All seven sails where set on the 106 year old ship as we sailed towards Colombia from the remote shores of San Blas, Panama. Paradise islands, seafood feasts and surreal moonlit evenings watching waves crashing over the bow were all part of the 4 day package.
　
There was two weeks to kill before our flight back to LA so what could be a better way to top off our Central American adventure than sailing to Colombia on a ancient ship. We waited till the truck sale was finalised and Ollie's passport was stamped free and set about organising it. After extensive research on the net, one name kept coming up as highly recommended. The Stahlratte - a 106 year old, 80 ft German run sail boat captained by Ludwig and his European crew. After a few emails back and forth to Ludwig, we had secured our spot.
　
The Stahlratte and its crew is part of a non-profit organisation. When they sailed the ship from Germany back in 2005 the plan was to circumnavigate the world, but they arrived in the Caribbean and decided to have a temporary break for repairs and to replenish travelling money by taking backpackers on sail boat trips, before setting off on their world tour again. That was 5 years ago, they sort of got stuck in the beautiful islands of San Blas, not ready to give it up just yet; and who could blame them. Other than the trip between Cartagena, Colombia and San Blas, Panama, they regularly make trips to Jamaica and Cuba. The Stahlratte has a Norwegian history too. In 1931 the ship was sold to the Vea family on Karmoy but back then the ship was named 'Vea' and was used to trawl the North sea for herrings. It was then sold on to Maaloy in Norway. In those days the ship ran purely by wind, there was no engine. There is still tell-tale signs of the ships history on the ship, some throttles and switches are named with Norwegian titles from back in its North Sea days.
　
The Kuna Yala
　
Our day started early, we ordered a taxi to take us to the Luna's Castle hostel in Casco Viejo to meet up with the other travellers and the 4X4 trucks which were to take us through the remote Kuna Yala district, where the ship was docked. The journey to the ship was an adventure in itself. We were taken in 4x4's over rough roads with deep river crossings to meet the indigenous Kuna Indians who then boarded us on dug out canoe's and dropped us off on an island.
　
In true Central American (un)organisational style, we had shared a truck with travellers who were not part of the Stahlratte trip. At the time we did not know this, and by pure luck, just as we were boarding the canoe, we realised that they were not going to the same place we were. We disembarked and settled in to wait for the others who had been allocated in a different truck from us and hadn't yet arrived. Imagine our surprise and disbelief when the Kuna Indians started motioning for us to get into the next canoe on our own. We were paranoid that they didn't understand where we needed to go as they didn't speak English and they didn't understand our Spanglish either. However, there seemed to be a slight recognition when we mentioned 'Ludwig' so we jumped in and prayed they didn't just drop us off at some random place where we couldn't get back to the ship. From the mangrove swamp we emerged into the Caribbean sea and made our way to a little island just off the mainland. Our fears were suddenly materialising as up till this point we believed that we would be taken directly to the ship. Looking around frantically, there was no ship in sight! We docked at a small jetty and were told to get off. Reluctant to off board without being 110% sure we were in the right place, we asked anyone who would listen "Ludwig aqui?" ''Si, Si" was the reply, but we were still not entirely convinced. We've learnt from previous experiences that the locals just tend to say 'yes' to all your questions regardless if they know the answer or not, but with really no other choice, we nervously got off.
　
A tiny local Kuna-Indian who was killing time at the dock waved for us to follow him, so we set off through a maze of narrow passages that wound through a community of grass huts until we found Melissa and her mum, Shirley, two American ladies who were also waiting for the Stahlratte. We breathed a sigh of relief; at least we were no longer alone. We sat down and chewed the fat with Melissa and Shirley while waiting for the others to join us and the ship to arrive. After about an hour, we caught our first glimpse of the majestic 'Stalhratte' heading in our direction. It was finally time to begin our adventure!
　
Castaways in Paradise
　
When everyone was on board and introductions had been made, the Stahlratte pulled up its anchor and set a course to some deserted islands within the San Blas archipelago. We arrived a few hours later with plenty of time to dive off the ship into the inviting turquoise waters and explore the postcard perfect island where our beach BBQ was to be held later in the evening. For the next two days we busied ourselves with snorkelling the coral reefs, swinging lazily in the hammocks on deck, drinking beers and getting to know our other fellow sailors. At night we were treated to amazing seafood feasts and other delicious German/Spanish inspired concoctions put together by the multi-talented crew.
　
Crew:
Ludwig: The German captain and also one of the owners of the boat.
Bobo: Another German owner who is on the boat temporarily with his Spanish girlfriend, Carmen and her two daughters.
Rolly: Austrian who is travelling the world by motorcycle but decided to take some time out working on the Stahlratte before continuing his journey.
　
There were 24 souls on-board the Stahlratte on our passage south. According to Bobo, that's pretty much as high as they like to go, still, it never felt crowded on-board and there was plenty of space for everyone. Our group consisted of mostly young English professionals straight out of University and looking for a bit of adventure before settling into their careers. There were also a couple of German girls, a Swiss guy, one Aussie, four Americans (including Melissa and Shirley), one Irish lass and us. We were lucky to have a good group of travellers to share the voyage with.
　
Seasickness and Midnight Sail Drama's
　
After a couple of blissful days, relaxing in the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama, it was time to get to business. It is more or less two days (48 hours) sailing through deep waters to get to Cartagena, Colombia. The Stahlratte does five knots per hour working purely on the diesel engine or up to seven or eight knots with the sails up and a favourable wind. The wind was not entirely favourable for us but we set the sails anyway to help steady the boat through rough, windswept seas and take some pressure off the engine. On our final night anchored in the archipelago, most of the English had decided it was time for a night of drinking games. We followed the crews lead and decided to stick to non-alcoholic drinks, but stayed to watch the debauchery unfold. Early the next morning, when the Stahlratte hit the rough, open seas, we were very glad we did. As the ship pitched up and down over the big swells, the severely hung-over English travellers were losing the remains of our seafood feast over the side of the ship. It was a very sombre ship with only a few of us (i.e. the ones who didn't drink) able to enjoy the experience.

As the evening rolled around, we sat silently on the top deck under a full moon watching as big waves crashed over the front of the ship. It was a surreal experience; almost like watching a 3D movie because it was almost unbelievable that it was real life and you were in it! A bit of a drama unfolded during the night. Most of the passengers were so doped up with seasickness pills and were out cold below deck, Rolly was doing the graveyard shift and we were pretty much the only ones keeping him company on the top deck. All was running smoothly until the direction of the wind changed suddenly and caused the sails to flap in a violent manor. Rolly started to worry that something may break, so decided to take the sails down. Unfortunately, the semi-rough seas were making the ship rock and roll and big waves sprayed the bow and deck, making the process quite challenging for Rolly to complete solo. To make matters worse the sails where snagging on something and refused to come down smoothly. In desperation Rolly enlisted Ollie and Dustin to lend a hand. With the light from the full moon, the sounds of the seas and flapping sails, it felt like being back in the 18th century on a sail ship or in a pirate movie. Even with extra hands, the sails refused to come down without a fight and in the end it took the other crew members to wake up and come to the rescue. The rest of the trip we "chug-chugged" by diesel engine power to Colombia.
　
Land Ahoy!
　
Late on day four we finally had South America in our sights. As the Stahlratte approached Cartagena we were greeted with sinister looking fortresses from the 15th century guarding the entrance to the city. Way back in the old days, Cartagena was the prime target of pirates so the Spanish erected a huge wall around the old city and fortresses protected openings to the marina. Anchored up outside Isla Manga we waited while our passports were taken ashore to immigration and stamped with our entry visas so we could come ashore. After fond farewells to the Stahlratte crew, we boarded the rubber zephyr with all our luggage and were safely deposited on Colombian soil. The legs were a little bit wobbly and it took a few days to fully adjust to not being on a boat!
　
We grabbed the next available taxi, along with Melissa and Shirley and headed straight into the old city and managed to get a fairly nice hotel in an excellent location for a reasonable price. Over the next six days we explored the vibrant city of Cartagena.

We definitely did save the best till last. Cartagena was easily one of the best city's we have experienced in our travels this year. The narrow, cobbled streets are bustling with activity, street vendors grilling aromatic skewers of meat, energetic dancers entertaining everyone in the romantically lit plaza's, loud salsa music blearing from tiny cantina's and merry locals enthusiastically cheering on their national football team. Everywhere you looked there was something to photograph or watch. We decided to spend our first day exploring the city walls. It was horrendously hot and sticky. The humidity was definitely up to a whole new level compared to Panama (where we thought it possibly could not get any more humid!).
　
Despite the heat, we managed to learn more about Cartagena during the pirate years at the naval museum. We explored all the streets within the walled city and also Castillero de San Filipe, a old Spanish fort which had a network of narrow passage ways deep under the ground. Budget minded, we were trying to be price conscious and the only place to get a cheap meal was the little local restaurants which offered the 'menu of the day' for a couple of bucks. Menu of the day, no matter which restaurant you go to, consists of rice, beans and your choice of chicken, meat or fish (usually fried). Needless to say we were well sick of rice and beans by the time we left. We'd noticed a few people walking around with McDonald's paper bags and we were desperate to find the restaurant so we could have a good old fashioned burger instead of the dreaded 'menu del dia'. Can you believe, after an extensive search, the elusive golden arches still evaded us!
　
It was soon time to board our plane back to Panama City, where we needed to pick up the rest of our stuff from the Hostal de Clayton. We tried to pack as best we could and even posted off some unnecessary books to Norway as we got ready for the new chapter in our adventures. As we made our way to the airport we had mixed feelings about leaving Central America. We missed our travelling home, and had urges to continue south for more adventures. On the other hand we were also looking forward to catching up with family in New Zealand. As it happened our goodbyes to Panama where a little premature as Copa airlines had overbooked our flight, assigning a seat to Shay but only a standby ticket for Ollie, so it was off back into Panama City for a luxury night at the Continental Hotel with all you could eat buffet dinner, breakfast and lunch; thank you very much Copa! The next day, we were ready to try again and this time it really was goodbye.