Buenas from Cartagena, Columbia. We have set some new records recently aboard Dragonfly –we are the farthest south we have ever been aboard Dragonfly (latitude N10deg25min), our first S. American country aboard Dragonfly, first time we have sailed over 200 miles in a 24 hour period and the first time we have partied with the Jamaican Defense Force.
Rick and I have both come to the same conclusion regarding a cruise in the Bahamas – for our type of cruising we would travel as quickly as possible to the less visited islands (Conception, Eastern Long Island, Crooked/Acklins, Great Inagua); we enjoyed more interaction with the locals, fewer cruisers (so you get to know one another more easily), more remote locations with beautiful scenery and much healthier coral reefs. We did a few great scuba dives and excellent snorkel visits in these more remote waters plus the water was warm enough to swim for long periods of time and snorkel without a wearing a wetsuit. These last few weeks we paid close attention to the weather forecast with an ear for an opportunity to sail south, and had it not come so fast we would have been perfectly content to continue exploring these southern islands.
We realized that we were unlikely to find a 6 day weather window to take us all the way to Cartagena in mild conditions, so when the weather forecast gave us a 3 day window to Jamaica in moderate E/NE winds we just had to go for it. The trip was fast, 2 days to go about 250 miles. We were not able to find a buddy boat in the Bahamas, we only heard 1 boat on the weather net headed that way back in Dec. and too late we heard another boat discussing a passage sometime in March (most boats leaving the Bahamas are headed to the Virgin Islands). Our main goal was to get through the “windward passage” during daylight in benign conditions as it can be very rough – we timed it perfectly, enjoyed a decent first day and continued on to Jamaica under a full moon. Having the full moon while sailing overnight is such a plus, the night sky is usually beautiful but somehow that extra glow of vivid light also brightens my mood during my watches. This trip we were fortunate to see the lunar eclipse come and go, it was striking, a finely sculpted three dimensional globe hanging out there in all its glory.
Our time in Jamaica was short but sweet. Imagine after so many months of flat islands coming upon the lush mountains looming in the distance – it truly made my heart throb. Having never met anyone who has cruised Jamaica we were totally on our own – we read the only cruising guide we could find and targeted Bowden bay on the SE end of the island so we’d be that much closer when we departed south. Most of Jamaica’s tourist areas are on the north coast (Montego Bay, etc.) and it sounded appealing to anchor in the less commercial, less touristy area. Well, this certainly fits that description! It is a huge bay, with the mountainous backdrop, a few tiny residences on one side, pens of oysters being cultivated in the shallows, and a Jamaican Defense Force coast guard facility guarding the bay. This facility was a marina only 1 year ago but the military purchased it to have a location closer to Haiti/DR traffic. No more fuel for sale or internet in Bowden Bay!
Recuperating from the trip was our first concern, clearing in with immigration and customs was our second concern. Recuperating includes catching up on sleep, doing the dishes, tidying up the mess created during the passage inside the boat, doing and eating since my appetite wanes on most passages -- mostly laying back and restoring our energy. Conveniently, the coast guard patrol came alongside a few hours later for an inspection. Sargent/Petty Officer Steven was the senior officer at the facility that week and he was particularly friendly and helpful; he seemed to view our safety and comfort as his personal responsibility. He asked us to anchor in front of their building so that they could easily watch over us so we moved within an easy dingy paddle (or swim) to their dock. They called immigration for us to start the clearance process; this was the first time the immigration/customs authorities traveled to us instead of us having to find them, what a pleasant process. While we waited for them on the coast guard station’s terrace (remember this was recently a marina and few changes have occurred) we chatted with the coast guardians learning about Jamaica and what it’s like to be in the military there. It was rather humorous to observe, this is a quiet location and when individuals are not “on watch” they are out of uniform, basically hanging around waiting for something to occur. They watch TV (poor reception), they talk, read the paper. At one point a guardian laid aside his automatic rifle to play dominoes while we chatted with him.
Since we had a very short stay planned we tried to see as much of the local area as we could on Saturday, not easy in this particular location. We tied our dingy at their dock (can you believe it) and asked how to get a bus/taxi so we could view the local area. Instead Sergeant Steven borrowed a car and drove us 30 miles through the local countryside to the town of Morant Bay. We peppered him with questions and he seemed happy to fill us in on their political system (corrupt), current administration (better than the previous), his view of U.S. politics (Go Obama!) , Jamaican state of affairs (highly dependant on tourism to grow economy, needs a more involved/interested youth culture to bring positive countrywide changes,), Coast Guard way of life (today’s younger men are only in it for the money and without any sense of loyalty or service to the country). He volunteered that he preferred we didn’t take the bus, walk the local roads or anchor to close to the houses because he didn’t want to take any chances regarding our security – he assumed that we would be hassled by some of the poorer residents asking for money and didn’t want us to experience any discomfort. He was completely focused on our having the best possible Jamaican experience. I thought having our own protectorate for 3 days was quite amazing and told him that my mother certainly would appreciate it as well! We purchased a case of Guinness for them (they can drink a few beers as long as they are not “on watch”) and socialized that evening for a couple of hours with the entire team before saying our goodbyes. I never expected to be having a beer with the Jamaican Defense force, but there I was and I was highly impressed with all of the guys with whom I spoke. Very polite, curious, interesting, a few of them have traveled to the Virginia for training, some to other Caribbean islands as well.
On a sunny Sunday morning we up anchored with the plan to take advantage of the moderate winds south of Jamaica and move into the southern latitudes after the wind calmed down some. Well, moderate has a different definition down here – we had consistent 18-20kn winds with many hours of 23 gusting 26kns. With those winds you’d be correct in assuming that the seas were quite rough for most of the trip. Still, Dragonfly handled it all beautifully (better than I). Things changed dramatically during the last 6 hours as we approached the Columbian coast; the seas went flat, the wind lightened and it was pure pleasure once again. As the skyscrapers of Cartagena started to appear through the haze, Rick and I were both a bit disgruntled– surely we hadn’t left the turquoise blue waters for this big city scene? What were we thinking, were we nuts? I knew we were in S. America when we passed by the 300 foot statue of the Madonna and child as we motored through the channel.
Here it is 3 days later and we are having a ball. We sit at the northeastern end of the Bahia de Cartagena, surrounded by tall office buildings, apt towers, street noise, and huge cargo ships being loaded and off loaded night and day. A U.S. coast guard cruiser is docked between us and shore. In the middle of all this activity is the little Club Nautico marina, which makes it their business to provide the best support to the cruising community. There are about 50 boats here, 2/3 of them anchored off the marina. They hail from all over the world, many have that “serious cruiser look” about them and for some I will say the same about their skippers! It seems that most cruisers stay here for months on end, most having come from the E. Caribbean and on their way to Panama’s San Blaas islands (as we are) and many headed through the canal to destinations further west. The age range is unusual, as many young couples as retired, a few families with young kids.
When asked what keeps them here: the inexpensive and delicious restaurants, the historic old city sights, amenities like water, showers, garbage disposal, gas, diesel, internet, phone service, all offered by the Club Nautico at reasonable prices, the conveniences of the local barrio (fully stocked although expensive groceries, modern hardware stores) relatively inexpensive boat work by local folks, warm and inviting people and just plain fun.
Our first full day here found us at the marina getting the lay of the land. David is the resident ‘intermedio”, an agent must be used to take care of all the clearance procedures. This costs $60 US and is a real luxury for us. Once he takes our information and our passports he assures us we are free to roam even though we are not legally cleared into the country. He suggests we first visit the local grocery just 3 blocks away so we can enjoy the air conditioning! We also visit the ATM there, a safe spot to retrieve money according to the marina guide. Then we walk about 30 minutes along the waterfront through the barrio of Manga to the old walled city which is recognizable in the distance by the domed buildings of a definitely different time period.
We pass low stone walls which once defended the Spanish city, see huge forts rising not far away. Once inside the 16th century city walls we are in another world, a maze of narrow streets, two and three story colorful buildings with flowers cascading from balconies, crumbling stone walls, heavy wooden doors with fabulous door knockers, small plazas, large colonial chuches, green city parks. Street vendors are selling watermelon slices, pineapple slices, fresh coconuts open for their milk, limes, avocados, plums, bananas; others squeezing fresh orange juice into cups of ice, grating blocks of ice for Italian ices, many making and selling sweets such as tamarind balls. Of course we see the small tiendas selling the usual handicrafts, phone cards, books, clothing. Lots of little cafes are tucked away, advertising lunch menus on blackboards (carne, pescado, cerdo) with the “camida corriente” the big draw – this is a complete meal for under $7. We picked a shady cafe at random and had a delicious lunch consisting of a huge bowl of the best soup I have ever had, a plate filled with beef, rice, beans, fried plantain, a bit of salad and a fresh juice for $2.50/person. Muy bueno! Of course using the toilet was a whole different experience – how do you say “do you have a bucket of water” in Spanish? And I quickly learned to carry T.P. and paper toweling in the backpack. We have only begun to explore, who could resist the museum of the inquisition and the gold museum and there is that huge fort full of tunnels to investigate.
We were totally surprised to find ourselves with 2 appointments during our second day here – does that mean we need a blackberry, a daytimer, a watch? We had a fun hour Spanish lesson with Amoury – his schoolroom is the center table on the marina deck and he spends most of the day tutoring cruisers. We’ve budgeted for these lessons in hopes we’ll feel less self conscious and more able to speak Spanish here, in Panama and in Guatemala.
We’ll have to find time for some boat projects – finding and fixing the source of some small but annoying water leaks continues (salt water in the boat – ay carrumba). Probably more varnishing is on my plate, exfoliating the boat to rid it of its current salty skin since no rain has fallen. We’ll also be taking advantage of the interent while we have it to research marinas in Panama at which we could store Dragonfly for the summer/fall, provisioning for our time in Panama since there is little food available in the San Blaas Islands, and we’ll certainly be searching for misc. boat hardware. Of course there is reading, practicing guitar, painting, estudiamos Espanol– all in all not too taxing, but let’s not jinx it!
So far the heat has been intense but the breeze has been consistent. We end our afternoon sitting on the marina’s shaded deck overlooking the dockside boats and the bay, enjoying the breeze and a fresh, jugo de frutas (or cervesa if you are Rick), swapping stories with other cruisers and marina staff and counting our blessings.
Some Cartagena pix, recent Bahamas pictures and Jamaica and earlier pictures to view.
