Mid Ocean Dives & Pirates (Maybe)

After an incredibly tardy exit process extending over four days, we finally got our zarpe (exit papers for Milly).  We usually manage this process ourselves in about 5-10 minutes but in Columbia the bureaucracy of exiting must be done by an agent which adds yet another layer of officialdom.  Through no fault of the agent, the port authority eventually told him that they were denying our exit because hurricane Otto, long passed, was creating "dangerous" current in the sea.  The explanation was suspicious - Otto was then in the Pacific, we deal with currents all the time and boats in Cartegena, down the coast, were able leave.  Made us wonder: What else was going on in the sea off this Colombian coast?

We left Colombia with mixed feelings.  There is so much to see and experiences to be had there  - we felt we had only touched the surface.  Although we saw much of the north and Caribbean coast, the cities, mountains and Amazon will have to wait until we head to the Pacific.  We were also leaving our friends on five boats who we had cruised and adventured with for more than two months and had played with in Grenada over the long hurricane season.   

Janice hosted, yet again, a good-bye breakfast on Livin’ Life and then a sad farewell at the dock with noise makers and lots of waves and blown kisses.  The group were off to Panama, some to cross to the Pacific and others undecided as to their next move.  One of the difficult things about cruising is saying good-bye without knowing when, or even if, we will meet these kindred spirits again.

Waves, airhorns and blown kisses sent us on our way.  We miss you guys!

Good bye, Santa Marta.  Note, wind is nil.  

On the other hand, we were off to new territory, Belize, to meet our children for Christmas!  We only had joy, fun and more adventure to look forward to.  

Peter noticed on maneuvering out of the slip that our motors did not have much kick in them.  We managed at high r.p.m., an unusual whirring sound and lower than usual speed to motor for the first hour or so of the passage.  When the wind filled in we put up the sails and promptly forgot about the engines for the next day and a half while on a wonderful downwind sail.

And then the wind died.  Apart from the swells, the ocean was calm.  The sails were useless and only luffed and flapped in the waves.  We never like to motor but unless we wanted to drift to Providencia, it was required.  The motors turned on but we hardly moved.  Not good.  In a storm or in a calm, motors are very useful, sometimes essential to safety.

High tech rope around waist - in retrospect, it looks a little loose-, gloves for barnacles and mask and snorkel.  

Only thing for it was to dive on the prop so the brave captain tied a rope around his waist with the other end tied to Milly the diagnosis was that the props were covered with huge barnacles from our stay in dirty Santa Marta.  The props moved more like clubs then propellers.  With a lot of diving and scraping he got the major culprits off.  He got out and I got in for a dip, holding onto the ladder which was bobbing at least 6 ft up and down with the rising swells.  A squall was approaching.  The whole operation was done just in time.  Our first deep sea dip.

Here it comes!

And, here it is

We sailed 948 NM from Santa Marta, Columbia to Placencia, Belize with a three night stop in Providencia, a Columbian island about half way.  The two sails were varied as multi day passages always are - calms, squalls, ships that always seems to be on collision course even in a huge ocean, marooned flying fish.  Peter saw one pod of dolphins.  Otherwise very little fish or birds, sadly.  And worse, lots of plastic flotsam, particularly as we neared Belize.  So disturbing in an otherwise beautiful sea.

First glimpse of Providencia

Morgan's Crack - Captain Morgan of pirate fame

Morgan's head.

And Morgan's head again - I think this is lateral view?

A footbridge joined Providencia to Santa Cantaline, a tiny island where Estoban once had a large estate.  The bridge was being decorated for Christmas with assorted fish shaped from string of coloured light.  Sounds kind of ghastly but fits in the tropics.

Providencia was beautiful - volcanic mountains and authentic town.  Very little development and what was there was tasteful and very modest.  We rented a scooter and did a three hour round trip of the entire island.  We hope to return one day.

Mr. Bush, the customs agent in Providencia, worked out of his wife’s general store.  His desk, piled with papers, books and magazines like I’d never seen before, sat amongst matresses, office desks, women’s clothing, light fixtures, toilet brushes etc. etc. - very square foot of the store was piled, more like a warehouse than a store.  As our business was done, we squeezed between and propped ourselves on items for sale.

You might not be able to see it but a barracuda hung out under Milly maybe to stay out of the sun.  I would check through the emergency hatch to ensure I wasn't going to surprise him/her when going for a dip.

A favourite cafe in Don Olivio's house.

Find the heron

Snowman and Santa in 30 degree weather.

Gorgeous water, great snorkelling and long white beaches.

Cayo Cangrejo.  We snorkelled around it.  Phenomenal water.

When clearing out to set off for Belize, Mr Bush warned us that boats had been approached by fishing boats/pirates off the banks of Nicaragua.  We had read and he reiterated that we should not stop for anyone but the coast guard.  We timed our passage so that we would enter the banks area during daylight.  However, the passage through would take us through the night.  We turned off our AIS transmission which meant that we could not be seen by any ship/boat that had the AIS system.  We also turned off our navigation lights.   After sailing the coast of Brazil and the Guyanas without even considering these precautions, this was a bit off putting. On Peter’s watch, just after dawn, I was awakened when both motors were suddenly turned on.  Peter was being chased by a fishing boat.  We were close enough to see about eight guys whistling and waving at us.  They shouted in Spanish, asking us to stop.  There were several dugout canoes in the water with guys paddling toward us, also shouting and waving.  On two counts we were lucky - perhaps the guys in the canoe meant that the mother ship did not give chase for any length of time and our props were clean.  Peter was able to floor it with good effect while I quickly stashed our electronic gear in hiding places around the boat.  One of the important rules of seamanship is to give aid to other boats on the sea so we felt slightly guilty that we had sped away from those who might have needed help or maybe just wanted to sell us some lobster.  But who knew for sure?  We erred on the side of caution.

The fishermen gave up on chasing Milly as Peter gunned the engines.  We recovered as we gained distance.

Unfortunately, we passed The Bay Islands of Honduras where we had wanted to stop in the dark.  Entering an unknown harbour at night is never wise so we continued on to the southern cays of Belize dodging to cruise enormous cruise ships coming out of the harbour at Roatan.  

First anchorage in Belize at Moho Cay.  Looked like a beautiful lodge once - for sale and abandoned now, sadly.  Shortly after setting anchor, a motor boat zoomed up with three large men, two carrying semi automatic weapons, standing on the bow and midships.  After our fishermen scare, I again scurried to hide electronics.  But the demands were innocent.  We needed to pay our park fee of $5 each.  Unfortunately we only had $7 or a $20 bill.  The officials searched their pockets, guns aside but did not have change.  They said they'd be back and sped off to the abandoned hotel kept safe by a watchman.  They came back without change and accepted $5 - a half price deal from guys with guns.  Nice!

Road Trip Columbia

Santa Marta, Colombia was the first place where Peter and I left Milly at dock to take a few inland excursions - hike, motorcycle and, finally, road trip by mini bus.  

We left the marina with ten others from five other boats.  First stop was Cartegena for three nights followed by two nights in Mompox.  Each drive took eight hours.  Although the distance was not huge the roads were winding, hilly and sometimes so potholed that our speed diminished to that of walking and our insides were jostled about like a washing machine.  Somehow hours on end on a bus is much more tiresome than the same on a boat.  But the novelty and land scenery was a great change.  The rest of the story in pictures:

The old city of Cartagena, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was beautifully and tastefully restored.  Of course, it was full of tourists but also full of Columbians who lived there.  Pedestrian streets, sidewalk cafes, lovely courtyards to peek at as we walked by, green and lush parks complete with resident sloths, lots of characterful street art and crafts as well as delicious looking street food.

Indigenous laid out their crafts on blankets along ancient walls.  

A gate into the walled old city with the Puerta del Reloj and church spires in the background.  Like mine, a favourite colour is mustard yellow, beautiful against the deep blue sky.  The ancient wall was 13 km long and took two centuries to complete.  We were able to walk several kilometres taking refreshment at a bar to watch the sunset over the Caribbean.

This arcade, El Portal de los Dulces, was lined with tables ladened with locally made sweets.  

A few traditionally dressed women sold fresh fruit which this tourist is obviously enjoying.  Arepas de Queso street cart in the background sold a traditional cornmeal thick pancake fried and stuffed with melted cheese.  I plan to attempt to make them on Milly.

A guillotine was one of several gruesome instruments of death/torture in the Palacio de la Inquisicion, the mission of which was to rid Columbia of heresy.  Eight hundred people were murdered during the Inquisition.  Remarkably, considering how they were otherwise treated by the Spanish, the indigenous people were not tried.

The small window in the centre was discretely placed around the corner from the Palacio's main door.  Here people could denounce their neighbours to the Inquisition who would then investigate and condemn.

Lovely streets in the old city had balconies with bougainvillea spilling over the railings.

Reminiscent of New Orleans minus the frenzy.

The Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas is a gigantic fort covering a full hill.  It is the greatest castillo ever built by Spain in any of it's colonies.  Because of it's strategic location as a gateway to the Caribbean for the plundered gold in South America, Cartegena was besieged by pirates many times.  A series of forts were built at the mouth of the port - this one was impregnable.

The fort had a complex system of tunnels connecting strategic points of the fort for provisioning and quick evacuation.  The tunnels were built so that any sound made by friend or foe could be heard from a great distance, giving early warning of enemy approach or easy internal communication.  It was an eery, dimly lit walk.

A street art tour took us through several neighbourhoods outside the old city walls.  The neighbourhoods are slowly becoming gentrified by boutique hotels and a multitude of restaurants mingling with working class residences.

The gentrification is not viewed positively by many who live in the areas.  As the properties are bought up to cater to the wealthier, the cost of living soars and the residents can no longer afford to live there.  This sign is displayed on several walls, protesting the sale of property to developers.

A popular street food booth on the edge of a busy square - kids playing futbol, couples strolling and dancing, lots of people watching, and food of all sorts from stalls.  This was an assembly line of Columbian-style burgers made only for those with a huge mouth.

The gang heading out from our hotel - 8 of us actually shared a self-contained villa owned by the hotel - on the next leg of our journey.  Two days was not enough in Cartegena.  We would have liked at least 5-7 days.  Beautiful, beautiful city.

Mompox, a remote colonial town, was a bustling inland port on the River Magdalena in it's heyday.  It is, apparently, similar to Garcia Marquez's fictional town of Macondo.  This unusual Iglesia de Santa Barbara with griffin and lion gargoyles and balcony-ringed bell tower, is the home of hundreds of bats which take flight at sunset for their evening meal.  We saw the cloud as we walked the lovely streets nearby. 

Another reason to come here was the reputation of the river tour which went down the river, past small villages and tiny farms, through marshes.  Lots of iguanas and birds hanging out in the trees along with a few monkeys.

Mompox streets and plazas were lovely and authentic, slowly decomposing.  There are a few small hotels so tourists will soon discover it's charm.  

I'm a sucker for flowers.

Even the open front tiendas were works of art with their wares arranged in colourful formation.

Walking the streets with the gang was the best way to see the village.  The sidewalks were raised for flood and too narrow to manage anything but single file.  It felt like a march!

Watermelons delivered by boat on the river.

Street food in the true sense.  We enjoyed a snack before our boat tour.

The town is renowned for filigree jewelry made right in front of you.  Great for Christmas presents.

The boat tour took place late afternoon.  

Going through the marsh which was miles across, the young boy at the front would attempt to pole the growth away while the dad and driver attempted to ram his way through.  

And we were told the rock the boat from side to side to assist.  We made it but not without some vigorous activity.

Delicious pineapples also arrived by boat.

Sweet girls heading to school on the bus.

Happy to be home!