Sidequest - Kayaking to Colombia - Part 2

Part 1 contains information relevant to other people interested in making a similar crossing.

Children of the Guna Yala tribe.

20 August 2023 Day 282

At 9:30 AM I entered Panama City by bicycle.

While waiting for the Discover Center (an outdoor department store) to open, I stopped at a Chinese grocery store.

The store was expensive and very well stocked. 

I treated myself to Kimchi.

At the Discovery Center, I bought a paddle, PFD, and cycling gloves. I couldn't find lightweight sunpants, but I got XXL cycling arm sleeves instead. Even better.

In the evening, I met my Warm Showers host, Mercedes. 

Mercedes is from Panama, but she has lived in the US. 

She is perfectly fluent in English and Spanish, and says that when she speaks I'm Spanish, she thinks differently than when she speaks in English, and vice versa. Her worldview is different depending on which language she uses. Mercedes told me about honeybees and I slept with air conditioning for two nights. Thank you Mercedes. 

I bought 53,719 calories worth of dense carbs, fat, protein, and fiber. It weighed 15.5 kg and cost 95 USD.

Then I noticed my rim was cracked. I'll try and forget about it until I'm in Colombia. 

22 August 2023 Day 284

In the morning I rode to Panama Overland Embassy, where I would be able to store the boat and camp for a night.

The FB Marketplace seller dropped off the boat. He included a canoe paddle, which I took to serve as a spare. The boat was undamaged, so I bought it for 350 USD. 

My bicycle and kayak at Panama Overland Embassy camping area.

I wrote in my journal:

"One of the most intimidating undertakings I have faced. I am terrified. I feel pretty prepared. I trust my abilities. But this is not something with which I have much experience. Mostly concerned about wind/rough seas and weather.

There's a bunch of European overlanders here. Nice to chat in English with some other travellers. 

Feeling still kind of terrified. But actually seeing and feeling and packing the boat gives me a lot of confidence. Everything fits, I fit."

23 August 2023 Day 285

Panama Overland Embassy had put me in contact with some van travelers who were shipping their bike from Panama City, Panama to Cartagena, Colombia. They would be using the Overland Embassy to help them ship the van. I paid them to put my bike inside the van. So I left my bike at the Overland Embassy campground and let them take care of it. 

My taxi to Puerto Obaldía, the start point, left Panama City at 7:30 AM. Unfortunately, the taxi couldn't pass into Guna Yala territory without a reservation, so the kayak was transfered to a local guy's truck. I paid the local guy to take me the rest of the way to the port. 

The local guy kept joking about how I could go all the way to Colombia, and I just went along with it "haha yeah wouldn't that be crazy!"

Transferring the kayak to the local guy's truck. 

At the port, I had to pay a 2 USD fee just to be there. Then, after a chat with the boss, they told me I couldn't leave the port by kayak. 

So I found a local who would give me a ride to a nearby island for 10 USD, from which I could depart. 

Getting a ride in his motorboat. She wore traditional clothing and took a video of me with her smartphone. 

I thought he told me we were going to the close island.

A view of the close island as we sped by it.

We must have had a miscommunication, because instead of the close island, he dropped me off at a different island several kilometers downwind, in the wrong direction. Perhaps the far island is named "close island".

At any rate, I was thankful for the ride; I could finally start kayaking. 

I paddled back towards shore, so I could follow the protected coastline.

A river flowing into the sea.

After three hours paddling, I looked for camping along the coastline.

Camping night 1: Soft ground, calm, few insects. 

My peanut butter jar features a handy recipe. 

24 August 2023 Day 286

Left at 6:20 AM on glassy water.

Complete sun protection.

After 6+ hours of paddling and 32 km, I find an uninhabited island. Miraculously, no blisters, but my back hurts. Come on body, you can do this!

Deserted island. 

"It's beautiful, it's hot, humid, sandy, and salty, and now that the punishingly hot sun has set, the wind has calmed and the bugs have taken over"

I had an acceptable night of sleep. 

25 August 2023 Day 287

Selfie with the coral. I tied my mini tripod to the my canoe paddle to use as a selfie stick. 

After my selfie with the coral, I counted 1000 paddle strokes, took a break in the kayak, and did it again. Sometimes the dolphins came to inspect my bright plastic boat. 

In the afternoon, I stop on shore for a break. 

I see a small plastic cube meandering towards the water. Hello little crab. 

A man hunting octopus with a dugout canoe and a hooked metal rod stops to say hello. He invites me to stay in his nearby home. I'll need permission from a village leader first, though.

Evaristo the octopus hunter leads me to his village, and a man helps me haul my kayak up the sand. Dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, folded up so it looks like a crop top, this man is a village leader. He gives me permission to stay in Evaristo's house. 

A growing swarm of kids and young teens help me haul carry the loaded kayak to the village. When we set it down near Evaristo's house, the crowd is 30+ curious kids, teens, and some adults. 

Path towards village.

I answer questions for a while, and Evaristo invites me inside. 

Inside Evaristo's house.

Hand-carvings in Evaristo's house. 

The village leader gives me the green light to take pictures, and the kids seem thrilled to show me around. 

Walking towards the shore. One of Evaristo's 5 children on the left. 

Playing on dug-out canoe.

Evaristo later told me the children had not seen a foreigner before. 

We share a watermelon they found growing on the beach. 

Larger boat coming in to be stored on the beach. 

Very strong man.

Leaving the town-hall building.

Evaristo feeds me octopus, rice, plantain, lentil. 

This evening they have a PA system in the comunal area. It's a special cultural celebration, and I try desperately to stay awake for it. 

They sing and dance and drink fermented corn and cane sugar. Young mothers rock the youngest babies in hammocks and sing to them. They act out skits. It is mostly in their indigenous language, which I don't understand. 

I know there is much which I do not see, yet in this moment, I see a profoundly functional society. I see a community of people who know and care for each other. A community with the leisure and wealth to sing and dance and invite a foreigner to join them. The concept of homelessness would be nonsensical here. I see a community who knows who they are.

26 August 2023 Day 288

Evaristo on the beach in the morning. Thank you Evaristo.

I count 1000 paddle strokes, rest, and repeat for 7 hours. My body is tired but miraculously uninjured. This is why I do this shit when I'm 23 years old, not 53. 

Stopped to rest on a blisteringly hot, two-palm island. 

Camped on the shore.

This night I encounter the no-see-ums. They are similar to mosquitoes, but much smaller. Many are small enough to fit through the netting on my MSR Hubba Hubba tent. This is a horrible thing. 

So I get about two hours of sleep, and wait for the sun to rise. 

27 August 2023 Day 289

Finally I see first light. 

So I leave the cursed beach as soon as I can.

Rainbow over an island village. 

6 hours of kayaking. 

These fisherman invite me to their village. I usually wouldn't take a ride, but I want to accept their invitation.

While they tow me, I see them talking on the phone, but I can't hear. Instead of a village, they leave me at a grassy airfield after 6km. Perhaps their village leader does not allow foreigners at this time.

The no-see-ums are vicious and the small ones freely enter the tent. So I lay awake in my tent for the next 10 hours, sweating, slapping bugs, and waiting for the sun to rise. What a horrible night. 

28 August 2023 Day 290

Towards Colombia, the coastline generally becomes more rocky. 

If the metric is hours slept, it literally couldn't get any worse than last night. 

So I decided to avoid the bugs by sleeping offshore in the kayak. 

Here is my anchor, a big rock. 

I find a somewhat protected location with beach access if needed. I am a safe distance from the wave break and the light boat traffic. If weather becomes rough in the night, I'll wake up and move to shore. 

In the evening the rain hammers down for a few hours. I smile as the kayak rocks gently. I'm finally cool. Onshore, the monkeys celebrate the rain as well, howling from their jungle perches. 

29 August 2023 Day 291

11 hours of sleep does me well. I only stop once, and chat with some locals at a resort island, who are there to guard the coconuts.

I paddle all the way to Puerto Obaldía, where I can get an exit stamp, and spend my afternoon on the beach with the local people. 

They fish with a spool of line, a hook, a live, sardine-sized fish, and sometimes a weight. No fishing rods are used. They see a big fish, or evidence of one, and all go racing down the beach to throw the line in it's direction. Chill vibe here on the beach at Obaldía. 

A boat of military personnel pulled into the dock and unloaded two human bodies at one point. No so chill. They said it's not uncommon. Immigrants. I wonder how they died. I don't want to die.

I sleep deeply in the bay on my kayak. 

30 August 2023 Day 292

Breakfast in Puerto Obaldía before the immigration office opens. 

Cabo Tiburón. The Panama Colombia border. New country. New continent. 

In Capurganá, Colombia I get my entry stamp, and exchange currency. Then I unload the kayak and take pictures for Facebook Marketplace. It seems like most of the people in Capurganá are migrants. I talk with several. Then I go out to eat and it's so delicious. Chicken and rice and salad and soup and cool drinks. And flavors of coconut. And the rice has flavor like sushi rice. Many Chinese migrants. 

I continue and arrive at a nice sheltered beach with good places to drop the anchor. Turns out it's the resort beach where they filmed the reality TV show Survivor. Feels a bit ironic because I'm out here really trying to survive, making real safety decisions. They feed me for free and I camp on the bug-free beach. Thank you!

Film location of Survivor. 

Playa Soledad. 

31 August 2023 Day 293

7 hours paddling.

In the evening I land at someplace called San Francisco. I want to find internet so I can check the weather. I help a few people push a boat into the water, and we chat. She gives me the WiFi and her neighbor Carlos who is missing a lot of flesh on his left arm, from a shark bite, says I can stay in his spare building.  Thank you. 

I stayed in this mostly empty room. 

After much contemplation, I decide to make the 36km open crossing to Necoclí the next day. This is a risk, because if the sea becomes rough, I'll have no place to land for 4-5 hours. (It will take 8-10 hours total).

Exhausted selfie.

Carlos chain smokes. He comes into the room where I'm staying and offer me coffee in the morning. He helps me put on fresh bed sheets. Then he asks me about the kayak. He wants to buy it. He wants to give me the cash now, and have his contact meet me in Necoclí. And he wants to pay half my asking price. Now his hospitality is mixed with the tone of a business deal.

He understands the situation: It's a hassle for me to sell the boat, so he is offering me the convenience of an immediate sale, in exchange for a low price on the boat. As we negotiate he chain smokes and the ash melts holes in the fresh bed sheets. 

I agree on a low price of 700,000 COP/180 USD. 

He leaves, presumably for the money, and doesn't come back. 

In the night, the electricity stops working, so the fan turns off, and the bugs turn on. I lay awake most of the night, and get ready to leave at 3:30 AM. At 4:00 AM I go to Carlo's house and he says he can't get the cash, so the deal is off. 

1 September Day 294

I leave at 4:00 AM for Necoclí, thankful for the full moon to guide my way. 

I offset my route from the line between ports, to avoid boats in the dark. I see not a single boat in the dark. 

The paddling to Necoclí is surprisingly calm and I make it there in just 7 hours of paddling. 

I land on a beachfront resort/restaurant area. 

I buy ceviche and talk with a family who is staying there. They are Colombian, from Bogotá, Barranquilla, and elsewhere in Colombia. They're on vacation, celebrating the birthday of the grandmother who's turning 70. 

One family member buys me a hamburger and it's so delicious. Thank you!

I camp on the beach in front of the restaurant. 

2 September 2023 Day 295

Ok, time to sell the boat. I start asking anyone and everyone. 

It takes only a few hours to find a buyer at 800,000 COP/205 USD.

His name is Felipe and he rents jet skis and other marine recreation things. Also, he thinks my trip is cool, and let's me stay in an empty room with AC and my own bathroom. Thanks Felipe.

Selling the kayak.

The feeling was a bit surreal, but anticlimactic. Was that all? Had I really just finished this trip? What now?

Now, it's another fading memory.

Now, I'll find a bus to Cartagena to pick up my bicycle.