Quito y la Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador

View of historical Quito during breakfast.

The  airport security in Medellin was one of the most intense I have ever had, in addition to everyhting that they do in the United States they also had to open my checked bag and searched through it before I could chek in. I wanted to cry, my bag is huge and carefully packed, things are strategically placed and the last thing I wnated was to open my bag on top of that table. Well the security officer opened my bag, took things out, cheked inside purses and zippers and I had to laugh at his face when he attempted to put it all back in by pushing. I showed him that I had to roll all of my clothes again, and carefully place things in their designated spaces. It  was hell. Trust me, my least favorite part of my trip is packing my bag, I have somehow accumulated so many things that I don´t understand how it is still closing, and I would understand if they actually did an accurate check, but it is all for show, they did not check side pockets or the tent bag hanging from the bottom. This was the one flight since the beginning of my trip and even though planes can be more comfortable and faster I love buses and how easy it is to place your bag underneath get on and start your trip. 

Arriving in Quito I knew I had very little time to spend in the city and the next day would have to be jam packed if I wanted to be on the bus on my way to the beach and seeing the city. I had an amazing time in Central America which cut out some of my time in Colombia and Quito since I was planning on being in Manta to volunteer for Carnaval.  I made my plans, went to bed and the next morning took of on the city journey. My first stop was the Artisan Market where I met Pepe and from then on we became inseparable. Next stop was Mitad del Mundo Monument which marks the Equator and divided the world in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Pepe at Mitad Del Mundo

Standing on both Northern and Southern hemisphere at the same time

Mitad del Mundo

Pimpin´

Old town Quito

Look what I found!

After Mitad del Mundo I walkeda round the old town, visited churches and monuments and went back to The Secret Garden hostel where I had a delicious dinner, a few glasses of wine and played trivia waiting for time to pass before I had to catch my 10 hour night bus to Manta where I would meet the other lifeguards and volunteer for Project Ecuador.

Panama a Colombia via San Blás

On my way to Colombia I decided to takea trip that I had heard about way before I left home. It is nearly impossible and very dangerous to cross the Darien Gap by land so the only options are flying or taking a boat. I decided that I would take the boat and booked a 16 person catamaran with Ayako, some of her friends and other people who would soon be our new friends. I had heard horror stories about these trips of boats bveing lost at sea, the trip taking more days, people running out of water, so I was very nervous when I woke up at 4 am and left Panama City in a SUV heading towards the jungle in a rainy and crazy road that made me stop the driver thinking I was going to puke. After the horrible ride I arrived at a small port, with my snacks and extra waters just in case. There I had to pretend that I was only taking a boat around San Blás becuase for some reason, even though everyone knows it´s happening crossing in these commercial boats isn´t exactly legal. Trust me I was confused too. Everyone else was coming from a different hostel in different transport, so I waited alone until I was told to hop in on a small boat that would take me to my boat where the captain was waiting. Jean Pierre was our french captain that did not enjoy doing these trips, but if he did a few a year he did not have to do anything else and they would pay for his boat maintenance. He also explained to me that he was the only captain with a millionaire sailor who just worked on his boat because he loved it and wanted to learn. I can´t quite believe that, but it does not realllly matter. As I waited for the rest of the crew to arrive I met another captain from Spain who would be sialing his boat with us and we would be making the nightly stops together. 

About an hour later smalled boats with the rest of our crew began to arrive including a boat with a motorcycle that would make the trip with us. We met each other, I collected the money and passports for the captain and helped translate the rules of the boats for those that did not speak Spanish. Beers were opened and we began our wonderful trip sailing through the seas towards San Blás Archipelago.

One of the small islands we anchored to spend the night

 Eating the delicious and fresh lobsters we bought from the Kunas

 
We spent our days swimming, tanning, drinking and getting coconuts from the islands that we drank, ate and later made into drinking cups for our nightly parties.
 


Our first night party where we anchored at an island, and had a huge bonfire and dinner with the other boast and partied  on our own private island in paradise. It felt like we had our own small colony and the island was ours.

The Djs for the night 

You put the rum in the coconut...

Our private Dingy party

Gorup shot of our boat

During the days if we were not sailing with dolphins that would hang around our boat in huge pods for about twenty minutes or more, flipping around playing and loving life, tanning, eating, playing dominos, sleeping, listening to music, we would get off the boat and go explore neighboring islands. On the way there I was lucky to see several starfish, a spotted rays and many different fish. I was really in paradise.

The Kuna people who are indigenous people from Panama selling us some of their handicraft

 After sailing through the islands we had a full day of 11 hours of sailing to get to Sapzurro, our first night in Colombian waters. That night the girls got a ride with the Spanish captain and the millionaire deckhand to go dance the Rumba at a small bar in the island full of welcoming locals while the boys stole the dingy and roped it to shore to walk around and meet us. There we dranka few beers danced the rumba and had to swim back to the boat celebrating our first great night in Colombia.

 

 The group after getting our passports stamped waiting for our final boat to take us to Turbo

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After parting with everyone, making plans to meet some later I got on a bus and headed to Medellin where I stayed at the Pitt Stop and met up with Rosie and Fil one more time during my trip, long time since Christmas in Nicaragua and my second week of the trip in Isla Mujeres.

With Fil and Rosie I explored the beautiful and really developed city of Medellin and even went on a Pablo Escobar tour, the man who made Medellin famous.

Pablo´s grave

Last dinner together before being alone for the first time in a while, flying to Ecuador and getting ready to volunteer.

Panama City, Panama

At the Panama Canal

 After a really long bus ride from Bocas I finally arrived in Panama City and went to Zuly´s hostel where the boys had been for a while trying to import Utah into Panama so that they could sell the car and leave the country. Sean and Jordan has plans of spending Carnaval in Brasil and Danny was planning on going to Colombia. 

I ended up being in Panam City a little bit longer than I had planned but it was worth the wait and I was able to figure out my boat transportation and book an amazing catamaran with Ayako and her friends. It was in Panama City that I went to a casino and played blackjack for the first time and had a really fun time making $20. I do not like gambling, but going with a group of people from the hostel and having a table full, cheering everytime someone won was a lot of fun. While in Panam City I also visited the main tourist attraction; the Panama Canal and was able to see a few ships going through. It is very crazy how they lift and lower the ships, how important it is for global economy and how many huge ships cross the canal a day.  

Panama City is very developed and the waterfront is very beautiful with lots of room to run and exercise. It also has gigantic shopping malls and is very different than the other Central American capitals.

Other than that I waited, explored the old part of the city and helped the guys sell the van, which they did at the end to a Brazilian guy traveling with a friend from Argentina. It all worked out great and the boys were finally free to go. Jordan and Sean were the first to leave, then I left the next morning and Danny later decided to take a bus to Costa and fly home to Australia. It was the final good-bye, I would no longer see my traveling buddies, but it wasn´t just to the that I was saying bye, it was also the time to leave Central America and to remember all of the amazing times I had and to look forward to all of the wonders that South America had waiting for me. 

(unfortunately all of my pictures from Panama City were accidently sent home and won´t be able to be published them till way later )