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October, 2008

 Valentina at home in the Bay of Cholon, Baru, Colombia
10/1

Is it really October....2008?  Wow....how time flies!

What a wonderful place to be.   The Bay of Cholon, in Baru, Colombia.

Together Again....Queen Mary and Valentina

Our good friends, Gene and Brenda on S/V Queen Mary, just arrived yesterday morning from a four day sail from Curacao.   It is so good to see them again......and.....play music together.

                            What great friends....Queen Mary                            Sonny is playiing the harmonica again.
10/2 I put zippers today in our material to enclose the cockpit during the rain.   It is so nice to be dry in the cockpit, when everything outside the boat is wet.

Tonight, all the boats in the anchorage took an appetizer and gathered on M/V The Wet Bar with Greg and Meg from Tempe, AZ.   What nice people.  They are a power boat and tease us that they anchor near the sailboats for protection in lightning storms.  ; )   We had a good one last night!

 Greg and Meg....what a great couple!

The boats are Bruadair, Infini, Que Linda, Queen Mary, and Valentina.  It was a good group of people and a nice evening.   Greg, raced cars.....and....motorized barstools, in his former days.  They showed us a video and it was very entertaining.
10/4

David (Bruadair) and Mike and Sue (Infini)                   Check out this young girl's baby doll.....she is holding her head.

After a dinghy trip into Baru, we all went up the hill to Roberto and Carmen's house for a potluck dinner.   Great company, great food, and...a great view!

Greg, Meg, Mike, and Sonny at Roberto's         Keeping an eye on the sailboats below...              Two great guys, Roberto and Gene.
10/5 We had rain and lightning during the night.   We filled our water tanks with pure rain water.  Nice.

We went down to our friend, Kathy Kay's house, to give her some new school shoes we bought her.

            Kathy Kay's family           Kathy Kay's sister (who is 15) is inviting us to her son's one year birthday. She has another one in the oven.     Kathy Kay with her cat

Gene and Brenda bought some lobster from the locals and invited us over for lobster Alfredo for dinner.   Does it get any better than this?  Great food, great friends......
10/6 I finished the sewing on our enclosure this morning.   Then we had our local friend, Alfredo, and his family come out to our boat.   Such a nice family.  The three children attend school in Baru and are learning some English.  They were more fascinated with our binoculars.
Lindi Naomi and Kay Lindi Naomis, Divis Ley, Orladis, and Breimer Sonny showing Breimer how to climb the mast Lindi Naomis and Breimer on the bow

 

This afternoon, Gene and Brenda (Queen Mary) and Sonny played music at Roberto and Carmen's.  It was a nice evening.  Carmen sang Blue Bayou in Spanish while Gene and Brenda played.

Together Again.... Gene having fun playing the bass guitar.

 

Sonny playing the harmonica

 Sonny and Brenda playing Blue Bayou. Carmen singing Blue Bayou in Spanish

 

Carmen's niece and nephews visiting

Sonny and Kay dancing

Greg and Meg (M/V The Wet Bar) and Gene and Brenda came over to Valentina after the music.   They are both leaving in the morning.  Greg and Meg for San Blas, Gene and Brenda for Cartagena.

Life is good!
10/09 Sonny cleaned the bottom and prop today and then Damon came over in his dinghy and invited us to go snorkeling.   So, we did.

Graham and Sue on S/V Chandrika also went with us.   Graham dove down through some caves, probably about 30 feet long.   Whew!   We were thankful to see him come up at the other end.

Damon, Graham, Sue, and Sonny
10/10 Today, it rained most of the day.   A good day for staying inside.... 

Kay made throw pillows from molas we bought in the San Blas and Sonny read John Grisham's book, "The Broker".
10/11

Dr. Gilberto swam out to the boat from their house and invited us to come to their house and meet their friends.  His partner, Dr. Louis is also a neuro-surgeon in Cartagena.   He and his wife spent 45 years in Chicago, both physicians.   They speak very good English and he is an excellent domino player.

 Valentina anchored near our friends house.

Kay, Dr. Gilberto, Marta, Dr. Louis and wife, Louisa, Sonny, and Carlos
10/12 This morning, while we were in the water, Dr. Gilberto, Marta, Carlos and Louisa swam out to the boat.

 

Talk about serious domino players.....

Today was pot-luck at the Crow's Nest (Roberto and Carmen's).   Then, we went to the Caballero's and Sonny played dominoes.  It was a very good day with friends. 

          

10/13 This morning, we pulled up anchor at 8:30 a.m. and headed for Cartagena to get our zarpe to head to Panama.   You can only stay in Colombia for six months during a year, and our six months are up.  

As we were passing the ship channel, the container ship Marlene S, was near.   We called him on the VHF radio to see if he wanted us to maintain our course or take preventive action.   He said, "No sir, you are safe, continue on your present course and speed and you will be safe".   He was very close....

Container Ship Marlene S Passing on our bow Man on the fly bridge of Marlene taking pictures of us.

Roberto and Carmen hitched a ride in with us.     We enjoyed Colombia so much and look forward to returning.

 
10/14 When we come into Cartagena, we are very busy, rushing around, usually by foot, trying to get all of our groceries and boat supplies purchased, to resupply the boat so we can stay out another month or two in the islands.

It is so good to be back with Queen Mary (Gene and Brenda) in the same anchorage.  We went to eat schwarmas tonight with Queen Mary and Namasté (Sandy and Cheri).   Then, Sonny and I went over to Queen Mary to play music.

 

 
10/15 Kay walked with David (Bruadair), Gene and Brenda (Queen Mary) and Gloria (Respite) to Basurta, the local outdoor market to stock up on fruit and vegetables while Sonny finalized our paperwork to obtain our zarpe, so we can leave Colombia.

 

Dr. Gilberto, Marta, and Dr. Lito What a very special treat we had tonight.

Dr. Gilberto and Marta wanted us to meet their very close friends, Carmelito (Lito) Porto and his wife of 50 years, Nora.   Lito calls her 'his mistress'.

Dr. Lito was the neuro-surgeon at Parkland Hospital in Dallas who assisted President John Kennedy when he was assassinated. 

 

Then, we went to Dr. Louis' home for the weekly get-together of friends to sing.   At the end of the month, they all perform a concert.   It was wonderful!   They sing the love songs in Spanish while accompanied on the piano.

L is for the way I look at you.... Louisa singing beautifully. Dr. Louis singing a love song to his wife. The pianist plays by ear.
Dr. Gilberto and Sonny Dr. Gilberto singing The girls singing together They have fun and enjoy being together with each other.

 
10/16 This morning, we had a real mess!   I was preparing our vegetables we purchased at the market, when I moved one of the 2  1/2 liter Coke bottles in our quarter berth and hit it on something.   It exploded!   Coke spewed everywhere!   Our quarter-berth is our garage and it has everything stacked in there that will not fit anywhere else on our boat.   So, it was a mess.   We took everything out and washed it.

Tonight, we were invited to Dr. Gilberto and Marta's for dinner.  They have a guitar, so music broke out again.   Music is such an important aspect of the Colombian's life, and we sure enjoy it.

Great friends, Marta and Dr. Gilberto We are thankful to meet such a good group of people. Sonny playing and singing. Another Doctor and her husband, the pianist and guitarist.

 
10/17 This morning, early, we went to the gas dock and topped off our diesel and gasoline.  We have our zarpe for Panama so we left for the Bay of Cholon, about 20 miles south.  S/V Bruadair and S/V Queen Mary also came along.   But, no one caught any fish along the way.

Music broke out again on Queen Mary tonight.

Gene and Brenda Great fun and memories.

 
10/18 This morning, we took our KISS wind generator down and replaced the two bearings in it.   Damon, on S/V Bruadair, came over with his bearing puller, to help get the bearings out.   It is back up, and working great.   Just in time, the wind started blowing this afternoon, so we will be able to make power, but much quieter.

It was another great pot-luck at Roberto and Carmen's.   But, my camera was under my chair, and somehow got stepped on.....and now the display does not work.
10/19 Today, we changed the hoses on the engine and tightened the fan belt.

We went over to Queen Mary's this evening.  Fernando and Beatrice came over.   They own a hotel in Cholon and wanted to let the cruisers know they now have internet.
10/20 Change of plans............we are headed back to Cartagena.   I am going to have my eyes checked and possible minor surgery.   From my younger days of sunlamps and wind in West Texas, I have pterigio (in Spanish), which I believe has grown and affecting my vision, so while we are still here, we are going to get it checked out.

Right before we got to the channel to Cartagena, our fishing line started screaming.   We called Queen Mary to tell them we had a big fish on.  He pulled and tugged very hard.   We finally got him up to the boat, and he was a jack.  Not good for eating....so we gave him away to one of the locals. 

Crevalle Jack...33 inches long.

We played music on Queen Mary tonight with Kenny from Makai.   He is a harmonica player and he and Sonny sure had fun playing together.
10/21 Our appointment is 10 a.m. with the ophthalmologist.   He ran several tests and came to the conclusion that I have pterygiums on both eyes, which has grown over my corneas and should be removed.   He is a very reputable doctor.  Dr. Gilberto's wife, Marta, just had it done a month ago and was with us for the translation.   I am scheduled for tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the hospital.  I told them I was a muey grande pollo.  ; )
10/26 The surgery went well, I am recovering nicely.   Just very, very sensitive to light and wind, but each day gets better.   I go back on Tuesday for my check-up, then we plan to head to San Blas, Panama at the next weather window.

We were at Queen Mary's  today.   They had invited Alvero and his family to their boat today for dinner.    We had delicious fried fish, rice, beans and cole slaw.

Later, we played music and Kenny from S/V Makai joined us.
10/27 We walked today to get Sonny a haircut.   It cost 4,000 mil pesos, which is $2.00 for shampoo and cut.   Then, we walked to Old Town.
10/28 This morning, we took our laptop to a guy to show us how to burn our video movies on 8 mm tapes to a dvd.   We have tried for several years, but not been successful.   It was just as simple as a different cable from the camera to the laptop.  But, we are thankful to be able to do it.

Then, we had an appointment at 9:30 a.m. with Dr. Larry Iglesia,  who did the surgery on my eyes last week for a check-up.   He said, "All looks perfect, and I am released to go to Panama".

So, we said goodbye to our friends on Queen Mary, with tears in our eyes, but know we will get together again.  We told Respite and Namaste' good-bye also, but we will see them again soon in San Blas.   They are about a week behind us.

We also had to tell our good friends, Roberto and Carmen goodbye.  We will be back and look forward to good times together again.

You just meet so many friends, that have strings to your heart, but while cruising, you know, you will, most likely, meet again in another anchorage, possibly in another country.

We did the last minute provisioning, and left for the Bay of Cholon in Baru.
10/29 We are waiting for a weather window to leave from Colombia to Panama.   It is an overnighter, about a 30+ hour trip.
10/30 We woke up this morning early, checked the weather charts that we downloaded on the SSB radio, and decided to go ahead and head out.   It looks like we will have 15 knot winds with 5' seas.

So, at 6:15 a.m., we pulled up the anchor and headed out the channel of the Bay of Cholon.

We had good wind and waves on the stern quarter-panel.  We have the fishing lines out and hopeful to catch dinner.

We had dolphin swim along beside us, guiding us along.

Then, we had a little yellow bird as a stowaway with us.  He started on our lifelines on the bow, then he ended up in the cockpit, climbing on us.   We gave him some water and watched him eat a moth he found.  He hung out with us a while and took a nap, then he flew away.  A nice visitor.

Then, we were sailing along, and our fishing rod started screaming.   You could see the fish behind us jumping out of the water.   How exciting!   We both immediately jump into action.   Sonny grabs the pole and start reeling it in, I grab the gaf hook and video camera and start capturing the moment.   He jumped out of the water several times, and we had to stop the boat to be able to reel him in.   Finally, we got him up on the deck.   It was a big Mahi-Mahi.   Beautiful.   We got him inside the gate of the lifelines, when he jumped again.  But, this time, he jumped back into the water off the deck.   ; (     He was still on my hook, but it didn't take him any time to spit it out.   So, our dinner went swimming off and we were pooped.

Then, about 30 minutes later, our other line started screaming and I could see a fin on top of the water.  It looked different.   So, again, we immediately jumped into action.   Sonny reeled him up beside the boat, as I had the video camera in hand.   It was......a sailfish!    We have never caught a sailfish before!   He was 6 - 7' long, with a very long snout and a fin and sail on top.   Wow....when we got him beside the boat, he smiled at us and spit our hook out.   We would not have kept him, anyway, but it sure was fun.

Then, the waves began to grow bigger and bigger.   No moon, just a dark night with big waves pushing us along.  We also ran the motor so we could get into San Blas in good light.

Since the surgery on my eyes, I have to put different drops in 10 times a day.   But, trying to put drops in, underway, with the seas is not too much fun.   But, we did it.   I can tell everyday, improvement with my eyes.   The doctor said it would take a couple of more weeks before they are not so sensitive to light and wind and that I cannot get in the salt water for 6 more weeks.

The nights are so long on the overnighters.   We are anxious to see the break of daylight in the early morning.
10/31 As we got closer to San Blas, the waves grew higher.  By the time we were near, we were in 12' waves.   We were so ready to get into a calm anchorage.

We arrived and dropped anchor at 2:30 p.m.  It was 32 hours after we pulled up our anchor in Colombia.   We sailed and motored hard to get here that quick.   We are tired and ready for:

1) Good shower

2) Nice dinner

3) Sleep

We did not even have any trick-or-treaters tonight.

 

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