It's the Pirates' Life for Me!

Your Tonic Trekker may have just gotten back from Europe, but I'm already set to head to South America in just a few weeks. In pricing out tickets, I discovered it's significantly cheaper to fly into Panama, which is the southernmost Central American country just above Colombia. In fact, it was about $150 one-way compared to at least $500 anywhere in South America. So, naturally, I booked my ticket to Panama City and started searching for routes to enter Colombia. Apparently you only take a bus if you have a death wish and the lightning-quick plane trip costs nearly $400, which left me with an option I never imagined. Local sailboat skippers, who did God knows what before this, are now offering five-day trips between Panama City and Cartagena, Colombia with stops at the beautiful, tropical San Blas Islands.

And the price for this adventure? It's about the same price as the plane ticket, and all meals are included. There's no Wi-Fi or TV, but there are beds for as many as 10 people.

For people who need to make haste, the boat probably isn't an option, but for a backpacker like myself it was a no-brainer. The boat doesn't just sail through the San Blas Islands, it'll actually stay there for several days, allowing passengers to snorkel, swim and even fish. You can even cook what you catch! I might not be one for reeling in the fish, but I certainly love to swim with them.

The only downside is that these boats don't operate on a strict timetable. Several make the trip each week, but you often aren't given a date and time until the day before. That's why it makes the most sense to stay in a hostel. In fact, hostels like Mamallena are responsible for providing these ships with most of their passengers, so naturally they'll be quite helpful in setting the rides up.

In October, I got to feel like a Viking on a European riverboat cruise, but I'm heading south this month and set to sail the seas like a pirate!

Photo of Panama courtesy of Marc Veraart, via Flickr