December 2, 2008   Saying So Long to the Land of OZ

With our days of driving the highways behind us, all 175,000 miles of it in the last 8 months, our souls are now tuning in to the call of the sea.  Blow Me Away has been out of the water in a Cartagena boatyard since February 27th and we so look forward to our reunion in seven days.  Our hearts were saddened with the passing of Aaron's Mom, Rosemary, in September. She is now reunited with Clarence, and we know that her daily prayers continue; just from a different location: higher up.  Our last days in Kansas City were hectic as we tied up loose ends and enjoyed last visits over lunch or dinner and celebrated an early Christmas with our grandkids.

December 3 - 8, 2008  Florida, Freight and Fun

Our journey south began with a flight to Ft Lauderdale where our good friend, Marc picked us up and opened up his home to us for the next six days.  We had shipped several items ahead of us. An important one, new spear guns, one for each of us, since I am now an official fishkiller.  We began the challenge of buying boat items most needed; a new icemaker, tools, spare parts, medicine and specialty food items.  It became very obvious soon after arriving that with the airlines restrictions on baggage, we were going to be forwarding freight to us in Cartagena; four boxes as a matter of fact.  Good friends, Chris and Magie s/v Contigo, called us soon after their return to the US for a visit. They have been cruising the South Pacific the last three years and filled us in on a few of their adventures.  He also gave us the email information on a freight forwarding company that they used while they were in Cartagena.  I emailed Javier Hoyos and asked him what we needed to do and he gave us a business address in Miami, OK Cargo, in which to drop off the boxes.  Marc knew by his experience with international shipping that a freight invoice is needed and he helped in creating one.  Another great plus was that Marc has a "cargo" van, so we loaded our boxes and headed to Miami.  As truckdrivers, we had delivered and picked up freight in Miami thru the years, so we knew the vicinity of our destination.  We found it with no problems, backed up the van to the dock, (just like old times) and delivered our freight.  Jorge Garcia of OK Cargo weighed the boxes, 152 lbs, placed the shipping stickers on each and gave us a receipt.  He then asked for the freight invoice and with that in his hands, we thanked him and off we went to our next stop.

We also visited our good friends, Jeff and Cindy and their son, Reef in Stuart and enjoyed a wonderful dinner with wine and caught up on the news since we saw them last in March.  The biggest news and the biggest entertainment is Reef, who is now one year old and almost walking on his own.  They spent a couple of months cruising in the Bahamas this summer on their trimarran motorcruiser. Reef especially enjoyed the nude beach on Green Turtle cay!

Time for a little culture, so Saturday, Marc drove us to Miami for an art fair.  It was located in Midtown where galleries were open in old buildings that were left for dead, but work really well for displaying art.  We walked the streets and visited as many galleries as we could helping ourselves to a free Red Stripe beer and hors d'ouerves along the way. Our favorite artist was one who constructed barnyard animals out of recycled materials, such as a sheep made out of old white tennis shoes, chickens made out of pencils and cows made out of old leather.  Lunch was an unique experience for the Goldmans of Florida had just opened up an Italian restaurant and had stopped serving lunch when we walked in, but with a little coaxing, and a compromise of ordering only simple items, like salad and soup, the hostess graciously seated us.  Marc's Dad, Arnold and his companion Sharon invited us to dinner that night. We enjoyed meeting more family members and a delicious steak dinner was served poolside.

With all of our business taken care of, bags packed and weighed (no more than 50 lbs for checked luggage), flights confirmed, we set the alarm for 330am.  Marc, who has joined us for many cruises in the past, remarked that it was just like getting up for a Gulf Stream crossing, where we have a good weather window and it's time to go. Our flight at 630am was on time, and as we sat back to enjoy the ride, we breathed a little easier knowing we were that much closer to our home.  By the way, Lan Chile airlines is awesome, free in flight movies and food!

At 10 am, we arrived in Bogota, retrieved our luggage, sailed thru customs and immigration, and then we ran into a snag.  Our flight to Cartagena that was scheduled to leave at 1245 was cancelled and the next flight available wasn't until 5pm.  So, resigned to the fact that we were stuck, we made the best of it. Our foreign language immersion course quickly began as the main language spoken here in Colombia is Espanol.  Exchanging our dollars for pesos (the dollar is worth more now than we left in March), we headed for the restaurants. Sampling as many things as we could during our 7 hour stay, ordering food is always a toss up.  In the US, you know what to expect when you order. Here you never know and it's always a surprise most of the time. At Crepes and Waffles, I enjoyed the pina coladas the best!  Go figure!

At 615pm, we stepped out of the Cartagena airport with all of our luggage in tow (that's always a plus) and was met with a gust of hot, sultry air.  Yikes, we are not used to that and immediately a bead of sweat forms on our faces.  We smile at one another and are happy that we have made it back safely.  We hail a taxi and ask him to take us to a cheap hotel but one that is clean.  Off we go, and land in Bocagrande, a place where a lot of tourists stay, lots of condos and highrises, but a nice beach. It's like a smaller version of Miami!  For $40, the room is minimal, not Motel 6 standards, no hot water (which is the norm here) but no showerhead either, just a cool steady stream like right out of a garden hose. We toss our bags in the room and walk along the streets, being bombarded by people selling necklaces, T shirts, and all kinds of souvenirs.  "Buen precio for you" they say as we keep on going politely saying "No gracias" many many times. Entering a pleasing courtyard, with Christmas decorations all around and lights, we sit down and enjoy a Colombian meal and relax.

December 10, 2008  Our World has Definitely Changed  

The Colombians are on their summer vacation, December thru February, so a lot of families and teenagers from other places in Colombia are enjoying their time here in Cartagena.  Our hotel, housed a lot of teenagers who like staying up all night and talking.  Being respectful for others and talking softly is lost to them and it was lost to us as we finally drifted off to sleep. We awoke and ordered coffee in the tiny restaurant in the hotel.  It's instant coffee, why is that when Colombia grows some of the best coffee in the world?  I want to talk to Juan Valdez. Colombians actually drink espresso, a small cup filled with sweet strong coffee. No menu is offered either, which is typical in most local places, and you are served the plate of the day, which today is eggs and toast.  A typical breakfast item is an arepa, which is a flat cake grilled and made out of corn that is very bland. We decline that offer.  Arepas can also be filled with eggs and cheese and meat and deep fried and those are very good. A quick internet session, since it is available, I check email and send a quick message to family saying we made it safely, no worries. Breakfast is as we find out upon checking out included in the bill.  Que chevere! A Colombian expression meaning "How cool". I learned that from the teenagers!

We hail a taxi and the driver of the smallest taxi car (no trunk) jumps out to greet us and we shake our heads and politely try to tell him that we have a lot of luggage; one is very big.  But, he is determined and he says he can do it. He places the biggest bag in the passenger seat up front and crams in the rest wherever space there is between Aaron and I.  With bags in our laps, we are laughing as we make our way to our boat thru heavy traffic.  25 minutes later, we arrive at Todomar boatyard and the guard at the gate asks us who we are and waves us thru.  The taxi driver pulls up to Blow Me Away where Jorge, our boat crew manager and two work crew are hard at work.  Our luggage is hauled up the ladder to the cockpit by young men with strong backs! We would never of made it.  We're finally home, but it is not liveable.  Being on the hard, makes the boat hard to live in.  All of the stuff normally on deck is now down below, there is no where to sit and only a narrow walkway.  The V berth, the forward cabin, is filled with stuff.  The heads are not functional and our galley is still unfinished.  Remember?  We had to discontinue work on it since we had to leave back in March.  But, it's still good to be back onboard.  You gotta love this lifestyle to stick with it thru the bad times. We talk with Jorge, who can speak English pretty good, which is a relief.  My brain gets a bit overworked having to speak Spanish all the time.  We look over the exterior of the boat, Jorge has done a lot of work already.  We hired him back in August and have communicated thru emails and our friends on s/v Sundance, Fred and Sara helped a great deal.  Jorge was painting their boat back in August.  It's a good thing that we hired Jorge then, because he is in demand right now since this is the busy season with cruisers. We are pleased with the work done so far and the next priority is to find a room. 

We walk  next door to another boatyard, Ferroaquilmar, and talk to Pura, the boatyard manager,  who remembers us and our boat since we had asked for a quote from her to haul our boat out earlier in the year.  We asked if she has any rooms to rent and if so, we would like very much to take a look see.  Usually, these rooms are rented by people who have their boat hauled out at Ferro, but they will rent to anyone if one is available.  By the way, Pura is fluent in English. Our needs are minimal and so is our comfort level.  The smallest room has a small refrigerator, a bed, one table and chair, and a bathroom. Very clean and cheap, $17/day  and it is within walking distance, just a half mile away from Todomar, where our boat is, so no transportation costs to and from work.

We walk back to our boat and pack a small overnite bag and since it is Wednesday, happy hour at Club Nautico is the place to go.  We also heard from Pam and Denis on s/v Glide and Julie and Tom s/v Gris Gris  by email that they would be there also.  Back to the room for a quick shower.  The room is not furnished with towels or toilet paper and I knew about the towels but the toilet paper was a surprise.  A few Kleenexs are retrieved from my purse and were good till tomorrow.

Club Nautico is a marina, the cheaper of the two.  The other being Club de Pesca, a bit more upscale and very nice.  But, Nautico has a certain charm to it and as we climb off the motorcycles we hitched a ride on (it's the cheapest way to travel since we are about 8 miles from town), we are met by Tom and Julie.  We haven't seen them since Jazzfest in New Orleans in April!  Conversation is began and doesn't stop.  Pam and Denis are with Manfred going thru the check in process since they just arrived this afternoon!  Tony s/v Andiamo greets us and says his liver has missed us.   How sweet, now how about ordering us a couple of rum and cokes!  It's great to see everyone, a wonderful reunion and somehow it's like the last 8 months was a blur, just a blip and gone.  Gene and Brenda s/v Queen Mary say hello and a great surprise is seeing Hans and Carla on s/v Ismeralda.  We met them on the Rio Dulce in 2006, where we were both staying at Mario's marina.  Carla and I walked with the women's group every morning, a great way to start the day.  And talk about a walk, these two  just completed a walk thru Spain this summer, yes walked across Spain and as Hans states:"we stayed in many convents with nuns!" 

After happy hour, we walk to Danna's for pizza, the six of us, Pam, Denis, Tom, Julie and us.  We sit out in the courtyard and enjoy the beautiful evening as we converse.  The catching up is relentless it seems, but we get it done and eventually, tired and all talked out, we hire a taxi for the trip back to Ferroaquilmar, out in the burbs, the industrial part of town.

December 11, 2008   Takin Care of Business

Rise and shine and off to work we go.  Aaron's back has been bothering him and he has been in a lot of pain.  The walk to Todomar takes him awhile, but he makes it. Jorge and crew are hard at it by the time we arrive.  Daisy and a friend with a truck arrive and haul our two anchors and all the chain, and  any hardware from inside the boat that we would like to be chrome plated.  I hop in the battered and worn truck in between Daisy and her friend and off we go to her work place.  It is located in Bosque, which means forest but all the trees have since been cut down long ago and  now its a dirty, dusty industrial city.  The truck can only go about 40 mph which is a good thing.  The place of business is small and a couple of young men carry the anchors and drag the chain to the scale.  It's an old one, the kind you find at your doctors office with a 2 x 2 platform and anchors and then the chain are placed on the platform and are weighed.  The weight is in kilos and the amount paid is based on the total weight.  I do not have enough money for the deposit and tell Daisy that I am on my way to the bank.  She says that she will be by Todomar tomorrow morning to pick up the deposit.  No te preocupes.  No worries, she says.  A taxi is called for me and the receptionist tells me not to pay more than siete (seven) pesos for the ride to the bank in Manga.  There is a definite gringo price and  then there's a local price much lower for practically everything here. You get the feeling that you are being taken advantage of and it's true, you are.  But, although, you can bargain for a lower price and you should, sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.  It depends on the situation.

The bank does not reopen until 2pm, so I head for Club Nautico. In the marina's office,  I hail Glide on the radio, and a surprise. Eder, the Corian guy, is at their boat.  Denis comes in to pick me up and when I see Eder I say Que bueno verte. (It's good to see you).  He is all smiles and smiles even bigger when I tell him I have a gift for him.  Back in February, Eder asked if we could bring him back a router from the USA when we return.  Tools here are very very expensive.  I said we would if we had room in our bags. So, we had purchased a router for him and it is in the shipment being forwarded.  He is so happy to be told the good news.  But, he doesn't get it until work is completed on Blow Me Away. 

At the bank, BancoColombia, I look for the young lady who had waited on me back in February, Sofia, but she is not here.  Up on the second floor, the line is very long as people wait for a teller, but I know to go to the special window and wait there til someone helps me.  Eventually, a young lady asks what I need, and I tell her that I need to withdraw the maximum which is 3 million pesos.  I give her my passport and bank card and she makes the call.  I sign a form and wait some more. You learn to have even more patience than you ever thought you had.  After an hour, I am in a since a millionaire! Pam and Denis, have come with me and is denied becoming a millionaire.  Evidently, her bank card does not allow that amount withdrawn at one time. Not everyone has the capability, no?   We try an ATM that I had used before that dispenses 500,000 pesos as the maximum, no luck with that either.  So, since Pam and Denis need money for Eder's deposit,  and I am a millionaire, I loan them what they need.

 Denis leaves us to return to the boat and Eder.  Pam and I walk to Centro Commercial, where I need our phone unlocked so it will work here.  I return to the same place that had helped me before and with our limited Spanish, sign language, and lots of laughs, we manage to get my phone unlocked. My old SIM card does not work, so I purchase another one. For $25 US I now have a phone that works here in Colombia.  All I need to do now is purchase minutes. That's done at another place.

We walk back  to Carulla's grocery store for a quick internet session.  I send a message to Javier, the freight forwarder guy, and ask when can we expect delivery.  Wtih business completed for the day, it's time for a few cold cervesas, it is 5pm after all.  Aaron meets us at Club Nautico and Pam and Denis invite us out to Glide, out at anchor then we dinghy over to Hannah Day, owned by Sydney and Dave, who are also from Maine to continue happy hours. It is so good to be out on the water, I wish we were.

December 13, 2008    Goin A Wall

Happy Birthday Dad!  We love and miss you.

We meet Pam at Club Nautico, after a few hours of work on our boat this morning, and hail a cab to the Old Walled City.  This area is such a unique place. Narrow streets, balconies filled with flowering bougainvillea, Spanish architecture, vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs, beads, necklaces, fruit, and art.  Indeed, I have written about it when we were here back in February, a wonderful place to walk around for days and days.  Our goal today, is to find a hotel for the week of Christmas because we have our good friend Marc coming during that time, and although we will have to give up our room at Ferroaquilmar, it's not hard to do.  But finding a room in the Walled City is hard to do.  We check out many many hotels, and it seems we are late to the party.  All our booked.  But, we don't give up, do we?  We lower our level of comfort and seek out the less desirable hotels. 

 We just happen to run in to a gentleman that I met before, Edwin, who works for Green Peace and speaks fluent English.  We tell him what we are looking for and he takes on the challenge.  He says rooms are cheaper by the university.  This is such good luck because he can speak Spanish to the hotel clerks and after six or so hotels, we decide on the best one.  It is nothing fancy, no shower curtain, no breakfast included, no internet, no beautiful courtyard in the middle but we are in the city, so we reserve two rooms.

December 15, 2008   Work Work Work

We have brought our coffee maker to our room so that we can make the kind of coffee we love.  There is a little restaurant here at Ferro that serves breakfast and lunch, Monday thru Saturday, but the "el tipico" (typical local food) is doing a number on our americano stomachs, so as a means of survival, we have bought milk and cereal and enjoy breakfast in our room.

We decided to have our stanchions moved to the toerail so as to end the incessant leaks aboard. Stanchions are the poles that hold the lifelines on the top deck.  Lifelines are important since you might just depend on them for your life in a troubled sea. Getting to the bottom bases down below becomes quite a challenge, but we know it has been done before.  So, emptying cabinets for access and unbolting the screws then filling in the holes topside takes two days of work.  Our rechargeable drills are not functional due to the charging base failing to charge the battery.  The electrical current is not a steady 110 volts.  Another challenge.  Your forearm gets a good workout doing it the manual way.  Cresin, we just call him Crazy, is one of the workers, and he says he might be able to get the charger fixed.  See, his forearm is tired also and would like to do it the easy way!  And he did get it fixed for 20,000 pesos or $10 bucks.

Our freight that we had forwarded arrived Monday morning delivered right to us at Todomar.  Javier Hoyos service is good and at $3.50 a pound it is at a premium price, but all four boxes arrived safely and intact.

Our propeller has been removed to be repitched.  Our speed thru the water when motoring has not been sufficient since we had it pitched back in 1998.  Hopefully, this time with the right specifications we can get it done correctly.

Well, I believe that destruction mode is done with and from now on work will be a forward progress to the finish.  Jorge is anxious to get to the painting.

There have been no "O" sightings yet.  O is our pet gecko that sailed with us since Bocas del Toro, Panama.  He loved his rum and cokes and every night we set a capful out for him for his midnite treat. "O" had quite the little personality: he would join us for happy hour often getting his fill from slurping in someone's rum and coke.  Then he would spy on Aaron and I from our aft cabin hatch and look down on us in the mornings.  He would do a little dance just to let us know he was there.  We hope he stayed around because we sure do miss him.  And we need more O stories to tell!

December 21, 2008    Sunday Delays

Today we arrived early at the boatyard to see the first coat of paint, the primer coat, to be applied to the hull (the sides).  No one is here but us, since the yard is closed on Sundays, which is quite nice.  Less dust that way.  This attempt began on Thursday evening, when Jorge left early to go to the paint store, but unfortunately, the store was closed by the time he arrived.  So, he had to return Friday morning to buy paint.  Saturday morning, the wind was blowing too hard, so efforts were abandoned.  And now, Sunday is here, but not without its challenges.

It's a very calm morning, perfect for painting, but after plugging in the compressor, it quits working.  So, Jorge had to return it to the rental store and swap it for another one.  Final masking and washing of the hull upon his return, it is now 1015am, and the wind is beginning to blow, just a slight breeze.  Again, something is wrong with the compressor.  This time the spray nozzle is malfunctioning.  At 1045, all systems are go and painting is being accomplished.

Last Friday, I went into town early in the morning to again withdraw funds from the back, an hour process, and then across the street to Carulla's grocery store where there is an internet cafe, air conditioned. (I can obtain the internet at Todomar boatyard, but only during non business hours.)  In the afternoon, I meet up with Pam and Jeannie and walk downtown to the Walled City.  We just met Jeannie and her husband, Bob, s/v Island Dreamin, from Galveston, TX at happy hour at Club Nautico on Wednesday. They are experiencing engine problems and will be around for awhile.  So, while the men are at work; us girls go shopping. I check on our reservations at Hotel Porveneir, where we will be staying when Marc arrives.  Cristina, the hotel receptionist, assures me that two rooms are on reserve.  I ask if I need to make a deposit, but she says no it is not necessary.  Jeannie decides to reserve a room as well, since Island Dreamin is headed for Todomar for a haulout.

It's 1115 now and only a third of the boat is painted.  More problems with the sprayer, frustration mounts, and the wind is increasing.  Not good at all.

Aaron meets me at Club Nautico at 5 pm and Bob and Jeannie joins us for the walk to Club de Pesca Marina for happy hour.  Dianne on s/v Takes Me Away is also back from her wintry home in Minnesota and  she meets us there. Julie escorts us in, (security purposes) and her and Tom join us. The happy hour attendees keep increasing and before long we have 5 tables set up.  Louis is busy with drink orders!  The owner of Club Nautico, Candelaria is having her birthday party tonight so we walk back and join the festivities there.  A chicken dinner and free drinks for all guests, upon which a donation is requested.  As entertainment, a band is playing and then two different dance troupes arrive and display their talent.  It's quite a performance.

High noon and the stern and the starboard side are painted.  The primer color is a yellowish beige and you can now see every flaw in the hull.  These areas will be filled then sanded for a smoother finish. The wind has increased even more so, but the port side is somewhat blocked by the wind by another boat.  The scaffolding is moved to the other side and set up.

In Central and South America, lunch and a siesta afterwards are a combined affair and is "the norm".  At 1230 to 2pm, almost every business shuts down.  But today, Jorge is determined to finish the job, so lunch and siesta are skipped.  And the work continues...........

At 1pm,  Success!  The boat now is wearing it's first primer coat and looks much improved.  It has been a long morning and our hard dinghy, which sets atop the deck and is used solely for storage purposes, will receive a paint job as well.  But, Jorge runs out of paint.  The wind affected the paint job in a way that some of the paint blew away in the process of spraying it on.  Jorge had to go back 3 to 4 times to even out the application and overall, he did a good job.  He is a very hardworker and wish that things had gone more smoothly for him.  Hopefully, the next coat of paint will.

December 25th   Feliz Navidad por todos!

 Last nite, we watched our annual traditional Christmas movie, "A Christmas Story", and enjoyed Ralphie wishing for his Red Ryder 200 shot BB gun with the compass in the stock.  But, today, is moving day for us.  We are moving on up into the Walled City! We hire a taxi and load all of our stuff, even the coffeemaker and Marc arrives at the Hotel Porveneir about the same time we do!  and it's great to see him.  He has brought us all kinds of goodies, just like Santa. Around 5pm, we walk to Club Nautico where some cruisers are gathering for  Christmas cocktails and appetizers.  Later, dinner is again at Danna's, since it is the only restaurant open close by.

December 26 - 29th   Beach, Boats, Bars and Mud?

While Marc is here,  we show him the best sites of Cartagena.  On Friday, we taxi it to Bocagrande Beach for the day and rent an umbrella and chairs and enjoy the beautiful day.  Various vendors pass by selling necklaces, hats, beach attire,  watches, sunglasses, inflatable toys, and food.  Marc, in need of a hat, negotiates a buen precio for the traditional Colombian hat.  You need never to get up, other than to swim, for everything needed comes your way if you wait long enough!

Saturday, while Aaron checks on the boats progress, Marc and I take the boat tour to the Rosarios and Baru, the outer islands just a couple of hours away.  Arriving early so as to secure a good seat, we join many other Colombianos for a day of fun in the sun. The boat's name is the Alcatraz and it is our ticket off of the mainland!  The waves get a bit rolly as we motor out of Bocachica cut and it's great being out on the water. It's been just about a year ago, when we entered this cut on our boat with all the anticipation of reaching a new port. At 1030am, we first visit the aquarium, and enjoy watching the different aquatic animals.  The most interesting were the nurse sharks that acted like dogs, in that, when they were being fed they came right up to the floating dock and waited patiently for their kibbles and bits!  There were  also reef sharks, tarpon, turtles, and stingrays in different pens.  The last performance were the dolphins displaying their ability to entertain a crowd with jumps and flips.

The tour continued on to Playa Blanca on Baru island, a beautiful white sand beach.  The tour boat anchored off in deeper waters and we were all transported to and from the beach on a small ferry boat.  As we landed, we were guided to an area where lunch was served, a whole small fried fish, coconut rice, salad, platanos and juice.  Marc and I declined the  fish and relished in a bigger serving of rice.  Afterwards, we walked along the beach and rented a couple of chairs and tried our best to relax, but the constant flow of vendors prevented that luxury.  Marc was enticed into a massage, and I bought a necklace.  If any other vendors came by, I told them that "mi tienda esta cerrado." (my store is closed).  They thought that was funny and smiled, but it worked.  The water was nice and refreshing and at 330pm we were back onboard the Alcatraz and returned back to Cartagena by 5 pm.

Sunday was spent in walking around the Old Walled city, touring the Museum of Gold and the Museum of Emeralds.  We met up with Pam and Oscar and since he is a college student studying Caribbean history, he could give us a better insight into the colorful history of Colombia. The Emerald museum was truly remarkable.  We met the owner and his wife, Vilmar and Edith.  His family has a long history of mining and collecting these gems.  Edith, who is fluent in English, and lived in New York for awhile, was very informative and she explained the different types of emeralds.  Did you know there are pink and blue emeralds?  We didn't either, and to see them is to be a believer.

Monday, was mud day, a trip to the Volcan de lodo, (Mud Volcano).  We have been told that this is a must see and do; and what's not to like?  Being a kid again and bathing in mud!  It's suppose to be very good for your skin! The tour van picked us up at our hotel and on the way, we were joined by four others, a couple from New Jersey and two college students, one from Berkley and the other Dartmouth.  So, the drive there was 45 minutes or so outside of Cartagena.  Expectations were high, and upon arriving we were not surprised that it wasn't what we had pictured in our minds.  But, hey, time to put on our bathing suits and trek up the stairs to the top for a luxorious bath and a massage.  There were quite a few other Colombians already in the mud soup, so we had to wait our turn.  A young man took our camera and the photo shoot began.  Now, we are told that this is a natural landmark.  It used to be a religious ceremony place for the Indians, and I bet they had a great time as well.  Once fully in, you receive a massage from a young man, again what's not to like, and you actually are floating in the mud,  you cannot sink.  You feel totally suspended.  It's an awesome feeling.

After 20 minutes, you are then helped out of the mud, rub off  the excess mud with your hands,  and walk back down the steps, onto a  gravel road, and enter the lake for a freshwater rinse.  Colombian women meet you there and tell you to sit down in the water, while they  start rinsing off the mud, first with a bucket of water over the top of your head, and secondly, helping you off with your bathing suit so that they can rinse that out out as well.  Yes, you are naked, but only for a little while  and yes, it is a coed experience  and quite exhilarating.  You can buy a water bottle filled with the rejuvenating mud for 2000 pesos.  In case, you might like to relive the experience by a mud facial at home. We change back into our dry clothes and are whisked away to the little scrubby town of Manzinillo, where we enjoy a typical lunch beachside.  The tour van takes us back to our hotel, where after a siesta, we walk to the Plaza de Fernandez for Pizza in the Park.  These past five nights, we have ate dinner at some fabulous restaurants.  There are so many great restaurants inside the walled city, that it would take months of eating dinner out to experience them all.  The best find so far, has been Mila's, a wonderful place to treat yourself to an exquisite array of desserts.  The hot brownie sundae followed by a strawberry one is memorable.

December 30, 2008   Happy 19th Anniversary to Us   

 Marc left this morning to return to Ft. Lauderdale.  These last five days went by so fast and we enjoyed every minute of it.  With special memories and many laughs, we look forward to the next visit which could be soon, if we make it to the San Blas islands in Panama in a couple of months.  We lay low and rest away the afternoon and arise for an anniversary dinner celebration at an Italian restaurant, Da Danni's.  Pass the Chianti, por favor.

December 31, 2008   Feliz de Ano Nuevo

Gosh, I can't believe another year has gone by.  It seems the older we get, the faster time slips away.  We started the year here in Cartagena, and we are ending it where it began.  We make a trip out to the boatyard and check on the progress of the paint job.  It is a calm day, so the painting is going well.  Our regalvanzied anchors and chain, the restructuring of the stanchion bases are all done and ready to be installed. Jorge assures us that he will have the sides all done by tomorrow.  Now, that's good news. The party starts at our hotel room, where Tom, Julie, Art, Darlene and Dianne meet up with us.  We don't have an ice maker like we do onboard, but with our portable cooler and a bag of ice, the rum and cokes are dispensed.  Later on, we walk around the city, and come upon some great live music.  Each plaza is having their own celebration, and different kinds of bands are playing , blues, Caribbean, and jazz.   We come across Pam and Denis and their party group on one of the streets.  They had just enjoyed a horse and bugging ride through the city.  A man and his pet baby sloth were making the rounds, so I just had to get a picture with it.  At midnight, the fireworks began and with a magnificent display of booms and ahhs from the crowd, the new year was ushered in.