but with Felix bearing down on Bonaire and steadily refusing to turn north as all well-behaved hurricanes do we put Argo back in the marina tied down with a veritable cat's cradle of lines. We stripped her decks of all gear and took tons of photographs to prove to the insurance company we had done all we could. After a particularly glorious quiet evening we went to bed.
At 2 am Felix was a catagory two when he passed Bonaire finally bending north just enough to miss by about 30 miles and give us no more than 25 knot winds. But that was enough to make the mooring field a very dangerous place to be as the surf built. The one or two boats foolish enough to remain on the moorings paid a price.
We stayed two more months in Bonaire, enjoying the view from the mooring field
and diving as often as we could:
Unfortunately, we also spent a lot of time in the engine room replacing the engine on the larger of our two generators and it delayed our departure by several weeks.
Finally it was installed and we said goodbye to Bonaire - after our longest stay in any one port. We loved Bonaire. But a new radar, new water heater and dinghy full of other goodies had been shipped to Curacao and we needed to be there to meet them. So it was on the second of the ABC islands.
Perhaps we were spoiled by Bonaire's simplicity. Curacao, despite the lovely parts of the old city of Willemstad, didn't appeal much.
Lapin did have some time ashore for a photo shoot - including perhaps the 10,000th picture of Lapin and a cannon.
Willemstad is certainly photogenic - it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - but it is busy and noisy and geared towards cruise ships
so we left it in our wake with no regrets and hurried on to Aruba to await a weather window to make the long run down to Cartagena.
Aruba was a quick stop - only a couple of weeks - while we installed that mountain of gear delivered by dinghy in Curacao and waited for just the right conditions to head south and west. We did take a quick tour of the island and the bunny got to meet some native inhabitants up close -
and some non-native inhabitants too -
The passage from Aruba to Cartagena is listed as the fifth worst coastal passage in the world by one of the deans of ocean sailing. The seas are normally much bigger than cruisers want to play with. But for a short period in the spring and, better yet, the late fall the average seas are much lower. Finally a window opened and we joined three other boats in a one week march down the Venezuelan and Columbian coasts to Cartagena. Not much fear of pirates here, but two nights of ferocious thunderstorms which we all managed to dodge thanks to the new radar.
We left Aruba after clearing out with Customs and Immigration - the only time Argo has shared a slip with a cruise ship -
and, other than the thunderstorms had an uneventful run with our three buddy boats. All the others caught fish - including this blackfin tuna - but we struck out.
We spent three nights in one of the gorgeous Five Bays snuggled under a 19000 foot mountain - we came in just at daybreak so you can't see the permanent snow cap.
At last Cartagena - and big city lights at night - a very rare sight from Argo!
El Centro, the ancient core of the city of Cartagena de Indias is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site - and this one did NOT disappoint despite rave reviews from other cruisers which seemed to good to be true. The old city has streets so narrow it is hard to take photographs which show more than one or two buildings - but we got one from the ancient city walls showing a row of horse drawn ‘coches’ - one of the many methods of transportation in this fascinating place.
ElCentro has innumerable balconies -
fascinating doorknockers -
and lovely architectural details -
The old houses, many now converted to shops or hotels, are arranged around interior courtyards which are an amazing, hidden refuge from the busy street -
The streets of El Centro are banned to most traffic but outside the old walls in the new city and it's suburbs you get the full blast of modern life. Apparently privately owned cars are a rarity but small, cheap yellow taxis are ubiquitous. And if you can't afford them there are at least three different classes of buses, sotheinf which looks like a jeep without a rear door, motorcycle taxis, pedicabs and motocycle cabs. We have been told there are 27,000 motorcycle taxis in this city of 1.4 million - and that the last Friday of the month they are banned to give everyone a rest from there constant noise.
Both inside and outside the old city commerce takes every possible form from a gigantic new store as close to a Home Depot as we've seen anywhere and modern supermarkets to every possible sort of street vendor pushing carts made from old bicycles, prams, wheelbarrows, handmade wooden wheels - you name it. If you don't have a cart - no poblem, buy a cheap styrofoam cooler and attach a piece of rope for a strap and sell cold drinks - or just set up a stationary shop on the sidewalk. There are so many of these sidewalk shops they have a name - agachate - from a verb agachar meaning 'to stoop or to bend'. Vendors most often sell food or drinks - but also sell almost anything else readily portable from brushes and appliance parts to CDs and sunglasses.
Argo is at a dock in an upscale suburb called Manga about 20 minutes safe easy walk to Centro. Here, among the high rise apartments there are still plenty of hints of the old life - gigantic old homes (once the holiday homes of the rich) and the occasional donkey cart in line for a stop light with all the modern traffic. The vendors call out their wares as they walk down the streets - inviting the residents to come out for pastries, ice cream, coffee, fruit. A lady everyone refers to as 'Carmen Miranda' walks down the docks several times daily with an enormous metal bowl full of fruit balanced on her head. She needs help to lift the bowl up and down - it must be 2' across - and she chants 'aguacate, pina, papaya, mango, banana'. It's less than 100 yards to a big modern grocery store but she gets plenty of business. Manga is home to many pampered dogs and every morning and evening they parade up and down the small waterfront park next to the marina - some with equally pampered owners, some with maids or nannies. The contrast to the dogs and people) in one of the very poor barrios only a mile away is striking.
In addition to wandering around Centro we’ve done more ordinary things -
went to a parade celebrating Columbia’s independence day. Actually after waiting 2 hours we left before the parade when the crowds got a bit rowdy despite the huge presence of armed police and military. During the entire one week independence celebration small bands of teenagers slathered in used motor oil roamed the streets and, fairly good naturedly, demanded a small toll to let you pass without having them smear you with it. We watched the locals and got wise - after our first pocketful of small change evaporated quickly - we just smiled back and walked around them.
And celebrated Halloween at a cruisers’ potluck. One cruising boat with more ingenuity than money dressed the whole family in balloons. Unfortunately their costumes did not last very long!
We plan to stay here through the holidays then head out for a dose of island time.
