Cruisng the Colombian Coast

January 1, 2012 a new year, hopefully the last was a good one for all and whatever lies ahead of us is worth the trip. As for Boto, we're currently sitting in the West Lemon Cays of the San Blas Islands of Panama (remember this, we'll be getting back to it shortly), however our blog updates are still two months behind, so without delay let us return to November, 2011 and Colombia.

When last you heard from us we had arrived in Santa Marta, Colombia. If you are heading to Colombia via boat, or any other means for that matter put Santa Marta on your itinerary. If by vessel you'll need a few facts to help make your entry into the country easier. First, all vessels, no exceptions require a local agent to process Customs and Immigration forms for you. There are many agents available; however we went with Dino Alfonso Melo Campo of the Caribbean Sea of Colombia Maritime Agency. You can simply call for Dino, he was great. We contacted him before our arrival and supplied him with the necessary information for clearing so that upon our arrival we simply handed over our passports (Ahhhhh!) and away he went, returning that evening with our passports, complete with immigration stamp as well as our customs clearance paperwork for the boat and later our importation paperwork (well, Vicky had to take a trip to the Port Captain with Dino for that). The cost in November, 2011 for clearing in at Santa Marta was US$50 for Customs and Immigration and US$5 for the Vessel Importation paperwork.

Here is the contact information for the Caribbean Sea of Colombia Maritime Agency:

dinomeloc62@hotmail.com
Cell: 57-300-716-4689

Further, we decided to spend our time in Santa Marta at the Marina Santa Marta, an IGY "destination". The marina is not yet completed, however the facilities are still top notch, when completed it should be first rate. Unfortunately, Francia Olmos, the General Manager, has since moved on to Cabo, Mexico to take over another facility. We're certain that whoever her replacement is will do a fine job as well. The contact information for the marina is below, do yourself a favor, take a little vacation from anchoring and spend a few weeks or a month at the marina to enjoy the area.

Marina Santa Marta


http://www.marinasantamarta.com.co/

Well, enough gratuitous endorsements, especially given that we are not being compensated, really all of the above are first rate. You may recall from our last posting, AIR CONDITIONING. It isn't really hot in Colombia during November, just kinda muggy and rainy. So, as per our promise to Chula, we plugged into the shore power and turned on the A/C. Chula promptly positioned herself in front of the vent in our bedroom (V-berth for the nautical types) and spent a few hours lounging with her tongue hanging out. We think she really enjoyed it. Of course, the humans did as well. Oh yeah, the showers on shore are great too. Nothing like standing under a hot water rainfall shower for an hour after several months of salt water baths and cold, sweet water rinses (ok, we didn't suffer too much while out and about, but a free flowing supply of hot water is wonderful).





Negotiating lunch in Tagonga

 


Fishing boat in Tagonga



 Off we go exploring with the crews of La Luna and Celtic Dream. First stop the village of Taganga, where all the old hippies congregate. We advise going with a group and during the day light hours, we believe weird things transpire there after nightfall. The bus ride itself was great, public transportation in general is great. Once we worked out the appropriate bus routes no biggie. Flag down the bus, hand over COP$1500 per person and away you go in a supersized minivan (FYI, US$1 = COP$1900).



Rubble Trouble!

 There had been a lot of rain in this area for the last week.  All along the west coast roads were washed out and cars...plus other miscellaneous items had floated downstream to the Caribbean Sea.  This road gives you an idea of the clean up ahead of the Colombians.

One of the reasons for visiting a marina, every so often, is to give the boat and the crew (HOT SHOWERS) a thorough cleaning. So, after our day trip into the countryside we set to it. Topsides, deck, cockpit (damn the water bill, US$0.15/gal) and below decks where the battle with mildew is as complicated as that with Communism from another era. We scrubbed for two days, but things sure did shine.



No...Ed is NOT being arrested!

 During this period we, along with "La Luna", "Celtic Dream" and "Happy Bird" were paid a visit by the Policia de Nacional. More precisely a group of eight to ten police officers (Military) who were finishing up their two month tour of duty in the Magdalena Providencia and taking an afternoon (in uniform, complete with side arms) to do touristy things like take pictures of the boats and boaters. We learned that these officers were from Bogotá and that they spend two months stationed in each of the providences of Colombia. Anyway, they were departing in two days and were taking in the sights. They had never been on a sailboat before and were very much taken with the boats as well as with the fact that we had all decided to cross oceans to visit their country. Suffice it to say that I believe the soldiers were more taken with the ladies in their bikinis than with the sailboats. Well, at least slightly more. We had a good few hours talking with them, then they were gone, but we now had friends in the right places.



Cruiser's Potluck and Soccer on TV

 As we mentioned earlier Francia, the GM of the marina, was great and not just because she put on a Friday Pot-Luck dinner with the marina supplying the beer, gratis. We arrived on a Monday and that Friday we joined a few dozen others under the awning of the marina bar to watch Colombia vs. Venezuela in World Cup Competition and to share some food, drink and conversation. What a wonderful introduction to the hospitality of Colombia.

The air conditioning for Chula was a key aspect of our plan to tour the interior of Colombia and it was our good fortune to have Roderick and Yvonne of "Happy Bird" at the marina next to us. We took off with "Celtic Dream" and "La Luna" for an overnight camping trip to the Tayrona National Park leaving Chula behind in the care of "Happy Bird". At this time it is necessary to mention, if we have failed to do so previously that "Happy Bird" is a Dutch vessel. Within 24 hours time Chula spoke Dutch putting our bi-lingual skills to shame; back to the park.

There is a bus terminal, of sorts, in downtown Santa Marta. It is somewhere near the open air market (great fruits and veggies) and apparently it moves around a bit. We boarded a larger bus this time (think school bus) for our hour long drive to the park entrance.  There was a gentleman sitting behind us with a rooster in his lap and two more in a burlap sack (never thought I would write "burlap sack"). Upon inquiry he confirmed that the birds were in fact combatants and he was off to the fights. Other than feathers on the wings and around the head and throat the birds were plucked clean. We took a bye on the cock fight.

Hiking in the national park

COP$5,000 per person takes us to the park entrance and a great lunch at a roadside eatery (COP$500 to use the facilities). Another short bus ride, followed by an hour long walk through the mud, swamp and horse pooh and we arrive at the camp site.



Rental Tents



We rent a tent for the night which also apparently comes with a hammock complete with bug netting, hmmmm, we had air conditioning at the boat, wonder what Chula is doing.



Ed 'testing' the hammocks



Ah...refreshing water and cervezas!



Things turned out very well. We were able to hike along the coast, take a swim and have a few good meals; all the while enjoying the park with what seemed like a few thousand Colombians, definitely worth the trip.



Northwest coastline...beautiful!



Cathedral in Santa Marta

Soup vendor

One of the attractions of Santa Marta is the promenade along the beach. Take a walk at sunset and listen to the music, watch the people on the beach, grab a bite to eat from the carts along the way and as this is the Christmas season take in all of the decorations. One of our new favorite meals from the street vendors is Arepes, specifically with caso and chicken. This is corn meal bread stuffed with cheese and curried chicken, Wow. Arepes come in many varieties from plain to fancy, we like the caso and chicken.



Waking up to decorations from La Luna and Happy Bird!



November was/is a month of milestones for Boto. We made it to Colombia, who would have thought. Colombia represents a turning point for us, we will no longer be heading south, we will now turn west and then north working our way back to the US.



Vicky "meeting Sarah"





Birthday Breakfast

 Then, of course, there is/was Vicky's 50th birthday. With the welcomed assistance of La Luna and Happy Bird, Boto was transformed into a birthday celebration with flags, balloons and of course Sarah. There is a tradition in Holland, when a man turns 50 he is said to be visited by Abraham, when a woman turns fifty she is visited by Sarah. In this case Sarah took the form of Vicky's stuffed wet suit with a balloon head and a cut out of a very handsome old lady sitting in a chair on the dock in front of Boto.

Ah...posters all over the marina!

We also learned that the fiftieth birthday is a big deal in Colombia (of course, it could have been the promise of another party for the dock hands). 

Time to make the dough





The birthday dinner was pizza. Yes, pizza is a worldwide dish. In this case we were able to spend the afternoon watching the dough be prepared. There is a 6x4 foot stainless steel table, behind which stands a middle aged man with forearms that would shame Popeye. He is rolling out dough, the full length and breadth of the table then he folds in over and over and over before proceeding to roll it out again. At some precise point, that only he is aware of, stops folding the dough, instead he reaches into a freezer and pulls out what we come to realize is a block of butter. This is no run of the mill block of butter, it is a good 36"x6"x6" block of butter. He proceeds to take handfuls off the block and spread them on the dough, when finished with the entire block of butter he returns to folding and rolling.



A splendid birthday dinner with friends



It is as we watched this preparation of the pizza dough that we decided on dinner for the evening. Of course the pizza dough was wonderful; the folks at the restaurant great.



Simon Bolivar



Ten days in Santa Marta and counting what to do next. With the big 50 behind her Vicky is ready for some site seeing.



Walking the gardens

It is worth the trip to Quinta de San Pedro Alejandrino Avenida del Libertador a National Monument since 1891. This farm/ranch is now a museum where one can see life as it took place over two hundred years ago, it is also where Simon Bolivar spent his final days.

Iguana in the gardens...huge!

By November 22 we had spent two full weeks in Santa Marta enjoying ourselves and even though it means leaving the air conditioning behind us....even Chula is ready to move again. Santa Marta is a beautiful city, it is actually the oldest in Colombia, and reputed to be the oldest in all of South America. Founded in 1525 by the Spanish it is quite possible that we visited some of the original buildings while there. If the opportunity presents itself pay the city a visit. Wander the narrow streets, sit in the many plazas throughout the city watch life go by, oh and have some ice cream. There is much history here and we barely scratched the surface from the ancient Tayrona culture to the Spanish conquerors the old city is very much alive and well. All of this with the gorgeous Sierra Nevada mountains in the background…stunning!

Next stop, the historical city of Cartagena but first a brief sailing stop along the way. Since Cartagena is some 110nm from Santa Marta we decide to break the trip into two legs. Departing Santa Marta at the unholy hour of 0430 on November 22 we set a course for Punta Morro Hermoso a 60nm trip. Somewhere ahead of us are the crew of "La Luna" who departed the night before, remember them as they will be mentioned again and again and …..

The brown water of the Magdalena River

Off we go into the wild blue, you get the idea. Once again we are motor sailing this time along the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Between Santa Marta and our stopover of Punta Hermoso is the Rio Magdalena that runs through the port town of Baranquilla. The river can be a tough stretch, especially as it has been raining heavily in the interior for the last two weeks. The river drains the water along with trees and small villages from the mountains to the ocean. We have something to look forward to. Another consideration for us is the description of the port town of Baranquilla, and we quote from a published source; "NEVER, NEVER go into the entrance of the Rio Magdalena to the port of Baranguilla. People get robbed, shot at, etc. DO NOT go there!!" Yes, we're feeling all warm and fuzzy about this leg of the trip, what with the rumors of entire villages being washed away by the Rio Magdalena and being sent swiftly 5 or 10 miles off the coast creating literal log jams for vessels and of course the previous warning we're looking forward to the trip. Obviously it was a non event as we are now sitting in Panama in the New Year writing about this, or are we?

Just kidding. If transiting this stretch of the Colombian coast via water, the Rio Magdalena is a real concern so pay attention, however do not pay attention to the rumors. We passed through without issue, except for when the depth sounder went from 1,000 feet to 25 feet in less than the blink of an eye, talk about sphincter clench. We later learned that this was due to the mixing and mingling of the fresh water from the river with the salt water of the Sea combined with the temperature changes of both. Wow, physics, who knew. Well, other than the odd tree trunk or two we made our way past the river without incident staying five miles off the coast. Others have passed safely closer in, while others have favored a wider path, your choice. We went through in day light and the water changed from Caribbean blue to Willy Wonka Chocolate in less than a heartbeat. Others have gone through in darkness and barely noted the current change. Good luck.



Punta Hermoso

 If you decide to stop over in Punta Hermoso take note that the charts; local, electronic, sketches, etc… do not clearly define the reef/peninsula which protects the bay. Be certain that you have cleared the growing point of the reef/island before making your turn into the bay; otherwise you may end up, well on the rocks. It seems that the flotsam and jetsam from the river makes its way here and attaches to the reef/beach/land extending the point further and further. We finally anchored in 12 feet of calm water and spent a very restful night, before the next leg. One final comment on Punta Hermosa, the mosquitoes are vicious little bastards that do not retreat after sunset, if anything they swarm. Be certain to have the screens in.

Once again we are off before the rooster's crow, 0500 and we are underway for Cartagena. The route is a relatively simply one along the coast our only task is to watch out for the fishing boats and the occasional freighter which apparently cannot see us. We take our time and motor sail along the coast staying two miles out. While the auto pilot tends to the course, we tend to our skeeter bites; some four dozen of them, those little bastards have fangs.

Cartegena Viejo from the water

As we approach Cartagena we can make out the walls of the old city, what a sight it must have been all those years ago for the sailing ships coming to load the riches of the new world. The only task before us in entering the harbor is to find the channel which will safely take us through the underwater wall defending the harbor. History note: one of the reasons that Cartagena was never seized during the heyday of the Spanish Main was that an undersea wall was constructed to prevent enemy ships from entering the harbor. The passage through the wall apparently was changed every now and then to keep it a secret. Today the channel is marked by a red and green buoy making it an easy passage. The nerve racking catch is that as you pass over the wall the depth decreases to 11 feet, make sure you are in the channel; boats in modern times have ended up on the ancient wall.



The Virgin Mary statue

 For those that have been or those that are properly advised the entry into the Cartagena anchorage is no big deal. For us, well we got a little befuddled. Here is what we suggest. Once you have cleared the wall continue on your heading (avoiding the tankers, cargo ships and cruise ships) until you have sighted the statue of the Virgin Mary off your port side. Don't panic, you have to go a few miles into the harbor before you'll see the statue. Once you have spied the statue, hang a left towards the statue. You will have to pass to either side of the statue giving it a wide berth, we suggest going to port as to starboard lay the cargo docks and the much larger cargo ships.

By this point you will see the anchorage, Club Nautico, etc…. We went with anchoring in forty feet of Willy Wanka Chocolate brown water off of Club Nautico rather than going into the marina. The marina is still under construction with very little in the way of services. All vessels at their docks are Med-moored and very tightly fit in; we have watched as masts collided due to the swell caused by the omni-present water taxis. During one of the regular squalls things got even more interesting, we suggest anchoring.

Having arrived in Cartagena on November 23rd what else should we have expected but to be invited by fellow cruisers to a Thanksgiving dinner the following day. Arraignments had been made with a local restaurant to put on a spread, although we were very appreciative of the invite we had to decline as we had promised to make Thanksgiving dinner for the crew of "La Luna", being Dutch this was to be a new experience for them, the American festival of gluttony.

Although we did find turkeys in one of the stores we could not go with turkey for the feast due to; 1) the birds were still frozen solid and we found them the morning of Thanksgiving and 2) the smallest seemed to be 20lbs, we have at best a five pound oven. So the next best thing, large chicken breasts. Here then is the 2011 Thanksgiving menu for BOTO:

Baked Chicken Breasts with Veal Sausage stuffing
Steamed Green Beans
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Homemade Pumpkin Pie (with whipped cream of course)
Appetizers consisted of Gouda (Dutch) cheese with local sausage and Goose Liver Pate' accompanied by fresh baked bread.

It took us five hours to put away the meal and the wine. Upon their arrival and introduction to the menu, Etienne of "La Luna" asked who else was coming for dinner!



Entrance to the Old City

 Cartagena is a city for walking; we strolled down the streets of the modern portion of the city through the stone walls which surround the old town into the narrow teaming streets of the old city. Shops and businesses line every square inch of sidewalk then all of a sudden you wander into a plaza; open aired with people milling about selling their wares, playing games and music or simply enjoying the day. Although many still remember Colombia's reputation of twenty or thirty years ago there is no need to worry, at least no more than one would anywhere. The streets of Cartagena are very safe as are those of Santa Marta, the people are friendly and helpful, and you need but to ask.



Cathedral in the Old City

 As we wandered through the old city we came to realize a difference between Cartagena and Santa Marta.

One of the knockers of Cartagena

While both are ancient towns, Cartagena is now a tourist destination complete with tee-shirt hawkers, would-be tour guides, jewelry salesmen and every trinket you can imagine available on the streets. In Santa Marta you are more likely to engage someone in a conversation about their home town; it is a smaller (by numbers) city and more akin to a beach community with people coming from all over Colombia to enjoy the beach and the breeze. In Cartagena you will find tourists from Colombia and the rest of the world as well, there to take in the citadel and buy a tee-shirt. This is not to say that we did not enjoy Cartagena and the city, it's just that we loved Santa Marta.



Guitar player in the Old City





Old City Street



Des Indias statue

Fresh fruit salad made to order

We spent a lot of time on our feet in Cartagena visiting both the old and the new, while also restocking provisions and beer and rum. As to the later there is a little section in the old town referred to as "Contraband Alley" very much a "duty free zone". Here you will find great prices on most anything you need or desire.



Contraband Alley



The groceries are wonderful and easy to get to, so do not fret if you are arriving with your last can of spam, here you will find great foods at good prices. If you are continuing on to Central America and beyond, as are we, you may wish to update your inoculations as well.

As we did not have a Yellow Fever shot and our tetanus was well past due we went in search of a clinic to supply the shots.  We can save anyone that needs vaccines a lot of trouble as we covered all of the hospitals, clinics and pharmacies in our search, finally finding the Centro Medico o de Salud Sr de Fatima on Calla Larga. Simple directions if you are in need of vaccines or medical attention. From Club Nautico head toward the old city. Crossing over the bridge and passing through the outer walls you will go three streets. Once you have come to the third street you will see on your right a yellow building taking up most of the block with a sign reading "DADS". Turn right on this street and go to the end of the yellow building to the last door in the building. There is no sign, just knock and go on in. Vaccinations are done in the morning so get there early and get a number. Although it took us three days to find, it only took an hour for the both of us to be vaccinated. The folks there are great.

Well, we've been (had been) in Colombia for a month and have truly enjoyed ourselves, however it is that time again, time to sail on. After final provisions are stored and our goodbyes said we depart Cartagena for Isle Grande a whole 20 nm away, hey we want to ease our way back into this travelling thing especially given that the next leg will be an overnight trip to Panama. Isle Grande is a nice comfortable anchorage and a staging area for jumping off to Panama and the San Blas Islands. We meet up with "La Luna" once again just in time to celebrate Denise's birthday, although she is not yet ready to meet Sarah. After a fun evening and good food we are all settled in, resting for the trip tomorrow (the next day) December 5th.

With a good forecast (hah) and the 5th being a Monday we are assured of a nice sail, actually even though we had some rain the 140nm trip turned out to be a good one. Next up our arrival in the land of Kuna Yala. Plus, one of these days pictures to back up all these words, we're getting closer, only a month away in blogger land.

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