one of the crew
Bridge of the Americas
Panama Canal Locks
sea sick
look out!
the crew
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3/14-19
We caught a ride on a drudging boat headed home to Colombia after 6 months at sea. Despite the crew being eager to get home, they were incredibly hospitable to the two random Americans with bikes and a ton of gear. The immediately fed us when we got on board and the chef always made sure we ate enough. It was actually some of the best food Mark and I have eaten this entire trip.
We waited for a day and a half off the shore of Panama City for our turn to go through the Canal. We entered at sunset and went through the canal throughout the night. It was quickly evident, though, why this boat took so long to arrive in Panama City. Apparently boats don’t go fast when the propeller is broken! What Mark and I thought was a regulated “no wake” speed throughout the Canal became evident that it was our top speed for the trip to Colombia. Needless to say, what is normally a day trip from Colon to Cartagena for this ship took us over 3 days with a top speed of about 5mph.
When a boat is going that slow, you feel the up and down of every single wave. That first day I woke and went up for breakfast, only to lose my breakfast a couple times before lunch. I went back down to the room with Mark where we laid on our backs for the remainder of the day, afraid to stand up and lose anymore food (we were told later that eating is the best thing to get rid of sea sickness). Days 2 and 3 got increasingly better, but we still spent most of our time in our bunk beds to avoid feeling sick anymore. We were surprised to find out from most of the crew members on the boat that even most of them were sick that first day also!
So…you made it to Colombia…barely…and now what are you boys up to? Cuidense