Tag Archives: svMistress

Feb 21

Cali

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Cali is rich in Afro- Colombian heritage; nowhere is the nations racial diversity and harmony more apparent than here. From the impoverished barrios to the slick big clubs, everyone is moving to one beat, and that beat is salsa. Music here is much more than entertainment, it is a unifying factor that ties the city together.

We arrived after a 50km bus ride from Armenia, not knowing exactly what we wanted to see, just knowing that we wanted to learn to dance. We had chosen a hostel in the barrio of San Antonio, the Hotel Terraza de San Antonio, a fantastic old restored building.The neighborhood has lots of great places to eat at great prices.

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We visited museum and the botanical garden, where we were escorted by a police officer to make sure no harm came to us as we walked the trails. Apparently it is not in a good area, but after the tour we walked back to town, we were fine.

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Hugging this tree is suppose to bring you good luck, while a little farther down the path is the plant that caused so much problems……Coca.

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Head phones …..Cali style

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We never did get to go inside the club where they teach you how to salsa, they wouldn’t let us in without the right shoes and we were suppose to be wearing the correct clothes. Oh well, we’ll have to sail to Cuba.

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Feb 07

Guatape, Colombia

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Medellin, has 2 bus terminals, one on the north side of the city, if you are travelling north, one on the south. This way, the buses avoid getting bogged down in the inner city congestion. We took a fast trip by metro then hopped a bus to go north-east to El Penol, a oddity on the landscape, an hour from town.

This piece of rock is a small mountain on top of a mountain, and attracts many visitors who come to climb to the top.

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When you get to the site, just off the highway, you take a rugged stair way to the base . We could have taken a small cart but chose to walk. By the time we got there we were warmed up and ready for the challenge to make it to the top.

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It took us approximately 45 minutes to reach the summit, meeting other climbers of all ages, we were glad to see the last step. After having a celebratory beer, …..hey we’re Canadian, we then had to walk down. This was harder on the knees and legs, our tired muscles aching all the way to the bottom.   Image00024

 

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We then went into town to catch the bus back to Medellin, spending some time watching people zip-lining across the mountain lake. A great side trip and well spent time exploring the country side.

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Jan 09

Settling into to Colombian Lifestyle

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                                   View of the Marina, from the balcony

Leading up to the holidays, the winds increased as they usually do in this part of the world, so there wasn’t even white clouds in the sky. It was going to be a green Christmas.

Every place we visited, we have met very interesting people who we have became good friends with. Our first evening here we met Danny, a man who is visiting his son Stewart and his family. Many nights we meet him on the patio to watch the sunset, and play dominoes, always an exciting time of the day. Stewart, has welcomed us into his home, and at least twice a week we get together for what has become to be known as Curry Night on Thursdays and roast beef night on Sundays. We enjoy his company and his cooking. You never know who will drop in. Some times the table is full but Stewart always makes room for more. He’s a good man even though he talks funny…..LOL.  My contribution to the roast beef nights, are usually Carrot cake. They seem to love it, so maybe we will keep getting invited. Natalie; is Stewarts and Yuris’ daughter, she is very interested in baking, so I have shared my recipe with her so she can continue to bake her favourite cake when I  leave. She is a natural.

 

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                                      Dominoes on the marina patio

  The view from their terrace has a 360o view of the city below. A relaxing place to spend time on land.

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                             Looking east over the Sierra Nevadas

                                

    Ineke and Mike, aboard svConari, are three year members of the Stewarts curry club. They sailed in three years ago and have never left. Its home for them for six months away from England’s’ cold winter. They are a wealth of information, on where to get products or services in Santa Marta. They know, and have traveled most of Colombia. Every boat that comes in, is sent to them. They provide a great service. The marina should be paying them. Great people with amazing stories of their travels, all over the world.

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New Years Eve we decided to go out for dinner and maybe some dancing. Here in Santa Marta the community spend the evening at home with their families. A large group from the marina went out. Most of the restaurants were closed and the others had waiting lists. We finally got seated. The restaurant had to borrow tables and chairs from a closed restaurant to accommodate us. After a few drinks we ordered dinner, the power in the area went out, no dinner for us. We walked around town till almost midnight before we found a burger place on the pier that could serve us. Happy New year was over a burger, a very good one at that. We all headed back to our boats. We learned later…….. the parties don’t start till 1am.       

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We have made so many friends, and I’m sure we will make many more it will be hard to sail on.

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Nov 03

Getting to know Santa Marta

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Santa Marta was the 1st Spanish settlement in the Americas, thus making it the oldest city on the continent. Tucked below the worlds highest mountains, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta with snowy peaks, Pico Simon Bolivar (18700 ft.) and Pico Cristobal Colon, 26 miles from the sea shore combined with the Caribbean sea at it’s feet this place is very unique of its kind. These mountains are home to indigenous peoples such as the Arhuacos, Koguis, Wiwas, and the Kankuamos. The energetic city with its productive harbour, colonial architecture, fun night life, interesting history, and too many things to do, will result in a longer stay than planned.

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The only risk here, is…………..We might never want to leave.

Oct 04

Hurricane Mathew

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We have had quite the week. After cleaning, sanding, and painting the bottom of  Mistress we were advised that it would be safer if we stayed out of the water till hurricane Mathew blew past. It has been approx. 150 years since a hurricane passed over Aruba, so this was a very rare occurrence, and needed to be taken seriously. The marina was flooded with calls to lift resident boats out of the water. Two were spend securing boats.

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As the storm got near the sky filled with clouds and the wind increased. The marina yard came to life with banging halyards and the sound of whistling rigging thank God for ear plugs. With the lack of sun, and the need to shut down the wind generator we set up an extension cord to power our fridge.tucked in behind a huge power boat with a concrete block tied to the predicted wind ward side we faired very well.

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The eye passed over us around 12 midnight. We got  the expected rain, thunder, and lighting, but the wind gusts were not as bad as forecasts. The ground is saturated with water causing the jack-stands sink. It is still 100% cloud cover in the sky, but temps still at 85 degrees.

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We got a call from friends in the bay. Down the street from the marina they had a derelict boat drift into them during the night. With the help of another cruiser we were able to move it back to a safer distance closer to the mangroves.

I wish I could say that hurricane Mathew was going to blow itself out over the sea, but it is predicted to turn northward and threaten more Islands. Strange how it usually targets the places with the least amount of resources.

We can only pray for them.

Sep 26

Back in Aruba

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After spending a great summer visiting family and friends we are glad to be back in Aruba. We are going to miss all our Grandkids, including the teenager that didn’t spend any time with us. We love you, but we live a sailors life. We’re also going to miss our 4 legged kids, Bailey and Hank.

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The first day, we still had a rental car ( air-conditioned), we did all the running around getting supplies and groceries to restock the boat. When we left, we stripped the lockers bare to ward off a infestation of critters. In the hot, windy days here, Mistress came through a little bit dustier but no mold at all inside. Very Good. We did have for the second time, problems with the stove, the solenoid an item which controls the gas, just crumbled away. Funny, how they make things meant for a boat that can’t handle what the sea throws at it.

The Anti-fouling paint here is almost $500.00 American. a gallon so we picked a local favourite at 1/2 the price, we use 2 gallons. Early on the 3rd day we started our maintenance to get the boat ready to go back in the water.  In the 95 degree weather it is slow going, water comes out your pores as fast as you can ingest it. I never drank so much water in my life., beer being my fluid of choice which only makes you feel sick.

We sanded the hull ,applied 2 coats of Anti-fouling, (everything will be smooth under the water), then scrubbed all the salt off before putting on 2 coats of wax. A great workout.

Launch Day ……..Tomorrow.

 

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