Hola! I’ve made it back on to the grid after sailing through the San Blas Island’s of Panama. We went completely off the grid this week as we left Colombia and made our way towards and into Central America. At the beginning of this year, South/Central America definitely wasn’t on my travel radar, but now that I’m here, I am trying my best to squeeze the most out of every experience I can. My favourite adventures and moments this week were by foot and boat, a slight change up from the norm. Adventures to the San Blas Islands really opened up a whole can of raw and unique experiences.
Little tacker, stoked to have his photo taken.
The journey to Panama
Bus rides… they aren’t my chosen mode of transport, especially when you’re boxed in with little room to move for 12 hours. However, long bus rides typically take you places far off the beaten track. We ended up in a little coastal town on the outskirts of Colombia named Necocli. Straight off the bus, our first goal was to get a run in. With an upcoming 4 days on the water, and islands smaller than football fields we knew there wasn’t going to be an opportunity to train. Before leaving home, it’s standard to be on the receiving end of fear-filled comments like “don’t go anywhere strange at night” and “don’t go running at night”. You have to take these with a pinch of salt sometimes, and just let yourself explore the world around you no matter what the circumstances.
Running in the rain
Despite it only taking up an hour of my week, my second to last run in Colombia made the highlight list. Jackson and I set out through the sleepy streets of Necocli beside the last lingering pink hues of the sunset. As we ventured onto the highway, the darkness fell quickly and the fireflies began to flicker like fairy lights alongside the road. Shortly into the run, it started pouring down rain. I haven’t experienced such heavy rainfall for some time now but running against it was revitalizing after feeling like a caged chicken in the bus.
The rain was unrelenting as we moved down the highway. Trucks were zooming by with their lights illuminating the rebounding raindrops that blanketed the road. I’m sure we were hardly visible to the oncoming traffic, with Jackson yelling at me to ‘JUMP JUMP JUMP’ at one stage as oncoming vehicle barely missed us whilst I fell into the gutter. Upon returning, we ran past a village party with latino music being blasted full volume. It’s runs and little moments like these which are unplanned that are often my most memorable when traveling. Maybe it’s the rush of adrenaline or the insight to another lifestyle I would not usually see, but it’s why I always love going for runs in the places I travel.
Moving closer to Panama
Following our night out in the rain, the bleak weather conditions hung around. Our first boat leg was waiting and it didn’t look promising. We all had our baggage triple wrapped in plastic under the assumption it was going to be equally wet as the fish beneath us. Fortunately, we made it to Capurgana relatively dry ready to collect our departing stamp out of Colombia. It was also our last chance to watch Colombia play another world cup game with the local crowd. Being able to watch the world cup in a country where soccer/football is the most popular sport really creates a thrilling viewing environment. The entire town was buzzing after Colombia’s 3-0 victory!
Palms everywhere.
Capurgana to Sapzurro
A short but sweet little boat ride between the coastal towns. Leaving the dock of dancing locals to be greeted in another bay by an old man serving homemade ice cream was a delight. Jackson and I completed our final run in Colombia, running the hike back to Capurgana and then returning. The viewpoint in the middle was astounding, looking over the two bays. However, we haven’t been able to run in those shoes since – destroyed by the mud. The challenges of travelling, keeping your shoes dry whilst in tropical places.. The highlight of Sapzurro for me was visiting an old lady’s house where she opened up her freezer to well over 50 cups of homemade icecream. I had 7, I couldn’t resist, all the flavours were delicious.
Pretty crazy border control. Panama, I’m here.
Finally crossing the Panamanian border
En route to our the first island, we ventured into Panamanian territory which naturally resulted in a visit to the border control. In was an old-fashioned set-up as they relied purely on a well-trained sniffer dog and their own hands to unravel my well folded/packed bag. We spent 5 hours here, but it wasn’t all that bad. Jackson and I played soccer with the local kids for 2 hours and then watched another world cup game, you wouldn’t be able to do that at any major airport!
What a place to wake up.
Making it to the first island!
Hooray! After of plenty of time in transit, we beached up on our first island. What a sight to behold. Zipping through the islands on our boat, we passed island after island dense with palms and surrounded by glistening blue tropical water. In every direction, there were islands with countless palms from one side to the other.
We chilled here for a while, cracked a few coconuts and were fortunate enough to see a dance from the local Kuna children. The children dancing were the best of the islands. I was impressed with their coordination, to play music, form a circle, hop on one leg and remember a whole dance routine. I’ll have to lift my game.
Once the sun went down, our next stop was to Caledonia. A small village island occupied by locals, either very young or elderly. Anyone in between typically goes to the city to work before returning to the village or realising that city life isn’t for them.
Another highlight for me was from this island. A huge lightning storm far in the distance lit up the sky all night long, so I sat on the end of the village jetty and watched in awe till I couldn’t keep my eyelids open any longer.
Coconuts, volleyball, and snorkeling.
The whole crew.
The local court.
Day 2 out in the San Blas Islands
More islands! The majority of the day revolved around ball sports and delicious island food. Again, no qualms from me. I think that’s a recipe for success in my books. Either playing island basketball, racquetball or volleyball for hours upon hours with delicious salads provided in the rest breaks from the San Blas Adventures crew was a real-life dream. When things got too sweaty, pristine waters awaited along with hammocks between the palms.
Relaxation time.
Revolution island!
My highlights from this island were the hours we spent playing soccer with the kids. When they tired me out, I taught them how to use my camera. Like I mentioned in Colombia when we visited a school which was introducing technology to the kids as early as possible, I believe it’s imperative to plant seeds in their mind for future hobbies/career options.
We also slept in hammocks, that was a first!
There’s an art to sleeping in these things.
Day 3! The crowd favourites.
Our tour host, Svea had us excited about these islands and for good reason. Despite only being very small in size they were truly magnificent. However, Jackson and I were blown away when we sent his drone up. What we found out the back of one of the islands was a breathtaking reef system. Blues of every shade and patterns in the reef that would have to be up there with the best in the world! Check out some of Jacko’s drone shots.
Our final island of the tour was Coco Bandera. The last supper, the final volleyball match, and the closing of what was an incredible 4 days. Like anything, the places I travel to always make up one part of my memories but it’s always a delight to travel with a fun, diverse and easy going crew of people. Many laughs were shared and stories told amongst the mouthwatering meals that were prepared for us.
This was our base for a night.
The crew. Thanks to San Blas Adventures, what a trip!
Off to Panama City
Leaving the islands put us in a jeep ride for 3 hours. We drove through the Darien Gap, notoriously one of the most dangerous places in the world. Inside the dense jungle hides narco drug traffickers, human traffickers, and some deadly wildlife that I wouldn’t want to come across. Fortunately, we were driving the main roads through it and not the ‘ghost roads’.
The remainder of a week in Panama has revolved around running and setting up a base before we head off for our next adventure up North. A big shout out to Jackson for completing his first half-marathon, a big feat as it’s not always easy to train whilst on the road.
Thank you for your comments and messages as always!
Stay golden,
JL
Try not to blind yourself from your own actions, you are a magnet to what surrounds you and what will continue to gravitate towards you. Every thought, every word, and every note you write will be a piece of the future puzzle. You can’t see now where the pieces will fit, but they’ll arrive when you need them. – Joshua Lynott
