KS- Sunday
Wow, its been a while hasn't it. I actually kind of like not having to write blog entries and just enjoying the trip. But since it too hot out in the sun to do much today, and its nice and shady by the pool with a breeze blowing through, I guess I'll try to catch everyone up on what's been happening. The pool in question is in Colombia, and how we got here, is why we were "off the map" for almost a week.
Last Saturday we left our hostel in Panama City and headed north towards Puerto Lindo , a small village on the Caribbean coast. We found a hostel for the night in Portobello, just a few miles from where we were supposed to meet our boat on Monday morning. When we arrived at the hostel, we met Rob, another rider from Colorado, who was making the trip on his own. The evening was spent swapping travel stories, and talking about where were headed once we crossed the Darien Gap. Rob had some amazing stories and videos of his time in Honduras during the riots. He wasn't there willingly, and was trying to get out of the country as fast as possible. Many roads were blocked off by burning tires, rocks, anything that was available. One particular video shows him riding his motorcycle through burning tires to make his escape out of the city, pretty hairy stuff at the time, but good to be able to look back at it and laugh now. Rob was taking a different boat around the Darien Gap and we hope to meet back up and ride with him in South America for a while if things work out. Last I heard from him, his boat had been cancelled due to not having enough passengers. Possibly due to the fact that that particular captain is on his fourth boat, one of which we passed on our second day of sailing, grounded on a shallow reef, leaning towards its side where it has been for a couple years now. Not exactly what most people would call a good form of advertisement.
We met our Captain Charli the next morning and proceeded to load our bikes on a smaller boat, to ferry them out to the Wild Card one at a time. It was again one of those times that made me glad for the smaller dirtbike vs the large BMW. Once we pulled alongside the Wild Card, a 60 foot motor sailer, ropes were lowered down and tied around the bike. Then it was winched up over the side of the boat, using a hand crank winch, and lowered gently down onto the deck. After a second trip back to the dock and repeating the process, both bikes were on board and lashed securely on the front of the main deck. The rest of our gear was loaded and stowed and our travel bags stashed on our assigned bunks below deck. We then went back to shore to await the arrival of the rest of the passengers. After everyone was given the instructions from the captain, they were ferried out to the boat, and we soon set off into the great blue sea. Once we left the shelter of the bay we found out that the sea was not exactly great. The waves were very large, and coming from many directions at once. Seasonal winds had picked up and were pushing up the water with amazing force. Passengers were rolling around the deck, hanging on to whatever they could at times. There were even the occasional screams when a set of waves would give the boat an extra heave and tilt. I was very happy with my decision to take a good dose of Dramamine before getting on the boat, even though I was questioning my decision of getting on the boat in the first place. After a couple hours of pushing through the heavy seas, we reached the more sheltered waters of the San Blas Islands, a chain of many small islands inhabited by only a few indigenous villages. We anchored up for the night while many of the passengers slept on bean bag chairs on the front deck after dinner was served. It was a tight fit for 18 people, but we made do because the sleeping rooms below deck were a bit on the warm side of comfortable. Halfway through the night I made my way down to my bunk and found that the heat was somewhat tolerable with the help of a fan mounted by my bed. The next morning we awoke to coffee and breakfast, followed by some passengers taking the small motor raft to shore to check out a local village. Chip and I took a swim in the ocean as we watched rain clouds head towards us. It worked out perfectly, as we climbed back on the boat, the rain hit and rinsed all the saltwater off of us. Later that morning when everyone was back on the boat we pulled up the anchor and headed to a nearby island with a beach to spend the rest of the afternoon. After snorkeling around the reef, a game of volleyball turned into several, which led to me realizing the next morning that I might have aged just a bit from my prime. The next couple days were more of the same, move to a different island under beautiful blue skies, surrounded by clear blue water, swim, snorkel, volleyball, hang out on the beach, lay in hammocks, take naps, eat, sleep on the boat. To make a long story short, we got to know a great bunch of travelers, all of which are younger than us. The captain and crew were awesome, great food, and a great boat.
After the island fun, we set out for our 36 hour journey to Colombia. Back out into the open ocean where we were once again greeted by the waves (and more Dramamine). The last part of the crossing had waves throwing massive amounts of water and spray over the front of the boat, soaking the motorcycles in salt water. I'm sure there may be some long term electrical consequences to that, but hopefully nothing too major as we travel. Once we pulled into the harbor in Cartegena, we sprayed off the bikes with fresh water to rinse away the salt, followed up by a good spraying of wd40. After one last night on the boat in the calm waters of the harbor we woke up to the city skyline just in front of us. A bit of a jolt back into civilization for most of us. All of the other passengers were offloaded first and hauled into the docks. Next was my bike, reversing the loading process of winching the bike into a smaller boat, I climbed down into the boat and sat on my bike to stabilize it for the ride in. Its a weird feelings sitting on a motorcycle, on a boat, as the waves are pitching everything back and forth. After unloading my bile on the dock, they went back and picked up Chip and the rest of our gear and brought them in.
Sitting on the docks under the blazing sun, surrounded by motorcycles, piles of gear, in another country, no local currency, no place to stay, and the bikes cant be legally driven until paperwork is finished on Monday. Were back into travel mode now. I watch the bikes as Chip goes off in search of a hotel and an ATM. Success with the hotel was easier than the ATM. There are tons of ATMs here in the city, finding one is not the problem. The challenge is finding one that works. Its almost like a game of whack a mole, one will work for a bit, then stop, while another one begins to work, then none work, then a guy comes walking buy pushing a cart selling fruit, then half the ATMs work, a car horn blows, they all stop, eventually you're in the right place at the right time and you get to withdraw cash. There could be some exaggeration in that previous bit, but its not as far off as you'd like to think it is. After checking into the hotel, and moving all our luggage up to the rooms, we dropped the bikes back at the marina and paid a guy to wash and watch them. Not sure how good the wash was, but every time we've gone by, the guy is there smiling and waving at us. Last night after a cooling dip in the pool, we went into the old city to meet up with the rest of our boating companions and the captain for barbeque and touring of the town. Colombian towns are known for being alive with music and people, and the city has a heartbeat that seems to move through everyone there. Its kinda cool to be a part of as a visitor, but peace and quiet has its benefits as well.
This morning we had breakfast at the hotel, which only has 9 rooms, before we set out walking to find the places we need to go tomorrow to get the bikes checked into the country, and insured. Both steps are critical for us being able to travel without fear of having the bikes impounded. This is going to be a big week. We have to import the bikes into Colombia, cross the border into Ecuador, all while travelling 1,100 miles, starting Monday morning, and my goal is to be done by Friday evening so I can meet my wife at the airport in Quito. Time to saddle up and get things in gear, won't be much time for Christmas shopping this week.
Wow, its been a while hasn't it. I actually kind of like not having to write blog entries and just enjoying the trip. But since it too hot out in the sun to do much today, and its nice and shady by the pool with a breeze blowing through, I guess I'll try to catch everyone up on what's been happening. The pool in question is in Colombia, and how we got here, is why we were "off the map" for almost a week.
Last Saturday we left our hostel in Panama City and headed north towards Puerto Lindo , a small village on the Caribbean coast. We found a hostel for the night in Portobello, just a few miles from where we were supposed to meet our boat on Monday morning. When we arrived at the hostel, we met Rob, another rider from Colorado, who was making the trip on his own. The evening was spent swapping travel stories, and talking about where were headed once we crossed the Darien Gap. Rob had some amazing stories and videos of his time in Honduras during the riots. He wasn't there willingly, and was trying to get out of the country as fast as possible. Many roads were blocked off by burning tires, rocks, anything that was available. One particular video shows him riding his motorcycle through burning tires to make his escape out of the city, pretty hairy stuff at the time, but good to be able to look back at it and laugh now. Rob was taking a different boat around the Darien Gap and we hope to meet back up and ride with him in South America for a while if things work out. Last I heard from him, his boat had been cancelled due to not having enough passengers. Possibly due to the fact that that particular captain is on his fourth boat, one of which we passed on our second day of sailing, grounded on a shallow reef, leaning towards its side where it has been for a couple years now. Not exactly what most people would call a good form of advertisement.
We met our Captain Charli the next morning and proceeded to load our bikes on a smaller boat, to ferry them out to the Wild Card one at a time. It was again one of those times that made me glad for the smaller dirtbike vs the large BMW. Once we pulled alongside the Wild Card, a 60 foot motor sailer, ropes were lowered down and tied around the bike. Then it was winched up over the side of the boat, using a hand crank winch, and lowered gently down onto the deck. After a second trip back to the dock and repeating the process, both bikes were on board and lashed securely on the front of the main deck. The rest of our gear was loaded and stowed and our travel bags stashed on our assigned bunks below deck. We then went back to shore to await the arrival of the rest of the passengers. After everyone was given the instructions from the captain, they were ferried out to the boat, and we soon set off into the great blue sea. Once we left the shelter of the bay we found out that the sea was not exactly great. The waves were very large, and coming from many directions at once. Seasonal winds had picked up and were pushing up the water with amazing force. Passengers were rolling around the deck, hanging on to whatever they could at times. There were even the occasional screams when a set of waves would give the boat an extra heave and tilt. I was very happy with my decision to take a good dose of Dramamine before getting on the boat, even though I was questioning my decision of getting on the boat in the first place. After a couple hours of pushing through the heavy seas, we reached the more sheltered waters of the San Blas Islands, a chain of many small islands inhabited by only a few indigenous villages. We anchored up for the night while many of the passengers slept on bean bag chairs on the front deck after dinner was served. It was a tight fit for 18 people, but we made do because the sleeping rooms below deck were a bit on the warm side of comfortable. Halfway through the night I made my way down to my bunk and found that the heat was somewhat tolerable with the help of a fan mounted by my bed. The next morning we awoke to coffee and breakfast, followed by some passengers taking the small motor raft to shore to check out a local village. Chip and I took a swim in the ocean as we watched rain clouds head towards us. It worked out perfectly, as we climbed back on the boat, the rain hit and rinsed all the saltwater off of us. Later that morning when everyone was back on the boat we pulled up the anchor and headed to a nearby island with a beach to spend the rest of the afternoon. After snorkeling around the reef, a game of volleyball turned into several, which led to me realizing the next morning that I might have aged just a bit from my prime. The next couple days were more of the same, move to a different island under beautiful blue skies, surrounded by clear blue water, swim, snorkel, volleyball, hang out on the beach, lay in hammocks, take naps, eat, sleep on the boat. To make a long story short, we got to know a great bunch of travelers, all of which are younger than us. The captain and crew were awesome, great food, and a great boat.
After the island fun, we set out for our 36 hour journey to Colombia. Back out into the open ocean where we were once again greeted by the waves (and more Dramamine). The last part of the crossing had waves throwing massive amounts of water and spray over the front of the boat, soaking the motorcycles in salt water. I'm sure there may be some long term electrical consequences to that, but hopefully nothing too major as we travel. Once we pulled into the harbor in Cartegena, we sprayed off the bikes with fresh water to rinse away the salt, followed up by a good spraying of wd40. After one last night on the boat in the calm waters of the harbor we woke up to the city skyline just in front of us. A bit of a jolt back into civilization for most of us. All of the other passengers were offloaded first and hauled into the docks. Next was my bike, reversing the loading process of winching the bike into a smaller boat, I climbed down into the boat and sat on my bike to stabilize it for the ride in. Its a weird feelings sitting on a motorcycle, on a boat, as the waves are pitching everything back and forth. After unloading my bile on the dock, they went back and picked up Chip and the rest of our gear and brought them in.
Sitting on the docks under the blazing sun, surrounded by motorcycles, piles of gear, in another country, no local currency, no place to stay, and the bikes cant be legally driven until paperwork is finished on Monday. Were back into travel mode now. I watch the bikes as Chip goes off in search of a hotel and an ATM. Success with the hotel was easier than the ATM. There are tons of ATMs here in the city, finding one is not the problem. The challenge is finding one that works. Its almost like a game of whack a mole, one will work for a bit, then stop, while another one begins to work, then none work, then a guy comes walking buy pushing a cart selling fruit, then half the ATMs work, a car horn blows, they all stop, eventually you're in the right place at the right time and you get to withdraw cash. There could be some exaggeration in that previous bit, but its not as far off as you'd like to think it is. After checking into the hotel, and moving all our luggage up to the rooms, we dropped the bikes back at the marina and paid a guy to wash and watch them. Not sure how good the wash was, but every time we've gone by, the guy is there smiling and waving at us. Last night after a cooling dip in the pool, we went into the old city to meet up with the rest of our boating companions and the captain for barbeque and touring of the town. Colombian towns are known for being alive with music and people, and the city has a heartbeat that seems to move through everyone there. Its kinda cool to be a part of as a visitor, but peace and quiet has its benefits as well.
This morning we had breakfast at the hotel, which only has 9 rooms, before we set out walking to find the places we need to go tomorrow to get the bikes checked into the country, and insured. Both steps are critical for us being able to travel without fear of having the bikes impounded. This is going to be a big week. We have to import the bikes into Colombia, cross the border into Ecuador, all while travelling 1,100 miles, starting Monday morning, and my goal is to be done by Friday evening so I can meet my wife at the airport in Quito. Time to saddle up and get things in gear, won't be much time for Christmas shopping this week.
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| Chip heading out to the boat |
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| Up up and away |
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| Hanging out in the Caribbean |
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| Island Paradise |
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| Bike on a boat. |
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| Not too bad...there is about 500 more of these in the San Blas. |
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| Sunset shenanigans. |
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| Coco Locos for all!!! |
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| Heading for shore |
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