To get to Panama, we had several options. However, due to the dates we were working with, it boiled down to 2 options: 1) fly to Panama City from Cartagena, or 2) the DIY boat option. Choice one is faster, more comfortable, and more expensive, while the second is more complicated and stressful with a greater chance of delays, but it's cheaper and more adventurous. OK, option 2 it is!
We took 2 buses to get from Cartagena to Turbo, still in Colombia. We spent the night in shady Turbo.
The next morning there were some bumps along the way, but we boarded our late boat leaving Turbo and arrived in Capurganá early in the day. This two and a half hour boat ride was the first part of what would be too many hours on boats getting to Panama.
I'd read and heard that the boat ride could be "bone-shaking," but luckily it wasn't bad at all, just a handful of tolerable bumps along the way.
The dock was so hectic, I was glad to get onto our boat.
My friend making a new friend.
Along the way our boat stopped at a few other villages to drop off passengers.
Capurganá is a beautiful and relaxing little hideaway.
And when you buy fruit from a market here, it also might include a free lizard.
The next morning we rode a boat for a little over half an hour to get to Puerto Obaldia in Panama. Understandably, getting through customs was more throrough here, and we had to unpack nearly all of our bags which then underwent the pooch sniff test. The dog looked so happy and calm, wagging its tail as it went to smell our bags.
From Puerto Obaldia we also had two options: 1) fly to Panama City, or 2) boat by the San Blas Islands, and the take a jeep from Carti to Panama City. We went with the second option, though it turned out to be the worse of the two, and it wasn´t a penny saver, either.
Arsemio had told us it would be 4 hours by boat (and I asked him on three different occasions) and 2 hours by jeep. Yet another long story, but it turned out to be 7 hours and 15 minutes by boat, and 2 and a half hours by jeep. As well, we had to spend a night on one of the islands because our boat arrived too late to take a jeep into the city. Well, I guess that´s what happens when you choose the more adventurous option! This whole journey, we'd also encountered some odd characters and been in some funny situations along the way.
When I confronted Arsemio about what he was selling, he didn't have much to offer other than lies. One good thing out of this is that I'm getting plenty of opportunities to practice arguing in Spanish!
This long boat ride was horribly bumpy and I kept my eyes closed the whole time, just trying not to get seasick.
The bags had to be covered with a plastic bag, but it only helped some of the time. One of my locks also rusted and I had to buy a new one.
Stopping for gas:
This is the shack where we spent the night:
the toilet
the garbage can :(
the restaurant
The next morning we got into the boat again, but for a very short ride in order to get to the jeep (which was also late).
A curvy, nausea-inducing road took us to Panama City where the small comforts of city life crept back one by one.
