I have been debating over writing this post down because to do so, I would have to admit to myself that I was not dreaming. That the last few days actually happened and that now I can only revisit them in memory. That familiar bittersweet feeling of experiencing something truly great, that is both inspiring and life changing, ahh the boat…

I have just spent the last five days sailing through the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama and making the trip from Panama City across the Caribbean Sea to Cartagena in Colombia. Hopping from deserted island paradise to a cliché small island with a single palm tree, Sipping rum (ron) in the ocean; climbing coconut trees; snorkeling through reefs and ship wrecks; dancing around bonfires on small tropical islands; and experiencing it with a group of strangers who have now become my friends.

The trip was truly magical. Even a serious case of sea sickness after stubbornly refusing to take sea sickness tablets still could not put a dint in its memory. The pictures will have to suffice but they certainly do not do justice to the picturesque scenes I experienced.

As I awoke on my final day at sunrise I could finally see land after two days of sailing on the open sea. My stomach and balance battered from the long journey and dolphins swimming playfully next to the boat I had a surreal feeling of happiness. I was looking out on to the land where I would live for the next six months, to a continent I would spend longer still exploring, it did not seem real I felt as if I were an explorer arriving on a new frontier.

This was one of those moments of pure happiness that does not come from getting what you want, or altering your state of mind, this was one of those rare moments of happiness from just being. Sitting now in Cartagena with the new friends I have made on this journey I am now more than ready to start the main part of my journey. South America I have arrived, and i cannot wait to see what you have to teach me about myself, the continent and this world.

“Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.” – Oscar Wilde (Sailing from Panama to Cartagena, Colombia)