Sept 09
Sept—5-09 Corazon de Jesus ,San Blas: Cari James Lily and I (I flew back to U.S for a quick week) landed on time
and Neil was there waiting, umbrella drinks and all! Breakfast, dolphin sighting and off we go to WEST COCO
BANDEROS .This is where James gets to try out his new snorkeling skills, not bad! Nice old local guy came by with sm
carved ulus he made really cute and intricate so Cari & James had their 1st souvenir. Lisa (the transvestite master mola
maker) also found us although C& J were not interested in molas they did get a very cute top for Lily and Lisa’s newest
product mola koozies for cans!! We even lucked out with a crab and lobster dinner locals came by in afternoon YUM!
Off to the EAST HOLANDES “pool’ a rough ride we did give Cari and James both a dramamine BUT James is a big
guy we should have given him 2. After James did his fish chumming ;) all was good. Snorkeled on Barracuda reef C & J
got to see a lobster and a lesser electric ray among other “pretty” fish. Lily loved the beach and she was in love with the
taste of sand. Mr. Turtle was a hit for the 2nd time. James got to try out spear fishing by now Neil was a good teacher,
Mr in June, Andy in July, Spinney in Aug and now James. All it cost Neil was 2 spears, one lost through a hole and one
stuck in coral. Oh Well…James did get one, but ohhhhh soooo tiny. Hey I told him I think a little one is harder to hit!
Kids even got to experience how we get our coconuts. It’s illegal to take them from the Kuna Yala islands BUT we can
trade. A few old Kuna guys came up and asked us to charge their cell phones for coconuts! Hey why not. But really it
just cracks me up . They live in dirt huts no electricity, live off the land & sea, no engines on the ulus BUT have cell
phones!
Lily was a great 1yr old all week, we even dropped mom and dad at an island for the day for some “romantic alone
time”. Well the week went by really fast. Kids ate plenty of lobster and crab, no one got burnt to a crisp while hanging at
the beach and Lily acquired a new name Cha Cha... she really loves to dance! Another successful family time in the San
Blas
EAST LEMONS & CARTI: kids are gone we head to East Lemons for a night do 3 loads of laundry thank goodness it
was sunny and windy so all would dry! I did get a quick snorkel on the reef, saw cute sm trunk, beautiful queen angel
and lots of sm lobsters. Plus Neil bargained 15 lobsters for 10 bucks yum they freeze well too. We had ordered a new
hot water heater and it had been waiting for us in Panama City ,with all the company we had no where on Attitude to
keep it until Cartagena where we will install it. So it was arranged to be put on a truck and brought to Carti, we needed
to meet it early Monday am. Wow it was on time and there! We even lucked out and had a really big pod of dolphins
with us on the way there, for me way cool! As Carti Is NOT a place to stay and hang!
Back to EAST HOLANDES” pool” “HOME”
Met some nice new cruisers Lucy and Jamie on Bamboozle and Louise and Gary on LuLu. Oh yea and another pod of
dolphin on way into the pool yippeeee. I know N was happy he was off fishing again and shot a 14 lb dog snapper.
Gearing up for the Pacific(the plan is Feb 2010 to go through the Panama Canal), we heard Blue Fox on the net selling
wheels for a dinghy, due to tides and coast line these are needed in the pacific so we snatched them up ASAP. Cool one
thing off our list.
RATONES CAY ARIDUP
on our way to Cartagena, to install new hot water heater, redo cushions in salon, (which is the 20 yrds of ultra suede I
dragged back from the US) new foam in cockpit cushions (also dragged back from U.S cuz it’s a certain type) get our
life raft repacked should have been done a long time ago, refridge wk needed, etc etc.. To make it a nicer passage we
stopped and anchored at Aridup Anyway on route to ARIDUP Neil caught 2 black fin tuna and a nice mackerel perfect
for cerviche. Cruising around Neil while spear fishing was a 12ft great Hammerhead!!! Yikes I guess he wasn’t hungry
cuz he just went by and didn’t stop for a bite…
MAMITUPU our next stop A really nice traditional Kuna village which will be our one and only village to visit. Pablo
came out to Attitude ASAP. He had gone to England yrs ago and lived there for 8yrs. So he has some English & said he
would be happy to show us around his (photos 8, 9, 10) Island & his family... All the Kuna men wk on the mainland in
the fields owned by the Kunas when we got there wk was just ending and 40 or so ulus were heading at us! Really just
going back to Mamitupu. 1200 people all living in small dirt floor huts very close together even their pigs were in the huts,
which we learned is tradition. Kunas like to be together! We entered the Congresso(no pics allowed) where the Kunas
meet every day to discuss issues a hand, the men meet , the women meet and they all meet together and it is REQUIRED
that all attend. This island has 7 chiefs and they ea have a hammock hung up in the middle of the HUGE thatched
building, while the villagers sit on benches circling the middle. We watched a man making a strainer out of a gourd and an
unusual tool he made to puncture the holes.
I always have things for kids so I started handing out pencils and candy WOW was I a hit!!
Throughout the entire island the Kuna people appear to be happy especially the kids.
Corn was taken off the cob and laid on the ground to dry; here I found stuffed animals
or old baby dolls sitting with the corn. It’s the Kuna version of a scarecrow! We bought some
coconut soap and Kuna bread walked through the school & clinic, loved the lawn chair on
wheels for a wheel chair! At the clinic we talked with the “doc” he explained what he could do
there and if more was needed, a Kuna would need gas $ to get to the next village and $ to pay
for treatment. When this happened ALL Kunas participate in a collection. Sad but awesome, we
donated some $ of course. It was fun to have the boys come by the boat and shyly ask for
magazines, they loved them. We even had some shrimp from one fisherman which N made into
fantastic shrimp bisque!!! Mamitupu, we learned had just got off of quarantine, the island was
literally shut down for 2 mo. Fever , runny noses & coughs is what they said . No one was
allowed to lv (even to wk in the fields) no one was allowed in, so no boats with supplies! Piles
of leaves of some sort which were burnt inside homes as a cure was still evident. HUM swine
flue? Oh no we were told... hum bird flu? Oh no we were told... oh well we are still alive and healthy!
And we both enjoyed our Kuna village trip.
9-22-09 COLOMBIA, CHOLON anchors up at 8 am to mixed seas and cloudy skies not ideal but hey its still good to
be moving should be an easy 24 hr sail. 10 am both lines start to sing!! Fish Fish on both YIKES..Neil lands a beautiful
26 lb 52 inch dolphin (photo below) YUM mahi mahi! Ok so let’s get the other one in WOW must be his twin! We
wrestle the line to the stern so N can let this one go, we don’t need 2 Well this twin was NOT going down like his
brother so he was fighting and flipped right up onto the transom step and BITE Neil! (photo below) Cool he now has a
Dolphin fish wound! Ok all is calm lines back in water and off we go.. 11:15 ZIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG. Crap or cool
depends on how you look at it, both lines are flying off the reel. N grabs one and we have a nice 17 lb tuna on it which I’
m sure is screaming faster faster please cuz he had 2 sharks snacking on him. Poor Mr. Tuna we get him in and he has a
few holes in him... but we still get plenty! Other line is still holding what A SHARK.. Maybe 5 ft silky... ok now what, do
we keep him? We really have enough fish and how do we get this guy in? Ok he can go free. N reels him to side of boat
and says man I don’t want to lose my cedar plug(the lure) bend down and pull the plug up from the hook so we can cut
him loose.WHAT ?? Stick my hand next to this guys teeth?? Ahhhhhh no,, N “ oh just get down there it will slide right up
.. Ok I did it and N was right the plug slid up but I was SCARED! Bye shark. I go to sleep for a bit til 12 midnight my
shift. Neil says all was calm until now there is a big storm, ALWAYS on my shift, Well N was kind and stayed up til 1
helping run from the storm, and oh I love radar! I also love the night shift, all quiet and sometimes beautiful skies, this time
the sky was pretty but dangerous, and as I watched lightening bolts hit the water all around us... I felt like the Lion in wiz
of oz saying I wont be scared I wont be scared Only I was saying please do strike us please don’t strike us HA! All of a
sudden something is in the cockpit I can hear it jumping around. Bird? Our gecko gone wild? Ha no a flying fish had
jumped in and landed (22) in N’s croc to bad he is too sm to eat.
So 27 hrs later (after turning around a few times to avoid storms) we enter the bay of Cholon with our very own guide.
Valentina called and heard we were out there so they came out in their dinghy to guide us; Neil rewarded them with some
mango smoothies. Cholon is a bay surrounded by Isla Baru and Isla El Bohio but with sm “private “islands dotting the
bay. It is obvious the big money people in Cartagena have their “little” beach homes here. One is a spectacular home with
at least 10 staff that we could see. This home we were told and witnessed is used maybe 4 hrs every Sunday! Sitting in
the cockpit catching up we were attached by the local boys, no ulus here very classy everyone comes out in pretty nice
kayaks! Lobster, fish, beads… ok I did buy a few necklaces for gifts! Social calendar begins ASAP. Robert and
Carmen, very nice couple who were cruisers before they settled in Cholon, live up the hill in Crows nest, a HUGE
place40,000 sq feet and NO I did not put to many zeros in there,, they are building, invited all the cruisers up for happy
hr. Lu Lu, Valentina, Baerne and us. We brought everyone a bag of fish, OH yea and Neil decided to start keeping the
tails of his catch. SMELLY!!! Anyway it is very interesting we find out the place is huge because he gave the builder
measurements in ft and the builder built in meters.. Hummm ya think you would check something like that out? Plus the
poor guy has NO access to the shore! Well it does have a FANTASTIC view on both sides of the hill & if ever done
will be awesome!
Dingy trip to Baru; Flying through the bay & into the mangroves passing a few happy pigs, after 15 min we come to
BARU a sm dirt town where Sonny and Kay guide us around ,showing us their usual route on the hunt for food and
veggies. Again here the kids are fun and smiling I had out sm balls and candy but word gets out and I’m empty fast. We
all find some tomatoes, stop for a beer at MISTERS, Roberts bar and head out. Man it is really really hot here..
Exploring the next day we cruise around the mangrove, the plan was to hit the beach on the other side but the wind
kicked up a bit so we found a little patch of sand on the inside, hung in the water & had a few snacks with Valentina . Oh
yea of course I did do a little shell hunting!
SEPT 28 –Nov 13 CARTAGENA Colombia A fast few hr motor and we enter the bay very easy tons of buoys to
follow .As you enter you pass a huge statue of Mary in the middle of the harbor. Lots of boats at anchor as we did a
pass all through the place. Fun to see a few boats we know. Holding is not easy here due to slimy mud bottom so we
tried to go outside of everyone else in hopes of staying out of the sliding boat brigade! Since we were on the outside this
means all the military boats and launches FLY by here. 5:30 am sound asleep WHOSH Neil is drowning, a huge wave
washed up the stern all the way to our port window, well Neil’s anyway and he was soaked!! Plus this water is
GROSS... nice way to wake up
Jumping right in I heard on the radio net a group of women were working with a local women, Isabel, on the Cucuman
(an old Indian name) project. There is a group of displaced women in the Cucuman area. With the drug /mafia/ and the
FARC many families lost their men and were forced to find a safe place to live. I met some great women and hopefully
gave some help &/or guidance to Isabel and the group of displaced women. These women were fantastic, strong women
who needed help on how to STAY independent, many were also very talented. I was also fortunate enough to get
together with another group, English Speaking Women of Cartagena, they are a group of women who aid different
charities here in Cartagena, depending on needs.
.
OK TO WORK:
One reason we came to Cartagena was because we had LOTS of wk to do and everyone we talked to said Cart. is the
place so here goes
We needed to replace out hot water heater…had a new one but needed to tear up the sole and settee. We found Julian
on Tropic Bird, fantastic carpenter! Check one project done! Refridg issues tadahhh Hermanos Malos (bad brothers)
great guys all fixed! Bummer now motor in refridg not running, the brothers return and tell us where to take the motor. So
5 days of living out of a cooler and dragging ice back to Attitude motor is rewound, baked and ready. The day we
bought Attitude I said ohhhh these cushions are sooo gross gotta go. Ok 6 plus yrs later, after schlepin’ 20 yards of ultra
suede back from the states I found some people to come and take the ugly ones and give them a make over. This is after
3 no shows of people But hey we are in Cartagena! Main Salon looks fabulous now. Also had Ranzon replace out
cockpit cushions with the foam I drug back from the U.S.
Next chroming..Oh boy did we get addicted to that. Wow we took a few pieces in, sm chains and brackets that hold
port windows open, my… the shine!! Well Neil ended up even taking the windlass in. Seriously it got nuts, sitting in the
cockpit I spotted our 12 v plugs HUMMM do those come off? Let’s just say the guys at the shop offered Neil a bed
and food!
Next: Stainless. We have a nav pod in the cockpit with a stainless grab at the top. The problem is we always end up
grabbing the pod, not good, We found Bianney Torres, young guy and very very good Neil told him what we wanted 2
new grab bars on the side of the pod, AND they were to be perfect. They were perfect! Moving right along as we are in
the anchorage where it is HOT HOT HOT, Finally we get a spot in Club De Pesca, yea Air Con. HA! We put Attitude
in a slip and guess what NO air. So added to our list we now had to fix the air. We needed a sm part kind of like a
telephone jack, no where to be found here. Thankfully a friend was in the states and returned with the part for us. But
now the panel does not wk. Off to Sven’s the electric wizard here in Cartagena , who fixed a few fans already for us.
So now Attitude is looking good, hum that anchor looks rusty. Off it went to get galvanized. Being in the marina had a
few perks, for 25 bucks a day we had a really nice kid Reynaldo wk for us. Our aft lazarettes are full of peeling paint and
every time you go in you come out “flecked” full of it. So Reynaldo being a hard worker offered to clean sand and paint
them. Excellent we now have nice aft Laz.
Ok now we needed sheets and matt pad made to fit the bed. Julie on Sympatica gave me Jorge’s name! Fabulous find
for sure. Jorge is a designer his label is Broncee. We had a few sheets made 1 matt pad, plus he fixed the other, took 5
molas (from Kuna Yala) and made pillows for us, covers for our sport seats, fixed a pair of Neil’s and pants and made 3
dresses for me!! Oh man was he a perfectionist. He didn’t like the way the cover for the sport seat fit, its just a towel
thing no biggy but he wanted to take it back, by now we were in a time crunch and N goes NOOO just get the other
stuff done, Jorge was so funny he waited till N turned around and grabbed it “this is my work it has to be perfect”
ON TO THE FUN PART
Among the Cartagena musts are Sharwarmas similar to a gyros but these come in chicken, pork or beef and in a wrap.
Our friends on Melody, Mark & Paola instructed us how to eat these. Very important Mark said, “1st you put the spicy
sauce 2nd you add the garlic cream AND it has to circle the top, last you squirt the pina sauce in the middle. Hey there is
an art to this. Delicious! We even had a few laughs with the water bags you buy to drink out of. Not cup but plastic bags
filled with water boy can they squirt Cartagena is one big party city. N and I enjoyed the fabulous restaurants Louise on
LuLu would find. Seriously we were there for 6 weeks and I think Neil cooked 6 times. Don Juans very eclectic, Que
Bracho great meat! Orlando great French it goes on and on! Tuthill,Elenor, LuLu & Matilda are the cruisers who seemed
to like to eat and enjoy the music of Cartagena. Can’t do nightlife w/o hitting the Havana Club. Ill just say I was dancin’
but Neil was standing still. Loved all the fantastic music even stayed out late!
Since we ate like crazy, I needed some exercise and was lucky enough to do yoga a few times a week with a great guy
name Edwardo who teaches Aikido and yoga. We also enjoyed early morning walks around the old city. The entire old
city is behind a beautiful wall built in the 1700’s of protect from Sir Francis Drake & other “bad guys”. As you walk to
the city you pass nice parks wonderful statues of Los Pegasos as the port of entry for boats and at the entrances to the
walled city you’ll find a beautiful clock tower. Walking along inside you’ll find many fruit stand, streets lined with
Bougainvillea and street mimes.
A large Botero (The Fat Lady) and a variety of metal sculptures are found in the squares. Out side the old city is Castillo
San Felipe .That was a hot few hours of walking and UP UP& UP to look around but wow what a view!
The Fat Lady Various metal Sculptures
End of October we find the American Halloween has found its way to Cartagena. So naturally we hit the Halloween
party, Neil as “hanging around and I was a spice rack”. Hey easy costume to come up with when you live on a boat.
Great Party UNTIL someone stole our camera!!! Boy was I MAD. But hey got to let those things go. Wed. was always
happy hr at Club Nautical lots of cruisers and a few locals and Fri happy hr was at Club De Pesca, the “fancy place “.
After being at anchor for 4 weeks we finally got into Club De Pesca, (where Neil picked up his bridge game after 30yrs.
This was after much schmoozing, friends on Tothill & LuLu kept a constant whisper to people and lookout on the docks
for a slip to open up. They also introduced us to the owners husband Lee Miles and we had a great pancake breakfast at
his house. So schmoozing helps.
Andi and Rob on Akka ask us if we want to be crew on the Admiral of Navy’s Regatta in the Bay of Cartagena. SURE,
COOL! Ah???? Neil and I have never raced and I don’t know about N but I was a bit nervous because I had NO clue.
Wow was it fun. I got to be one of the grinders!! These guys are serious sailors, like ease the sheet 2 inched, pull in 3
inches and it was a constant. Well we didn’t win but the after party sure was fun. Thanks Akka for letting us be part of it.
Another notch in our shell!
Independence Day (or week really) in Cartagena is really CARNIVAL .Each day there were different celebrations in the
old city. One eve was Tambore, chanting like singing and major drumming. We went to watch one famous old lady,
which the entire crowd knew. This woman brought out her daughter and granddaughter.
Fabulous Parades all week. Just like a lot of other carnivals you have to watch out. Guys all painted up come up to you
with oil in a bucket and ask for $... you better give some up or else.
Another thing to look out for is lots and lots of cans of foam, my friend Louise and I were covered one day but ya know
its all in fun and come out of your clothes. Great Party atmosphere and fun watching all the extremely intricate costumes
go by ea from different barrios. One women even went as the Botero fat lady sculpture! Needless to say I went to town
to watch it all w/o Neil it is soooo not his thing. He did like the pic though. 6 weeks all work completed, 12 lbs & a red
nose like we may have been drinking a bit!! Time to leave Cartagena, but with pleasant memories.
11-13-09 Cholon Colombia: Clean water! Enjoyed a nice happy hr on Manatee, Robert and Carmen’s boat with
Avion, Lively Lady, Valentina, Tango, Hello World & Nicki Wicki, Cartagena is a fun place to be but It took Neil many
days of scrubbing the bottom to clean her up. It took me almost 4 hrs just to clean the barnacles off of the bottom step
and swim ladder. But time we have! Got in a nice hike around to other side of bay even found a few shells. We had
internet while in the Bay of Cholon so we hung there waiting for Audrey to come. NOV 16th Audrey Quinn McFarland
showed up 7 lbs 11 oz and all went well. GREAT, I now felt comfortable w/o internet. It is amazing how I could go for
months and months w/o but once I get it I’m hooked.
11-18 -09 BACK to our SAN BLAS HOME! FANTASTIC sail 20 knots flying at 8-9 knots we made it in 27 hrs to
East Holandes “pool”. Neil caught some little tunnies and a black fin tuna. Yum back in the land of clean water and fish.
Kayaks down and spear guns out we had a great 2 weeks playing. Neil shot a few ocean triggers, a 4lb dog snapper and
a school master and of course the Barracuda!!!
Off the Dinghy with Deb (Runner) new reef for me. Deb yells (you can really get good at yelling underwater) I swim over
and she found a really nice spotted drum I go to look and I see a GIANT lobster! Really like 7 lbs so funny Deb didn’t
see the lobster only the drum. Well darn we could not get it out!! I was salivating in my snorkel! So we go along and end
up seeing 7 more spotted drums and 2 twins really about the size of ½ of a thumb nail. Awesome day!
So there is a fish called a lionfish (photo at right) ONLY found in the Pacific
except they have been spotted in the Bahamas and apparently
causing a problem for the reefs. Well the San Blas Eastern Holandes
“the pool” had one so I was lucky enough to get a good luck at the
fantastic creature. Needless to say some cruisers were on the lookout
to kill this guy. I just looked and stayed out of it. He was beautiful!
The Pool had been fabulous for me met some great friends, yoga and
snorkeling buddies so it was kind of hard to lv. My last day we had
10 at yoga on bar-b-que island and 4 of us went out to kayak and
snorkel in the afternoon, with cubalibres and snacks of course.
Our last eve we had a nice dinner with Runner, with Nautibear & Neil
brought his fish head soup.
DEC 2 -09 so our Atlantic adventure is coming to an end. We are entering our 7th yr so we figure it is time to go
through the Canal to the Pacific. Well, Neil really ended it with a bang. We leave the Holandes mixed seas and not a nice
ride. We hear ZINGGGGGGGGG big time and N runs to back of Attitude grabs the pole OH MY it was just like wide
world of sports!!! A beautiful sailfish jumping in the air!! N fought him for a long time while I was trying to find the
camera unfortunately I did not get him jumping darn! Once we got him in he was almost dead so we took him onboard.
You should catch and release these guys they are sooooo magnificent! He was 7 ft and about 50 lbs. really hard to hold
up for a good pic. On to Linton for the night we cruised the anchorage and asked who wanted fish. Neil gave away 20
sailfish stakes 1 ¼ in thick. Let’s just say our Atlantic Adventure ends with Attitude happy and a lot of cruisers in Linton
happy. Neil added another stinky tail to his collection! At least we will be gone for a bit maybe it won’t smell too bad
when we get back!
Attitude will wait for us in Shelter Bay Colon Panama, while we do the U.S tour & hit Whistler Canada to ski for the
month of Jan. Feb we will come back shop shop shop and head for the South Pacific... Yippee new adventures... Hum I
may need to learn French now????
Sept—5-09 Corazon de Jesus ,San Blas: Cari James Lily and I (I flew back to U.S for a quick week) landed on time
and Neil was there waiting, umbrella drinks and all! Breakfast, dolphin sighting and off we go to WEST COCO
BANDEROS .This is where James gets to try out his new snorkeling skills, not bad! Nice old local guy came by with sm
carved ulus he made really cute and intricate so Cari & James had their 1st souvenir. Lisa (the transvestite master mola
maker) also found us although C& J were not interested in molas they did get a very cute top for Lily and Lisa’s newest
product mola koozies for cans!! We even lucked out with a crab and lobster dinner locals came by in afternoon YUM!
Off to the EAST HOLANDES “pool’ a rough ride we did give Cari and James both a dramamine BUT James is a big
guy we should have given him 2. After James did his fish chumming ;) all was good. Snorkeled on Barracuda reef C & J
got to see a lobster and a lesser electric ray among other “pretty” fish. Lily loved the beach and she was in love with the
taste of sand. Mr. Turtle was a hit for the 2nd time. James got to try out spear fishing by now Neil was a good teacher,
Mr in June, Andy in July, Spinney in Aug and now James. All it cost Neil was 2 spears, one lost through a hole and one
stuck in coral. Oh Well…James did get one, but ohhhhh soooo tiny. Hey I told him I think a little one is harder to hit!
Kids even got to experience how we get our coconuts. It’s illegal to take them from the Kuna Yala islands BUT we can
trade. A few old Kuna guys came up and asked us to charge their cell phones for coconuts! Hey why not. But really it
just cracks me up . They live in dirt huts no electricity, live off the land & sea, no engines on the ulus BUT have cell
phones!
Lily was a great 1yr old all week, we even dropped mom and dad at an island for the day for some “romantic alone
time”. Well the week went by really fast. Kids ate plenty of lobster and crab, no one got burnt to a crisp while hanging at
the beach and Lily acquired a new name Cha Cha... she really loves to dance! Another successful family time in the San
Blas
EAST LEMONS & CARTI: kids are gone we head to East Lemons for a night do 3 loads of laundry thank goodness it
was sunny and windy so all would dry! I did get a quick snorkel on the reef, saw cute sm trunk, beautiful queen angel
and lots of sm lobsters. Plus Neil bargained 15 lobsters for 10 bucks yum they freeze well too. We had ordered a new
hot water heater and it had been waiting for us in Panama City ,with all the company we had no where on Attitude to
keep it until Cartagena where we will install it. So it was arranged to be put on a truck and brought to Carti, we needed
to meet it early Monday am. Wow it was on time and there! We even lucked out and had a really big pod of dolphins
with us on the way there, for me way cool! As Carti Is NOT a place to stay and hang!
Back to EAST HOLANDES” pool” “HOME”
Met some nice new cruisers Lucy and Jamie on Bamboozle and Louise and Gary on LuLu. Oh yea and another pod of
dolphin on way into the pool yippeeee. I know N was happy he was off fishing again and shot a 14 lb dog snapper.
Gearing up for the Pacific(the plan is Feb 2010 to go through the Panama Canal), we heard Blue Fox on the net selling
wheels for a dinghy, due to tides and coast line these are needed in the pacific so we snatched them up ASAP. Cool one
thing off our list.
RATONES CAY ARIDUP
on our way to Cartagena, to install new hot water heater, redo cushions in salon, (which is the 20 yrds of ultra suede I
dragged back from the US) new foam in cockpit cushions (also dragged back from U.S cuz it’s a certain type) get our
life raft repacked should have been done a long time ago, refridge wk needed, etc etc.. To make it a nicer passage we
stopped and anchored at Aridup Anyway on route to ARIDUP Neil caught 2 black fin tuna and a nice mackerel perfect
for cerviche. Cruising around Neil while spear fishing was a 12ft great Hammerhead!!! Yikes I guess he wasn’t hungry
cuz he just went by and didn’t stop for a bite…
MAMITUPU our next stop A really nice traditional Kuna village which will be our one and only village to visit. Pablo
came out to Attitude ASAP. He had gone to England yrs ago and lived there for 8yrs. So he has some English & said he
would be happy to show us around his (photos 8, 9, 10) Island & his family... All the Kuna men wk on the mainland in
the fields owned by the Kunas when we got there wk was just ending and 40 or so ulus were heading at us! Really just
going back to Mamitupu. 1200 people all living in small dirt floor huts very close together even their pigs were in the huts,
which we learned is tradition. Kunas like to be together! We entered the Congresso(no pics allowed) where the Kunas
meet every day to discuss issues a hand, the men meet , the women meet and they all meet together and it is REQUIRED
that all attend. This island has 7 chiefs and they ea have a hammock hung up in the middle of the HUGE thatched
building, while the villagers sit on benches circling the middle. We watched a man making a strainer out of a gourd and an
unusual tool he made to puncture the holes.
I always have things for kids so I started handing out pencils and candy WOW was I a hit!!
Throughout the entire island the Kuna people appear to be happy especially the kids.
Corn was taken off the cob and laid on the ground to dry; here I found stuffed animals
or old baby dolls sitting with the corn. It’s the Kuna version of a scarecrow! We bought some
coconut soap and Kuna bread walked through the school & clinic, loved the lawn chair on
wheels for a wheel chair! At the clinic we talked with the “doc” he explained what he could do
there and if more was needed, a Kuna would need gas $ to get to the next village and $ to pay
for treatment. When this happened ALL Kunas participate in a collection. Sad but awesome, we
donated some $ of course. It was fun to have the boys come by the boat and shyly ask for
magazines, they loved them. We even had some shrimp from one fisherman which N made into
fantastic shrimp bisque!!! Mamitupu, we learned had just got off of quarantine, the island was
literally shut down for 2 mo. Fever , runny noses & coughs is what they said . No one was
allowed to lv (even to wk in the fields) no one was allowed in, so no boats with supplies! Piles
of leaves of some sort which were burnt inside homes as a cure was still evident. HUM swine
flue? Oh no we were told... hum bird flu? Oh no we were told... oh well we are still alive and healthy!
And we both enjoyed our Kuna village trip.
9-22-09 COLOMBIA, CHOLON anchors up at 8 am to mixed seas and cloudy skies not ideal but hey its still good to
be moving should be an easy 24 hr sail. 10 am both lines start to sing!! Fish Fish on both YIKES..Neil lands a beautiful
26 lb 52 inch dolphin (photo below) YUM mahi mahi! Ok so let’s get the other one in WOW must be his twin! We
wrestle the line to the stern so N can let this one go, we don’t need 2 Well this twin was NOT going down like his
brother so he was fighting and flipped right up onto the transom step and BITE Neil! (photo below) Cool he now has a
Dolphin fish wound! Ok all is calm lines back in water and off we go.. 11:15 ZIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG. Crap or cool
depends on how you look at it, both lines are flying off the reel. N grabs one and we have a nice 17 lb tuna on it which I’
m sure is screaming faster faster please cuz he had 2 sharks snacking on him. Poor Mr. Tuna we get him in and he has a
few holes in him... but we still get plenty! Other line is still holding what A SHARK.. Maybe 5 ft silky... ok now what, do
we keep him? We really have enough fish and how do we get this guy in? Ok he can go free. N reels him to side of boat
and says man I don’t want to lose my cedar plug(the lure) bend down and pull the plug up from the hook so we can cut
him loose.WHAT ?? Stick my hand next to this guys teeth?? Ahhhhhh no,, N “ oh just get down there it will slide right up
.. Ok I did it and N was right the plug slid up but I was SCARED! Bye shark. I go to sleep for a bit til 12 midnight my
shift. Neil says all was calm until now there is a big storm, ALWAYS on my shift, Well N was kind and stayed up til 1
helping run from the storm, and oh I love radar! I also love the night shift, all quiet and sometimes beautiful skies, this time
the sky was pretty but dangerous, and as I watched lightening bolts hit the water all around us... I felt like the Lion in wiz
of oz saying I wont be scared I wont be scared Only I was saying please do strike us please don’t strike us HA! All of a
sudden something is in the cockpit I can hear it jumping around. Bird? Our gecko gone wild? Ha no a flying fish had
jumped in and landed (22) in N’s croc to bad he is too sm to eat.
So 27 hrs later (after turning around a few times to avoid storms) we enter the bay of Cholon with our very own guide.
Valentina called and heard we were out there so they came out in their dinghy to guide us; Neil rewarded them with some
mango smoothies. Cholon is a bay surrounded by Isla Baru and Isla El Bohio but with sm “private “islands dotting the
bay. It is obvious the big money people in Cartagena have their “little” beach homes here. One is a spectacular home with
at least 10 staff that we could see. This home we were told and witnessed is used maybe 4 hrs every Sunday! Sitting in
the cockpit catching up we were attached by the local boys, no ulus here very classy everyone comes out in pretty nice
kayaks! Lobster, fish, beads… ok I did buy a few necklaces for gifts! Social calendar begins ASAP. Robert and
Carmen, very nice couple who were cruisers before they settled in Cholon, live up the hill in Crows nest, a HUGE
place40,000 sq feet and NO I did not put to many zeros in there,, they are building, invited all the cruisers up for happy
hr. Lu Lu, Valentina, Baerne and us. We brought everyone a bag of fish, OH yea and Neil decided to start keeping the
tails of his catch. SMELLY!!! Anyway it is very interesting we find out the place is huge because he gave the builder
measurements in ft and the builder built in meters.. Hummm ya think you would check something like that out? Plus the
poor guy has NO access to the shore! Well it does have a FANTASTIC view on both sides of the hill & if ever done
will be awesome!
Dingy trip to Baru; Flying through the bay & into the mangroves passing a few happy pigs, after 15 min we come to
BARU a sm dirt town where Sonny and Kay guide us around ,showing us their usual route on the hunt for food and
veggies. Again here the kids are fun and smiling I had out sm balls and candy but word gets out and I’m empty fast. We
all find some tomatoes, stop for a beer at MISTERS, Roberts bar and head out. Man it is really really hot here..
Exploring the next day we cruise around the mangrove, the plan was to hit the beach on the other side but the wind
kicked up a bit so we found a little patch of sand on the inside, hung in the water & had a few snacks with Valentina . Oh
yea of course I did do a little shell hunting!
SEPT 28 –Nov 13 CARTAGENA Colombia A fast few hr motor and we enter the bay very easy tons of buoys to
follow .As you enter you pass a huge statue of Mary in the middle of the harbor. Lots of boats at anchor as we did a
pass all through the place. Fun to see a few boats we know. Holding is not easy here due to slimy mud bottom so we
tried to go outside of everyone else in hopes of staying out of the sliding boat brigade! Since we were on the outside this
means all the military boats and launches FLY by here. 5:30 am sound asleep WHOSH Neil is drowning, a huge wave
washed up the stern all the way to our port window, well Neil’s anyway and he was soaked!! Plus this water is
GROSS... nice way to wake up
Jumping right in I heard on the radio net a group of women were working with a local women, Isabel, on the Cucuman
(an old Indian name) project. There is a group of displaced women in the Cucuman area. With the drug /mafia/ and the
FARC many families lost their men and were forced to find a safe place to live. I met some great women and hopefully
gave some help &/or guidance to Isabel and the group of displaced women. These women were fantastic, strong women
who needed help on how to STAY independent, many were also very talented. I was also fortunate enough to get
together with another group, English Speaking Women of Cartagena, they are a group of women who aid different
charities here in Cartagena, depending on needs.
.
OK TO WORK:
One reason we came to Cartagena was because we had LOTS of wk to do and everyone we talked to said Cart. is the
place so here goes
We needed to replace out hot water heater…had a new one but needed to tear up the sole and settee. We found Julian
on Tropic Bird, fantastic carpenter! Check one project done! Refridg issues tadahhh Hermanos Malos (bad brothers)
great guys all fixed! Bummer now motor in refridg not running, the brothers return and tell us where to take the motor. So
5 days of living out of a cooler and dragging ice back to Attitude motor is rewound, baked and ready. The day we
bought Attitude I said ohhhh these cushions are sooo gross gotta go. Ok 6 plus yrs later, after schlepin’ 20 yards of ultra
suede back from the states I found some people to come and take the ugly ones and give them a make over. This is after
3 no shows of people But hey we are in Cartagena! Main Salon looks fabulous now. Also had Ranzon replace out
cockpit cushions with the foam I drug back from the U.S.
Next chroming..Oh boy did we get addicted to that. Wow we took a few pieces in, sm chains and brackets that hold
port windows open, my… the shine!! Well Neil ended up even taking the windlass in. Seriously it got nuts, sitting in the
cockpit I spotted our 12 v plugs HUMMM do those come off? Let’s just say the guys at the shop offered Neil a bed
and food!
Next: Stainless. We have a nav pod in the cockpit with a stainless grab at the top. The problem is we always end up
grabbing the pod, not good, We found Bianney Torres, young guy and very very good Neil told him what we wanted 2
new grab bars on the side of the pod, AND they were to be perfect. They were perfect! Moving right along as we are in
the anchorage where it is HOT HOT HOT, Finally we get a spot in Club De Pesca, yea Air Con. HA! We put Attitude
in a slip and guess what NO air. So added to our list we now had to fix the air. We needed a sm part kind of like a
telephone jack, no where to be found here. Thankfully a friend was in the states and returned with the part for us. But
now the panel does not wk. Off to Sven’s the electric wizard here in Cartagena , who fixed a few fans already for us.
So now Attitude is looking good, hum that anchor looks rusty. Off it went to get galvanized. Being in the marina had a
few perks, for 25 bucks a day we had a really nice kid Reynaldo wk for us. Our aft lazarettes are full of peeling paint and
every time you go in you come out “flecked” full of it. So Reynaldo being a hard worker offered to clean sand and paint
them. Excellent we now have nice aft Laz.
Ok now we needed sheets and matt pad made to fit the bed. Julie on Sympatica gave me Jorge’s name! Fabulous find
for sure. Jorge is a designer his label is Broncee. We had a few sheets made 1 matt pad, plus he fixed the other, took 5
molas (from Kuna Yala) and made pillows for us, covers for our sport seats, fixed a pair of Neil’s and pants and made 3
dresses for me!! Oh man was he a perfectionist. He didn’t like the way the cover for the sport seat fit, its just a towel
thing no biggy but he wanted to take it back, by now we were in a time crunch and N goes NOOO just get the other
stuff done, Jorge was so funny he waited till N turned around and grabbed it “this is my work it has to be perfect”
ON TO THE FUN PART
Among the Cartagena musts are Sharwarmas similar to a gyros but these come in chicken, pork or beef and in a wrap.
Our friends on Melody, Mark & Paola instructed us how to eat these. Very important Mark said, “1st you put the spicy
sauce 2nd you add the garlic cream AND it has to circle the top, last you squirt the pina sauce in the middle. Hey there is
an art to this. Delicious! We even had a few laughs with the water bags you buy to drink out of. Not cup but plastic bags
filled with water boy can they squirt Cartagena is one big party city. N and I enjoyed the fabulous restaurants Louise on
LuLu would find. Seriously we were there for 6 weeks and I think Neil cooked 6 times. Don Juans very eclectic, Que
Bracho great meat! Orlando great French it goes on and on! Tuthill,Elenor, LuLu & Matilda are the cruisers who seemed
to like to eat and enjoy the music of Cartagena. Can’t do nightlife w/o hitting the Havana Club. Ill just say I was dancin’
but Neil was standing still. Loved all the fantastic music even stayed out late!
Since we ate like crazy, I needed some exercise and was lucky enough to do yoga a few times a week with a great guy
name Edwardo who teaches Aikido and yoga. We also enjoyed early morning walks around the old city. The entire old
city is behind a beautiful wall built in the 1700’s of protect from Sir Francis Drake & other “bad guys”. As you walk to
the city you pass nice parks wonderful statues of Los Pegasos as the port of entry for boats and at the entrances to the
walled city you’ll find a beautiful clock tower. Walking along inside you’ll find many fruit stand, streets lined with
Bougainvillea and street mimes.
A large Botero (The Fat Lady) and a variety of metal sculptures are found in the squares. Out side the old city is Castillo
San Felipe .That was a hot few hours of walking and UP UP& UP to look around but wow what a view!
The Fat Lady Various metal Sculptures
End of October we find the American Halloween has found its way to Cartagena. So naturally we hit the Halloween
party, Neil as “hanging around and I was a spice rack”. Hey easy costume to come up with when you live on a boat.
Great Party UNTIL someone stole our camera!!! Boy was I MAD. But hey got to let those things go. Wed. was always
happy hr at Club Nautical lots of cruisers and a few locals and Fri happy hr was at Club De Pesca, the “fancy place “.
After being at anchor for 4 weeks we finally got into Club De Pesca, (where Neil picked up his bridge game after 30yrs.
This was after much schmoozing, friends on Tothill & LuLu kept a constant whisper to people and lookout on the docks
for a slip to open up. They also introduced us to the owners husband Lee Miles and we had a great pancake breakfast at
his house. So schmoozing helps.
Andi and Rob on Akka ask us if we want to be crew on the Admiral of Navy’s Regatta in the Bay of Cartagena. SURE,
COOL! Ah???? Neil and I have never raced and I don’t know about N but I was a bit nervous because I had NO clue.
Wow was it fun. I got to be one of the grinders!! These guys are serious sailors, like ease the sheet 2 inched, pull in 3
inches and it was a constant. Well we didn’t win but the after party sure was fun. Thanks Akka for letting us be part of it.
Another notch in our shell!
Independence Day (or week really) in Cartagena is really CARNIVAL .Each day there were different celebrations in the
old city. One eve was Tambore, chanting like singing and major drumming. We went to watch one famous old lady,
which the entire crowd knew. This woman brought out her daughter and granddaughter.
Fabulous Parades all week. Just like a lot of other carnivals you have to watch out. Guys all painted up come up to you
with oil in a bucket and ask for $... you better give some up or else.
Another thing to look out for is lots and lots of cans of foam, my friend Louise and I were covered one day but ya know
its all in fun and come out of your clothes. Great Party atmosphere and fun watching all the extremely intricate costumes
go by ea from different barrios. One women even went as the Botero fat lady sculpture! Needless to say I went to town
to watch it all w/o Neil it is soooo not his thing. He did like the pic though. 6 weeks all work completed, 12 lbs & a red
nose like we may have been drinking a bit!! Time to leave Cartagena, but with pleasant memories.
11-13-09 Cholon Colombia: Clean water! Enjoyed a nice happy hr on Manatee, Robert and Carmen’s boat with
Avion, Lively Lady, Valentina, Tango, Hello World & Nicki Wicki, Cartagena is a fun place to be but It took Neil many
days of scrubbing the bottom to clean her up. It took me almost 4 hrs just to clean the barnacles off of the bottom step
and swim ladder. But time we have! Got in a nice hike around to other side of bay even found a few shells. We had
internet while in the Bay of Cholon so we hung there waiting for Audrey to come. NOV 16th Audrey Quinn McFarland
showed up 7 lbs 11 oz and all went well. GREAT, I now felt comfortable w/o internet. It is amazing how I could go for
months and months w/o but once I get it I’m hooked.
11-18 -09 BACK to our SAN BLAS HOME! FANTASTIC sail 20 knots flying at 8-9 knots we made it in 27 hrs to
East Holandes “pool”. Neil caught some little tunnies and a black fin tuna. Yum back in the land of clean water and fish.
Kayaks down and spear guns out we had a great 2 weeks playing. Neil shot a few ocean triggers, a 4lb dog snapper and
a school master and of course the Barracuda!!!
Off the Dinghy with Deb (Runner) new reef for me. Deb yells (you can really get good at yelling underwater) I swim over
and she found a really nice spotted drum I go to look and I see a GIANT lobster! Really like 7 lbs so funny Deb didn’t
see the lobster only the drum. Well darn we could not get it out!! I was salivating in my snorkel! So we go along and end
up seeing 7 more spotted drums and 2 twins really about the size of ½ of a thumb nail. Awesome day!
So there is a fish called a lionfish (photo at right) ONLY found in the Pacific
except they have been spotted in the Bahamas and apparently
causing a problem for the reefs. Well the San Blas Eastern Holandes
“the pool” had one so I was lucky enough to get a good luck at the
fantastic creature. Needless to say some cruisers were on the lookout
to kill this guy. I just looked and stayed out of it. He was beautiful!
The Pool had been fabulous for me met some great friends, yoga and
snorkeling buddies so it was kind of hard to lv. My last day we had
10 at yoga on bar-b-que island and 4 of us went out to kayak and
snorkel in the afternoon, with cubalibres and snacks of course.
Our last eve we had a nice dinner with Runner, with Nautibear & Neil
brought his fish head soup.
DEC 2 -09 so our Atlantic adventure is coming to an end. We are entering our 7th yr so we figure it is time to go
through the Canal to the Pacific. Well, Neil really ended it with a bang. We leave the Holandes mixed seas and not a nice
ride. We hear ZINGGGGGGGGG big time and N runs to back of Attitude grabs the pole OH MY it was just like wide
world of sports!!! A beautiful sailfish jumping in the air!! N fought him for a long time while I was trying to find the
camera unfortunately I did not get him jumping darn! Once we got him in he was almost dead so we took him onboard.
You should catch and release these guys they are sooooo magnificent! He was 7 ft and about 50 lbs. really hard to hold
up for a good pic. On to Linton for the night we cruised the anchorage and asked who wanted fish. Neil gave away 20
sailfish stakes 1 ¼ in thick. Let’s just say our Atlantic Adventure ends with Attitude happy and a lot of cruisers in Linton
happy. Neil added another stinky tail to his collection! At least we will be gone for a bit maybe it won’t smell too bad
when we get back!
Attitude will wait for us in Shelter Bay Colon Panama, while we do the U.S tour & hit Whistler Canada to ski for the
month of Jan. Feb we will come back shop shop shop and head for the South Pacific... Yippee new adventures... Hum I
may need to learn French now????
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| Neil & Kathy's Sailing Adventures |