Finally going in the water.

Endorfin going back in the water

Endorfin gets her facelift

When Tara left us it was time to put Endorfin on the hard and give her a facelift. And seeing we were in Cartegena the capitol of facelifts, what better place to do it.Gil contracted a fellow called Flavite to do the work and he and his crew came in and stripped the hull and topsides regelcoated her and made her sparkle like a shiney new penny.While we were here a movie crew came in and shot a few scenes for a Columbian soap opera our boat is in the scenes we were not offered any acting jobs. After six weeks in a very dusty work yard it was time to get back in the water and continue on with our journey.

Tara at the Rosario's

Tara with the bay monkey that escaped his cage. Tara and myself in front of the naval museum in Cartegena

Dolfin show at Rosario's

|Tara visit's to Columbia

Gilbert returned to Cartegena with our daughter Tara as a surprise for me. She spent two weeks of great weather on Endorfin. Tara got to explore the old city, go to the locals market (baserto) She played volley ball on the beach on Monday's Wednesday's and Friday's. Then we headed to the Rosario's. After a nice little day sail we anchored on the south side of Isla Rosario. One of the first things we did was take Tara snorkeling. There are plenty of wonderful coral formations around the islands here to explore. On one of our snorkeling ventures Tara and I followed Gil while he scubaed a coral wall. It is pretty neat following him and having his bubbles surrounding us as we snorkeled. We spent a few hours walking around the aviary on the large island. On an island on the north side of us ocean aquarium. They put on a spectacular dolphin show for us. We arrived for the early show on advise from our friends on Basjako. It got very crowded with Colombian tourists quickly and the aquarium featured rays,a nurse shark show turtles and a very large variety of fish . All too soon we had to head back to Cartegena so Tara wouldn't miss her flight home to very cold Canada. I hope that more of our family and friends will come for a visit with us on the Endorfin.

New Years Cartagena

New Years eve was different for me this year, I went to the town of Trabaco with three other couples. Kathy and Dan Suzy and John plus Jan and Bill. We stayed in this picturesque Spanish style hotel outside of the town of Trabaco. During the afternoon there was a bullfight taking place. This one was a little different because it is and audience participation event, if you want you can go in the arena and run with the bulls when they are let out. Which meant in this case, a lot of people try not to get gored or run over by the bulls. The arena is a huge wooden contraption with at least six mariachi brass bands playing loudly and a huge crowd of people in the arena and the stands yelling and having a great time as they antagonize the bull into cashing them around the ring. After several bulls were let out we went into town to watch the fireworks and mingle in the crowds in the main square. It seems that every one in the countryside came out to the festival and set up a booth of some sort. Food, games of chance, beer, and children's games, with a large smattering of souvenirs , And then the fireworks. They do not hold back on fireworks it just goes on and on through out the night.

CARTAGENA COLUMBIA

Our arrival in Cartagena took place in the late afternoon. By the time we motored into the very large and well marked harbor it was dark. My only concern had been a shoal near the entrance of the anchorage, which turned out to have a large well lit monument on it. We chose to anchor near the container docks and a large dock that accommodated extra cruise ships. Once we checked into the country Gil and I set out to explore the the Old City. It is walking into the past in a Spanish city. Cobblestone streets lined with three story buildings with bougainvillea covered balconies cascading in pink and red. The city boasts a huge arts and music culture, while we were there they had a music festival and there were many art exhibits throughout the city. On any given day there is something of interest going on which is well advertised. Gil and I toured the naval museum and San Felipe Fort,who's fort walls extend around the old city. We also visited the museum of the Inquisition, to be accused of being a witch was not a good thing. When we arrived the Miss Columbia pageant was taking place. The Colombians take this very seriously. There is a week long festival with a huge parade, during which you have to arm yourself with cornstarch, powdered tempera paint, cans of foam and bags of water. All of these accoutrement's you use on all bystanders at the parade and all the open air festivities. Obviously old clothing is a must because you end up very decorated and drunk. Once the fanfare of the pageant was done the city moved on to getting ready for Christmas. During the preparation of this they have at least one to two day religious Holiday's every week and more festivals. Around this time Gil found out he had to travel back to Canada and I was left to babysit the boat on my own And let me tell you it was a hardship festivals,happy hour at a local Cantina every Wednesday, volleyball three times a week, plus an excursion to see a bullfight. Oh!, yeah did I tell you I drank sun downers on other boats every night. I barely had time to decorate the boat with Christmas lights and entertain old friends and the new ones I had met. Seriously the harbor was beautiful at night there were many sailboats that lit up their lights and with the lights from the city it was a fairyland. During Christmas week the boating community organized a Christmas Ball with dinner and dancing, Everyone dugout their evening apparel and traded in their flip flops for dancing shoes. Christmas Day was a little lonely with Gil still in Canada but I was invited to breakfast on Christmas morning aboard Caborat. Suzy and John made an exellant meal and then we all had to get busy with cooking our dishes for the potluck Christmas dinner we were having in Old Town at a hostil. The hostil is owned by the same woman who owns the marina that we used. Chandelara was gracious and let us use her facilities. She decorated it beautifully with flowers and candlelight. After that a group of us went to a Small town named Trabaco to celebrate New years Eve.

Tara's visit to Cartagena

Aquarium at the Rosario Islands Columbia

Miss Columbia parade

San Blas Islands

From Portebello we headed for the San Blas Islads. This is a chain islands of that belong to an indigenous people called the Kuna Indians. They revolted against the Panama government and won their Independence to govern themselves totally. Each island has a counsel that decides how they will live. Most of the Kuna have chosen to live traditionally They live in palm thatched houses. They are not allowed to marry outside of their race or they must leave. The family group is ruled by the women and they are the ones who decide who they want to marry. The men spend most of their time on the water fishing or collecting coconuts from the hundreds of islands. Everything on each island belongs to someone even a coconut that has fallen from a tree. Permission must be asked to gather anything. While we were there the kunas would come to our boat to trade. They are quite resourceful, they had fish ,lobster, crab,coconuts and a small variety of fruits and vegetables. One fellow even had a fuel delivery service. For a small fee he would bring you diesel or gas on the promise he would bring it the next day. Of course it came two days latter but it came. Almost every island we went to the village women would come out to us in their kayos(canoes) with hand stitched molas. These are intricately stitched layered embroidery of Kuna life. The best ones are made by men who are transvestites. The Kuna are very tolerant about about sexual preferences. Some of the islands have allowed the modern world to influence their way of life but the majority are only subsistence living and they seem to get along fine. They take care of their resources and do not like waste of any kind, for example If they need one fish for dinner that is all they catch.The water around each island is crystal clear you can see forty feet to the bottom. Our snorkeling trips were fantastic. There is an abundance of tropical fish and a great variety of coral and sea life. Our anchorages were idyllic almost every island had a very protected lagoon. Although the anchorages are great the thunderstorms here are awesome, during one at the swimming hole we witnessed a waterspout, and the dummies we are including the other sailboats that were there , we all got our cameras out instead of trying to get out of the way. Fortunately the spout past us on the other side of the island. Gil and I slowly made our way to Cartagena Columbia leaving the beautiful waters of the San Blas behind us. Our arrival into the harbor was uneventful. It is well a marked channel that is very large. the harbor itself is huge and takes some time to get to the anchorage. We arrived in the late afternoon to a sprawl ling cosmopolitan city and a huge Spanish fort wall surrounding the old part of the city. It was like seeing the past and the present at the same time.

Panama

Moving on from Bacas Del Torro

Gil and I finally left the harbor of Bacas Del Torro on a clear and sunny day. Our chosen anchorage for the night was Toby agian. We both wanted to see our friend Jose one more time before we moved on. His son came out to the boat and informed us that his father was visiting his daughter in Almirante. Although we were disappointed we got to chat with his son Jorge and we left a message with him for his dad. as soon as he lft the boat we wre surrounded by the many children from the village once again looking for treats. Gil in his usually gruff way doled out some candies and off they went. The next morning we set off for Esqudo De Veragua. This time the wether was fair and the ancorage was rolly but comfortable enough to stay a couple of days and explore the island on the west side. The Ngoby Indians had set up their fishing camp while we were there, so we got a first hand look at how they make a living. The camp consists of a half a dozen palm roofed huts with a small tienda with some supplies for sale. Every morning they set out in their dugout canoes. They either fish with a hand line or dive for lobster or crab and at the end of the day they send their catch back by launch to the main land to be sold. We bought some lobster for our dinner our final night there. Our next destination was the Rio Chagres. We spent a day and night sailing, to arrive at daybreak in the mouth of the river. The zipper broke on our bimini during the night, of course it was raining when it happened. A little wet and tired we dropped our anchor in the mouth and made a few repairs to the bimini. Once that was done it was a leisurely motor up the river. Panama has a diverse population of wildlife. We could hear the howler monkeys in the tree canopy as we motored along. Green Amazon parrots,toucans and a myriad of other birds. The sides of the river is a cascade of vegetation which is in full bloom in pinks and lavender colors. The vines drape off of the massive trunks of old growth trees and hang just above the river. And from these iguanas and other lizards forage for food. There are crocodiles in the river, but we never saw any. We made our way up to the dam at the end of the river. The dam provides hydro electric power and is essential for the lake level at the canal, which is about a half hour walk from the dam. The Panama Canal in operation is one of the most fascinating things I have seen. Incredible amounts of fresh water are pumped in to convey large freighters through the lock systems. I will give you full details when we go through. It was a pleasant four days on the river exploring and using all the fresh water we wanted for cleaning. Shelter Bay Marina was our next stop. This is situated in the bay of Colon and you have to share the waterway with an incredible number of freighters. Going through the shipping channel you feel pretty small with all the big boys around you. As we passed into the channel we hung to the right and went into Shelter Bay. The marina is one of only two places that a small boat can stay in the canal area. We spent the week there and made forays into the town of Colon for supplies to see us through the San Blas Islands. I would have liked to go into Panama City but we shall be returning and I will get my opportunity then. The marina is one of the nicest we have been to but really expansive. While staying there some of our friends from Bocas Dal Torro came in and it was like old home week. Linda and Rich from the sailing vessel Wild Goose Two, Jean Pierre and Danna on Nikan, and Bill and Jan from Foreigner. One of the best things is meeting up with the people you have met and trading stories of your travels. And of course the it gives you and opportunity to have a few beers while doing so. Gil checked us out through the agent in the marina office and we headed for the San Blas. The day we left it started to get nasty out there so we turned around and went back in and anchored in the flats for the night. The flats is the other area you can stay, it is also the staging area for the canal. The next day we left and made it to a bay called Portebello. We had decided not to go into the bay of Linton because we had heard about a boat boarding in the middle of the night there. A sail boat was boarded and the couple on board were unhurt but robbed. Portebello is a very old, dating back to the 15 hundreds, with and old Spanish fort around the perimeter of the bay. Some of the houses are built into the wall itself. During our stay the town was celebrating a religious holiday. The crucifixion of the black Christ. Yes! In the church there is a black Christ on the cross. The population is a majority of the product of the slaves that were brought there and a mix of Spanish decent. The celebration itself was a week long event, with religious pageantry, lots of food and drinks and music. People from all over the country travelled to make the pilgrimage by the bus loads. The buses here in central South America are very different from north American bus lines. They are decorated on the inside with curtains (swags) and almost always have really loud Spanish music playing. The outside is almost always painted with some sort of regilious theme and prayers. and the drivers have a rosary haging somewhere from the dashboard. And most of the drivers make the sign of the cross before they begin to drive. While we were here we met up with Mike Riley from the sailboat Bo Soliel he had been waiting for his wife Karen to come back from Africa. Karen had spent two months with a girl friend doing aid work there. He was due to get to Panama in a few days to meet her flight, and then they would continue on through the canal into the Pacific. I am hoping to meet them somewhere on the other side when we cross over. They are an extremelly nice couple and we have had many pleasant times with them. Well bye for now and hopfully tomorrow I shall post some of the many pictures I have taken.