Tag: Video

Sailing From Colombia to Panama

Our sail from Colombia to Panama began happily, since Brian fixed the autopilot! It was a relief knowing we would not be hand steering for the two day voyage. While that made things easier, sailing from Colombia to Panama was not a fun trip.

Autopilot worked sailing from Colombia to Panama
We love when autopilot works

It Gets Scary

When home is a sailboat with a 65 foot high metal mast and you’re alone in the middle of the ocean, you don’t want to see lightning. A lightning storm is a nightmare. We had a very small taste in Colombia and it didn’t prepare us for the scary lightning storm our first night sailing from Colombia to Panama.

It’s rainy season in Panama and electric storms are common. We saw flashes in the sky throughout the day Saturday, but weren’t concerned. We didn’t think it would get worse. And we were wrong.

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Animals of Colombia

Colombia has some of the world’s most dangerous animals. Jaguars, poisonous frogs, spiders, and snakes are all endemic to this country. The fourth largest country in South America, Colombia has Atlantic and Pacific Coastlines, the Amazon, and the Andes mountains, so it’s no surprise its animals are diverse and plentiful. We’ve been to a few different parts of the country and seen a wide variety of animals of Colombia, many that were new to me, and some in strange places.

Sloths

I love sloths and was so excited to see them in a public park in Cartagena. They aren’t always easy to spot but when they are I can watch them do nothing all day. Which is pretty much what they do. In addition to the local Parque Centenario, we also spotted sloths in the beautiful Cartagena botanical gardens outside of the city.

Two sloths in a tree in the Jardin Botanico Cartagena
sloth in Colombia
Sloth in a tree at Cartagena’s Botanic Garden
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Rafting Down The Rio Palomino

We spent a weekend in Palomino with a group of cruiser friends and it was my favorite of our adventurous getaways from Santa Marta. A laid-back beach town with a weekend tradition of rafting down the Rio Palomino, Palomino is a blast!

About Palomino

Palomino is a small town on the north Caribbean coast of Colombia, near the Venezuela border. An agrarian community, it is now seeing tourism due to its beautiful white sand beaches and chill vibe. The town consists of one main paved road, the road from Santa Marta, and dirt road offshoots to the beach, the river, and farmlands.

bird mural Palomino Colombia
Bird mural in Palomino. It’s got a mask!

We walked around the town a bit and it’s rustic and charming, with lots of restaurants, hostels, artisan shops and some cool street art. And, one of the top attractions is tubing down the river. No wonder backpackers are flocking to Palomino.

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