Saturday, January 26, 2013

Crossing Central to South America

Hi There,

Last week I crossed from Carti, Panama to Cartagena , Colombia on a 120 ft sailing vessel . Thirteen motorcycles where hoisted aboard and a total of 22 passengers made the 5 day voyage thru the San Blas Islands... It was a real adventure getting the bikes from shore to the awaiting "Stahlratte" in the harbor. There are no roads connecting Central and South America so you must sail or fly. I choose the " Stahlratte " for its excellent reputation for carrying motorcycles and I loved the romantic looks of her..:)) There are only a handful of boats that take bikes and last year a popular catamaran named the 'Fritz' sank with all the bikes aboard ... No insurance no recourse.. yikes.. Here are some pics of the crossing... All the Best

Our new home for 5 days...the "Stahlratte"a 120 ft steel sailing vessel built in Holland ...
New moto friend that I met in Panama City. We all rode the 2hrs down together to Carti where we met the boat. Great moto road like a twisted roller coaster thru the territory owned by the Kuna Indians..
This is a dug out canoe with a back nailed on..This is our "LaunchA"... This is the one plank offered to us so that we can ride our bike onto the rolling LaunchA.. The Stahlratte is waiting on the horizon..:)
We think a second plank would be nice...bring it on !!
Peter from the UK is the Guinea Pig..
"Stowaway" from Spain and Peter ready for take off..
The engineer in the group finds some pallets improving the ramp greatly..Thanks Dell..
Hoa rides my bike up the ramp as my ribs are still on the mend and I didnt want to take the chance of tearing them again...Hao and his wife Suma where riding two up on a R1200 from San Francisco.

This is fun..
I was thankful that the biked did not fall on my head as it was being lifted from the sweet LaunchA..
safe and sound.

The last of the thirteen bikes to be boarded.. 
We motored a few hours then all spent the night on one of the Kuna Islands. 

Entrance to our hostel. Although the San blas Islands are beautiful, close up, the reality is grim. The island we stayed at was so crowded that there are no open spaces WHAT SO EVER and ever space is taken up by the thatch and tin roofed dwellings. Most had dirt floors, electricity and generally a table and a few chairs. There is no more room for another house anywhere..There is garbage everywhere and all the toilets are at the ends of  warn out docks that empty right into the water that surround the island...They are relying on tourism to a degree but are resentful and unwelcoming... They should allow no tourists but of course its a catch 22..What will the next generation do and where will they live as over population is already a problem..


Our out houses under the stars...The left blue door and the right red curtains...I prefer the beautiful out houses of MAINE !!
The First Supper...Those are Rum bottles not wine bottles...They kept flowing..

Heading through the San Blas Islands . For the next 2 days there was swimming, snorkeling, fishing, bbqs , dancing, drinking and eating..:))


The boat bought 26 lbs of spiny lobsters that we enjoyed with freshly caught fish
We bought the lobsters from a another Kuna fisherman right from his boat. This fisherman  was selling fish and this turtle. I bought the turtle for 5 bucks and let him go.....
The fisherman put up a sail and were off.












Im the one in the middle ...looking rather sexing dont ya think..:)






BBQ on beach


after the bbq... the stairs where brilliant

Late night dancing on deck to E-Swing music from Berlin... Awesome dance music..




Fish caught with only a hand line and a rubber squid...

This was very exciting for Neha and all. We had the fish for dinner along with the lobsters. Hoa made a vietnamese soup with the head and stomach for the next day... All Scrumptious !!!

It began to get very rough on the 4th day as we headed off sure...




below deck ..our bunks

below deck after things shifted and spilled thru the night... 
We all had our day to pitch in...It was called "Kitchen Bitch"

yaHOOO





Pic for my little grandson "Colton"...XO










Farewell Stahlratte....

We all stayed in Cartagena for a few days waiting to get insurance papers and regroup. Most of the riders were heading to the tip of South America to Ushuaia, Argentina. I am going down to Buenos Aires , Argentina and flying to South Africa... 















3 comments:

  1. You take the most beautiful pictures... breathtaking really!

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  2. I am very inspired by your remarkable trip and have decided to jump in and go Thanks Jude

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  3. Eliza
    My son sent me your page to get inspired to travel on my own (I hesitate that, I'm a little afraid)
    ! OMG! what a great adventure you are having! Is great! I would love to know more about it It seems so exciting!! Thank you!

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