Swimming Pool

After we saw the nurse shark Sid notice a huge grouper, belly up and swimming in circles, floating towards us. Sid jumped into the dinghy with the gaff to see how much alive the fish was and when he gaffed him, oh my gosh Sid was yanked back and fourth and up and down. It took him a good fight to get the fish into the dinghy and still there this 13.5 pound adrenalin pumped fish was yanking Sid around. Later he told me that he pulled a muscle on his back, poor guy. All the cruisers swear by pouring alcohol into the gills kills the fish instantly, we never had much luck with that but thought to give it another shot, or two or oh well the whole 8 oz of alcohol went into his gills and it took a long time for him to die. We hauled him up on the bow where Sid then was filleting 2 inch think fillets of the bones. There was so much fish Sid brought a quarter of it to our new neighbors. The scrap we tossed into the water which brought 4 nurse sharks and huge trigger fish around. It was fun watching the nurse sharks circling like they were dancing with each other eating the scraps. About an hour later Gaby was ready to venture into the water (after not having seen a single nurse shark for a while). Barely in the water one swam right under her. We had fun following this 7 foot creature and watching it blow into the sand to find food.
After a wonderful grouper dinner we hung the light into the water and were entertained for many hours. First we had several spotted eagle rays swim under the boat, then a fairly good sized squid (big enough for my frying pan) floated by, a school of cobia amongst many smaller fish, but what topped it all off was 5 good sized Wahoo trying to catch needle fish which also scattered around the bright light. Next time we hang the light out we'll be prepared for the Wahoo, frying pan is already on the stove and garlic is chopped.
The nice thing here is sitting in the shallow clear water the light makes it look as if we in deed are in a swimming pool with the turquoise blue hallow around Paradise.

While Sid did some maintenance on the boat, finding the impeller had lost 5 out of the 6 teeth, and other things to repair, the girls ventured to BBQ island where we 10 years ago had fun potluck on this cute island. In the mean time, a cruiser who is still there since we were there was tried to claim the island and upset the Kunas. So now the island is inhabited by an elderly couple to protect what is theirs and the Kuna Congress created a law that now Kuna's living on islands are allowed to charge 2 dollars per person to walk on the island. We talked to the very friendly elderly couple; they are still upset at the cruiser, who by the way is still hanging around the Swimming pool now trying to claim another island. Not just that he puts 200 feet of chain out in 10 feet of water so that no other cruisers can anchor close to them; a real shame as cruisers like that give us all a bad name. Another thing they were upset about that some cruisers come onto their island and steal coconuts, which is their income(get 35cents per coconut). The friendly couple invited us to come ashore and enjoy their island at any time.

After we thanked them we headed to some other islands and walked around some on another Gaby walked into a thorny leaf of a coconut palm which punctured her just below her eye, she now has a good shiner. Later on we snorkeled out by the reef and since there was a strong about 1.5 knot current I suggested we drift back to the boat towing the dinghy which really was fun we barely had to move our fins to get back.

Gaby hasn't had sauerkraut in years and so I promised to cook some, but every time sauerkraut was on the menu some fishermen came by with some more fish, this time with crabs with the biggest claws, we all were drooling seeing those and sauerkraut was pushed off again. She finally had her sauerkraut 4 days later.

Unfortunately Gaby's vacation is coming to an end and it was time to sail back to Portobello." Audrey Page" we haven't seen in over 2 years showed up just on time for us to noodle behind their boat to meet their grandchildren, Gaby and to catch up.

The motor sail back was bumpy and poor Gaby was feeding the fish again. But that went fast away as we anchored and I had prepared one of her favorite dishes grandma always cooked for us, stewed rabbit, she was smiling from ear to ear.

Holandes Cays or Swimming Pool

Lots of thunderclouds going by to the north of us due to tropical waves which are now coming more frequently and the first storm of this season has built. The mainland creates daily thunderstorm as well so we are always ready to do the rain shuffle. July 3rd was the first morning with no clouds in the sky.
Banadup is such a beautiful place making us feel that Paradise is in Paradise. All but one of the island are inhabited by a Kuna Family, which we learned stays for about 3 months to take care of the coconuts then another related family takes over to take care of the coconuts. One of the islands here is a little resort with a big thatched roof with tables and chairs (made out of tree stumps) a bar with two freezers, beer or coke only and on lucky occasions they have rum. Attached to this is a hut with a kitchen and I think I also saw a hammock in it. The owner a cute little Kuna man lives with two helpers on the island while his wife manages another island with the same idea of a resort. Guests can either sleep in one of the many tents he has available or in a hammock. The island is oblong and Coco palms only grow on both ends in the middle is a nice stretch of beach with a volley ball net. We sat down and had a couple of ice cold beer while talking to the jolly little man and found out all kinds of things about their culture including that they only sleep in hammocks all in one room and yes baby's are created in the hammocks.

We had such a good time we decided to go back later on in the evening and play boccha ball. Several more boats arrived the same day and before we knew it we were 16 boats. Guess we found the right island for the 4th of July celebration. Bob and Jeannie on Island Dreamin' we met in Puerto La Cruz arrived as well and we had a happy reunion at the resort, although we never played boccha ball, there was only time for beers while we swapped stories.

The fishermen come buy every day with either lobster, conch, crab or fish and it's just so hard not to buy anything, today's catch was a 3.5 pound snapper. Some come along the boat and beg for some fishing line with hook as they just had lost theirs with a big fish on the hook. Many bring their cell phones to charge. Yep this is the cell phone age even in Kuna Yala.

Gaby and I did a few snorkeling trips and each time we had found some beautiful coral reefs and sand bars which Gaby thinks is incredible to be in the middle of the ocean and just in ankle deep water. We also had a noodeling get together with Island Dreamin' and Southern Bell right off one of the islands in crystal clear and shallow water. While sitting there and talking away, playing with our hands in the sand Sid dug up some clams, so we all started digging and decided to go clam hunting the following morning and indeed we managed to get enough clams for a wonderful appetizer.

We were going to leave for the Holandes Cays but it looked like the whole fleet was going to meet here in the Eastern Lemmons for 4th of July and so we decided to stay a bit longer. 4th of July was celebrated on one of the islands. Volleyball was one of the activities along with slammers (Tequila/Kalua/Coke yummy) and jello shots. Connie on Better Days made sure that all had a wonderful time; I tell you she's dangerous! The weather was perfect, couldn't have been better as we could clearly see the coast of Panama, just beautiful.

We were going to leave on the 5th but a huge cloud moved the islands and into the direction we were going to navigate. It was a big system and we thought to better wait which turned out to be a very wise decision as a good size waterspout started sweeping the water to where we could have been had we left. Another day in this island group didn't hurt and while Sid played volley ball, Gaby and I went hunting for some more of those juicy clams. While digging in the sand all of a sudden there was this blood curdling scream and all I saw was frothy water and on top of the froth I saw Gaby's spinning legs as she was running backwards on top of the water. A crab had gotten hold of her finger, pinched it and drew blood. That was definitely the end of clamming and we ended this episode with a pipa (coconut water in the nut with a splash of rum and gin). Ahhh life is good!

On the 6th a hefty water shower greeted the day and made sure all was soaking wet. After all had dried a little we pulled anchor and motored the 10 mile distant to Holandes Cays or also known as The Swimming Pool. The sea was flat calm but half way a huge thundercloud tried to threaten us, never made it but it did bring us heavy wind. Approaching the Swimming Pool a squall line from the opposite direction was now threatening us while the thunderstorm from shore still was sending heavy wind, we just knew that Sid would be on the bow again anchoring in a heavy downpour. Luckily the cloud decided to leave us alone and here we are anchored in 8 feet of crystal clear water and Gaby already saw her first nurse shark swimming underneath the boat. I think it will take a lot of convincing to get her into the water here LOL.

Paradise in Paradise Eastern Lemmon Cays

The mola ladies did stay away but an ulu filled with crab and lobster came buy. Although we just had some lobster we could not say no. I bought 3 big crabs (they are a type like a spider crab, body is the same size but the legs are only half the length that of a spider crab but still very meaty) for 2 bucks each and 4 little lobster for a buck. After 4 miles underway to the Swimming Pool we came buy some small islands part of the Eastern Lemmons which looked really inviting and so we went and checked it out. It looked like Paradise and Paradise dropped anchor at Banadup and settled right in. We are in 20 feet of water not the 40 plus we had been in the last two islands and we are surrounded by small coconut palm overgrown islands and a huge reef protecting us. No bugs either and each island here has a family living on it. The island right next to us Nuinudup, two young kids, about 4 and 7, paddled in their oversized ulu out to us to ask for candy. We don't have any candy on board but they sure loved the Swiss chocolate. They were too cute. Every time we took a photo of them they posed with a big toothy smile and thumbs up. After they had left the other half of the family showed up in their ulu and wanted to sell molas but since we bought plenty already Gaby settled with another Kuna bracelet.
The weather is pretty unsettled or probably it's the way it is at this time of the year; thunderstorms come at any time. Each day we do the rain shuffle and are getting better and better at it. The unfortunate thing is there are two directions NE and S where they can bring lots of winds just like that catching our sunshade and blowing us sideways. So now when we see one approach from these directions we try to roll up the shade as fast as we can.
After another squall drill Gaby and I hopped into the dinghy and ventured towards the reef and pulled onto an island with nobody living on it, walked around the islands and collected some beautiful shells.
Not long after we returned to the boat another one of those heavy wind squall came buy, of course exactly at the time again I was standing in the galley cooking, steaming with no windows open. Dinner was wonderful, sautéed lobster oven baked with a Béchamel sauce and topped with Parmesan cheese and 2 giant crab cakes each. There was not much talking at this table and when Gaby had her dessert (guava pie) in front of her she said she was never ever going to leave.

Lemmon Cays

Early in the morning already more ulus stopped with Kunas eager to sell molas and of course we got suckered into buying a few more. They truly are beautiful pieces of art.
What is a mola? It's a beautiful appliqué shirt all woman wear and is made by sewing and cutting different layers of colorful cloth, all are hand stitched. Every mola is different but each one tells a Kuna story and shows birds, fish, crab, lobster, turtles, medicinal plants, villages, mountains any thing that is important in their lives. Not all ulus (dug out canoe) stop to sell Molas, some sell fish or lobster. I could not pass on the two nice slipper lobster and a good size crab, what a treat! There is a cute little island next to our anchor spot with three palm trees on it. Gaby fell in love with it so we ventured ashore with a Swiss and a Norwegian flag and claimed the island for her and toasted the event with a bottle of champagne.

Chichime is a protected anchorage and surrounded by several coconut palm overgrown islands with sandy beaches. Cruise ships used to come here but now they go to Carti which makes it again more cruiser friendly for us.
Just a little over two miles south are the delightful islands of the Lemmon Cays and also well protected from weather from any direction. The entrance was a bit scary to navigate as it gets very shallow. We managed get the boat in reverse before getting stuck in the shallow. Two empty oil cans one red and yellow show the narrow and only 8 foot deep channel into the anchorage and there it is anywhere from 60 to 40 feet deep and hard to hook up. Finally on our third try the anchor set.
The names of the island are kind of funny: Ogopsibadup, Mandarraya, Kagandup, Tiadup, Koledup, Kuasidup, Miria, Nugaruachirdup, Tiadup, Kiledup and Kuasidup. The snorkeling here is incredible, Gaby and I were barely in the water when a friendly spotted eagle ray started to swim towards us then at close distance he started gliding around us curiously looking at us as curious a we looked at him. What a beautiful animal. There is an abundance of coral heads and each one is the home of colorful fish. After the fun snorkel we went ashore on one of the islands and found some interesting seeds and many dried out sea bisquets and no-see-ums biting my ankles while mosquitoes sucked on my arm. We were out of there! This was the first day we did not receive any rain, the sky was hazy and we had a brisk wind out of the west. Great we can keep the hatches open over night. At 4am I heard the slamming noise of the hatches; Sid was busy doing the rain shuffle again. A couple of hours later a huge system hit us with gusts over 36 knots and lots of lightning.
So far no mola ladies showed up; maybe we will have some money left over when we return to Portobello.

Chichime, San Blas

Riding the bus into town is really a hoot. It is an old school bus painted with fun graffiti, the inside is also all decked out. Above the front window is always a mirror the width of the bus, for him to see how many seats are still open, is surrounded with colored feathers. Pink feathers seem to be their favorite. Of course the busses are very, very old and not sure how well they are maintained. When they step on the brakes they have to pump them while they squeal like crazy, worse than running your fingernail on a chalk board.
When all the seats are taken they stuff everybody into the bus like in a sardine can and who does not fit hangs outside by the door. The bus was so full before I knew it I had a baby on my lap and a broom in my hand.

Ever since we arrived in Portobelo it's been nothing but rain, rain, rain and rain again with occasional thunder and lightning. Our neighbor got hit and was pretty lucky he only lost his VHF radio and GPS. Later when we finally left Portobello we noticed that our radar was not working proper anymore possibly due to the lightning strike to our neighbor. By the way I have to add that the 10 boats we know having been hit by lightning all except one had a brush (static disapator) on top of the mast, our neighbor did too. I guess from now on we will have to check our neighbors first if hey have a brush on the mast and if so anchor way away from them.

Gaby is having a wonderful time and Sid and I decided that we will keep her on the boat, she did a wonderful job cleaning the water line and I don't have to do any dishes anymore. After she had settled in and was used a little more of the motion of the boat we pulled anchor and left for the San Blas. The sea was calm there was not a breath of air so we knew we had to motor. As soon as we headed out of the bay and turned right the sea state changed. Huge (6 to 7)rollers fortunately far apart and a backwash from the shore turned it a bit too rough for poor Gaby. We assured her that green looked really good on her. We never had enough wind to sail but it was enough to motor sail until halfway when the engine over heated (hose clamp came off and ½ the antifreeze spewed out). As luck would have it, at the same time the wind started to pick up, we pulled all the sails out and in no time we were sailing 5 to 5.5 knots. It took our mechanic Sid about 15 minutes to fix the problem then we waited a little over an hour for the engine to cool as the wind died down again and we started the motor for the last 18 miles to Chichime in the San Blas. We watched as several clouds ashore started to rain and one started to follow us just about when we started up the engine again and we out ran it. But arriving in Chichime a huge system hung over there and poor Sid had to drop the anchor in heavy rain. We were not anchored 5 minutes when the first ulu (Kuna dug out) stopped to sell us molas. I told them to come back the next day. Early enough they knocked on the boat and we all had fun haggling with them for a few molas, a stuffed parrot and we even traded for reading glasses and big jars of glass beads.

Portobelo, Panama

Chris was right on with his weather again, we had a great sail for about 4 hours then the wind shut down and the iron jib had to be turned on. We had a quiet and calm night and both of us had restful sleep. After the sun came up she immediately was blocked out by dark clouds which grew darker and darker and the one behind us following us started to throw darts out of the sky into the water, one after another. We checked on the radar if there was a way to outrun it but it was heading our direction slowly. Luckily it changed course a bit and the lightning part missed us, we did get some hefty rain that seemed to last 2 hours. We had another two squalls approaching but all missed and were treated with a fun pod of dolphins playing in the bow wake while at the same time a Bird of Paradise flew over us in calm seas. We arrived in Portobelo early enough to relax for a while before enjoying the sunset. Checking in is a breeze here but I was told I had to go into Colon to get a cruising permit, which now costs 180 dollars and is good for one year. The following day I took or was going to take the local bus into Colon but the friendly lady that was waiting for the bus with me gave me a ride with her friend that drove buy and offered us both a ride. While at the office to get our permit papers I was told that I needed two copies of all our paperwork which I didn’t have, oh well. I immediately hopped into a bus to Panama City to get my passports renewed. It’s a hour and a half ride in very well air-conditioned bus, the AC has two settings: OFF and FREEZING. While freezing your butt off you watch a movie, it’s actually a pretty cool ride for $2.75. Back in Colon I took the local chicken bus for 1.75 and it took almost 2 hours to get back to Portobello. This bus stops at every corner and fills the bus up to the brim so that people hang outside the door. It’s fun though to travel as the locals do. While I was in town Portobelo had such a downpour of rain that the 70 foot boat in front of us created such an eddy to suck Paradise right into it. Luckily Sid saw what was going on, turned the engine on and drove out of the eddy.

Our third day in Portobelo we met with our friends Cindy and Reed who used to sail Sea Fever. We had met them first in Colon at the Panama Yacht Club then in Cartagena and now here, wonderful people. Both picked us up and we had a fun day catching up and we had the most wonderful Osso bucco at the Panamarina  Yacht Club. 

Cindy knew I was going to pick up my cousin Gaby at the airport and offered to take me into town to show me the ropes again where all the good stores were. We had a blast and it was Merry Christmas all over again in every store we went. They had goodies in there I haven’t seen in years. She dropped me off close to the airport at a fun mall. I tell you Panama is the place it to buy clothing, I found beautiful tops from 2.99 to 14.99, I don’t think any cloths cost more than that.

Finally went to the airport to pick up Gaby and meet her after 35 years, that was exciting. She likes roughing it so I took her back on the chicken bus and man did they pack it full again, but she survived and loved it.

In the mean time Gaby and I are having a wonderful time catching up and especially talking about our childhood, so many things we forgot have come in to our minds again. It’s really good to have her here. 

Fun Chicken Bus

Beautiful but always rainy Portobelo

Gaby and Sid

Gaby

Famous Fort in Portobelo

Paradise in background

Oh, did I mention that it rained here every single day ever since we arrived, except for today. I guess Gaby was right when she said she will keep the bad weather away from us!

Tropical Fruits

View from Crows Nest with Cartagena in background

Time is coming to an end here in Cholon. It has been a very fast couple of months with all kind of exitment some more fun than others. For instant a couple of weeks ago the owner of the island next to where we are anchored drove by on his power boat and invited to join them for a sunset cruise and after the sun had set they invited us onto the island for a cocktail. They had many questions about cruising, where we check in and some about our friends in Crows Nest. Five days after that the Armada (Navy) arrived and boarded all our boats without permission. There were three officers, one from the Navy, the others I am not quite sure which department they were from just that the Navy guy was in charge and he was harassing us. He wanted to see our paper work which are all in order except our cruising permits were still in Bogota but a phone call to our agent proofed that we were all legal. The Lieutenant found another reason he insisted we needed a Zarpe for the park which we know doesn't exist, we cleared that up then another and another, he tried really hard to nail us for something. We realized that this was clearly harassment especially when he threatened to tow us to the Naval Station in Cartagena all 5 boats. He did tell us at the begin that he was told that there were 5 American boats here! It was a 5 hour ordeal including searching all 5 boats, with no permission and when they finally left they ordered us to be at the Port Captain's office at 8 sharp following morning. Non of us did as we know he only deals with our agents. It was clearly harasment and we figured out that it was the friendly neighbor who had us on his island a few days back,what a nice guy! He's tried to get all the cruising boats out of this bay a year ago. We all went into Cartagena and had a meeting with our agents and learned that the boarding was totally illegal and that they had no right to threaten us as they did. We learned that when at anchor nobody can board you without a warrant, you may let them on board but you can decline. If you are afraid if you say no that they would take over your boat that would fall into piracy and they know they can't do that without getting in trouble. Our agents advised us to go to the National Park Authorities and file paperwork. As we entered the office and were introduced to the Boss of the Park he looked at Roberto and said I always wanted to meet you, you are famous in Cholon. He then showed him a page with many photos and asked if that was his boat. It sure was but the other photos were of garbage tossed in the mangroves and whoever sent the photo to the park authority claimed it was from Robert's boat Manatee. We all assured him that it was not Roberto's nor our trash as he weekly collects our trash and he takes it to Baru to the garbage dump. After filing paperwork we were told that we all were welcome to stay in the park as long as we wanted (one year then paper work has to be renewed) and pay 3 dollars per person per day which is used for the park upkeep.

Life was good again and we returned back to Cholon. Sid was still helping Roberto on Manatee and last week I was involved in some sewing project. I also had to see a dermatologist for a sore I had on my lips and she ended up whacking a piece away, ouch.

Weather has been changing and we have our first tropical Low's, hurricane season has arrived. We have a very good weather window for the next few days before westerlies are starting to blow which means we would sail into the weather so we are leaving here today.

We love Colombia and will return soon for some more of all the good things here, tranquil anchorage, historical city, friendly people and wonderful food. I am still amazed how many tropical fruits we are able to enjoy, most of them I don't even know the name of but they all are just yummy tasting.

Carmelita spoils us daily with papaya's from her garden and believe me they are the sweetest we've ever had. Here are a few fruits we enjoy:

Guava Apple

Algaroba (tates just like honey)

Guama (cotton candy flavor)

Mamom (tart and sour with same texture as Guama)

Tomate de Arbol (Tree Tomatoes taste best in juices)

Caimito
 

 

Lunch

Cholon, a hideaway in Colombia

Sorry for not having updated our Blog in a while, we’ve been caught in a bit of a mess dealing with our buddy boat and are still in the midst of it so when this is all over with I will get you up on speed

Here is just a brief update:

Cartagena is so dusty, the boat sooooooooo filthy and forget about wishing or hoping for some rain, the rainy season is not due until at least June/July. How do you clean the boat in this situation? Well here is how it’s done:

Sid the genius did it again!

We decided to go back to beautiful Cholon it is so much calmer and cleaner there besides we wanted to catch up some more with Carmen and Roberto.  Sid is helping Roberto and Ken to fix up Manatee a 68 foot Shrimping Boat to get shipshape. They are working on it 12/7 and are having a wonderful time and at the end of the day they look like they worked a coalmine and smell like they sprayed themselves with Eau de Engine Oil.

This place is a true Paradise, the sunrises magical the days quiet, beautiful sunsets and cool nights with magnificent view of the stars.

The vulgar birds are still keeping us in stitches and I just noticed that the video did not completely upload so here it is again:

Sorry if this is a short and not very exciting note I promise the next report will be back to our normal life.

Hugs and kisses everybody

The Boatbumms still in and on Paradise

Cholon and friends visiting

After a couple of weeks of socializing, shopping, some boat chores, annoying sulfur and smoke smells in the early mornings causing sinus problems, being waked by what seemed hundreds of boats all day long, a lot of barnacles growing very fast on the bottom of the boat, we decided it was time to head into a cleaner and more quite environment. Sid was shocked to see that the boat from the waterline all the way to the bottom of the keel was 99% covered with barnacles when he cleaned the propeller. That kept us busy for a couple of hours in the clean anchorage of Cholon. (Don’t get me wrong as bad as the anchorage in Cartagena sounds, it has a breath taking view and it is worth stopping here to see charming Cartagena Vieja).

The night before we left we had Keith and Rob over for dinner. Couldn’t have been a better evening to invite Keith as during dinner he told us know that this was his Birthday. It sure made Keith’s day not having to celebrate it alone and ours that we had chosen the perfect day. Happy Birthday Keith! 

Amazing the wind had been blowing out of the NE ever since we arrived in Colombia but of course the day we’re trying to sail west the wind came out of there. We motored though the channel of Boca Chica which reminded us of the ICW except for all the tourist boats speeding on either side leaving huge wakes behind. The entrance to Boca Chica is very beautiful as there is a well preserved fort on either side. 

Heading out the Boca the water was calm with only a one foot long swell out of the North. We pulled the sails out and since the wind was right on the nose we had to sail 90 degrees off our course. For about 15 minutes we sailed at 3 knots then we gradually slowed down as the wind got lighter. When the knot meter read 1.8 knots we had enough and pulled the jib in and motor sailed the 9 miles to the first way point. After that we had four more to follow for which the last one was very confusing as it was behind the island and we do not sail well across land. Some adrenaline was flowing while trying to figure out where to next. There seemed to be a little channel between the two islands, one had a long reef extending the other a shallow beach. As we watched a pleasure boat motoring through the cut we followed him very, very slowly with Sid on the bow and Manuela steering with a sharp eye on the depth sounder. Can you imagine driving your 6 foot draft boat through a narrow channel  and only 10 feet next to you are people standing in waste deep water waving to you, yikes. 

We managed to get into the Bay of Cholon with no problem, lots of friendly waves from swimmers and never saw less than 10 feet of water. The bay is huge and, very protected weather wise but unfortunately not from scum bags. The night before we arrived two dinghy engines where stolen off two cruising boats. Even though both dinghies were pulled out of the water during the night the thieves managed to steel the motors as they were not locked to the dinghy.  Lock it or loose it!

          The bay is beautiful with several little islands just big enough for some big shot to build a weekend retreat on it. The anchorage has good holding and the water is a lot cleaner than in Cartagena although not clear either. First thing we did was clean the bottom of the boat, yikes that was some work, we were sore for a couple of days from the underwater acrobatics.

We had the best reunion with Carmen and Roberto, formerly “Fresh  Air”, last time we saw them was 10 years ago in Cartagena. They live up on top of the hill in a huge house, had a bit of  confusion when they built it, between feet and meters so they ended up with a house triple the size than planned. The house “Crows Nest” is nestled on top of the hill surrounded by lush vegetation with a breathtaking 320 degree ocean view, wow. In the bay sits an old big shrimping boat “Manatee” owned by Roberto and Carmen and every Wednesday and Saturday they have a Happy Hour on board. Some times it’s a potluck and some times Carmen cooks up Hot Dogs. When we participated we had a scrumptious potluck and everybody that played an instrument brought it along. We had one guitar and 3 harmonica players and we played way into the night.

Daily Crows Nest and Paradise went for an early morning walk along the bay, Paradise ending up with blisters on their feet, had fresh brewed coffee afterwards overlooking this beautiful bay.

Roberto and Carmen

Manatee

The nights were so quite you could hear a mouse fart, but just before the sun puts her blinking eye over the horizon peacocks started screaming in unison, being followed by another species of bird which we have not found out yet what it is. This bird call is so pretty it sounds like a flute. Then there is the Guacharaca a bird about 53 - 58 cm, dark brown above and pale below dull plumage and similar in appearance to a turkey with smaller head, long strong legs and a long broad tail. This bird makes the loudest noise of all the birds and like the wave at a foot ball game from one side of the bay to the other. We asked for the English name of the bird, nobody seemed to know and it didn’t Sid take long to figure out the name himself as all you hear when they squawk is: “whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck”.  I read up on it, it’s a Rufous- vented Chacalaca, Ortalis rificauda a member of an ancient group of birds of the Cracidae family. It inhabits northeast Colombia and Venezuela. It is also known as Cocrico and can also be found in the Grenadines, Bequia and Union Island. The male’s call is a loud and low ka-ka-rooki-rooki-ka answered by the female’s high-pitched watch-a-lak. I don’t’ blame them for yelling back what we think is what-the-f….

I tried to capture the sound on a video but only managed to get the peacock and the flute bird but if you listen very carefully you will hear them. 

We had a wonderful time but also some problems with the alternator, it did not charge our batteries which is a mayor problem. Also the solar panel regulator quit working so did the wash down pump so back to town. Besides we were expecting visitors and didn’t want to chance getting stuck in Cholon. The weather was another worry as it had been howling 25 knots for a solid 3 days, we had a break in the weather and we took it with a gentle 10 knots on the nose.

          We were all excited to have guests and what a perfect timing, we just got out of the Taxi in front of the Charleston Hotel in Old Town Cartagena when Dave Baker our friend got out of the Taxi right behind us. His friend jerry Maize joined him and we had nothing but a good time. Don’t know who wore whom out, I’ll just let the photos talk:

We explored the Cartagena Vieja (Old Town):

Walked the famous old wall “Murales” around the city

Climbed the San Felipe Fort with Gustavo our tour guide:

Meet Gustavo (click on arrow to watch):

Talked to Mom (ask Dave who’s Mom):

Ate at the best restaurants in town:

Roof Restaurant at Charleston Hotel

Wonderful Lunch at Club de Pesca

Assorted tropical fruits on Paradise

Got hooked on Mojitos and Zacapa Rum:

Toured the Bay in a speed boat and explored the Boca Chica Fort”

Where Romancing the Stone with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas was filmed:

Of course we also rested in the cockpit of Paradise catching up on good old times and savoring the moment our friends were with us. Dave found a few things he thinks we should change on the boat like this:

From:

To:

So here is a big cheers from all of us!

Dave is a member of our PMYC Yacht Club