Fantasy Voyage

When I first started thinking about this trip I planned on only visiting Colombia and Ecuador.  Panama wasn’t added to the roster until Meredith told me about a six day sailing trip her cousin had taken years earlier between Panama and Colombia.  Last summer I traveled with a teacher who did the same voyage.  While I have heard great things about the trip I was nervous since I get sea sick; very sea sick actually.  In the end the risk of spending a couple of days in a Dramamine-induced stupor was well worth the opportunity of sailing through the Caribbean.  

There are numerous ships that make the passage between Panama and Colombia.  Meredith and I signed on for the Fantasy, a 55 foot Ketch complete with pirate flag, sailing from Portobelo to Cartagena.   

We arrived in Portobelo, a small town five hours by bus from Panama City, the day before we were scheduled to set sail.  There’s not much to do in Portobelo other visit the black Jesus statue in the church, make a monkey friend, try to escape from said monkey friend, explore the ruins, pretend to be Captain Morgan, and try to remember you’re in Panama despite the fact that everyone else is from Australia. 

After a fun filled day in Portobelo, Meredith and I boarded the Fantasy seven hours behind schedule.  The journey wouldn’t have been complete without our fellow shipmates.  The lineup includes:

Debbie and Wayne: Our captain and her husband/our mechanic

Lorena: Our cook

Tomas, Romain, Fabien (aka Muscles): The Frenchies

Mel and Carl: The British couple

Frances and Marco: The German couple

When we finally boarded the ship most of us were tired after an afternoon of waiting, while the Frenchies were extra intoxicated after the extra rally time at the bar.  By this point I was good and drugged with every motion sickness medicine I could get my hands on.  I hoped with a steady stream of Dramamine and transdermal motion sickness patch I could outmatch the ocean.  

Turns out the ocean always wins.  Within an hour we had hit a storm.  Within two hours I was keeled over in the bathroom.  I spent the night outside despite the rain, but felt great when I woke up in the morning.  It probably helps that by the next morning we had docked in San Blas, a chain of 365 Caribbean islands complete with crystal clear water, ship wrecks, and white sand beaches. 

We spent the first day swimming and lounging on the six-man inflatable raft the Frenchies brought, dubbed “The Joy Machine” (they also brought Super Soakers that they proceeded to fill with rum and shoot into each others’ mouths).  That night the Kuna (local islanders) prepared us a lobster dinner on a small island and the water guns were replaced with rum-filled coconuts, better known as Coco Loco.  

 The next two days passed in a similar fashion.  The second night the Judy Mae docked next to the Fantasy and we joined forces with another group of backpackers (Australian of course) from Portobelo.  We made our way to a deserted island for a bonfire and cookout.  It was fairly ridiculous, but a very enjoyable evening.  

 

The following morning Marco, Mel, Carl, Lorena and I went snorkeling at a ship wreck.  Highlights include a manta ray, sting ray, and nurse shark sightings.  Unfortunately that afternoon marked the end of the Caribbean Paradise portion of the journey.  The next leg: 40+ hours of straight sailing to Cartagena. 

It was a somewhat surreal experience being in the middle of the Caribbean with no land, let alone another soul in sight.  I spent the majority of our 40 hour passage reading and praying that the great weather would hold (and it did).  Surprisingly the weather was the least of our worries.  The morning after we set sail for Cartagena we woke to the news that we were out of drinking water.  Debbie was confident that we could survive the remaining 30 hours on beer and soda, but I was less than excited by this prospect.    

By the time we hit land around 11am the next morning we were more than ready to be off the boat.  Marco had been particularly sick the entire time, and hadn’t moved let alone eaten in two days.  Mel was still upset about the water.  I really wanted to brush my teeth and wash my hair.  It was time for the Fantasy Voyage to be done.  Overall it was a great adventure.  Not always easy, but the good ones never are.