By now Colin and Amelia were getting to know the ropes well and today they were the cockpit crew, working together as a team to keep Trilogy moving along nicely. Unfortunately the breeze was light and we needed to motor sail all the way. It was a 40NM sail and we were pleased to arrive at Isla Grosa for our overnight anchorage, just before the sun set. The skipper's intention was to tuck into the lee of the island but a line of well spaced yellow buoys that we at first did not heed, lead to an interesting interaction from the shore. Two guys yelled at us in Spanish and motioned for us to back off. Only then did the yellow buoys start to make sense and binoculars on the large signage on shore confirmed there was no visitation as it was a bird sanctuary. This meant Trilogy was anchored around 350 metres off shore, which made the swim to shore quite a challenge for Peter and Garth. When they approached close enough, the now identifiable gay guys were again quite insistent they come no closer. You can imagine the stories that came back onboard about the gay bird watchers! Dinner was cooked by the very capable Amelia and her assistant, Colin. It was a simply delicious chicken and chorizo dish cooked in a flash in the trusty pressure cooker. The wind died out after dark and Trilogy rolled back and forth most of the night, on the persistent swell.
Our next destination was the port of Cartagena, which was tucked away in a nice harbour behind some quite high cliffs. The port looked very industrial as we approached, with many tankers standing off awaiting their turn to enter, but as we rounded a headland, the inner harbour gave us our first glimpse of a lively city. There were two marinas mentioned in our pilotage book and our preferred marina was full, as there was a regatta on for the weekend. Fortunately we were welcomed into the other marina, and apart from the strong cross wind in the marina, berthing Trilogy went well. We no sooner had settled the boat than we were informed that it was the Annual Carthaginians and Romans Festival, starting in half an hour. The festival occurs in the last 2 weeks in September a remembrance of the second Punic War. For 10 days, all heroic deeds which took place during the years of the Carthaginian rule, as well as the defeat and invasion by the Roman legions, are performed with great attention to detail by the locals. We were engulfed in the crowd that gathered at the port, to witness the arrival of the Carthaginian army by tugboat and the Roman armies gathering in formations, preparing to defend the invasion. Once landed and disembarked, they marched through the town to the festival encampment, with the crowd in tow, and it was wonderful to see the incredible costumes, precision horse riding and the commitment and ernestness of all those in the parade, heading to the battle ground. We decided not to stay to see the battle and the inevitable fireworks but rather head back into to the most attractive main city mall for an evening meal. We lucked a table at a tapas restaurant in a quaint alley and once our appetite was satisfied, we headed out into the mall. By now it had been transformed by what seemed to be the entire population who had gathered for the victory parade by the Romans (no doubt, as the Carthaginians were outnumbered 3:1 in the battle). The parade was equally well done, with a never ending stream of marching Roman legions, drum thumping regiments, wine carts with barrels of wine on tap, priests, Scorpian girls, fire twirling men and women, dancing troupes and women dressed in a range of long flowing Roman style dresses who offered sweets to the children. There was a great commitment to the parade by everyone and even the children involved were totally focussed on their role, even though it was close to pumpkin time. The costumes were unbelievably well done and we were in awe of the grandeur of the occasion!
Sadly, Colin and Amelia departed next morning but not before we shared a cockpit breakfast together followed by a quick trip into the mall, which was now filled with a large crowd of Saturday morning shoppers. Peter and Garth took on laundry duties at the marina and once we were all gathered back at Trilogy, it was time to say goodbye to our ship mates from London.
Back to the 'awesome foursome' once more, we departed Cathagena with many happy memories of a wonderful experience. We motor sailed about 25 NM in a light southerly breeze further south along the coast, enjoying a more natural vista as urban development had given away to fertile farmland at last. We anchored in a tranquil small bay to the north of Cabo Cope. With the sun due to set before too long, we all enjoyed a glorious swim to shore. A tourist schooner was anchored nearby but otherwise we had the bay to ourselves. We provided plenty of photo opportunities for the schooner guests by hanging our laundry all over the decks and guard rails of our beautiful Trilogy, in order to finish the drying of our sheets and towels. We relished the peace and silence of the tranquil setting as night fell.