Skipping the Darien Gap: sailing from Colombia to Panama
Aug 31, 2015, 10:57 pm
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Germany
Programs: Miles and More
Posts: 16
Very interesting.
I read about these cruises.
Did you see the Indians of San Blas?
Always wanted to go there but on a larger ship. i would be terrified.
Did you visit San Salvador and Honduras? I wanted to but I read it's dangerous.
The US State Department warn about going there.
I read about these cruises.
Did you see the Indians of San Blas?
Always wanted to go there but on a larger ship. i would be terrified.
Did you visit San Salvador and Honduras? I wanted to but I read it's dangerous.
The US State Department warn about going there.
I was terrified of the idea to cross the ocean on a sailing boat, it seemed to be like sitting in a bucket over that you have no control. But even though the waves were big and sea was rough - the crew had the full control of the boat so I felt extremely safe on board. In our case we made the decision to do this trip because we needed the transfer between two continents and this was the easiest way to do it (for us). Otherwise I would have never even considered a possibility to try sailing. I'm glad that I was put in this situation and had to try sailing, because it turns out that I love it!
We haven't visited El Salvador and Honduras yet, but we're heading that way. There are many countries that US (and other countries) warns about, and I visied quite a few of them. The key is to follow the local media about the current situation and talk with local people and base your desicions about where to and where not to go on that information.
What's hilarious is you say they're catering to budget travelers (which they are) but $550USD is like 2x sometimes 3x the price of just flying PTY-MDE. Obviously it's not the same, but for a budget traveler I hope people aren't just assuming it's cheaper than a flight.
Interesting about the port. I assumed they'd have a decent search of every boat. There's lots of drugs that flows out via private boats just like this. But I guess much like the entire game of drug trafficking the authorities catch 1/5th or 1/10th of all that goes out so if they catch 1 boat there's probably another 4 of the same size that just left.
Interesting report.
Interesting about the port. I assumed they'd have a decent search of every boat. There's lots of drugs that flows out via private boats just like this. But I guess much like the entire game of drug trafficking the authorities catch 1/5th or 1/10th of all that goes out so if they catch 1 boat there's probably another 4 of the same size that just left.
Interesting report.
It's advertised as a budget option, because private yacht or sailing boat charters usually caters for luxury travellers and is associated with chrystal glasses, champagne and butlers. So in order to lower the expectations they call it budget version. It still is a more or less private boat transer, so it's not cheap and still costs a lot for a bugdet traveller (in our case we paid our monthly budget just for that one week), but they skip all things fancy and us 'poor' people get a chance to peak how it might feel to have a boat.
The route is very popular in last 10 years, and there is a big competition between boats that keep the prices low. I have no idea where else in the world I would be able to afford a trip on a sailing boat. If anyone knows, please let me know, because I would love to repeat that one day!
Not sure what to say more about the drug problem, it's a very big problem there and many people still die everyday because of this. It's more or less a global problem and there is (of course) a lack of money to solve it, so I think it will keep being a problem for quite a while. Being in Colombia was a really surreal experience in general, as there were deadly clashes at point A and tourists (local and international) looking at stuff at point B (30km from point a) and the rest of the population was just living their own lives as nothing were happening. It was a weird feeling to be surrounded by all that, but if you frequently visit Medellin you probably know more about it than I do.
Nice to hear that you like it ^
Tulku (she) is a very characteristical team member, she is very independent and has strong opinions about everything and influences our trip a lot. She is also an excellent ice breaker that opens us a lot of doors
I was playing with the idea to have a blog through her eyes, but somehow never did it. We (as a team) have a facebook page, but it's more about our weekly/daily encounters and we also have a crowdfunding page where is an overview of our cycling trip (who are we and what do we do) and few videos. We started the crowdfunding campaign when Tulku got blind and also needed other surgeries to fix her legs and that expanded our trip by one extra year. I'm not sure if I should share the link, because our cycling trip is a very different to anything that flyertalk community is interested in and the sailing trip (which still is very unusual here) is the closest I can get to the FT interest range. I still wanted to share this TR because I get a lot of useful information here, so I wanted to offer my share too. In case anyone here has an aspiration to do a camping tour in Nicaragua or cycling tour on the Dalton Highway, here is the link: www.facebook.com/boundlessbiking
Aug 31, 2015, 11:00 pm
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Germany
Programs: Miles and More
Posts: 16
Guna Yala islands and El Nińo phenomenon
Island hopping
In our case, the main reason to sail from Colombia to Panama was the transfer between two continents. Yet for the most travellers, the main reason to sail this route is to visit the Guna Yala islands. There are a bit less than 400 islands and they are also known as San Blas islands.
Officially the islands are territory of Panama, but Guna Yala people have the autonomy over the islands. Not all of the islands are inhabited. There is one big 'main' island with the services as post, bank etc. The local people live from fishing, selling souvenirs to tourists and selling coconuts. It is forbidden to pick up the coconuts on your own, even if the island is not inhabited!
S waving from the island
Medium size island
Small size island
It usually takes less than 10 minutes to walk around the medium sized island and it was great fun just to swim to a new island and explore it. The most common finds were coconuts, sea shells, shoes and crabs.
The weather
When we finished the trip and showed the pictures to our family for the first time, their response was 'Oh no! It looks cloudy! We're sorry you had this terrible weather'. When we reached the islands for the first time, the captain proudly announced 'Welcome to the paradise!' and a tropical storm with thunder broke out a minute later, our initial reaction was the same - 'Oh no! No blue skies!'.
We couldn't be more wrong to say that. The next day came and there were still no blue skies and sometimes even a light drizzle. Drizzle in the Caribbean, you ask? Well, yes. How come, you ask? El Nińo, we answer.
What is El Nińo and why do they keep talking about it so much this year? Before my Panamericana trip I've never heard anything about el nińo (I come from Europe). The more time we spent in South America, the more we found out about it. All the science jargon aside, el nińo is a phenomenon that brings rain to the deserts and drought to the rain forests. To make it even more simple: there should be a blue sky - el nińo comes - there is no blue sky. This year el nińo happens to be very strong. They say it will be the strongest el nińo in last hundred or so years.
So all our holiday pictures from the tropical paradise have grey sky, lots of clouds and nobody at home get jealous when they see our pictures. Well, here comes the funny part: we couldn't be more happy not to have those blue skies! The Caribbean is a hot and humid region all year round, el nińo or not. So the temperature was perfect for swimming and lounging. Believe me or not, we got sunburnt despite thick clouds and all the sunscreen we used. One day we got a glimpse of the blue sky above our boat. 5 minutes later the moaning began: it suddenly was unbearably hot to be outside or inside or in the water (the shoulders were burning!). So when the clouds returned an hour later we all were very grateful and happy.
The side note about the extra strong El Nińo: Panama will be partially closing the Panama Canal soon due to the drought caused by El Nińo. The biggest size ships (Panamax) will not be allowed to cross the channel for the couple of months because there is not enough water to lift the ships. So while the tourists on the Caribbean side are enjoying extra rain, the Pacific side is suffering from drought!
Up next: food, finally
In our case, the main reason to sail from Colombia to Panama was the transfer between two continents. Yet for the most travellers, the main reason to sail this route is to visit the Guna Yala islands. There are a bit less than 400 islands and they are also known as San Blas islands.
Officially the islands are territory of Panama, but Guna Yala people have the autonomy over the islands. Not all of the islands are inhabited. There is one big 'main' island with the services as post, bank etc. The local people live from fishing, selling souvenirs to tourists and selling coconuts. It is forbidden to pick up the coconuts on your own, even if the island is not inhabited!
S waving from the island
Medium size island
Small size island
It usually takes less than 10 minutes to walk around the medium sized island and it was great fun just to swim to a new island and explore it. The most common finds were coconuts, sea shells, shoes and crabs.
The weather
When we finished the trip and showed the pictures to our family for the first time, their response was 'Oh no! It looks cloudy! We're sorry you had this terrible weather'. When we reached the islands for the first time, the captain proudly announced 'Welcome to the paradise!' and a tropical storm with thunder broke out a minute later, our initial reaction was the same - 'Oh no! No blue skies!'.
We couldn't be more wrong to say that. The next day came and there were still no blue skies and sometimes even a light drizzle. Drizzle in the Caribbean, you ask? Well, yes. How come, you ask? El Nińo, we answer.
What is El Nińo and why do they keep talking about it so much this year? Before my Panamericana trip I've never heard anything about el nińo (I come from Europe). The more time we spent in South America, the more we found out about it. All the science jargon aside, el nińo is a phenomenon that brings rain to the deserts and drought to the rain forests. To make it even more simple: there should be a blue sky - el nińo comes - there is no blue sky. This year el nińo happens to be very strong. They say it will be the strongest el nińo in last hundred or so years.
So all our holiday pictures from the tropical paradise have grey sky, lots of clouds and nobody at home get jealous when they see our pictures. Well, here comes the funny part: we couldn't be more happy not to have those blue skies! The Caribbean is a hot and humid region all year round, el nińo or not. So the temperature was perfect for swimming and lounging. Believe me or not, we got sunburnt despite thick clouds and all the sunscreen we used. One day we got a glimpse of the blue sky above our boat. 5 minutes later the moaning began: it suddenly was unbearably hot to be outside or inside or in the water (the shoulders were burning!). So when the clouds returned an hour later we all were very grateful and happy.
The side note about the extra strong El Nińo: Panama will be partially closing the Panama Canal soon due to the drought caused by El Nińo. The biggest size ships (Panamax) will not be allowed to cross the channel for the couple of months because there is not enough water to lift the ships. So while the tourists on the Caribbean side are enjoying extra rain, the Pacific side is suffering from drought!
Up next: food, finally
Sep 1, 2015, 7:57 pm
#21
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RSE
Programs: AA Exp|VA Platinum
Posts: 15,504
I was playing with the idea to have a blog through her eyes, but somehow never did it. We (as a team) have a facebook page, but it's more about our weekly/daily encounters and we also have a crowdfunding page where is an overview of our cycling trip (who are we and what do we do) and few videos. We started the crowdfunding campaign when Tulku got blind and also needed other surgeries to fix her legs and that expanded our trip by one extra year. I'm not sure if I should share the link, because our cycling trip is a very different to anything that flyertalk community is interested in and the sailing trip (which still is very unusual here) is the closest I can get to the FT interest range. I still wanted to share this TR because I get a lot of useful information here, so I wanted to offer my share too. In case anyone here has an aspiration to do a camping tour in Nicaragua or cycling tour on the Dalton Highway, here is the link: www.facebook.com/boundlessbiking
Don't worry about your trip not being FT enough. Any trip as interesting as yours I'm sure FTers would enjoy reading.
Sep 1, 2015, 9:06 pm
#22
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
What a fun little report! Very different than most of the ones I read here.
And such a cute First Mate too. Thanks for sharing it.
And such a cute First Mate too. Thanks for sharing it.
Sep 3, 2015, 5:42 pm
#24
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: SYD
Programs: Too many golds, no plat: OZ*G, AC*G, NZ*G, VA Gold, QF Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 5,350
Chris1984 also recently posted about doing that journey by boat (motorised in his case) in the opposite direction. It's quite an overland traveller staple.
His post is here, and a bit further down the thread he posted a video as well.
His post is here, and a bit further down the thread he posted a video as well.
Sep 16, 2015, 1:24 pm
#26
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Germany
Programs: Miles and More
Posts: 16
Food and seasickness
This is what is included in the price of the sailing trip:
The transfer from Colombia to Panama;
The accommodation on board;
Food and non alcoholic drinks (water, juices, soda);
Entertainment.
I've already covered the itinerary and the living spaces on the boat. I also briefly talked about the entertainment, it mainly included beach related activities. The boat provided with inflatable toys that were a huge hit! Once you swam around the boat 5 times and swam to the surrounding islands and back you might be not wishing to go around the boat for one more time. It's still too hot on the deck and the water is nicely refreshing, so you get a pool noodle or a donut and just float around for a while. With a drink of your choice, of course.
The boat also provided snorkeling equipment, speakers for the music of your choice, kayak, books in English and fishing rods. We also had some games with us, so in total there were more choices of entertainment than anyone had actually used. It was so ridiculously peaceful and calm that we spent most of our time either floating in the water or gazing to the horizon. In our 'normal' lives we are PED addicts and can't spend a day offline and here we were, sitting on board and looking at waves. Perfect holidays, no less.
Now let's talk about the two most important things: food and Sarah. Sarah is a cook as well as helper all around. She is the happiest person I've ever met! There are a lot of things to do on a sailing boat and she was hard working probably 24 hours a day, always with a smile. None of the guests have ever seen her sleep, eat or be sad, so she might be a cyborg for all we know (it's a joke). What we did see a lot is Sarah singing and dancing with a captain while cooking, cleaning or sailing.
The atmosphere on the boat was very relaxed and cheerful, despite it being a hard physical work. The crew was awesome, Felipe was very motivated to leave a good impression for the captain (or maybe it's just how he is), Sarah was cooking, feeding us and singing and dancing all at the same time and captain Andrea was orchestrating the show as well as being a part of it. The boat is their home and their life and they were happy with their life. And we were the guests to this incredible adventure. Eating a lobster under the stars while your cook is waltzing around? Life is good and it's impossible to be unhappy around happy people!
Sorry, but I have no pictures of that enchanting evening. I also have no pictures of the food we were served, but I will try to describe some of it. There were 3 big meals every day. In case you were still hungry, there always were snacks available. We usually were so full after meals, that nobody ever asked for a snack, so I don't know what do they offer. I assume fruit and cookies, because that's what was leftover at the end of the trip.
First meal of the day was breakfast. It always started with fresh fruit (different type every day). The second course was different each morning. There were usual breakfast foods like scrambled eggs, omelette, pancakes and bread with Nutella or jam. They reheated the bread in the morning, so it tasted good even after 5 days. One of the guests was vegetarian and they cooked separate dishes for her. They also catered to personal likes and dislikes and allergies, so sometimes they cooked 3 different dishes so that everyone would eat what they like.
The table setting was pretty basic, no crystal (or glass for that matter) glasses. It is a budget trip after all. Nevertheless, there always was a tablecloth (made of towel material to reduce sliding), the plates were made of proper plastic (not the disposable ones) and the silverware was metal and matching and wrapped in a napkin.
For the lunch there were hot or cold dishes like salad or tortillas. For the first dinner there were ribs, for the second - lasagna. On the third night there was BBQ dinner on the island with 3 types of meat and grilled vegetables. Next night we had lobster dinner. The crew bought freshly caught lobsters from Guna Yala people. There were 10 lobsters and they paid 5USD per lobster (it was included in trip's price).
Lobsters for dinner
On the 5th day we were snorkeling around the coral reefs. The captain found some conch shells for dinner. I am not a fan of any seafood (I don't even like fish), but before the trip I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try new things. Because if I'm ever to try sea food, why not do it where they catch it in front of my eyes? So I tried lobster (not a fan, but the legs were good!) and now it was the time to try something that lives inside shell and that I have no idea how is called. I'm proud to announce, it wasn't that bad! It is pretty much tasteless (it will get any taste you give when marinating) and it's texture is similar to mushrooms.
Conch shells for dinner
On the last night there was barracuda, fresh caught by the captain. All the dinners were finished with deserts. There were various cakes or caramelised fruits made by Sarah onboard. On the second night, Felipe's daughter was having her first birthday (back at home in Cartagena). To celebrate this occasion Sarah made the first cake, with a candle, and we sang happy birthday song. That was fun and it made Felipe happy, so we repeated it with different cakes the next 2 nights as well. At the end Felipe sent 3 videos to his little daughter for her birthday.
Seasickness
The most unromantic topic is left for the end. When talking about sailing (or anything sea related for that matter) seasickness is a relevant topic. I had a lot of concerns before taking this trip. I get the motion sickness very easily: traveling by bus - I'm nauseous; taking a taxi from hotel to a shopping mall - I'm nauseous; heck, swimming in the sea - I'm already nauseous! Before the trip I tried Dramamine and found out that I'm allergic to it. Great, now what?
So when considering our options how to skip the Darien Gap, my proneness to seasickness was on top of the list. Well, the other points were stronger so I prepared for the worst (spending next 6 days in the bathroom). I also talked to a friend who is a recreational sailor and she gave me some tips. Those tips saved my holiday and I was one of the few people on board who didn't spend any time in the bathroom (well, due to the sea sickness related reasons).
How to reduce seasickness:
1. Lay down as much as possible. No standing, no sitting, just lying down. So since the first evening I spent my time in lying position. I even ate lying (one of the reasons why I have no food photos).
2. Spend as much as possible time outside. I was the first guest on the outside deck every morning and the last to leave it every evening. The fresh air helps a lot!
3. Stay hydrated. I had a bottle of soda or juice all the time and was sipping from it every few minutes. It takes time for the dehydration to kick in, so other guests felt worse and worse every day, I felt better and better. Force drinking helped, alcohol would not.
4. Don't overeat. We were served very delicious food everyday. Instead of eating all of it, I stopped eating when being still not completely full. This way, the food stayed inside my stomach.
The first two days in the open sea were rough, I've spent all my time lying, either on the deck or in my bed. Some people advise to look to the horizon in order to reduce seasickness. So when the first night fell and the horizon was not to see anymore and the sea was still rough - all other guests made a mad dash to the bathroom. It turns out that in my case not looking at the horizon was the key. In the daytime I would fixate my point of view to a part of a boat, so all the things in my visual field were stable and not moving. When it became dark, anywhere I looked was pitch dark, thus no moving objects, thus everything stable and my nausea miraculously stopped. It came back the next day, but at least I had a really calm night.
Every day I adapted to the rocking boat more and more and by the last day I was able to sit down when sailing or walk around when anchored. Before the trip the idea of being in open seas for days with no land to see was really frightening to me. Add my history with motion sickness to this and I stepped into the boat ready to spend next week in a bathroom, crying from fear all the time. I guess we could call it taking one for a team, because my friend S was dreaming about this trip since Ushuaia and it was one of his biggest wishes.
Well, turns out I love sailing! I had the best time of my life, delicious food stayed where it supposed to stay, there were happy people and good music around me and nobody gave me hard time for eating in lying position (until the 4th day, at least). I miss my time on Micamale a lot and I wish to have my own sailing boat one day. S on the other hand is not willing to repeat the experience, but I guess it's his time now to take one for a team
The End
The transfer from Colombia to Panama;
The accommodation on board;
Food and non alcoholic drinks (water, juices, soda);
Entertainment.
I've already covered the itinerary and the living spaces on the boat. I also briefly talked about the entertainment, it mainly included beach related activities. The boat provided with inflatable toys that were a huge hit! Once you swam around the boat 5 times and swam to the surrounding islands and back you might be not wishing to go around the boat for one more time. It's still too hot on the deck and the water is nicely refreshing, so you get a pool noodle or a donut and just float around for a while. With a drink of your choice, of course.
The boat also provided snorkeling equipment, speakers for the music of your choice, kayak, books in English and fishing rods. We also had some games with us, so in total there were more choices of entertainment than anyone had actually used. It was so ridiculously peaceful and calm that we spent most of our time either floating in the water or gazing to the horizon. In our 'normal' lives we are PED addicts and can't spend a day offline and here we were, sitting on board and looking at waves. Perfect holidays, no less.
Now let's talk about the two most important things: food and Sarah. Sarah is a cook as well as helper all around. She is the happiest person I've ever met! There are a lot of things to do on a sailing boat and she was hard working probably 24 hours a day, always with a smile. None of the guests have ever seen her sleep, eat or be sad, so she might be a cyborg for all we know (it's a joke). What we did see a lot is Sarah singing and dancing with a captain while cooking, cleaning or sailing.
The atmosphere on the boat was very relaxed and cheerful, despite it being a hard physical work. The crew was awesome, Felipe was very motivated to leave a good impression for the captain (or maybe it's just how he is), Sarah was cooking, feeding us and singing and dancing all at the same time and captain Andrea was orchestrating the show as well as being a part of it. The boat is their home and their life and they were happy with their life. And we were the guests to this incredible adventure. Eating a lobster under the stars while your cook is waltzing around? Life is good and it's impossible to be unhappy around happy people!
Sorry, but I have no pictures of that enchanting evening. I also have no pictures of the food we were served, but I will try to describe some of it. There were 3 big meals every day. In case you were still hungry, there always were snacks available. We usually were so full after meals, that nobody ever asked for a snack, so I don't know what do they offer. I assume fruit and cookies, because that's what was leftover at the end of the trip.
First meal of the day was breakfast. It always started with fresh fruit (different type every day). The second course was different each morning. There were usual breakfast foods like scrambled eggs, omelette, pancakes and bread with Nutella or jam. They reheated the bread in the morning, so it tasted good even after 5 days. One of the guests was vegetarian and they cooked separate dishes for her. They also catered to personal likes and dislikes and allergies, so sometimes they cooked 3 different dishes so that everyone would eat what they like.
The table setting was pretty basic, no crystal (or glass for that matter) glasses. It is a budget trip after all. Nevertheless, there always was a tablecloth (made of towel material to reduce sliding), the plates were made of proper plastic (not the disposable ones) and the silverware was metal and matching and wrapped in a napkin.
For the lunch there were hot or cold dishes like salad or tortillas. For the first dinner there were ribs, for the second - lasagna. On the third night there was BBQ dinner on the island with 3 types of meat and grilled vegetables. Next night we had lobster dinner. The crew bought freshly caught lobsters from Guna Yala people. There were 10 lobsters and they paid 5USD per lobster (it was included in trip's price).
Lobsters for dinner
On the 5th day we were snorkeling around the coral reefs. The captain found some conch shells for dinner. I am not a fan of any seafood (I don't even like fish), but before the trip I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try new things. Because if I'm ever to try sea food, why not do it where they catch it in front of my eyes? So I tried lobster (not a fan, but the legs were good!) and now it was the time to try something that lives inside shell and that I have no idea how is called. I'm proud to announce, it wasn't that bad! It is pretty much tasteless (it will get any taste you give when marinating) and it's texture is similar to mushrooms.
Conch shells for dinner
On the last night there was barracuda, fresh caught by the captain. All the dinners were finished with deserts. There were various cakes or caramelised fruits made by Sarah onboard. On the second night, Felipe's daughter was having her first birthday (back at home in Cartagena). To celebrate this occasion Sarah made the first cake, with a candle, and we sang happy birthday song. That was fun and it made Felipe happy, so we repeated it with different cakes the next 2 nights as well. At the end Felipe sent 3 videos to his little daughter for her birthday.
Seasickness
The most unromantic topic is left for the end. When talking about sailing (or anything sea related for that matter) seasickness is a relevant topic. I had a lot of concerns before taking this trip. I get the motion sickness very easily: traveling by bus - I'm nauseous; taking a taxi from hotel to a shopping mall - I'm nauseous; heck, swimming in the sea - I'm already nauseous! Before the trip I tried Dramamine and found out that I'm allergic to it. Great, now what?
So when considering our options how to skip the Darien Gap, my proneness to seasickness was on top of the list. Well, the other points were stronger so I prepared for the worst (spending next 6 days in the bathroom). I also talked to a friend who is a recreational sailor and she gave me some tips. Those tips saved my holiday and I was one of the few people on board who didn't spend any time in the bathroom (well, due to the sea sickness related reasons).
How to reduce seasickness:
1. Lay down as much as possible. No standing, no sitting, just lying down. So since the first evening I spent my time in lying position. I even ate lying (one of the reasons why I have no food photos).
2. Spend as much as possible time outside. I was the first guest on the outside deck every morning and the last to leave it every evening. The fresh air helps a lot!
3. Stay hydrated. I had a bottle of soda or juice all the time and was sipping from it every few minutes. It takes time for the dehydration to kick in, so other guests felt worse and worse every day, I felt better and better. Force drinking helped, alcohol would not.
4. Don't overeat. We were served very delicious food everyday. Instead of eating all of it, I stopped eating when being still not completely full. This way, the food stayed inside my stomach.
The first two days in the open sea were rough, I've spent all my time lying, either on the deck or in my bed. Some people advise to look to the horizon in order to reduce seasickness. So when the first night fell and the horizon was not to see anymore and the sea was still rough - all other guests made a mad dash to the bathroom. It turns out that in my case not looking at the horizon was the key. In the daytime I would fixate my point of view to a part of a boat, so all the things in my visual field were stable and not moving. When it became dark, anywhere I looked was pitch dark, thus no moving objects, thus everything stable and my nausea miraculously stopped. It came back the next day, but at least I had a really calm night.
Every day I adapted to the rocking boat more and more and by the last day I was able to sit down when sailing or walk around when anchored. Before the trip the idea of being in open seas for days with no land to see was really frightening to me. Add my history with motion sickness to this and I stepped into the boat ready to spend next week in a bathroom, crying from fear all the time. I guess we could call it taking one for a team, because my friend S was dreaming about this trip since Ushuaia and it was one of his biggest wishes.
Well, turns out I love sailing! I had the best time of my life, delicious food stayed where it supposed to stay, there were happy people and good music around me and nobody gave me hard time for eating in lying position (until the 4th day, at least). I miss my time on Micamale a lot and I wish to have my own sailing boat one day. S on the other hand is not willing to repeat the experience, but I guess it's his time now to take one for a team
The End
Sep 16, 2015, 1:29 pm
#27
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Germany
Programs: Miles and More
Posts: 16
Thanks!
Thank you for your kind words
Thank you!
I was very afraid for the sealeg, but now I'm very glad that I did it!
Thanks for the link! Panamericana is more or less THE (ONLY) ROUTE and you rarely meet people travelling in the same region and not doing the big trip.
Chris1984 also recently posted about doing that journey by boat (motorised in his case) in the opposite direction. It's quite an overland traveller staple.
His post is here, and a bit further down the thread he posted a video as well.
His post is here, and a bit further down the thread he posted a video as well.
Sep 17, 2015, 3:45 am
#29
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 762
Chris1984 also recently posted about doing that journey by boat (motorised in his case) in the opposite direction. It's quite an overland traveller staple.
His post is here, and a bit further down the thread he posted a video as well.
His post is here, and a bit further down the thread he posted a video as well.
Cheers,
Chris