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6/2
6/14
6/21
June, 2008
In Colombia |
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6/1 |
We have been working
hard for the past two months on projects on the boat, and getting a
whole lot done, but, not getting to play as often as we like, so this
is a letter to our children.
To the tune of
Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah
- Letter from Camp Granada
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Hello Sons....Hello daughters,
Here we are at....Cartagena
Cruisings very....entertaining
And we think we’ll have some fun - if
it stops raining.
We went
searching....at Home Center
For more supplies....bolts, and
thinner.
You remember....our friends Queen
Mary
They went to Bonaire but for us - it
was quite airy
So we stayed and…..did some sewing
It’s much better....than home
mowing
We miss Texas....our sons and
daughters
But, we sure like living out here -
on the water.
Hola
Sons....Hola Daughters
How's our nietas?....and
their bruddahs?
Give them big hugs....and a big
kiss.
While cruising, that is what - we
surely do miss.
No
Snorkeling....or fishing daily
We are just about....to go crazy
But we're OK….Please don’t worry
We are safe and sound and trying -
just to hurry.
We would rather ....Be in the water
Now, it is raining....and it gets
hotter.
We just can't wait.....to get this
work done
To get back to the islands -- this
is no fun.
Just a side note....in
years to come
We may have to.....become a bum
So start planning.....build a small house
Or, we will have to live with
- you and your spouse.
Now we’re
getting....projects completed,
Solar panels....that were needed
Making power....from the hot sun
Charging the batteries and not running the engine.
Wait a
minute....it’s stopped raining!
Jobs are done now....no
more complaining!
To the islands....gee that’s
better!
Sons and daughters, kindly
disregard this letter.
Love,
Mom and Dad
P.S. Obviously, we
have not just worked, we have had some fun and time to change
words to songs. We are doing good. We have
gotten a lot done and soon to be "off to the islands" again. We love and miss you
guys.
♥ ♥
♥ ♥
♥
What a treat we had
this afternoon!
We went over to visit
our neighbors in the anchorage, Joel and Patricia on S/V Brahms, a
44' Gulfstar.
Do you know what they
have down below on their boat?
Place your mouse on
the picture below of their boat and get a great surprise.....
A baby grand piano!
How cool! Joel is a
magnificent piano player and loves playing. So, he purchased
this piano last year in Ontario and had it trucked down to Miami,
then put in a container on a ship to where his boat was in Aruba.
Previously, when we were first anchored nearby
Brahms, we would hear concert piano music and thoroughly enjoyed the CD's our
neighbor's were playing....but, then, it would stop, and start
again, so we knew it was not a CD. "He" was playing.
We had no idea, he was playing a baby grand piano.
Patricia is a gourmet cook and they
have a business where up to 8 people can enjoy a meal on their
boat and Joel will play dinner music.
Whatever you enjoy in life, you should
do. And, they are.
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6/2 |
Today is Monday, and, of course, another
holiday in Colombia. So, we invited Bianey, Yesica, Joselyn, and
Elisabeth to go sailing with us. They arrived at 10:30
a.m. at the dock and we were underway soon thereafter.
We went through the cut at Boca Grande and had 18
knots of wind and rolly seas.
We were trolling, hoping to catch our dinner for the
evening, had to resort to chicken quesadillas.
We enjoyed having them for the day. The girls steered the
boat and Bianey caught fish on his hand line after we anchored.
They are such a good family. |
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6/5 |
We had decided to stay in Cartagena
to get our annual medical tests done, and today is our last test.
We have to hang out Monday until we receive the final results, but,
everything looks good and we are very thankful.
We went to McDonald's today to
celebrate......that was our first hamburger (at a fast food
restaurant) in......11 months.
Maybe that is why our medical
tests are coming back good. ☻ |
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6/6 |
Today, we were going to change a simple water hose
to the watermaker, but, when we got into the project, discovered the
cleaning supplies
under the sink had leaked and damaged the hose to the lavatory and shower, so we
also had to replace that. Our favorite street vendor is Beseata.
We buy papayas from her regularly.
The Colombian Navy has a tall ship that is 247' long,
S/V Gloria in their
fleet. This morning, she went out to sea and there was
such a celebration. Bands, balloons, ships decorated with flags,
ceremonies, and a boat parade. We had front row seats in
our cockpit.
Across each boom of the beautiful Gloria stood rows of men, dressed in
the Colombian flag colors. It was impressive.
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6/7 |
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6/10 |
We have enjoyed our time in
Cartagena and with so many friends aboard Respite, Bruadair, Soggy
Paws, Icarian,
Dragonet, Namaste, Brahms, GiGi, Eventure, and the local
Colombians.
We got things ready today to head out to the
Colombian islands tomorrow. We plan to be at Rosario's, Baru,
and San Bernardo for a while, probably a month. We will probably
come back to Cartagena to reprovision and then back out to the
islands.
I am not sure if I can find an internet cafe in the
islands, but if there is, we will continue to update our logs.
But, until then, you can email us at our winlink address and we will
get it on the boat. We will update our "Where is Valentina" link on
our homepage so you will know exactly where we are.
Talk to you soon......we are finally "off to the
islands"..... |
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6/11 |
We pulled up anchor at 7 a.m. this morning and
headed for the Rosarios Island, about 20 miles away where there is
clean, blue water.
The Boca Grande entrance/exit to Cartagena is a
shallow, narrow cut. In years
past, Cartagena built a wall across the several mile opening right
under the water for protection from enemy ships.
 In
more recent years, they cut a narrow gap in the wall about 2 meters
(6.56 feet) deep for boats to pass through and placed two buoys, so
you can pass between. A tricky cut when your draft is 6 feet.
It was a good trip out, with dolphins to guide us
along the way.
We arrived at the Rosarios at about 11 a.m. and were greeted by the
local fishermen in their ulus selling crab, lobster and fish.
What a treat, it has just been too long! We bought 2 crab,
1 lobster, and 3 small fish for 20,000 pesos (~ $11 US).
The fisherman named Treymundo, that we bought the
lobster and fish from, had a bandage on his left hand. We
asked him what happened, and he pulled off his bandage. A huge
chunk of flesh was cut off his index finger. The previous day,
he snatched a moray eel, but we think the eel was the victor.
He also has a bandage on his foot, but is back out fishing today, with
another moray eel in his ulu. He said they are delicious
to eat. No thanks.....but, we gave him some medicine for his
finger......ouch!
We then hurried and boiled the crab and devoured it in the cockpit,
then jumped in the clear water. Nice, nice.
The wind clocks around in a complete circle every day here.
At night, it is out of the north and the strongest breeze of the day.
Our anchorage is open to the north, with a reef between us, however,
it did not protect us from the waves. So, after a rocky
night and little sleep, we decided to change anchorages tomorrow.
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6/12 |
We dropped the dinghy and went exploring around the
area.
Then, we pulled up the anchorage in search for a calmer, night's
sleep. We motored around the Rosarios and through the
shallow cut that passes through the island. We sure had some thin
water, but we made it through unscathed. We decided to go to Baru,
where we know it is calm and protected. It is only about 7
miles away, but dodged reefs along the way.
When we arrived in the anchorage, before dropping anchor, we were
again greeted by three ulus hanging on to the side of Valentina,
wanting to sell their mangoes, necklaces, fish, crab, and lobster.
We bought mangoes and a papaya. After Wilson left in
his ulu, he returned and said we did not pay him. We
thought it was a ploy to get more money, and finally paid him the
money (again) and told him firmly that we had already paid him and for
him not to come to our boat again.
Afterwards, we discussed the situation, and in the confusion of
anchoring and everyone surrounding the boat, all talking at once and
wanting to sell their wares, we discovered we may not have paid Wilson
for the mangoes.
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6/13 |
On our dinghy ride this morning, we saw Wilson in
his black and white ulu paddling across the bay, so we went over to
him and apologized for the confusion. He was very thankful
and spent the rest of the day showing us around Baru, his modest home,
introducing us to his sister (and her tienda), his son, and the Baru
policemen.
He is a good guy and a good friend.
Sonny kept teasing him when he introduced us as his amigos. Sonny would say, "Amigo today, but not yesterday".
We visited the school and were very impressed. It is a huge,
two story building, clean, and brightly painted. There
were classrooms for internet (in a place where internet is scarce)
and English.
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6/14 |
We are discovering very quickly here, that everyone is doing whatever
they can...to get some money from the gringos. They will try to
sell you fish, lobster, crab, necklaces, paint your fingernails or
pedicure, give you a massage, and even cook for you on your boat.
It is a poor village and people are hustling just to make a living.
There is not a lot of opportunities for work here, so tourism is an
income for the locals, and they have been very creative in their
endeavors. You are constantly asked for something.
Two ladies we met yesterday, Francia and Rosa, were at the dock and
wanted to come out to Valentina, so Sonny went to pick them up and
brought them out. It was their first time on a sailboat. Francia announced that Rosa had caught a big fish and that they wanted
to come out tomorrow to our boat and cook fried fish, coconut rice, and patacones
for us. We were somewhat puzzled and asked how much it would cost, and they said, "nata".
We thought that was strange....only the two of them....on Father's
Day....not bringing their
spouses or children, and come out to our boat and cook....and for "nata".
So, hesitantly, we made plans
and set a time. When Francia got ready to leave, she asked for
money to buy the fish. We went ahead and declined their idea.
We cannot tell our Spanish has gotten any better in the past few
months, we tend to use the same words that we are comfortable with,
and know just enough to get us into trouble, at times.
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6/15 |
Feliz Dia de Padre ! We had a great day on board
Valentina today. We met some more locals that live in Cartagena
and come to their vacation home they are building in Baru on the
weekends.
Ivan and his son, Felipe, rowed out to our boat in these beautiful
handmade canoes. Ivan makes them as a hobby.
They are different types of wood, in strips, then he applies epoxy, fiberglass,
and varnish. They are just awesome. He said,
depending on the canoe, he sells them for 6,000,000 pesos, or ~$3,500
US. A true work of art and love.
Ivan, and his children, Felipe, and Lina (who is
a student at Purdue in the US) all speak very good English.
It was so nice to talk to someone in English! They come
down from Cartagena (about 1 1/2 hour drive) every weekend and every
chance they get.
Then we prepared our Father's Day meal. Barbecue chicken,
baked beans and potato salad, with chocolate squares for dessert.
It was delicious!
We swam to the shore to the nearby hotel to get a drink, then we snorkeled
down to Ivan's dock, but he had already left to return to Cartagena
for another week of work.
We had a beautiful sunset tonight.
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6/16 |
Today, our friend, Wilson met us at our boat and he
wanted to go show us the
beach where he works. He works on Saturday and Sunday
raking and cleaning a nearby beach and gets paid 300,000 pesos (US ~$160.00)
a month. So, we agreed.
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Then, we went to "Mister's" house
on top of the mountain to meet
Roberto. He is an
ex-sailor who came to Baru, bought a piece of wooded property on top
of the mountain, and discussed plans for a new home with a contractor.
After construction had begun, he realized the contractor was
measuring in meters.....rather than feet.
He is now the proud
owner of a huge home, on top of the mountain, with an awesome view
in all directions. Not all mistakes are all bad.
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Then, we went to the beach at Cholon,
which is supposed to be the best place to eat in the islands. |
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There are just little
canopies, side by side, where different people cook fish for you.
Here is the one we selected. |
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The food was good, whole fried
fish, delicious patacones (our favorite), rice, sliced onions and tomatoes for 12,000
pesos (US $7).
After we bought Wilson's meal and drinks, when we got back to the
boat, he asked for a propina for taking us around for the day.
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6/17 |
We decided to go outside of Cholon, Baru to make water.
But....when we got outside the buoys....we kept going. We
went over to the Rosarios and found a new anchorage. It
was exposed to the north (again), but not a very rough night. We
planned to drop the dinghy in the morning and go around the corner and
down the channel to the aviary sanctuary.
The coast guard came by on their daily rounds, and we told them of
our plans in the morning to visit the aviary, They advised us
not to leave the boat. They said someone needs to stay on
board at all times, or things will get stolen. The Rosarios has
a bad reputation among cruisers of things getting stolen, especially
dinghies and motors. (Just what "we" need).
So, we decided in the morning, at good light, to change anchorages,
and anchor outside the coast guard station so we could go visit the
aviary while they keep an eye on Valentina.
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6/18 |
As soon as we had good light, we pulled up anchor
and motored through the shallow channel to the south side of the
Rosarios, near the Coast Guard station and the aviary.
We stayed on board today and equalized our batteries.
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6/19 |
It was a long night. Not much sleep on board.
We were safe, near the Coast Guard station, but completely exposed to
the south and west.....just where the strong wind came from.
Lightning filled the sky in all directions, along with thunder and
rain. We are anxious to see the aviary, then move on to a
protected anchorage for some much needed sleep.
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Early, we went to
the coast guard station and talked to Jhon, who came out to our
boat yesterday. Such a nice young man, and very
helpful. |
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He showed us
around the nice facilities of the Coast Guard of Rosarios and we
met the children who live near the facilities. |
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There are 7
children,
with the eldest being 8 years
old. |
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We visited the amazing aviary, we had heard so
much about from other cruisers. One man loves birds and started
collecting them. It is unbelievable all of the different species
of birds he has collected.
After visiting the aviary, we pulled up anchor and casually sailed to
Baru, making water while underway in the clear water.
How nice......what a great anchorage! Feels like home to us.
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6/20 |
Just relaxed today.....swam in the
water and enjoyed the day. |
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6/21 |
We dinghied over to the beach today, where you sit
in the water, under a canopy, and eat a plate lunch of fish.
It was a nice lunch, fish, patacones, coconut
rice, and sliced tomatoes and onions. The fun part is
sitting in the water and watching the small fish swim around you,
waiting for you to drop a piece of food.
The locals, of course, swarm you, wanting you to
buy necklaces, etc. just trying to make a living. Lucille came
up to us and asked us if we wanted a massage. Of course, we said
no, then she told us how much it would cost. It would be 10,000
pesos for 30 minutes. That is a little over $5 for a 30
minute massage. So, when we finished eating, we took her out to
Valentina, and we both got massages. A real treat! |
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6/23 |
This evening, a very small sailboat came out to
Valentina from the
nearby hotel. There were four people scrunched onboard.
They spoke English and we invited them on board.
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They are a family from Sweden, Per, Adriana, and daughters,
"Valentina" and Felicia. |
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6/24 |
Sonny cleaned (three-fourths) of the
bottom of the boat while I sanded the companionway.
Our new Swedish friends sailed out to
the boat this evening from their hotel. It is so
interesting meeting new people from all over the world. Per is
from Sweden, and Adriana, his wife, is Colombian. They wanted to
bring their two daughters to Colombia to see their mother's culture.
They own bookstores in Sweden and talked about how they got together
and life in Sweden with the very short days of sunlight.
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6/25 |
Sonny mounted our new battery box for our dinghy
today while I varnished the companionway.
Then, we dinghied to the hotel to say "good-bye" to our Swedish
friends then went a few miles away, through the mangrove canal to the
pueblo of Baru and bought a few things at the tienda.
We went up to Roberto and Carmen's house on the hill. Carmen
prepared us dinner and we watched the sunset. Roberto is a
retired LA policeman and ex-sailor, who moved here, and is building a
huge house on top of the mountain.
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What a spectacular
view!
On all sides. |
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6/26 |
Tonight, we invited Roberto
"Mister" and Carmen out to Valentina for chicken quesadillas.
What a great evening...he has interesting stories. Carmen is
Colombian, and speaks a little English, but understands a lot.
She is Baptist, and very strong in her faith. |
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6/27 |
We sure have enjoyed our time in Baru. It is
just beautiful, and we are the only sailboat here. We
watch the tourist come down from Cartagena each day on the big power
boats, play, and leave. And, we have met so many
interesting people here. |
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6/28 |
We spent a lot of time in the water today. Some college
kids from Bogota were spending the holiday at the cottage nearby
and swam out to the boat. They invited us to their party during
the evening, but we declined. Later, we swam in to where they
were staying. There were 20 kids, very well behaved and
friendly. They were afraid they would be too loud during
the night and keep us awake, but we hardly heard a word out of them.
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6/30 |
Have we mentioned lately that we love our hard
bimini and solar panels? Today, about 5 p.m. the rumbling
started, the lightning began to light up the sky, and the wind started
howling from different directions. The wind just got up to
18 knots, but the lightning was near and loud.
We already had our bathing suits on (we live in them) so we got
some soap in a bowl and started washing down the boat.
Then, of course, the rain subsided. Now....we have a soapy
boat!
But, then, it wasn't long, and the bottom fell out. We
had rain, we had lightning, we had thunder......all of the good
things.
But, we were ready. The cockpit was enclosed.
Valentina was soaped down and clean. The rain gutter on the hard
bimini was connected and going into the water tank and the sun and
wind had completely charged our batteries.
It took probably an hour to fill our water tank. We
were down to less than 1/4 of a tank of water (100 gallon tank).
And....now we are full.
We are so thankful! It has not rained very much,
so we have not been able to gather water from our new bimini.
It works perfectly!
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Top of Page
or
"On
to July in Colombia"
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Ever Safe
Safe in Jehovah's Keeping, Safe in temptations hour.
Safe in the midst of perils, Kept by Almighty power.
Safe when the tempest rages, Safe though the night
be long,
E'en when my sky is darkest, God is my strength and
song.
Sir Robert Anderson |
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