Cartagena, Columbia

Rhumbrunner
Mon 18 Jan 2016 02:56

We arrived in Cartagena having motored for a couple of hours before the breeze filled in and allowed us to sail, we set our fishing lines and waited, around us calls were coming in of successful hauls so we were hoping for something good.

 

An interesting phenomena as we passed the mouth of the river was the mixing of the clear blue sea water and the dirty brown of the river, the effect was quite dramatic. at around lunchtime we had a strike and it turned out to be a Barracuda, a good size around 70cm but we decided to let it grow a bit bigger and returned it, no other strikes that day. We continued with a pleasant run with the ballooner most of the way, having to use the Southern entrance meant an extra hour or more but the Columbian officials were insistent that we had to go that way. On arrival a trip ashore for drinks and nibbles and swapping stories was the order of the day, after which we found a very good restaurant nearby for excellent steaks and ribs.

 

Day 2 introduced us to club racing Columbian style, free beers were at hand before the skippers brief which was delayed slightly by some snacks, margaritas and of course some more beer. Let me explain that we had been asked if anyone was interested in doing some racing when we got to Cartagena, no details except it was a club regatta and we were invited, and so a random selection process was adopted and we all found out who we were sailing with.

The start was as expected very exiting with only one collision, a proper T-bone, there was plenty of drink on board and every successful tack or jibe was followed with a drink of some sort, Chris reported consuming two beers followed by five tequila shots just on two legs of the race!! So after the race we all went back to the Marina for more beers, more nibbles and some cocktails, just to finish the evening.

 

Post Race Day,

Today was somewhat subdued for some reason, a quiet trip ashore, found some museums with Aircon, well it was 32 degrees and recovered slowly from the rigorous sail the day before, now back on board with air-con on, 21:20  and it is still 30+ degrees, I had to remind Chris that this is NOT a holiday.

 

 

Our current position in Columbia 10:25.057N 075:32.896W

 

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