Bob's thoughts...

Another rather poetic email from Bob in Cartegena, I think the atmosphere was having an effect on him… read on …………. > Good Morning Heather I am sat on deck, clear blue skies, looking over the > morning scenes of Catagena waking up. The unreal juxter positions of The > gleaming Miami Vice skyline one side of the bay and the Majestic Domes of > Spanish Colonial military might languishing over the old walled city at the > other end of the Bay. The subtlety of the vista is enhanced by the background > blend of its audio rhythms! Starting with the near silence of the early > morning haze that imperceptibly morphs into the murmuring heartbeat of a > sleeping giant, the hum of what can only be the pressurized gurgleling of 1.6 > million coffee makers turning into the ratatatats of distant diesels and the > fluid swooping cawing sea birds being replaced by the demented buzz of a > frantic water taxi appearing from nowhere skimming the surface and then > vanishing into the fabric of the audio seascape. All the while the audio > backdrop continues to blur yet partner the visual lunacy of this meeting of > eras in one city at the halfway house between The North and South America's or > 300 years ago between North and Southern European expansionism. The > occaisonal other era formality of The long practiced rythyms of a marching > band drift in and out of earshot behind the indecipherable hum of the rising > breaths of the Giant as the populace of Cartagena starts to power up its veins > of Narrow overcrowded streets and alleys. The soup of city sound is made all > the more homogeneous by the clarity and overpowering volume of dropped food in > the enclosure that pens in the towering megalosaurus and diplodocus eating > containers from ships that strayed too close. ................... > All very chilled and laid back here on Daisy this morning, we got up early to > dingy Graeme to shore to get his flight and then went to bed for more shut-eye > before relaxing under the bimini to soak up the start of the day. At 9:30am > Paul went down below because it was too hot for him on deck. Eddie is still in > Bed. Last night we went to the old city and had dinner in one of the outside > plazas.

Next Stop Cartagena

So here is a snipit from Bob's last email. I was questioning him why they were heading to the San Blas when Graeme had plane tickets from Panama (on Friday 18th). F.Y.I Both Porvenir and Rio Diablo have little airports, well actually "airport" is stretching it a bit, both islands have a garden shed that doubles as a check in office and customs next to a small airstrip, but its enough to get a small jet to Panama.///

>This photo taken of Edi in the San Blas Christmas 2011 …………………………………………... BOB'S EMAIL…….. Hi Heather, The reason for heading to the San Blas is that they are on the way to anywhere in Panama. Our idea was to see if we could get Graeme to Porvenir Or Rio Diablo to get a flight to Panama City, so we could stop and chill on the San Blas for a while before going to Shelterbay. However the weather on the Columbian Coast has not matched the Weather forecasts. The day has been clear and sunny but the winds and waves have not died down all day. The wind has been between 30 and 40kts all day and we saw a few 50s. The Waves have been behind us most of the time but have meant constant attention to avoid us either surfing too fast or being turn broadside to our sail settings. (The good news is that with our double headsail set up, we don't have to worry about gybing) Because the wind is not dropping, my current plan is not to go direct to the San Blas, but instead to go into Cartagena tonight and then Graeme will buy new plane tickets from there. We will then continue on to the San Blas at our own pace, either staying a few days at Cartahena and the Islands off Columbia or going straight to the San Blas based solely on the best conditions to do it. Of Course this plan may change on the Whim of the Weather! I will keep you informed. - Cartagena is currently in sight. I will email you when we get there. Luv Bob………... (I received an email following this one an hour later to say that they are safely anchored in the bay.)

Emeralds and Barracuda's.

Tuesday 21^st December

We arrived at Cartagena 5 days ago, and I absolutely love it here, most of all because the temperature is perfect, well not exactly perfect, it’s bloody hot during the day, but there are wonderfully consistently cool breezes which make it very comfortable, and the nights are lovely and cool, so no more hot sweats throughout the night like I’m used to in the rest of the Caribbean.  Also, there are absolutely NO mosquitoes, what absolute bliss.

Having my children and Scoop here with us, I am in Heaven, all the work is behind me (for now) its just vacation time. 

Heather, Bob, Niki, Scoop, Edi & Danni

We arrived last Friday following another very windless rolly crossing, we managed to avoid all the floating debris from the river Magdalena, and arrived unscathed.

The water in the bay was pretty bad, but I honestly don’t think it’s any worse than Simpson Bay, St.Martin, or the bay at Curacao marina, anyway we didn’t want to sit in it for too long having just had Daisy’s bottom painted and all the through hole’s cleaned.  We spent a day exploring the old city of Cartagena, which was really lovely; unfortunately a cruise ship had arrived in the port that morning so the city’s narrow little streets were bursting with people.  Danni, Niki and Scoop had spent the day there yesterday and Danni said it had been very quiet, I wished the cruise ship had come in a day later.  We browsed the emerald stores, Scoop’s fluent Spanish really helped as we bartered for the precious stones.  One of the storeowners offered to close his store for us to stay and have lunch, and drink whisky with him, the atmosphere was very friendly and warm, and I was really enjoying myself trying on all the jewelry. But I couldn’t help but picture the very friendly store owner closing his store and getting his customer’s legless on whisky while selling them thousands of dollars worth of emeralds… hmmmm !  It possibly works well with cruise ship guests but not Bob.

We had a deliciously decadent lunch at the restaurant “Juan del Mar”, a lovely little restaurant set in a quiet street in the old city opposite one of the small piazza’s.

I would have quite happily spent another day exploring the old city, but everyone was keen to get to the islands, and Bob didn’t want to spend any longer than necessary in the bay growing nasty stuff on Daisy’s hull.

 So we left on my birthday Monday 20^th and headed over to the islands Rosaria, off the coast where the water was clean and clear and we could all swim.

We had quite a few boat vendors approach us with lobster and fish for sale, and one boat came over with jewelry.  The boat vendors name was Nixon, and his jewelry was made from local materials, such as mother of pearl, red coral, brightly colored stones, pearls and beads.  We each chose a couple of necklaces, which weren’t expensive; I think the 8 items we bought cost around $120.  It was lots of fun sitting on board trying on all the jewelry, and letting Scoop haggle over the prices for us.

posing for a picture with Nixon,  wearing some of our purchases.

Later as we were getting ready to go snorkeling, we were approached by a family who invited us to join them for lunch, at their house on the island.  We declined and thanked them, explaining that we were going snorkeling.  A couple of hours later as we were returning to Daisy they came back with food for us.  They had prepared a whole barracuda, coconut rice and the most delicious dish of sauteed onions. 

The delicious baracuda

 They told us that they had caught the fish that morning but had too much.  Along with the food they also brought a bag of coffee and a bottle of a local drink called “Aguardiente” which tasted like Pernod.  I was amazed by these people’s kindness, it’s rare today to find people who will do something for you, especially if they don’t know you, and expect nothing in return.

Two of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of meeting, and the providers of the fabulous food we all enjoyed