My husband and I shelled out nearly $1,800 for an alleged luxury, three-day yacht cruise in San Blas, Panama. Although the cruise was far from luxurious, it was acceptable. The problem was that San Blas Sailing, the company that chartered the yacht, promised that it would not be a problem to arrange transportation overland from Panama City to San Blas. The company neglected to mention that construction had only started on the road between Panama City and San Blas. The “road” was a morass of mud and dangerous mountain terrain. Our “luxury” vacation started with a six-hour trek through this 60-kilometer road (which can be seen in the picture). We even had to walk through some portions of the road, because it was too dangerous to stay in the 4X4! On the way back, torrential rains had flooded a river that we needed to cross. San Blas Sailing also failed to mention that this happened often and that when the river crested there was no way in or out of the archipelago over land. Stuck in San Blas, we called San Blas Sailing’s owners, who informed us we were on our own. Although San Blas Sailing had made arrangements for our overland transportation, they alleged that they were not responsible for informing us about road conditions or helping us out. Our boat nearly overturned in the river, and the trip back from San Blas along the same road took nearly 12 hours. My husband and I thought we were going to die. After this ordeal, San Blas Sailing refused to return us our money. These are the most bitter vacation memories we have.