The next part of our trip, namely sailing from Panama to Colombia aboard Stahlratte, or steel rat in English (http://www.stahlratte.org/), a 40m sailing ship which is 105 years old was always going to be a highlight of the trip for us. We were up at 4am to catch a 4 wheel drive from Panama City to San Blas on the Caribbean Coast. Although the journey was only about 80km it took over 3 hours as most of it was off road, through rivers and up mountainous muddy hills. The final leg to the boat was in dug out canoes manned by the Kuna people, who are indigenous to the region and operate an autonomous region of Panama. 
There were 16 passengers of various nationalities (including a Brit who lives in Dubai) and 5 German crew. The ship is operates as a charity and all the money that is made goes towards the maintenance of the vessel.
We clambered on board and found our double berth, dumped our stuff and headed up to the poop deck for a pep talk. All the food for the trip was included but soft drinks and beer were payable via on honesty bar. The itinerary was a short sail to the outer San Blas Islands, an overnight and day there, then a 5am start the following night for the 30 hour sail to Cartagena. Our time at San Blas was spent swimming, snorkeling, jumping off the boat and exploring idyllic desert islands (not like The World), looking for starfish, rays, coral and abundant fish.
Meals were cooked by the crew, helped by the passengers, organized into daily work teams. The first night was seafood feast – freshly caught fish and lobster. This descended into drunken carnage after a few drinking games with people diving in and being thrown overboard.
Mr B slept off his beer in the comfort of a hammock on deck until it began to rain at 5am. I slept below deck in 30 degree heat which wasn’t much fun!
Next morning, most people were surprisingly subdued – why would that be? Anyway, another day of swimming, catching sun and reading was rounded off by a beach BBQ on a desert island.
We then set sail for Cartagena at 5am but due to the lack of wind most of the journey was made under engine power, although we all helped raise the sails when the wind picked up. The weather was good to us most of the time and every evening we were treated to spectacular lightning storms as we sailed though the 2nd most lightning prone area in the world.
At 7am on our last day Cartagena appeared on the horizon and was surprisingly high rise. Its main attraction however is its old town. We waited impatiently for immigration clearance before heading on shore in search of a shower and bed. What a brilliant few days.
There were 16 passengers of various nationalities (including a Brit who lives in Dubai) and 5 German crew. The ship is operates as a charity and all the money that is made goes towards the maintenance of the vessel.We clambered on board and found our double berth, dumped our stuff and headed up to the poop deck for a pep talk. All the food for the trip was included but soft drinks and beer were payable via on honesty bar. The itinerary was a short sail to the outer San Blas Islands, an overnight and day there, then a 5am start the following night for the 30 hour sail to Cartagena. Our time at San Blas was spent swimming, snorkeling, jumping off the boat and exploring idyllic desert islands (not like The World), looking for starfish, rays, coral and abundant fish.Meals were cooked by the crew, helped by the passengers, organized into daily work teams. The first night was seafood feast – freshly caught fish and lobster. This descended into drunken carnage after a few drinking games with people diving in and being thrown overboard.Mr B slept off his beer in the comfort of a hammock on deck until it began to rain at 5am. I slept below deck in 30 degree heat which wasn’t much fun!Next morning, most people were surprisingly subdued – why would that be? Anyway, another day of swimming, catching sun and reading was rounded off by a beach BBQ on a desert island.We then set sail for Cartagena at 5am but due to the lack of wind most of the journey was made under engine power, although we all helped raise the sails when the wind picked up. The weather was good to us most of the time and every evening we were treated to spectacular lightning storms as we sailed though the 2nd most lightning prone area in the world.At 7am on our last day Cartagena appeared on the horizon and was surprisingly high rise. Its main attraction however is its old town. We waited impatiently for immigration clearance before heading on shore in search of a shower and bed. What a brilliant few days. 
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