The adventures of McLody

The KLR gets loaded.

Mike the stunt man performs his acrobatic tricks while I play photographer, again!

And she's tied down.

Next time I think I'd like to go sailing, will someone remind me that I get sea sick!
So we've waited 4 weeks to catch a boat to Panama, via paradise and what happen:

We should have realised something wasn't quite right when we boarded a boat called the MCLODY rather than the MELODY!

Day 1

Morning: We're all bright and chirpy, finally we're out of there. 9 of us on a boat that sleeps 6. This should be fun. Colombian Customs plus dog board the boat, searching for drugs, just as well we stashed them in my luggage, as my panniers were the only ones not searched, again (just kidding Mum, no drugs). An hour and a half delay.
Afternoon: I sit on deck trying not to move or to be sick, unsuccessfully.
Evening: Sick again.

Nice shade of grey/green

Day 2:

All Day: I spend the entire day flat on my back in bed. Positioned so as to have as little movement from the rocking of the boat as possible. Didn't miss too much as it's raining. Captain's comment 'Strange weather, it hasn't rained for months!'
Late Evening: Still raining, arrive at the San Blas Islands at 10pm (About 5 hours later than normal due to 'Unusual currents in the waters')

We're anchored in the San Blas Islands for the next few days.

Day 3

Morning: Stopped raining but overcast. After finally emerging, the captain and his wife ask if we'd like to watch a DVD, 'No thanks!'
Afternoon: Wife takes us, to Potluck Island. This is the stuff paradise is made of. Unfortunately, no sooner had we claimed the hammock and we're ushered back into the dinghy and shipped back to the yacht for lunch. Starts raining.
Evening: Rain continues.'Would you like to watch a DVD?', 'No thanks!' We finally get lunch at about 6pm. No dinner.

Here comes the rain again.

Day 4

Morning: It's raining. I'm feeling 150% better and have returned to my normal flesh colour. I make pancakes for those of us awake.
Afternoon: It's drizzling. Captain and wife finally make an appearance. 'Would you like to watch a DVD?', 'No thanks!' (If they ask us one more time....)
We ask, 'Can we go to Potluck Island again and play Volleyball?', 'No!'
Captain asks us to eat more fruit. Lars, Sandra Mike and I spend the rest of the afternoon and evening concocting exoctic fruit cocktails with rum.
Evening: We get lunch just before 6pm. No dinner. More rum cocktails (There was nothing else to do)

Day 5

Morning: Happy Easter. It's raining. Set sail for a Kuna Indian township on some island 2 hours away. This is Mike and my extra 'treat' for having been kept waiting for a month for this god damn boat. Some treat. I spend the two hours getting there, in bed trying not to be sick. We get dropped off, on some slum of an island where the townsfolk are all drunk and annoyingly chatty (worse than when I'm drunk I imagine) and there's not even and Easter Egg hunt. It's still raining. Our treat is a load of bollocks and is actually Captain and wife wanting to go to church, they're Mormans. The only memorable thing is Lars (fellow traveller), meets a local by the name of Siete Bullets. He was shot 7 times in the one go and still has a bullet lodged in his shoulder. Nice town.
Afternoon: Hey it's stopped raining. And we get lunch at lunch time. 'Do you want to watch a DVD?', 'NO!!!'
'Can we go to Potluck Island for a swim?', 'No'. 'Oh!'
Sandra tries 'Can we go to Potluck Island?', 'Ok'.
Cool, we like Potluck Island and even Fidel Castro comes with us this time.
Evening: BBQ dinner, it's good. Cake for pudding too. Spend the night getting drunk on Rum, bitching about the boat trip.

Sandra, Lars, Neil, Ethan, Mike, Me and Vaulker, cast-a-way on Potluck Island.

Day 6
All day: I spend the day in bed, successfully trying not to be sick. Despite the hangover.
Evening: Finally arrive in Portobello, Panama. Hooray!

A bit wobbly when we get off the boat. Just wish we'd arrived in day light, then I'd have some great photos of the bikes getting unloaded. First, using the main sail rigging, the bikes are lifted/lowered into a small launch. Mike manages to hang on to them while they're shipped into a jetty. After getting rid of one nuisance local, (he was drunk and fell into the water, twice, thankfully not taking the bikes with him) there are a couple of men waiting to heave them out of the launch. All this in the pitch black. The only damage to the bikes is the BMW has lost it's horn button, nevermind, it was in a stupid place anyways.

So, am I glad I waited 4 weeks for that? No! But as always, after the event, I'm glad we sailed.