Day 28 - Land in sight, San Blas Islands

England couldn't score further in the night. Switzerland took full advantage of this weak period to take the lead in the table. However, Holland came on strong in the end and narrowly won with a thrilling head-to-head race (in the truest sense of the word) with a score of 9:8, just before breakfast.

The arrival on the islands was delayed due to weak winds, but finally, around 3 pm, land was in sight. There are exactly 365 islands that belong to Panama. I don't know how many of them are inhabited. The one we stopped at, like most others, was not.

After the annoying questions about sharks and other dangerous animals like sand fleas were asked and answered, some people took a dinghy to the island.

Of course, I swam over with Julia and we walked around the island in 10 minutes - it's really small. Everything looks like in a glossy catalog: small islands 🏝 with palm trees 🌴 🌴 on them, white sandy beach, clear water...what more could you want?👍

After swimming, everyone was allowed to use the freshwater shower for 15 seconds (!!). For people with hair, that meant washing their hair in the sea and then hurrying. Freshwater is a scarce commodity on board.

Since there is nothing else to report today, we will introduce the last type of traveler today:

Type 3 - The Determined

The Determined has primarily one thing: top equipment. DSLR camera, GPS tracker, compass, and water purification tablets are minimum standards.

Type 3 also only wears the finest outdoor clothing. Mammut jacket, Jack Wolfskin multi-functional pants, breathable underwear, and Lowa tracking shoes. And he wears all this everywhere, even in 45 degrees Celsius heat ☀️☀️. Flip-flops are strictly forbidden 🚫. Even in cities and on the beach, scorpions, snakes, and other dangers are always lurking.

You can immediately recognize the Determined in the waiting area of airports: he has already put on the neck pillow before he even sits in the airplane ✈️.

An absolutely important aspect is a meticulously planned trip. The Determined has all the information in the world, more than the NSA, the KGB, and Interpol combined. He has painstakingly worked for them and does not like to share them easily. Especially not with the more laid-back representatives of Type 2.

The Determined likes to observe birds with his Nikon camera worth €4,000, usually for 8 to 12 hours. He has also memorized the Latin names of all bird species worldwide. He can only smile wearily at the ignorant like us. Of course, only the Determined knows that there are not just parrots, no...there are 54 species in 3 ornithological subgroups.

The Determined usually travels in pairs and is between 30 and 45 years old. And somehow, I have the feeling that the Determined can't laugh, at least he goes to the basement for that.

Now you have met all the types that we could identify - we hope you enjoyed it a little bit.