Cartagena to Aruba

Chris Parker, our weather forecaster, finally gave us a heads up. We asked our agent to get our departure papers and paid up our bill at Club Nautico. Early on October 1 we filled our water tanks, did a quick last minute grocery run and left the dock at 9:00 AM for the fuel dock. Seven hundred and fifty dollars later we pulled away and temporarily anchored off the marina. It is 22 hour trip to the Five Bays anchorage so we have decided to leave at 6 PM to cross the River Magdelana in the early morning when the winds are calmer and we can watch for debris - and still anchor in Guayraca, the middle bay of the five before dark.
It's always eerie to leave a harbor in the dark. The channel is pretty well lit and we've been this way before so it's safe. Still I held my breath a little as we negotiated the narrow entrance throught the breakwater. The rest of the night was really lovely - calm and full of stars. We had a positive current so we really had to turn the engine down so as not to get to the Magdelena before daybreak. It was calm as we approched but once the wind came up against the currents steep waves with short intervals crashed over our bow and tossed us a bit around. We knew this often happens here so we were prepared and it only lasted a few hours. Then it was a nice the rest of the way.

Approaching the Five Bays in Tayrona National Park is always wonderful. The highest coastal mountain range (peaks over 19.000 ft) in the world looms up behind the rocky cliff lined harbors. Our favorite is the middle bay with it's small fishing village and coffee colored beach. Our friend Reynando came out to visit with us and we spent five days snorkeling, kyacking and admiring the view. We were waiting for Chris to give us the go ahead for our next passage and he finally said, "GO"
This next part of our journey was full of possibilities and timing arrival in daylight at the potential anchorages was tough. We left early in the morning and at 3:00 AM passed the first possibility, Cabo de Vela (Cape of the Winds). It had been a good passage with some great positive currents and we were making good time.

Some squalls and a second oil platform not marked on our charts gave us some exciting moments but we were feeling pretty good. We decided to keep going and at least make it to Monjes del Sur, a rocky Venezuelan outpost we had visited last October (see posting for all these anchorages in October 2007). The weather still was great late in the afternoon but if we continued on to Aruba we would be there at 2:00 AM so we tied up onto the rope at Monjes at 5:00 PM and settled in for the night.
The next morning gave us an unexpected challenge. I was up early and noticed that we were lying in a strange position relative to the wind. We had somehow been pushed over the line and our keel was caught. Scott had to wake up quickly that morning for a swim to free it before the wind came up. We cast off not long after and set our course for Aruba and the Renaissance Marina - luxury ahead!
This is a first class establishment and a good value. We pay $50 a night to stay there and the rest of the hotel guests pay $300 and up. Three nights refreshed us completely. We also met a very nice couple from Scotland on "Atlantia", Margaret and Will that were heading west.


Our first day there however was spent on the internet and on Skype. We had decided not to continue on to Trinidad if we could change our plane tickets. These were frequent flier ones on American and Continental so this was a difficult process. It took a day but we managed. Unfortunately it meant I couldn't be home for Thanksgiving and my planned sister Paula's visit. This was very disappointing but frankly it was a huge relief not to be transiting the Venezuelan coast at this time. Security problems have been rampant. Just last week a French cruiser was killed there on his boat by robbers in front of his wife and 10 year old son. There have been many incidents within the last month. The Russian navy is off the coast till November in joint exercises with Venezuela. To top it off I've been suffering from bursitus and sitting for long periods of time has probably caused it to flare up again.
We emailed and then called all our family after we made the changes. Everyone has been understanding. Our next port of call is Curacao and we had a lovely day to motor sail the 50 miles over there.

Charlie's Bar in Aruba

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This famous bar has been a fixture in the south of Aruba since 1938. Charlie was a national hero for work during WWII on the island. His son now owns the bar and it's a family enterprise. The memorabilia is amazing - I've never seen a place this rich in real souvenirs, from all over the world. The travel channel was there filming a segment while we had lunch. Happily we were allowed behind the bar for a picture. That's Richard and Debra from Tango with us. That picture above left was taken in the lady's room. How thoughtful to provide spare bras

Natural Bridges, Donkeys and Ostrichs (in Aruba?)

Richard and Debra have a car and we've been visiting the sights all over Aruba. The natural bridge was a prime attraction - all set up with cafeteria, snack bar and gift shop. Unfortunately the main bridge collapsed several years ago. Somehow the signs all over the island haven't changed and now the attraction is the collapsed natural bridge! There is a small one still there shown in the picture and the coastline is really beautiful.
Donkeys roam here too and one group stopped our car looking for a handout. Sorry guys we don't have anything. Another day we visited the ostrich farm - for lunch and a tour. The restaurant was very imposing, built like a huge African hut. Ostrich in burgers, chinese style and meat loaf - all were good. Happily all the meat comes from Curacao's ostrich farm and the animals we saw were not in danger.
The gift shop was very attractive with beautiful crafts from South Africa for sale - very expensive but unusual and lovely. The tour was really fun, especially feeding the ostrichs. They are enormous birds and majestic. One male in particular was very imposing - see the shot with Scott below left. At first we held the food tray facing them.
It was hard to keep it steady as their pecking was so hard. Then our guide turned us around and backed us up against the fence. The ostrichs crowded around and feed over our shoulders. Here you can see Debra with a boa of ostrichs! This was actually quite scary but an experience for sure. Debra looks calm but my face shows fear all right on the left.
We took several brief movies of this and hopefully we'll have them posted on UTube soon with a connection here.

Heading West - Curacao to Aruba (Tango to Tango)

It was time to say goodbye to Bonaire for this season. The last week was non stop farewell dinners and visits. We had a lot of fun with "Cheshire II" and "Slow Dancin'" (the Nordhaven 40) on our dock at the Marina and Bob and Barbara returned from a visit to the States and had us for dinner our last night. We picked a relatively calm day to sail over to Klein Curacao and stayed there for two nights. "Maker's Match" was there already and we had them over for dinner one night.
This was a good opportunity for Scott to really rest his knee and luckily he had a good book. We always have a big selection of books ready. At each marina or beach bar etc. cruisers leave books they've finished and pick up new ones. These "book swaps" can be like mini libraries or just a few volumes on top of a washer or dryer. In addition we often swap between boats. At the marina in Bonaire Linda from "Cheshire II" copied over 15 movies and 10 CDs that have occupied and entertained us since.
We anchored in Spanish Waters, Curacao, for a few nights just in front of "Unplugged". This is a really lovely spot enlivened by small sailboats racing all around the protected bay and in and out of the anchored boats (see picture above). We spent a day with a rental car checking in and out and visiting about 10 stores.
Our friends on "Tango", John (the surgeon who was such a help to us in Bonaire) and Mary, had us over to their boat for a farewell evening. Pictures here show them with their two adorable dogs, Tika and Grif, and Scott and  I with them as well.
Then it was on to new places! We sailed north along the coast to the pretty harbor of Santa Kruz and anchored close to the beach. The snorkeling was great along the cliffs and it was an easy departure the next morning for Aruba. This 55 mile passage is often rough but it wasn't for us. Unfortunately it was dead downwind so we had to motorsail the whole way. The entrance to Oranjestad harbor is wide open but the buoy system is very confusing here. It's wonderful to have the electronic navigation and auto pilot!
This is a famously difficult check in. The port authority directs you to tie up at the cruise ship facility docks. These are not set up for small ships. We did manage to find a section without huge black tires (they mark the sides of your boat) but there is no one to help you and the huge bollards are spaced apart for enormous ships - there are no cleats. Once tied up though the Immigration officials came to the boat and Customs was close by. The whole process took about an hour and we were off again for the Marina. The Renaissance Marina and Resort is fantastic. Scott and I rarely stay at a place like this and we had full use of the facility for our week here. Happily too we tied up next to Richard and Debra on "Tango" (not John and Mary on "Tango" we had just left in Curacao)..
It was our first "med mooring" and easily done with help from both Richard and Debra (shown here to the left) and the Dockmaster in his dinghy. In this configuration there is no side dock. You turn the boat around and back into the dock. A long line from the bow is tied to a off shore buoy and the stern to the dock. Luckily access to our boat is easy from the stern via our swim platform. Our plans are to spend a week here and then leave for Columbia.