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Dec 15

Obaldia, ….Arrival to Panama, Oct.30/2017

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Tutty Lee

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After an enjoyable night passage, we are in the border town of Obaldia. The town situated at the southern end of the country, is an easy access point for drugs and guerrillas, so has a high military presence, there is an armed guard post on the main dock.

Checking into the country here was not easy, the love paper work, everything is written out by hand. Our first stop was to the guard, after looking over our papers, we were sent to immigration our directions were to walk to the palm tree turn left go over a wooden bridge, you should see it. simple !!! After getting totally lost, we ask a man who directed us to the right place. When we got there, we were told to sit, we were the only ones in the office, the agent would be back soon.

About ten minutes later a guy comes in carrying his lunch. He sat down at his desk, hid behind his computer and watched a TV on a table in the next room. about 30 min went by before he asked to see our passports. he the looked at every page and read every stamp. He then started filling out forms probably 4 papers for each of us, then gave us a e page form to fill out. Parents names, children’s names, ages, where are they all had to be written down. The best was shade of skin colour. luckily there was a place to get copies made just four doors away. They needed 3 copies of all documents. When we were finished we walked aback over to the guard post. the soldier looked over our papers then told us we now needed to report to the Port Authority funny it was 1 small street away from where we just came from. Upon arriving there we found it empty extended lunch hour. Again after waiting for awhile the port captain showed up filled he necessary forms all written out by hand, stamped and singed. We paid our fees and Mistress was welcomed to the country. Back to see the guard it was now mid afternoon and starting to rain, but he didn’t hesitate, “oh my god”….. more copies. Every new formed copied twice. When we finally in the rain, he inspected all our forms and documents before calling for an agent to inspect our boat. No answer, nobody wants to get wet… Manana, tomorrow, we will be inspected first thin in the morning. A whole day went by but we still must complete one last thing to be admitted to Panama. we stood talking to the guard who is learning English, impressed with my Spanish. We gave him correct pronunciation of words he was having trouble with.

We returned to Mistress, to wait for morning.

Dec 08

Leg 1, To San Blas

Posted on December 8, 2017 by Tutty Lee

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We left Santa Marta at first light , having woke up at 6am. The winds were forecast to be light , so we knew it would be a motor-sail to Puerto Velero, 57 nm. SW along the coast.

Our friends Ineke and Mike were stationed at the end of the pier to wave us farewell.

Santa Marta has been a nice stop, we are going to miss it. From here we have travelled all through Colombia, on their inexpensive transportation system.

Our last days have been busy, provisioning, and getting ready to travel. Our fridge was not getting cold, but under Mikes instructions and use of his hoses, we added more Freon, which solved the problem. With everything stowed away, our forward Vee berth packed with bags of water, and other odds and ends, we left the marina.

It felt great to be back on the water again, after staying 2 days 0ver our one year visa the wind and the waves felt so relaxing.

About 5 miles out we had the Armada Nacional Coast Guard come along side, and we were asked to stop, they wanted to inspect our vessel. Two officers along with their dog boarded Mistress than sat in the cockpit checking our documents. In the lumpy conditions, they cut the visit short, wished us a good trip, then returned to the inflatable. Soon after we discovered that our fridge was not working, again the temp soaring to almost 80. All our frozen and vacuum pack meats were spoiling. where we are headed to, the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama have very few stores. We are planning to stay one month, so the meat in the fridge was important.

The Magdalena river which travels from the south of the country and empties into the ocean at Barranquilla is fast flowing and littered with debris. Everything from household refuse,to vegetation to whole tree trunks come floating out just west of the city. We had to keep a good look out, and zig zag around the piles, some the size of a small Island. If we ran into one of these it would have stopped us dead in our tracks in the swells they were quite hard to see. It was a beautiful sunset, but our hopes of making it to the anchorage by dark ended watching the sun sink on the horizon.

We rounded Punta Hermosa in the dark, moonless night then followed the lighted channel to the anchorage other than a fisherman checking his net, we were the only boat there it was 8 30 pm, after our 12hr journey, we would tackle the fridge problem in the morning.

Turns out it was an easy fix, we changed the electrical control module, which luckily we had, but it meant we would have to stop in Cartagena to buy more meat.

Oct 04

Back in Santa Marta, 2017

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Tutty Lee

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We are back in Santa Marta, after a long summer with our family and friends. Wished we could have spent more time with each and everyone of you, but we had a lot to deal with. From the birth of a Grand-Son to the loss of a Parent, all I can say is, we had our hands full.

We had been worried about Mistress, our home, since the middle of the summer. We couldn’t get in contact with the marina, which only added to the stress. Friends here checked on her and reported that she was doing well, and looked good from the outside.

After a comfortable flight, even carried by Avianca crew, who were on strike, we arrived back at the marina early in the evening. It had been raining, the humidity around 80%, we will need to acclimatize once again.

The strong sun has burnt the bright work, dust everywhere including inside the cabin, we need to clean…….Stem to Stern…….but first, clear a spot to sleep. Tomorrow.

We did have a couple of residents move in while we were gone, a crab, and some type of animal that just left a mess. Both have moved on. We also had a can of beer, that we been stowing since we started this journey to offer to King Neptune. Sadly, it exploded in the heat.

Seems like the local grocery store knew we were coming, it was decorated, and stocked up with beer and skids of eggs ( something I always find funny, unrefrigerated).

Nice to be back, now the task of getting ready to sail toward the San Blas Islands, and to mainland Panama.

Jan 09

Settling into to Colombian Lifestyle

Posted on January 9, 2017 by Tutty Lee

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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.

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.

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.

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.