We arrived to Cartagena with our 6 guest yesterday after a pretty boring upwind cruise from the San Blas Islands. Our main mission on this trip was to reach Cartagena in time for the soccer game between Colombia and Uruguay- the mission was a success and the guys left the boat just in time for the big game
We had a lot of problem to clear out from Portobelo in Panama upon our departure, the immigration officer claimed that it was something wrong with the guys passports and told us we hade to pay a 100 dollar for each passport to get the exit stamp. I was not the only captain that had this problem this specific day. We all knew that she was way out of line with this 100 dollar “fee” that no one heard about before, but what can you do when an official decides to give you problem? !- NOTHING!
Me and Captain Mirek from the sailing boat PERLE decided to sail to Porvenir in San Blas and do our clearance there instead. The plan was a success and we managed to clear out without any hassle at all.
When our guests first arrived to the boat I got a bit spooked when I heard that they brought along 3 bottles of rum- EACH!? Six guys + 18 bottles of rum= PROBLEM! It turned out that there was no need to worry at all- the guys were fantastic and we had a great time together.
We only spend one night on the islands during this trip because of our guest’s request to reach Cartagena in time for the soccer game. We spend this one and only night just outside a small island called Cajo Limon where we made a massive bonfire together with the guests from the Perle.
Me and Anna would like to thank all of our guests for a nice trip! Take care and we wish you all the best on your future travels!
//Daniel
