Portobelo itself was a pretty little colonial fortress town, once the main caribbean gold store of the Spanish Empire. The gold would be shipped from South America up to Panama City and transported overland and up river to Portobelo to await final transportation back to Europe. The recently restored counting house once had over a third of all the gold in the world passing through it´s vaults:
The Counting House seen from one of the fortresses
Of course all this gold made Portobelo a prime target for pirates and the town was sacked many times, necessitating ever grander fortifications, some of which remain to this day
After spending the afternoon relaxing in the town hostel we boarded the boat for some dinner and a briefing. Our Captain Bob was a semi retired American who spends his days cruising around the Caribbean, however a recent replacement of both motors on the boat meant he would be doing the Portobelo/Cartagena route for a while to raise enough cash for a Canal transit back to the Pacific side. Our group also contained Arnold, our Colombian chef, two Israeli guys, two Irish girls and an American couple, just finished a two year stint in the Peace Corps in Honduras.
We set off in the morning, first to stop at Porvenir to sort out our passport stamps then out to a spot amongst four perfect little caribbean islands
The Counting House seen from one of the fortresses
Of course all this gold made Portobelo a prime target for pirates and the town was sacked many times, necessitating ever grander fortifications, some of which remain to this day
After spending the afternoon relaxing in the town hostel we boarded the boat for some dinner and a briefing. Our Captain Bob was a semi retired American who spends his days cruising around the Caribbean, however a recent replacement of both motors on the boat meant he would be doing the Portobelo/Cartagena route for a while to raise enough cash for a Canal transit back to the Pacific side. Our group also contained Arnold, our Colombian chef, two Israeli guys, two Irish girls and an American couple, just finished a two year stint in the Peace Corps in Honduras.We set off in the morning, first to stop at Porvenir to sort out our passport stamps then out to a spot amongst four perfect little caribbean islands
That day was spent snorkelling, drinking beer, eating Arnold´s delicious food and just generally enjoying being on holiday in paradise.
The next day we cruised off to another little group of islands to settle in for two more days of the same, this time enhanced by a visit by some dolphins, a trip around the islands in the dhingy and some brief but welcome sunshine.
In the dhingy with Arnold
Sunset on the Caribbean
Chilling on the deck at night
Unfortunately that night a big pack of rich Panamanian powerboats swaggered in and proceded to try and outdo each other with the loudness and vulgarity of their music, although the bright lights did attract a lot of fish (we still didn´t catch any).
In the fading light of the second day we upped anchor for the two day ocean passage across to Cartagena, and South America. I was a bit worried how my stomach would handle the crossing but we all seemed to find the perfect preventative for sea sickness; we slept at least 18 hrs a day each. Something about the soothing, gentle rocking of the boat and the lack of anything else to do meant I got probably the best sleep in of my life. We were visited by more dolphins along the way, this time a big pack of at least fifty, who entertained us for an hour with jumps, barrel rolls and the usual cool dolphin things.
Battening down for a little wild weather
We arrived in Cartagena in perfect time to see the sun rise over the city and I must say I was shocked at how big, modern and developed it is. I started liking Colombia already, this place is modern but still cheap as chips, excellent.....
We made it!
The next day we cruised off to another little group of islands to settle in for two more days of the same, this time enhanced by a visit by some dolphins, a trip around the islands in the dhingy and some brief but welcome sunshine.In the dhingy with Arnold
Sunset on the Caribbean
Chilling on the deck at night
Unfortunately that night a big pack of rich Panamanian powerboats swaggered in and proceded to try and outdo each other with the loudness and vulgarity of their music, although the bright lights did attract a lot of fish (we still didn´t catch any).
In the fading light of the second day we upped anchor for the two day ocean passage across to Cartagena, and South America. I was a bit worried how my stomach would handle the crossing but we all seemed to find the perfect preventative for sea sickness; we slept at least 18 hrs a day each. Something about the soothing, gentle rocking of the boat and the lack of anything else to do meant I got probably the best sleep in of my life. We were visited by more dolphins along the way, this time a big pack of at least fifty, who entertained us for an hour with jumps, barrel rolls and the usual cool dolphin things.
Battening down for a little wild weather
We arrived in Cartagena in perfect time to see the sun rise over the city and I must say I was shocked at how big, modern and developed it is. I started liking Colombia already, this place is modern but still cheap as chips, excellent.....
We made it!
After a farewell breakfast and goodbye to Viva, Bob and Arnold we were now on our own in a new country and a new continent; hairier, smellier and a just little tired (still!) but all with big smiles on our faces.
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