about 50m from the beach.  Being the first time I am sleeping overnight in a hammock, it was a rather interesting experience, though it got a little chilly in the night and I had problems sleeping through till the next day.

Tayrona is said to have one of the nicer beaches in Colombia, however after spending the last 2 nights here, I have to say that I really miss the beaches of Asia, and look forward to my trip to Koh Lipe when I am back!

Day 188 : Santa Marta

Got into Santa Marta early this morning at about 9am, and went straight to the hostel.  As usual I had not really booked anything, and tried my luck by heading straight to the hostel.

Upon arrival, they mentioned that they couldn't confirm anything until about 12 noon - it is currently the high season, and that they have some tentative bookings, and will reconfirm with them before letting me know.

After a couple of hours wait, I finally got a bed in a 10-bed dorm.