Cartagena, Colombia (14 Dec 2014 – 6 Feb 2015)

Filter overboard! Filter overboard! During our seven day passage from St. Martin to Colombia tragedy struck. It was a windless evening just before sunset, the surface of the water looked like oil and the stage was set for disaster to strike. I took my camera out to capture the serenity...    We were motoring at a speed of four knots while I was adjusting my polarizing filter and I leaned ever so slightly over the side of the boat. After two shots I was satisfied and withdrew the camera from the front of my face and lowered it to my side, BUT before it was at my side I heard a “plunk” and then a “splash”. I thought I lost my lens hood, but it wasn't that. What the heck fell into the water? I was on the verge of panic...then I realized it was my filter.     When I was turning the filter at the end of the lens I inadvertently twisted it to the end of the lens threading, almost twisting it off. It was hanging on by a thread when I took my pictures and when I brought the camera down to my side it hit the life line and dropped into the sea.    I thought for a split second to kick the engine in neutral while I dove for my filter. The conditions were so calm...there was a small chance that I could save it. Then I realized there was 4500 meters beneath the hull. The polarizing filter eliminates reflections on the water's surface. We live on a boat... It comes in useful at times.     Ah well just another item that decided to abandon ship...it has crossed my mind a few times to jump overtime too. Hahaha kidding...kinda.  

  It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a..it's a...PLANE!!! and it's coming directly at us. We were in the middle of no where. Where did it come from? Why does it look like it's going to LAND on our deck?!? We don't have the clearance to accommodate such a large torpedo like object falling from the sky.     It was the Venezuelan Coast Guard. They got so close we could read the logo and text on the side of the plane. We think it swooped down so low to take a picture of Arbutus and determine if we were a drug smuggling vessel. The experience was cooler than seeing dolphins.     More excitement was had as we got closer to Santa Marta, Colombia. The winds were howling at 40 knots and the seas were building. The wind vane was struggling to keep us on course so we had to hand steer at times.     We didn't stop at Santa Marta and we were surfing towards Cartagena. We passed in front of the mouth of the Rio Magdalena and the sea water turned into soup, brown and opaque. The waves were pushing us so forcefully that the bow was plunging into the sea and the sea water almost washed onto the deck.  

  We didn't have our timing right to arrive in Cartagena during daylight so our first anchorage in Colombia was Puerto Velero. Paul wanted to anchor east of Santa Marta in Tayrona National Park, but I deterred him after reading all of the clearance/customs/check-in procedures I copied from noonsite. In short it said we must check-in at Santa Marta before anchoring in Tayrona National Park.    We regret not making land fall at the park after meeting other cruisers who went there before checking in and having no problem.     The Guardia Civil, two very young men, greeted and boarded Arbutus at the Puerto Velero anchorage. They were both very friendly and we were able to carry a nice conversation with our limited Spanish. They filled out a report that we entered Colombian waters in the Barranquilla region.     The next morning  we set off to Cartagena. I had no expectations for this city...because I knew nothing about it, maybe that's why it charmed the socks off of me.  

  I was sad I wouldn't be going home for Christmas this year but was thrilled to see the city dressed up for the holidays.     The old town was alive with energy at night. There were street food vendors, tourists on horse drawn carriages, children playing in the streets, artists selling their work, outdoor restaurants in historical quarters, dancers, music and all this on a magnificent backdrop of the city.     I remember feeling excited to be in downtown Cartagena with Paul our first night there. Maybe it was the beer but I think it was the atmosphere. The excitement faded away only slightly when we attacked all of the work needed to be done on the boat. We carried out almost all of the work while we were anchored...in the heat!!! 

  The checking-in procedure was a downer. Colombia requires cruisers to hire an agent to do all the paperwork for you. We had to pay for a temporary importation of the boat, entry and exit clearance, cruising permit, agent fees and as of Dec 1, 2014 Canadians have to pay 160,000 p (60 euros) for a tourist visa. David, or agent told us everything would cost us $350 USD (not including my visa fee)...this was three times the price we were expecting to pay. But everything is negotiable so I used my charm to get a better price. It's unfortunate though that the cost to sail in Colombia is always increasing.     We met a lot of great friends at the anchorage at Club Nautico. Some friends we still keep in touch with today. Lycka Caribe, Miss Molly, Bendecida, Kuhela, Flying Cloud, and Changing Tides.  

  I met Charlie on Changing Tides Christmas morning :). I saw him in the morning while sitting out in the cockpit. He was in his dinghy towing what looked like our dinghy...I call him our Christmas angel. Club Nautico was nice enough to invite everyone in the anchorage to their Christmas potluck party on Christmas eve. It was a great evening complete with a secret Santa present exchange. After the dinner we went to a party in town to continue the good times. The mood was merry and Paul had too much to drink. It was almost impossible to get him to follow me back to the boat. He had distractions like walls to climb at 3am in the morning in the streets of Cartagena!!! I was super annoyed, livid maybe and just wanted to go to bed. We made it back to the boat in one piece.     Christmas morning I was reading in the cockpit and Paul was dead to the world sleeping in our cabin. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a guy towing a dinghy...interesting...the dinghy looks awfully familiar. I look behind our boat to where our dinghy should be tied up and it's not there. I wave and scream at the guy to get his attention and he tows our dinghy back to Arbutus.     That morning Charlie saw something drifting away from the anchorage, he had to use his binoculars to identify that it was a dinghy! It was that far away. Our Christmas angel was nice enough to bring it back to us. The outboard engine was attached. We could have lost our transportation to land if it weren't for Charlie. Apparently someone was so intoxicated that he didn't tie the dinghy's rope securely to the cleat OR just completely forgot that you need to tie your dinghy to your boat so it doesn't float away.  

  I thought the food in Cartagena was delicious. We mostly at out at local restaurants and ate street food. It was so cheap. Everything was so cheap, taxis, motorbike taxis, labor, materials, havaianas sandals and even the Manzanillo boat yard was reasonable.     It was difficult to secure a date to haul out the boat because space was so limited. So we just waited for the next available date. We were efficient at the boatyard and only spent four days to complete our work. We put a new anti-fouling coat on the hull, installed the new echo sounder, and sent the chain and anchor away to be galvanised.  

  We have a lot of great memories from our time in Cartagena...our only regret...not leaving Cartagena and exploring more of the country. Next time.