Carnaval in Barranquilla

When you hear about Carnaval most people think Rio de Janeiro and Brasil, but Carnaval is HUGE all over South America. The second largest Carnaval in South America is in Barranquilla, Colombia which is only a 2 hour drive from Cartagena. We arrived in Cartagena two days before Carnaval started and were able to get on a bus going to Barranquilla for the day. 

Carnaval runs March 1st till 4th with a huge parade each day from 11am till 5pm and a party the entire time! Barranquilla has a population of about 800,000 but during Carnaval there are over 3 million people there! We arrived around noon and the streets were packed. We made our way down towards the main street where the parade was already started. There were so many people it was hard to move, everyone was so happy and festive! People were dressed up in amazing costumes, there was food and beer for sale everywhere and music blasting. The stands were completely packed and we couldn't see the parade, but a man let us up onto his balcony for 12,000 pesos each. The view was much better up on the balcony and we hung out with some very cute Colombian kids. The kids were so excited about Carnaval and explained each float to us. It was amazing to see how happy everyone was! The parade was incredible. The floats were very elaborate and each one had their own dancers and music playing. There were also large groups of dancers doing routines in between the floats with beautiful costumes on. I've never seen so many beautiful people in one place! Watching them made me want to get up and dance! 

We left the boys up on the balcony and the four of us girls went for a walk. We made it one block before we were bombarded with flour and spray foam! It was so funny, we were all completely covered in flour.  Groups of people had boxes of flour and when you walked by they would surround you and throw the flour. They especially targeted the foreigners. We bought some spray foam and started retaliating when they would go after us. Everyone at Carnaval participated and there wasn't one person who didn't have flour on them. The majority of people participating were Colombian and they were so happy to see us joining the party! A lot of people asked to get pictures with us or just took pictures as we walked by. I think Colombians are the happiest and nicest people I've ever met! We spent the rest of the day partying in the streets with everyone. 

When it was time to catch the bus back to Cartagena we were all quite dirty. My hair was one giant matted mess of flour & foam. Outside the bus we chatted with some local kids and one young boy wanted to come live in Canada with me. The only English he knew was "I love you" and kept saying it over and over. Carnaval was such an amazing experience and I don't think I stopped smiling all day! 

Pictures coming soon! 

La Perla del Caribe

There's no road between Panama and Colombia, you can cross by air or sea. I chose sea! The flight was decently expensive and sailing across the Caribbean Sea sounded like a way better experience. Hostel Mamallena in Panama City organizes the boats. There are many different types of boats sailing regularly. I was put on La Perla del Caribe, a 43 foot sailboat with room for ten people plus the captain and cook. The boat sails around the San Blas Islands for three days then across open sea for two days. That means we had to take the crazy 4x4 road back out to the San Blas entrance. I was praying we wouldn't have Ricardo as our driver again!

On Saturday morning we were up at 430am to meet our group and the 4x4. No Ricardo this time! The drive was much faster, but it seemed like the driver was trying to make it as crazy as possible. We had to stop and let the people out of the back seat for some fresh air, but we made it to the river by 9am. All nine of us got into a tiny boat and headed to Isla Provenir where the sailboat was anchored. Everyone got completely soaked on the 45 minute boat ride. Finally, we arrived at La Perla del Caribe! Captain Fernando and his cook Sophie welcomed us with breakfast and some ground rules. We were given bed assignments then sailed to Dog Island for the afternoon. It was hard to believe that eleven of us were going to spend five days in such a small space.

La Perla del Caribe and Captain Fernando

into the cabin

cabin and kitchen

my small bedroom

Dog Island

Our crew was pretty great! Four Canadians all from BC, Ted, Chris, Nick and I. A Dutch couple from Amsterdam, Eline and Jochem. Two German pilots, Sven and Frank and Rica from Finland. We spent the first day swimming and snorkeling around Dog Island. The island was beautiful, but very busy with tourists. There was a small ship wreak there which was neat to snorkel around. We all headed back to the boat for lunch and I had a much needed nap. It's nice to sleep on a boat that's not moving, it kind of lulls you to sleep. We spent the rest of the day drinking, swimming and eating Sophie's great food!

The next day we sailed to Isla Waisaladup (Chief's Island) which was about three hours away and anchored there for the next two days. We spent both days swimming, tanning, snorkeling, drinking and exploring the amazing islands. They are beyond incredible!

On Tuesday morning we started sailing towards Cartagena, Colombia at 7am. The sailboat was literally sideways and you could barely walk inside the cabin. All we could do was sit around the small table on the deck or lay down in bed. I was the second person to get sea sick and had to stay horizontal pretty much the entire time. Around 5pm our engine died. Fernando tried to fix it, but it quickly got dark and he had to wait until the morning. We had no engine all night. In the morning, Fernando managed to jimmy rig the engine so it would work for the rest of our voyage. We arrived in Cartagena around 10pm on Wednesday night after 37 hours of open sea. We were all more than happy to get onto solid ground. The trip was amazing and I would highly recommend it to everyonne, but make sure you bring gravol!

Panama

Pictures from Bocas del Toro, Panama City & the San Blas Islands

The San Blas Islands

I've found paradise. The San Blas Islands are an image off a postcard or that tropical paradise screen saver you have on your work computer. I was lucky enough to spend 2 days there, living in a hut right on the beach. 

The San Blas Islands of Panama are an archipelago comprising approximately 378 islands and cays, of which only 49 are inhabited. They lie off the north coast of the Isthmus of Panama, east of the Panama Canal. They are home to the Kuna Indians and a part of the comarca Kuna Yala along the Caribbean coast of Panama.

Tuesday morning we were picked up by a 4x4 to start our journey to the San Blas islands. It was a rough start. Three of us were squished in the very back of a Toyota 4x4 that clearly wasn't meant for 8 people. Ricardo, our driver, picked us up at 5am then proceeded to stop at the supermarket, the pharmacy and for breakfast. ALL while we sat squished and hot in the back of his vehicle. I was not impressed. He should have done his errands first then picked us up.. After Ricardo finished all his errands we were finally on our way. The road to San Blas is literally a paved goat trail across a continental divide. It was the craziest drive ever! Huge hills, massive pieces of road missing, twists, turns, bumps. I was feeling pretty car sick by the end, and being in the very back seat was not helping. At around 9am we finally arrived at a river. From the river we were picked up by Ellie and Monesto, local Kuna men who would be our hosts for the next two days. 

Dying after the crazy drive

the river where we were picked up 

Five of us were packed into Ellie's boat and we slowly made our way down the river. After about 15 minutes we were out on the Caribbean Sea hitting massive waves and getting soaked in the little boat. It was actually a fun ride and enjoyable because of the hot weather. After half hour we arrived at Isla Narasgandup. "Dup" means island in Kuna. 

trying to stay dry

Ellie & Monesto

We were shown our hut then explored the island. It only took about twenty minutes to walk about the whole island. There was another group of huts on the other side of the island. We spent the morning hanging out on the beach until we were called for lunch. Ellie and Monesto went out in the boat and caught us fresh lobsters. Lunch was amazing! The best food I've had so far. 

After lunch, we were taken to the main Kuna island that has the largest concentration of Kuna people. We were only allowed to take pictures of the people with their permission. The women were traditionally dressed and didn't really acknowledge us, but the kids loved us! They all said hola and were showing off by doing handstands. It was really interesting to see how these people live. They are still following their traditional ways with little influence from the modern world and they are only allowed to marry within the Kuna people. We headed back to our island and spent the rest of our time swimming, relaxing, reading and eating a lot of fresh seafood. 

dining hut & two sleeping huts

my home for two days 

another small San Blas island

our amazing beach!

tranquilo 

our chefs

a local Kuna woman in traditional clothing

saying goodbye to our hosts