Panama-Columbia BOATS
Pedaling South
OK, the big question: crossing the Darien Gap by boat. Any pointers? Leads? Names of marinas? Price you paid?
Hope to hear back!
Cheers,
Lucie & Torrey
Esteli, Nicaragua
--
Pedalingsouth.com
Marten IJzerman
anna wittert
Anna Wittert
www.thefuegoproject.com
an on and off road cycling tour from Alaska to Argentina
nancy sathre-vogel
Experience our Dream Come True! www.familyonbikes.com
Harry Kikstra, 7summits.com
Whatever you do, don’t cross on the SoftAir boat. I still need to write the report and details, but basically the owner , who seemed courteous and nice (and gave a great discount) acted like a psychopath afterwards: he totally got crazy when I Twittered about ‘wild seas’ and even admitted that he wanted to drop us off at the San Blas islands before the real crossing.
The boat was in bad condition and too small for the number of people on it. Oh and the ‘plentiful fruits’ turned out to be one apple each and though we were confirmed several times as being vegetarian, only meat and tasteless rice was served.. More in detail later, just avoid this ship (which is too small anyway to carry bikes, I had to basically take them apart) like the swine-flu…
Cheers,
Harry & Ivana
Pedaling South
Thanks for the tips!
We've also heard of, and are curious to try, a passage from Carti, Panama to Puerto Obaldia (cargo boat) then a speedboat to Turbo, Columbia. Anyone gone this route?
Stay safe,
T&L
Pedalingsouth.com
Byron
I just arrived in Medellin via speedboats along the coast, so I'll
fill in the details for anyone who's interested:
1. Ride to Carti from Panama city. About a day and a half ride, with
by far the steepest grades I've seen all trip. I was barely able to
push my bike up some of the hills. Catch a boat at the end of the
airstrip to get to the island ($5)
2. Speedboat from Carti to Puerto Obaldia. The guy who ran my
hospedaje knew the captains and arranged me a spot for the next
morning. The trip is about 8-9 hours, but as I was the only one
carrying on the Puerto Olbaldia, we spent the night on the captain's
island, about an hour away. The speedboat was kind of like a water
taxi for the San Blas islands, and we stopped at about ten on the way.
($100)
3. Get your exit stamp in Puerto Obaldia
4. Boat from Puerto Obaldia to Carpurgana across the border ($15)
5. Get you entry stamp in Carpurgana. Stay the night. Many hotel/
food options.
6. Speedboat from Carpurgana to Turbo. This boat leaves every
morning at 7:15 and takes a couple of hours. ($50)
7. Ride from Turbo to Medellin. Really scenic road with a couple of
serious passes but no crazy grades. The locales varied on whether it
was safe or not, but I didn't have any issues. There is also a small
landslide danger as the road is often cut into a cliff.
Feel free to ask if there are any questions.
Cheers,
Byron
On Apr 14, 10:22 pm, Pedaling South <pedalingso...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello,
> Thanks for the tips!
> We've also heard of, and are curious to try, a passage from Carti, Panama to
> Puerto Obaldia (cargo boat) then a speedboat to Turbo, Columbia. Anyone gone
> this route?
> Stay safe,
> T&L
>
> On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 1:04 PM, Harry Kikstra, 7summits.com <
>
>
>
> ha...@7summits.com> wrote:
> > Whatever you do, don’t cross on the SoftAir boat. I still need to write
> > the report and details, but basically the owner , who seemed courteous and
> > nice (and gave a great discount) acted like a psychopath afterwards: he
> > totally got crazy when I Twittered about ‘wild seas’ and even admitted that
> > he wanted to drop us off at the San Blas islands before the real crossing.
>
> > The boat was in bad condition and too small for the number of people on it.
> > Oh and the ‘plentiful fruits’ turned out to be one apple each and though we
> > were confirmed several times as being vegetarian, only meat and tasteless
> > rice was served.. More in detail later, just avoid this ship (which is too
> > small anyway to carry bikes, I had to basically take them apart) like the
> > swine-flu…
>
> > Cheers,
>
> > Harry & Ivana
>
> >http://WorldOnaBike.com
>
> > *From:* panam-...@googlegroups.com [mailto:
> > panam-...@googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *nancy sathre-vogel
> > *Sent:* dinsdag 6 april 2010 19:33
>
> > *To:* panam-...@googlegroups.com
> > *Subject:* Re: [panam-riders] Panama-Columbia BOATS
>
> > We crossed on the MetaComet and it was fine. It's an old fishing boat from
> > Maine, so you motor across the crossing rather than sail - saves about 20
> > hours on the crossing itself. We took the same amount of time a sailboat
> > would take, but had more time in the San Blas Islands.
>
> > I've written up a series of articles about the crossing and some tips.
>
> >http://www.examiner.com/sitemaps/x-6098-Boise-International-Travel-Ex...<http://www.examiner.com/sitemaps/x-6098-Boise-International-Travel-Ex...>
>
> >http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-6098-Boise-International-Travel-Ex...<http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-6098-Boise-International-Travel-Ex...>
>
> > We also spent a delightful afternoon on a deserted island with a family of
> > Kuna people out collecting coconuets. It was one of the highlights of our
> > whole trip! You can read about that here:
>
> >http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-6098-Boise-International-Travel-Ex...<http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-6098-Boise-International-Travel-Ex...>
>
> > Good luck!
>
> > Nancy
>
> > On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 7:45 PM, anna wittert <awitt...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > There are a few hostels in panama that arrange boats. A couple of them.:
> > mamallena and wunderbar. Check via google.
>
> > We arranged with the captain, which saves a bit of money, and took the
> > 'stahlratte' . Many cyclists have taken this boat in the past, it's the
> > biggest sailingboat doing this trip, and your bikes will be below decks (no
> > spray water :) ). The trip is expensive, 385 dollars, but includes a few
> > days of fun in the islands, great food, and customs formalities. the boat
> > has a website, search google with stahlratte or steelrat.
>
> > On 6 April 2010 11:49, Marten IJzerman <martenijzer...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > *This is what we received from fellow cyclists, Phillip and Valeska,
> > hopefully they don't mind I forwarded this to the blog, Karin and Marten,
> > San Cristobal*
>
> > We took Aires Airwww.aires.aerowhich should be the cheapest. If you book
> > online the flight should sost 150 U$ p.p. We booked one peace of extra
> > luggage each (for the bicycles), which cost 25 U$ extra p.p. But at the
> > airport they sayed the bike has an extra fare, 100 U$ per bike. We ended up
> > with 250 U$ p.p. which still is about half the price of the boats (usualy
> > around 400 U$ p.p. plus 50 per bike). To book online you have to register
> > fist on the website, otherwise you cant book. Everything in spanish but we
> > managed and you will too ;-)
>
> > A good boat to take ist "Stahlratte"www.stahlratte.deWe wanted to take
> > it but couldnt catch it. Anyway, we met some peole crossing with be boat and
> > everyone liked the trip. It is a quite large sailingboat with private
> > cabines and anything...
>
> > *From:* Pedaling South <pedalingso...@gmail.com>
>
> > *Sent:* Tuesday, April 06, 2010 10:35 AM
>
> > *To:* panam-...@googlegroups.com
>
> > *Subject:* [panam-riders] Panama-Columbia BOATS
pedalpanam
Gapster, so here is an excerpt of that email to them. i'm posting
this here as opposed to the more recent 'Darien Alternatives', as it
is similar to what Byron did, so easier to compare the difference of
doing it with all local boats like byron, or with part tourist lancha
like we did. The Darien Gapster went from Portobelo to Sapzurro,
after that it is a small lancha to Capurgana, and a larger lancha to
Turbo.
***
the darien gapster worked out pretty well. we packed our 4 bikes up
with cardboard around the delicate parts, derailleurs, handle bars,
etc. took pedals off, and straightened handle bars. we were able to
fit all 4 bikes in the front row of the boat. just assert yourself
when it comes to packing the bikes, remind them you've done this
before! they would have fit better had there not been a 50 gallon
barrel of petrol on the floor. The bikes survived that portion of the
ride mostly unscathed. my brake lever covers got a little worn down
by the bumps, but this could have been avoided if i protected them
more.
our trip was the inagural ride with paying tourists, so we got a
pretty good deal. $175 for the ride, $30 for the bike each. this
included 4 out of about 8 meals, unfortunately the places we stopped
the prices were much higher than we had encountered on the highways in
panama. but to be fair stuff does cost more as it is out in the
middle of nowhere. so bring groceries and have your stove handy. and
beware of the other hidden costs. IE nights at hostals before and
after, etc. They have a cooler with pop, juice and beer for $1 each.
$5 rental for snorkel gear. i know they will be changing prices in
the future, so please get the info straight from them.
paul and i took one route from panama city to portobelo, greg and
dylan took another. from the stories, greg and dylan's route was much
more picturesque and definitely worth checking out.
we left portobelo early tuesday morning, stopped for breakfast at an
island when we got to san blas. then to another island to wait while
our passports got processed. that night we camped on the beach of a
kuna family's plot on an island. wednesday we went to an uninhabited
island for several hours. never really been snorkeling until then,
but other folks who had said it was some of the best they've ever
done. little current and incredible reefs. we swam to a nearby island
that had at most 5 coconut trees on it. wednesday night we spent at
another kuna island, but this one had one end that was set up more for
tourist use (flushing toilets as opposed to outhouses on the pier that
go right into the ocean). great time walking around the village,
saying hello to folks but generally not being able to communicate more
than smiling and laughing. thursday we had another while on the
water, spent some time at an island for swimming and lunch, and then
got to sapzurro by dusk.
i felt safe in the hands of marcos the captain, but communication
lacked at times. if in doubt about anything, ask adam first, marco's
strength is driving the boat and his relationship with the kunas after
years of travel in the region. it was their first outing, and i know
they were eager to hear our feedback to improve for next time.
unfortunately i don't what they'll do with bikes in the future, after
all, the bikes have to use up a row of seats, and that could mean lost
opportunity for passenger fares. but on the other hand, that still
leaves 14 seats free, which i thought was a good number for the trip.
i do wish them the best in their endeavor, but it just might be hard
to fill the boat up every time. that could be good for cyclists
though, there would always be a place for bikes, and they'd happily
take the surcharge for the bikes.
the first night at the hostel in sapzurro was free camping included in
the price, but you'll necessarily have to spend another night in
either sapzurro or capurgana. the immigration office in capurgana,
the next harbor east of sapzurro, opens after the ferry leaves from
capurgana to turbo at 7:30 AM. though sapzurro was nice and relaxed,
and we spent 2 nights there (be sure to find the senora Tila who sells
coconut popsicles near the dock), to decrease the amount of bike-boat
related stress, i'd head over to capurgana with all your stuff, buy
your tickets beforehand (especially since a dozen other darien gapster
backpackers will also be heading in to town as well, the lancha might
get full) and find a cheap hotel for your 2nd night. that way you can
be at the dock at 7:15, instead of having to take a lancha from
sapzurro to capurgana at 6:30am.
paul was lucky and got on the boat the morning we were supposed to
leave, but there was no way greg, dylan and i were going to get on the
boat with our bikes and bags. we spent another day there. the first
time we had bought tickets for 50,000 pesos (~US$25) for the passenger
part, and that they'd asses the bikes in the morning. we found out
that the small print on the ticket says passengers are allowed 10kg
each, plus another 500 pesos per extra kilo. the whole process is
really ridiculous, there is no order on the dock. so the second time
we gladly accepted the boat owner's offer for a flat fee of 50,000
pesos for the bike, with nothing extra for weight (i think that is
what byron paid as well?), even though i can guarantee our bikes and
gear weighs less than 100kg! makes me wonder if we should have just
avoided mentioning the bikes, bought two passenger tickets each...
less crowded boat, more space for the bikes!
remember, your last chance for an ATM is off the main highway in
sabanitas, panama before turning off to head east to portobelo. you
next chance for an ATM will not be until Turbo. Make sure you have
enough for a few extra days, you never know where you'll get stuck!
turbo to medellin was great, we did it in 6 riding days (some really
short days, to spend time in Santa Fe), although you could do it in
easily 5, possibly 4 but you'd get to Medellin burnt out. the road
was quiet, real beautiful. i took notes about the way and i'll try to
post those at some point. one other option is to take a bus or bike
to cartagena, but we were anxious to get back into the cooler
mountains and skipped it. can't see it all! costwise, i think you
could get to cartagena via turbo for less than directly on sailboat,
but the hassle of three boat rides and three bus rides certainly takes
its toll (maybe Paul can chime in, that is what he did).
> > > luggage each (for the bicycles), which cost 25 U$ extra p.p. But at the
> > > airport they sayed the bike has an extra fare, 100 U$ per bike. We ended up
> > > with 250 U$ p.p. which still is about half the price of the boats (usualy
> > > around 400 U$ p.p. plus 50 per bike). To book online you have to register
> > > fist on the website, otherwise you cant book. Everything in spanish but we
> > > managed and you will too ;-)
>
greg mccausland
Work while you work, play while you play - this is a basic rule of repressive self-discipline. Adorno
Harry Kikstra, 7summits.com
Thanks for your reactions so far, I wish I knew all of this beforehand, so
it will be useful for others.
I have put all of the info I received into one post:
http://panamriders.biketravellers.com/crossing-from-panama-cartagena-by-boat
-plane-experiences-from-biketravellers/
As GoogleGroups seems to random send and withold messages (I saw several
replies to other input that I never received from Google), I will surely
have missed some, so let me know if you have some stories/reports tips about
crossing the Darien Gap that I did not include in the post. Let me know your
URL (website and/or link to Darien Tripreport), so I can include it.
Best will be to cc me (ha...@biketravellers.com), so I get it for sure.
Thanks,
Cheers, Harry
http://WorldOnaBike.com
-----Original Message-----
From: panam-...@googlegroups.com [mailto:panam-...@googlegroups.com]
On Behalf Of pedalpanam
Sent: dinsdag 15 juni 2010 19:29
To: PanAm Riders
Subject: [panam-riders] Re: Panama-Columbia BOATS
pedalpanam
"I'll admit that I had a bit of luck specially getting a free ride to
Puerto Obaldia on a boat caring a team of doctors from operation
smile. Doing it this way is very unpredictable it could take a very
long time and it's frustrating not knowing when the next boat will
show up, I spent a lot of time waiting at the dock, but I wouldn't
done it any other way, I got to witness quite a few special things
that most people don't, meeting the Kuna kids is just amazing."
" Had a great time even thou I got stuck in one of the islands
(Caledonia) for 4 days waiting for a boat, But it didn’t matter they
had a 3 day feast while I was there, (got to see a pig slaughter by
drowning).
I also beat all the budgets spent a total of $108 in transportation:
$5 crossing to Carti
$50 speed boat to Caledonia
$0 Free to Puerto Obaldia
$13 to Capogana
$25 to Turbo for my self + $15 for the bike on a separate cargo boat"
On Jun 16, 9:01 am, "Harry Kikstra, 7summits.com" <ha...@7summits.com>
wrote:
>
> Thanks for your reactions so far, I wish I knew all of this beforehand, so
> it will be useful for others.
> I have put all of the info I received into one post:
>
>
> As GoogleGroups seems to random send and withold messages (I saw several
> replies to other input that I never received from Google), I will surely
> have missed some, so let me know if you have some stories/reports tips about
> crossing the Darien Gap that I did not include in the post. Let me know your
> URL (website and/or link to Darien Tripreport), so I can include it.
> Best will be to cc me (ha...@biketravellers.com), so I get it for sure.
>
> Thanks,