Tag Archives: Caribbean Sailing

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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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 21

Santa Marta, Colombia

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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.

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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.

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Snapshot 1 Dolphin (10-20-2016 9-32 PM)

(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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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This will be our home for the next 4 to 6 months while we explore the interior of the country.

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.