Cartagena and San Bernardo Islands, Columbia 17 December 18 to 6 January 19
CARTAGENA (Columbia, South America, SW Caribbean) 10O.25.07’N, 75O32.88’W 17 December 2018 – 3 January 2019
National Flag of Columbia The city of Cartagena is a major port founded in 1533, located on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region. During the colonial era it was a key port for the export of Peruvian silver to Spain and for the import of enslaved Africans under the asiento system. It was defensible against pirate attacks in the Caribbean. Population 971,592 as of 2016. It is the fifth-largest city in Colombia. Monday 17 December 2018 Isla Grande (Roserio Island Group) to Cartagena, 22 miles, 4.08 hrs, 4.1 engine hrs, 5.4 knots average speed Total Miles: 12354 nm With only a slight breath of wind we motored the passage, escorted by a Columbian Navy vessel. All 35 rally boats arrived together and spectacularly proceeded up the river to the anchorage in a near single file procession. It was an awesome sight, one we were proud to be a part of. A local press helicopter circled overhead.
The Old Fort at the South river entrance Cartagena in the distance
New City buildings of Cartagena View of the anchorage
I only had one night and one morning to explore the ‘old walled city’ of Cartagena. I flew back to the UK for Christmas and New Year, leaving Ken to look after Lady Rebel in the anchorage. The Christmas lights were amazing and the atmosphere vibrant. Cartagena by night
Cartagena by day
Lots of other rally boats stayed in Cartagena so Ken wasn’t alone! He joined an organised tour of the old town and attended plenty of social activities!
A considerable amount of Ken’s time was spent splicing the new guard rails, fixing the hydraulic dinghy platform, improving the wiring of the battery systems, plus other bits and pieces, so he was a very busy chap! I arrived back in Cartagena on Wednesday 2 January having had a wonderful time catching up with family and friends. The short time I was away went far too quickly as I knew it would and before I knew it we were setting off on the next leg of our journey. It didn’t take long to be back in the swing of things! SAN BERNARDO ISLANDS – Isla Tintipan, Columbia 09O.47.33’N, 075O50.86’W 3 – 6 January 2019 Isla Tintipan is a beautiful Columbian island, 47 miles from Cartagena. The sea was so flat calm I was able to clean all the city dust and dirt from Lady Rebel’s decks whilst we motored along in the brilliant sunshine! Unfortunately, during the process, the sink mixer tap fell apart – one of the hazards of a ‘salty’ atmosphere – corrosion! It was easily fixable, just awkward and time consuming, as is everything that needs fixing on a boat – awkward and time consuming that is – definitely not always easy! To be anchored back in clear blue water was wonderful. Not only could we throw ourselves off the side of the boat for a refreshing dip, or an interesting snorkel, we were able to hook up to our mini dive bottle and scrape off the barnacles, sea-weed and other weird and wonderful products of nature growing on the keel, rudder, propeller and hull. A job that is definitely time consuming, requires lots of energy and enthusiasm, however, very rewarding! There is a lot to be said for a smooth bottom 😊
Another benefit to having the swimmable waters, was to resume ‘Noodle’ exercise to burn off the Christmas pounds that were no longer able to hide within the confines of the bikini! This regular morning activity is also very sociable and a great start to the day, following the daily radio net at 0815 hrs where we listen as a group and hear about social events, weather, rally information and can ask for support, assistance, advice. During our stay in Tintipan the rally boats were closely monitoring the weather. We had an upcoming overnight passage of 130 miles, to islands off the coast of Panama. Seas can be very rough in this area so we were looking for a good weather window. Tintipan is a mixture of sandy beaches, palm trees, mangroves and wilderness, with one or two upcoming resorts, surrounded by coral reefs. Its amazing out-lying island bars and restaurants do attract the tourists coming in from the mainland in high speed boats, but we never particularly felt their presence.
We enjoyed a fascinating tour of the neighbouring Santa Cruz Islet, famous for being the Worlds most populated island with 1247 people in just 90 houses; even walking through a local’s living room to get petrol for the dinghy outboard! The tour guide was very proud to show us the fighting cocks and tin roofed arena; we were not so keen!
Buildings crammed in everywhere on Santa Cruz
Next destination: The San Blas Islands, PANAMA |
