Seeya Later Crocodile

We set off for Tayrona National Park from Taganga and trekked 45mins through jungle to the coast. We arrived in Arrecifes and walked for about 30mins along the coast to a spot called El Cabo that had postcard like palm trees hanging over pristine sandy white beaches. We hired a tent and spent a few days snorkelling, exploring the beaches and deserted lagoons and opening coconuts. Very relaxing and uncrowded.

We then set off for Cartegena, a port city surrounded by spanish fortress walls. We went to a 15m high mud volcano that we climbed up and jumped in. When in, we were coated with mud and massaged by locals and I felt like a little kid. You could stand upright without sinking as the mud was so dense. After you go to the lagoon and you're washed off by local women just like your mum used to do when you were a kid.

After 4 nights of exploring the beautiful old town of Cartegena, we felt the urge to keep moving so we headed to the yacht club to see if we could get an earlier yacht. We met 5 aussies (2 from Perth and 3 from QLD) who needed 2 more people for a 7 day charter through the San Blas Archipelago. The yacht was 44 ft, Captain Fredrico was a great guy, we got along well with our new friends and the price was right so we set sail the next day.

The first leg of the trip was a 40hr sail to the coast just off the Darian Gap which connects Colombia to Panama. We arrived the second morning after catching a shark trawling (plus a couple of lost bites) to a group of white sandy islands full of palm trees and surrounded by coral reef great for snorkelling. I'm definitely a fan of life on a yacht. I ate the best food since the start of our travelling (thanks to the great shopping by our new mates), I showered by jumping off the back of the yacht into the Carribean sea, we fished for our meals, had bonfires on the beach with the local Kuna people, snorkelled for exercise and opened coconuts for a drink!

We had the holiday that most people dream of and never have. I found my favourite place in the whole world (so far). An island in a group of 2 about 50m x 50m that was covered in palms with agapanthus type flowers as ground cover. It was surrounded by coral and it took about 45mins to snorkel around the entire island checking out the tropical fish. We had a great bonfire around a little table we made from driftwood after we'd had our cookup on the yacht (moored 50m away).

San Blas is definitely the highlight of my trip so far although I was suprised by the lack of fish in the Carribean due to severe overfishing. We only caught 5 or 6 by trawling lines whilst on the move. The yachtie culture is strong in this area with a heap of interesting people to meet ( a young couple with a kid who'd planned on 1 yr sailing which has turned into 9!) and great food (delicious giant crabs). Stay tuned for upcoming photos!

We're now in Panama City and just went for a visit to the Panama Canal. Heading out for a long lost curry tonight then heading up to Costa Rica. Ciao