Die Stahlratte

November 2, 2010
Posting this Cartagena Colombia. Arrived this morning in a rain storm. Rained all day. Today is a holiday so we could not unload the bikes – probably could not have unloaded in the storm anyway. We are spending the night in a flea-bite hotel but at least it has a internet connection that might offset the 90 degree heat and humidity with n o a/c. Will post the photos to this blog a little later as we watch the election results.
Gary

Life on board Die Stahlratte.
24 October 2010
From the beginning we were not sure how we would transition around the Darien Gap. The Darien Gap is the southern part of the Panamian Isthmus. There are no roads through the Darien Gap. Our choices were to fly the bikes from Panama to Bogota Colombia, or take a boat from Panama to Cartagena Colombia.
On Sunday morning after having breakfast with our friend Eric we had to politely decline the keys to his house while he drove to Chepo for the day – what a great guy. After leaving Eric we found a McDonald’s with Wi-Fi. We stayed there about two hours to send emails, Skyped the families, and find phone numbers for the airline and the boats.
We felt guilty about using the McDonald’s internet connection for so long so decided it was proper to buy lunch there. We then rode to the international airport at Tocumen to check on the scheduled cargo flights. We were told there was a plane leaving the next day, but that it was already scheduled to be full of cargo. The next flight would be Wednesday, 27 October, and again with no guarantee of getting on that flight. We were also told that once the bikes were crated it would be four days before we could pick them up in Bogota. The cost for shipping each bike was $901.00. Additionally the cost of our personal airline tickets would be about $400.00 each. So now we were looking at possibly eight days or more in the hotel awaiting our rides. We decided to check into the airport hotel ($115.50 a night – ouch) so we could get an internet connection to check our boat option.
We already knew the Stahlratte was scheduled to depart Carti Panama on 26 October, but it was for an eight day cruise to Colombia versus their normal four day cruise. We really didn’t want to spend eight days on a boat, but now we realized waiting on air flights was going to bust our budget. At the hotel we contacted “Fritz the Cat” sailboat to find out that it was already in Colombia and would not be back in Panama for a sailing until 4 November. We also sent an email to the Stahlratte requesting a booking on the 26th.
That evening we sat around the room and game planned our options if we did not hear back from the boat. Just before going to bed we received an email from Ludwig the captain of the Stahlratte telling us where and what time to rendezvous with him for loading of the bikes onto his sailboat. I contacted Ludwig by phone to confirm we would be there. Transport solved.
On the 25th, we left Tocumen for the ride to Carti in Kuna Yala. Kuni Yala means Kuni Land and is home to the Kuni Indians. The region is semi-autonomous within Panama and is the location of the San Blas Islands. There 365 of the small islands scattered along the coast of Panama and most are inhabited by the Kuni. Some islands may only have one or two bamboo huts on the island while others may have 20-30 bamboo huts including shops. The Kuni men are fishermen and the women make elaborate stitched clothing.
To get to Carti airport which is really a wide spot in the jungle consisting of two buildings and a dilapidated concrete runway we had to ride a twenty mile road that was freshly paved and seemed to wind over every hill and dale going towards the coast. We had to pay $9.00 each for ourselves and the bikes for the privilege of entering Kuni Yala. Once at the airport we had to pay another $2.00 tax each to use the loading dock.


We saw the Stahlratte setting at anchor about 200 yards off shore. There were two motorcycles ahead of us and while we waiting three more motorcycles arrived.

Shortly, the Stahlratte dispatched its tender to pick up us and our gear which we had unloaded from the bikes. We were carried to the Stahlratte where loaded our gear on board and were assigned our sleeping berths – stacked bunks in the belly of the Stahlratte. The cost for the cruise including motorcycles was $950.00 each. Although we didn’t want to stay on a boat eight days the cost was sure more to our liking than flying the motorcycles and hanging around some expensive airport hotels.
Mini dsc1836

Die Stahlratte is German for the Steel Rat. The ship was built in 1903 and commissioned as the Holland and was used as a fishing vessel. In 1984, she was saved from salvage by a German non-profit foundation and is manned by three volunteers and conducts cruises between Panama, Colombia and Cuba. The Stalhrattee is one hundred feet long with two masts and under full sail - six total sails - can cruise at 10+ knots in a good wind. She also has a 1954 Vollund Diesel 300 horsepower four cylinder engine weighing fifteen meter tons that drives her in calm winds. She is the largest sailboat plying the tourist trade in the Caribbean.

Captain Ludwig told us that he would anchor next to the dock and hoist our bikes on board using the yardarm and a combination of winches and pulleys. The system worked amazing well and the seven bikes were loaded in less than an hour. We then motored back to the original anchorage where we would spend the night and wait the next day for customs clearance and the loading of non-motorcycling passengers. We actually gained an extra night on the Stahlratte for free.

The original anchorage was just off of one if the Kuni islands which was entirely filled with bamboo huts. There was constant comings and goings by the Kunis in their small boats and dugout canoes. The water craft are mostly powered by small Yamaha outboards while others are paddled. The Kuni live on the water and it is amazing to watch them balance the narrow canoes. They were constantly boarding the boat to sell fish and handicraft, but I think mostly to get beer as the Kuni have a very similar drinking problem which affects most native-Americans.
Late on the first afternoon, we spotted a canoe approaching which had a motorcycle lying on its side with a robust gentleman with bushy beard holding his riding gear. The tag told us a Frenchman was boarding to add to our polyglot of languages already on board. His motorcycle was hoisted on board using the same method as used in loading our bikes.

The next day we took on seven more passengers for a total of fifteen passengers and three crewmembers.
We are a truly mixture of languages and nationalities. The crew is headed by Captain Ludwig Hoffman who is the most laid back German I have ever met. His first mate is Roland from Austria. Roland does most of the work on the boat as he is constantly busy. He really is a human dynamo. The second mate is Tania from Venice Italy, but has just lived 11 years in Berlin. She assists in meal preparation and with general upkeep of ship.
In addition to Roger and myself there is one other American (USA) – John a 23 year-old aerospace engineer who has dropped out of the workforce to take time and decide what he wants to do the rest of his life.
Emrah and Seniz are a Turkish couple who live in British Columbia and work as DJ’s. They are riding the same type of motorcycle I am riding and they are also going to Argentina.
Luis is a Mexican Lawyer who is traveling with his friend Ricardo who is a Mexican business man. They are being accompanied by Harold who is Colombian who holds dual citizenship in the USA. All three are riding motorcycles.
The Frenchman is Jean who started his trip in Vancouver, B.C. after shipping his motorcycle from France.
Fedricio is a Chilean doctor who is accompanied by his girlfriend Verena and they are on holiday.
Then there are Stewart and Johannes being respectfully from Australia and Switzerland. Stewart runs a Hostel Mamallena in Panama. His Hostel is the one we inquired about availability of booking passage on a boat. Turns out he had also booked passage on the Stahlratte – small world. Johannes is an elementary school teacher who is taking a couple of years off to explore the world.
Stephan and Patrick are a father and son combination from Austria.
Fortunately, for us most of this mini-UN delegation speaks a bit of English, but often conversations are being carried on in German, French, Spanish and English. To add to this Babel, Emrah is playing Turkish selections from is repertoire of music. To say the least it is very interesting.
Life on board the Stahlratte. (Roger speaking)
Let’s get straight to it. The bunks are either twins or bunk beds with a cloth drape for privacy. Forget the privacy and give me fresh air you say – wrong on two counts. The air is stale and hot with no ventilation to speak of excepting a small oscillating fan that moves the heavy air. Sleeping on deck is an option but the ever present rain showers make it difficult to have uninterrupted sleep. So, the sleeping arrangements are less than perfect -- small, cramped and hot.
The facilities consist of one toilet. But there is always the male option – too bad for the three females. There is one shower in the boat, but there is a hose with a shower head outside that most of us use – especially after swimming.

Entertainment consists of reading, swimming (anytime except when under power or sail), card games, music, sleeping, an occasional visit to an island to mix it up with the local Kuna or blogging (well, we can’t actually blog since we don’t have an internet connection but we can keep up with the blog in a word processing program and cut and paste later).

Now the dining is downright good. Three meals a day, all you can eat. And we have two human eating machines on board who can each consume more than five average people – the Austrian first mate and the Turk. It’s as entertaining to watch them eat as the food is good. And good it is. The first night we had leg of lamb as the entre, the second night was baked chicken with jerk seasoning, the third night was crab and lobster (fresh catch from the local waters) and last night was a vegetarian casserole with potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes and a touch of ham. Most of the time we have a potato side dish (what did you expect from a German skipper/chef?) with fresh vegetables and bread. The only thing we pay for is beer and soft drinks -- $1.00 each. The dining is good.