Joe, Rose and I left two weeks ago after a final, final, final going away party at the Willie T on Sunday the first. Next morning at 9 AM we were underway for Cartagena--about 900 miles. For the first day or two, there was very little wind, and, although we had the sails up, we motored all the time. All of a sudden conditions changed. For the last three days we had 12-15 waves and wind gusting to 35 knots. Fortunately we were going down wind so it wasn't too bad, and we really needed the extra speed to get to Cartagena in daylight. It will probably be the roughest passage we experience on this adventureb ut at one point we did hit 17.6 knots surfing down a wave. I thought the boat was going to shake apart. Seems the Spanish (and Cartagena was the headquarters of the Spanish Main) built a submerged wall across the easy way in to the city, but they have recently cut an unlit passage for yachts, so we wanted to have plenty of light to hit the openning. For the last 50 miles or so, Joe stayed on the bow as a lookout because there was an incredible amount of floating debris, mostly big logs, in the water.
So we arrived about 4PM on Friday, May 6. The place is really beautiful, although the inner harbor, as you might expect, was filthy. Cartagena is a major port for Colombia and the base for their Atlantic fleet. They even had a cool "stealth" patrol boat--big enough for a chopper on the back deck--as well as the usual cutters, frigates, etc. A cutter was out Thurs, night calling all the other vessels as the waters are heavily patrolled by them and our Coast Guard for drugs, but they never called us. Anyway, we didn't check in until Sat, and you have to use an ageet for $60, but it's worth it because you don't have to traipse all over town. We went and anchored off a cruiser-recommended place called Club Nautico, and they couldn't have been more friendly. In fact, it seemed all Colombians were very helpful and friendly. What a contrast to the BVI where, even though they're dependent on tourism, they are extremely surly to those of us that support their only industry. It was really a breath of fresh air, and Rose and I kept wondering what took us so long to leave there.
The city itself is a blend of the old (founded in 1505) and new development. As you come in there's a area that looks just like South Beach, but the walled city is stunning. Built over a one hundred year period, the wall is 11 kilometers long, about 15 feet thick and loaded with loops for cannons. There is a large fortress overlooking the city that is in incredible repair and huge. It was used to protect Cartagena from ground forces, and is riddled with tunnels and rooms within the fort, itself. Very cool if you like old forts. The El Centro is loaded with shops, restaurants, museums and nifty plazas. We availed ourselves of most of them.
The cost of living was not as cheap as I would have thought, but still pretty good. A really nice meal in a restaurant will cost about $10, but the drinks, especially in the more touristy parts are as much as $7, so it sort of evened out with US prices. Cabs were cheap, as was repair work on the boat. We got the whole hull cleaned for $15--normally a $100 or so job, and I got a new part and the gas and the labor to repair one of the freezers for about $150. Internet, high speed, was about $.45 for 10 minutes---a real bargain. The phone system wasn't too good, and we had a bit of trouble getting the great procrastinator, Joe, enrolled in a college independent study thing. And we're still not there. Need to finish that up in Panama, but he's been accepted and chosen courses and ordered the books. He's just not actually enrolled because we can't figure out how to do it online and the phone kept crapping out when we called the school.
We left Cartagena on Thursday at 6AM figuring the 300 mile trip to Colon would take about a day and a half. Unfortunately, there was no wind, and an adverse 1.5 knot current, so we arrived there late Friday night. It quite an ordeal finding our way in and around to the anchorage, but made it okay. I engaged an agent when in Colombia, to handle all the paperwork for the passage through the Canal, so Saturday we got the measurement guy out and then heard Monday we would begin our transit at 5PM. This was really quick, but we are glad to get to the other side where it's safer to wander. They do the smaller boats in the afternoon and you spend the night in Lake Gatun, completing the transit the next day, so my next addition to this tome will be from El Mar Pacifico!!. Colon is a big nothing and dangerous outside the yacht club grounds, but everyone there is super friendly and helpful. We got our lines, line handlers, and extra fenders all right there, and they have a pretty good bar and restaurant. Kay and Lou, don't have a heart attack, but rum and coke and everything but JD is $1.35 (no happy hour, needless to say) and JD is only $2.00. Food is equally cheap with a huge dinner about $5.00, but they don't do half orders! Burger and fries $3.00, grilled cheese and fries $2.00.
We heard early Monday that our transit of the canal had been arranged to start that evening--supposed to have the pilot on board at 4 PM. Of course this is like the islands and we didn't get started until about 7:30. They bring yachts through the first set of locks--Gatun--then leave them in Lake Gatun overnight with a finish to the transit the next day. It's something about not holding up the big ships in the morning. Anyway, we were supposed to have a pilot at 6 AM on Tues. At 11 we finally got underway. It's 28 miles to the next set of locks and just a nice cruise under power. Loads of huge freighters to contend with. We finished up with a center tie-up in the Miraflores locks, and, finally, about 7PM we hit the Pacific and tied up to a buoy at Balboa Yacht Club. The whole deal was very cool and our pilot acted as sort of a tour guide. There's actually a TGIF next to the club and we ate a late dinner and then collapsed. Our agent came on board a bit earlier and we managed several cocktails in celebration. We haven't paid him yet, but I think it's about $600 and worth every penny. We have yet to lay out any money for the transit and "damage deposit" which was supposed to be a total of $1,450 for me. Customs and Agriculture are prearranged to come out to see you on the boat and we had a mooring reserved for us. No pain or strain, and the guy was quite nice. Warmed up to Rose as he is a pommie as well. Seems they actually got the Missouri through the canal, but none of us can figure out how it fit! This side seems to be a bit more expensive than Colon, and we had to go into town Wed. to get some paperwork taken care of. Severals casinos I intend to avail myself of and an internet cafe at $1/hour. After lunch we all had good intentions but sort of collapsed and slept. Ah, manana. Not much to do on the boat and we're waiting for Sean and Norman who are crewing to the Galapagos.
We're here for a few more days, but I think I'll go ahead and send this.
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