Happy New Year!!!

Here we are in Aruba, enjoying our last few days of paradise before the weather man says it is safe to go. Last night we experienced the most incredible fire works we had ever seen apart from Disney World. For three days leading up to new years, the island put on shows of fire works each evening which we enjoyed since the view from the water was spectacular. Last night was defiantly the Grand finally, with every hotel setting off many crates of fire works. The show went on for hours with the most incredible displays at midnight, something we'll never forget. As we brought in the New Year, toasting with champagne/sparkling grape juice,(new years gifts from our friends on Raven) and eating oliebollen (Dutch new years cookies) we talked about all our experiences and friends we met over this past year and all the adventures that are yet to come. We are most thankful for our health and the time that we are able to spend together, learning, exploring and loving.

We had a wonderful Christmas vacation in Aruba. The boys are really getting into music lately so Santa did arrive and brought them ipods and a building kit of science experiments, (we'll fill you in on any explosions). The weather was not cooperating for us to sail on untill Jan 3rd, 2008. We sailed over to Monjes del sur, Venezuela, where we stayed for 8 hours and then at 1.am we left for Cabo de la Vela Columbia, the seas were 8 feet and the wind was behind us but still blowing at 20-25 kn (40-50 km hr) we had the sails double reefed and it became comfortable. No one seasick, just a bit shaken up. A mile from the anchorage we saw the aluminum schooner "Victoria", a half way house of the Danish Government, with 5 people on board, one captain, a first mate and 3 teenagers. They had left Aruba in the afternoon 03/01 and sailed through the night. We enjoyed their company over a few dinners, drinks on board and learning about their training ship, very interesting!!! We planned our sailing schedule with them to Cartagena. It is always more comforting to see a mast light ahead or behind, and an early warning when a storm starts.

The next 70 miles were no picnic!!! We experienced waves of 17ft. and winds of 30knts. We had to pass through a section of the ocean where a 10 mile river, the Rio Magdalena, flows into the sea and makes the sea like a washing machine, a very dirty washing machine since the fresh water of the river is lighter than the salt water of the sea and carries all the debris and the run-off from the mountains with it into the ocean. It is really amazing to see how the ocean has a very distinct line of blue to brown back to blue after these 10 miles.
During this sail of current, huge waves and winds, the boys and I sat in the cockpit with our orange reflective lifejackets on, harnessed to the poles, praying that the waves would not get any higher. At that point the waves were reaching the top of our dinghy arch which is higher than the top of our boat. Peter told us to look forward instead of watching these waves grow, but I like to know what hit us if it did. As we sit like this for many hours, I remember a few sentences of a book I read that reflects our experiences during these times at sea:

"I wish I could describe the feeling of being at sea, the anguish, frustration, and fear, the beauty that accompanies threatening spectacles, the communion with creatures in whose domain I sail. There is a magnificent intensity in life that comes when we are not in control but are only reaching, living, surviving. For me, to go to sea is to get a glimpse of the face of God. At sea I am reminded of my insignificance. It is a wonderful feeling to be so humble".

We arrived safely in Cartagana after a 4 day sail from Aruba and we were never so glad to touch land. We tied up to a dock and slept for 2 days. We're not going anywhere tooo soon!!!
Cartagana is a beautiful city with The Old City enclosed by a stone wall from the 1500's when Cartagana was under attack from the British. Once inside the wall, you feel like you are somewhere in Europe, while the view from our marina gives the feel of downtown Toronto. I was not expecting this at all. Our first week here was a time of familiarizing ourselves with the area and was pleased to find everything was in walking distance.
We have enrolled the boys in school for a month starting February 4th which is when school here begins after a 2 month break, like our summer holidays. The boys will have 4 subjects, science and social studies in Spanish and language and math in English. They are very excited about this, (Josh more than Matheus).

We were fortunate to have Peter's dad on board for two weeks, We visited the Rosario islands with the Danish training ship and had a great stay, even though it got quite windy. We visited a marine aquarium with a shark and dolphin show and lots of fish we had never seen before, which are lurking in the deep waters around the Colombian coast. We also went to a volcano mud bath that had us caked in mud before being washed off. The boys spend a great time with the boys off Victoria before they went onto school the day Opa left. Peter and I are looking forward to the boys learning Spanish so we have translators for the rest of our travels in South America.While the boys are in school this month, Peter and I have plans to complete some projects that have accumulated over time, and enjoy walks to the old city.

We are really enjoying Cartagana, everything we need is so close, the people are so friendly and the weather never changes. Since we've arrived, the weather has been a constant 30oC in the heat of the day and at sunrise and sunset there is a beautiful breeze off the ocean. This city is full of life, every evening there are shows in the square and we have been spoiled with the "fresh fruit" lady that comes to our boat every afternoon. There is an aerobics/exercise/ dance class at 5:00 am every day just outside the marina under the palms overlooking the bay of sail boats. It's hard to make an excuse not to exercise here. After a month of this we will be in great shape and have some salsa, meranga, and Spanish moves that are sure to have us fit right in with the locals. We now know why they have siestas here in the afternoon, Well, the projects may have to wait!

We look so forward to what God has in store for us, since He has blessed us in so many ways already. We will keep you posted in all our experiences and travels. While we waste away in 28 C on the sunny deck in Cartagena, we wish you all warm thoughts and would love to hear from you.
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Peter, Debbie, Joshua and Matheus Verstoep S/V Sea U Manana