Cartagena, what a ride!

Our exit from Aruba was quiet, there was some moderate winds forecast for the following few days, but we were complete with all our planned projects in time to check out and be on our way. Our expected passage time of just under three days had us leaving late afternoon, so we were able to easily pick our way through the reefs and shoals surrounding the area around the marina.  The first few hours into the evening were still calm and we flew our now favourite Code zero sail taking advantage of the following wind and seas.  During the evening the winds strengthened as expected but what we didn't expect were such strong following seas.  We changed the Code zero for the sturdier and smaller Genoa.  The swells at times were two to three metres tall as they pushed us along.  To stand in the salon or cockpit and look back at the wall of water coming towards the boat is at first alarming, but after a while you realise that, just as a surfboard, they pick you up and you can surf down the face of the wave at quite an increased speed.  At times we saw the GPS speed increase to 12, 13 or even 14 knots compared to our normal 8 - 9 knots in these conditions.  Quite a buzz, and had us playing the part of the speed junkie, looking for the next large wave and watching for an even higher max speed.  This was all fine and fun, until the following morning as day broke and we saw the winds increase from the 20-25 knots to a steady 30 knots plus, with occasional gusts to 40 knots.  The following seas now seemed ever more enormous and with the gusts seeming to take control of the boat, we decided to head coastward for a little to see if things would be a little calmer.  We ducked into a large indent in the coastline, near Santa Marta, Colombia, and found the seas and winds a little lighter and so we were able to make a snack and a hot drink and revisit our plan.  Lulled into a false sense of security we decided to press on hoping that the calmer conditions would remain.  Due to our change of course we were now crossing the swells at a slight angle making the ride still quite interesting.  As the day drew on, we found ourselves exiting the protection of this large shallow bay, and rounding the northernmost landmark at Baranquilla.  Here a large river outflows to the sea and as we approached the outflow, we saw an incredible effect where the clear sea waters met the muddy, brown river water, leaving a clear demarkation line out to sea as far as one could see.  We took photos, but a little too late to see the best effect - to be honest we were a little amazed by the eery way it looked, almost like you were sailing right onto land.  After this, as as evening came, the winds again strengthened to a steady 25 knots and the huge seas came back.  We had decided to make a run for Cartagena and arrive in the dark rather than wait for daylight as we would have to lose speed somehow, or even heave-to for hours in these inhospitable waters - our chart estimates had us arriving around midnight.  Our average speed now was up to 10 knots, and after one particularly huge wave picked us up and surfed us we saw a max GPS momentary speed of 23.4 knots!!  It was now completely dark and it seemed that the wind and waves had more control over the boat than we did, which is quite scary, so those six or so hours down to Cartagena seemed to last an eternity.  We were nervous about entering Cartagena harbour in these conditions, as the small craft entrance is a relatively narrow pass over a submerged stone breakwater built as a deterrent to invading fleets in the 16th century and gave us just 12 feet of clearance.  As luck would have it, as we started to come alongside the city on the coastline the waves abated and the wind dropped allowing us to safely enter the harbour and find our anchorage. 

That was quite a ride from Aruba and one we won't forget.  It taught us some valuable lessons about heavy weather downwind sailing, which is the prevailing condition for most of the South Pacific passage.  But at last we were here and we cracked open the rum for a celebratory and calming tot before taking our much needed sleep.

As we had approached the city of Cartagena along the coastline, we were struck by the skyline with its multitude of high rise apartment buildings, looking much like Miami.  Cartagena also has an historic walled city and fortress and was promising to be a beautiful city to visit.  As is practice in Colombia and agent has to be engaged to take care of customs and immigration clearance - it simply cannot be done by oneself.  So, the following morning we took the dinghy to the local marina where we were to meet our agent Jose David.  Jose completed some forms and disappeared with our passports for several hours - a little disconcerting in a country with the reputation of Colombia, but in the meantime he said it was fine for us to wander the area and directed us to a local supermarket nearby.  We were happy find a very modern, fully stocked supermarket with everything we could need.  In fact the whole area around the marina - Manga - appeared to be fairly affluent, with some inviting restaurants.  We bought a few supplies and headed back to plan our week in this promisingly beautiful city.

Cartagena has Uber, which is usually a good thing, as you can manage the whole taxi ride on the Uber app, and pay, without any discussion or money changing hands, plus you will pay the same rate as a local, not a tourist.  Unfortunately there are not a lot of Uber drivers, which meant we waited a while for a car to take us to the Cathedral the next day.  The Cathedral, we knew, was inside the walled city so seemed like a good place to start.  As it happened it would have been quicker to walk since our car was blocked in traffic a lot of the time, and that's what we did for the following days of sightseeing.  The streets in the neighbourhoods inside the walls were small and filled with restaurants, bars, shops of all description and especially emerald shops.  Emeralds are mined in Colombia and can be bought here at a great price and are a favourite souvenir for many visitors.  We visited the city museum and learnt about the Spanish Inquisition which was a major historical event for the city in its early development by the Spanish.  So-called heretics were rounded up, put on trial, and punished if found guilty.  The crimes could be anything from following other religions, to adultery and witchcraft and the punishments could be as severe as execution. The history of the city is rich and dates back to the early 1500's when the Spanish arrived and named the city after the great city of Cartagena back home, but added 'de Indias'.  Its position made it a major strategic port for the Spaniards and it became the primary port of entry and supply for the new lands of South America that they had colonised.  The city still has that European colonial feel in the buildings and culture to this day.  We visited the old Fortress de San Felipe, whose initial construction dated back to those early days and learnt how the outnumbered Spaniards of Cartagena had repelled the British navy by using guile and their superior ground positions.  One cool defence they employed was to build an undersea wall across a large part of the entrance to the huge harbour at Boca Grande, which effectively blocked the passage for the large British naval ships of the line.  It is still there to this day, and for small boats and yachts to pass through, one has to follow a clearly marked narrow passage across the lowest point of the wall - about 11ft  below the surface.

Cartagena is one of those cities which grows on you very quickly.  From the stunning architecture and history, to the affordable restaurants and shops, to the friendly people.  We would have liked to have stayed a lot longer, were it not for our schedule to reach Panama.  Towards the end of our stay, thanks to an online review of 'best kept secret restaurants' we found the the Cafe Lunatico in the Gethsemani bario of the walled city.  Only a 20 minute walk from our marina,  it was an eclectic space serving a limited but absolutely delicious menu.  After our first visit where we had the most unusual banana flavoured ceviche we went again on our last evening to be wowed by grilled octopus and the tastiest grilled lamb chops I have ever had.  Walking home that night, we happened upon a street gathering in that little neighbourhood with street performers, food vendors, music and people of every race and colour just enjoying the city atmosphere.  We people watched for a while, then couldn't resist taking home one of the street food specialties as a late night supper.

Our anchorage deep in the harbour was quiet except for the several pleasure boats and water taxis leaving from the marinas nearby during the day, but in the evening the view was spectacular - the walled city to the north of us with the churches and cathedral illuminated against the night sky, then the high rise towers of the Boca Grande peninsula looking for all the world like the Miami skyline from offshore.  It was sad to leave so soon, but as we watched the skyline disappear into the distance the next day as we sailed away to Panama, we vowed to return to spend more time acquainting ourselves with enchanting Cartagena.

Beautiful skyline

Those are some big plantains

Cafe Lunatico - a gem in the Gethsemani district

Lamb chops and Octopus...

And don't forget the Sangria

Theatre in the round

The fortress, Castille St Felipe

Goodbye Cartagena!