September 8th-13th, 2015
Time on the Wildcard with the responsible hippy Captain Yuyu
My travels, since my month in Quepos came to an end, happen to have a weekly theme. My first week was spent getting into trouble and hiking around Costa Rica with my dear friend Jaclyn. We climbed Churro Chato (an extinct volcano- one of my favourite memories), scrambled up waterfalls, fought with means of transportation, and were almost eaten by the wild Pacific Ocean of the Nicoya Peninsula during high tide. The next week was spent in the perpetually wet Carribean Costa Rican jungle helping a biological institute protect turtles (another highlight). The week after that was spent with my good friend Marcela's family in Guanacaste where we would train for my upcoming mountain climb by climbing steep hills to get more cervesas (another highlight). The next week was spent climbing Chirripo (another highlight) and making my way back to Quepos, and finally Panama to catch a yacht to Colombia, which would be about a week of sailing.
The week sailing in the Caribbean will be in my mind forever; approximately 5 nights and 5 days of islands complete with sugar sand beaches, waving palm trees, and jewel blue waters. Sailing the open ocean under star splattered skies and vast expanses of blue was amazing. Visiting villages of Kuna people selling their unique art and enlightening you on their culture was a one of a kind experience. Snorkelling reefs in the mornings and watching dolphins swim with the boat were experiences that tweaked the heart of this prairie girl.
Soon after the sun went down (at about 6), we were gently ushered into the cabin of the boat so we wouldn't lose anyone over the wire separating the deck from the sea. We were allowed to peer into the starry sky for a couple of hours as long as we didn't make too much noise for the slumbering crew. One night, I counted three shooting stars (Saskia always saw at least 10) before I got sea sick from sailing in the dark. Obviously I made three wishes.
The first night of sailing, despite our best efforts, we dropped like flies with sea sickness. The seas were rough enough to feel like you were going to fall out of bed, and cans and bottles of precious booze were running wild against the walls. One of us (ahem, Chris) "almost died" from being locked in the bathroom for approximately one minute, before Rosie valiantly came to the rescue. Every night I had to take a gravol to stop the motion sickness, which would immediately put me to sleep until 7 the next morning. We were fed well thought out meals throughout the day, supplemented with rum and cervesas.
Living in between the space limited sail boat, the sea and the beaches with the same twenty people for a week made us feel like a traveling family. With no cell service (and no shoes, for that matter) or other such distractions, we were left to conversation, reading, writing and photography which made everyone close. The only slightly negative thing was that because we were not allowed to shower, some some of us ended up with a spattering of super attractive adult acne, and in one case even a 'diaper' rash (it was the source of a lot of giggles and discussions about finding a Colombian dermatologist once on shore). We had the best group of people, weaving a mix of both tipsy fun times and thought provoking conversation. The people are always what make an experience, and I am so happy that my paths crossed with each one of my boat mates. My time in Cartagena, Colombia was also amazing because of the boat family. Colombia was such a gem- I could probably live there one day.
I'm so happy that I chose to sail from Panama to Colombia; my trip wouldn't have been near as awesome without those memories.
Beautiful Blue Sea with the Wild Card in the background
"Sports Day "- last day on the islands
