tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27504992487428294002024-02-20T14:29:35.604-08:00Our Great Adventure Sailing Around the World Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-44817151657332981582018-11-13T13:18:00.000-08:002018-11-13T13:18:08.482-08:00Socialismo o Muerte! (Socialism or Death!) An Introduction to Cuba<style type="text/css">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuba!</td></tr>
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Jamaica may be unique, but setting foot in Cuba is like touching down on another planet. An extremely beautiful, friendly, and fascinating planet. We arrived in Santiago de Cuba after an overnight from Port Antonio, Jamaica. We had been patient with the weather and it paid off - with the wind and current behind us we were making incredible time. A few hours in it looked like we would be arriving before dawn… until at 2am we were abruptly becalmed and had to fire up the engine. When dawn arrived we were still about 25 miles away so we motored on through glassy seas.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Castillo - 17th Century Fort</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anchored in the Tiny Bay</td></tr>
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The first thing I noticed upon arrival in Santiago is the massive stone fortress guarding the entrance to the harbour. The second thing I noticed was my Dad and half-brother Dax standing on the dock of the marina waving at us with massive grins on their faces. This wasn’t entirely expected but it wasn’t a coincidence either. We had been communicating back and forth to see if it was possible to meet up somewhere over March break. They had managed to get a last-minute flight into Holguin and had arrived in Santiago even earlier than expected. We were exhausted from the trip and anxious to welcome them aboard but of course had to go through the lengthy check-in process first. We were visited by a doctor on the boat followed by a very lengthy meeting with the Port Captain.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jamaican Bananas - All Fruits Ripe</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">City of Santiago</td></tr>
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The Port Captain was having some new furniture delivered and assembled in his office that day. His new desk had been assembled but not screwed together when he called my Dad and Dax into his office to check their passports. My Dad, not realizing the desk was not sturdy, leaned back on it with all of his weight and scattered himself and all the pieces of the desk all over the floor of the Port Captain’s office!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Thankfully Dad was unhurt and although it was clearly an accident, the Port Captain was less than pleased as he had been apparently waiting for the new desk for quite some time. We tried to smooth things over by lending a bottle of strong glue and the proper screwdriver. What a start…<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santiago Marina</td></tr>
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After we had all recovered we set about exploring Santiago and learning as much as we could about travelling in Cuba. It was clear that a lot of the information we had was already out of date as what could only be described as a “complicated” country is changing so rapidly.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuban Flag and the Flag of the Revolution</td></tr>
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Our crash course included:<br />
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<b>Money</b></div>
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There are two official currencies in Cuba. One is called the Peso or Moneda Nacional (abbreviated CUP) and is the primary currency that Cubans receive as their salary and to purchase whatever they need for their day to day life. The second currency is also called the Peso, but more specifically the Convertible Peso (CUC). This is used primarily by tourists to pay for anything they might need such as tours, drinks, or meals out at tourist restaurants. Cuba used to use the US dollar, but it was replaced by the CUC years ago. Thus 1 CUC is roughly equal to 1 USD. You can also exchange a CUC for 24 CUPs. It is sometimes not posted whether a price is in CUP or CUC but in general if you’re buying something a tourist might buy or a Cuban might “want” rather than “need”, the price will be in CUC (more on this later). Contrary to what we had read, our Canadian bank card worked in the ATMs in Santiago to withdraw CUC. Once you have CUC you can exchange it to CUP by waiting in line in a bank. By “line”, I don’t mean an actual line or queue as Cubans have their own system. When you encounter a group of people that look like they’re waiting for something, you call out “el ultimo?” or “last?” and look for the person that discreetly nods or raises their hand slightly as if bidding at an auction. This is the person ahead of you in line and you are responsible both for monitoring their progress and answering when a new person shouts “el ultimo”. And if that person happens to give up and leave, all bets are off.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cathedral in Parque Cespedes - Wifi Cards For Sale on the Ground Floor</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parque Cespedes</td></tr>
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<b><br />Communicating</b></div>
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Our outdated guidebook had told us that very slow Internet access is available at various offices in town for 6 CUC per hour. This is now incorrect. Cuba is undergoing an Internet revolution and now all tourists and Cubans can get online. Cubans can now own cellphones and connect to the local cell network however data is only available at wifi hotspots. The hotspots are usually in public squares or parks or in hotels for tourists. In order to get online you must purchase a wifi card from the government agency “ETECSA” for 1CUC per hour. Once you are connected, the Internet is very fast. Some websites are blocked by the government in what seems a fairly random fashion (e.g. Snapchat is blocked but Facebook is not). An interesting result of this policy towards internet access is that public places are now flooded with people engrossed in writing emails, on Facebook, or chatting to friends on Skype. Imagine skipping over 20-minute waits for a picture to download and the eeeeee-awwwwww of a dialup modem connecting to be catapulted overnight into the age of emojis and high-resolution video!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peso Pizza Window - 5.00 is CUP, or about $0.27 per slice</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bread Cart, Prices in CUP</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tourist Restaurant - Yummy Food, Prices in CUC</td></tr>
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<b>Food</b></div>
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We had pretty much expected the worst when we envisioned finding food in Cuba. We had stocked up as best we could before leaving Jamaica and while we were happy to have our favourite ginger beer, jerk sauce, and Red Stripe, it was not entirely necessary. In Santiago, there are a handful of good tourist restaurants with prices in CUC for a little less than what we would pay for a meal at home. Then there are dozens of peso restaurants, which could just be a stall along the street with things like pizza, sandwiches, and juice all in CUP. A piece of pizza might cost 5 CUP, which would equate to about $0.27 CAD. Although these places are aimed at Cubans, they are allowed to sell to tourists as well. Then you have the markets, which are amazing places to pick up fresh organic produce at CUP prices. We bought two giant bags of onions, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, papaya, starfruit, beans, cucumber, and eggs for about $7 CAD! Finally, there are the “dollar” stores which have items for sale for Cubans and tourists but with prices in CUC. For instance, you can buy a jar of mushrooms or a bottle of olive oil for the same prices as other countries. In reality most Cubans can’t afford to shop here, except when they are able to save up for luxury items or get tips from tourists. Last but not least you have Cuban bodegas which are where Cubans go with their ration booklets to pick up what their families are allotted: rice, beans, flour, sugar, and small portions of eggs, pork, chicken, and fish. These are obviously off-limits to us.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fancy Tourist Taxi</td></tr>
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<b>Transportation</b></div>
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The marina in Santiago, which is the only place in the massive harbour where a sailboat can legally anchor, is quite far from the centre of town. Fortunately there are several options for getting downtown - unfortunately none of them are very good. We could take a tourist taxi (the pre-revolution American cars with soviet diesel engines that are just barely running due to age and lack of parts) for about $10 CUC each way. We did this a couple of times but it does start to add up when you’re on a budget. The next option are the ferries that dock near the marina. At first we noticed them coming quite frequently but after asking the marina staff it seems that not all of them go into town but there is one that does at 6am, 12pm, and 5:30pm. For 1CUC this would seem to be a great option but the times are not really convenient and after a couple of days we were informed that the ferry had broken down and would be out of service indefinitely. Finally, there was the city bus or “guagua” (wah-wah). At $0.20 CUP or an extinct Canadian penny this was by far the most economical option. However the guagua has no set schedule other than it starts around 6am and comes every 1.5 hours “or so”. We soon figured out the locals’ way of taking the guagua. One person from the neighbourhood goes to the bus stop around the time the bus should come. When they hear the thunderous diesel engine from across the bay they are responsible for shouting at the top of their lungs GUAGUA! so that the entire neighbourhood can hear. Then all the passengers run to catch the bus and it must stop 20 times as Cubans come out of the woodwork running after the bus much to the hilarity of everyone on board. Who said public transportation can’t be fun! (We never figured out where to catch the bus back from town… that will have to remain a mystery.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Waterfront</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handing Out Dax's Old Football Shirts on Isla Granma</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mucho Grande! But you will grow into it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isla Granma</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church on Isla Granma</td></tr>
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<b>Daily Life</b></div>
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We are hoping that the time we spend in Cuba will give us a good snapshot of the daily life of many Cubans. What we quickly learned in Santiago is that daily life in Cuba is very complicated and it would take years for us to fully understand. One thing is for sure, it is not the downtrodden backwater that certain western superpowers would have you believe. And it’s not what Canadians might have in mind from their most recent trip to Varadero. Cubans are vibrant, proud, well-educated, innovative, family-oriented friendly people that strive to improve their lives and the lives of their families using what little they are given and can obtain.</div>
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As for Santiago itself, it is a beautiful city but can be hot and loud. Thankfully there is peso ice cream!!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peso Ice Cream!</td></tr>
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Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-24934763197656497862018-10-06T06:19:00.003-07:002018-10-06T06:25:19.694-07:00Do’s and Don’ts of Cruising Jamaica<style type="text/css">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Port Morant Windmill</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Before we sail to a new country there is a tremendous amount of research involved: cruising guides, charts, travel guides for land travel, language, money, etc. One invaluable resource is blogs written by other cruisers, especially if they were written recently (within a few years or since a major storm). We couldn’t find many blogs discussing Jamaica in detail as it isn’t a destination for most sailors so in case future cruisers are googling “jamaica sailing blog”, here are some tips from spending two months in the country.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delivered by "Bananaman", Port Antonio</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">DON’T fear for your safety. Jamaica may have been an unsafe place for cruisers decades ago but this is no longer true. Just be a smart traveller, just as you would in any other country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">DON’T just stop at Port Antonio on your way north or south. This is typically the only stop most cruisers make in Jamaica and although it is beautiful and has a nice marina, it really doesn’t do the island justice. If you are just passing through consider also stopping at Port Morant to the south east. Not only is it a port of entry/exit, it is extremely well protected, there is a navy outpost nearby with free drinking water and a better supermarket than Port Antonio a short taxi ride away. Jamaicans here are extremely friendly and there is a beautiful walk through the neighbouring villages with incredible gardens. Not to mention that nobody tried to hustle us - this may have been our favourite place in Jamaica!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South Coast</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">DO bring spare parts with you. You will probably only be one of a handful of sailboats in the country and there are no marine stores with sailboat parts. There are lots of sport fishing boats around Kingston and we heard rumours of one marine store in Kingston targeting these boats. If you need something important you’ll have to find a way to get it from somewhere else.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">DO spend a few days in Kingston. The “Town” is the beating heart of Jamaica and while it’s not a typical tourist stop there are still some cool things to do: Devon House, Hope Gardens, downtown, Port Royal, or head up into the Blue Mountains. We found the busses and route taxis to be an easy and inexpensive way around the city. We anchored near the Royal Jamaican Yacht Club (usually full) for about a week and we and the boat were completely safe. It’s also close to the beautiful cays just outside Kingston harbour such as Lime Cay and Maiden Cay.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">DON’T worry about provisioning, fuel, and water. The food available in Jamaica is up there with some of the best in the Caribbean. Of course, not everything is available all the time, but most supermarkets stock all of the basics, plus a wide selection of products imported from the UK (Cadburys!), and some of the best selection of vegetarian food targeted at the rasta population. Fuel can be purchased at the dock in Kingston and other marinas or jerry canned from gas stations anywhere in the country. Water is available almost everywhere and according to one marine policeman, Jamaica is the only Caribbean country where cruise ships will fill their tanks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">DO be patient with hustlers. Every town in Jamaica has them. These are the people selling weed, massages, hair braiding, tours, cuban cigars, sex, hats, coconut water, sunglasses, or just to draw you in by asking where you’re from or giving a fist bump. Jamaicans believe that every person deserves respect so it is considered rude to ignore or walk away abruptly. Be ready to say “no thank you” a lot or simply “I don’t need anything today”. We found the most hustlers in Ocho Rios and the fewest in places with fewer tourists like Kingston.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">DO visit the south coast. This is incredible cruising. Clear blue water and dozens of calm anchorages all to yourself. Our favourites were the Portland Cays, Whitehouse, and the Cays near Port Royal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">DON’T worry about red tape. Jamaica is a very formal country in terms of clearance procedures. For instance you absolutely cannot leave the boat until you have been inspected by the Quarantine officer and you have lowered your yellow flag. When we arrived we also needed to have a stack of forms completed by Customs as well as Immigration. But once this was complete we were issued a cruising permit and three month visa and didn’t need to meet with any more officials until we left. The marine police occasionally paid us a visit to check paperwork but were always extremely friendly and courteous.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ever-Present Jamaican Goat</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">DO get off the boat and take inland tours. Tour a coffee plantation in the Blue Mountains. Blue Mountain coffee is excellent and when you go to the source you can easily find 100% Blue Mountain Coffee as opposed to the blends you get in the supermarket. Tour the Appleton rum distillery with Rasta George from Black River or go to YS Falls or Dunn’s falls. Tours can sometimes be pricey when you factor in transportation, guide, and a meal, but prices are usually negotiable.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Rare Cloudy Day</td></tr>
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*** Bonus for Non-Cruisers ***</div>
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There is certainly a time and a place for all inclusives. Several of the hotel guests we spoke to were looking for something different for their next holiday. If you’re looking for something more unique, consider either staying somewhere off-resort (for example, google Treasure Beach or independent hotels in Negril) or it is now possible to circumnavigate the island by land using the very comfortable Knutsford Express bus service or route taxis.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Budget a couple weeks for this but be prepared to abandon your plans when you find a place you love.</div>
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Jamaica is an island unlike any other in the Caribbean and you’d probably be hardpressed to find anywhere like it in the world.</div>
<br />Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-72664954887717826972018-10-06T06:19:00.002-07:002018-10-06T06:19:21.368-07:00Negril - Hello White People<style type="text/css">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rock House, Negril</td></tr>
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During the first couple of weeks in Jamaica we saw very few tourists. In fact, in Kingston kids would greet us with “Hello White People!” As we approached the west coast of the island this quickly started to change. At the small town of Whitehouse, we encountered the controversial new Sandals South Coast resort, oddly marketed as a series of European villages on the beach, in Jamaica. You can take a room in the French, Italian, or Dutch quarters and eat at restaurants serving that style of food. There is also the newly opened suites on stilts over the water where you can have an outdoor bath or shower after your swim in the sea. As this was a very posh all-inclusive it was all off-limits to us. Mum was disappointed we couldn’t just go and buy a pastry from the French bakery! We were allowed to use the beach as all Jamaican beaches are public property. But as soon as we neared the hotel area the bored security guards sprang into action and started radioing each other “dirty sailors approaching the French Quarter”. We chose a private area far from the hotel for beach haircuts. Needless to say the American couple that ventured down to the far end were a bit caught off guard.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking Advantage of Calm Winds to Fix the Sail</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loving Negril</td></tr>
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The resort town of Negril is home to some of the largest all-inclusives in the country. It appears to have grown a bit since our Lonely Planet was published as adjectives like charming, unique, and quiet no longer seem to apply. The long white beaches and crystal clear water are incredible though and are enough to see past the hordes of drunk, sunburned vacationers. We anchored in the calm clear waters of Bloody Bay, so named for the whalers that would return with their catch and turn the waters red - not sure what is worse. It is also where the famous pirate “Black Jack” Rackam was captured by the British and taken back to Port Royal to be hung.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Jamaican Breakfast: </span>Ackee and Saltfish with Calaloo and all the trimmings</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West End Negril</td></tr>
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After a couple of days of swimming, strolling on the beach, and listening to Bob Marley tribute bands playing at the resorts in the evening, Mum’s trip came to an end and I flew** with her to England for a visit with my 103-year-old great aunt for a few weeks. James would be staying in Negril with the boat during that time. The following is his account of that time:</div>
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Negril was a lovely place to spend a few weeks relaxing in the sun and getting a few boat jobs done. It was flat and usually calm or with just a gentle breeze while the tradewinds were howling across the rest of the Caribbean. The boat and I quickly blended into the background in the eyes of the Jamaicans working in the area and people soon stopped asking me if I wanted to buy weed or lobster. The other tourists were very curious and would often drop by in a kayak or paddleboat to ask where I was from and what I was doing there. It was rare to see other cruisers but I befriended a lovely Kiwi family on a trawler and we got together a few times for drinks and dinner. They even gave me a huge bag of ice to go with my ginger beer, patties, and coco bread! It was enough to get me by until my co-captain returned.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curious Negril Dolphins</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crystal Clear and Dead Calm</td></tr>
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** Note: Flying did involve a trip to the airport in Montego Bay which has recently issued a state of emergency and travel advisories put in place by Canada and the UK. The inside story is that St. James Parish where Montego Bay is located has been suffering from an increased rate of crime for several years now and the state of emergency was necessary in order for the government to allocate more resources for dealing with this crime. The criminals are mostly well-known to the government and members of gangs operating in very specific neighbourhoods. Montego Bay and Jamaica in general are very safe for tourists with tourist crime usually limited to petty theft or harassment by street vendors. Most Jamaicans we spoke with were very supportive of the state of emergency so that the known criminals could finally be apprehended. Strangely, and sadly, a lot of the money funding the criminals is reported to come from their operation of fake lottery scams targeting North American seniors (“you have won $1,000,000, we just need a wire transfer of $10,000 so you can claim your prize”). Maybe this is the story that should be on the front pages instead!</div>
<br />Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-85915458417322437682018-10-06T06:19:00.001-07:002018-10-06T06:19:11.254-07:00Black River<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bamboo Avenue</td></tr>
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Black River was the next town we came to as we headed clockwise around Jamaica. With a population of little over 4000 people, we felt that almost all of them came to greet us as we pulled the dinghy up to dock alongside the river. This might be a bit of an exaggeration, but we were instantly bombarded with offers for tours, to buy wood carvings, to watch the dinghy, and more. All we really wanted was to get off the boat for a couple of hours and go for a walk and explore. But the best offer of all came when we stepped inside the town bakery: “would you like to try some coco bread?” came a voice from inside a metal cage (really, is this necessary? maybe) guarding the day’s fresh bread. We gladly accepted and bought two pieces of the fresh, warm, melt-in-your-mouth coco bread. What a treat!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rasta George in Black River</td></tr>
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We quickly decided that 20 minutes was enough to see everything there was to see in the town of Black River.<br />
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However, there was plenty to do in the surrounding countryside. The next day we found a shared taxi that could take us to the notorious YS Falls, a beautiful property in the hills with a cool river, several waterfalls, and some very nice natural pools for swimming.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">YS Falls</td></tr>
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The driver of the shared taxi spent his summers in my hometown of Niagara-on-the-Lake, picking fruit in an orchard owned by a family whose children I went to school with. As we drove along the country roads of Jamaica we reminisced with him about eating juicy warm peaches off the tree and his love of Tim Hortons coffee.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neil: Taxi Driver in Winter, NOTL Fruit Picker in Summer</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long-tailed Doctorbirds</td></tr>
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The following day we met “Rasta George”, a quiet, well-spoken Rastafarian with a car that took us to the Appleton Rum distillery. The Appleton tour had been closed for several months for renovation and had just re-opened. Although the entry fee was steep, the rum samples were very generous. Let’s just say we’re glad Rasta George was our designated driver.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Appletons!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helping to Extract the Sugarcane Juice</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Molasses Mmmmm...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the Finished Product</td></tr>
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On the way home we stopped for some much needed lunch in Middle Quarters and had a delicious shrimp curry, fried chicken, and peanut and bean soup with “festival” (big lumps of fried bread that we remembered from Haiti - similar to the hushpuppies of the southern USA). It was an incredible lunch and we certainly didn’t need much dinner.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch in Middle Quarters</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlXUsUA_L1Ma_P3CZgXK5oqpPn4XlCU1enAWkcJqtMgR4b4qPgle22HvDQ_hEayYG3pfLMnQC6EL1i0k1K7v01kHcSzjSowtt1stYLn3rwJ4y4vrA9WvRzWVlFXW-ezIYuexhwPBbnzFY/s1600/IMG_5268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlXUsUA_L1Ma_P3CZgXK5oqpPn4XlCU1enAWkcJqtMgR4b4qPgle22HvDQ_hEayYG3pfLMnQC6EL1i0k1K7v01kHcSzjSowtt1stYLn3rwJ4y4vrA9WvRzWVlFXW-ezIYuexhwPBbnzFY/s320/IMG_5268.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curried Shrimp</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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On our final day in Black River we did the shopping and went for a dinghy ride up the Black River itself to see if we could spot some crocodiles. We did see a few, along with quite a few birds, and lots and lots of water vegetation (that would cost a lot of money at a garden centre to add to your water garden back home) that was being swept out to sea so it could get stuck on our boat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzjP6Q7d9HqYzpysmkaVQN6MqjrnwKh073c84Vq39vr7UQwq9hmCETsc-luP3dTlyFKzCi2kQkeGdDgCGzTOMHUAP1COYm5ggXWwjhaFvB8zw9tbtEejKKHUtHp-rjoHdHHK1qv3jxzE/s1600/IMG_5273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXzjP6Q7d9HqYzpysmkaVQN6MqjrnwKh073c84Vq39vr7UQwq9hmCETsc-luP3dTlyFKzCi2kQkeGdDgCGzTOMHUAP1COYm5ggXWwjhaFvB8zw9tbtEejKKHUtHp-rjoHdHHK1qv3jxzE/s320/IMG_5273.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Croc in Black River</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUsorJd6icYdFIdqPfEPXuVnSb3yjgD4FnXzMfJXavi6RZbkS2m4D-gJ5nCNwwdY2l1vafg4F2dGvFWNBiPQNOWizzlouJJX8wz754C0OTrrcYmLh5DYtrg12a65GahW7sl2k8c2HPPEs/s1600/IMG_5291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUsorJd6icYdFIdqPfEPXuVnSb3yjgD4FnXzMfJXavi6RZbkS2m4D-gJ5nCNwwdY2l1vafg4F2dGvFWNBiPQNOWizzlouJJX8wz754C0OTrrcYmLh5DYtrg12a65GahW7sl2k8c2HPPEs/s320/IMG_5291.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up the Black River</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwk1yLhKySUD08I0TCXUibzaeYG9D8Tl5fL6xpDDRAq2dvK-_2WfY-s5GbbAkZHK7E43d2r8BPl-YSFh1d-5i4K3r3U_i93HDHDxs374T9xZZAi1fTbGZpWvAUd9FZaywfoeonr3QQl2w/s1600/IMG_5294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwk1yLhKySUD08I0TCXUibzaeYG9D8Tl5fL6xpDDRAq2dvK-_2WfY-s5GbbAkZHK7E43d2r8BPl-YSFh1d-5i4K3r3U_i93HDHDxs374T9xZZAi1fTbGZpWvAUd9FZaywfoeonr3QQl2w/s320/IMG_5294.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black River</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJg-hniOgGD7jNneKFrdD4RnLZnE_sQS5yf9-lttlkmXHIhd68iHwF_qlBEoMQejM_9STar3RgBCiCWy_7TQZcm4_dHJmORX9N9NhEb6fI2MLMOQfBaM52-3t6r3xqfiT5cSWWHxZEKoU/s1600/IMG_5299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJg-hniOgGD7jNneKFrdD4RnLZnE_sQS5yf9-lttlkmXHIhd68iHwF_qlBEoMQejM_9STar3RgBCiCWy_7TQZcm4_dHJmORX9N9NhEb6fI2MLMOQfBaM52-3t6r3xqfiT5cSWWHxZEKoU/s320/IMG_5299.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black River</td></tr>
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Our next destination was Whitehouse, home of Sandals South Coast. We were expecting a load obnoxious resort with music through the night but this place appears to be quite classy. The staff and resort-goers were all very friendly and curious about us and were fine about us taking the dinghy down past the resort to the stretch of deserted beach nearby (but quickly mobilized into action when there was a chance we might be walking towards the resort’s beach…). The anchorage was quite lovely and sheltered by a reef so we stayed a few days here before deciding to head around the corner to Negril. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGscX-v61Shfy8ASNAUyBEUPGeS3XH1DOomA82PQRHlbtQv-UgmrEVCC0Cxxonq1xzhgChhaqnOZw0qrAoOCARThE78vZlpc6k0SHReDYkJt2shYPL28dyj0a_g87jNNFG5WCXMq3rXE/s1600/IMG_5307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGscX-v61Shfy8ASNAUyBEUPGeS3XH1DOomA82PQRHlbtQv-UgmrEVCC0Cxxonq1xzhgChhaqnOZw0qrAoOCARThE78vZlpc6k0SHReDYkJt2shYPL28dyj0a_g87jNNFG5WCXMq3rXE/s320/IMG_5307.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading to Negril</td></tr>
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<br />Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-38310957882008477042018-10-06T06:19:00.000-07:002018-10-06T06:19:00.646-07:00Going Where the Tradewinds Blow<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9PSh-UTPvLjCEeVk3f8he-qL4b8GjxUjGdE9JKqnz4rWqJ7mPfqH4ftSXnblA24cyKCaW1KNtNqFYChoGnaBN7NZymcBXpPEhDKTRoZYiEDZrnii0yOMVPnAktGI60CdhtO7R6DCXqY/s1600/IMG_5094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9PSh-UTPvLjCEeVk3f8he-qL4b8GjxUjGdE9JKqnz4rWqJ7mPfqH4ftSXnblA24cyKCaW1KNtNqFYChoGnaBN7NZymcBXpPEhDKTRoZYiEDZrnii0yOMVPnAktGI60CdhtO7R6DCXqY/s320/IMG_5094.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Deserted Island</td></tr>
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<div>
Many North Americans go to Jamaica looking for paradise in Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Negril. As it turns out, they’ve been looking in the wrong places. Paradise can be found just 15 miles west of Kingston, in the shadow of the Blue Mountains, in an isolated group of small islands in a big bay called Portland Bight.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnxgOXYZGheJr_M65DqD3_EykRWm78FLymwhaEj2kuyMsKuAygYh-PIazWC547R1G5nijuEblDtcFGP2VWzRNNWhdsyW6PB-9HlRAuXYdYUoxSRGVBMI9UobW80rg_pSHidiyFr6MG3g/s1600/IMG_5070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnxgOXYZGheJr_M65DqD3_EykRWm78FLymwhaEj2kuyMsKuAygYh-PIazWC547R1G5nijuEblDtcFGP2VWzRNNWhdsyW6PB-9HlRAuXYdYUoxSRGVBMI9UobW80rg_pSHidiyFr6MG3g/s320/IMG_5070.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lime Cay</td></tr>
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Each of the cays here were all inclusive: a stretch of fine white sand, a few mangroves, some pelicans, colourful fish, and surrounded in more shades of blue than one ever thought possible. And other than the occasional friendly Jamaican fisherman, we had all of these islands to ourselves.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNdpAOz0cR5B9Ag5zfeAILItbM6-uLtfCqFVdp-wruBIH_YT5pmDHUgI8-T5JtvHYQ063AQskRVq5w_61B-shfs2DxmTONRjR0UldFgDcx_AKLW6I0JJDVvHv2FqVErFhmEFMsqYQVMo/s1600/IMG_5084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNdpAOz0cR5B9Ag5zfeAILItbM6-uLtfCqFVdp-wruBIH_YT5pmDHUgI8-T5JtvHYQ063AQskRVq5w_61B-shfs2DxmTONRjR0UldFgDcx_AKLW6I0JJDVvHv2FqVErFhmEFMsqYQVMo/s320/IMG_5084.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portland Bight</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXB7gSi4pRWcKtcTJks4PPDHXOk7v11H5R9PUiTR98LU-agoT3ffKUqwQTuJVU7m-WNSEX-8qZcJ7fyZTqLl0YimolV60TBaGs7XSRPrrt6ktN9y_cNSZ6mJuRkbV9RmCmM3iX1BcJLek/s1600/IMG_5090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXB7gSi4pRWcKtcTJks4PPDHXOk7v11H5R9PUiTR98LU-agoT3ffKUqwQTuJVU7m-WNSEX-8qZcJ7fyZTqLl0YimolV60TBaGs7XSRPrrt6ktN9y_cNSZ6mJuRkbV9RmCmM3iX1BcJLek/s320/IMG_5090.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Over the next ten days we slipped into the kind of routine we had been longing for while sitting in the stinking hot Cartagena anchorage: In the morning we would wake up and have our coffee and breakfast while watching the sun rise and the fisherman head out in their colourful boats. We’d dinghy over to the nearest beach for a walk and go for a snorkel if it looked enticing. We’d come back to the boat for an early lunch before setting sail or motoring an hour or so to the next island. By this time in the afternoon it was often clouding up and mum would disappear down below to make us a cup of tea. If we were lucky, whoever was on dinner duty would have it ready just as the sun was slipping over the horizon, illuminating our island paradise in a soft orange glow.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5okTbAMoW5jFKT006A55VpzpXTaTW3uus2BEc-pSJnwTvtyv1DKN0iINNjQ9lDzRA0Q8bXCMODcinJYY8bLJxOaRhZ6r1YmjpXpbdN3I2USoF3Xg95jVzbXh9gn8F8smXZUCkuCBQmIg/s1600/IMG_5139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5okTbAMoW5jFKT006A55VpzpXTaTW3uus2BEc-pSJnwTvtyv1DKN0iINNjQ9lDzRA0Q8bXCMODcinJYY8bLJxOaRhZ6r1YmjpXpbdN3I2USoF3Xg95jVzbXh9gn8F8smXZUCkuCBQmIg/s320/IMG_5139.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrsC750CW1l-cTFZN6F11VUQ_xk9_c4WyPdc41MC6Arm4KhSQUSbWOc7OhmID7I_3vad77IylU-X3VZxO450tXvl9GrIQA5n-xF64LVJkjB6d092i4_-YD0qApl6A1ffFVZJyVPaSOgI/s1600/IMG_5147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXrsC750CW1l-cTFZN6F11VUQ_xk9_c4WyPdc41MC6Arm4KhSQUSbWOc7OhmID7I_3vad77IylU-X3VZxO450tXvl9GrIQA5n-xF64LVJkjB6d092i4_-YD0qApl6A1ffFVZJyVPaSOgI/s320/IMG_5147.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We couldn’t get over the absence of other sailors in this area. Yes, Jamaica is off the usual north-south path for most people. And yes, the country does have a bad reputation for safety. But it is definitely undeserved in our opinion. Indeed if others knew what a beautiful experience we were having here they would be arriving by the dozens…. maybe we should keep this place secret a bit longer.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtWsz_z2F8vzBDYW466AWH8wp7nyih19JIWHIPmGa-Kfb1YqsZyeXCTcjdEkRppKnzkSc2FrCe_zCcMQvIu_eW6FcFh5U4FpZyK1c-5bD0Gs1VH33qbODzu_TVBtsHw6_DXX5PBHvjjo/s1600/IMG_5100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtWsz_z2F8vzBDYW466AWH8wp7nyih19JIWHIPmGa-Kfb1YqsZyeXCTcjdEkRppKnzkSc2FrCe_zCcMQvIu_eW6FcFh5U4FpZyK1c-5bD0Gs1VH33qbODzu_TVBtsHw6_DXX5PBHvjjo/s320/IMG_5100.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect Beaches...</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3q1dJqpfomI407guRy8G4EDXJsQEsB8eLaVV1MgUL0GMw0uVs8rovdkk1HhI4Rc5SSrYO1TE_yaJ_2B1BvkCpBgbOYa6g-z24Vr2gnctmiTzjQkiQ8jJbTjjYMQTR4T6FgdXbZwj-4I/s1600/IMG_5102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3q1dJqpfomI407guRy8G4EDXJsQEsB8eLaVV1MgUL0GMw0uVs8rovdkk1HhI4Rc5SSrYO1TE_yaJ_2B1BvkCpBgbOYa6g-z24Vr2gnctmiTzjQkiQ8jJbTjjYMQTR4T6FgdXbZwj-4I/s320/IMG_5102.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKsH9_Y3UMWLDUCw7valWuUi8wwXl9hCRCfArfbXjGLXKqeNke0s-yFVBJ5afUvHn2H0N34gE-en-qXKZIwdOOueLzKcwEUJrt8dvh9g-TyszX8f_CMklfBzsE8NG9LLi4VrifiojiEA/s1600/IMG_5109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKsH9_Y3UMWLDUCw7valWuUi8wwXl9hCRCfArfbXjGLXKqeNke0s-yFVBJ5afUvHn2H0N34gE-en-qXKZIwdOOueLzKcwEUJrt8dvh9g-TyszX8f_CMklfBzsE8NG9LLi4VrifiojiEA/s320/IMG_5109.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rays</td></tr>
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As it often does when we are in more remote locations, the beer running down meant it was time to think about moving on. We put out a sail and headed west with the trade winds…</div>
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Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-6992179890041102482018-10-06T05:47:00.001-07:002018-10-06T05:47:53.136-07:00A Jamaican Patty Tour of Kingston<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNerEWUzcEt0oWzUy10lHLeqr8dV9sCIrpzkQV8uTKvnKYDstdnZ2esFmKGZg6yTIr0d_xVTUsVMwUe4cTbqn5W7PlSKoYQHVNngClaWWagvo2NVL5kqpZMyeparuBvVPZCnBv8V-qnI/s1600/IMG_5038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNerEWUzcEt0oWzUy10lHLeqr8dV9sCIrpzkQV8uTKvnKYDstdnZ2esFmKGZg6yTIr0d_xVTUsVMwUe4cTbqn5W7PlSKoYQHVNngClaWWagvo2NVL5kqpZMyeparuBvVPZCnBv8V-qnI/s320/IMG_5038.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devon House, Kingston</td></tr>
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After a year of sailing in South- and Central-American waters putting our feet on Jamaican soil felt like being back in the Caribbean. People were laid back and friendly, the food had spice, and the music had that familiar calypso beat. Better yet, checking in was easy and inexpensive. We anchored near the Royal Jamaican Yacht Club and used their dock to get to shore along with two German boats. Side note: RJYC is busier than ever with Jamaican sport-fish boats and as a result they don’t have much space for visitors. So you either anchor or tie up to the fuel dock and have boats that need fuel tie up to you!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drinks at RJYC</td></tr>
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RJYC is actually on the other side of Kingston Harbour near Port Royal. Port Royal was a Spanish/British stronghold back in the day and also welcomed all the famous pirates: Captain Morgan, Blackbeard, Charles Vane, and Black Jack Rackham (all accurately portrayed in the drama series Black Sails which we had just finished watching). Port Royal was totalled in an earthquake in 1692.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious Jamaican Meal at the Beach House</td></tr>
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But exploration of Kingston would have to wait we were off to the north coast of Jamaica to meet up with my friend Tracy and her family and pick up my mum who was finally able to join us in Jamaica!<br />
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Tracy had rented a beach house near Falmouth but as they had a car they were able to meet us in “Ochi”, Ocho Rios. It was convenient, being close to the “Blue Hole” with a river and waterfall. As it was raining, and would continue to rain non-stop for the next three days, the highlight of this stop was the fresh and delicious Jamaican patties we ate in the car. The beach house was lovely, but with the rain we were inside a lot, certainly taking advantage of the unlimited hot shower. It allowed us to see what the north coast waters looked like in a cold front - not pretty. It was a nice place for my mum to join as after an epic day of travelling she was dead on her feet.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devon House in Kingston</td></tr>
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After a wonderful visit we returned to Kingston and set about exploring the area. Kingston certainly has a bad reputation as being violent and unsafe. Perhaps this still holds in some of the areas within the city but I can say that where we went it certainly wasn’t the scary place it’s made out to be and Kingstonians welcomed us with a Good Morning and a big smile. We checked out Devon House, Hope Gardens, and took a route taxi up to a coffee plantation in the Blue Mountains for a tour and some of the smoothest coffee we’ve ever tasted. And of course we had to try patties all around the city to find a better patty than we had near the Blue Hole - we could not, although Devon House came close!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coffee Plantation in the Blue Mountains</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Have We Found Paradise?</td></tr>
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We needed one more day to fuel up with diesel, water, propane, and groceries before we were on our way to the Cays…</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Mountain Coffee</td></tr>
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<br />Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-25356786184395744702018-10-05T09:27:00.000-07:002018-10-05T09:27:03.337-07:00Squalls, Breakages, and Blue Mountains - Jamaica Bound!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Blue Mountains!</td></tr>
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The distance from Cartagena to Kingston is 465 nautical miles, which is 861 kilometres, or a roadtrip from our home port of Toronto to my hometown of Niagara-on-the-Lake and on to Glen Cove, Long Island, New York where this adventure began. It was to be our longest passage, well in excess of the 375nm from Martinique to Los Roques we covered a year ago. While the road trip would take you about nine hours, plus time spent at the border explaining that the purpose of your visit to the United States was simply to see what driving 465 nautical miles felt like, we expected to arrive in Jamaica in about four days.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Route</td></tr>
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We knew this would be a challenging passage at the end of December - the trade winds would be ripping so the seas would be “lively”, the current would be trying its best to push us off course and into shallow waters, there would be lots of freighter traffic, and unlike our nice downwind sail from Martinique this would be upwind most of the way. But we knew at the other end would be huge plate of ackee and saltfish and a Red Stripe so away we went.<br />
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Lively was certainly the right word for this passage. For the first three days and nights we had 20-25 knot winds with gusts to 30 in the squalls, which we had every night. The swells were unpleasant, and neither of us really felt like eating much let alone cooking anything. Good thing we had done a Dominoes pizza run before leaving Cartagena! There was indeed lots of traffic and we had to radio several large vessels to make sure they saw us and coordinate who was going to change course to avoid collision. There was rain every night and combined with the wind and the waves that we would hit and splash over the bow we were very glad we had our new cockpit enclosure to keep us dry and warm. <br />
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We also had breakages to contend with. On the first night two of our solar panels were dangerously close to a one-way trip to the bottom of the Caribbean; James managed to get some lines around them to keep them safely on deck. On the second night our jib car (the pulley that attaches the end of your jib to the boat) packed it in and snapped with a horrible cracking noise that freaked both of us out. We also had a line break, some tears in the sail, and as we found out later lost a piece of the rubrail along the side of the boat!<br />
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We religiously checked the weather each day. Besides getting text updates on our handheld satellite device we’d listen to a weather show on the high frequency radio. We were assured that as we headed into day four, the nasty weather would ease up and become more in our favour. We celebrated New Year’s Eve almost around the halfway point by grunting to each other “Happy New Year”. By the end of the fourth day the lack of sleep and improper eating was starting to get to us as we both thought we heard voices whispering on the radio and I kept imagining someone was handing me a drink and would go to take it only to grasp at thin air! I don’t know how people cross oceans on their own…<br />
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Also about halfway through it became clear that this four-day trip was actually going to be a five-day trip. The good news was that we would approach the island in daylight, which is always nice when you arrive somewhere for the first time. At dawn on the fifth day we were greeted with one of the most beautiful sights we could imagine - Jamaica’s massive Blue Mountains fully visible and beautifully lit by the rising sun. <br />
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After what seemed like ages we entered Kingston Harbour, which is quite large, and with about 20 minutes left in this epic journey we promptly ran out of fuel. We put the anchor down, put a jug of diesel into the tank, and were back underway before any Jamaican eyebrows were raised. It was almost like this had happened before (it did - the exact same thing happened as we were coming in to anchor at Isle-a-Vache, Haiti!).<br />
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We put the anchor down outside the Royal Jamaican Yacht Club, made a proper meal, and had our first showers in five days. What an incredible feeling!<br />
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Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-31278026904670364142018-09-01T08:58:00.000-07:002018-09-01T08:58:07.788-07:00and Again... and AgainWe decided it was time for a second opinion and called another mechanic that was highly recommended by other sailors in the anchorage. He was known as El Profe (The Professor) and was in very high demand. However we explained the situation and El Profe came to take a look. The minute he stepped on the boat our anxiety lifted and we felt we were in good hands. After five minutes, El Profe assured us that this was a good engine and he could get it started again. He made up a special mixture of oil and sprayed it into the cylinders. With a little coaxing, we heard the sweet sound of our engine running again. But we weren’t out of the woods yet. El Profe was not satisfied with what he was hearing. He looked at the video of the injectors that the other mechanics had sent us from the shop and said “that spray is not right”. He removed the injectors and took them to his preferred lab. It turns out the water that had entered our fuel tank, probably through condensation and questionable fuel, had made its way to the injectors and clogged them up. The shop replaced the nozzles that spray the fuel out and the engine sounded better than it ever had. El Profe, our hero!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cartagena Christmas Decorations</td></tr>
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This only left the question of the water remaining in our tank. We pumped out as much water as we could into plastic jugs and replaced it with new fuel. A somewhat respectable weather window for Jamaica had presented itself so the next morning we headed hauled up the anchor and headed out. We made it about a mile before the engine died. As there was no wind and we were still in the Cartagena harbour, James lowered the dinghy and towed us back to the anchorage in shame as I steered. We immediately dialled El Profe and while he was not exactly happy to hear from us he came out right away. “There is still water” he exclaimed after spitting a mouthful of watery diesel into a plastic bottle. The ghetto solution that followed was to buy a big plastic fuel tank that would sit in our bathroom and be filled with good diesel. The engine would be connected directly to that tank and we would refill it with our jugs on deck. Doing the math, this gave us about 33 gallons to burn, about half of what we usually had.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TSco_erAJI3pR3r52qSyZP08J9GTtuKbfDdDcxGCVdBFrIcqjbrpapJKNWSkWU4DUDZLySwDjaI6EaXx-UFjhWhYuLM4mKuWvOTCGQ4cjkSGLrWdBy-vdgmIqNskz-NnlxHkeW67SZA/s1600/IMG_4994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TSco_erAJI3pR3r52qSyZP08J9GTtuKbfDdDcxGCVdBFrIcqjbrpapJKNWSkWU4DUDZLySwDjaI6EaXx-UFjhWhYuLM4mKuWvOTCGQ4cjkSGLrWdBy-vdgmIqNskz-NnlxHkeW67SZA/s320/IMG_4994.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
So when the next weather window came along we were hesitant to say the least. But we started out with the external tank working well. After about five hours of motoring we started to get close to the part of Colombia which is notoriously windy. And, unlike our weather forecast, the 20 knot wind was directly on our nose. Our speed slowed to about 3 knots and James furrowed his brow. Once we got an updated weather forecast (which had changed, and not in our favour) we realized that our meagre 33 gallons of fuel was not going to get us to Jamaica in these conditions. We turned back and entered the Cartagena harbour yet again. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gazing north towards Jamaica</td></tr>
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Just as morale was at an all-time low, we discovered CineColombia. In what can only be considered a miracle of capitalism, CineColombia can show the same new releases that we pay $15 to watch at home for as little as a dollar. In English. In an air-conditioned theatre. This was our salvation. While we watched all the matinees we possibly could we waited for better weather and brainstormed how to improve our odds. (BTW, if you want to confuse a Colombian, make him wonder why we are spending every afternoon of our vacation watching the same movies we could see at home…) We followed up on one of El Profe’s contacts that might be able to polish (clean) our fuel. This is a procedure where the fuel is sucked out of the tank, filtered, and put back in and, in case you were wondering, in spanish is more appropriately known as “dialysis”.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boxing Day Spread, Colombian Style</td></tr>
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After our first round of dialysis did not suffice, we opted for the ultimate solution. The bad fuel would be removed and disposed of (in Colombia this means it would just be sold again at a discount) and we would start from scratch with all new fuel. We would also have the external 33 gallons as a backup. After numerous tests, we knew we had solved the problem! All that was left was the weather. Cartagena is lovely around Christmastime, all lit up and with parades and fireworks. We enjoyed it even though we had wanted to be in Jamaica for Christmas. Our best Christmas gift of all was the updated forecast with the gale-force winds in the Caribbean calming down to something a little more manageable. It finally looked like we could head north!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Merry Christmas from Cartagena!</td></tr>
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Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-44974587118162598602018-08-19T05:48:00.001-07:002018-08-19T05:57:48.156-07:00and we're back!How many of you thought we were no longer cruising? Were missing? Had fallen into a black hole? Nope! We just got super behind with boat repairs and then had no or terrible internet for five months in Cuba. The good news is we have about a dozen blogs written, they just need photos and we can start posting them for you!<br />
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A LOT has happened since our last post. We are currently in Isla Mujeres, Mexico and will catch you up over the coming weeks. In the meantime here is what we've been up to in our first week in Mexico...<br />
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Eating the best ceviche on the planet!<br />
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Celebrating a birthday!<br />
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Eating delicious blue corn tortillas!<br />
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Drinking margaritas!<br />
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Eating mountains of Pitaya fruit!<br />
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Hanging out at the beach!<br />
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Drinking watermelon mimosas!<br />
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Enjoying breakfast out!<br />
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Swimming with manta rays and whale sharks!<br />
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Stay tuned as lots more to come...Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-64665899138706179902018-04-28T12:40:00.000-07:002018-04-28T12:40:57.499-07:00Colombia Again... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Let me preface this entry by reiterating that we loved Colombia. The people are friendly, the climate is perfect, there are lots of amazing things to see, do, and eat, and it’s safely out of the way of any potential hurricanes. But we arrived back in January 2017, stayed until March, returned to the boat in July and stayed until the beginning of September. We had seen more of Colombia than any Colombian we had spoken to. In our eyes, and the eyes of the department of immigration, we were getting close to outstaying our welcome.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PXygGUkgA4xvSahBJ7JJWK7Yw_lyYty6oGdRsTAXEnloWWcj1j8Okwk1evDvA8nGSD4yQRh801ID9EL2hW42sVw6_TxFSlxJMToZNFSs70LLHewBCFg49merjHfmEv4QGxpOp5lQVCM/s1600/IMG_4986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PXygGUkgA4xvSahBJ7JJWK7Yw_lyYty6oGdRsTAXEnloWWcj1j8Okwk1evDvA8nGSD4yQRh801ID9EL2hW42sVw6_TxFSlxJMToZNFSs70LLHewBCFg49merjHfmEv4QGxpOp5lQVCM/s320/IMG_4986.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Which is why, when discussing how we were going to get from Panama to our post-hurricane season destination of Jamaica, we were hesitant to make any plan that included the word Colombia in it. Our initial plan was to sail to the offshore island of Providencia which is under jurisdiction of, you guessed it, Colombia. From there continue north to the Cayman Islands, then turn into the wind and current to get to Jamaica. At this time of year (November) this should have been a perfectly feasible plan. But as usual the weather was uncooperative and the winds were blowing hard in exactly the direction we were headed. Those winds were uncharacteristically providing a smooth ride back to good old mainland Colombia and from there a nice sail up to Jamaica. It seemed like a no-brainer so we stocked up on cheap liquor, checked out of Panama, and set our sails for just south of Baranquilla where there is a quiet little bay where we could rest between passages.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkfQBgCwGBWJ9NoG0msmVlvbqDxcrGTovMzsglQHC86tLSBbo-EnWNCNQ798Jx1Lzu2UWs608E7bFN6vhK6812KrpVMGwjeUCVLlMcWWAqYG9Jd3wK2sewDGeWb74moFaSRAGyAH5-g0/s1600/IMG_5001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkfQBgCwGBWJ9NoG0msmVlvbqDxcrGTovMzsglQHC86tLSBbo-EnWNCNQ798Jx1Lzu2UWs608E7bFN6vhK6812KrpVMGwjeUCVLlMcWWAqYG9Jd3wK2sewDGeWb74moFaSRAGyAH5-g0/s320/IMG_5001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We were enjoying a very pleasant two-night passage when on day two the wind dropped and the sails hung motionless. We fired up the engine to keep up our progress and were shortly greeted with silence again as it sputtered and died. We were exactly halfway between Panama and Colombia, over 100 miles from any land. Recognizing this as a fuel issue, James changed the fuel filter and bled the engine. It started up and shortly died again. We repeated this several times with the same result and upon closer examination the fuel filter bowl was full of not fuel but dirty water! As everyone knows, fuel and water do not mix.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-Ml0nsy0p_bUuGU-qJluY1GgYN6uHeIP1zYnLCrkZE7IHSLkWp-IrRecSFVEeGfQ-LOozoi3zZjs-0Zcuxx7PmtT6EbCH0JjNBjVxarCNymNTe1vp7s-94Z5KE_N53zUGG9M7pMlRb0/s1600/IMG_5005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-Ml0nsy0p_bUuGU-qJluY1GgYN6uHeIP1zYnLCrkZE7IHSLkWp-IrRecSFVEeGfQ-LOozoi3zZjs-0Zcuxx7PmtT6EbCH0JjNBjVxarCNymNTe1vp7s-94Z5KE_N53zUGG9M7pMlRb0/s320/IMG_5005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Thank goodness we have sails and the wind was starting to pick up again. After much discussion we decided to adjust our course towards Cartagena since we knew the city would have the services we needed in case this was a serious problem. In what was one of our best passages for sailing we arrived at Cartagena in the early morning hours and waited outside the harbour since we did not want to enter in the dark under sail. In the morning after several more filter changes we were able to limp into the anchorage at a very slow speed and drop the anchor. We were back… in a country that we loved but didn’t want to see again anytime soon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrV_bB9gwBohHy1NFZ8vjNExiGFf0RoVs5wFxUb78GIw63SCo1x87wAPQJCBWMjzv9Eu3Sp1Dw9XZXu8g-hkPrVTnuK5SAm9sbdFPgkTvAuai6sxw0abx0vc2zt4Bv0H2Y2YuvHGypa4/s1600/IMG_4987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrV_bB9gwBohHy1NFZ8vjNExiGFf0RoVs5wFxUb78GIw63SCo1x87wAPQJCBWMjzv9Eu3Sp1Dw9XZXu8g-hkPrVTnuK5SAm9sbdFPgkTvAuai6sxw0abx0vc2zt4Bv0H2Y2YuvHGypa4/s320/IMG_4987.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
They say cruising is a series of high highs and low lows with not much in between. It’s true. Although we didn’t expect any sympathy from back home where it was becoming chilly and getting dark at 4:30pm while we were “stuck in paradise”, we commiserated with our fellow cruisers that understood what it’s like to be broken down watching others come and go and having your home torn apart in shambles while you desperately try to find the cause of and solve your problems. Trust me, we were not sitting on the beach sipping cocktails - we were busting our rear ends trying to troubleshoot our engine problem.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagDVCNbpSEOMe9fNjw9R26BYM83xTJ1B6bRNhmaeFdbp0iL0Aa4rK8Ye17JM8NH07Gxnv4rKA1i3-IIzaVrzN_l4DxMKP6TluiQzFDkIYzGOU7o7_DXynSpNuZXYyNKov5IIGzafpZ3Y/s1600/IMG_4995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagDVCNbpSEOMe9fNjw9R26BYM83xTJ1B6bRNhmaeFdbp0iL0Aa4rK8Ye17JM8NH07Gxnv4rKA1i3-IIzaVrzN_l4DxMKP6TluiQzFDkIYzGOU7o7_DXynSpNuZXYyNKov5IIGzafpZ3Y/s320/IMG_4995.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We changed the other engine filter and the engine would not start no matter what we did. James disconnected and reconnected all of the fuel lines and we pumped what looked like the rest of the dirty water from the bottom of our fuel tank. It still would not start. Recognizing that we were over our heads we asked around to find a good diesel mechanic. We were recommended to a group of guys that maintained the engines on the submarines for the Colombian navy. It sounded like a good shot so we gave them a call.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWoVIq6-5i5pEEcxpf9YezMHOj0hFnNq_mOmoLEQm7gW-AKrc0SimLt1wncI5jKUUR0ROP3KzskUWQHhpZqcSB3z8cOwhtQePO7-f7xg26Xo7fBfBOPDVVjbB3mi-BIjuOe9dGcRkz560/s1600/IMG_4983.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWoVIq6-5i5pEEcxpf9YezMHOj0hFnNq_mOmoLEQm7gW-AKrc0SimLt1wncI5jKUUR0ROP3KzskUWQHhpZqcSB3z8cOwhtQePO7-f7xg26Xo7fBfBOPDVVjbB3mi-BIjuOe9dGcRkz560/s320/IMG_4983.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The first mechanic to come out was able to determine without a doubt that we had water in the system and this was the source of the problem. Another mechanic would come out to work on solving the problem. But after what seemed like hours of just cranking and cranking we were no further ahead. The new mechanic then suggested that the fuel injectors needed cleaning in a shop. But even after a good clean, nothing.<br />
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The next group of mechanics (yes, three of them) made no more progress other than to suggest taking the injector pump to the shop to be tested and repaired. In the diesel world this is a fairly big deal, requiring sophisticated timing devices and knowledge well above our heads. Oh and they also needed to tear out part of a wall to get this pump out!Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-29961188312714477012018-03-12T06:03:00.000-07:002018-03-12T06:03:02.886-07:00Crazy Cruisers in Panama<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hxgbvJo_YFpcQ70IyouKihBOTqUvMvim6WM6KrJjVttouSx2MlczL-DvLL8fg2Ms3AQSNacYNTOsOr_ZLE2DJpwA6CwCCS-2uJAxGyI425a0vo6cUkiU2qFLglm0qGcwi_N_tRP96fg/s1600/IMG_4948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hxgbvJo_YFpcQ70IyouKihBOTqUvMvim6WM6KrJjVttouSx2MlczL-DvLL8fg2Ms3AQSNacYNTOsOr_ZLE2DJpwA6CwCCS-2uJAxGyI425a0vo6cUkiU2qFLglm0qGcwi_N_tRP96fg/s320/IMG_4948.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portobello Anchorage</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After two years of cruising, the state of the boat’s cockpit enclosure had degraded from “embarrassing” to “nonexistent”. On a centre-cockpit boat such as ours, the cockpit is in the centre, as opposed to in the stern, to allow for a massive master bedroom and ensuite bathroom. But because the cockpit is closer to the front we are much more exposed to spray and waves when we are bashing upwind, which we usually are. The Endeavour 42 is supposed to have a full wrap-around plastic enclosure with panels that can be unzipped and removed as necessary. When we bought the boat, two panels were missing, and the remaining panels were well-worn and cracked.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjPD2mlATBNhnwLf80UoNl81TXFff8vf7U4sShLVkYf3MMDVcmgY2gT-q6Z-ZhkDwxHFe-WYzBQj_N0Xuj90luIVsLbOT8_thyphenhyphenRok2gvJ4LE8DXLL9bCWNg9-1wP-YO4dFnpsw-puGH4/s1600/IMG_4768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjPD2mlATBNhnwLf80UoNl81TXFff8vf7U4sShLVkYf3MMDVcmgY2gT-q6Z-ZhkDwxHFe-WYzBQj_N0Xuj90luIVsLbOT8_thyphenhyphenRok2gvJ4LE8DXLL9bCWNg9-1wP-YO4dFnpsw-puGH4/s320/IMG_4768.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old enclosure</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9F4rWuq29vhwBIqAQFKbQQtUtR_hSABcSzMYSoeiN70Ak8OBG4C47di3KLvWCPwE4o-nQ6lrMBk559UmZTg5zgKafN3eFncYIlDfvjVWpi6FSrtbruc-_kSgvLw_950B3XZcrBzvG_w/s1600/IMG_4769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie9F4rWuq29vhwBIqAQFKbQQtUtR_hSABcSzMYSoeiN70Ak8OBG4C47di3KLvWCPwE4o-nQ6lrMBk559UmZTg5zgKafN3eFncYIlDfvjVWpi6FSrtbruc-_kSgvLw_950B3XZcrBzvG_w/s320/IMG_4769.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr3Iauyy_4EyaORMdNXGr0NyPASonAubqNtXGtdkhfAc0-cjaVFV8QyGOs-xsQ-D_9U4sB6lkW7SPCQ07gBDc9ajwFC2Sdg5MXCtLyYx7kcKNx27nMK2-P66krFt1a01hM09AoVe7RmV0/s1600/IMG_4922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr3Iauyy_4EyaORMdNXGr0NyPASonAubqNtXGtdkhfAc0-cjaVFV8QyGOs-xsQ-D_9U4sB6lkW7SPCQ07gBDc9ajwFC2Sdg5MXCtLyYx7kcKNx27nMK2-P66krFt1a01hM09AoVe7RmV0/s320/IMG_4922.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching Mainland Panama</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We had planned to have the enclosure replaced once we were in one place for long enough but found the wait times too long in Florida, it too be too expensive in Grenada and couldn't find anyone in Colombia. By the time we reached Panama, the clear tape holding the front panel together had started to disintegrate in the sun and we knew the situation was getting desperate. We still had about a month before the end of hurricane season and happened upon a marine canvas shop in Portobelo that could fit us in for a reasonable price. As we waited for our new enclosure we set about exploring Panama. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3G5jtIEzWSLqaNk_MMXL-qEx0Fb3jxPDUDHJi-eeXfz7kaxIfUOfJFbRDMXbxn0BtA6lPgRDJ_nCMs3zq87hZ1TQgPac6ljgNCVGVxAgVInuOszSXMT-rfH8a9KK10N1CzkZpDky_qrE/s1600/IMG_4926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3G5jtIEzWSLqaNk_MMXL-qEx0Fb3jxPDUDHJi-eeXfz7kaxIfUOfJFbRDMXbxn0BtA6lPgRDJ_nCMs3zq87hZ1TQgPac6ljgNCVGVxAgVInuOszSXMT-rfH8a9KK10N1CzkZpDky_qrE/s320/IMG_4926.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Playa Blanca - Not sure about the namesake beach but the crystal clear water was lovely!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As it turned out, that did not take very long.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghx0vZGzjnMLoTUhYZOay_i_bGIrlIpfoy_ROZRZ5c8zLNSUdSbO9zzzzPVaX7msshzSasCHZCbmPTC16e228o1gA6XbIkSOXxeBYhmLlMjO3gtVFRNR7_BBSzsdpi5oqalvmVz_NpW3s/s1600/IMG_4959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghx0vZGzjnMLoTUhYZOay_i_bGIrlIpfoy_ROZRZ5c8zLNSUdSbO9zzzzPVaX7msshzSasCHZCbmPTC16e228o1gA6XbIkSOXxeBYhmLlMjO3gtVFRNR7_BBSzsdpi5oqalvmVz_NpW3s/s320/IMG_4959.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James asked me to make a face summing up how I felt about our time in Panama thus far...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1U5FyFQ-0aipFiYbVaHTWZC2LuZBlEjL_lg8ESx-MYLgt51YKrEjrcT_4QXOFNOkn0sHywqqtom5OyL8e4rfXFX0duqqTZFCk2Iu_YcQwC2-ufTKVKSoCIbH7Msthx35UGzOvdMPjH4/s1600/IMG_4973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV1U5FyFQ-0aipFiYbVaHTWZC2LuZBlEjL_lg8ESx-MYLgt51YKrEjrcT_4QXOFNOkn0sHywqqtom5OyL8e4rfXFX0duqqTZFCk2Iu_YcQwC2-ufTKVKSoCIbH7Msthx35UGzOvdMPjH4/s320/IMG_4973.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bird raft</td></tr>
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</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are two main anchorages in eastern Panama: Puerto Lindo and Portobelo. Puerto Lindo has a marina and it rains a lot and is uncomfortably rolly in October. Portobelo has a town with a few shops, it rains even more, and is even more rolly. We split our time between the two and filled our days visiting with our friends on Lalamanzi and trying to improve our drinking water catching system. Most cruising boats that don’t have a reverse osmosis water maker have some way to catch rainwater. The coolest cruisers have a hardtop fibreglass roof over their cockpit with a drain that connects directly to their water tank. We, however, are not that cool and just have a tarp with a hole in it that drains into a bucket. Nevertheless with rain falling almost every day or night we were able to easily keep up with our water demands. Not to mention that rainwater tastes better than both marina water and bottled water!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi_yGzykjd90tC0b-ZZrG613SwBgrxfAZL_xl2fNVCLzq__dFIjO5OBNXpFeA1aInrPAw0iOTx9Vo11F4SOxzQtouQJTluXkVOotcjQcgRE0rhcgg0VGRXnpKl3qiPtg7kS4_tqXptIc/s1600/IMG_4932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi_yGzykjd90tC0b-ZZrG613SwBgrxfAZL_xl2fNVCLzq__dFIjO5OBNXpFeA1aInrPAw0iOTx9Vo11F4SOxzQtouQJTluXkVOotcjQcgRE0rhcgg0VGRXnpKl3qiPtg7kS4_tqXptIc/s320/IMG_4932.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spanish Fort at Portobelo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyaTULqkrH3gKr6lYPWJ_5sKS0m9OvTj2s9SexhETuWgLD8jXc9Xv35UvcBgPsxBKYc4-1Qnp-qPVKHPRcLF3j-XybterHbVdNdHJRVtdHe7jxRLYYDrP4beqAVC936rtDtcknQENDQA/s1600/IMG_4943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyaTULqkrH3gKr6lYPWJ_5sKS0m9OvTj2s9SexhETuWgLD8jXc9Xv35UvcBgPsxBKYc4-1Qnp-qPVKHPRcLF3j-XybterHbVdNdHJRVtdHe7jxRLYYDrP4beqAVC936rtDtcknQENDQA/s320/IMG_4943.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The other pastime we developed was observing the local cruising community. You see, Panama is pretty much the end of the line for folks cruising the Caribbean. Because of the prevailing winds and currents, when you get to Panama your options are (a) go through the canal and continue west around the world (b) sail north (c) stay in Panama forever. We are aiming for Option B. Most cruisers go with Option A, but a surprising amount default to the last option. Both Puerto Lindo and Portobelo have a decent number of these “lifers”, including “The Boat With the Chicken Living on It”, “The Guy That Wears Just a homemade Loincloth”, and “The Lady That Spends Half the Year on Her Boat and The Other Half in a Panamanian Prison”. These are all 100% real and are just the tip of the iceberg. Very entertaining. Side note: if you want a great deal on a boat, Panama is the place to start your search. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for Bananas to Ripen</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We spent some time visiting the howler monkeys in Puerto Lindo (which as an aside is not very "lindo" - Spanish for beautiful). I mastered making different kinds of curds - lime and passionfruit were by far the best. Banana curd should never, ever be made. I also started making homemade courtesy flags to fly in the countries we plan on visiting this season. This gave me great hope that we would indeed leave Panama one day. We celebrated James Birthday here and since there isn't a whole lot to do for a birthday celebration I decided to make him a sponge cake filled with homemade passionfruit curd. Panamanian flour and I just do not get along - the cake was as thin as a cracker. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passionfruit curd</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We also made a couple of day trips to Panama City. The travel time from Portobelo is about three hours each way, leaving you a solid four hours for exploring Panama City. We had a hot tip on an Indian restaurant whose owner had immigrated to Panama from Pickering. The food was incredible and was as close to a taste of home as a curry made by an Indian-Canadian in Latin America could possibly be. The best thing about Panama City has to be its modern new metro system which can take you from one bland paved concrete neighbourhood of the city to another for a mere 35 cents! We skipped the famous Canal Museum in favour of a waterfront view of all the ships waiting for transit in the calm blue Pacific.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panama City</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ships Waiting on the Pacific Side</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course we realized that unless we had a drastic change of heart we realized that at 37 miles this might be the closest our little sailboat would get to this vast expanse of water. We had very mixed feelings about that and it was hard to see all the boats transiting the canal knowing that we weren't going to cross through the canal.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Completed Enclosure!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No more getting wet underway...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ship leaving the Panama Canal with a fiery sky</td></tr>
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</span>Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-203512121633679122018-03-05T11:34:00.001-08:002018-03-05T11:43:39.322-08:00Boatwork in Exotic Places<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After our time in busy Cartagena, the quiet and solitude of Kuna Yala was most welcome. We sailed 100 nautical miles without seeing another cruiser. Although it was incredible to have our pick of beautiful deserted islands near which to anchor almost every day we also had to use caution. With the exception of the Kuna we were truly on our own here. We were on constant lookout for the plenty of uncharted reefs that could have punctured the hull and stopped us in our tracks. Not too mention our first exposure to the sort of jungle wildlife not found anywhere else. Pumas, wild boar, snakes, monkeys, and crocodiles were all to be watched out for. The one crocodile we did spot from our dinghy was at least ten feet long and ruled out any plans we had to snorkel in that anchorage!</span></span><br />
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</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We spent weeks swimming, snorkelling, exploring the isolated villages and watching the strs at night. One night in particular felt like we were anchored directly under the milky way - with zero light pollution in the jungle the stars felt like they were right on top of us! Since our outboard was acting up we also spent our fair share of time paddling our dinghy around - thank god for Arkin's hand carved paddle! When we grew tired of paddling one of us would hop in and push the boat along.</span></span></span></span><br />
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Aside from being off the beaten track the lack of other gringos was also because it was still the end of rainy season. You could set your watch to the dark black afternoon clouds that formed over the mountains and dropped a couple of hours worth of rain (and usually thunder and lightning as well) on the islands. Although we had a few intense squalls, we did not encounter the feared Chocosana, the sudden intense storms with tropical storm force winds.</span></span></span><br />
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As we worked our way west at a leisurely pace, the traditional villages gave way to larger, more westernized settlements. At Nargana, there were hostels, small shops, and a cell tower (but no SIM cards available for purchase). There was also a bakery and a place to buy fresh fruit and veg and it couldn't have come soon enough! At the Hollandes and Lemon Cays we found the couple dozen other cruisers at anchor and we sadly realized that the short break we enjoyed from the rest of the world was drawing to a close…. or was it?<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anchored amongst the backpackers - sailboats from Panama to Cartagena are one of the most popular ways for those backpacking Central and South America to cross the Darien Gap - at Chichime, we discovered a steady leak coming from our engine’s seawater pump. We had encountered this problem before, almost two years ago while motoring through the “Dismal Swamp” in North Carolina. Since we were such newbies at the time, another cruiser kindly helped us rebuild the pump, but now we felt confident we could do it ourselves, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by coral reef. It was a close call when we damaged the threads on the pump shaft (maybe bashing it with a hammer was not the best way of removing the old bearings) but sweet relief when we found a spare shaft buried deep in a drawer. We would be able to leave Kuna Yala after all.</span></span><br />
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Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-77873179385746725972018-03-02T14:26:00.000-08:002018-03-02T14:26:01.783-08:00Kuna Yala - Canoes and Crocodiles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsl2u91Zj85UuMk0Hsihv1VoHOgJTZyEjdWJhl8Fz1av9a7XTq3dbBahfwVyuNgsd-EE2U7X4zlSFoc78BD9yQiL944mQHrp9-2AkpLaNcZkx-kaXJiKeLVbMDHNPn2CI2jo2SgoeL1o/s1600/IMG_4902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsl2u91Zj85UuMk0Hsihv1VoHOgJTZyEjdWJhl8Fz1av9a7XTq3dbBahfwVyuNgsd-EE2U7X4zlSFoc78BD9yQiL944mQHrp9-2AkpLaNcZkx-kaXJiKeLVbMDHNPn2CI2jo2SgoeL1o/s320/IMG_4902.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Not only is Sapzurro the last Colombian town heading west, it also marks the clear separation of South America and Central America. If it weren’t for this little stretch of jungle known as the Darien Gap it would be possible to drive your car all the way from Alaska, USA in North America to the tip of Argentina in South America. As it stands, you would need to ship your car by sea from Panama or Costa Rica to Cartagena.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuna Yala</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuna Dugout Canoe</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;">For once, a sailboat had the speed advantage over a car and in three hours we had crossed the Darien Gap into Kuna Yala. Like most people outside of the sailing and backpacking communities, we had never heard of Kuna Yala (or San Blas as it’s known in Spanish). This territory of Panama is completely autonomous and governed and settled by the Kuna indigenous population.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning Fishing in the Bay</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;">The terrain here is beautiful but challenging, mostly jungle, with steep mountains rising from the coast. You can understand how and why the Kuna successfully fought to keep control over their land.</span><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><span style="text-align: start;">The eastern part of Kuna Yala, where we made landfall, is much more traditional than the west. Villages are small and dense with fishing and farming being the primary activities and sources of income. Most Kuna families have their own plot of farmland to grow plantains, bananas, and coconuts. It is illegal for anyone to take a coconut in Kuna Yala unless it is on his or her own land or purchased from someone else. Fines for tourists can be especially stiff. In fact, until the later part of last century, coconuts were the only form of currency used in Kuna Yala (replaced by the almighty US dollar).</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuna Sailboat</td></tr>
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Fishing near these villages is a communal activity, with dozens of dugout canoes meeting in the middle of the bay to fish and socialize.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whaaaaa! Jungle Bug</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;">The first village we came to we were visited by two Kuna in a canoe. It turned out that one of them was the chief, or saila, not just for the village but for all of Kuna Yala. We were informed that the saila would like to come aboard and also that he would like a cup of coffee. We also offered the chief some pancakes we had just made, a breakfast that he seemed to find quite amusing. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dugout Canoes</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Once the niceties were out of the way the chief stated that it would cost us $20 to anchor there but this included a tour of the village and a swim in the river. Although this was an expensive anchoring fee by any standard, we knew we would have few chances to experience a more traditional village on our own. We had known that the Kuna were shrewd business-people, but at this rate we wouldn’t be able to make too many stops with our envelope of US bills we had withdrawn from TD in Canada.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toucan (I did not realize that this photo would cost me 1USD)</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;">What appeared to be a quiet and small place from the water was colourful and full of life and as our guide led us through the sandy alleys. Each wood stick roundhouse with palm thatch roof had a fire burning inside and multiple generations of the family lounging on brightly-woven hammocks, looking after rambunctious toddlers, or doing the usual household chores. We enjoyed a glass of soursop juice before heading to the river for a dip. It seemed that half the village was swimming, bathing, or doing their laundry in the cool fresh water of the river.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOJOVlXI63ovaTCPdcnVyzJ50EoaJDbMQMszFLsxBiBMv9SDGzW1BLf3cFsLYu55NdLKr7hVbxe_Nu1Yr-fS5VRtRgpTDYvJO-BRlNPvZPLRdznZaxZCcsH1k5glot0gIrcelpYnSOM8/s1600/IMG_4843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOJOVlXI63ovaTCPdcnVyzJ50EoaJDbMQMszFLsxBiBMv9SDGzW1BLf3cFsLYu55NdLKr7hVbxe_Nu1Yr-fS5VRtRgpTDYvJO-BRlNPvZPLRdznZaxZCcsH1k5glot0gIrcelpYnSOM8/s320/IMG_4843.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mono River</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;">Our fears of going broke were unfounded as we were only asked for an anchoring fee in one other location. The opinions held by the Kuna on “merghi’s” like us (bastardization of American, a blanket term for all foreigners) seemed to be quite mixed. Anywhere from ambivalence, to welcome, to the opportunity to make money, to a desire to protect their traditions by keeping their society closed and the merghis out. As with most things, money appeared to be winning. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoh1XD-yHsgMn1sE2i9bKGewZ84Y4XkKFyFz2G1giE9M1ocUQwhJx5E46rDof2ts_vM8RfMY44OjJ0-SyfEcby-x7a0n3ppVfyB3a6CD7yHl7mwMVV5byhyphenhyphenPz9sm6qDOLE8kV1ClsA8rI/s1600/IMG_9287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoh1XD-yHsgMn1sE2i9bKGewZ84Y4XkKFyFz2G1giE9M1ocUQwhJx5E46rDof2ts_vM8RfMY44OjJ0-SyfEcby-x7a0n3ppVfyB3a6CD7yHl7mwMVV5byhyphenhyphenPz9sm6qDOLE8kV1ClsA8rI/s320/IMG_9287.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dusk in Kuna Yala</td></tr>
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One of the most beautiful anchorages we encountered as we moved slowly west was Mono (Monkey) Island. We anchored in the middle of a stunning crystal clear bay which was great for sleeping as it was completely flat. We thought it would also be great for swimming and snorkelling until we were in the dinghy just about to get our snorkel gear on when we saw what looked like a 3m long log around the corner from where we were about to snorkel. Since it was a very funny shaped log, we aborted the snorkelling and headed back to the boat to check it out in the binoculars. It was a bonafide croc! And as it stayed in that area for the remainder of the afternoon, we opted to stay dry and sweat it out on the boat.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEsVaGq3Ahmff2nbWkQ92bXiOXF0NkAf1VXRm_lSeDcsvNkLYPxtsKq_Y32CabeVQygm_unrtcf6ZRHlvuWsavP2Id2e8T7piXKQikV641M4vUyTu3vlDiM1GIgOA1l0Tz4mzWTa8NtE/s1600/IMG_4831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmEsVaGq3Ahmff2nbWkQ92bXiOXF0NkAf1VXRm_lSeDcsvNkLYPxtsKq_Y32CabeVQygm_unrtcf6ZRHlvuWsavP2Id2e8T7piXKQikV641M4vUyTu3vlDiM1GIgOA1l0Tz4mzWTa8NtE/s320/IMG_4831.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isla Mono (Crocodile Not Pictured)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia-C8Jvot6Mb_m5RYbZWU2hhhnOtzuSk_-haLCnEOovXsvPLynUop6I1tACbGHtNxpV1hbG-Ww-BrJvYYK4LrQMrTUAnRuMJ2AgAM-X3pchjIL6kAnBTjuy_lGZA1T4eYzTRYKuQzZ1HA/s1600/IMG_4738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia-C8Jvot6Mb_m5RYbZWU2hhhnOtzuSk_-haLCnEOovXsvPLynUop6I1tACbGHtNxpV1hbG-Ww-BrJvYYK4LrQMrTUAnRuMJ2AgAM-X3pchjIL6kAnBTjuy_lGZA1T4eYzTRYKuQzZ1HA/s320/IMG_4738.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When You Run Out of Crisps You Must Improvise</td></tr>
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At Snug Harbor we were welcomed by a man named Arkin who would paddle out to see us every day on the way to his farm to say hello, exchange stories, and see if we needed anything. We asked if we could buy some coconuts from him and ended up paddling with him to his farm to get the coconuts directly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqjJYx7cpViG0PI07NVEqsX7EiH17FrhLqoZeeerJA2juLjvZkKG3QAwwDdRgXf1KnjWZCfBU39sYK-f9B1kihqBeFcUJf25z6xtCZiJE430mz-zZCE5KCXx8uV7-GHbxHcxub8A617g/s1600/IMG_4855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqjJYx7cpViG0PI07NVEqsX7EiH17FrhLqoZeeerJA2juLjvZkKG3QAwwDdRgXf1KnjWZCfBU39sYK-f9B1kihqBeFcUJf25z6xtCZiJE430mz-zZCE5KCXx8uV7-GHbxHcxub8A617g/s320/IMG_4855.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddling to Arkin's Farm</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;">No wonder the Kuna are all in good shape! Their wooden paddles must weigh about five times as much as a woos-y Canadian paddle and the massive blade offers maximum resistance to the wind each time its lifted out of the water. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgGeiZTj8z6k6YbzudUKyDmrhA0DLgDffnUcscKVevoT-RQJz4pSbhmNQ9B5YYNhNmDvSSJ4I88nOyy_5LPP6GI43LfpIMpvmScEp_RPSmIzZcLjgFMA3Y-8ecVbwGvGYkSxgsQFvqB0/s1600/IMG_4866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrgGeiZTj8z6k6YbzudUKyDmrhA0DLgDffnUcscKVevoT-RQJz4pSbhmNQ9B5YYNhNmDvSSJ4I88nOyy_5LPP6GI43LfpIMpvmScEp_RPSmIzZcLjgFMA3Y-8ecVbwGvGYkSxgsQFvqB0/s320/IMG_4866.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Preparing to Return Downwind</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;">The farm was a simple plot of jungle with a tiny beach. As Arkin disappeared into the jungle with his machete, we stayed on the beach as he had just finished telling us stories of pumas and wild boar spotted nearby. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6HFnHZhf0kTeJ2YoxAveQBeqFRUeM0XE7CnzgpzYKekXS3vXSjmAIJjzPQyLaySj0pK6i21iE2uT3gHVWPe4fg4kBzcOb3ijwkjVvFqPwv6tI8_PvaNNr5EKFncmM2YoY94ifV8a-Mw/s1600/IMG_4870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6HFnHZhf0kTeJ2YoxAveQBeqFRUeM0XE7CnzgpzYKekXS3vXSjmAIJjzPQyLaySj0pK6i21iE2uT3gHVWPe4fg4kBzcOb3ijwkjVvFqPwv6tI8_PvaNNr5EKFncmM2YoY94ifV8a-Mw/s320/IMG_4870.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sailing in a Kuna Canoe</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVHfXPekxTWuIvdy84AhI826vwq8hYbbpGzutQPxWwSxuahKid8bnpd57W0vb-__UuqIYBtug4rufONI7ZbeWAw70gaA-L50gRn4MWWWfb6YCLg4apUGDgfXIyvZguYxgMhLWXiZA_3w/s1600/IMG_4872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVHfXPekxTWuIvdy84AhI826vwq8hYbbpGzutQPxWwSxuahKid8bnpd57W0vb-__UuqIYBtug4rufONI7ZbeWAw70gaA-L50gRn4MWWWfb6YCLg4apUGDgfXIyvZguYxgMhLWXiZA_3w/s320/IMG_4872.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgTD_hR84a1VoXWSd3vNBFH_Tvsdx-niZGN9BdpsQCi_9ZZyz92O5Wp0vNpcGzSPsytpUQlHG_d6BKUHbaIRBZEOscifatHZyCugHG3IbuRCtUHLJJR0SErGOPs5Spai3TMWom84_uLE/s1600/IMG_4874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgTD_hR84a1VoXWSd3vNBFH_Tvsdx-niZGN9BdpsQCi_9ZZyz92O5Wp0vNpcGzSPsytpUQlHG_d6BKUHbaIRBZEOscifatHZyCugHG3IbuRCtUHLJJR0SErGOPs5Spai3TMWom84_uLE/s320/IMG_4874.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sailing in a Dugout Canoe With A Double Rainbow - Travelling FTW!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8KOVtw70CCXIzcg6wTWoOgNZu9HJhzsxxyqq8XydS3buEQ1Q87oukdGxn9FhbEkB5qdfF62NmAR6A4DfN3hDp8UqE9XBVR4PgQ0iB1zutQSqHRnhXos2fWqMlv7Pwu6tTgeDugNg-Of0/s1600/IMG_4878.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8KOVtw70CCXIzcg6wTWoOgNZu9HJhzsxxyqq8XydS3buEQ1Q87oukdGxn9FhbEkB5qdfF62NmAR6A4DfN3hDp8UqE9XBVR4PgQ0iB1zutQSqHRnhXos2fWqMlv7Pwu6tTgeDugNg-Of0/s320/IMG_4878.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arkin Removing the Coconut Husk After Being Shocked We Did Not Own a Machete</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLADmuvoyXNmjixjgyBtIH9NeMhsyvNhJ8BuLmBa17LfhCh7_7sWhmDXji-qRh39Ds-2zf6RdMOudAZYYEjy2hXVwoNY4uznJs2EfFMgSn35_Ar9qCrhZ6wfPXGIm8jy2CyKQ8pOttBk/s1600/IMG_4879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifLADmuvoyXNmjixjgyBtIH9NeMhsyvNhJ8BuLmBa17LfhCh7_7sWhmDXji-qRh39Ds-2zf6RdMOudAZYYEjy2hXVwoNY4uznJs2EfFMgSn35_Ar9qCrhZ6wfPXGIm8jy2CyKQ8pOttBk/s320/IMG_4879.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious Coconuts</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: start;">The ride back to the boat was delightful - Arkin converted his canoe into a sailboat with a wooden mast, some string, and a bedsheet. The Kuna may not have the latest in carbon fibre or stainless steel rigging but they are master mariners. We were only too happy to trade with Arkin - some heavier line for his sail and a new hat for a handmade Kuna paddle we could use to get our dinghy around without having to interrupt the peace and quiet with our noisy and smokey outboard.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKLyM6CsTIXKYuN5Wodb3jCt2XVRwWwLJ0Nfl-EDitLSLbSBB56j6njKxyflo3Y8-qEtLDreMmIvRVrNbTeIOt3i0He6TBNBSNFQjsME4qjDzpcOuj54T6o5neu1DHU3XfIBokhJloQ7Y/s1600/IMG_4811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKLyM6CsTIXKYuN5Wodb3jCt2XVRwWwLJ0Nfl-EDitLSLbSBB56j6njKxyflo3Y8-qEtLDreMmIvRVrNbTeIOt3i0He6TBNBSNFQjsME4qjDzpcOuj54T6o5neu1DHU3XfIBokhJloQ7Y/s320/IMG_4811.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuna Yala Beaches</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mCJpUWrdTsc_Kbj1EDP0GQxhFi0q4ukXMzmSJAkA3Pm5olysRDo1lUsenT7h_ZzhROyPun-L_YHlVUA9GPf4heXiK-6bOQLGyeuSZJnruFgOmKsmm5vkUiCwzKkrg1p7xmiQF-Owgho/s1600/IMG_4884.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mCJpUWrdTsc_Kbj1EDP0GQxhFi0q4ukXMzmSJAkA3Pm5olysRDo1lUsenT7h_ZzhROyPun-L_YHlVUA9GPf4heXiK-6bOQLGyeuSZJnruFgOmKsmm5vkUiCwzKkrg1p7xmiQF-Owgho/s320/IMG_4884.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_TBrfYQ0HOwpI7TyPL4EurTuN3bsISW6Are8VvOpsuKQNxFLfT-m8M7sN4132Os4q8CC5DcVynE8M6ygP8sZt6nWVjj_tzPbvVAStp62Cii4oa3MDAIWGIsKztp8L1Tnea1SSkZoAlg/s1600/IMG_4906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_TBrfYQ0HOwpI7TyPL4EurTuN3bsISW6Are8VvOpsuKQNxFLfT-m8M7sN4132Os4q8CC5DcVynE8M6ygP8sZt6nWVjj_tzPbvVAStp62Cii4oa3MDAIWGIsKztp8L1Tnea1SSkZoAlg/s320/IMG_4906.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach Fire - Later Found to be Illegal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQMQTYMUyTrFDJQ9y_UD0uAcFbWp7cu9BT8_wnq89FmZgBIhaFSuxsUnMgwa6dfNqrDfrTavHmCqhzvVLVnEcApirdXClTCFTwtJ96Pkx1rJevfPzr8VSuAACrrq3GoeRo_gkVmUttTU/s1600/IMG_4909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQMQTYMUyTrFDJQ9y_UD0uAcFbWp7cu9BT8_wnq89FmZgBIhaFSuxsUnMgwa6dfNqrDfrTavHmCqhzvVLVnEcApirdXClTCFTwtJ96Pkx1rJevfPzr8VSuAACrrq3GoeRo_gkVmUttTU/s320/IMG_4909.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tying a Hammock to Palm Trees (Probably also illegal)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-48513233135970155642018-02-16T13:57:00.001-08:002018-02-16T13:57:20.697-08:00Ciao Colombia!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMosCOmA34mVp7VrvFw1C-g98Brx0IsxnGWgWMyYs9OuU-xyqdqpx7W-p-QZ1xNfkzH-ypMpVoxJ6j-27xrA4omh61cgTmX7imoMbljOrpNg79NeMykqHt70VROqRPX19tgNnT_u-lvSI/s1600/IMG_4756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMosCOmA34mVp7VrvFw1C-g98Brx0IsxnGWgWMyYs9OuU-xyqdqpx7W-p-QZ1xNfkzH-ypMpVoxJ6j-27xrA4omh61cgTmX7imoMbljOrpNg79NeMykqHt70VROqRPX19tgNnT_u-lvSI/s320/IMG_4756.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Isla Tintipan</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">We prepared to leave Cartagena by dropping nearly a million pesos at the Jumbo supermarket at the mall. Indeed this translated into only about 400 Canadian dollars but set us up with a month’s worth of food and drink for our trip to the isolated San Blas islands of Panama. When transporting that amount of food, one is sure to forget something - in this case it was two flats of eggs (60 huevos) left on the sidewalk and returned to us by the surly security guard at the dinghy dock.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Clear water once again</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">We bid farewell to our South African friends on Lalamanzi and headed south with the aim of visiting a few picturesque Colombian islands on our way. We left the Cartagena anchorage under power but quickly hoisted sails towards Islas Rosarios, where we had been once before. The wind dropped a couple hours into the sail so we fired up the engine for the last hour. Strangely enough, however, we couldn’t get our speed above 2 knots. We can usually motor at around 5 knots in favourable conditions, which is comparable to a slow bicycle ride; the 2 knots was comparable to a very slow walking pace. After ruling out an engine problem and weird currents we suspected something wrapped around the propeller. We very slowly made our way into the anchorage, which fortunately was in clear warm water, and went for a snorkel. We couldn’t believe our eyes - after weeks anchored in the notorious Cartagena harbour the prop was covered with a thick coat of barnacles and was unable to turn properly! We scraped the little buggers off and went for a successful test drive - phew...</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofM6JcmRfL4M0jJ3CfFpuG0ATikmFHeKpB8bmjrRiXj6uTDEmt3EG3Xkm_0PH5IF56uzpApSpiy-FdgWbJRz85YxVNvjWC1L32LS0iaFWh12g1bz296SCJhgeLrCFHcI9arv6yObHEcE/s1600/IMG_4766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofM6JcmRfL4M0jJ3CfFpuG0ATikmFHeKpB8bmjrRiXj6uTDEmt3EG3Xkm_0PH5IF56uzpApSpiy-FdgWbJRz85YxVNvjWC1L32LS0iaFWh12g1bz296SCJhgeLrCFHcI9arv6yObHEcE/s320/IMG_4766.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">El Islote</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Back at it the next day we proceeded to Isla Tintipan near El Islote, one of the most densely populated islands on the planet. It sounds a lot more impressive than it was, and although all the fishermen there were very welcoming, we peeled out the next morning for our final Colombian stop.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WvFYWEL6E-FS0weqt3McOmSwaFEbe5kWta-wqr-7oX7CPHD4n2qGikGmlF7BCqVkg-L1nMDu3ddQHGgAJcYMoFk61IvLsvr0I6XBbnSlgzIKSmPMYn-_vWY2vziAsMRKXyHj7gkn88M/s1600/IMG_4775.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WvFYWEL6E-FS0weqt3McOmSwaFEbe5kWta-wqr-7oX7CPHD4n2qGikGmlF7BCqVkg-L1nMDu3ddQHGgAJcYMoFk61IvLsvr0I6XBbnSlgzIKSmPMYn-_vWY2vziAsMRKXyHj7gkn88M/s320/IMG_4775.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our guest</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The overnight passage was quite eventful with several visitors. Our first was from a little bird that joined us as we started to lose sight of land. It must have needed a bit of a rest from flying as it landed on the boat but must have liked what it saw as it promptly flew down below. We coaxed it back out and tried to feed it a few breadcrumbs and water as we tried to figure out what to do with it. Eventually we made a little birdhouse out of a beer box and corralled the poor thing inside for the night.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-nfJk5bZni34m7oa8-Ap4aomYcH_GThJY3ZoWM4GGtEp08ujLYb391oOEtj2Za2jVhupEns2RGrmqKFqRWKf-hvHKRzvSr25aNIPj91WQjCqF_Xgyc7XyNSoCge55NMLGUmh6P7omZ8/s1600/IMG_4776.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-nfJk5bZni34m7oa8-Ap4aomYcH_GThJY3ZoWM4GGtEp08ujLYb391oOEtj2Za2jVhupEns2RGrmqKFqRWKf-hvHKRzvSr25aNIPj91WQjCqF_Xgyc7XyNSoCge55NMLGUmh6P7omZ8/s320/IMG_4776.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Approaching Sapzurro</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Our second visit was in the pitch black of the night as we were sailing along in a light breeze well offshore. All of a sudden I heard a motor approach but did not see any lights or any traffic on our AIS system. As South American waters can often conjure up images of pirates, I was more than a little freaked out. I woke up James and we got ready to shine our spotlight on the approaching vessel when all of a sudden over a loudspeaker we heard “Sailboat Nomads this is the Colombian Coast Guard, we are approaching your boat.” We were more than a little relieved. These friendly folks just wanted to make sure we were okay and after a quick check of our paperwork we were on our way.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirzIq0YTgvyKLUB6FfkFk1r6urB5MUzfhfYWb3TNbldKA-NxGXFF-KarigYevqMI5tevk8GzYf-tS5z3I1uHtUnLwI74KTP7uZx-HCmGvxoLa6g8qgVqq3pq4jfuQXv0vJoZLEp9B3VY/s1600/IMG_4781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirzIq0YTgvyKLUB6FfkFk1r6urB5MUzfhfYWb3TNbldKA-NxGXFF-KarigYevqMI5tevk8GzYf-tS5z3I1uHtUnLwI74KTP7uZx-HCmGvxoLa6g8qgVqq3pq4jfuQXv0vJoZLEp9B3VY/s320/IMG_4781.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sapzurro</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">When it started to get light in the morning we noticed that (a) our bird friend had left and (b) we were surrounded by a big flipping storm. We hunkered down while lightning cracked directly overhead and we were hammered by squally winds and torrential rain. To be completely honest, with our updated remote navigation console, we both went below and let the autopilot do the work while this thunderstorm did its thing. We had heard about the terrible lightning in this part of the world and this was definitely our introduction.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgI0KnrAT-dfjuit739oEPXNQnLFibbwvXOO7q5t-OrAr68QNLGlrj2in6KJN8Fd0sS_G9vO1An9fFOLVfHb_IqZzlFlM9vLqQkUFceghj5BnDXgBdopYXYII47Z2kD9MblbvAQwcf15s/s1600/IMG_4782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgI0KnrAT-dfjuit739oEPXNQnLFibbwvXOO7q5t-OrAr68QNLGlrj2in6KJN8Fd0sS_G9vO1An9fFOLVfHb_IqZzlFlM9vLqQkUFceghj5BnDXgBdopYXYII47Z2kD9MblbvAQwcf15s/s320/IMG_4782.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sapzurro</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Our third visitor arrived as the storm subsided, in the form of a small fishing boat with two men and two women on board. Attempting to decipher their frantic Spanish we learned that they were not pirates, needed some kind of help, and were cold wet and uncomfortable from the storm. After radioing the coast guard we determined that they had been out far from shore and with the storm and clouds could no longer see the mountains and thus were having trouble finding their way back home. We told them we were headed the same way and to follow us!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMprQFzUqOehLtm4e31T0Oc_ypYetUxpZFZU0ALN5ub-Wls2F4i72IN_LGD1pke8QF0bePpsXsZ50kbZBIRWt1On2lCiJLQPNLXRdZfYyohbkTGVSk51vo3urWgntKRgIxRgbf0Qstng/s1600/IMG_4783.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTMprQFzUqOehLtm4e31T0Oc_ypYetUxpZFZU0ALN5ub-Wls2F4i72IN_LGD1pke8QF0bePpsXsZ50kbZBIRWt1On2lCiJLQPNLXRdZfYyohbkTGVSk51vo3urWgntKRgIxRgbf0Qstng/s320/IMG_4783.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sapzurro</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Soon after, we made it safely into the bay of Sapzurro the last port in Colombia. This prompted our fourth and final visitor, the Colombian navy, who assured us that our paperwork did not cover a stop in their bay and we’d have to leave. This was a major disappointment as the bay was surrounded by green hills, tropical birds, and clear water just beckoning us to explore. We were able to convince the soldiers to let us stay overnight as long as we didn’t leave the boat. Sapzurro would forever be a jungle oasis left to our imaginations. </span></span>Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-17935465026463616432017-10-13T14:12:00.002-07:002017-10-18T14:41:23.336-07:00Debbie DownersWe left the boatyard on August 1 and we were so excited to be heading back out to the anchorage to catch up with our friends on Aquavida, stock the boat, and take off for the San Blas islands. But that didn't happen.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6w6lq8WfjwAnohr7SSCS9dqtr0NLRZeHWafMXWf8ZVTG12_WXUFAQqTYIfQQG8FA4ML7Uhr1e3Zvanx5q-cVth2nRoYOl1J88UOWeeSsX2I_JUvq6S3JIlrhumtzIBCAhvqi4456Bggo/s1600/IMG_4740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6w6lq8WfjwAnohr7SSCS9dqtr0NLRZeHWafMXWf8ZVTG12_WXUFAQqTYIfQQG8FA4ML7Uhr1e3Zvanx5q-cVth2nRoYOl1J88UOWeeSsX2I_JUvq6S3JIlrhumtzIBCAhvqi4456Bggo/s400/IMG_4740.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cartagena anchorage at night </td></tr>
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We were back at the anchorage and getting into the dingy to go buy food when our bilge pump went off. We went back inside the boat and sure enough our bilge was full - we had only been back in the water for a few hours! I turned the bilge pump on to empty the bilge and the pump wasn't pumping but the bilge was still filling. James found the source of the leak while I hand scooped water out of the bilge and into a bucket. The stuffing box around our propeller shaft was dripping steadily at anchor so must have been really spraying while we were motoring! We stuffed rags under the leak and wrapped the shaft in absorbent cloth that I could squeeze that into a bucket and reapply. James took the pump apart and rebuilt it (2 years ago this would have been so daunting - we've come so far!). So now the pump was fixed and the bilge was empty. Step two was figuring out how the hell to fix the stuffing box. Most of what we read said this should be done while the boat is hauled out (are you F'ing kidding me - we were hauled out that morning!) since you are essentially opening a hole below the water line. A few articles said it can be done in the water if need be as long as you have a fully functioning bilge pump that can keep up with the flow of incoming water - hmmmmm not sure if we do! We honestly thought we would have to haul the boat out again, morale was low, it was very, very low.<br />
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After reading many, many articles on this and talking with our friends on Aqua Vida who had done the same repair last year while in the water we felt more confident to try it. We spent the next 2 days trying to track down the stuffing material - which every article we read assured us would be absolutely no problem wherever you are since every boat with a propeller shaft needs the stuffing material. I guess no one told Cartagena, Mammonal or Bosque they "should" have this, because they don't. While we anxiously searched high and low for wax coated flax rope in a very specific diameter we prayed that while we were off the boat the bilge was working if needed! Then something very strange happened - the drip slowed dramatically! We're not sure if the stuffing material that had dried out while the boat was hauled plumped up again while we were in the water but whatever happened worked in our favour. After borrowing some tools we were able to carefully tighten the nut on the propeller shaft (which if done incorrectly rips the rubber seal and water gushes in). Phew crisis one averted.<br />
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We had found a great metal workshop in Bosque and decided while we were in Cartagena it made sense to replace our chainplates where some water had been dripping in and was showing some signs of electrolysis. This is when we discovered some brand new problems - yieppe!<br />
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Problem 1:<br />
The toggle on the shroud had completely corroded and broken. We have some strange French design that is nearly impossible to take apart and even more impossible to find a replacement for in Colombia. Luckily we had a spare shackle that we could just about get into the narrow space and secure our shroud. This is still in place today :)<br />
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Problem 2:<br />
This was a much larger problem. When we took the bathroom cupboards out and removed the cover-plate that sits on deck over the chainplate we discovered our deck had a rather large hole in it. Not ideal ever anywhere on any boat but right next to the chainplate that hold the mast up - even less ideal!<br />
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Morale got even lower! Hence the complete lack of blog posts - time has been spent searching for materials, repairing things, wallowing in self-pity, and wiping up copious amounts of sweat (Cartagena is seriously hot in August).<br />
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After several infuriating and immensely frustrating interactions with boat supply stores we finally found somewhere that would sell us what we needed to fix the hole. And thank god we did as the combination of a large hole in the deck and rainy season meant a VERY wet boat. The one good thing about the repair is we have a boat design that allowed us to complete the repair from the inside without cutting a whole in the fibreglass decking. Thus we could complete the repair and ensure it was structurally sound without worrying about cosmetics - a very good thing since neither of us has ever worked with fibreglass and as it turns out we both really sucked at it!<br />
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Things that have not been fun on this journey include the following:<br />
Trying to repair a hole in the deck in an anchorage where boats blow by you at 20 knots causing you to hang on for dear life or fall over. It being over 40 degrees day and night. Having the bathroom and living room cupboards out and the boat stripped down to the hull and everything in those cupboards and the cupboards themselves stacked up in the corridor to the V-berth (thus reducing your meager square footage of living space even further). Having to keep the hatches closed (because it's rainy season and the various materials and epoxies can not get wet or they will be ruined) then using dremels, sanders, saws and generating loads of sawdust. Gravity: when you are working upside down trying to get sheets of fibreglass to stay in place and you have epoxy dripping everywhere and so much sweat in your eyes you have been blind for the last 45 minutes and doing the repair by feel. When the epoxy from the ceiling drips onto the plastic you put out to protect the floor and couch and you step in/put your elbow in it etc. and then you move and all the plastic and ever tool and pot of glue on the plastic moves with you - can't tell you how many times that happened. When you get overzealous and mix up too much of the epoxy but you did it in a container that was too small and not enough oxygen was available and it turns red hot and starts smoking and boiling. That about sums up the deck repair - let's just say we were swearing like sailors.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4RxL8iLahX696Iqt96U39QDihnuUpT8zclQxu8304UvrtoM8gS6hVI64nfceU223L-pRWMm6NWCkKf8KSxqrjFnEdA2LjQZi-IyIUycMGzqKnczU25mZ5BvOwU1A8Jib0uBFbwS5S1M/s1600/IMG_4717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4RxL8iLahX696Iqt96U39QDihnuUpT8zclQxu8304UvrtoM8gS6hVI64nfceU223L-pRWMm6NWCkKf8KSxqrjFnEdA2LjQZi-IyIUycMGzqKnczU25mZ5BvOwU1A8Jib0uBFbwS5S1M/s400/IMG_4717.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reno fun times </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINl7HFt4rT-0q1OV-vtuKQ8OTZZP7xLEGK36-oyT3lytlb-PmgL0JMhCZeh5Fzv6RJYycOoDmOt6vAb3a2GoxVGgWNkFUknWUbSU7iG_JhYuGRttO9wWJukaMRL2dkRjpZkKn4TwCK_g/s1600/IMG_4713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhINl7HFt4rT-0q1OV-vtuKQ8OTZZP7xLEGK36-oyT3lytlb-PmgL0JMhCZeh5Fzv6RJYycOoDmOt6vAb3a2GoxVGgWNkFUknWUbSU7iG_JhYuGRttO9wWJukaMRL2dkRjpZkKn4TwCK_g/s400/IMG_4713.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James working behind the plastic screen</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhEARBCfUFXJye0vlvUWvbkEVOaY35l765GtviyuNSLDHjJ0mzuGZxuvpfBlEi4xUDY-ZhFXl7MWi0v8VYK3XaJk-5cGKHLoNPCKIJRkjWdNc0zfgomIxXbfu_Oz1IpZ3Rlxq_9WoWtcg/s1600/IMG_4706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhEARBCfUFXJye0vlvUWvbkEVOaY35l765GtviyuNSLDHjJ0mzuGZxuvpfBlEi4xUDY-ZhFXl7MWi0v8VYK3XaJk-5cGKHLoNPCKIJRkjWdNc0zfgomIxXbfu_Oz1IpZ3Rlxq_9WoWtcg/s400/IMG_4706.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting to disassemble the boat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHB2bTUGoTKj8xC_0QZn9LbeIw2Txrn63OQdtg7Q-tDsBLEAtMjQGLx9HvkkNXGwsNdSoU1IWtWnjEJmm2qKWCcAImi3J1fQWqzrAvu8cN1eiyUmkgIiA6z6CRBSLPMdElJhhHHjyexw/s1600/IMG_4703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHB2bTUGoTKj8xC_0QZn9LbeIw2Txrn63OQdtg7Q-tDsBLEAtMjQGLx9HvkkNXGwsNdSoU1IWtWnjEJmm2qKWCcAImi3J1fQWqzrAvu8cN1eiyUmkgIiA6z6CRBSLPMdElJhhHHjyexw/s400/IMG_4703.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ceiling off </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf3GROcWaUV_1aD_-H6sN_fv_lVQbdlmKL9lPaoB6F-Dr8cgkX-VgW7SHRAwnUSqyY8bBXfJXaUthA_AJ7DYMbavEAUyacwelhk905JsCtqWHQ0Bz3ANB1fBhtMi4V_2EIeksOJSDv5ys/s1600/IMG_4725+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf3GROcWaUV_1aD_-H6sN_fv_lVQbdlmKL9lPaoB6F-Dr8cgkX-VgW7SHRAwnUSqyY8bBXfJXaUthA_AJ7DYMbavEAUyacwelhk905JsCtqWHQ0Bz3ANB1fBhtMi4V_2EIeksOJSDv5ys/s400/IMG_4725+%25281%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fighting gravity to get the new core to stay in place</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_8DrIUrXtl7yv3gRKh_hON2bHrWViRHCdA4aiqj6SmlAbpef7ErX2syY367sMk83SCSGeqhXfbqiQg_YiYsf7S44Dfhx4c-huNQD6-0QmN_7JdoMriLacqQPEaKsBiXphyphenhyphen6Ek_13kaM/s1600/IMG_4726+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG_8DrIUrXtl7yv3gRKh_hON2bHrWViRHCdA4aiqj6SmlAbpef7ErX2syY367sMk83SCSGeqhXfbqiQg_YiYsf7S44Dfhx4c-huNQD6-0QmN_7JdoMriLacqQPEaKsBiXphyphenhyphen6Ek_13kaM/s400/IMG_4726+%25281%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More stuff keeps appearing in the hallway </td></tr>
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Once we got the hole fixed we took our chainplates to be replaced and had both our swim ladders repaired. The man who runs the metal shop was so lovely and said we'd been so many times he thinks of us as his children! (He incidentally told us he bought his daughter a new Hummer and a new condo in Miami for her birthday so maybe not a bad family to be adopted into). This is the same company who did all the metal work for the new installation of The Virgin of Carmen in the Cartagena harbour for the Pope's visit this fall. There was some left over stainless steel from that project and since our project was for a boat German said he used the "Virgin's stainless steel" - the Virgin of Carmen is the patron saint of sailors. I'll take it - we need all the help we can get!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRmkPHsPMhnDxV1nGroqibp4FYbfKgsKF5n2riyY3x-5fpjjbOIouAozP8EsrQlZA1eOfdsaMZbGEjaaN_U1NTMybsdNk_J_SAzqNsRcJUcjBitijloOeUDOZtTXS1QicJ6Hoq2sPK0s/s1600/IMG_4748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRmkPHsPMhnDxV1nGroqibp4FYbfKgsKF5n2riyY3x-5fpjjbOIouAozP8EsrQlZA1eOfdsaMZbGEjaaN_U1NTMybsdNk_J_SAzqNsRcJUcjBitijloOeUDOZtTXS1QicJ6Hoq2sPK0s/s400/IMG_4748.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Virgen del Carmen at the entrance to Cartagena harbour</td></tr>
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I know other things broke and we had to fix them but those two are the ones that stick out. Finally - we were San Blas bound!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XeCzCG3NvxYcXZm5PTq8OONEiINPenNUKGZ4OTo-exfCflA3W0EB_G6fGWPMOr645iu4JU4OWGkE4arfnekOpNTWRS1Mf88l5axkeBCzykFttntI0iUnyds9ZRz04MyW09SEM4acKQk/s1600/IMG_4752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XeCzCG3NvxYcXZm5PTq8OONEiINPenNUKGZ4OTo-exfCflA3W0EB_G6fGWPMOr645iu4JU4OWGkE4arfnekOpNTWRS1Mf88l5axkeBCzykFttntI0iUnyds9ZRz04MyW09SEM4acKQk/s400/IMG_4752.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodbye Cartagena!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWE_pEjv3erDgixUzpNDx98W5wgrygyERRhZVVCCKAQqO733qaYV_UyccxRxRU1jFumKzvNYOiZ_CrhF70wwoietszQLuIK7jUEZISf51eTbM1ghDPnIXt-v2mdM18EI0KVgm4islcgA/s1600/IMG_4736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmWE_pEjv3erDgixUzpNDx98W5wgrygyERRhZVVCCKAQqO733qaYV_UyccxRxRU1jFumKzvNYOiZ_CrhF70wwoietszQLuIK7jUEZISf51eTbM1ghDPnIXt-v2mdM18EI0KVgm4islcgA/s400/IMG_4736.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gotta love when a submarine pops up in the anchorage - creepy! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DRpwZHz2DvM6SubA10CKHDvzF5SMT64Sbq-riKznP3nIKTnClvK9LWS-7oItbzoPuNOLXlS8gpgBGZVyxxXlK-su5tKWwB5crn_yk03g77e-4IvC-IqKGEwV878lqDj0JrJ1RdDNGvY/s1600/IMG_4702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_DRpwZHz2DvM6SubA10CKHDvzF5SMT64Sbq-riKznP3nIKTnClvK9LWS-7oItbzoPuNOLXlS8gpgBGZVyxxXlK-su5tKWwB5crn_yk03g77e-4IvC-IqKGEwV878lqDj0JrJ1RdDNGvY/s400/IMG_4702.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating my birthday in old town Cartagena with a mojito</td></tr>
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<br />Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-33012838948870097392017-07-31T15:59:00.000-07:002017-08-01T10:05:00.213-07:00Living the Boatyard Dream <div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our flight from Bogota to Cartagena was cancelled leading us to spend the night in Cartagena because we got in late. We spent the evening grocery shopping and stayed in the best little hotel near the airport. If you find yourself in need of a place to stay near the Cartagena airport Hotel Mangler is the place to go. Our hosts, Ingrid and Edgar, were so helpful and welcoming. They let us use their fridge for our groceries, made us coffee the next morning, made us Colombian flag bracelets, and even drove us all the way to our boat!! Such amazing people, we are constantly taken aback by the warmth and real hospitality of Colombians.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uRaaR8w4FFJ_3S3x7-9FX1T4-NrkbHCSuM3N5SqZx4a5qEumtINFbeYdz8JmjoXD_3Nbx9ArD2lqUKT77Gxn1eSUbIL_PUoMG2cpGKoWJLx9ROI4TxV-YvbOKHGC0ztCP7cy4VcIDt4/s1600/IMG_4633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uRaaR8w4FFJ_3S3x7-9FX1T4-NrkbHCSuM3N5SqZx4a5qEumtINFbeYdz8JmjoXD_3Nbx9ArD2lqUKT77Gxn1eSUbIL_PUoMG2cpGKoWJLx9ROI4TxV-YvbOKHGC0ztCP7cy4VcIDt4/s400/IMG_4633.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hostess Ingrid </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Once we arrived in the boatyard we were met by Jose the foreman. He helped carry our groceries and welcomed us back. We were a little nervous to see what was in store for us as we hadn’t been aboard in four months. We were very pleasantly surprised - other than being incredibly hot down below (our saran wrap melted!) there didn’t appear to be any issues and the boat barely even smelt moldy! We spent the entire day putting away all our belongs that had been packed away. The extreme heat definitely takes some getting used to and caused us to move a little slower.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The next day we met Eduardo, a Cuban guy who works on the barge next door to our boat who offered us the use of any tools we might need or any other help. It seemed like the guys who work in the yard were quite happy to have new people around and all day people came and went to say hi and ask where we are from. The yard even has the most adorable little cat who is so affectionate and playful - of course this is animal number one that I want to adopt going into season three ;) </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhisyjBj6mxSS2sHxfpgFXR2uydKbzng2l5dt1JogAXB_jZSWA2OyufRdAuB0UsWsFzcKGQEgLGG_Isc50n3V2jmm1SIhajV1rpxxgy_o2EUxl3sEBFcBPMdudpa47I7SDZwnz7qdSFPzQ/s1600/IMG_4685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhisyjBj6mxSS2sHxfpgFXR2uydKbzng2l5dt1JogAXB_jZSWA2OyufRdAuB0UsWsFzcKGQEgLGG_Isc50n3V2jmm1SIhajV1rpxxgy_o2EUxl3sEBFcBPMdudpa47I7SDZwnz7qdSFPzQ/s400/IMG_4685.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best boatyard cat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBcTcfxj6dXEPEA4w_1mikJbXohsXsT-Is-I__LqdAw8oGTzlt4OTFWEwu7IPyMT3QaxM1-Rlc-0G2dwC95embfwXuDgjnuObTjc3JLk57mUVgINStMcplxl4-2fLW33MMt0LP7-uoqo/s1600/IMG_4687.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrBcTcfxj6dXEPEA4w_1mikJbXohsXsT-Is-I__LqdAw8oGTzlt4OTFWEwu7IPyMT3QaxM1-Rlc-0G2dwC95embfwXuDgjnuObTjc3JLk57mUVgINStMcplxl4-2fLW33MMt0LP7-uoqo/s400/IMG_4687.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting my morning cat love!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Eduardo has lent us a few things and has brought us a bowl of ice cream when were outside working and even brought us pizza for lunch one day! When we made him coffee one morning he returned the mug along with an apple :) Several afternoon we hear a knock on the hull and he throws us an apple - we're hoping to see him in Cuba when we go this year!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUNhrYvEf_P_ZyG1ZdcNkSUJDIStBJKVvzWwnBADAsCfMtcwUD07oMzyvvcoAB-eroR35RvUuL7ufP6OdfEIA37M-cL7l2_Txv3VN7in6cMl6874qqsIp9rcatBS2VnhItM35cPmrADw/s1600/IMG_4651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUNhrYvEf_P_ZyG1ZdcNkSUJDIStBJKVvzWwnBADAsCfMtcwUD07oMzyvvcoAB-eroR35RvUuL7ufP6OdfEIA37M-cL7l2_Txv3VN7in6cMl6874qqsIp9rcatBS2VnhItM35cPmrADw/s400/IMG_4651.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pizza Lunch</td></tr>
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<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We have been in the boatyard for 15 days now and while all the guys who work in the yard are so friendly and nice we are definitely over the place and dying to get back in the water. For those of you who don’t know what a boatyard is, picture a train yard where old trains go to get repaired. There are around 50 guys in jumpsuits all working on different projects - most of them noisy projects. On the barge next to us where Eduardo works, there are at least 5 guys welding so all we see all day is bursts of blue and orange light. They only turn the welding off when they have to hit the metal as hard as they can with a mallet - pretty awesome. The barge in front us has metal grinders going ALL day. There are two travel lifts hoisting boats in and out of the water and since we are right next to the dock the travel lifts pass us constantly.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We have to wear hard hats whenever we’re not on the boat. Even a simple thing like going for a pee involves finding our hard hat, climbing down the ladder and dodging forklifts to get to the toilet. To top it all off, it has been 44 degrees celsius most days!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvxUh8QxB_A470cJYw_-OZ2vmiaLY6C5_89bDD43MXIBE5Eil2tpgUe_W6iNdd3Zgncoht66XWBLTepODqVudHumhbaekXFNPE7_1Uu9PvxDskGX-j-by_wk-QVEXXLoEGyWACXltyWo/s1600/IMG_4664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvxUh8QxB_A470cJYw_-OZ2vmiaLY6C5_89bDD43MXIBE5Eil2tpgUe_W6iNdd3Zgncoht66XWBLTepODqVudHumhbaekXFNPE7_1Uu9PvxDskGX-j-by_wk-QVEXXLoEGyWACXltyWo/s400/IMG_4664.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We have crossed some important projects off the list which is a great feeling. We painted the bottom and boy did she need it. We had been agonizing over whether to paint the bottom navy blue to match the new enclosure we hope to have made in Panama or grey to match the stripe around the hull. We didn’t need to worry as when we went to buy the paint the guy told us “we have black or red”! Seeing as the old colour was red and we both hated it, black it was. I was afraid she would look like a biker chic pirate ship with a black bottom and burgundy stripe around the hull but it’s definitely an improvement over the last colour. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYaOM_Cdbcgt_01JeiPSXYSoF44csX_9CCeLQ-6RGrDIhbHJiJsQv2L6nHGMb4eoptqnPzD0uWHcGAWfgAMMRqBBZXwP9a_wxuXQwVNwRDCw95eOnZGv1fSjKSAIWoLntCTFkxdiJrVg/s1600/IMG_4635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYaOM_Cdbcgt_01JeiPSXYSoF44csX_9CCeLQ-6RGrDIhbHJiJsQv2L6nHGMb4eoptqnPzD0uWHcGAWfgAMMRqBBZXwP9a_wxuXQwVNwRDCw95eOnZGv1fSjKSAIWoLntCTFkxdiJrVg/s320/IMG_4635.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Before"<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"During"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VmsNQ-pXvfk798l57-6o2m-M0IrcDy4drMkV6H_WXPO7MvMVYExStFcs3-8D4ok6xPH-9GIJa0Kb30CQ8SzT9RBRLqx_6HCFWtUuY3qex01KnEgDzrPbZH7GceobwlCGmphpx4sCiTE/s1600/IMG_4725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VmsNQ-pXvfk798l57-6o2m-M0IrcDy4drMkV6H_WXPO7MvMVYExStFcs3-8D4ok6xPH-9GIJa0Kb30CQ8SzT9RBRLqx_6HCFWtUuY3qex01KnEgDzrPbZH7GceobwlCGmphpx4sCiTE/s400/IMG_4725.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"After"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Of course as all boat projects go everything take three times longer than you think it will and as one project gets finished you discover something new that has broken and needs immediate attention. We’re so close to being ready but now we’re stuck waiting on people to return or finish items we had sent out to be fixed. These were all things that were “one day or same day” repairs but 6 or 7 days later we’re still waiting.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The good news is, we have a launch date of tomorrow! It was supposed to be today but apparently they were “too busy” for us to go back in the water. We still have several projects left and hope they go smoothly as another week in this place might be the end of me!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> With the "extra" day yesterday I even painted our dingy.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All ready for Season 3</td></tr>
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Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-78491521150703096382017-07-15T07:14:00.000-07:002017-07-15T07:18:20.555-07:0012 Days in the Galapagos<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIw69rC0zz_bnJ_yxL1s8sIP0Se1z_mu2YQqvu769LjyZtBBNvVVJuQUN8QkEAOtJfMLQInz-dPO0NpHYwTBF22KDgU3CcXo6yzNmqbrNluxR2X4tyJZDK2q5meE0HmdF6xyxViAqQ4rM/s1600/IMG_3806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIw69rC0zz_bnJ_yxL1s8sIP0Se1z_mu2YQqvu769LjyZtBBNvVVJuQUN8QkEAOtJfMLQInz-dPO0NpHYwTBF22KDgU3CcXo6yzNmqbrNluxR2X4tyJZDK2q5meE0HmdF6xyxViAqQ4rM/s320/IMG_3806.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Galapagos has been one of my all-time dream destinations ever since I was in grade school. As we slowly bused our way down the backbone of Ecuador, we realized we would likely never be closer to this exotic archipelago made famous by Darwin and his evolutionary theories. (Yes, you can sail there but the current regulations and fees make it very prohibitive to do so.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiUV0zhhRC5Br4Dyo3U5OhBGccXWgQItqa7cZYrJR-ft1tv3kUx8UldibyUjfb3Fl-86F-xrLA6RKHkpEhQB5L0TljrByNYTMx1h4VUxugiwYVMhv2qrYDAa_s3r4uKmwxTI6fkiJ8vs/s1600/IMG_3321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOiUV0zhhRC5Br4Dyo3U5OhBGccXWgQItqa7cZYrJR-ft1tv3kUx8UldibyUjfb3Fl-86F-xrLA6RKHkpEhQB5L0TljrByNYTMx1h4VUxugiwYVMhv2qrYDAa_s3r4uKmwxTI6fkiJ8vs/s320/IMG_3321.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mainland Ecuador</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MGzmR5zxQ5P1W58xMHs7w1MS1WXZGUkOxwL4jzmMHftUeWew26OlmV3VwBAEO19qE-YBXSCxlCi7SopxApOC1M2qD3eFZOrx0IA3sknRU9qcDgf_fQAjkz391ebELEdQhyphenhyphenAZhJNMS9Q/s1600/IMG_3346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MGzmR5zxQ5P1W58xMHs7w1MS1WXZGUkOxwL4jzmMHftUeWew26OlmV3VwBAEO19qE-YBXSCxlCi7SopxApOC1M2qD3eFZOrx0IA3sknRU9qcDgf_fQAjkz391ebELEdQhyphenhyphenAZhJNMS9Q/s320/IMG_3346.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galapagos!</td></tr>
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We were doing a fairly good job keeping to our budget and with some inspiration from a couple of backpacker blogs (<a href="https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=12&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjcq73d0P3UAhVJNT4KHTRrDwcQFghaMAs&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthriftynomads.com%2Fgalapagos-islands-on-the-cheap%2F&usg=AFQjCNGOwFXUt9tgawunKo4NkUNDu1abEg" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=15&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjcq73d0P3UAhVJNT4KHTRrDwcQFghuMA4&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffloratheexplorer.com%2Fcheap-budget-galapagos-trip%2F&usg=AFQjCNFDGEhEwtHnCCxF8YeFenYbrniXdQ" target="_blank">here</a>) we set out to make a plan to visit this wonderful place. We decided that we wouldn't take one of the long boat tours since (a) we already live on a boat and (b) we don't have the thousands of dollars this would require. As recommended by so many others before us, our strategy was:<br />
<ul>
<li>sleep in hostels on the three islands where the villages were</li>
<li>do as many free activities as possible</li>
<li>be <b>very</b> flexible and book last-minute day tours to bargain for the best price</li>
<li>eat rice and beans for each meal to scrimp and save</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7cvFtNBJupjZdekaeLx3hOt4xWgTFoiJSby05UPwQZF99POmjbfJ2hS6U0kVbM3aJQshvnOILeBCRlomCB5JDztDtfn9xw7VGIU0krBUTQ1hiEU7vQxNHukpOTX86wq_c18hKok02AM/s1600/IMG_3326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD7cvFtNBJupjZdekaeLx3hOt4xWgTFoiJSby05UPwQZF99POmjbfJ2hS6U0kVbM3aJQshvnOILeBCRlomCB5JDztDtfn9xw7VGIU0krBUTQ1hiEU7vQxNHukpOTX86wq_c18hKok02AM/s320/IMG_3326.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spraying the Luggage</td></tr>
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We hopped on a short flight from Quito to the island of Santa Cruz. Before landing the flight attendants sprayed some kind of insect spray in the overhead compartments to ensure we weren't bringing any nasties to the ecologically sensitive islands.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmfCe4LhYOXK2bGj1lzCSKXrPJEMA9Ukp6Vc7q1z-y5Y8h-HfD3McgVP2k7JZYr5YBkGn6a-yPS3AnectCVnwQ0yW9CB-hBie7teQs8fDem92IpftXvN_bD_GIyM32uteCB26dZnc-cU/s1600/IMG_3354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmfCe4LhYOXK2bGj1lzCSKXrPJEMA9Ukp6Vc7q1z-y5Y8h-HfD3McgVP2k7JZYr5YBkGn6a-yPS3AnectCVnwQ0yW9CB-hBie7teQs8fDem92IpftXvN_bD_GIyM32uteCB26dZnc-cU/s320/IMG_3354.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arriving at Isla Baltra</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7KWpzE2oFSJlhiDPfUF213qZ7_-0iXmhH1_DoQIt_cqtW_PjWb_CCkHhMOwdu9RT1uQr8LsvmJxJcAZtvK5wElAl3PUjN3aL4h2pPlrHVqFrT_fIS7_XCiB7FNNfgGre0o3StrmRjOg/s1600/IMG_3365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7KWpzE2oFSJlhiDPfUF213qZ7_-0iXmhH1_DoQIt_cqtW_PjWb_CCkHhMOwdu9RT1uQr8LsvmJxJcAZtvK5wElAl3PUjN3aL4h2pPlrHVqFrT_fIS7_XCiB7FNNfgGre0o3StrmRjOg/s320/IMG_3365.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Cruz</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrCQZziQHh6_g_JnT7xZXAioGeeYw9jBe_0lAhfBk15YynsH6BMSEG4TMgeEtYDfatLBXxnOyQbomwp0Nhn0yIssE19J4afiUxAEZYTzHpU7r-VZAVXOiVhhyhlZKCtJSvQ6p1sBilxs/s1600/IMG_3367.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzrCQZziQHh6_g_JnT7xZXAioGeeYw9jBe_0lAhfBk15YynsH6BMSEG4TMgeEtYDfatLBXxnOyQbomwp0Nhn0yIssE19J4afiUxAEZYTzHpU7r-VZAVXOiVhhyhlZKCtJSvQ6p1sBilxs/s320/IMG_3367.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The airport is actually on a separate island devoid of vegetation and looks a bit like walking on the surface of the moon. To get to the main town on Santa Cruz, Puerto Ayora, it's necessary to take a bus, a ferry, and then another bus. From the bus we saw a giant tortoise walking down the bike path so we were able to cross of the first animal from our list!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea Lions Everywhere!</td></tr>
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Finding a place to stay was no problem, there are plenty of small hostels in Puerto Ayora. We knew we would get gouged a little bit if we stayed near the water but it was late and we were happy to pay a premium not to lug our bag all over town. The hostel even had drinking water and hot water to shower so it was definitely a good start.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cheap Seats</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiInOk2T5SB7wgt9an9eaHfAmAGr0kmVOeOFm3M3oQ5MeyMhApJn44lY2DPhPx_dpFyUnBb2VF0UOdpPHFex2IE2Yi_DEwqHlRe8-TVaWjBsxrLN52PEzVwGdfgQaphZU4nbCUNKT32fRI/s1600/IMG_3407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiInOk2T5SB7wgt9an9eaHfAmAGr0kmVOeOFm3M3oQ5MeyMhApJn44lY2DPhPx_dpFyUnBb2VF0UOdpPHFex2IE2Yi_DEwqHlRe8-TVaWjBsxrLN52PEzVwGdfgQaphZU4nbCUNKT32fRI/s320/IMG_3407.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galapagos!</td></tr>
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The next day we explored the town and got to work hunting down the best deals on the day trips we were interested in doing. Puerto Ayora and the other Galapagos towns are full of tour agencies. Only a few agencies actually run tours themselves - the tours are typically run by separate tour operators or boat owners who set the base price. The job of the agent is to call the tour operator to sort out price and availability and then add their own commission. By doing a last minute booking of a tour it's possible to fill an otherwise empty seat and bargain hard on the commission which is just extra money in the agent's pocket. The prices we found were at least 25% off the advertised price and less than half of what people that had booked online from home had paid. The downside? We spent a lot of time hoofing it around Puerto Ayora in the heat wheeling and dealing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigI4NztegcTfS2LPqR_eHwKh0ORHQb7fqKxnHUufVKjwA1-2N1cRWtEBe4jtmMELPgJ1wBWU-Y5F1cBEbKJrmfoSoR8og3Uu500b_S8W04y7_GgrPz36WuQAggaJz02miHKp41ac7cBf4/s1600/IMG_3416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigI4NztegcTfS2LPqR_eHwKh0ORHQb7fqKxnHUufVKjwA1-2N1cRWtEBe4jtmMELPgJ1wBWU-Y5F1cBEbKJrmfoSoR8og3Uu500b_S8W04y7_GgrPz36WuQAggaJz02miHKp41ac7cBf4/s320/IMG_3416.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkDc8qrVx3xNwvesE__6Ug8c9n8SHkTsP4guf46-xaWtncUmU1h_Diqn00qOvLR1lzLt8SWoVUrHvyJFsj7tGd_4gQx1nZYVMaXO-EOHMgk1qN2w7hQMAjipNLxCsRbqlcPAs0DI_JA8/s1600/IMG_3478.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWkDc8qrVx3xNwvesE__6Ug8c9n8SHkTsP4guf46-xaWtncUmU1h_Diqn00qOvLR1lzLt8SWoVUrHvyJFsj7tGd_4gQx1nZYVMaXO-EOHMgk1qN2w7hQMAjipNLxCsRbqlcPAs0DI_JA8/s320/IMG_3478.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Swimming Marine Iguana</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqk_BFao5UtGZroAEdrEijYMBUVvGflRmK9pbC2t4CuXpFqbxTiNhtEBIHh_zUEoK6HdxW1jYt8j7U3srNfBiTuf4e03EvaYwfy_YxrzdPhmCxzqx2PwKl1xhPK2R-ZswZxhtbb_y5tPQ/s1600/IMG_3716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqk_BFao5UtGZroAEdrEijYMBUVvGflRmK9pbC2t4CuXpFqbxTiNhtEBIHh_zUEoK6HdxW1jYt8j7U3srNfBiTuf4e03EvaYwfy_YxrzdPhmCxzqx2PwKl1xhPK2R-ZswZxhtbb_y5tPQ/s320/IMG_3716.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This tortoise probably has 100 years on us... </td></tr>
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While sorting this out, we were able to take advantage of several free or almost free activities on Santa Cruz. We checked out the Charles Darwin Research Station (the home of the creepily stuffed Lonesome George tortoise), the fish market, snorkelled at Las Grietas, El Chato tortoise reserve, walked through some lava tunnels. We found a much better place to stay ("The Dove", with big rooms and a very relaxing outdoor hammock area) and discovered the much less expensive local markets further back from the water. Much time was spent wandering around watching the sea lions and marine iguanas which seem to have overtaken the port area.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJqOtqxFLLJKqKbp6pVCoC2qkeNN9zxVf8F9X_De7BKUIJ-n2W4PKDCUbIIGx4JQvVj8-8SJb_QwbIi5sTOv6HxII3luqbG7mZVcXA5cz1ZHZ81SZ_q8SUuMsrJX0d2qLW_yQv5Kidok/s1600/IMG_3499.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJqOtqxFLLJKqKbp6pVCoC2qkeNN9zxVf8F9X_De7BKUIJ-n2W4PKDCUbIIGx4JQvVj8-8SJb_QwbIi5sTOv6HxII3luqbG7mZVcXA5cz1ZHZ81SZ_q8SUuMsrJX0d2qLW_yQv5Kidok/s320/IMG_3499.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isabela</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2_t0zyZHf_dTm2wfcAaJ_UtlI-E302LBR2LUPj-JEegtnRnVnm20NAwUcAhrPoMO0oM030Io_8OsAtPOzAVktwelzHavj0jKFHvwzYat35qcjCLJaj_6CqAQznWNJ2LrE7fwiwFB9nQ/s1600/IMG_3496.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_2_t0zyZHf_dTm2wfcAaJ_UtlI-E302LBR2LUPj-JEegtnRnVnm20NAwUcAhrPoMO0oM030Io_8OsAtPOzAVktwelzHavj0jKFHvwzYat35qcjCLJaj_6CqAQznWNJ2LrE7fwiwFB9nQ/s320/IMG_3496.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah Overlanders!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXd-vn1pn0aXaoe6R82jWy3WGh1G0J3T1qs-HA4JzO24odd9V44562lxtSPiaCGy3q98M23_CrQRQ6eUBJTkPPeHnUBOqcqYnYzGKwnE3iwFRVOVdIw9eZ5iCxwGMFbpNgN9c-WKyoK8/s1600/IMG_3500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXd-vn1pn0aXaoe6R82jWy3WGh1G0J3T1qs-HA4JzO24odd9V44562lxtSPiaCGy3q98M23_CrQRQ6eUBJTkPPeHnUBOqcqYnYzGKwnE3iwFRVOVdIw9eZ5iCxwGMFbpNgN9c-WKyoK8/s320/IMG_3500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nesting site near Isabela</td></tr>
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Isla Isabela is a much smaller island west of Santa Cruz. The island has much cooler water because of the currents hitting its west side so the chances of seeing Galapagos penguins were slightly higher than nil. We took a "ferry" which are little speedboats with massive outboard engines doing the two-hour run twice a day. The ferries were either a lovely experience with great views and an opportunity to have a nap, or a horrible experience crowded in with other seasick passengers in the heat or rain.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRr0Z-b0ozFvWF80ovcenINS4Y0QkuG2EUUJ0qE2MfSKQcwer5Ve0dhSOEVvX6cXxAFn2wNpHlWbLl9yc5AMlYiuxc0u-dDd8xPsVLkk6piIU8r-DUKeP0KyOPIjXgPpFQRVQVXGNpCyI/s1600/IMG_3521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRr0Z-b0ozFvWF80ovcenINS4Y0QkuG2EUUJ0qE2MfSKQcwer5Ve0dhSOEVvX6cXxAFn2wNpHlWbLl9yc5AMlYiuxc0u-dDd8xPsVLkk6piIU8r-DUKeP0KyOPIjXgPpFQRVQVXGNpCyI/s320/IMG_3521.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Tunnels"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfEdy0pEQpPCk6bdubgS6ZIBfWUtyXXF3WiAC4YX0-vZcv9ihyphenhyphenSHzdBsqlElAT230FxrOEnNzaut54JS7bd8OJJZkTX_NfP-dN8RgaPH96GuIo5-cSpP1ZCiXRsS6f1_VY979rdbU7kw/s1600/IMG_3527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfEdy0pEQpPCk6bdubgS6ZIBfWUtyXXF3WiAC4YX0-vZcv9ihyphenhyphenSHzdBsqlElAT230FxrOEnNzaut54JS7bd8OJJZkTX_NfP-dN8RgaPH96GuIo5-cSpP1ZCiXRsS6f1_VY979rdbU7kw/s320/IMG_3527.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tunnels</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhby0EZ4bucG8vWqYueYHz-wVTWl42oqDQbGyAFI8IwPLp-PJ0kOj154iurxCtAp-FletlrieUK2g74Z654SrFvduBj0dD-ZHv2oSokmf0QrC4JybNECUqoYerjuhFzADawVw69Ey3Dv3M/s1600/IMG_3572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhby0EZ4bucG8vWqYueYHz-wVTWl42oqDQbGyAFI8IwPLp-PJ0kOj154iurxCtAp-FletlrieUK2g74Z654SrFvduBj0dD-ZHv2oSokmf0QrC4JybNECUqoYerjuhFzADawVw69Ey3Dv3M/s320/IMG_3572.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They may have been attracted to my watch?</td></tr>
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As soon as we saw Isabela we knew we would like the island much more than Santa Cruz. The bay was somewhere we would have definitely anchored had we been on the boat. And the best part was that our new friends, James and Belle, were also there and would be able to hang out for a few hours before they headed back to Santa Cruz and their van, Butch, parked safely back on the mainland. We went for a nice swim near the dock amongst marine iguanas and sea lions. We were all jonesin' for an ice cold beer but couldn't seem to find one, let alone four, for less than 7USD. We settled for climbing up to the watchtower on the beach and having a laugh while we watched the waves roll in - utterly lovely.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgClja878OdPIZj39i9V_IgFnVISEasCHIH8vbHhOd8uq4LfxoVIQWSpWbcjfsqUGNLk2JGJLMVW7fimKNUZRL1X-s8t8dCG9hZI8A3_Xfa3S9mgEL8CteFaVNNvxQ6n2WFXTTtR3fLAek/s1600/IMG_3586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgClja878OdPIZj39i9V_IgFnVISEasCHIH8vbHhOd8uq4LfxoVIQWSpWbcjfsqUGNLk2JGJLMVW7fimKNUZRL1X-s8t8dCG9hZI8A3_Xfa3S9mgEL8CteFaVNNvxQ6n2WFXTTtR3fLAek/s320/IMG_3586.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shark!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-0UeOzD-jYqoiEWXDlRYErujMfjLzaWl6DNGkXF4mobIujuWF2I-8_yaZKTkP1ielSMvLQLPnukXWS8FLIc1nqrTxZlPIgfv7-H59v0xHZv_-Lr5u3v3Zhmr6kKsASFTQ2ULzhhhtOMs/s1600/IMG_3579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-0UeOzD-jYqoiEWXDlRYErujMfjLzaWl6DNGkXF4mobIujuWF2I-8_yaZKTkP1ielSMvLQLPnukXWS8FLIc1nqrTxZlPIgfv7-H59v0xHZv_-Lr5u3v3Zhmr6kKsASFTQ2ULzhhhtOMs/s320/IMG_3579.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Seahorse!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0eaNESNIyyYSGUr32X0rvRNbQbiyzf7TbO19cHu6pj7EofNyXHbf7vQSUQcEtqmiNmYj3XJup4MHC4uqvWO9xDYh0LqrbN_M0CTzZpAodBVyYN_ABsx3YBFmwE9rtWQ3Uj3TosI0tGY/s1600/IMG_3596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0eaNESNIyyYSGUr32X0rvRNbQbiyzf7TbO19cHu6pj7EofNyXHbf7vQSUQcEtqmiNmYj3XJup4MHC4uqvWO9xDYh0LqrbN_M0CTzZpAodBVyYN_ABsx3YBFmwE9rtWQ3Uj3TosI0tGY/s320/IMG_3596.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The World's Most Peaceful Creatures</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kvaM6LOjbeT8MsvdRP_Ep4MayiLQj_bk8EKhKpNzL5AtiRapYrkNM7PkihT64LRtnG9MzxhDJpvw5-8P8DhkyWcWlRTS_kJezrcj4sKzKyST9IOFKO-5kCuP4w2TSdCa3JuKEx9Bc8A/s1600/IMG_3598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kvaM6LOjbeT8MsvdRP_Ep4MayiLQj_bk8EKhKpNzL5AtiRapYrkNM7PkihT64LRtnG9MzxhDJpvw5-8P8DhkyWcWlRTS_kJezrcj4sKzKyST9IOFKO-5kCuP4w2TSdCa3JuKEx9Bc8A/s320/IMG_3598.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKowJF8WdKC213Ds3qxfLizWy8vk3S7vNOTmtF4Zr6sTt-0NCpYIzMQVGpq9eTeVHn8BnSgkE4hEh2lyHRkgDY2-rau9Js3x1rJVhyn0ZO9Er1b8DnRJXLHiEtFvmT9OWq0G3-qAOmQpQ/s1600/IMG_3608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKowJF8WdKC213Ds3qxfLizWy8vk3S7vNOTmtF4Zr6sTt-0NCpYIzMQVGpq9eTeVHn8BnSgkE4hEh2lyHRkgDY2-rau9Js3x1rJVhyn0ZO9Er1b8DnRJXLHiEtFvmT9OWq0G3-qAOmQpQ/s320/IMG_3608.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9Y-kmOUQuwzBycyD-6w2B45mMmZaLnrVP3xknx2c2y-dM3wpEx3SjLvDTYeWbTxaN6aZ1tISwGfPS1bBKd1rGg_dfmwoXPcN-ZOerKnCKF8pAYz2K34YMaw90kVFW786noOkcxvn2xk/s1600/IMG_3685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9Y-kmOUQuwzBycyD-6w2B45mMmZaLnrVP3xknx2c2y-dM3wpEx3SjLvDTYeWbTxaN6aZ1tISwGfPS1bBKd1rGg_dfmwoXPcN-ZOerKnCKF8pAYz2K34YMaw90kVFW786noOkcxvn2xk/s320/IMG_3685.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset on Isabela</td></tr>
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One tour we had heard a lot about was Los Tunales (The Tunnels) trip on Isabela. It was a short boat ride to a tiny bay which had been formed from hardening lava. The entrance was surrounded by a reef with massive breakers that would have been impossible to attempt in a sailboat. We were trying to figure out how the captain was going to do it. He circled a couple of times and revved up the three 400hp outboards before powering diagonally through the trough of the wave. It was very impressive and he hadn't even appeared to have broken a sweat. The Tunales definitely lived up to the hype. In addition to seeing blue-footed boobies very close up, we swam with white-tipped reef sharks and went "face-to-face" with them in their den, sea turtles galore, and even saw our first seahorse!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jMuhbv2vyIGKh5gbaR1D4zfxyGcX9j4VTuBiGrDt5yXCQG9uK2pXamQF1nIbCBVEDgSFgjDn74UJ7-lc6K3y8bZlxrWLzKue-AB6I5E2-Wo_46_ln0aKRepf-f_tWhxeQtDhvoZLo0I/s1600/IMG_3644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jMuhbv2vyIGKh5gbaR1D4zfxyGcX9j4VTuBiGrDt5yXCQG9uK2pXamQF1nIbCBVEDgSFgjDn74UJ7-lc6K3y8bZlxrWLzKue-AB6I5E2-Wo_46_ln0aKRepf-f_tWhxeQtDhvoZLo0I/s320/IMG_3644.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penguins!</td></tr>
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Despite being almost an hour late and our kayak taking on water, the short kayak/snorkelling tour around the bay in Isabella was enough to strike another animal from our list - the Galapagos penguin. Even though it was pushing 30 degrees celsius, these guys were happily sunbathing on the rocks. We were amazed at how tiny they were!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62o5MJ_xG1jbBfhy-Z3TOnygWGZH1UpfISDmhJFm1SHINjnqYFkqog2xUqDjEnHEjLg60NJ_Is4oKM6NCq9GLh00w75ML7sb0OWZbXu4noeyFdD1KNOt5kwFb_HtfD-fjcy7M-YJP3xk/s1600/IMG_3761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62o5MJ_xG1jbBfhy-Z3TOnygWGZH1UpfISDmhJFm1SHINjnqYFkqog2xUqDjEnHEjLg60NJ_Is4oKM6NCq9GLh00w75ML7sb0OWZbXu4noeyFdD1KNOt5kwFb_HtfD-fjcy7M-YJP3xk/s320/IMG_3761.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They might need to get that professionally cleaned...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IDfR43qaQ1ywS70fjHg2JmZtH3V1BOIKceCmEDr_CXzG1_RVRrDlZiHZgptJjYzjVqn_RujdR3n83yOcbQ0VWKpT4KciiOCjxwFewJC7navHxgR3AgKafntoqwr_O4nkLlFm7AY5tas/s1600/IMG_3787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IDfR43qaQ1ywS70fjHg2JmZtH3V1BOIKceCmEDr_CXzG1_RVRrDlZiHZgptJjYzjVqn_RujdR3n83yOcbQ0VWKpT4KciiOCjxwFewJC7navHxgR3AgKafntoqwr_O4nkLlFm7AY5tas/s320/IMG_3787.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kicker Rock</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglP1Vn0Zgy83T5x2nYnBaNgAQQxd3pNiXrqkALkr4UtDnKgzak3BrukILOYwLjOHeg7tVbcoHHSzWRKisCpqDGTqHomypmwx98JZ_hgSFcUTgPzYmKFgw1iCQcciCN1onR2n_v8aFvmY/s1600/IMG_3804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglP1Vn0Zgy83T5x2nYnBaNgAQQxd3pNiXrqkALkr4UtDnKgzak3BrukILOYwLjOHeg7tVbcoHHSzWRKisCpqDGTqHomypmwx98JZ_hgSFcUTgPzYmKFgw1iCQcciCN1onR2n_v8aFvmY/s320/IMG_3804.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swimming with these guys never gets old.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizwUEZ0X8Ixo0-0veLcXMY3QBfXoXUQBzWpMpOGJiXvOv_wIzY1DmRNpUwhtlzaxaR9Hy2-RATHELAio4T7MQPhUi_AHgnYfcUWwIYCH7dQxQMjdl-8az-_yu3vjbVHkctaE1vWGmC_Hs/s1600/IMG_3815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizwUEZ0X8Ixo0-0veLcXMY3QBfXoXUQBzWpMpOGJiXvOv_wIzY1DmRNpUwhtlzaxaR9Hy2-RATHELAio4T7MQPhUi_AHgnYfcUWwIYCH7dQxQMjdl-8az-_yu3vjbVHkctaE1vWGmC_Hs/s320/IMG_3815.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very hazy outline of a hammerhead shark</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJMeGggMb3LqeRpT49IpvjlskNLekvB_KBF-HE_9RIj_-WZEfsM5ZlpxWckIz84JLAS1Q3PFQv8L2Od6Rx5NPqnIE3gm67LpKOEUbxeB1WVCVbL7CZpGrjK2dZ9F-5mUVa6J3-37lmH0/s1600/IMG_3917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJMeGggMb3LqeRpT49IpvjlskNLekvB_KBF-HE_9RIj_-WZEfsM5ZlpxWckIz84JLAS1Q3PFQv8L2Od6Rx5NPqnIE3gm67LpKOEUbxeB1WVCVbL7CZpGrjK2dZ9F-5mUVa6J3-37lmH0/s320/IMG_3917.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Cristobal</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6oViLwNV-JQABpjqrp0iOw8oXwTPCRySdKd2voplVfSmvf0VlGhl3bORCbT8wGWkyvGua4XxcRpkbGJUYzh2YjByKhdn4GazAmLYHdyeyeGZwNGBbJR0OEcAXZwgTExcEGI6FaaZ7aug/s1600/IMG_3919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6oViLwNV-JQABpjqrp0iOw8oXwTPCRySdKd2voplVfSmvf0VlGhl3bORCbT8wGWkyvGua4XxcRpkbGJUYzh2YjByKhdn4GazAmLYHdyeyeGZwNGBbJR0OEcAXZwgTExcEGI6FaaZ7aug/s320/IMG_3919.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Cristobal Sea Lions</td></tr>
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We made our way to our third and final island town, San Cristobal. We negotiated hard for a day trip to Kicker Rock, a very tall boot-shaped island just around the corner from the port. This was mostly a site for divers but the snorkelling was decent and we saw many turtles, some manta rays, and even the very hazy outline of a hammerhead shark! The bird life was abundant with blue-footed boobies, nasca boobies, and the frigate birds with their red throat-pouch (?) inflated for breeding. San Cristobal was a pretty laid-back spot to wind up our Galapagos trip. We especially liked the hike to Frigatebird Hill and La Loberia beach where we watched young sea lions play for an hour with a stick we had thrown to them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbQqcrFODhOxy4-5CFubxKZkqGmA82SHgSg55GgQoqq1i7G8GjgHEskYWA_vFY3s520gosA34Rhn41pImtB0_cVoA4Ph-qEWUMthcyg7eCn7ljCKYEbO4Dp0x6bFomW2o5Gm9VkwE3n8/s1600/IMG_8461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="543" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtbQqcrFODhOxy4-5CFubxKZkqGmA82SHgSg55GgQoqq1i7G8GjgHEskYWA_vFY3s520gosA34Rhn41pImtB0_cVoA4Ph-qEWUMthcyg7eCn7ljCKYEbO4Dp0x6bFomW2o5Gm9VkwE3n8/s320/IMG_8461.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tortoise in Captivity</td></tr>
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When it was time to fly back to Quito, our feelings about Galapagos were mixed:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Our strategy had definitely worked, although Galapagos is very expensive relative to South America, we were able to experience it on a budget, spending not much more that we would have on the mainland. (Beware though, many of the prices in the other blogs we've linked to above have already risen 20-25%.)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>We had seen all the animals we had wanted to see, just as many as the people we had spoken to that did 5-7 day boat tours.</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDwybFQcYZqYpkkvq7QH8Pgb6UFSTzHTx40D-7Hur1SjrxmsUZD3y0Z2P68uNNYdtsjapGv52qc-z6Bg_-Sra7POf5k5muIwmhPfa1_jfdDxRu-018yrCyl60fWvHIf0HQ7RPggU_KpE/s1600/IMG_3728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglDwybFQcYZqYpkkvq7QH8Pgb6UFSTzHTx40D-7Hur1SjrxmsUZD3y0Z2P68uNNYdtsjapGv52qc-z6Bg_-Sra7POf5k5muIwmhPfa1_jfdDxRu-018yrCyl60fWvHIf0HQ7RPggU_KpE/s320/IMG_3728.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tortoise in the "Wild"</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li>The animals are definitely the stars here. With a few exceptions the locals we met were mainly grumpy, occasionally rude, and in general looked upon tourists as an unlimited ATM from which they could demand any sum of money they required.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Xs4l2DTHAO3jHzxAqO0hhwqNHZNA-0sDIrIL7oI-nbgNXk7IBpyLPaJDaKMQAEQmS_yeg2UlgBJBfOkTDRtlvMzzI_X5d2InPI0UEv_uZjrTgURyL5TP3-rVZOGP9v7BO5q9XWYeOoY/s1600/IMG_3756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Xs4l2DTHAO3jHzxAqO0hhwqNHZNA-0sDIrIL7oI-nbgNXk7IBpyLPaJDaKMQAEQmS_yeg2UlgBJBfOkTDRtlvMzzI_X5d2InPI0UEv_uZjrTgURyL5TP3-rVZOGP9v7BO5q9XWYeOoY/s320/IMG_3756.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li>Conservation efforts in the Galapagos appear to be lacklustre at best. We aren't experts in this area but we've definitely seen a few tropical islands recently. Although Galapagos isn't the dirtiest, it's definitely not the cleanest (Bonaire would probably win this award). And as is usually the case, money is definitely the culprit. Tourist demand to visit the islands has grown exponentially each year, resulting in a massive increase in population, especially in individuals that don't have the same connection to the islands as those that have lived there for decades. Attempts to limit migration from mainland Ecuador have largely been unsuccessful since Ecuadorians can essentially come and go as they please. You can clearly see from aerial photos how the towns have grown in the last several decades, destroying vital habitats for creatures that exist nowhere else in the world. The towns are unable to support the freshwater needs of their inhabitants with just wells and reverse osmosis so a large portion of drinking water is shipped in bottles from the mainland. Despite the vigorous spraying of the overhead bins on the airplanes non-indigenous plants and corresponding insect species have been brought to the islands both accidentally and on purpose. Mainland animals (cows, horses, chickens, dogs, cats, rats) seem to be uncontrolled and certainly step on and eat tortoise and turtle eggs. Giant tortoises are reportedly unable to sustain their population by breeding in the wild so their eggs are brought to the sanctuaries until they reach a suitable age to be released. We wondered if the various conservation groups are even doing more harm than good - by raising animals in captivity are we not disrupting the evolution whose hypothesis was confirmed on these very islands? </li>
</ul>
It would seem that the fate of Galapagos was decided as soon as the first settlers arrived two hundred years ago. Although we felt very fortunate to be able to go there we left feeling that the only real way to conserve the unique ecological situation in the Galapagos is to prohibit people and all of their destructive belongings from going there.<br />
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Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-39999590118941366112017-07-13T05:55:00.000-07:002017-07-13T05:55:59.088-07:00Ecuador<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9divGa1qNki1aec4rmzjawj6Q4_p6m1uiGfGX_7XX5Y2rtDifsH8TXgp00USO__he-g3__DjQYr06BLBtrP7wceZS41Hab8X1hEicqbpRnFjz7Tri5dUTNu2LbkEUMzs-PgqG7XE9wwo/s1600/IMG_4244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9divGa1qNki1aec4rmzjawj6Q4_p6m1uiGfGX_7XX5Y2rtDifsH8TXgp00USO__he-g3__DjQYr06BLBtrP7wceZS41Hab8X1hEicqbpRnFjz7Tri5dUTNu2LbkEUMzs-PgqG7XE9wwo/s320/IMG_4244.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to Ecuador</td></tr>
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<br />
Crossing the border into Ecuador was a true South American Adventure. We took a collectivo with one other lady from Ipiales, Colombia and asked to be dropped off at the border. When we saw the crowds of people, cars, and money-changers, we knew we were there. But hang on a minute - why were we immediately being offered rides to Tulcan, the first town on the Ecuadorian side?<br />
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It turns out it is possible to drive from Colombia to Ecuador without being asked for any documents or being stopped at all, which is exactly what our taxi driver did! We got out of the car and gingerly asked the machine-gun-toting Ecuadorian army guards if we could walk back to the Colombian side to get our exit stamps. Once the formalities were taken care of we climbed into a full bus into Tulcan.<br />
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If you have been to Niagara Falls, New York, you have essentially been to Tulcan, Ecuador. We were able to find a decent almuerzo before catching a luxurious bus southbound to Otavalo.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrvidm7EusyTWKAx8PfcOPEA6SExzhebzKlF_IUmAGypsjKhyphenhyphena3muHt8sc4NB5PDk1lD9jAAW1ZyswpSyRSsNRJ92EbZVcS48gzQRGFAmOPpCXP3tHVg9fE7yAYPL8HQ-2YeS32OIZ7Q/s1600/IMG_3204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrvidm7EusyTWKAx8PfcOPEA6SExzhebzKlF_IUmAGypsjKhyphenhyphena3muHt8sc4NB5PDk1lD9jAAW1ZyswpSyRSsNRJ92EbZVcS48gzQRGFAmOPpCXP3tHVg9fE7yAYPL8HQ-2YeS32OIZ7Q/s320/IMG_3204.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Otavalo Market</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjX6P1o9PA1DndiE_u39SECM_rwMKe-M5qpp3JM_e-ymkchtltVsOQCce2HVURsOs8EdtZeF1CgJpGq6O3X-v4oP7UbtCVNgnqxEONrF0NjpHP_70X76_bxDz64BC_qgqz4L0b7XTHeys/s1600/IMG_3203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjX6P1o9PA1DndiE_u39SECM_rwMKe-M5qpp3JM_e-ymkchtltVsOQCce2HVURsOs8EdtZeF1CgJpGq6O3X-v4oP7UbtCVNgnqxEONrF0NjpHP_70X76_bxDz64BC_qgqz4L0b7XTHeys/s320/IMG_3203.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Otavalo Market</td></tr>
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<br />
Otavalo is notorious not only for being the first city of any size between Quito and Colombia but also for its large, very wealthy, indigenous population that hosts a daily market with handicrafts and weavings from several Andean communities. For some reason the bus dropped us well outside of Otavalo just as it started to rain and get dark. We were also having some serious trouble finding our AirBnb on Google Maps and none of the taxi drivers had heard of the address. A couple of shop owners turned us away with a frown when we asked to use a phone to call the B&B. When we arrived at the central plaza where the market is held we stopped into a little coffee shop to see if we could use their wifi to call the hosts. The family that owned the coffee shop offered to call for us and when the host picked up the phone realized that it was their very good friend! They were very apologetic about the difficulty finding their place and drove down to pick us up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jOAlZDnB4hiXFYhdkAPW_8aZYJPGVyCxdIOcAoZexrMsKLg8w0DDSGXMqR5pLJHCkVoSwog33Xas-Ap-J0RU46-fXLY2trs5tQzvZq_CAUF-lSUE6YHTjNidhSHs5i5YiAbtjix4UzA/s1600/IMG_3205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jOAlZDnB4hiXFYhdkAPW_8aZYJPGVyCxdIOcAoZexrMsKLg8w0DDSGXMqR5pLJHCkVoSwog33Xas-Ap-J0RU46-fXLY2trs5tQzvZq_CAUF-lSUE6YHTjNidhSHs5i5YiAbtjix4UzA/s320/IMG_3205.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Traditional Dress</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtb3GzjW12zaxlya79ohNkTIRa_Ku7ggAEgQM9VBz2sAwXhr8hSqGgwlobERKoLaMLqYRoOpXSdHfEe6MIgUl4ONR5iLa0ib7KbNbSNzFuVLDsWr4CMi2eYk46wu8QF1rC7sCZB6AJFk/s1600/IMG_3206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHtb3GzjW12zaxlya79ohNkTIRa_Ku7ggAEgQM9VBz2sAwXhr8hSqGgwlobERKoLaMLqYRoOpXSdHfEe6MIgUl4ONR5iLa0ib7KbNbSNzFuVLDsWr4CMi2eYk46wu8QF1rC7sCZB6AJFk/s320/IMG_3206.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Otavalo Concert</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-UVHAcrurNFgRDwriYPTe_I2USazWg7vt3WMtsjl0bkNiKooyRApLcfYiquu-FyzPRZNRZzonSbMuomJpb7F2HMy6b9ONOP5YjFxR4w70y5gOR9RbEp_SIMWoFooJ3zuS92QTUotk-A/s1600/IMG_4253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR-UVHAcrurNFgRDwriYPTe_I2USazWg7vt3WMtsjl0bkNiKooyRApLcfYiquu-FyzPRZNRZzonSbMuomJpb7F2HMy6b9ONOP5YjFxR4w70y5gOR9RbEp_SIMWoFooJ3zuS92QTUotk-A/s320/IMG_4253.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Wonderful Hosts</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Magaly and Martin were the most welcoming hosts and their condo was amazing! They gave us loads of tips about touring around Ecuador and even took us to one of the neighbouring towns. I think they took pity on us for not having warm enough clothing as they gave us a wool sweater and hat! We had a great time browsing the market and even got to see a concert in the park.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VDD3SjlMNUasSE7YJLlbDesOQMwwh9pfqR_fdM4MHPl5Qv0TpJ6BOZAPDdEHp-jQfLxNO34BV43MeqE_lq2Pmb9eOYRKFv3xumWbDnLnhPwE2OM0BOOT8JgkegZ5yw-ha6P3XYeZQzA/s1600/IMG_4257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VDD3SjlMNUasSE7YJLlbDesOQMwwh9pfqR_fdM4MHPl5Qv0TpJ6BOZAPDdEHp-jQfLxNO34BV43MeqE_lq2Pmb9eOYRKFv3xumWbDnLnhPwE2OM0BOOT8JgkegZ5yw-ha6P3XYeZQzA/s320/IMG_4257.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bizcochos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirEoepiGyW5DUUsAMI4yJr4yCb1BIJKgqtjPWEr1wmatQ4aDBOyifG1ZVvbXjuNaXbPlahVNAC_V-ARafmXByewM22WHE2142J6j4r6PHIaA2mBWh2jiJW_qQa_lBZMj1dIR6lzPD46Ks/s1600/IMG_4259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirEoepiGyW5DUUsAMI4yJr4yCb1BIJKgqtjPWEr1wmatQ4aDBOyifG1ZVvbXjuNaXbPlahVNAC_V-ARafmXByewM22WHE2142J6j4r6PHIaA2mBWh2jiJW_qQa_lBZMj1dIR6lzPD46Ks/s320/IMG_4259.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making Bizcochos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmCijudcihrpJWBXCi7RZSKwzteR0RldEhgC-Tr0MyqxWZ1YPQcx8jY_NRXCnpHXEh_gUb_4nkDNQD3HTZnDwkWv4vuy0JDJ9to2XbjD3pVLf4W3DE17EN95xD0O6hop3swxAzXkIwkMI/s1600/IMG_4256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmCijudcihrpJWBXCi7RZSKwzteR0RldEhgC-Tr0MyqxWZ1YPQcx8jY_NRXCnpHXEh_gUb_4nkDNQD3HTZnDwkWv4vuy0JDJ9to2XbjD3pVLf4W3DE17EN95xD0O6hop3swxAzXkIwkMI/s320/IMG_4256.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh Flowers </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iUv9hnEbJ88wIXgDfKFvLnBKzuMo4m6VNo2c-crU6U5H-qRJipo2ZCvLzVFghKYJuoN_LfIqwmAl3MIrBz3kUlwaZqh2xyneFm5MksrKs4aRwCo_X-v0FXZvr2jQ3qLrKKl2Kbm9pG0/s1600/IMG_4263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iUv9hnEbJ88wIXgDfKFvLnBKzuMo4m6VNo2c-crU6U5H-qRJipo2ZCvLzVFghKYJuoN_LfIqwmAl3MIrBz3kUlwaZqh2xyneFm5MksrKs4aRwCo_X-v0FXZvr2jQ3qLrKKl2Kbm9pG0/s320/IMG_4263.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tailor of Cayambe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The next town we came to, Cayambe, is known for excellent views of the nearby volcano Cayambe, but unfortunately for us it was shrouded in clouds. Fortunately for us we sampled the local treat "bizcocho", chatted with the flower vendors (at 0 degrees 02 minutes N, the proximity to the equator makes this area ideal for growing roses with straight stems), and even found a tailor that fixed James' sandals and our hiking bag for only $10USD!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlWWP9brCv67lODI5Oz9gwnKM_7VKQKFoSh6DlGKK8vnp8sWDKwwgtcLUDYlcNQRHJjuKLCJ8vtG3dAgz5_fWC4_vjY-9GpggSwAdidqZUWIMqHFwwrW-uQWiZk4NptGsvn4_6Ofw8c0/s1600/IMG_3221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFlWWP9brCv67lODI5Oz9gwnKM_7VKQKFoSh6DlGKK8vnp8sWDKwwgtcLUDYlcNQRHJjuKLCJ8vtG3dAgz5_fWC4_vjY-9GpggSwAdidqZUWIMqHFwwrW-uQWiZk4NptGsvn4_6Ofw8c0/s320/IMG_3221.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quito</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRlTMO232cVTiIkZYZz7p_qBxFntX9Z-ofVilKJnMGclvEksrgXKvKmVSi_gnEhePcXQQFb7u4e82mH4e3CmBCTydcnaoVIuzqE1_PVbFExuUjMff0Jd94nwvbKPsC3ZYCij51gx21zuk/s1600/IMG_3222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRlTMO232cVTiIkZYZz7p_qBxFntX9Z-ofVilKJnMGclvEksrgXKvKmVSi_gnEhePcXQQFb7u4e82mH4e3CmBCTydcnaoVIuzqE1_PVbFExuUjMff0Jd94nwvbKPsC3ZYCij51gx21zuk/s320/IMG_3222.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevw8bAJBLVoTekhfppBUkGVtVvqRWyOHA1QejDIDEw4udA5cMzNyYwSgDcA4uPo2iJIvz01W_fHhJSdwYh2pZoVwmawbeBd57wbIIjLFrnYQgghUq-08DmnxXZDW78keHLk79UZ_aCow/s1600/IMG_3226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevw8bAJBLVoTekhfppBUkGVtVvqRWyOHA1QejDIDEw4udA5cMzNyYwSgDcA4uPo2iJIvz01W_fHhJSdwYh2pZoVwmawbeBd57wbIIjLFrnYQgghUq-08DmnxXZDW78keHLk79UZ_aCow/s320/IMG_3226.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKXID661kH8O8PDuZDEOMzFjR-8_zTtB2fU51Ic9aY09yqsO367h8zKw_WXxiBnASs0kHu0gtyo2EYE-zP-8DoEO12rlMI1SYC9cdljqaK4UXCQiXS8yeOeidxL8vhMogVdZt1P1_t1tE/s1600/IMG_3233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKXID661kH8O8PDuZDEOMzFjR-8_zTtB2fU51Ic9aY09yqsO367h8zKw_WXxiBnASs0kHu0gtyo2EYE-zP-8DoEO12rlMI1SYC9cdljqaK4UXCQiXS8yeOeidxL8vhMogVdZt1P1_t1tE/s320/IMG_3233.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Arriving in Quito was like landing on another planet. Although it has a population comparable to Medellin, Quito is much more developed with condos, massive grocery and department stores, and a very developed tourism industry. The highlight is certainly the historical centre complete with churches, plaza, and cobblestones.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaMUZjCuK9oKC2hKb-JjEssB4ZirZOPYPbzCelO_tn3wbux4mqrrJbdp9L-ZOihFy1seMTWoePKtnSGSnVXrYoned6FhD5UM70saVASmUhnryFi3BjpGh94CVe6K1dovgeK4qbmrx7YUk/s1600/IMG_3237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaMUZjCuK9oKC2hKb-JjEssB4ZirZOPYPbzCelO_tn3wbux4mqrrJbdp9L-ZOihFy1seMTWoePKtnSGSnVXrYoned6FhD5UM70saVASmUhnryFi3BjpGh94CVe6K1dovgeK4qbmrx7YUk/s320/IMG_3237.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No Shadow!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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To make our visit even more special it was the equinox and we were essentially right on the equator. The reality of this bizarre situation presented itself when at 12 noon the everyone in Quito began taking pictures of the ground and our almost complete lack of shadow. With everyone bumping into each other, the novelty of the situation quickly wore off.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quito</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Being a vegetarian in South America can be a bit of a struggle. With meat a cheap option on the menu for almost every meal, South Americans don't understand why anyone would not want to eat it. Typical conversations:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"I'm a vegetarian." "But you eat chicken and pork, right?"</li>
<li>"Do you have any vegetarian options?" "Yes we have salad or we can make the main dishes without the meat!"</li>
</ul>
<div>
The one saving grace is the prevalent "Veggie Almuerzo". We first encountered such a restaurant in Popayan but thought it was a one-off. Nope. These beacons of vegetarian light in a dark meaty world are everywhere, and people love them. Typically you take your seat at a no-frills cafeteria style table and check out the menu, a whiteboard with 8-10 unrecognizable/untranslate-able dishes in handwriting that looks more like hieroglyphics. You then look around at what everyone else is eating for a few things that look extra tasty and call out to them "Que es eso?" and they kindly point out the dish on the menu. You usually get to choose about 5-7 including salads, soups, mains, juice, and postres (dessert). Typical ingredients are beans, rice, quinoa, tofu, cauliflower, carrots, onion, potatoes, and other fresh fruit and vegetables - all creative and delicious. Meals like this would typically cost a fortune in the usual crunchy granola places on the west coast of North America. But all this veggie goodness can be yours for the low low price of $2-4. Veggie Almuerzos were again abundant in Quito and we even found an Asian Veggie Almuerzo... so good!</div>
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<br />
We returned to our apartment stuffed to the gills and ready to sit down and do our homework on.... the Galapagos.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6btkh419QHoFDws6K7dxRjzC8HXS5y8MYncvCFu3BZImYGQ_753lQqLsR-zctSZuhvVq9_CQNAr5M23Y5b3vfJZ3JhmxLMLxXUj7leEmvDzjollVNdC0Y6P1dTCdQVK8mGYO1qHtCV8/s1600/IMG_3276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6btkh419QHoFDws6K7dxRjzC8HXS5y8MYncvCFu3BZImYGQ_753lQqLsR-zctSZuhvVq9_CQNAr5M23Y5b3vfJZ3JhmxLMLxXUj7leEmvDzjollVNdC0Y6P1dTCdQVK8mGYO1qHtCV8/s320/IMG_3276.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quito Basilica</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-69271155141441918432017-07-10T18:29:00.001-07:002017-07-10T18:29:52.610-07:00Cartegena<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNbp0YrMb2eBfokLVBooqXYkpgEEy6JiM0YcC1B4mOC9UDE71lIZfu9__YnfPYjtiL7FEFAG6NGWYn4W3oq-0UAZ2EgmQ0qbeSAjYkuDTMTZpjV3p3q0k356KomFVungFMqYEGL3c92k/s1600/IMG_2800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNbp0YrMb2eBfokLVBooqXYkpgEEy6JiM0YcC1B4mOC9UDE71lIZfu9__YnfPYjtiL7FEFAG6NGWYn4W3oq-0UAZ2EgmQ0qbeSAjYkuDTMTZpjV3p3q0k356KomFVungFMqYEGL3c92k/s320/IMG_2800.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGf1z6LehQ-23rRu7kuCYaMc9Z4KMWHCl0pcH0U9Pw-adYrLnmee_eLFLjkDzL3gw1Hl3dsfO0R9P2FC3AnCvRNozpocsAExFQ5NUlCx0GLi49FaaQKAYRaQ2d9-rufz4Xx1FEozskEp8/s1600/IMG_2764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGf1z6LehQ-23rRu7kuCYaMc9Z4KMWHCl0pcH0U9Pw-adYrLnmee_eLFLjkDzL3gw1Hl3dsfO0R9P2FC3AnCvRNozpocsAExFQ5NUlCx0GLi49FaaQKAYRaQ2d9-rufz4Xx1FEozskEp8/s320/IMG_2764.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Colombia</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After we had recovered from the hike, we got down to business. Important decisions needed to be made. With about four months to go until my brother’s wedding in Halifax, two months left of strong trade winds, and five months until the start of the next hurricane season, we only had a handful of options:</span></div>
<ol>
<li style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Leave the boat in Panama. Panama is out of the hurricane zone and has a nice boatyard. However, if we went there now we would be stuck there until the end of hurricane season, another four months.</span></li>
<li style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Leave the boat in Guatemala. Although technically in the hurricane zone, Guatemala has a very protected river, Rio Dulce, which offers suitable protection for storms. But we’d have the same problem as Option 1, and we’d really have to hustle to get here.</span></li>
<li style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Leave the boat in Colombia. This is a nice one because we’re already in the country. And when we get back after the wedding we can finish cruising Colombia and head over to explore Panama.</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXIG0ztAz5y5ceiMhSiwRvpUFteu2JDTE75MLwjqYEZSGWxfxRhGi4g0e_L13YXBuz7y6eskYb_UMMqTAsFJBbTXiE8BHxe7mMboS5FOLE_5fkQwPo2uyazu-6WSp1MvOcYYrFotsdHw/s1600/IMG_2769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXIG0ztAz5y5ceiMhSiwRvpUFteu2JDTE75MLwjqYEZSGWxfxRhGi4g0e_L13YXBuz7y6eskYb_UMMqTAsFJBbTXiE8BHxe7mMboS5FOLE_5fkQwPo2uyazu-6WSp1MvOcYYrFotsdHw/s320/IMG_2769.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Punto Hermoso</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After much thought, we went for Option 3. This option also leaves us with a few months of extra time to do some land travel in South America. But the first step was to sail to Cartagena. For our Overlander friends this would be as simple as filling up the tank and making the three hour drive down the coast. But in its wisdom, the Colombian government has made this much more difficult to accomplish at sea. Each time you travel to a new location you are required to clear out of the old port and into the new port. As we experienced in the Dominican Republic, this is certainly a pain - but it gets worse. In Colombia you are not allowed to stroll down to the port captain’s office and ask for the papers yourself, you have to employ an agent to do that for you. And pay the agent. And give the agent plenty of notice of your plans to depart. For small vessels this is where the system breaks down. As any cruiser knows choosing a date and time to leave and actually leaving at that time is a very rare event. Another boat in Santa Marta was forced to leave in very strong winds because of this - very dangerous!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5NGJUJHMM1dbnhG7HWd1lrVTlRaStiLLqAO_7xm7_2I9oLSNlwP9C0XWGShVQEcKl7A0deLBjUxiAobuXyqLtuhjKlggLS38RhBNmBEBGXny14MV1ohS_kKs5hVOt6aoOxjIJREiZCYU/s1600/IMG_2771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5NGJUJHMM1dbnhG7HWd1lrVTlRaStiLLqAO_7xm7_2I9oLSNlwP9C0XWGShVQEcKl7A0deLBjUxiAobuXyqLtuhjKlggLS38RhBNmBEBGXny14MV1ohS_kKs5hVOt6aoOxjIJREiZCYU/s320/IMG_2771.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching Cartagena</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Once we saw some good weather forecasts approaching we gave notice to our agent that we were leaving - four days notice! When the time came to leave, we were promised by the marina reception that we’d have our papers that morning. When the agent arrived we were told he had our papers in the stack on the desk. When we returned an hour later, we found that the agent did not have our papers, he had forgotten to bring them to the Port Captain to be signed! After almost a month of becoming familiar with Colombian culture, we realized that admission of a mistake would not be forthcoming let alone an apology, and that we would be lucky to have our papers that day let alone in an hour as the agent now promised. Keep in mind that getting the papers completed was just a matter of running down the street and obtaining a few signatures from one person. 11am seemed to be far too close to lunchtime to get this done so there was no way we would be leaving until after the lunch break of 12-2. A minor miracle occurred and by 3:15 we had our exit papers and with only three hours of daylight left we were finally allowed to leave Santa Marta! Luckily we were able to anchor just 1/2 hour around the corner before departing on the longer trip to Cartagena.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7j7KLiXUr1gVW_b2AScPQ_lUW0TncTRD8ClkDDj55oZ5B6JaNOiWBqwolc7yfqBvwvo-qahWolsc11qFYZX_1tGxdc_lfkMW1XBo8kJg8J67K0yDIwdkCyuS_W8WJCmPfdVw2Qv3G_M/s1600/IMG_2780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7j7KLiXUr1gVW_b2AScPQ_lUW0TncTRD8ClkDDj55oZ5B6JaNOiWBqwolc7yfqBvwvo-qahWolsc11qFYZX_1tGxdc_lfkMW1XBo8kJg8J67K0yDIwdkCyuS_W8WJCmPfdVw2Qv3G_M/s320/IMG_2780.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colourful Cartagena!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The rest of the voyage to Cartagena was uneventful. Crossing the Rio Magdalena where it meets the sea can sometimes be a harrowing experience in the rainy season, with the rains washing trees, dead animals, and even cars out into the sea. But thankfully we didn’t see anything except muddy brown water. We did manage to run over a long line in the water however. We noticed a small boat in the water in the distance and another small boat about a mile away, out to sea. What we didn’t see, until it was too late, was the mile-plus line of rope submerged between them. There were a few small white buoys marking the line and when we passed it the buoys became slowly submerged as we pulled them under until - snap! Our magnificent speed of 6 knots allowed the line to slide off the keel and (thankfully) not snag on the rudder. We were free and for whatever purpose the line served it seemed intact. Thanks for the heads-up on the radio, guys!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTOO39Qrzvy0kgVczJAz7a8YPIOkUfczZpMExdOxVrthG2zdKW2g1pgZT-S_OVS7uzk3W9mcqP1o59N-j2yC685vxcPHBO9hft0a7OaEhyjxwPkC9kWAwMrGJYeXDxKNVN769m8F3YGI/s1600/IMG_2786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTOO39Qrzvy0kgVczJAz7a8YPIOkUfczZpMExdOxVrthG2zdKW2g1pgZT-S_OVS7uzk3W9mcqP1o59N-j2yC685vxcPHBO9hft0a7OaEhyjxwPkC9kWAwMrGJYeXDxKNVN769m8F3YGI/s320/IMG_2786.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Historic Centre</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvMWhTsmD-Hh9b4lhkWLqj-l0HNvVA3tvwo6S5sN_H-17y7gPnVER0esBlT85joiRCQnsvB-P9P-VQVdSGldv7Ia9YIEdlTNQM3pR_cgIS5uEgwXmPmnf19hh8Z8QJCHbcJMUa7apqHI/s1600/IMG_2799.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvMWhTsmD-Hh9b4lhkWLqj-l0HNvVA3tvwo6S5sN_H-17y7gPnVER0esBlT85joiRCQnsvB-P9P-VQVdSGldv7Ia9YIEdlTNQM3pR_cgIS5uEgwXmPmnf19hh8Z8QJCHbcJMUa7apqHI/s320/IMG_2799.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boca Grande from the Historic Centre</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We pulled into Cartagena in late afternoon with Delphinus welcoming us into a very rolly anchorage that would be our home for the next few weeks.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9kAT6iQcJ5kZY_-5EVxA_LAweqJXowubR3dcock962o-63YNrN6mM8_vx7IrYUNiTn-hKdcZs5zIcI9hUcy3t9knpC6w7AOxRrpFrk2DAtOSJw09NwjbT7di18kvTJasS88-pqGEO2A/s1600/IMG_2772.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9kAT6iQcJ5kZY_-5EVxA_LAweqJXowubR3dcock962o-63YNrN6mM8_vx7IrYUNiTn-hKdcZs5zIcI9hUcy3t9knpC6w7AOxRrpFrk2DAtOSJw09NwjbT7di18kvTJasS88-pqGEO2A/s320/IMG_2772.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Studying</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ax2rybVXky7gEiXjtwnkNREo5gxl6XO_wYLw8khLjsrhGw4hhXEDMTmkN3Hh-UeEucK6j3nd92SM1n4d9LzT6Gn0owc7uAZHLvdaIEWJOA-fyVijYOwtJLJ4OpVyzSRYjVuRXnAdYRE/s1600/IMG_2773.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ax2rybVXky7gEiXjtwnkNREo5gxl6XO_wYLw8khLjsrhGw4hhXEDMTmkN3Hh-UeEucK6j3nd92SM1n4d9LzT6Gn0owc7uAZHLvdaIEWJOA-fyVijYOwtJLJ4OpVyzSRYjVuRXnAdYRE/s320/IMG_2773.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Knockers!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIh0GZMm5Ols4NHWSd3cd9L1eCxxDgfa2pWcC3ucyDBdkFk7N7dnbJrtlPntM6OT6PTUzQ4YwaFf1v3-U07PTf_5z9bCp3iHt97plknPB2f6uHFctoioJIyJW1dri8_3fNFqy3-8ZjTw/s1600/IMG_2776.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIh0GZMm5Ols4NHWSd3cd9L1eCxxDgfa2pWcC3ucyDBdkFk7N7dnbJrtlPntM6OT6PTUzQ4YwaFf1v3-U07PTf_5z9bCp3iHt97plknPB2f6uHFctoioJIyJW1dri8_3fNFqy3-8ZjTw/s320/IMG_2776.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Around Cartagena</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGLfPEdTQ0as1FEcCPSgx2xcY5ZlLCZGiB_Ju9GlAMsFmc-QpSR7SlrvR9vXl2whrJpIXHvQajjem45QRwjDdn80KsLroUoXZqzCyGBPKaxhJFUTWEi06PVOr70U0CmT1oqFDov4f5p4/s1600/IMG_2787.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGLfPEdTQ0as1FEcCPSgx2xcY5ZlLCZGiB_Ju9GlAMsFmc-QpSR7SlrvR9vXl2whrJpIXHvQajjem45QRwjDdn80KsLroUoXZqzCyGBPKaxhJFUTWEi06PVOr70U0CmT1oqFDov4f5p4/s320/IMG_2787.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guardhouse</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fireworks at Anchor</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the Hard</td></tr>
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<br />Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-78447766661083584702017-07-10T18:29:00.000-07:002017-07-12T04:54:38.329-07:00Colombia by Land<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6hf-x9wmwy2mpUpOgS-8kvHRiiRJECNIMWfnMBBoIuswhmCWh5xcCtaCa4xXRKc5iHT1CZ-qXEjGMvBDr41rB6QOWEbCadmh0Tvs4yUp-gBvN-R5dkXwDsMgirC4k2ye1o1eE5I2Zbw/s1600/IMG_2935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6hf-x9wmwy2mpUpOgS-8kvHRiiRJECNIMWfnMBBoIuswhmCWh5xcCtaCa4xXRKc5iHT1CZ-qXEjGMvBDr41rB6QOWEbCadmh0Tvs4yUp-gBvN-R5dkXwDsMgirC4k2ye1o1eE5I2Zbw/s320/IMG_2935.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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While it took us weeks to make it a few miles down the Colombian coast, we now accelerated our pace quite quickly with a short flight to Medellin. With the boat safely snugged up in Cartagena, we headed to the the hometown of one of the most famous Colombians, our childhood friend John Tobon. Not coincidentally the city was also home to the very successful 80's drug lord Pablo Escobar. (If you haven't watched the Netflix series Narcos, now is a very good time to do so!)<br />
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Medellin was the first place we would visit with any sort of elevation to it. Set in a valley, there were many steep hills to be climbed, prompting many stares from locals as we sweated and struggled to catch our breath. The bus from the airport set us down in the heart of the city, a short walk (uphill) to our swanky AirBnB for the next four nights.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWLasOk7NVv1Il-Lws9kITxMdDjbvRVkKAN3pU-yr9iJpgzIchl2rCHEUw2arXbPwd0kH7YyygHkHYBPeNSzHMak9-0U7TqPv3BkOujRyeEtwAkc9N0mAbcV3sIgprWiSVb3SyfMzYwc/s1600/IMG_2863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWLasOk7NVv1Il-Lws9kITxMdDjbvRVkKAN3pU-yr9iJpgzIchl2rCHEUw2arXbPwd0kH7YyygHkHYBPeNSzHMak9-0U7TqPv3BkOujRyeEtwAkc9N0mAbcV3sIgprWiSVb3SyfMzYwc/s320/IMG_2863.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Medellin</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBDjoWzgJVNP9yPThcTyTrFodRXM6PVijmmkZsQ0Or5uab8rWek00v9i5PwpzcdTnWayUzj0SfbQ2il3HE0yZiENVZlS7sDWtu1SOWiog3RQYgKpLV0VYNZC-GLFpzrIU_-IJxBTa0vE/s1600/IMG_8158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="543" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBDjoWzgJVNP9yPThcTyTrFodRXM6PVijmmkZsQ0Or5uab8rWek00v9i5PwpzcdTnWayUzj0SfbQ2il3HE0yZiENVZlS7sDWtu1SOWiog3RQYgKpLV0VYNZC-GLFpzrIU_-IJxBTa0vE/s320/IMG_8158.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Botanical Gardins</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JVJDZhhTdul-ab-rw-zqkwx17haciEHkNkSeHfyg97DB0DxD6Nq_XvJraPohWot_sa62BOpgh8AJZd7E2PtlwutY0_rwE3sX2Imnde1e8SACbybszm3fwjnD_L0z3z06qaC973p_k_Q/s1600/IMG_8163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="543" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JVJDZhhTdul-ab-rw-zqkwx17haciEHkNkSeHfyg97DB0DxD6Nq_XvJraPohWot_sa62BOpgh8AJZd7E2PtlwutY0_rwE3sX2Imnde1e8SACbybszm3fwjnD_L0z3z06qaC973p_k_Q/s320/IMG_8163.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh00WPQtdV5jYII1svmxGSXNAewnZ9LbR3DlnphxLBEP7lj_2dvaD95aETKOJn-Vmme08XsSk1uden2zsSLyXHyKjepZuBcI8GrLYq2W3bckg6CK5v_Gus7LryYeLMYKBKYZzPakgocCR0/s1600/IMG_8178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="543" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh00WPQtdV5jYII1svmxGSXNAewnZ9LbR3DlnphxLBEP7lj_2dvaD95aETKOJn-Vmme08XsSk1uden2zsSLyXHyKjepZuBcI8GrLYq2W3bckg6CK5v_Gus7LryYeLMYKBKYZzPakgocCR0/s320/IMG_8178.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medellin</td></tr>
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The city far surpassed our expectations. In just a couple of days we fully explored the beautiful Jardin Botanico, admired the chunky sculptures in the Parque Botero, took a long walk along the river, ate a lovely meal at a vegetarian restaurant in the Prado neighbourhood, rode the packed metro lengthways through the valley and the precarious cable car up the side of the valley. Due to the bowl shape of the terrain, you can see almost every building from every other building, making for a beautiful view at night. It is evident that the people that live here are still cautious but are enjoying a new, modern Medellin that is growing in a positive direction. They are very happy to show off their city to tourists!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXI0BiIsCclc-_NPdhrHWD5V5VcIrd91QCICf1JgVrPiTL32LUgt2sNRBz6xAlulpD3fIqrlGMpsSNgIRI7L-pRYfeY5NCDqdlr7J_cWgV_pUVgfkaV0xC09NXzkD5JqiLXtbWZ0-lKY/s1600/IMG_2818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXI0BiIsCclc-_NPdhrHWD5V5VcIrd91QCICf1JgVrPiTL32LUgt2sNRBz6xAlulpD3fIqrlGMpsSNgIRI7L-pRYfeY5NCDqdlr7J_cWgV_pUVgfkaV0xC09NXzkD5JqiLXtbWZ0-lKY/s320/IMG_2818.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parqueo Botero</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1wqIIn2ZcNSPqn_1fuLz-sIrcqhOJFOOYEZuFHUVsCGFYw-NyT3zhUzuQpj0_bBZJZM7C8aPIKWT_oYPmnUcdT30Za9ueIuz_8bGB9jIqhszQEnC1wd1vA0wzXN0f6WiCJE_a1pqjkY/s1600/IMG_2821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1wqIIn2ZcNSPqn_1fuLz-sIrcqhOJFOOYEZuFHUVsCGFYw-NyT3zhUzuQpj0_bBZJZM7C8aPIKWT_oYPmnUcdT30Za9ueIuz_8bGB9jIqhszQEnC1wd1vA0wzXN0f6WiCJE_a1pqjkY/s320/IMG_2821.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Botero Sculpture</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dkKSSmhLTwzTYfBnNSDjS0mnQaaT4Qa4_S04YQX11ylW38aod5pIDq9LyVWU2USdqszBKbdHy8UaCu9BhgNR63iooOfddVCcjK-OUuANy_IiE41_M5cIqAF-BevRJGiLNQFM20dngjY/s1600/IMG_2827.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dkKSSmhLTwzTYfBnNSDjS0mnQaaT4Qa4_S04YQX11ylW38aod5pIDq9LyVWU2USdqszBKbdHy8UaCu9BhgNR63iooOfddVCcjK-OUuANy_IiE41_M5cIqAF-BevRJGiLNQFM20dngjY/s320/IMG_2827.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Botero Sculpture</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9o-H2IDumkgaJ3PWzxXZBkiR4rjuBMFTlZXYkHnWX5fWVtiQTcrPKci0alrOs9nSM8enkGzBihHBWhEfzLLwrjWkshSNN-4CDdGa4w9Ex6ePdqv7rVa0N2B3qUuJw2Vs-mNET-hyz77o/s1600/IMG_2842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9o-H2IDumkgaJ3PWzxXZBkiR4rjuBMFTlZXYkHnWX5fWVtiQTcrPKci0alrOs9nSM8enkGzBihHBWhEfzLLwrjWkshSNN-4CDdGa4w9Ex6ePdqv7rVa0N2B3qUuJw2Vs-mNET-hyz77o/s320/IMG_2842.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medellin Cable Car</td></tr>
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With one day left at our little apartment we decided to get out of the city to a lovely little town a short bus ride away called Guatape. The town is in a lovely setting by a lake surrounded by hills with little cafes, shops, and restaurants scattered about. The building are renowned for their bright paint jobs, each having a mural on its side depicting the lives of a person that lives in or used to live in the house. If you wanted to find the village grocer, fisherman, teacher, or priest, it would not be difficult.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guatape Mototaxi</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guatape Cafe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guatape</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Murals</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Leaving Medellin was our first experience with long-distance bus travel in South America. Here is a short comparison of travelling by bus in Canada and Colombia:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Fares: A hour's trip on the Greyhound from Niagara to Toronto is about $25. 2.5 hours from Medellin to Jardin is $12 and that is on the pricey side!</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Companies: You can count on one hand the number of bus companies in Canada, and for any destination you can usually count it on one finger. In most South American countries bus travel is available from private companies. These companies choose where they will stop, the quality of their buses, what they will charge, etc. It never hurts to keep a mental note of the bus companies that are always broken down at the side of the highway.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Entertainment: If you're lucky you will get a movie from the 80's played on a tiny little TV monitor on a longer Greyhound trip. In Colombia if you're lucky you'll get a movie from the 80's played on a tiny little TV monitor. If you're unlucky you'll get people getting on at each stop to sing, play instruments, tell stories, tell jokes, do magic tricks, ...</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Stops: I used to get impatient because a bus from Toronto to Niagara would stop in Grimsby and St Catharines. That will never bother me again! Buses in Colombia will stop in every town, on every street going into and out of every town, or just when anyone wants to get on or off the bus. There is also no such thing as a full bus, there is always room for one more!</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Food: If you're taking the bus in Canada you either need to eat a very large breakfast or bring a large sack of junk food. When we brought our own food on the bus in Colombia, Colombians rolled their eyes at us as if to say "amateurs". At every stop, and especially when stopping at "payajes" to pay the toll, there are vendors selling: candy, gum, chocolate, ice cream, chips, popcorn, homemade popsicles, empanadas, mangos, mandarins, tamales, plantains, chicken, fries, and many other things we had never heard of. And if that weren't enough, around lunchtime, buses will typically pull over at roadside restaurants for a full almuerzo, a five-course meal that will leave you wishing you wore your elastic-waist pants on the bus.</li>
</ul>
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I can only imagine that a Colombian new to Canada might take a bus ride and be hungry, bored, confused, and broke!</div>
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Our first bus ride took us to the town of Jardin in the heart of the Colombian coffee growing district. The main square was massive and surrounded by dozens of bars serving coffee in dainty little cups to the farmers that had come into the city. We took a little mototaxi up the hill to our second brilliant AirBnB run by Gladys, a little woman bursting with energy and life that spilled over into her cooking, gardening, and conversation. Her house was perched overlooking the valley with a beautiful walk to where a statue of Cristo overlooked the town.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jardin Main Plaza</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cafe!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Valley Around Jardin</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XYKKHLSb46_LUNEYraBqo6-NRZWFikxc7VFg3saZaM1eFLFnSiBZd_U_iJKBGi2EpOaFvolZ7I79mQ6MTFcJPMUXhiWYxhPWMhhE47GjCQ3Ic1rSyStaH1H_hHdc9g7-BM1c2KI3ONc/s1600/IMG_2988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XYKKHLSb46_LUNEYraBqo6-NRZWFikxc7VFg3saZaM1eFLFnSiBZd_U_iJKBGi2EpOaFvolZ7I79mQ6MTFcJPMUXhiWYxhPWMhhE47GjCQ3Ic1rSyStaH1H_hHdc9g7-BM1c2KI3ONc/s320/IMG_2988.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jardin</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8ajJ4tFcRoAARuaQiB4eod0jhlN6rXGrnf7PeDFQ3B53PW90Qx7iCNvPxQ_KCHl8mx81S7xZ8G-3fcavvZMLheVIRNabxNvIjRc0ecfE743wkFmyNXwuZyBJIqIW1YVfjMIiGA9X1sg/s1600/IMG_2989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8ajJ4tFcRoAARuaQiB4eod0jhlN6rXGrnf7PeDFQ3B53PW90Qx7iCNvPxQ_KCHl8mx81S7xZ8G-3fcavvZMLheVIRNabxNvIjRc0ecfE743wkFmyNXwuZyBJIqIW1YVfjMIiGA9X1sg/s320/IMG_2989.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cristo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPK9rKtz0LYsXbPpCqFbNCaErhWJXICJTHvpWu8tKt_6Cfplx_nMcvaunxhEILz2N91tIYX-sCCBYjjdOsT-UTs0OEZxYYN21K0Yx-i16sgamUSkzDdDxcXofw_nJFNnK1wWc21qq0RY8/s1600/IMG_2990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPK9rKtz0LYsXbPpCqFbNCaErhWJXICJTHvpWu8tKt_6Cfplx_nMcvaunxhEILz2N91tIYX-sCCBYjjdOsT-UTs0OEZxYYN21K0Yx-i16sgamUSkzDdDxcXofw_nJFNnK1wWc21qq0RY8/s320/IMG_2990.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casa de Gladys</td></tr>
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Leaving Jardin by bus was a bit of a harrowing experience. We had been assured by everyone that there were frequent busses only to find out when we arrived that there were two. And the only one left that day only went to Riosucio. Rio-what??? It turned out that this popular bus route wound its way through the Andes along very steep cliffs high in the clouds with washed-out roads and frequent landslides. Not only were we the only gringos on this decrepit old bus, we were the only people full stop! After a bone rattling 35km trip that took almost four hours, we arrived in the tiny town of Riosucio where we were able to catch what was actually a frequent bus to the city of Pereira.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6pBGrGq1WypwqmUvzIPtrGY8GoQKrVUg9mvvgzAF5qrzgeDyh7vM2rOqqoz0HOjwKQ03KJt1kdmhJurQn5Q6clwqiFTeEAaRnGMIP7Uv4OR7WoZ5NkOJ4rSfBGP6HgHObO0dWan7rhg/s1600/IMG_2995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6pBGrGq1WypwqmUvzIPtrGY8GoQKrVUg9mvvgzAF5qrzgeDyh7vM2rOqqoz0HOjwKQ03KJt1kdmhJurQn5Q6clwqiFTeEAaRnGMIP7Uv4OR7WoZ5NkOJ4rSfBGP6HgHObO0dWan7rhg/s320/IMG_2995.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterfall Near Pereira</td></tr>
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Pereira was then only a short(er) bus ride (you're sensing the theme here) from the coffee town of Salento. We stayed outside of Salento in a farm-converted-into-a-hostel with unlimited coffee (!) and a dog or cat outside every door. Salento is a lovely town in its own right, but is only a WW2 jeep ride away from the Cocora Valley, home to hundreds of massive wax palms, and several small coffee farms from which you can take your pick to do a tour and tasting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdr3zlwJ_JYqOEn6JK1gQloFVIPK5aouEHr0c-G4dlQKqQYTra8W10gD4NnaPDaa9fa-mRdvOEOikMATLpFyTmNuUFDiFlJ9wkeFmviYDc5CS-RnJVfUzKYKfwfAdl3mHobnVxDF1Pi0/s1600/IMG_3015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdr3zlwJ_JYqOEn6JK1gQloFVIPK5aouEHr0c-G4dlQKqQYTra8W10gD4NnaPDaa9fa-mRdvOEOikMATLpFyTmNuUFDiFlJ9wkeFmviYDc5CS-RnJVfUzKYKfwfAdl3mHobnVxDF1Pi0/s320/IMG_3015.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Dog or Cat Outside Each Room</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Salento</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salento</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwglby8TmhHvnk0Khg5421LzEMjx9uRdJCamjITFjscZ3DEl-K_zmfbOGo0rVz40PCVV3ituaKBM9FIH2eCjlKUQ3779plIyA9RgfXqG_1iDpK4rL12JalCdij10aVOLQlb7z6kQyqjdc/s1600/IMG_3029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwglby8TmhHvnk0Khg5421LzEMjx9uRdJCamjITFjscZ3DEl-K_zmfbOGo0rVz40PCVV3ituaKBM9FIH2eCjlKUQ3779plIyA9RgfXqG_1iDpK4rL12JalCdij10aVOLQlb7z6kQyqjdc/s320/IMG_3029.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wax Palms</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salento Coffee Tour - Don Elias</td></tr>
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Next stop was the colonial city of Popayan, one of our favourite Colombian cities due to the beautiful architecture, friendly people, and fewer tourists in this area. After a somewhat questionable first night's stay, we decided to splurge for a night and stay in an old monastery that had become a posh hotel. After giving the porter an embarrassing tiny tip because we didn't have any small bills, we retreated to our room for a luxurious hot shower. (We were slowly learning that hot showers were a rare commodity in the Andes. If you were lucky, your shower had a bizarre-looking showerhead with wires coming out of it whose job was to heat the cold water in the brief moment it travelled from the wall to the end of the showerhead. What a simple pleasure to find that sweet spot that maximizes water pressure and warmth!)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popayan</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monastario Hotel</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popayan Parade</td></tr>
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Popayan is a five-hour bone-breaking bus ride to the town of San Augustin whose claim to fame is the discovery of dozens of stone statues over 2000 years old. The final 10km took place in the back of a pickup truck shared with a nun and a couple of backpackers amidst sheer cliffs and waterfalls. We found our hostel, the Casa de Francois, a very steep walk up from the town. But staying in an adobe cottage sourced from local materials was certainly worth it. The stone statues did not disappoint either.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casa de Francois</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casa de Kate</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgon9nTcJHGOuunqb8pb8KEgkjXuZGmNh69-brszU_9z0dgsQMNxSx2GAtGN-r8CUbElUgthRTSGbcUM2POddaX4rURguQAO45IfFqv0nGRDjSDpRkkpPzi1WuaMGxN0yoqx3qDGFgAE9Y/s1600/IMG_8237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="362" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgon9nTcJHGOuunqb8pb8KEgkjXuZGmNh69-brszU_9z0dgsQMNxSx2GAtGN-r8CUbElUgthRTSGbcUM2POddaX4rURguQAO45IfFqv0nGRDjSDpRkkpPzi1WuaMGxN0yoqx3qDGFgAE9Y/s320/IMG_8237.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stone Statues</td></tr>
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After a short trip back to Popayan, we were back on the bus to the southernmost town in Colombia: Ipiales. This is a very picturesque bus ride through the mountains. Other than being quite high up and thus chilly, the most notable thing in Ipiales is its lovely church set into a gorge and bridging the river. Thousands of Catholics have made pilgrimages to this relatively new church, evidenced by all the plaques set into the wall. We made our pilgrimage and returned to Ipiales where the next day we would take a collectivo (shared taxi) to the Ecuadorian border. Adios, Colombia, but we will be back soon!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Southern Colombia</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pilgrimage</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DBiFgVBzGJxtr1YYLdLO6RY4Bjsv1AqsJVXbBbYBQDxBldSsPlLjisSbZ7Nv_vT5RKalvfFiyScqriOUHu8dZTHqO8WXiST-VMoQmb_ptgHlMt7IS1XGOsxyF2Hjq9YT9flMFQ5krR0/s1600/IMG_3172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DBiFgVBzGJxtr1YYLdLO6RY4Bjsv1AqsJVXbBbYBQDxBldSsPlLjisSbZ7Nv_vT5RKalvfFiyScqriOUHu8dZTHqO8WXiST-VMoQmb_ptgHlMt7IS1XGOsxyF2Hjq9YT9flMFQ5krR0/s320/IMG_3172.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ipiales Church</td></tr>
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<br />Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-73306758796448996822017-07-09T06:32:00.001-07:002017-07-09T06:32:35.865-07:00The Lost CityHiking to La Ciudad Perdida, the Lost City, is a right of passage for travellers to the northern part of Colombia. Is it a city? Not really. Is it lost? Not exactly. Is it five days of intense hiking in the thick Colombian jungle on a trail so muddy and steep that the only way back to the nearest village is on the back of a mule while trying not to puke one's guts out? Absolutely, yes!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2f1l0CeQerqWvK69dfWBoKuB3cHk-xa6lj8R-IxxGRR68vt04-fue4jRM5JKBeNy1dHBK2LpEEGz6r3OXmMDog17vuqlFl16FEetc-ZkBlXh8WBN8s5jXHpxoJiQpAGhyphenhyphenKloyhDhewGc/s1600/IMG_2549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2f1l0CeQerqWvK69dfWBoKuB3cHk-xa6lj8R-IxxGRR68vt04-fue4jRM5JKBeNy1dHBK2LpEEGz6r3OXmMDog17vuqlFl16FEetc-ZkBlXh8WBN8s5jXHpxoJiQpAGhyphenhyphenKloyhDhewGc/s320/IMG_2549.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mountains Around the Lost City</td></tr>
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Santa Marta is a sizzling hot coastal Colombian city with a lot of offer. But after several weeks with the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains staring us in the face we were starting to get an appetite for further exploration. The hike to the lost city is a 4-6 day guided tour through the mountains to a stone archaeological site that was built around the year 800 and considered holy by the local indigenous tribes. Our English friends Paul and Lily on Delphinus had just come back from the hike and are either in really great shape or were exercising their British sense of humour as they recommended we partake in this moderately easy hike through the "hills". They also suggested a tour operator called Magic Tours. After shelling out the 1.6 million peso fee for the tour, we were kind of committed. Our travel buddies on Aqua Vida signed up as well so there was definitely no turning back!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxWP3YTq-ZbFb1yT6YiEFGviSlGVik77m1t3CWHhWc9O0oDGIADy8us4L9FdKp1YmGf2fkk4qA9rdfryu5v85x1hJWRHiEbMgrwLDkcsP6fmeMKLn0N_LmFwb1bkDaB2Chsg8nkEYGk4/s1600/IMG_2576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyxWP3YTq-ZbFb1yT6YiEFGviSlGVik77m1t3CWHhWc9O0oDGIADy8us4L9FdKp1YmGf2fkk4qA9rdfryu5v85x1hJWRHiEbMgrwLDkcsP6fmeMKLn0N_LmFwb1bkDaB2Chsg8nkEYGk4/s320/IMG_2576.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papaya!</td></tr>
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<b>Day 1</b><br />
Paul and Lily warned us that when you arrive as instructed at the Magic Tour office at 8:30 you are perfectly on time... for a 1 1/2 hour wait. You see, "on time" for Colombians, and South Americans in general is at least 20 minutes after the scheduled time. You are technically only late if you don't show up at all and even then you might be able to still pull it off. This applies to opening times, meetings, bus departures, and apparently tours as well. So at 10:15 fourteen of us crammed into two Land Rovers and started the drive to Machete, the start of the hike.<br />
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By lunch time we had pulled up to a restaurant in the small town, which was the largest we would see for several days. We were introduced to our guide Nicolas, translator Abraham, and the two cooks that would hike with us the entire way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVaoXPCMXf3ms2BJ4obhDIhPAdhEk1cJl4ZxC40HbJDbBszHaJl98yjU7KYGH43Gv3XTj63ICmYOIoAk2CyznYzEzPj8YlA1xHKrUrJGDUM4lh0EKqFVZ16-WSRvjUjOOoIaZbowdzIrc/s1600/IMG_2660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVaoXPCMXf3ms2BJ4obhDIhPAdhEk1cJl4ZxC40HbJDbBszHaJl98yjU7KYGH43Gv3XTj63ICmYOIoAk2CyznYzEzPj8YlA1xHKrUrJGDUM4lh0EKqFVZ16-WSRvjUjOOoIaZbowdzIrc/s320/IMG_2660.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the Jungle</td></tr>
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After a quick meal, we started walking. If there is a specific moment in life when one realizes "oh, I'm now middle-aged" it can be traced back to the afternoon of February 1, 2017. This is when we found that despite believing we were in good shape we were unable to keep up with the younger members of our group who seemed to be ascending the trail without sweating or running out of breath. They would easily beat the "older folks" to the checkpoint but thankfully took pity on us and left us a few pieces of orange and watermelon. As the elevation increased we were treated with outstanding views of the valley below. Farms with cows and horses sprinkled around banana, papaya, and other fruit trees took on a golden light as the sun started to descend in the late afternoon. At first we made an effort to avoid stepping on the giant ants that crossed the trail carrying their large pieces of green leaves but we soon stopped noticing them altogether. Just as we started to feel like we had found a good rhythm, we peered in to the valley at the first camp. The cooks were already putting the final touches on dinner as we chose our bunks, had a quick swim in the river, and opened one of the most delicious cans of beer I've ever tasted. At 7:30 we crawled into bed and let sleep wash over us. Unfortunately it would not last long.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tncSQFM2Soa4l2lPLS2IxKNh3WAdPZkMuNGk9m1ulMWilgfHSaub6tgdfS6KzM9JpI2LnG0dBf3ArTRNt2MoX8LBhLVGkHW60nlSIGRwGJDbnNDMBiSWLjAcQz2mnccfgPMMat_mztY/s1600/IMG_2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7tncSQFM2Soa4l2lPLS2IxKNh3WAdPZkMuNGk9m1ulMWilgfHSaub6tgdfS6KzM9JpI2LnG0dBf3ArTRNt2MoX8LBhLVGkHW60nlSIGRwGJDbnNDMBiSWLjAcQz2mnccfgPMMat_mztY/s320/IMG_2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant Ants</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snack Time</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVplAX2A0LblZ1QhaZpcMsCL_ZZ3baTvLdiRc2w3_WCEkPoUsVHwXJRok_mPJMHfEyQqVR4NVZYBmETtAKspbudMUDJRobTxb_zQ0-J7TVkXSJnZRyNL3G01OjPO3pQwXBmPlySQHuj48/s1600/IMG_2557.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVplAX2A0LblZ1QhaZpcMsCL_ZZ3baTvLdiRc2w3_WCEkPoUsVHwXJRok_mPJMHfEyQqVR4NVZYBmETtAKspbudMUDJRobTxb_zQ0-J7TVkXSJnZRyNL3G01OjPO3pQwXBmPlySQHuj48/s320/IMG_2557.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Hiker</td></tr>
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<b>Day 2</b><br />
A few minutes after falling asleep, James and I were rudely awaken by loud breathing in the bunk next door. Very far from what you might be thinking, the breathing was the precursor to the loudest snoring I've ever heard in my life. Even with earplugs in and being exhausted, the irregular snoring rattled our brains and managed to keep us awake most of the night. We won't name names because we don't know the man's name, otherwise we would.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75dlTHw0X3SiWd-lCyEoym6TgwgttQC_Go3YwWMkUUzHb9A9V4oFE54JxaQ6kY3Tbbg5sb2M55stoCXmVZ3i01i7cUx6Xjf76YKyTrVOIXh6tscT9Uve7cHKdt-K2N74VJRtag4O_CFI/s1600/IMG_2759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75dlTHw0X3SiWd-lCyEoym6TgwgttQC_Go3YwWMkUUzHb9A9V4oFE54JxaQ6kY3Tbbg5sb2M55stoCXmVZ3i01i7cUx6Xjf76YKyTrVOIXh6tscT9Uve7cHKdt-K2N74VJRtag4O_CFI/s320/IMG_2759.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camp</td></tr>
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We knew it was time to get up when we could smell the fresh cafe and hot chocolate wafting through the camp. It had rained most of the night so somehow our soaking wet clothes were even more wet than when we rinsed them in the river. After a quick breakfast we were herded onto the trail.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha29HxL2ZxlV12KBAkumsOPWqEb_x303tnCAybbKdch0YoMTUKwPVIDl3T2fm0hWMhl7Ac3YcqyRZwgF0EFj3NJTqltyh5tnP59RA9lT_MKYpZJJJYSMhrCyF2scw8pcup_dRBnaunOWI/s1600/IMG_2602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha29HxL2ZxlV12KBAkumsOPWqEb_x303tnCAybbKdch0YoMTUKwPVIDl3T2fm0hWMhl7Ac3YcqyRZwgF0EFj3NJTqltyh5tnP59RA9lT_MKYpZJJJYSMhrCyF2scw8pcup_dRBnaunOWI/s320/IMG_2602.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wiwa Village</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMd2Foc5MpGwPh5yxYBtLeLGSKk3COHfoB7yqyx7uAHasuOumw3wh_SM-xM2VGZo2tw3e-zgbTrElYepo84856Id51DC82hnYeDD0ZWnr2CS1H5PCtxnKpEUmDYNWvZ1G9W2YzUwUUpPU/s1600/IMG_2604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMd2Foc5MpGwPh5yxYBtLeLGSKk3COHfoB7yqyx7uAHasuOumw3wh_SM-xM2VGZo2tw3e-zgbTrElYepo84856Id51DC82hnYeDD0ZWnr2CS1H5PCtxnKpEUmDYNWvZ1G9W2YzUwUUpPU/s320/IMG_2604.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPQp6y8HiUYg59qr1OnBa7kGy7vSw5EDVW2V29q6B6_n24pZ9hRgGHYKGHHocukWX3zF0jesDInizwP4-KM_suyiB83RJOZynAYXB77-NPxGfOAE2KpF9B-bHzUuzur8IEPaF9MI268cI/s1600/IMG_2615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPQp6y8HiUYg59qr1OnBa7kGy7vSw5EDVW2V29q6B6_n24pZ9hRgGHYKGHHocukWX3zF0jesDInizwP4-KM_suyiB83RJOZynAYXB77-NPxGfOAE2KpF9B-bHzUuzur8IEPaF9MI268cI/s320/IMG_2615.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piglet</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh900gJhYRGRi_rJQ8zvqs9XyF3HODwwy4tQ2TDIvSmCVt7WLdoGW8mvTZ7KrrmVNyMqPQ6VF2ayeXxygYwZLbXOiRBkDRYlqYxWeOxA8mTyBY6cz4Luis06oXXM9qeUq8zgKhXRsO_4l0/s1600/IMG_2639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh900gJhYRGRi_rJQ8zvqs9XyF3HODwwy4tQ2TDIvSmCVt7WLdoGW8mvTZ7KrrmVNyMqPQ6VF2ayeXxygYwZLbXOiRBkDRYlqYxWeOxA8mTyBY6cz4Luis06oXXM9qeUq8zgKhXRsO_4l0/s320/IMG_2639.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toucan!</td></tr>
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Although the second day was the most difficult part of the trail, the views were worth it. The muddy trails took us even further into the jungle, climbed higher into the mountains, and past indigenous Wiwa villages. The Wiwa people we encountered were shy but friendly and blew us out of the water in terms of physical ability. Men, women, and children, young and old whizzed past us going up and down hill, carrying sacks full of fruit, vegetables, and babies, and usually in bare feet!<br />
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By the time we made it to that night's camp, everyone was exhausted and crashed in the hammocks scattered around the camp. By that point, news of last night's snorer had made its way throughout the group but we managed to secure a bunk that was well away from the disturbance and had a much better night's sleep! <br />
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<b>Day 3</b><br />
The third day marked the final climb to the lost city. After some level ground and wading through the river we approached a stone staircase that was very steep, slippery, and with stairs designed for little feet. Just when it felt like the stairs would never end we asked our translator, Abraham how far we had left. When he said "you're about halfway now" we considered packing it in and heading back to the camp. We're glad we kept going as we were only two minutes from the top - the cheeky sod!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-o1QNg6JV8FOLf2AQUFzRmqttdFm8nbutBbsdciWD-hOH4NGX3ARlsYrmYA3ZR_pn6yPwtfEja-4MApZdgOZTYaW-eLWYP128LGt3N9x7zHvu7MmRqIwSJwj13RLTS9i4X3jJsd3X5PU/s1600/IMG_2679.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-o1QNg6JV8FOLf2AQUFzRmqttdFm8nbutBbsdciWD-hOH4NGX3ARlsYrmYA3ZR_pn6yPwtfEja-4MApZdgOZTYaW-eLWYP128LGt3N9x7zHvu7MmRqIwSJwj13RLTS9i4X3jJsd3X5PU/s320/IMG_2679.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "easy" set of steps</td></tr>
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Reaching the Lost City made the hours and hours of gruelling hiking worth it. The "city" is located between two river valleys and is built on the top of a steep hill. It features round stone foundations on which dwellings and religious buildings would have stood. Although the site was "discovered" by grave robbers in the 1970's the indigenous people in the area have known about it continuously throughout the years. Excavation of the site has been undertaken with the help of the Colombian government and the site is once again used for ceremonial purposes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Kj35ySCB-X8IEB_1K0dGSZfvvaiHNQ3PsO3u7tyuacLqDfsmq3gj7V-VNBBvWSyQOEW1tUwd6e0mxqNVUGmlAfvnFnYPo5i7WgATFn-FrwTsZFwHxB_W5N6xMbW-xMiVJQ2Adk32HwM/s1600/IMG_2699.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Kj35ySCB-X8IEB_1K0dGSZfvvaiHNQ3PsO3u7tyuacLqDfsmq3gj7V-VNBBvWSyQOEW1tUwd6e0mxqNVUGmlAfvnFnYPo5i7WgATFn-FrwTsZFwHxB_W5N6xMbW-xMiVJQ2Adk32HwM/s320/IMG_2699.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lost City</td></tr>
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We were able to explore the sacred site for a while, having it pretty much all to ourselves. We climbed up to the top, which is overlooked only by a small Colombian army base which must either be the most coveted or worst posting in the military. Either way they were smart to be wearing boots as I had to pull a tick out of James' leg!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-k0uusGJKEO2K6-i0epaBODtmTofS9zlGuhbJCdkUNFwtVqJJlVmfOXLeGp_IAOIS16DaH8GAIfWN8i3s71Xb7a_whSmYyTkJiZf44JUSCnq5aYqZCv9EUjMfY7i4dsQRKI7p0MYVGv0/s1600/IMG_2718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-k0uusGJKEO2K6-i0epaBODtmTofS9zlGuhbJCdkUNFwtVqJJlVmfOXLeGp_IAOIS16DaH8GAIfWN8i3s71Xb7a_whSmYyTkJiZf44JUSCnq5aYqZCv9EUjMfY7i4dsQRKI7p0MYVGv0/s320/IMG_2718.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lost City</td></tr>
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On our way down we visited the nearest indigenous settlement and spoke with the Mammo, the religious leader for the area. He was chewing on coca leaves in the traditional manner, adding crushed lime powder from the gourd he carried with him. Our guides chatted with this wise man for a while. When they asked him what he saw as the biggest problem faced by his community he responded that people are not aware of the effects their lifestyles have on the natural environment. The indigenous people are traditionally seen as the guardians of the mountains and the river valley and they have managed to maintain the area as it was for hundreds of years. However this has not been without having to withstand the pressures put upon them by the Spanish and other westerners. They have had to defend their land against mining, forestry, excessive farming, and now excessive tourism. In fact, we wondered how many other "lost" cities had yet to be "discovered" and that perhaps this one was merely a sacrificial decoy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZPQuGtOOIsyh-Qad-rSbPg3McK4CNP7oZ-URzhNpDRINOMBn1BygzRk4TLHo37hr9e0PBzWr2yRMVhefS1WxAo-OmTF4v109w8dpsLYHqjN5R3tLDlaOqYR5ZwAOigK2D_EPdNJKFSw/s1600/IMG_2728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZPQuGtOOIsyh-Qad-rSbPg3McK4CNP7oZ-URzhNpDRINOMBn1BygzRk4TLHo37hr9e0PBzWr2yRMVhefS1WxAo-OmTF4v109w8dpsLYHqjN5R3tLDlaOqYR5ZwAOigK2D_EPdNJKFSw/s320/IMG_2728.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kate and the Mammo</td></tr>
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<b>Day 4</b><br />
Returning along the same route we had just hiked was bittersweet. Yes we had made it through the jungle to the Lost City, but now we had seen everything along the way and we knew what a gruelling time we were in for. Thankfully it was slightly more downhill than up. At this point in the trek, hikers were able to choose between a four- or five-day hike. Most of the young-ins chose to finish early as it meant they could spend an extra day and night at the bars in Santa Marta.<br />
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We said goodbye to about half of the people in our group, including the snorer. We were very fortunate to have a group that got along very well and had similar interests. We have stayed in touch with many of the people we met on the Lost City hike. Meanwhile, the seniors in the group returned to the first camp we had stayed at on the first day.<br />
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WARNING: This part is gross!!<br />
Along with a few other people in our group, I had been feeling a bit under the weather the previous night but was much better now. The day before some of our crew were throwing up along the road or back at camp. Almost as soon as we had eaten lunch at the camp, James disappeared to the bathrooms. Shortly after, our friend Danielle came back and let me know that help was urgently needed. James was very sick in the bathrooms with food and/or water poisoning. The bathrooms were fairly basic but did have flush toilets (which seemed to flush just out into the jungle). There was no buckets to be found so poor James was throwing up into a plastic cutout patterned garbage can with no bag in it. The only thing preventing the vomit from running freely out of the holes was all the used toilet paper filling the can. We very nearly had two people vomiting in that bathroom when I had to empty the garbage can into a plastic bag. I helped him into his bunk but knew we would have a long and disgusting night ahead and getting him out of the jungle the next day might be a bit of a challenge.<br />
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<b>Day 5</b><br />
When it was time to leave the next morning, James had recovered enough to have some Gatorade and start the hike. There was an option to ride on a mule or, once we were over the next hill, ride back to town on a motor bike but he wanted to try walking. Thankfully we were closer than we thought and we were back to the village of Machete in no time. After a short ride on some very bumpy roads, we were back on the highway to Santa Marta.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18yyeweN8zDqHzAslObPUpekCLw9Oh7z8l7HLG_awgMtKaGu8ocCarNFUWi64BHKdnYlytLIGfwcQ-8i322QY8t01ash-X4PzOSeWfVNtZdZ3V3NLBhXJ577ubF2inwr0oCCqjAZ7Ai8/s1600/IMG_2760.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18yyeweN8zDqHzAslObPUpekCLw9Oh7z8l7HLG_awgMtKaGu8ocCarNFUWi64BHKdnYlytLIGfwcQ-8i322QY8t01ash-X4PzOSeWfVNtZdZ3V3NLBhXJ577ubF2inwr0oCCqjAZ7Ai8/s320/IMG_2760.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our guides, Gabriel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKKV5ZR23sXqMYk-o7CvkqHZ6NQIhdvpRx-wXiebnP_9wO6kF820AfPAwZ_Pa5Yt5c9gWR8vhNbJ5Y_yauJMe_6oYoPraXvpXrEcHNPSgTmhyphenhypheniRY-4QGVxGjwhpY2sTJXDrWNQbVFfXI/s1600/IMG_2761.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKKV5ZR23sXqMYk-o7CvkqHZ6NQIhdvpRx-wXiebnP_9wO6kF820AfPAwZ_Pa5Yt5c9gWR8vhNbJ5Y_yauJMe_6oYoPraXvpXrEcHNPSgTmhyphenhypheniRY-4QGVxGjwhpY2sTJXDrWNQbVFfXI/s320/IMG_2761.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Translator Abraham</td></tr>
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In the end, around half of our group had gotten sick on the hike in some way. We were glad we did it, but VERY glad to get back to the marina. One of the best parts of the hike was meeting lots of new like-minded people, including Thom who is sailing single-handed around the world, and James and Belle who are driving from Alaska to Argentina in their van. We invited them back to the marina for unlimited hot showers, which Overlanders seem to appreciate just as much as cruisers...Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-37560221011600880512017-07-01T09:26:00.002-07:002017-07-01T10:29:10.425-07:00Santa Marta<div style="color: #454545; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The passage between Aruba and Colombia is frequently described as one of the world’s roughest. As you approach Santa Marta, the winds coming off the Sierra Nevada mountains can combine with thousands of miles of uninterrupted Caribbean sea to create a very windy and very rough section of water. Out of the 300 mile passage it’s the last 10 that are supposed to be the worst! Jimmy Cornell, who is apparently a world cruising guru recommends making this passage in November-December or April-May.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Marta</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 9.600000381469727px;">Approaching Santa Marta</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Being January, we spent a long time waiting in Curacao for the high winds 300 miles away to abate. We waited patiently with our friends from Noomi who were crossing north-west to Haiti for about two weeks and just when it seemed the winds would never stop, they did! Our patience paid off: almost all of the boats that left before we did suffered some kind of damage along the way…:( </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passage to Colombia</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 9.600000381469727px;">Approach to Cabo de la Vela</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The first leg of the journey took us to Aruba where we anchored off of the beach with the fancy hotels that make Aruba famous. There we met up with a boat called Aqua Vida, from Florida, whom we had never sailed with but had been stalking since the Bahamas. Ken, Danielle, and Kaylee (and her pet hermit crab Peanut) were also headed to Colombia so after a couple of quick repairs we would leave in the morning.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.600000381469727px;">Cabo de la Vela</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.600000381469727px;">Kiting Paradise</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.600000381469727px;">Aqua Vida at Cabo de la Vela</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Leg 2 was a fairly easy overnight to Cabo de la Vela, Colombia. This northern part of Colombia is essentially a desert on the Caribbean, inhabited by the native Guajiro people and catering mainly to kitesurfers. We could see why - as we rounded the cape the calm winds cranked up to 28 knots in the protected bay. We were the only two cruising boats in the bay and had a great afternoon exploring the small beach town. This area is well known for weaving colourful shoulder bags and hammocks as well as providing a place for tourists to sleep in hammocks on the beach for $2! We were somewhat restricted here for a couple of reasons. Although we tried to obtain Colombian Pesos in Curacao, the banks there would only trade our Antillean Guilders for US Dollars, which are used only in Bonaire. Also there is nowhere to clear in to Colombia in Cabo de la Vela so technically we weren’t allowed to set foot on shore, sssshhhhhhh!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.600000381469727px;">Overnight to Santa Marta</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The next morning we had an early morning visit from a fisherman and his two boys in a dugout canoe. They were hoping we had some snacks they could have for their day on the water. Unfortunately all we had was some cookies and sugary lemonade - not a very healthy snack but the boys eyes lit up when they saw the bottle of pop!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkV1TXFMkL12G8N6aw9NGw5odK9qIrsBDhyphenhyphenLyfpuHeYd7H0OD3uXK3tCSzwghIMfu9Fp3rErJeDR0h8w-0fwfMZbW0o_ftLNDNoRW9PqJgZOo4kEQ92NBsVQSnwEfXtpclviMtlcwxwzk/s1600/IMG_8131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="543" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkV1TXFMkL12G8N6aw9NGw5odK9qIrsBDhyphenhyphenLyfpuHeYd7H0OD3uXK3tCSzwghIMfu9Fp3rErJeDR0h8w-0fwfMZbW0o_ftLNDNoRW9PqJgZOo4kEQ92NBsVQSnwEfXtpclviMtlcwxwzk/s320/IMG_8131.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.600000381469727px;">Santa Marta Playa</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 9.600000381469727px;">Approaching Santa Marta</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We set out with Aqua Vida on Leg 3 around 8am, hoping for a similar arrival time in Santa Marta the next day. It was a pleasant downwind sail along the Colombian coast throughout the day. As the sun went down, the winds and swells did start to pick up, but nothing like we had been seeing on in the forecast for the previous two weeks. Thankfully once we shortened sail, the autopilot behaved and we could take turns getting some sleep. Other than some lightening well off in the distance, the night was fairly uneventful. When the sun came up we could just make out the outline of the mountains, reaching a height of almost 19,000 ft.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We passed the beautiful Tayrona National Park and rounded the point into Santa Marta. Although we usually don’t spend much time in marinas, with the winds still forecast to pulse every night, we decided to pull in to the marina in Santa Marta. We were met by our friends Jayne, Paul, Lilly, and Sky on Delphinus whom we had met in Grenada and shared Christmas in Bonaire!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Around Santa Marta</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Z4SeLGF4xxeMSXUMwnt0tL3Xi3MhW_k_L1HkndqofgW4iZHqbEE2HJVLFJbh-A4Z5He9nrHgHtgKiq9y07_l7CsIY45GBJ0vTklvQ6kvXpl4Hr3QdcB9zw-U90ZXHA7PUDV9gi7IqEg/s1600/IMG_8132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="543" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Z4SeLGF4xxeMSXUMwnt0tL3Xi3MhW_k_L1HkndqofgW4iZHqbEE2HJVLFJbh-A4Z5He9nrHgHtgKiq9y07_l7CsIY45GBJ0vTklvQ6kvXpl4Hr3QdcB9zw-U90ZXHA7PUDV9gi7IqEg/s320/IMG_8132.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't Touch!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWb9jA-83cdz00XxcGk2qAIofQKktWI2t8xbRkfgv3P88e6RbUqE7qBwboZaHqMrL-BkSRbCbRToorQNuGm_zKRUA2ZfhlFk4J6ISaNWbLlzgLv2nlrAYZBsj4PxYkRKf2CIai3xIdv_Q/s1600/IMG_8138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="543" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWb9jA-83cdz00XxcGk2qAIofQKktWI2t8xbRkfgv3P88e6RbUqE7qBwboZaHqMrL-BkSRbCbRToorQNuGm_zKRUA2ZfhlFk4J6ISaNWbLlzgLv2nlrAYZBsj4PxYkRKf2CIai3xIdv_Q/s320/IMG_8138.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jugo!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Marta Main Square</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Santa Marta is the ideal city to welcome tourists to Colombia for the first time. The weather is hot but the winds keep you cool. The people are very friendly and learning to understand their rapid-fire coastal Spanish puts you in a good position to understand the slower speakers further inland. The city introduces you to all the fruit you know, but never knew could taste so good, and just as many types of fruit you never knew existed! And it does so both in raw and juice form. For just 1000 Colombian Pesos, or about 45 cents Canadian, you can have an ice-cold cup of fresh lime-ade. And, get this, the custom is to drink about half the cup as a “taste” and hand it back to the vendor who will top you up. Almost as addictive as street-side mango and watermelon slices, mandarin oranges, empanadas, arepas, and just about any kind of sweet you can possibly imagine. Off the top of my head, here’s a list of our favourite Colombian fruit:</span></div>
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<li style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Granadilla - waxy orange outer shell that you break open to reveal sweet crunchy seeds</span></li>
<li style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lulo - orange and green, looks like a tomato; too tart to eat on its own but makes incredible juice</span></li>
<li style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Maracuya - mix these passion fruit seeds with yoghurt and your breakfasts will never be the same</span></li>
<li style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Curuba - looks like a small banana, but if you slice it lengthwise the tart seeds will just pop into your mouth</span></li>
<li style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mora - looks like a blackberry but packs a much bigger punch</span></li>
<li style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tomato de Arbol - literally “tree tomato” these fruits do look a lot like tomato and taste like a sweet tomato; we never got into the juice but they taste great on their own</span></li>
<li style="color: #454545; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And the usuals: banana, pineapple, oranges, papaya, all fresh off the tree.</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHj48KxEfGMGPEqJ5JvCaf8selesm99cG25chrX4rubS6GZEjOaKew-TED4b98vGtwlFNSYq-OC94iHNV-Crl3leCD3uRvf3IDNmasQn9NOMCDq-61BwfihEXsTOwTG5BxFJKTttezyfQ/s1600/IMG_4140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHj48KxEfGMGPEqJ5JvCaf8selesm99cG25chrX4rubS6GZEjOaKew-TED4b98vGtwlFNSYq-OC94iHNV-Crl3leCD3uRvf3IDNmasQn9NOMCDq-61BwfihEXsTOwTG5BxFJKTttezyfQ/s320/IMG_4140.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curuba</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Granadilla</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Granadilla Seeds</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px;">We spent several days exploring this lovely colonial city, wandering around checking out the Spanish-style architecture, visiting both the touristy and non-tourist areas, the market, having delicious meals with our friends at the marina, and just enjoying being in Colombia. And of course we were resting up for our five-day hike into the Colombian jungle in search of… The Lost City.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">*** Note: Colombia hasn’t exactly been having an easy go of it in the past half-century. But we are lucky enough to be here at one of the most peaceful times in the country’s recent history. Drug-related violence (fuelled by the west’s appetite for those drugs) has quieted down considerably and the government has signed a peace agreement with the largest group of rebels. It feels like Colombians all over the country are awakening after a bad storm and are rejuvenated at the prospect of a bright future. As the billboards advertise: Un nuevo pais!</span></div>
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Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-83957308164279454802017-03-21T17:32:00.001-07:002017-03-21T17:32:22.353-07:00The Story of Curt and Curacao <div class="p1">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8T1aIhZXSPAnMweYDwiHdSxPAG7h4MUs1_FYr3Q5LqVBMJVFhVQqW0Iby54w5PCUfSqKgpfTdrZNx2buEcrWNfP0H0_z_o0qvv1vkQ3FvYbgORTeH0GPxl9n_SKmp6wG0X3FCRCXt_wU/s1600/IMG_2462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8T1aIhZXSPAnMweYDwiHdSxPAG7h4MUs1_FYr3Q5LqVBMJVFhVQqW0Iby54w5PCUfSqKgpfTdrZNx2buEcrWNfP0H0_z_o0qvv1vkQ3FvYbgORTeH0GPxl9n_SKmp6wG0X3FCRCXt_wU/s400/IMG_2462.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Willamstad</td></tr>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;">From Bonaire we sailed to Curacao the day before New Years. We were met at the Customs office with snacks and alcoholic beverages to celebrate New Years - this should be the standard for welcoming boats! We enjoyed some local fried snacks and rum punches. We had a lovely lunch out in the capital, Willemstad, and watched everyone setting their fireworks off all day long (all you can see if smoke, no lights!). </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snacks and drinks from Customs!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out for lunch </td></tr>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;">We went for a few nice walks and did a little snorkelling and soon realized it was more of a weekend destination as activities were slim pickings. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snorkelling a wreck </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Lizard</td></tr>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />We ended up spending longer than we wanted because the wind was way too strong to sail to Colombia. Thankfully our friends on Noomi arrived a few days after us so we had great company. After a couple of days exploring we started to become somewhat desperate for activities. One day we went over to Noomi’s with a bottle of brandy and busted out their sewing machine. The project was to repair one of our torn windscoops - not sure if the brandy made things better or worse as far as the sewing went but it was a fun day and killed a few hours! At this point both boats were desperate to leave for our next destinations. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRPoO6XddOYWApuTar3sE-pNxbvyqCzEpyISUEOb2dlecWtjNQ4R-aL0bUxJ__D5npWfnZe0nQ8DAGm72t9__P5j0jgm2u4WAgCmj8qoWO1FrWJz09m7DXW0QAI-JarGuWALtl3-QF1k/s1600/IMG_2488.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRPoO6XddOYWApuTar3sE-pNxbvyqCzEpyISUEOb2dlecWtjNQ4R-aL0bUxJ__D5npWfnZe0nQ8DAGm72t9__P5j0jgm2u4WAgCmj8qoWO1FrWJz09m7DXW0QAI-JarGuWALtl3-QF1k/s400/IMG_2488.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;">The day before we left James and I found a dog in appalling circumstances. He was very emaciated and wandering the streets with a thick nylon cord wrapped multiple times around his neck and legs. The cord appeared so tight that it would have been difficult for him to eat. Luckily, we found an AMAZING non-profit organization called Curacao Animal Rights Foundation (CARF). Within an hour of contacting them they had rescued the dog! They named him “Curt” after the man who rescued him and they gave him pain meds, food, de-worming and tick and flea meds, and had a vet check him out! Within one week he went from a trembling, snappy, sad dog to a happy, tail wagging adopt-me dog. I have kept in touch with the organization and love getting “Curt updates” - he has since been neutered and always seems very happy in the videos they send me. I posted Curt’s story on Facebook and explained that he is ready to be adopted and that most of their adoptions are done out of country since dog adoptions are not popular in Curaaco. My friend Gwen fell in love with little Curt and his story and is going to adopt him! The plan is for the organization to bring him, along with three of his friends to Maine, then Curt will continue onto Nova Scotia by ferry. By April 9th Curt will be a proud Canadian :) I love this story! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZbTTVwLGACgDbOImN2hpUS9xkyZO6vzhnTWBmeCDSorf0X_VFPAJxiTirpopDLPsyM64eh0vtcvahyphenhyphenhMTAK8BKiAnMxYVBOTJn8gOwnjWpN_P7rQX41CL7MTUjUqdnqAKchVLICTic0/s1600/16111271_1317452784977585_1130681151_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZbTTVwLGACgDbOImN2hpUS9xkyZO6vzhnTWBmeCDSorf0X_VFPAJxiTirpopDLPsyM64eh0vtcvahyphenhyphenhMTAK8BKiAnMxYVBOTJn8gOwnjWpN_P7rQX41CL7MTUjUqdnqAKchVLICTic0/s400/16111271_1317452784977585_1130681151_n.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About 2 weeks after being rescued</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhEvs2y43LTnoQCo-eGoZ4TzO1klyK97837FG-lLD82CHt9zSOx3H05rtwnviMscHMYDMSYrvZdvpawluWIzc8cCtSgN-c1Pr-5Zuxn4Rf7s8NqwbvHOo55EqX1MEZJmoBfHxxgMEqadU/s1600/16326369_1326452264077637_480300767_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhEvs2y43LTnoQCo-eGoZ4TzO1klyK97837FG-lLD82CHt9zSOx3H05rtwnviMscHMYDMSYrvZdvpawluWIzc8cCtSgN-c1Pr-5Zuxn4Rf7s8NqwbvHOo55EqX1MEZJmoBfHxxgMEqadU/s400/16326369_1326452264077637_480300767_o.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now after lots of love, food and medications!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimKHgBmlEGLIBhKSnXU-RJ58neoqj-xOtFSiM0jmVi-hCpkGTQ053bMyyJBtupKKi-Q_XTTLCsSV1wt_WqYRezQ8WfEn4XV-QkX06ZFTppAm346dNtxk3yAEVYCH3reNAh3hw_0QQShvM/s1600/17230011_1373485666040963_2015052153_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimKHgBmlEGLIBhKSnXU-RJ58neoqj-xOtFSiM0jmVi-hCpkGTQ053bMyyJBtupKKi-Q_XTTLCsSV1wt_WqYRezQ8WfEn4XV-QkX06ZFTppAm346dNtxk3yAEVYCH3reNAh3hw_0QQShvM/s400/17230011_1373485666040963_2015052153_o.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What? It's how cold in Canada?!</td></tr>
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<span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit;">While in Curacao we had emailed our friends on Aquavida to see how they were and found out they were in Bonaire and also planned to sail to Colombia. We we planning on leaving at the same time so we arranged to meet them in Aruba and to sail to Colombia together. Our sail from Curaco to Aruba was quite windy with some moderate sized swells and our autopilot was having a bit of trouble sailing downwind with that much force. Just as our autopilot failed a massive gust of over 40 knots of wind hit and span the boat around causing an accidental gybe, despite having a preventer line. The gybe caused the preventer line to whip through the cockpit and it broke the stainless on our dodger! We were just glad neither of us was hurt as the line flew through the cockpit and metal flew into the air! We were also glad the boom was fine and that we hadn’t ended up replacing our enclosure in Grenada! We hobbled into the anchorage in Aruba and Aquavida was waiting there with cold beers. We spent the next day making some minor repairs (we found a wooden dowel in a closet and used it to reinforce the broken stainless) and preparing for our passage to Colombia! </span></div>
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Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-75127869434938877992017-03-16T09:17:00.000-07:002017-03-16T09:17:29.162-07:00Christmas in Bonaire <div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After leaving Los Roques a little earlier than we wanted due to a front moving in and after having low expectations for Bonaire we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived! </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It looked quite industrial with cranes and mountains of salt but once we rounded the point it was very pretty. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are a LOT of cacti in Bonaire</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKcA0UXZNWByvvt52OKgqSrpEnw7JZAVYXBO2ly5Pldt2TqaACZSV6-A4-KeYCesBd7dagt5yhqnkYNms78PjIV8oRvrIqQ2FsrzerQi3qeQEZwz21aSM4dG1mkjtVZiVUzbq-nKJjgQ/s1600/IMG_2313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKcA0UXZNWByvvt52OKgqSrpEnw7JZAVYXBO2ly5Pldt2TqaACZSV6-A4-KeYCesBd7dagt5yhqnkYNms78PjIV8oRvrIqQ2FsrzerQi3qeQEZwz21aSM4dG1mkjtVZiVUzbq-nKJjgQ/s400/IMG_2313.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunbathing Lizard</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCfKq7tINuhAC4PdCh9C7fMb2cPfWG9WxHYs_RPFKLwmAHU3xaouAptBQ6bk1HMrm5ZoTPzcbQyqaxcub6oBqzkHSdhe8JwTk-zC2Js8T5oqWPLd6J5XqaaxpLhQn6JIU01p0QroFWIqc/s1600/IMG_2271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCfKq7tINuhAC4PdCh9C7fMb2cPfWG9WxHYs_RPFKLwmAHU3xaouAptBQ6bk1HMrm5ZoTPzcbQyqaxcub6oBqzkHSdhe8JwTk-zC2Js8T5oqWPLd6J5XqaaxpLhQn6JIU01p0QroFWIqc/s400/IMG_2271.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountains of salt</td></tr>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />The best part of our arrival was finding out our friends on Delphinus were there! It’s always exciting to pull into an anchorage or mooring field and find your friends :) To preserve the coral, there is no anchoring in Bonaire so we took a mooring ball in water that looked like a pool. We could look overboard and see lots of fish swimming around and under our boat. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fish swimming around our boat</td></tr>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After taking the mooring ball and checking into the country, Immigration informed us there was a Christmas street party that evening so we wandering the streets sampling treats, mulled wine and listening to live bands. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popular Bonaire Christmas decorations</td></tr>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since Noomi was also coming to Bonaire and we had already planned to spend Christmas together we were happy to learn that Delphinus always wanted to spend Christmas together. So Delphinus, Noomi and Nomads all spent Christmas day together! We found an amazing grocery store where we were able to stock up on all our Christmas favourites including fresh brussel sprouts and egg nog! Delphinus invited us all to their boat for the day to play games and have Christmas dinner. We had a fantastic time! We ate tons of great food and played a game of Cranium, ladies verses gents. I won’t go into the details about who won. Jane on Delphinus went all out and made a proper Christmas dinner with all the trimmings - lentil loaf, roast potatoes, carrots, peas, cabbage, sprouts, bread sauce, stuffing and more! She even made homemade mince pies!!! I’m in awe of how much she cooks on her boat! Things I would never tackle in a galley kitchen. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our amazing chef Jane!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James and Daniel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeVFdwDKjEccEko1ENqkEWGCsd2WZmrpTjqm2dTla6oLZEXKw9xGe6NkqHzy_GOk7W0MYzz7k2xPvatrvzGdEzNltDiArG2MtrD42OGOhKXr2ztTGdqPj1gn6lfQ5Qss37-IlLBy3cZs/s1600/IMG_2410+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeVFdwDKjEccEko1ENqkEWGCsd2WZmrpTjqm2dTla6oLZEXKw9xGe6NkqHzy_GOk7W0MYzz7k2xPvatrvzGdEzNltDiArG2MtrD42OGOhKXr2ztTGdqPj1gn6lfQ5Qss37-IlLBy3cZs/s400/IMG_2410+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gang for Christmas Dinner</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heaven </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFsRkEAi4RiL5mj9UtCqrT67CFHbl0Hh3eqLu0xV6MIaRQDY92Igtumh-G3a2k1e9jh-XwgmUhszpLPzA8Oz0gWu_CNDL_7emsVcwSjlJJJoeQvPOwXgakYMMCs-LJZg4UPUVsyFWElk/s1600/IMG_4014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFsRkEAi4RiL5mj9UtCqrT67CFHbl0Hh3eqLu0xV6MIaRQDY92Igtumh-G3a2k1e9jh-XwgmUhszpLPzA8Oz0gWu_CNDL_7emsVcwSjlJJJoeQvPOwXgakYMMCs-LJZg4UPUVsyFWElk/s400/IMG_4014.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nomads stellar Christmas decor<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to cool our Christmas bubbly in the ocean over the side of the boat!</td></tr>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />After the Christmas celebrations we did a little exploring on the island which is known worldwide for it’s incredible snorkelling and scuba diving. We took our dingy to several places around the island and were amazed how much we saw. There were all kinds of fish and coral and even some coral regeneration projects. After we’d had our fill of snorkelling, we rented a scooter for the day which allowed us to drive around the entire island, that’s how small it is. </span></span><br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the highlights for me was getting to see wild flamingos in their natural habitat. We had seen several homes with flamingoes wandering around their gardens but they were so pale they were almost white. The wild flamingos were such an incredible shade of coral pink!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAEMcxRmvvOPylcuYDQSG6irE2a8IjvTjP-xTKwMHYV7JK8sJY1-zpLFZEzrhlzfyaUxwTVvn1m1SJvG-QvbkyJRVL2BfXpvaMVuDFc_4rkrVGBITvB7u3Xdib-8bwKUY7vqYwKYBQrY/s1600/IMG_4037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAEMcxRmvvOPylcuYDQSG6irE2a8IjvTjP-xTKwMHYV7JK8sJY1-zpLFZEzrhlzfyaUxwTVvn1m1SJvG-QvbkyJRVL2BfXpvaMVuDFc_4rkrVGBITvB7u3Xdib-8bwKUY7vqYwKYBQrY/s400/IMG_4037.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flamingos in someone's garden!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild Flamingos </td></tr>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We also visited a cactus distillery where most of their liquors are cactus based and all are made with local ingredients - we did some sampling and purchased a small bottle of the neon green cactus liquor then hopped back on our scooter and headed to the salt ponds. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cadushy cactus distillery </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cactus Fence</td></tr>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The salt ponds are an important part of Bonaire’s history. There are large brightly painted obelisks on the shore and each colour reflected a type of salt and quality. The allowed the incoming ships to anchor near the correct colour for the load of salt they were purchasing. From here slaves loaded up baskets with salt that women would put on their heads and walk with over to small boats that were rowed to the large ships. The city has preserved the original slave huts where the slaves lived who worked the salt ponds - they are grossly small and must have been really hot. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfmZAObO-BkP82HkkCV6w50qWj2GO-K3341xtoea6MynSTQ0kffA3Rb5I2TroLT6FUd8uwapqUkpranQuLYqV4cEihdI_g3B_2dbZq8ytySo6yjJraEOAUL9e0ozi-M0Yq0uGzHIsa-M/s1600/IMG_2388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfmZAObO-BkP82HkkCV6w50qWj2GO-K3341xtoea6MynSTQ0kffA3Rb5I2TroLT6FUd8uwapqUkpranQuLYqV4cEihdI_g3B_2dbZq8ytySo6yjJraEOAUL9e0ozi-M0Yq0uGzHIsa-M/s400/IMG_2388.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obelisk </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzua1E4zbb7TmC-6Wajtx4Fy4av83H7hG_HSBVuuDFLLG0hEm3m6g0BagV8VvTcm7kzHBIkmdk4bU9L_Kes2u8HpAlWucg6CYXdpUiyaFfA6nrrPiPRPPkwrWWGqczYbdHryEhJeRScW8/s1600/IMG_2389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzua1E4zbb7TmC-6Wajtx4Fy4av83H7hG_HSBVuuDFLLG0hEm3m6g0BagV8VvTcm7kzHBIkmdk4bU9L_Kes2u8HpAlWucg6CYXdpUiyaFfA6nrrPiPRPPkwrWWGqczYbdHryEhJeRScW8/s400/IMG_2389.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original slave huts</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salt ponds and their mountains of salt </td></tr>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After enjoying all we could in Bonaire we set sail for Curacao! </span></span><br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And now for a thousand underwater photos...</span></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxgoYhsnnxIz9mf2EC0hyhP9-pR1l7OQQgae3OIb9u6mNN1bXPpbp3oQ9Mg6sgIgzXHM_99M4J3Q5Qb8KNLnA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peacock flounder</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxSLkUQJh3Fe6q3vy9ZiselqBSlqQVyUQSnRjnZUywWngAtF5h_vX047nJah4ky3zok1-jvfYk95OTxfiuP6020-1GOPxKs-QLHI-usaXeg0WjaSoXwbOfrEOolUoxb99uF3MfypT71c/s1600/IMG_2422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxSLkUQJh3Fe6q3vy9ZiselqBSlqQVyUQSnRjnZUywWngAtF5h_vX047nJah4ky3zok1-jvfYk95OTxfiuP6020-1GOPxKs-QLHI-usaXeg0WjaSoXwbOfrEOolUoxb99uF3MfypT71c/s400/IMG_2422.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Porcupine fish </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlYGLnGSOty-kzQgnaJZILT7bKTCBNkTGWGGRMxM0dmRma-pwkVzuTC2_fQJf-g1tgvZ7yYLL57iMKJEuCKpJR2UvFoSajvpReYiBsjZ9exFE_HrnTc4IDSgipmpO42xPvztw_q1CyDo/s1600/IMG_2429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlYGLnGSOty-kzQgnaJZILT7bKTCBNkTGWGGRMxM0dmRma-pwkVzuTC2_fQJf-g1tgvZ7yYLL57iMKJEuCKpJR2UvFoSajvpReYiBsjZ9exFE_HrnTc4IDSgipmpO42xPvztw_q1CyDo/s400/IMG_2429.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainbow parrot fish</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honeycomb cowfish</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcroikSv3blkOJMIV4HrjyMH3byyvci-bpvH8EShpCr5mvG4wx1sg-1NDmX1aOrsmk0HpMMPuYTviHt6eGS1Wafj_0JFU9Zn7GUvgEQMZksOhSOo3IWX3vpC4_4e37LfxgHGdSINVrqks/s1600/IMG_2456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcroikSv3blkOJMIV4HrjyMH3byyvci-bpvH8EShpCr5mvG4wx1sg-1NDmX1aOrsmk0HpMMPuYTviHt6eGS1Wafj_0JFU9Zn7GUvgEQMZksOhSOo3IWX3vpC4_4e37LfxgHGdSINVrqks/s400/IMG_2456.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coral Regeneration </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French angelfish</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trumpetfish</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_1179053647"></span><span id="goog_1179053648"></span>Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2750499248742829400.post-92139150785962137662017-03-14T09:54:00.002-07:002017-03-16T10:33:25.636-07:00Arepas & Squalls in Los Roques, Venezuela <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'll always have trouble understanding why when people age they become more risk-averse. Statistically speaking, aging tends to shorten your life; so with less life left wouldn't you take more risks?<br />
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I mention this because many of the other cruisers we meet are older than we are and we are constantly being told "Don't go to _______, it's not safe." The blank has been filled by some of the most amazing (and safest feeling) places we have ever been, including Haiti which we fell in love with and have written about in detail.<br />
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Which is why with everyone telling us not to sail to Venezuela it made us want to do just that. Don't get me wrong, Venezuela is currently experiencing extreme hyperinflation in an economic crisis - we spent a lot of time researching our visit and decided unfortunately to only go to the offshore islands of Los Roques and not to the mainland. We made this decision in December 2016, with the knowledge that the political situation there could change on a dime (or 300 Bolivars when we arrived) and we might have to leave with little or no warning. We did end up leaving a few days earlier than we would have liked but it had nothing to do with the political situation or how safe we felt - it was weather related.<br />
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We had our best sail yet over the three days to Los Roques from Martinique. It was our first downwind sail and a welcomed change from beating into the wind! We had perfect weather, didn't hit a single squall and our autopilot worked quite well for most of it. Since we have spent most of the time hand steering, and have had to run our engine a lot when beating into the wind, we forgot just how much power an autopilot uses! This is especially true when under sail and not charging the batteries with the engine. During our sail to Los Roques, we had periodically turned the engine on to put a little juice into the batteries over the three day trip but apparently we overestimated our batteries and left charging them a little too long. On the last evening before arriving we tried to turn on the engine to power the batteries but the engine wouldn't turn over! We wanted the engine to turn on for anchoring when we arrived the next morning, so to conserve what little power we had we turned off everything except our navigation lights - this meant back to cursed hand steering! As we rounded the point of the main island, Gran Roque, we tried to fire-up the engine but the battery was too low. We were tired from the three day sail and a sleepless night hand steering and we didn't have any accurate charts for the area so we weren't thrilled at the prospect of anchoring under sail in fairly strong winds with coral reefs all around. Luckily the change in the point of sail as we rounded Gran Roque meant that our wind generator was ripping!! Sailing with the sun on our panels and the wind generator flying gave us just enough power to turn the engine on - what a huge relief!<br />
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Los Roques is an archipelago conveniently located north of the mainland of Venezuela, near the Dutch island of Bonaire and about 72 hours from Martinique. The check-in process has several stages to it and apparently they are supposed to be done in a certain order. I'm quite sure we messed up the order but no one seemed to mind and it all worked out in the end. However, between arriving and anchoring, checking-in and exchanging money our first day was eaten up! One of the first things you need to do when arriving (after checking in with the coast guard) is to get some money exchanged. The park fee and the immigration fee have to be paid in local currency. Luckily everyone and their brother is in the money exchange business. Unluckily a cruise line had arrived that morning and its passengers had been into town to change money. The small island had literally almost run out of cash in local currency. We spent over an hour walking around asking places where to change money and EVERYONE was out. We finally found a "spa and nail salon" that had some Venezuelan Bolivars left for sale. For US$100 we got to watch not one but three young woman, with very long and fancy nails, skillfully count money at lightening speed. When they were finished, we got an entire large shopping bag full of money! It takes SOOO long to buy anything if the place doesn't have an automatic money counter because it all has to be counted out by hand!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bag of cash</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Counting our money</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying a beer after all that money counting!</td></tr>
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Along the "check-in" route we were able to pick up a map and plan out which islands we wanted to see. After a wonderful sleep in our own bed (instead of cockpit naps) we woke-up refreshed and went to check out the main island of Gran Roques. We walked up to the top of the island for some spectacular views - this also gave us a good idea of where some of the other islands were that we planned to visit!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nomads is the last boat on the right :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the walk up the hill, we need to refuel with a homemade arepa stuffed with cheese!</td></tr>
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Since James' birthday involved blowing up an autopilot computer and furthering our autopilot disaster, we resolved to celebrate it later and pretend his birthday was on a different day. Well this seemed like the perfect opportunity to celebrate! Gran Roque is full of posadas and they each have restaurants - many are on the beach and candle-lit. We didn't realize but most of them only cook for their hotel guests, but fortunately we found one that had space for two more people. It was incredible!! For US$12 we BOTH had a four course meal with wine and mojitos!!! The food was excellent and we came to learn that Venezuelans can seriously cook - every meal we ate was perfect.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The birthday boy</td></tr>
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From Gran Roque we traveled to several of the other small islands that make up the archipelago. Each one is similar but has it's own feel. Only a few have restaurants or in fact people there. Others are totally empty and secluded. Even Gran Roque has sand roads and the only vehicles are work trucks - everyone else walks or bikes.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main street on Gran Roque</td></tr>
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The islands are the perfect combination of friendly, kind people, amazing restaurants, and stunning beaches and water with no one but yourselves around. We spent almost two weeks sailing around the islands, relaxing on the beaches and snorkelling and swimming in the water. We were so shocked at how cold the water felt to us! We have become massive wimps who are accustomed to swimming in bathtub temperature water. We couldn't believe how friendly the people were - as we encountered people having beach fires and cooking we were offered lunch on more than one occasion since they had cooked so much food!<br />
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The only excitement we had was when we hit the most ferocious squall either of us have ever encountered. We were a narrow channel with shallow reefs on either side which were uncharted - we could only navigate by looking for the light-blue water of the shallow areas. We noticed a very dark cloud approaching quickly but didn't think it would be much different than other rain that had fallen over the past few days. We decided to head out of the channel towards a tiny spit of sand (the classic deserted island) so we could anchor and go for a swim. All of a sudden it started pouring so hard we could no longer navigate by sight. The wind cranked up to 53 knots (98km/h!!!), the strongest we have encountered so far. Hopes of going to our deserted island evaporated but neither of us cared - we were so worried about being blown into a reef. James turned the boat into the wind and increased the revs to try to hold us in place. The rain was so strong that our cockpit drains were no match for the volume of water and the water was sloshing all around - I could barely see my hand in front of my face the rain was so intense. Once James had the bow into the wind I thought I was going to be blown over the wind was so strong! It was all we could do to retrace our path on the chartplotter towards the narrow channel but without being able to see anything we had no idea where the reef was! We turned the boat around again for another loop, almost impossible in this wind, and held 'er steady in the squall. After about 30 minutes the wind and rain subsided and we could see from our track that we had come within 10' of being washed up on the reef - phew.<br />
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The islands are full of very cute dogs and everyone seems to look after a few strays. All the dogs were curious and friendly and were very fascinated with our dingy pump. They also enjoyed the shade of our beach umbrella and were only too happy to sit with us. They weren't shy and if we got up to swim they had no problem stretching out, taking up all the space in the shade and making a bed on our beach towels!<br />
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While we were there the Venezuelan government decided to discontinue the 100,000 Bolivar bank note and didn't give a whole lot of notice that they were doing so. We had no idea this was happening until our friends Noomi radioed us and asked if we had any trouble spending our notes. We had noticed a massive line up at the town bank but that was all. Noomi had to spend the notes they had that day otherwise they would have been worthless - this meant a shopping trip for Ana where she bought several dresses. What did Nomads buy?!? Diesel. Lucky me. Although at CAN $0.10 a gallon it was still pretty exciting! The story behind the discontinued notes is that the paper and size of the bill is the same as US currency and some mob or another is washing the bills and making counterfeit US currency. A few days later the government said they would continue to use the bills for a few more months since people hadn't had time to turn the bills in and also the government hadn't printed enough of the 200,000 bolivar notes so the country was running out of currency. The inflation was mind blowing - on day one a beer cost CAN$0.30, one week later it was CAN$0.75!<br />
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The "Christmas winds" were starting to build and after listening to the weather on our SSB radio we decided in order to make it to Bonaire for Christmas we should make a move - we had a whole season last year full of sailing in rough weather and would rather leave two days early than fight all the way to Bonaire. We headed to the main island of Gran Roque to check-out and to get one more Arepa from Mama Julia.<br />
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On our way to Bonaire we stopped at Aves, another Venezuelan island and it was just as beautiful as any island in Los Roques.<br />
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This was the destination we were most excited about for this season and it didn't disappoint. We had a fantastic time in Los Roques and hope we can go back again. If you are contemplating a visit there don't hesitate to contact us and we'd be happy to answer any questions!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas decorations in the main square</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conch Christmas tree</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nomads en route to Los Roques</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anchored at our own private island<br />
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Kate and Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14423388661584975492noreply@blogger.com2