I have procrastinated on getting this section of the blog written so it covers the entire time we have been in Cartagena from around June to the present but the trip home is in a separate blog entry.

We left the marina in Santa Marta and headed for Punta Hermosa. Lately, the winds have been low to nonexistent but we were able to sail some of the trip. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and the bay was filled with windsurfers and beachcombers. Just before dark we did have a visit from what we believe was the coast guard. Most of the conversations was in Spanish but they were able to inquired about how long we would be there, where we came from and where we were headed or at least that was the answers that Steve gave them and they seemed to be fine with the information. Crossing the Rio Magdalena, which we have heard can be a little ugly, was no problem for us. As we approached the Rio, we noticed a definite line between the normal green brown color of the Colombian water and the dark chocolate milk color where the river was flowing into the ocean. We were about 4-5 miles offshore. It was amazing how delineated the line was between the two sections of water. Although slow, we were able to sail through this area. Steve was not crazy about running the engine in no telling what as we made our way toward Cartagena. We arrived at Manzanillo in the afternoon and had to med-moor which means we got tied up stern to the wall. The power at the dock was supposed to be 120 volts but was not this high and sometimes nowhere near this number. We were not able to run all of the systems we wanted to all the time. Sometimes during the day the voltage would be down to 90.

We have been told it is best to take a taxi from the yard anywhere we want to go so we have followed this advice. We have made several trips to Caribe Plaza. This is a very modern mall with two floors, a movie theater and food court. There is a grocery story and a store similar to Home Depot. We have also seen a few movies in English with Spanish subtitles.

We spent a day looking around the the town inside the old walls of Cartagena. The old town is beautiful and clean. The buildings are nicely kept and statues seem to be everywhere. The street vendors and people trying to give you a tour can be very aggressive and they seem to pick me out of crowd as an easy target. We walked on top of the old wall for a view all the way around the city. Nearby towns are Getsemani and Bocagrande. We can also see the Popa, a monastery on the hill. This can also be seen from the mall mentioned above. Castillo de San Felipe can also be seen from Cartagena and the old wall. The wall has been well maintained and is great shape for its many years of wear and tear.


Since our return from the states, we have ventured outside the gates of Manzanillo to a small family run restaurant called Maicol's (Michael's) The meals are good and the price is very reasonable. Twenty six thousand pesos (13-14 US dollars for three people) for a meat, rice, bean, small salad, soup and a coke or beer.

We felt the photo used for the caption was appropriate for a Cartagena post. We heard stories of how quickly the bottom will foul in these waters. Here is the barnacle growth on North Star after two weeks in Cartagena. The bottom was cleaned the day before we left Santa Marta.