First off, let me say that the internet, or more the lack of internet has not been good to us lately.
We had planned to leave Aruba on the Saturday, October 15th, but the wind changed and was gusting 25 knots, a little too high for our first passage of the season. The Colombian coast is considered one of the worst passages in the world for sailors. It was forecasted to lessen, so we waited til Sunday. Everything depends on the wind and the direction which it’s coming from, so it seemed that we were checking the forecast every hour. We also had the help, that it was a full moon making it easier to see.
After completing some last minute chores, we moved over to the town dock to deal with the officials. When the paperwork was finished we were given 1 hour to leave, we were ready and just wanted to get underway. Off we set, the last islands of Venezuela 57 miles to the west, which we needed to go around, in the dark. As we closed in on the coast of Colombia we were give lightning show, with bolts streaking across the sky. 10 miles out, we stayed perfectly dry.
(Taken from Video)
Except for some countercurrent and wind off the headlands we had a nice sail all the way til the last island coming into Santa Marta Bay. There we met waves coming directly at us with high winds. Our speed slowed down to less than 2 knots, making little headway, we only hoped that we could make it in before dark.
The process of checking onto Colombia ended up being a 2 day affair, with us being confined to the marina property. The cruisers here had scheduled a BBQ, but the rain changed the plans. We did attend, sitting with new friend under a small shelter.
This morning we given the green light to go to town, mostly to stock up on food so off we went with map in hand to find the the stores.
We treated ourselves to a breakfast at a Panaderia (Bakery), 2 empanadas, Potato roll, a piece of something like a pizza, 2 Macaroons, washed down with beer………total price, less than $10 Canadian. Very easy on the monthly expenses to stay here. In the upcoming weeks we plan on doing more exploring, it seems to be a beautiful country.
This will be our home for the next 4 to 6 months while we explore the interior of the country.
