I got up at 5am to be ready for our jeep ride to El Porvenir from Panama City at 5:30. We left the hostel all well and good at just before 6am. We took a 2.5 hour jeep ride across fairly ropey roads to El Porvenir. the jeep was needed towards the end when the road disappeared into a river aout 3ft deep! we arrived at a muddy dock and then got ona wooden boat which would take us to our sailing boat, The Gypsy Moth.

We got soaked by the water and rained on and huddled under tarpaulin but finally we arrived at 9:30 and stepped on board our new home for the next 5 days, a 54foot sailing yacht.

We met our Captain and the final member of our crew. there were 11 people in total, incuding:

Captain - Sym an english guy who was very nice and a good laugh

Captains wife - Amy a welsh girl who was 4months pregnant and preoccupied with the other littleun

Baby Captain - Hallie 15months old and a little monster but adorable too

Crew - Matt, Carolina and Ros. Matt and Ros are mother and son from Australia and matt is married to a colombian girl called Carolina. Jordan and Sinead - an aussie couple, Pam - an almost graduated doctor from the states and Vicki a constant traveller from Staffordshire. and me obviously. that concluded our crew. we all got alone well when we had met in the hostel too.

The first day we couldnt sail anywhere to any islands in the san blas because the weather was so bad. it was raining with almost no visibility so too bad to sail. so we stayed in anchorage for the day and had some good food and told our stories, getting to know each other. we settled into our cosy hot cabin and had an early night, praying for sun the next day.

We woke up early to sun shining through the windows. i was so excited i jumped up. we had breakfast and set sail to our first set of islands of the day. we went to isla de los perros, dog island in english and there there is a shipwreck which we snorkelled. it was hard work to go against the current to swim there so i took a floatation jacket and found it even harder. so i snorkelled with the strap around my around and the jacket pulling me with the current. i knew from being pushed into the water in bocas that i could swim and float and tread water!

the shipwreck was really cool to see but it was so submerged in places i worried about catching my wounds on it so i didnt snorkel much there. we went back to the boat and ate then moved to the next islands. there we set anchor for the night but we went out again in the afternoon to a reef at sea and snorkelled again. this time it was in deep water so there was a lot more sea life and i saw lots of unusual colours and shapes of fish.

Next day we moved to another set of islands and spent the day exploring the reef by snorkelling and on the islands themselves. The snorkelling was really cool again and the reef literally dropped off into the ocean at times. i had long since ditched the life float and when i saw a baracuda heading towards me i had to tread calmly and shout to the others, who were all facing the wrong way. only one person saw him but it was so cool. he headed for us then turned away when he realised we were annoying tourists with funny facial gear on!

Walking around the island was really nice, but extremely hot and sun was so strong. it wasnt long before we headed back to the boat and showered off inthe sea ready to set sail for the journey to colombia that evening.

All the time we had been in the san blas islands we had met various Kunas, the local people of the islands, who dress very brightly. also the tradition is that some of the men there are brought up as women and they think they are women. very strange and i dont quite know who or how people are chosen but it was interesting picking out who was men and who werent!

Hallie the little baby had been a little bundle of fun. i immediately grew fond of her and watched her to make sure she didnt hurt herself too much, but its impossible on a boat and she will go round trying on snorkels and eating suncream! that was the funniest thing. as soon as she saw a bottle of cream, or saw someone putting on cream, she would race over there and try grabbing it from you. if you put it down for 2 seconds she had it and had opened the lid and was either trying to put it in her eyes, up her nose, or in her mouth. she seemed to love the taste! at times, she took some and rubbed it into her own legs or to other peoples legs and arms. was so cute. She couldnt speak yet so all in frustration she mmmmed a lot and it was so amusing cus as soon as we were all talking and she wasnt getting attention thered be a mmmm in disgust! Sym had put up netting all round the boat so she couldnt fall out as she had only been allowed to walk the deck for 1 week before we arrived. i can say shes mastered it. and climbin in and out of the windows too. shes a strong determined little thing. and loves to steer the boat or fake steer it when dad turns on the engine. she sits on his laps and just grins ear to ear steering! little sailor in the making there.

Thursday night we ate and put the sails up, lifted the anchor and off we went into the open sea. we managed to sail without engine for about 6 hours and after dark i heard the engine get switched on and all of a sudden the rough seas were upon us. it was then 38 hours of being thrown around the boat and my crewmates throwing up. amy was sick the most and thats her life but the pregnancy has cuased her to be sick. she didnt know this until this trip as this is the first bad weather theyve had all year on the boat. the seas were trecharous. first night going to bed at sea i tried to go to the loo and fell all over the cabin getting there, loo was awful to sit on and then i got back outside my cabin room and the boat rocked so hard i was thrown inside the room almost on top of vicki who was laying on the bottom bunk.

From then on it only got worse. the next day some people didnt even get up and most were sick apart from 3 of us. it was so hard to get up to the cockpit area from my room up 4 steps. i felt ok until i ate a brownie for breakfast then felt ill for a bit so led down. i got up for some stew for lunch which i ate very slowly whilst everyone was being thrown around and being sick. ive never known anything like that. Hallie was fine through all this too amazingly.

That day none of us even brushed our teeth morning or night cus we couldnt stand up in the cabin, and we all wore the same clothing for 2 days and didnt shower cus it was impossible. we wouldve been thrown over board for sure. gross people!!!

We all spent the day sleeping and resting and sitting, wishing the hours away.

I stayed up that night for a while to do night watch looking for lights of other boats. i got a few hours rest then went to sleep and got up during a huge storm. it was a great show of lightning, however being us and one other boat 4miles away in the sea, we had a good chance of being struck by lightning. luckily we werent but during that time up as the deck was soaking wet there was one huge rock to the right and my cushion went flying and so did i across the floor. it hurt a bit!!! the ater was actually coming into the right of the boat at some points.

I went to sleep as it started to get worse as sym was awake cus of the storm and the approach to cartagena.

I woke up at about 5am to sym shouting over the walkie talkie, that this boat was about to hit us. they didnt respond and we had to steer a bit to avoid a collision. when sym shouted again that. " this is the gypsy moth the boat you are about to hit" the person responded and seemed like he had been sleeping. sym was going to report the idiot. unbelievable.

I fell back asleep and was woken at 8am by vicki saying we are here. we were just sailing into the marina in Cartagena Colombia. I stood up and had to hold on to the kitchen side and the wall cus i expected to be thrown around. it was still. finally.

A great trip but one i would never take again at this time of year when the seas a terribly rough.

I will look back at all my falls and flying around the boat and smile with fond memories.