We finally got our weather window and our starter fixed using a spare. The weather window wasn't great but down in this part of the Caribbean it was probably the best we were going to get for awhile. We still had a forecast of 15-20, and the way the wind was gusting in our anchorage we were a bit reluctant to go, but the city life was calling us, and I was running low of food. As we expected we were hard on the wind pretty much the whole way, and weren't able to hold our course the whole time but we only had to tack off once the 2nd night when we were getting close to some islands. The 2nd night was our hardest night too with winds gusting to 30 and steep seas, but the boat and our steering vane handled it pretty well. We know there are a lot of flying fish in this part of the ocean because every morning our side decks were full of them. The biggest one I've ever seen decided to make a leap at the wrong time and went right over our dodger and hit me in the head and then fell flopping all over my feet in the cockpit. I, of course, didn't know at first what it was and was screaming bloody murder when John came running up. The strong fish smell gave it away, and John managed to throw him back in the water. After that I was on the look out for more of them coming my way. After the 2nd night out we were glad to get into the protection of the coast and see Cartagena.

The first few days in a new country are always hectic. We always have lots of paper work to do to clear into the country, and each place is different in how they handle it. In Columbia the officials don't want to deal with us, and they make you hire an agent. Actually, I didn't mind this since otherwise they have you running around to different agencies trying to get cleared in. It is always a frustrating time. We met with our agent at a coffee shop and he took our passports and other documents and cleared us in and returned everything the next day. It was very efficient. We will see if it goes as well when we do our exit papers. The first few days were also spent getting some boat jobs done which always takes a lot of time too. We needed to get our starter rebuilt and our VHF antenna looked at. All this time we could see the old city in the distance tantalizing us with its beautiful buildings peeking above the walled fortress. It is all beautifully lit in the evening. It is a short taxi ride away, and we finally got away one afternoon to do some exploring. We quickly found out that the heat of the afternoon isn't the best time, but we still managed to wander for awhile. It is a maze of narrow streets lined with colonial balconied buildings with flowering plants hanging from them. There are lots of amazing cathedrals and old government buildings and large plazas with lots of history. It was a little overwhelming as we wandered from one beautiful place to another feeling totally lost but not minding it a bit. The 2nd time we went in the evening which was much better since it was cool and the lights are part of the ambience. We were able to cover more ground and we even did a horse drawn carriage ride which took us into areas we hadn't managed to find yet. We have been in old cities before but this is the most spectacular because of the scale and how beautifully it has been restored. We will be here for about another week and a half and hope to make many more visits.

We did pick a difficult time to come to Cartagena since this week is the start of Semana Santa, the week before Easter when most Columbians go on vacation. All the beaches and tourist spots are crowded and there are many more boats zooming around the anchorage. After the quiet of the San Blas Islands, we have had to get used to a bouncy and noisy anchorage. Then right after Easter in the middle of April there is a Latin American Business Summit taking place here with lots of notable businessmen and government officials arriving. President Obama will be here around the 13th of April so you can imagine the level of security that precedes all that. There are rumors of the military boarding and searching all the boats at anchor with bomb sniffing dogs. Our goal is to get out of here before all that happens, but once again it is always weather permitting.
From here we head north back to the US with a few quick stops along the way. We are running out of time and want to be in Key West the first week in May. Meanwhile we will soak up the atmosphere of this beautiful South American city.