Originally Posted by
mad_atta
No particularly good reason... except that I like the idea of travelling by boat from somewhere I have been (Panama) to somewhere entirely new to me (Colombia), to add to the excitement. Also we'd be enjoying the San Blas islands before doing the longer part of the ocean crossing.
Honestly, I'd be very happy to do it in either direction!
Looking forward to the next instalment
I imagine that arriving to Cartagena and seeing the skyline from far away should be exiting. Our arrival wasn't so spectacular. On the other hand, having the ocean crossing ("hard work, no fun") part done meant that island time ("no work, just fun") was some sort of a reward.
Originally Posted by
mpkz
Nice to know it's not difficult. I'm taking care of my parent's dog (golden retriever) now since we don't really know the best way to get him from Northern Europe to Southern Africa (he's probably too old to handle flying in the dog compartment without my parents there to calm him down), maybe I can now suggest that my dad drives the entire way
Traveling with a dog reminded me of Travels with Charley, one of the best travel books ever written.
That sounds like an epic road trip! Nevertheless, you should do the research of the requirements of each country and watch out for the 'pain-in-the-rear' countries.
In South America you can go wherever you please with your dog and nobody will care, but once you reach Chile they suddenly want to see the paperwork and know how it supposed to look and how many stamps should be there and if you're not ready - no Chile for you. Also, the health certificates have an expiration date (5 to 10 days) and it sometimes takes 24 hours to get the approval stamp at the legal authorities, so transiting multiple countries is a big of a challenge. Also, some countries require a blood titer test to prove that the dog is free from rabies and different countries ask for different timing of that blood test, so there are some nuances.
It sounds scary and complicated if you never attempted it before, but it's not impossible and once you get a hang of it - it's not that hard. I guess that the biggest problem is the lack of the information online (what requirements for which country) and that most of that limited information is not valid.
I'm not sure how to sum it up: I don't want you think that it's very easy, but I also don't want you think that it's incredibly hard. It's like the miles and points: you need some basic knowledge on the topic and then you can jet around the world with no big problems.
Originally Posted by
drvannostren
Very cool, being a frequent visitor and semi-resident of Medellin the Darien Gap has held an interest for me for quite a while. I'd love to try and cross one day but I'm just not sure it's worth it. That said, the sailing trip is very appealing, if/when I have more time.
I wanted to ask how much it cost, I didn't see that in your report and what was customs like at the port of Colombia? I've been to Cartagena but I'm not sure I know where/what the port is like. I'm sure there's some kind of customs officials there but I'm curious about it.
The prices vary depending on the boat, but it is somewhere around 550USD per person. They say it's getting more expensive every year, but in 2010 the prices were 500USD pp, so it's not skyrocketing. These boats are catering to budget travelers (mainly backpackers), so it is expected that you help around the boat and help with the navigation when captain is sleeping (the boat goes on autopilot, so you just sit there and watch if there are some unusual numbers on the monitor and if there are - wake up the captain).
We got lucky, because Micamale is a luxury boat among the others on the route and there was an extra crew member (Felipe). We could sit back and enjoy the ride. In case somebody wanted to learn sailing or navigating, the captain was willing to teach you and let you try things.
Most of the boats also offer private transfer; most of them carry 8 passengers, so I assume the price can't be much steeper than 4400USD to charter a boat with crew for your private use.
I think it's a great value for money, it includes transfer, island hopping for 3 days and food and non alocoholic drinks (I'll cover it in later segments). Before the trip my knowledge about boats was pretty basic (it floats - must be a boat) and I never had an aspiration to try sailing, but I'm glad that I took this trip.
I also think it's a great way to experience sailing for the beginners. There is a big chunk where you sample how does sailing in open waters feel like, it's not too short and not too long. And then, you get to try island hopping on semi-private boat: you get a say in the decision making of where to go next and how long to stay there.
There are 3 ports in Cartagena, one is for big cargo ships and cruise ships and and two smaller for yachts and sailing boats. We left from Club Nautico and it's a small port, it had 2 wooden jettys. In the first picture, where S is pushing a bike, you can see 1/4 of the whole port.
The customs officials never checked our boat, neither in Colombia nor in Panama. The small private boats aren't their biggest interest. I assume they have a right to visit any of the boats, and they do that occasionaly, but deffinetely not checking each boat. All the paperwork is done by the captain, he collects the passports a day before the departure and gives them back only after arrival. I think the captain also needs to declare things to customs, but nobody really cares what's inside your backpack.
As there aren't much of control, drug trafficing is a prolem there (surprise, surprise). The colombian and panamanean military send planes that fly very low and seek for any illegal activities. I assume they have their system how to control things.