Adios Cartagena

We have cleared out of Colombia and have our zarpe in hand and are making our way towards Panama. We heard the barnacles screaming as we moved out of the Cartagena Bay. We had to get the prop and bottom scraped so we could move and got underway on Tuesday (a day later than planned due to a late zarpe – exit clearance). We did last minute provisioning of some bread and fresh stuff on Monday as we waited for final paperwork and then got an early start on Tuesday. We went through the Boca Grande cut to leave. This is a very small opening – an underwater wall protects the bay from pirates and a small hole was blasted in it to let small boats through. It gets as shallow as 11 feet and is only about 100 feet wide so it is a bit tricky to sneak through. You want to be sure the markers are there or you have good GPS numbers. We actually had our headsail up and managed to sail for most of the day.

We are now in the Bay of Chilon, a lovely harbour protected on almost all sides and surrounded by green hills. Lots of bird noises and music have replaced the noises of boats, city and ship loading. It is lovely. We have never been here, but many boats call this harbour home for months and months. The water is clearer and it is pretty. There are about 15 sailboats in here and one large fishing boat turned pleasure boat turned "bar." That would be the "Manatee" where on Wednesday nights, tonight, there is a "happy hour."

We have been approached by several small boats (kayaks, ulus and a man paddling a surfboard) trying to sell us fish, shrimp, lobsters or fresh limes. We're pretty stocked up and the prices seem quite hefty here – so we'll pass. We do like supporting the locals when we can and when we anchor in their water – but we won't pay outrageous prices. We'll talk to some of the other boats around to see what the going rates are on things.

It was a very quiet and peaceful night here. The anchorage was flat, the breeze blew for much of the night keeping it bug free and comfortable. We awoke to lots of bird noises and some music from a nearby boat. But it wasn't loud or obnoxious – it was a nice way to start a beautiful morning.

Now we wait for a weather window (which we thought was today – but isn't), In fact, it looks like we may have to sit here through the weekend. We need at least a two day (preferably three day) window for the passage and we want to sail. The trades should start to blow soon which would be perfect direction – but due to lows in the area the seas are very big and the winds are from the west (the direction we want to head). Plus there is a current – so we don't want to fight both wind and current and high seas to cross. We'll wait – this seems to be a lovely little spot.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com