Our sailing trip from Cartagena, Colombia to El Porvenir, Panama was a fantastic and memorable five-day trip that was arguably the highlight of our South/Central America travels. We were two of eight guests aboard the Gypsy Mothm, which is a 54ft mono-hull Gulfstar sailboat. It is captained by skipper Sym and crewed by his wife Amy and their 3-year old daughter Hallie whom are all UK-expats. From the reviews we'd read online, the trip was meant to be an activity-packed family affair with wife and daughter keeping the guests (and skipper) in-line. Two days before we were scheduled to depart however, a courier truck delivering Sym, Amy and Hallie's passports from the Colombian immigration office was stolen and robbed. The truck was found the next day along with Sym's passport in the pile of debris. Amy and Hallie's passports however were not found, and so they had to stay behind in Cartagena awaiting delivery of replacement passports. Despite the setback Sym kindly offered to take us anyways, and so on Thursday the 29th of September we set sail for El Porvenir, Panama leaving Cartagena (and South America) behind.

In hindsight, it was a funny twist of fate that Amy and Hallie's passports were stolen because as much as we would have loved to have had them with us, it probably wouldn't have been half as wild or debaucherous had they been there to keep us and skipper in check. Yes, unbeknownst to him Sym had become captain of the finest booze cruise this side of the Caribbean, and for the next five days we would be unlocking the magic of the San Blas Islands, and of Ron Abuelo rum (not necessarily in that order).

Our first two days and nights were spent entirely at sea. It takes about 40hrs to reach the San Blas islands from the port of Cartagena a cruising speed (5knots+), and for the duration all you could see was vast expanses of turquoise ocean, dark storm clouds along the horizon, and the occasional cruise-liner or cargo ship chugging along in the distance. It was absolutely beautiful. We rotated shifts on night watch so Sym could get some sleep and to prevent the Gypsy Moth from going on a collision course with a cruise liner. Charlotte and I wound up with the 'coveted' 3AM-6AM watch on both nights and so, while Charlotte slept on the seats next to me I sat awake watching for collision trajectories and dolphins -neither of which eventuated.

The majority of the other guests onboard were great company and good fun; all except one. The two Australian couples, Grant & Linda (Grant is actually a Kiwi) and Sam & Lorien, were a lot of fun and shared a similar love of the drink with us. Solo Australian backpacker Meaghan also enjoyed her drink, and had a similar laid back persona. Unfortunately the other solo Australian backpacker, self-proclaimed social-elitist Naomi, didn't fit in with the rest of the group, and therefore found herself angry and hilariously sun burnt for most of the trip (see photo). We didn't let it get us down though.

On our first night in San Blas we anchored up near half a dozen or so postcard-perfect tiny uninhabited islands complete with white sand beaches, coconut trees and turquoise blue waters. The island stewards, the native Kuna people, long ago discovered that selling crayfish, souvenirs and soft drinks to tourists is a far more lucrative profession than coconut trading. As such, every 10 minutes or so a handmade canoe would paddle up to the sailboat trying to peddle their goods in broken English. It was a funny contrast to the natural beauty that surrounded us. We spent most of the third day swimming and snorkeling on the nearby reef, and trying (unsuccessfully) to catch a Yellow Fin tuna for dinner. Sam managed to catch some sort of fish with Sym's spear gun just before sunset, however, the girls had already started happy hour on the boat and couldn't him screaming at them to bring the dingy around. For some reason Charlotte took the brunt of the blame and so would take it out on Sam later in a dance-off. Sym preapred a delicious beef stew for dinner (one of many great meals prepared by iron chef Sym on the trip), and afterwards we collected firewood from a nearby island for a bonfire on the beach. Incredibly, the handle of rum that Charlotte and I brought for the five day journey was finished that night on the beach (day three). This was perhaps a contributing factor to the following events of Sam modeling a starfish mankini and Sym chasing Meghan around the boat with no clothes on. At this stage we knew this would be 'the trip of a lifetime'.

Day four took us through more beautiful San Blas islands where we did some incredible snorkeling (the kind of stuff you only see SCUBA diving) and eventually to an immigration office/bar on a tiny island. It was here we anchored for the night and had one last party on the boat to bring the trip to a clothes, er, close. A massive rainstorm rolled in while Sam was transporting the girls from the island to the sailboat in the dingy and so they were all forced to start drinking and dancing while the men (and Naomi) waited anxiously for rescue on the island. The men (and unfortunately Naomi) eventually made it back to the boat where a dancing contest ensued. The quadruple helicopter ruled the night, despite allegations of no-contest by Naomi. The evening ended on a high and very drunken note with Grant taking vertical pulls off Sym's last bottle of rum in Charlotte and mine's tiny bow room with the Fabulous Seven (see photo). It was the only place we could get away from Naomi, and was a great last evening on the boat.

The next day we said our goodbyes to Sym and took a water taxi to El Porvenir. An hour-long truck ride through the hilliest country I've ever seen dropped us in downtown Panama City where we would spend the next two nights. Our first night we tried unsuccessfully to get a hotel room with a pool for Charlotte's birthday. We wound up staying (completely by chance) at the same hotel as Grant & Linda and Sam & Lorien. For Charlotte's birthday the next day we saw the Panama Canal (which was about as exciting as watching paint dry -even for me!) ate an Indian meal in downtown PC, and had a few last drinks with the Fabulous Six before catching our flight to Ft Lauderdale, FL.

I surprised Cahrlotte with a 3-day cruise to the Bahamas for her birthday after we landed in Florida. We had a great and relaxing time on the cruise eating great food, sleeping in a comfortable bed and even rented a scooter in Nassau and got lost. It was a nice way to end the trip and a serious contrast to the budget hostels and bus seats we'd been sleeping in for the last couple months.

We arrived in Colorado on the 10th of October 2011, exactly 2 months and 22 days after we'd left our friends and lives in Melbourne. It was a fantastic journey and a tiring trip, but one that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. The only question that remains is: where to next?