Cartagena

Innamorata
Steve & Carol
Mon 7 Jan 2019 01:46
10:25.01N 75:32.84W
We had a couple of days at isla Grande before we headed to Cartagena for another City experience. It was so good to be able to get in the water for a swim again and as usual we spent time cleaning the bottom of the boat, we have heard the boats grow barnacles in Cartagena in 10 days so we will be back out to Isla grande to clean the bottom again after our stay here. There was a big Armada National boat anchored at Isla Grande and a small one patrolled the anchorage day and night keeping an eye on everything, to us its totally overkill as doesn’t seem to be anything to protect us from but they take the job seriously, we are lead to believe that their worry is that the rally boats will have drugs planted on them,  altogether in both groups there are around 60 boats and there has been publicity around our arrival and movements, also we are all off to Panama after Colombia which is the main route for drug trafficking. I am not sure anyone could hide drugs without us being aware of it but obviously the powers that be seem to think that it's possible!  
We were also escorted all the way to the anchorage by a Armada National boat. Our little convoy coming up the harbour.
one of the forts at the entrance to the harbour

We now have another Armada National boat patrolling around the anchorage.

The boat who didn’t go as far as Isla Grande were all anchored in Cartagena when we arrived and it was good to catch up with Rio and Sanne again - we haven’t seen them since before Christmas as they had gone on an inland adventure.  Late afternoon we all went for drinks and some nibbles ashore at the club de Pesca, the club is letting us use their facilities and dinghy dock for a small fee, afterwards we headed out on mass to find somewhere to eat and get a drink - conveniently there is a food truck court not far away which was cheap and reasonably good food.
Tomorrow we will start to Explore.