November, 2009

Bay of Cholon,

Colombia

11/1

A drizzly, rainy day today.   We just stayed on board and relaxed.   We did not even get our dinghy down today.   George and Pixy swam over, then Damon, so we all visited in the water for a while at Valentina this afternoon.

11/2

11/3

11/4

Sonny is over at Manatee helping Robert this morning.   They are installing all new water hoses and connections.

It is time for our wipe down with bleach on our ceilings so we do not have mold inside our boat.  So, that is what I did.

Whew....we have been working too hard.   Time to jump in the water.

11/5

Early this morning, we said our goodbyes to Bruadair, Nareia, Silver Sea and Stix.   They are all headed to the San Blas.  We will, however, meet up with them again.   That is one of the nice things we like about cruising.

We made a trip into Baru in our dinghy to get some supplies.  We bought a big barracuda for 20 ml ($10 US).  We miss eating fish very often.  After Sonny cleaned him, we put some filets in the freezer and I made fish salad with the rest.

11/6

This morning on the nets, we heard of four boats headed our way.   S/V Tisha Baby, M/V Cabaret, S/V Cherokee II, and S/V Foreigner.  They are coming from the San Blas, so Sonny went out to guide them in the cut, as it was their first time here.

And, it was another delicious potluck on Robert's Manatee.  There were 21 people there.   After everyone left yesterday, we were down to 7 people.  How things change in one day!

Cruisers are just a good, fun group of people.

11/7

Four dinghies carpooled to Baru this morning.  We showed them around the village, bought some supplies, and ate lunch at the local restaurant.  We had a bowl of soup, pork chop asada, rice, plantains and salad for $7 ml ($3.50 US)

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We all trekked up to Robert and Carmen's house on top of the hill this afternoon.   Some new boats arrived and wanted to see the beautiful view before departing for Cartagena.

11/8

We just chilled on the boat today watching football games, just like home, right?   We had a good lunch (steak, steamed broccoli and carrots, and mashed potatoes) and relaxed all day.

We talked to Kylie about her birthday party and she read a book to us over Skype.

Sonny walked around on the deck around midnight and saw a local boat sitting near a neighboring sailboat.   Thought maybe they were fishermen, but when he shined the spotlight on them.....they started to leave.  They were not fishing....for fish that is.   

Sonny got on the radio to warn the other boaters in the anchorage that the boat was "hanging out".  Robert shined his spotlight on them from his house also.   They left in a hurry.   This time of year, locals would love to snatch a dinghy motor for Christmas money.   So, we watch out for each other. 

11/9

Sonny cleaned the bottom of the boat today while I made a Texas Sheet Cake.   It is so sweet, but, OH so good!

Some of our friends who are locals were out fishing near our boat today and brought us two small red snapper.   We gave them a plate of chocolate cake.   A fair trade, right?

11/10

We woke up early and by 6 a.m. were unloading the quarter berth to check the water level in the batteries and Sonny ran the wiring for our new sending unit and oil pressure meter for our engine.

He went over to Robert's M/V Manatee to assist with some plumbing.

11/11

Jonesy and Terri on S/V Niki Wiki came in from Cartagena.   Terri had read on our website that I needed some baking powder to make bread, so she brought me some.   Cruisers are just awesome, aren't they?

 

Our geckos enjoy popcorn and apples on their buffet.  We have named this one, "Big Tex".

11/12

11/13

This morning, we went to the Caballero's and planned our sailing trip for today.  We had a total of 12 people on board for the leisurely sail around the bay.   We just used our main and staysail, so we could self tack and not have to bother with winches and sheets.

It was a beautiful, casual sailing day.  We had Dr. Yasagari and his wife Every, Dr. Caballero and Martha, Climico and Median, and a friend of George's from Los Angeles with her niece and her husband, and Louisa.

11/14

This afternoon at 3 p.m. all the cruisers in the anchorage met on Robert's Manatee with dish in hand for a pot luck dinner.  We had a good variety of food and a fun group of people.   Roy of S/V Avion just arrived in the anchorage, so it was good to see him.

11/15

This morning, we woke up early and jumped in the water around 6:30.  It was already getting hot and the water was nice and calm.

Dr. Caballero and Martha swam out to the boat, so we hung out in the water, then we went for a dinghy ride.  We saw two locals in a ulu and they held up the head of a very large grouper.   Our friend agreed on a deal and we towed the ulu with the grouper to his house.   Timbo and Alfredo cleaned the huge fish weighing around 70 pounds, not leaving anything to waste.

 

In the evening, he prepared another delicious paella.  Yum...Yum!

11/16

We went up to Robert and Carmen's this afternoon to visit with them.

Another good day.

11/17

It was time for a seafood arapa fix....so we, along with Peter, Roy, Jonesy and Terri had a caravan into Baru.

We all reprovisioned on vegetables, gas, propane, and drinks, so we are good for a while.

We were exhausted when we returned to the boat.  I guess the sun just zapped us, so we took a nap "before" lunch.

11/18

11/19

11/21

Today, Dean on S/V Blue Fox and Susan on S/V Wooden Shoe arrived in the anchorage from San Blas.

11/22

Early this morning, Timbo yelled over to us for help.    He stays aboard Robert's boat, Manatee, during the night.   However, in the wee hours of the  morning, someone cut the line to Robert's launcha that was in the water and stole it.

Sonny went over and picked Timbo up and they rode around in our dinghy searching for any signs of the stolen launcha and motor.   When they arrived at the nearby beach, they found the launcha....but, of course, no motor.

This afternoon, we all gathered on the Manatee to plan our Thanksgiving dinner.   We are expecting 20-30 people and lots of food.

11/23

It is always a good trip with happy, interesting people who love to have their picture taken.

11/24

Within the past four months, the vision in my (Kay) left eye has gone from perfect to very, very cloudy where I cannot see out and with glasses it is just blurred.   Now that we have internet on board, of course, I checked the internet.   There were a lot of options, but none that I felt were mine.  One symptom was a cataract, but I knew I was 'way' too young for that.

So, we got an appointment with an ophthalmologist in Cartagena to check out my vision problem.   After a thorough examination, he said I had cataracts, yes....plural.   The left eye was much worse.  On a scale of one to four (with four being worst), I am a three.    So say the least, I was shocked and bummed out.   I am scheduled for surgery next Wednesday on my left eye, then the following Wednesday on my right eye.

The good news, however, is that he is going to remove the cataract and he is going to insert a multifocal intraocular lense in each eye (ReSTOR) so I will have perfect  vision.....the rest of my life, without glasses.

So, we are scheduled for surgery.

11/25

We returned from Cartagena on the launcha with morning and washed and put away our vegetables.

 It is time to begin preparations for our Thanksgiving feast.  The ladies all came up to Carmen's house and we prepared two of the turkeys and mixed up the dressing.

Then, I came back to Valentina and made two pecan pies, such a Texas tradition.

11/26

Thanksgiving Day.....and we are so very thankful. 

After making some deviled eggs, we gathered up our pies and headed up the hill to Robert and Carmen's house.  We had a total of 12 boats together for Thanksgiving and we had turkey, dressing, ham, rice dishes, potatoes, salad, cranberry sauce, key lime pie, pumpkin pie and pecan pies.

It was just delicious!

Since we cannot share Thanksgiving with our families, it is so nice to share it with our boating family.

11/27

This morning early, Sonny was in the water cleaning the bottom, when Judy on S/V Tempest called us to pass priority traffic.

There were 8 boats on their way here from San Blas.   During the night, the wind kicked up to 20 knots on the nose and waves 8-10+'.  One of the boats, S/V Kersti began taking on water and called a pan pan at 4 a.m.  The other seven boats started heading towards Kersti.  Around 7:30 a.m. they deployed the life raft and Jay and Barb on Jupiter's Smile rescued them and brought them safely onboard their boat and came to the Bay of Cholon.  

Small World Note:   Jay and Barb on Jupiter's Smile untied our dock lines at 4 in the morning when we left Kemah Boardwalk Marina four years ago to come cruising.

All seven boats all arrived safely before 4 p.m.  Richard (S/V Tisha Baby) and Sonny guided them in during the day.  Early morning, I got on the radio to see if the other boats would like to help get meals together for them as they arrive.   Immediately, voices started suggesting items they could prepare such as turkey chili soup, cole slaw, cornbread, fruit salad and, of course, pecan pie.  We took each boat a care package of food upon their arrival.  They were each so thankful, it brought tears to our eyes.

It was with such sorrow and sadness to hear of our fellow cruisers losing their boat at sea, but so thankful that other boats were so near, and, most importantly, that their lives were spared.

Bottom Line.....We all realize, it could happen to any of us.

We 'do' have so much to be thankful for.

11/28

Denis and Pam on S/V Glide took Jeff and Ruth from Kersti into Cartagena at sunrise this morning to begin meeting with the Coast Guard and making necessary calls and arrangements.

Then, after the seven boats were well rested from their exhausting crossing they were ready to explore the village of Baru.  There were about 10 dinghies for the 3 mile trip. 

Since they just arrived to Colombia, they were hoping the ATM machine was working so they could get some pesos, but no luck.

We all ate lunch at the local restaurant.  We had a bowl of soup, fried chicken, rice and salad for $3.50.

Then, everyone gathered at Robert and Carmen's M/V Manatee for snacks.   It was good to get everyone together.   It is so wonderful of Robert and Carmen to share their huge home and huge shrimp boat 'yacht' for gatherings, as our boats are small.

11/29

When Judy talked to me on the SSB a few days ago, she mentioned our radio was clipping.   An often occurrence for Icom 802's.  We unloaded our quarter berth to clean fittings on the tuner, then emptied the lazarette to clean the fittings to the dyna plates.  As if that wasn't enough to empty.....We emptied the propane locker to unbolt the tuner from the wall to repair a loose ground wire to the tuner.

We talked to Gloria on S/V Windfree in Belize and, thankfully, we were not clipping, but later when we talked to Denis on S/V Glide, he said we were intermittently clipping.  So, we know what we will be doing tomorrow.

11/30

But no....we took a break.

Today was a visiting day.   Several of the new boats that arrived from San Blas are wanting to get a hard bimini made in Cartagena, so they came by to see ours.   We gave them numbers of the workers we used and things that worked well for us.

This afternoon, we, along with Pelican's Flight, Tisha Baby, and Jumbie went over to Tempest.   It was a nice evening, new people to get to know, and a full moon rising.