Los Aventuras de Edmundo y Linda

We sailed through a storm on our first day out of Colombia.  It was really scary.  Linda and I were trying to sleep but the boat was rocking so bad that we had a lot of trouble not falling out of bed.  There was waves coming over into the boat and the crew was all running around on deck screaming in German.  4 of the sails were damaged and had to be taken down.  Over the next 4 days the crew used a huge sewing machine to repair the sails.  Tons of food was damaged and had to be thrown out.  Everyone was seasick. 

9 huge birds landed on the top of the boat and spent the whole day pooping all over everything.  A few people got pooed on and some poop some how flew through the window of our room and onto Linda’s sandles… ha ha!   

We anchored the boat in a shallow area and went crazy on the rope swing.  Unfortunately, one of our friends fell in the water on the side of his head and busted his eardrum.  Hope you’re feeling better Moby.

Linda and Moby made the best of the rotten bananas and made some most delicious banana bread!!!! 

 We caught a small tuna and used it as bait for bigger fish.  The tuna fell off somewhere but we later caught 3 mackerels and 3 barracudas.  The captain took out the heart of one of the barracudas while it was still beating… yuck! 

We saw lots of playful dolphins again!!!!!!!!!  YEAH dolphins!

Stephen, one of the crew members, introduced us to peanut butter, honey, and garlic sandwiches… actually really good (according to Edmund)!

Our boat arrived in Cartegena, Colombia at 10:30am. The city is beautiful. The old part of town looks exactly like an old European city and the new part is very modern and has tons of highrises along the edge of the ocean. We checked-in to a hostel, explored the sweet old town, and then met up with our friends from the boat for some beers.

Went out for lunch with a cool canadian dude we met at our hostel. The soup had a chicken foot, liver, and a chicken heart. Everything was pretty gross! After lunch we went to a castle that overlooked the entire city. It was built to protect the city from pirates. We visited the old town and visited with our ship buddies at a restaurant and partied together. Oh… and we are millonaires here… we took out 1.6 million pesos… we are loaded!

Woke up at 4:30am to catch a sweet completely beat-up 1985 Toyota LandCruizer at 5am. The truck had no front or back lights, no front bumper or grill, the windows only open and close by pulling them by hand and the exhaust came into the car because the wheel-well inside the car was made out of cardboard… funny. Offroading was sweet/crazy, lots of mud, and we drove through a river too. We took a small boat run by the Kuna´s (Native Panamians) to our huge 1903 40 meter, 250 ton, metal pirateship.

The boat spent 3 days anchored in the San Blas Islands. There are actually over 200 islands in the San Blas. We spent our time next to about 6 tiny deserted islands. They had beautiful white sand beach, and palm trees. Some of them were so small they could only fit a few palm trees on them. We did tons of snorkeling, saw a dolphin, some lobsters, and tons of colourful fish. A bunch of us got dropped off at a tiny island with only 5 palm trees to snorkel. We didn´t want to wait for our ride back to the pirate ship so we decided to build a sweet log raft and floated back to the boat. We then had a bbq on an island for supper & chilled out into the night with beer, a campfire, guitar, and bongos. We also swam to the boat in the dark it was a little scary but the water lit up around us so it looked like there was sparks in the water!

Still at the San Blas Islands. Linda went sailing in a small sailboat and Edmundo went snorkeling with Laurent, a cool french scubadiving instructor. Linda explored the islands and Edmund saw a huge sting ray, a nurse shark, a barracuda, and tons of other cool underwater stuff! Linda came by and picked up Edmund and we went out to a tiny deserted island and checked-out a huge ship wreck. When we got back to the ship we setup a swing from the top of one of the sails and launched ourselves into the water.

The boat left at 6am for our 30 hour ride to Cartegena, Colombia. The waves where really rough and a few people spent most of the time puking off the side of the boat. Most people felt kind of uneasy and we all spent most of the day sleeping because of our seasickness pills. We saw some cool flying fish and….. about 30 dolphins came and swam in front of the boat for about 5 minutes!!!! It was so cooool! They were all jumping out of the water and playing on the wake of the boat.

Warning: the next entry talks about gross bathroom stuff. Don´t read it if you can´t handle that.

The 10 hour bus ride back to Panama City was sweet! We were both sick to our stomachs the whole way and barely slept again. Edmund had to use the bus bathroom for emergency diarrhea. What he found out when he got to there was that there was no toilet paper, so he had to use pages from his travel book. Then as soon as he stood up from his business he threw-up for a while. Oh, and then he realized the toilet was broken and wouldn´t flush… we felt really bad for the poor people who had the bathroom after that. Linda had her own puke/diarrhea session when we got to our hostel in Panama City. We went to bed without eating anything that day.

The 10 hour night bus to the small ocean side town of Almirante sucked big time. The airconditioning was on full blast and it was impossible to sleep. We arrived at the Almirante bus terminal 2 hours early at 4:30am. It was pitch dark and we had no idea where we were and the whole area seemed pretty sketchy. Luckily there was taxis running at that hour. So we took a 75cent taxi ride to the boat to Bocas. Along the way we met some really cool Argentinian chicks (Cay, Carola, and Andrea) and ended up spending almost our entire stay in Bocas with them. We took a boat to Bastimentos Island and lounged around in hammocks all day recovering from our last 2 nights without sleep.

We joined Cay, Carola, Andrea and another cool Argentinian chick named Sol on a boat tour to the Zapatillos I & II islands. Amazing, deserted, palm tree covered islands with crystal clear turquoise water! Rosaline is going to be jealous! Haa haa ha haa ha! We also stopped along the way and snorkeled around some small coral reefs and stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the water. Saw a huge barracuda eating stuff by the restaurant! We stopped over at Colon Island for pizza and beer at a waterfront bar before we made our way back to Bastimentos Island.

Joined our favourite Argentinan girls and yet another cool Argentinian girl named Alejandra on a hike to some amazing beaches near town. Linda, Edmund, and Andrea got separated from the group and were temporarily lost in the jungle. We ended up seeing tons of little red frogs, a huge spider, getting bit by massive ants, and climbing down a jagged cliff. We spent the day enjoying the beach, snorkeling, and chilling at a beachside bar. We went out that night for beers on the water and watched a funny local dude who was singing and playing guitar!

Joined the girls on a boat to Bird Island, Starfish Beach, and another cool restaurant on the water. While snorkeling we saw tons of beautiful red starfish, an octopus, and lots of fish. We also got free use of some kayaks at the restaurant. Went to an amazing Thai restaurant for dinner with the crew (The Group of Death… hahaha).

Met the girls at Wizard Beach and chilled there for the day. The girls left back to Panama city that afternoon. So sad 🙁

Organized a tour with some local dudes to explore a nearby cave. We joined two Americans and a British dude and jumped on a boat to the cave. The boat drove through a small creek through mangroves and then we hiked through the jungle to a small native village. The guides negotiated passage for us to the cave which is on there land. We got crappy little flashlights and entered the cave. There was tons of bats, bat poop, and stalactites! We walked through water, which was up to our necks a some points, pretty much the entire time. We also jumped off a small waterfall in the cave. After the cave we took a boat to Colon Island and checked into Mondo Taitu, a sweet hostel with a bar, free bikes, and surfboard rentals. Meet met some really cool people at the bar for 50cent beers and a sheesha that night. Lucas (Germany), Bruno (Brazil), Nikki and Sandra (Sweden), and Henry (England), all great people! Ended up going to bed at 1am. We´ll be getting up at 5:30am for a bus ride back to Panama City. Yes!

Met Nando at the bus station and then took an hour long bus ride to Balboa.  We did a short walk through the jungle and then Nando ferried us across a lake in his hand made canoe to his village, San Antonio.  Edmund was stung by a humongous wasp 20 seconds into the walk in the jungle.  The village has 30 inhabitants, all native Panamanians.  There was also one American Peacecorp guy (Mateo) there setting up internet for them and teaching them how to use computers.  We sat around at night and watched their worship.  It was really cool to hear there songs and see them improve on their instruments.  Nando´s family couldn´t believe that Edmund was actually older than Richard!  They all thought that was really funny.  We slept on the wooden floor of Nando´s family´s hut.  It was really cool!  Everyone gets a mosquito net around them (like little forts!) and they all lie around and tell stories and laugh into the night.  Nando´s uncle hates tight clothes so he is always wearing baggy stuff, they call him Batman because they say his clothes are like a cape… hahaha!  Nando made Linda some beautiful earings and Edmund a really cool yellow frog necklace.  Thanks Nando!

Despite the cool mosquito net forts we didn´t have a very good sleep on the wood floor.  Nando and Edmund played soccer until Edmund had sweated out all of the fluids from his body.  Nando took us to a waterfall in a small boat.  The water level was too low so we ended up hiking through a swamp covered in lily pads and then through treked bearfoot through the jungle.  Linda and Edmund both ended up getting ticks from that expedition.  Edmund had about 4 and Linda had over 30.  Haha Linda!  We said goodbye to everyone in the village and hopped on a night bus to the Bocas del Toro islands. 

Edmund slept almost the whole flight!  We were trying to decided whether or not to take a bus from the airport to our hostel ($0.35 – 1.5 hrs) or a cab ($25 – 20 mins).  We were glad to take a cab because the hostel had moved and it would have been impossible to find at night because the only sign it had was its name scribbled next to a buzzar on an old ratty apartment building.  Our dorm room had only one working fan and some guy had it pointed permanently at his bed.  Spent the night spread-eagled on our beds, sweating like crazy.

Walked along the edge of the ocean to Casco Antiguo.  An old but sometimes dangerous area.  We found out that if you stay along the main streets and don´t go at night then its safe.  Linda was a little sketched out at first but it was worth it.  We saw beautiful views, markets, ruins, cathedrals, and the setup of an insanely expensive looking wedding.  Met Federico, a really cool Argentinian guy from our hostel and walked back with him.  We all went out for beers that night because he was going home the next day.

Changed to a way better hostel we found.  Walked to the bus station and took the bus to the Miraflores locks on the Panama Canal.  We got to see 2 boats go through the locks.  They were lowered 28 feet right in front of us!  One of the boats was a car carrier that paid $110,000 to pass through the canal!?!?!  Did you know that the locks were put in place because the canal actually goes over the mountains?  Another interesting fact is that Linda walks much slower than a regular human.  We spent a substantial amount of time arguing about that and then returned to our hostel and then argued about how to best hang our laundry to dry… man, ha… we´re dumb.

Walked to the 5 de mayo park and took a bus to the Causeway with the help of some really nice local dudes.  The Causeway is made up of 3 islands that are connected together and to the mainland by bidges.  We took the bus to the last island and walked back.  We saw great views of the city, the Bridge of the Americas, and the canal entrance.  Put a deposit down on a sweet boat to Colombia on the 10th.  Talked with Richard´s panamanian buddy, Nando, and setup a time to stay with him in his village!!!!!  YES!  Went and got the best pizza in Panama for supper!  Muy rico!

We didn´t do much today, just updated our blog, phoned home and walked near the ocean.  During our walk a younger dude harrassed us by following us around and staring at us menacingly.  We made our escape by running in between traffic and crossing a busy street.  Oh… and there are many random holes in the sidewalks, we met a Swedish guy today who had fallen in one and smashed his face.  Ouch!  Some of the locals call the holes Gringo Traps.

Drove back to Guada and chilled at Luis´s house and watched surf videos. That night we met up with our good friend Nacho (The Dorito Man) at his sweet crib and then went out for tasty pizza and drinks. Feliz compleaños Nacho.

Happy Birthday Linda!  Luis and Edmund made Linda birthday breakfast.  Eggs with cheese and ham and banana pancakes.  Extreme tastiness!  Spent the day running errands and packing for out flight to Panama the next day.  Hung out with Luis at the skatepark.  He skated some sweet bowls!  Fixed the kitchen faucet at the Fierro´s.  Suprised (kinda) Linda with a sweet, sweet fruit and yogurt cake.  Luis and his mom sang Linda Happy Birthday in Spanish!  It sounded nothing like our normal b-day song. 

Luis gave us a ride to the airport.  Adios Mexico.  We had an awesome time!  5 hour flight to Panama City.

We did our laundry… have to take advantage of the automated laundry service at Luis´s house. Luis went skateboarding with a buddy and came back late because we had to drop off Kara at the airport. We had lunch with Luis´s family at their cottage in Ajijic and then went to visit Edmundo´s uncle John and aunt Heather in San Antonio. Both towns are on Lake Chapala. The biggest lake in Mexico. Heather and John live in a cool little community in close proximity to the beach and surrounded by amazing views. They treated us to a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant that had homemade pasta. Later that night Luis took us to the Semana Santa (Easter) celebrations in town. We saw the end of a Catholic mass and festivities in the main square in Ajijic. There were lots of very dangerous fireworks and traditional explosions of Judas figures.

We slept at Heather & John´s place and they made us awesome bacon ´n eggs, fresh squeezed oj and coffee for breakfast. They showed us around San Antonio and Ajijic and were amazing hosts! Thanks for everything! Later that day we went back to Luis´s cottage and hung out by the pool and played croquet. His parents left that afternoon but we decided to stay the night. We sat out on a deck overlooking the lake under the stars and a full moon and drank some beers, sipped some tequilla, listened to some sweet music, and had some life changing discussions.

We stopped in a small town along the way to see tons of huge crocodiles.  The crocs weren´t fenced in… and could be a little scary.  There was a funny Mexican dude who spent the whole time talking to another man while he was standing less than a meter away from a huge sleeping croc.  The road to the secluded beach (which Luis has requested be left unnamed) was pretty rough for our VW. Luis strapped all 4 of his surfboards to the roof of our golf. We felt really cool but it looked kind of funny too. We set up camp on the beach and went surfing.  The waves were too big for us non-experienced surfers to paddle out in. The waves got smaller later but there were tons on jellyfish. Luis got stung a bunch of times. That night we had a campfire, made some hot dogs, and randomly met more of Luis´s friends who also camped the night at the beach. There was a funny guy there named ¨Snakes¨ who we had met randomly at a different beach 4 years ago. We all sat around the campfire, talked, and drank beers. One of the guys girlfriends was a chef and cooked the best pasta we´ve ever had… spaghetti with cream sauce and chipotle. Ha ha Chaad. You should be jealous.

Woke up at 09:00 (by Linda´s military schedule), watched the ocean and had awesome mangoes for breakfast. Regardless of the big waves, Luis taught Linda how to surf in the white wash and she got up once… woot woot!!! Edmundo and Luis went out in the evening, but the waves were still really big so Luis surfed and Edmund practiced duck diving. Kara went out surfing on her own and the waves were huge! She impressed us all by her wave handling skills. We thought she was dead for sure. That sucks for Edmundo because a chick is better than him. During sunset Edmundo and Linda watched the crabs dig their holes in the sand and one of them even dragged a dead water snake down into his hole.

Woke up the last morning to people blasting music outside our tent. The waves were still too big, so we all decided to go back to Barra de Navidad to catch the baby waves. Luis taught Linda again and she go up twice… she´s thinking of going pro. While eating awesome, tasty tacos in town we randomly met Yull and Diana! They joined in on the taco eating festivities for a bit before they had to go. Stopped in Manzanillo on the way back to Guada to hang out and have a beer with Yoye and some other friends at the beach. Cool peeps! Feliz compleaños Yoye!