Baringo's Blog

We started work on the boat in earnest on our return from the Galapagos . Baringo was on the hard for a few more days and we stayed in a nearby hotel in La Libertad , adequate but not luxurious ! We ate at the deserted Puerto Yacht Club where the restaurant had about 5 waiters and as many cooks and although we were usually the only diners, it still took around 35 minutes for the food to be produced! Luckily the TV worked much better than the internet and we could watch some football for light relief . Monday 30^th June was the day Baringo re-entered the water at 5.00pm with the high tide .A nerve racking few moments but all went well and we parked over in the marina .The next day the sails went up and Glynis and I bought the provisions for the long voyage as the supermarket here was closer to the boat, only the fresh food was left until later .Malcolm and John were given free rein for their shopping and it now seems there will be no shortage of wine!

We set sail at dawn on 3.7.2014 heading NE up the Ecuadorian coast for Bahia De Caraquez about 120 nm .With no wind in the early morning we had to motor but around 10.30 the wind strengthened from the SW so a great direction and we had a very good sail until late evening .We had full main and big jenny and made excellent speed .We had the privilege of the company of many dolphins one group actually changed their southerly course to join us for about 30 minutes .Then we spotted the whales and they spotted us. It is the star of the annual migration from Antarctica to Panama .They were jumping out of the water ,spouting and flicking their tails rather too close for comfort but luckily they did not show any great interest in us after their initial examination .It was quite a spectacle .

We made good speed and arrived at Bahia de Caraquez in the late evening and the night watch was enlivened by ghost ships unlit accompanying the squid fishing boats. Luckily the wind had quietened so we were able to sail slowly towards the anchorage and avoided collision. We anchored in almost the same spot as last year and as before it was very rolly so the arrival of dawn was very welcome ..when is it not at sea … and the pilot Pedro appeared to guide us in with the high tide .

Once up the river all was calm and we anchored and had a warm welcome from Puerto Amistad club .

We spent the next few days finishing of the boat tasks, watching the football and shopping and eating. I think we are ready to start the voyage with four hands and brains on deck it had been a much shorter process until we struck the problem of only having a photocopy of the vital document , the original had been handed in at Puerto Lucia 9 months ago and could not be found. Two hundred US$ later another one was produced ….. so make your own judgement on that one !

I hope there will be another blog about our journey in about 3 weeks time !

Baringo at anchor outside Puerto Amistad yacht club in Bahia de Caraquez

We left Hong Kong on 30^th May after teaching the medical students at Chinese university since mid- January. It was a good opportunity to learn about living on land again and catching up with friends and not least refreshing the medical memory. A two week change over in  Chamonix which included driving from east to west across France to have the auto helm serviced as ‘Poppy’ had been working tirelessly and efficiently since we bought Baringo. She was returned with new hydraulic fluid and after a good clean. We had a short visit to the UK and our special treat was Glyndebourne  so a big thankyou to Janet, Dale and Kate for that.

After that short interlude it was back to La Libertad, Ecuador to find Baringo still in the same place with the same backward tilt she needed to fit into the travel hoist on leaving the water in November. Apart from some dust she was in good condition as the climate here is dry and warm with low humidity. The next day we were off to the Galapagos by air as we had decided the bureaucracy of taking the boat was too complicated and the risk of being turned away on a small technicality was too big to take so we met Malcom and Glynis on the aeroplane from Quito and on we flew to the Galapagos about 600miles west of Ecuador mainland .

The voyage inYate Frigate with 12 other travellers/revellers  started  at Isla Santa Cruz with a trip to the beach. We had a very knowledgeable and friendly naturalist Myra with us, I think the only female naturalist working on the islands. In addition there was a very humorous sailing crew who metamorphosed into domestic crew when needed and manned the bar with generous quantities of Argentinian wine and cold beer. We travelled through the eastern islands over the next few days ,they  are the oldest in the group ,but first it was Genovese which is the northern most island and north of the equator. Our days started around 6.00 am with a walk then breakfast and the snorkelling .Often there was a short “navigation “ lunch and another walk and snorkel. We had a briefing for the following day each evening with cocktails then supper. We often navigated the longer distances between islands during the evening arriving at the next day’s destination in good time for the near dawn start. All the creatures and birds were tame so it was easy to get close and watch them dance, court, take care of their eggs and chicks and generally carry on their daily lives and social (and often sexual) intercourse!

We stopped for two of the seven nights at the only two sizable town on the islands, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on Isla San Cristobal and Puerto Ayora on Isla Santa Cruz neither were as rewarding as the deserted areas but a chance to buy some mementos of the trip.

We returned to the mainland on 27^th June and found Baringo as we had left her  so it was straight into the tasks of getting her ready for her entry into the sea. Now we were 4 so it all happened quickly and in she went on Monday 30^th without a hitch or a leak. We are planning a short “shake down” cruise of about 120nm north  to Bahia de Caraquez and will leave  early tomorrow morning tuesday july 1st .We can then  catch the early morning tide on arrival at Bahia   to get up the river to the Puerto Amistad yacht club.

We hope you enjoy the photos below !

sunbathing sea lions

sleeping sea lion

red footed Booby

booby chick just born

Nazca Booby

blue footed boobies courting

next stage of courtship!

frigate male showing off red throat sac

frigate plus chick

Pink Flamingos

great snorkelling

more fish-name please

Iguana

We stayed in Panama for a few days preparing for our journey and as usual a few unexpected problems to solve .We still had to get the second fridge fixed Edgar the fridge expert had been working on it since before the canal transit but it was still not finished. His initial estimate of half a day was rather optimistic ! Nothing unusual in that in the marine industry. To his credit he would not leave the task until he had finished and indeed he did fix it and it worked until we went onto the hard at the end of the journey.

That problem solved we moved to the next one! We had noticed the steering had become very stiff ,this had happened before in Hong Kong as some may remember, but we had hoped it would improve with some sailing and  underwater cleaning but sadly not .So we decided it was not sensible to do a long passage with it like this so we hauled out in Panama to have a closer look .Luckily we could get out the next day and also there was no serious damage, it only needed to be dismantled and cleaned. It seemed many sea creatures had made it their home while we had been in the various marinas so after a  mass slaughter and eviction the steering was feather light .

We were then able to leave, but wary of leaving on a Friday we went first to Isla Bona about 20 miles south of Panama city  and had a perfect deserted calm anchorage in a delightful bay to wait until Saturday .One of those times that make sailing worthwhile ,beautiful birds ,full moon calm water ….

It was an early start the next morning to go with the tide which doubled our speed! We motor sailed most of the first day but conditions were fine and pleasant .The trouble started at 3.30am  the next day and we had continuous squalls with strong wind and thunder and lightening  for the next 48 hours .We did not know what the wind was at its maximum as our wind transducer  had been struck by lightning in Colombia ,perhaps an advantage .It was very difficult to make our course as wind ,waves and the Humboldt current were n against us .Luckily the motor held up although the noise was sometimes alarming as the propeller came out of the water due to the swell .It was continually gray, heavy clouds and regular soakings which we were surprisingly  cold considering how close to the equator we were ,rather different from Singapore . By the third day conditions improved although still cold and gray and we managed to sail most of that day.The fuel was getting rather low and although we had plenty in jerry cans the prospect of refueling in the rough sea was not enticing.

We crossed the equator at 00.07 24^th October and paid as much tribute to Neptune as we  could muster under such difficult circumstances and we reached Bahia Caraquez at dawn  with some relief and anchored in probably the least sheltered anchorage ever ,fully exposed to the weather from the south west .Unfortunately the windlass failed again and after so much rocking around the chain was in a muddle and did not run freely .After a struggle we were attached to the ground but the swell was big  and the wind still strong .We had to wait until high tide the following morning to get up the river Chone to Puerto Amistad .The entry is very tricky because of the sand banks created by the  river silt but luckily we could have a pilot from the marina to guide us .We were delighted to see Pedro early the next morning we not only needed him as a pilot but also to help haul up the anchor as well which he did very willingly .It was a knife edge ride to enter the river, depth below 1.00 m and a very circuitous route and by this time our nerves were a little the worse for wear . It was a great pleasure to be anchored in the river by breakfast time and be able to make the coffee without spilling it!

We had a very pleasant relaxing few days in Bahia de Caraquez meeting several other very intrepid sailors , enjoying some nice meals in the town and running along the pacific promenade .John did a crash course in marine electronics and we fixed the windlass problem and we visited   Montecristi the home of panama hat making and had an entertaining morning buying two.

We had intended to stay there while we travelled in Ecuador but realized we could not as there were no moorings available and our insurance would not allow us to leave the boat at anchor unattended. There were no pontoons although they are planned for the future .So we had to go south to our final destination Puerto Lucia yacht club to be able to meet Vanessa when she arrived in Quito. We set off for the remaining 120 miles with some trepidation and lots of fuel! After the knife edge ride to get out of the river, fortunately Pedro was with us again, we had a rough start so expected the worst, but as we had some protection from  a large peninsula conditions gradually calmed and stayed that way so we kept quite close to the shore and could see all the bright lights of Manta the provincial capital.

Our next worry was getting entangled in fishing nets, we had read several accounts of this happening to yachts , even Jimmy Cornell himself had that problem so we had to keep a very good look out and avoid any fishing vessels and we escaped this trauma .We anchored for the night by an island again, wonderful bird life and very sheltered ,a little deep at 19 m but the Rocna held perfectly .The next day dawned gray as usual and we motored to Puerto Lucia as we had arranged to be lifted that afternoon .This eventually happened and apart from a last minute panic that the travel lift was too small for the boat and we would have to  take the forestays or the back stays down we were finally on the ground .

We spent the next few days getting the boat ready for the stay ashore and then off to Quito to meet Vanessa and a land holiday .So that’s the end of our sailing for this year, let’s hope there will be more in 2014.

Happy Days to everyone!

PS photos to follow: internet connection too slow here in Puerto Lucia marina.

We moved into  the Flamenco Marina the morning after the transit although we had to wait until mid-day for the rain to stop. The marina  is situated on Flamenco island which is now at the end of a causeway from the mainland built using the excavated earth and rock from the Culebra cut section of the canal  to  shelter the pacific  exit of the canal . It is a lovely open palm lined road and great for an early morning run. Our cruise was delayed by waiting for our freezer to be repaired and for the rain to stop ,now the rainy season was starting with a vengeance .Janet and I went to the enormous Albrook mall to provision ,all the usual shops were there but the supermarket was the last one we came to as we had been dropped by the taxi at the far end of the mall ! We arrived back with a full  rucksack  in the pouring rain and at high tide so the lifting ramp  to the dock was nearly vertical !It was  a rather treacherous journey to the boat with the heavy trolley down the ramp and  then we  had to brave the rain and now floods  to the duty free shop for wine …we all agreed this was the lesser of two evils, getting wet rather than a wineless cruise !

By 30^th September we were ready to leave and our first stop was Isla  Taboga about 7 miles away .The anchorage was a large bay easy to enter, scenic and near the town.Sadly closer inspection revealed a beach littered with rubbish and a shabby town  in need of a some paint. Maybe one day someone will realize the potential of the island for visitors. While anchoring we found that the anchor windlass took all the current from the domestic circuit and although working was not at full power. We decided to return to Flamenco rather than continue to Las Perlas as the islands are largely uninhabited so no help would be available there. We examined the electrics cleaned the main power switch but not much improvement but with the help of the fluke multimeter we found the fault was in the domestic circuit electric switch through which the power to the windlass circuit apparently runs .We were initially  misled by assuming some damage had been done during the freezer repairs but we only had to turn the domestic power switch a few turns and we had full power for the windlass and the electric winch ! Presumably some dirt was enough to block the large amount of power needed for the windlass circuit although the normal domestic requirements were being met .The multi meter once again proved a most valuable piece of equipment .On our way again and back to Isla Taboga for another night . The next day we sailed to the northern Las  Perlas but not before an early morning  squall which put us on a lee shore so we had to take up some chain to reach deeper water. We had a lovley sail to La Pecheca and anchored for the night .Swimming was only possible at slack water because of the strong current so we had to wait until the morning for that .The next stop was an anchorage between two islands Moga Moga and Chapera and we were treated to a display of whales playing that evening ,luckily not too close .

Our next and last island was Isla Bayoneta very tranquil and uninhabited with  beautiful beaches . We stayed for two nights as it was such a wonderful anchorage .The tides are significant so with so many semi submerged rocks it was interesting to see the scenery change as the tide rose and  fell .We enjoyed some land exploration and lots of swimming with Dale  and John doing a marathon swim from the shore at the height of the tidal current ,Janet needed rescuing in the dinghy as it really was a strong current .

The next day we left for Panama but had to motor all the way until a storm came as we were approaching with  wind thunder and lightening as usual ! We stood off until it had passed and then anchored at the municipal anchorage for the night.

Janet and Dale left on 9^th October and we began to plan our next and last leg to Ecuador .

“Bird on a wire” in the marina

storm clouds over panama city

approaching las perlas islands

Island which appeared at low tide!

view from “disappearing island” with Baringo in distance

Amazing that this is what lurks under a few breaking waves only at high tide.

beach on Bayoneta island

Pacific clouds- marvellous from a distance!

local fisher visits

Jeremy departed for Panama City in the afternoon of the day we arrived , so good timing for him. Almost immediately he had left our agent for the canal transit arrived to go through the necessary processes. Some yachts  do it themselves without an agent but we decided on the easy option. Eric was very pleasant and efficient and also reassuring. We were in no hurry to transit as we were waiting for Janet and Dale to arrive from the UK to help us with the journey. It is compulsory to have five on board to handle the lines, it is also advisable to do a practice run on another yacht but at this time of year there were no other yachts so we could not do that so we hired two professional line handlers to help. Although expensive we felt they were worth it in the interests of the safety of the boat. An advisor /pilot is obligatory as it was in Suez.

With all that organized we were free to roam after servicing the engine and a few other small job. Shelter Bay marina is in the middle of the jungle so no entertainment there so we had to look elsewhere and decided on the archipelago of Bocas del Toro. We had thought of sailing there but met a skipper of a catamaran in the marina who had just been hit by lightening on his return from Bocas and lost all his electrics so the decision to go by air was made without any disagreement !

We flew in a small plane from Albrook airport a former US air force base and had a wonderful view of the jungle and the coast and then walked from the airport in Bocas town to our hotel only about 10 minutes ! Bocas town is very tranquil but has many interesting  hotels built over the water with superb sea views. The restaurants are good and there is lots of choice but despite this degree of tourism the quiet laid back atmosphere remains. We did the usual bicycle exploration of the main island stopping on deserted beaches. The next day we  took a water taxi  to Bastamentos another island in the archipelago and we were left on a deserted beach with no obvious way out although we had seen in trusted Lonely Planets there was a path along the beach to where we were meeting the boat later in the afternoon. After some anxiety we did find the path and had a walk through the thick jungle which came right to the edge of the beach. There were several more long golden uninhabited beaches before the end of the day and then we took the water taxi back to Bocas. We flew back the next day and landed just before a huge storm.  Janet and Dale arrived so after a few days relaxation in Panama city we started the final preparations for the transit

Bocas coast view

cycle tour around Bocas

wizard beach Bastementos island

24^th September Tuesday   Transit day

We took delivery of extra fenders and 4 long blue warps first and then the  line handlers arrived at mid day and we left for the so called Flats anchorage about 30 minutes from the marina to await the advisor. We could see several vessels exiting the Gatun locks and several waiting to enter but until the advisor arrived at around 4.00pm we did not know which one  would share the locks with us. Everything is left to the last minute so we did not know what system we would be using to get through the locks. We left around 5.00 pm and headed towards the lock gates and found we were tied up to a tug and a small pleasure craft, the tug took the wall then the pleasure vessel and then us and curiously we were behind a large bulk carrier  from Hong Kong! The walls seemed very high and the water became very turbulent as it flowed into the lock and even more when the container ship started its engine to move forward to leave the lock. Luckily we survived undamaged and went into the next two locks in the same configuration for the same experience. Then we were in Gatun lake a very large man made lake  created by damming the Chagres River. Umberto and Jose the line handlers  found a buoy to moor onto for the night and we all had a few beers and supper. At 06.15 the next day the new advisor arrived and we set off across the lake on  a beautifully calm morning cruising through the jungle looking at the birds sitting on the mooring buoys .Next is the Gaillard cut where the canal was cut through solid rock probably the most difficult part of the task. Then we arrived  arrived at Pedro Miguel lock around 11.00am and this time we were along side a small training  vessel with lots of school children on board. We were now   going down which was significantly calmer than going up. Then there is the small Pedro Miguel lake and then the final two Miraflores locks to go down to the Pacific. This time we were on our own in a vast lock so we had to catch the lines thrown from the side and attach these to the large loops in the 4 blue warps which were then attached to bollards in the shore. The bell went when we were all ready and down we went letting the lines out as we descended. We were then walked through on the lines to the next lock and down we went again so smoothly we were unaware the descent had started …no doubt which is the easiest locking process ! The gates opened and we were in the Pacific Ocean …quite a moment .

on way to Gatun locks passed gates for the new canal extension- huge

entrance to Gatun locks

ship in Gatun lock with us-from HK

lock nearly full with swirling water

second Gatun lock- doors closing

entering 3rd Gatun lock

locomotives for big ships

crossing gatun lake

approaching Pedro Miguel lock

huge doors of miraflores lock

taking in bow lines as doors open into Pacific ocean

Into the Pacific

A  launch came for the advisor and then another for the line handlers and the equipment and it was all over and we were still afloat and undamaged .We were all rather tired and the wind was strong so we decided to anchor in the municipal anchorage rather than take on a potentially tricky marina entrance in a cross wind .

We had a great evening accompanied by a dramatic storm and a few celebratory drinks! The next trip is to the Las Perlas islands in the Gulf of Panama .

panama city-first anchorage in pacific

The first night at sea after leaving Santa Marta was as stormy as it threatened, so we used the  radar to try  and dodge the squalls  but the lightening was all around us . We avoided most of the rain and there was not too much wind but we were unable to maintain our course overnight .The daylight as always was very welcome even though it was overcast  but we managed to sail until midnight that day when the wind disappeared completely so we motored most of the night with only a little lightening. We had a pleasant third  days sail with beautiful cloud formations, sunrise and sunset. We paid for it that night with terrific rain and lightening but surprisingly little wind. We could not navigate away as the system was too big and the lightening was right over us and really quite frightening as apart from stowing the oven with the electrical gadgets there is nothing to be done .Our wind vane suddenly stopped after a huge lightening flash followed by an immediate thunderclap so we thought we had been struck, but luckily everything else continued to function so we are still not quite sure what happened and whether our tried and tested method of hanging jump leads with wires attached from the shrouds into the water saved us.

passengers en route- definitely a couple.

By dawn the weather had calmed and we were approaching Porvenir island where we had to check in to Panama but the wind was stronger now and so we stood off for a couple of hours before entering as there are a lot of reefs in the islands and the anchorage looked a little crowded. Also our depth meter was not working and we were not sure if this was related to the lightening strike or the usual delay we have experienced after being in very deep water. The wait was a good decision as the wind calmed and with it the sea and we anchored easily even without the depth meter. We  decided to postpone the  check in until the following morning and it  was much calmer then and we were much less tired so the dinghy ride did not appear so daunting. It is interesting if you enter Panama by boat the visa is 100$US but by air or land it is 10$US. We had the amusing experience of being checked in by a large lolly pop sucking officer who never once removed the lolly pop from his mouth ! Sadly no photo of this incident is available.

There is a small airport on Porvenir so we watched several small planes arriving and departing while we wandered around the island. The San Blas are a semi autonomous  area of Panama governed by the Kuna Indians who are guarding their independence and modus vivendi very keenly. We set off to explore this interesting archipelago consisting of many flat sandy palm covered  islands ,some are inhabited some barely existing as they are so small and flat .We spent the next seven days exploring various islands using the excellent pilot book by Eric Bauhaus; in fact it would be impossible to do this safely without his guide as he has charted depths meticulously himself and made many detailed charts, a true tour de force invaluable for us and presumably many others .The islands are a tropical idyll- clear warm water , coral reefs ,untouched white sandy beaches fringed with palms and all enhanced by the delightful Kuna Indians selling their molas which are beautiful cloth pictures .There are no provisions available anywhere we went so we were completely self sufficient but we had catered for this .We had the water maker which as always makes life much less stressful and more comfortable and we were even able to make a few litres for a kuna family .The time was very relaxing but there were more yachts than we expected for the low rainy season so I think the area  is being discovered .At the moment no one other than a Kuna can own land so if this lasts development may be delayed but if you want to visit go sooner rather than later .We had mixed weather but nothing too serious thankfully but the gadgets were in and out of the oven a few times  .We luckily missed the fabled chocasana a sudden strong wind from the south which has put many craft onto the reefs .

 Coco Banderas one of the SB islands

 

another island view

island group

molas on display

des res SB

?Booby

Jeremy rowing ashore

We reluctantly left for Porvenir on 6^th September to check out and set  off towards  Colon and the canal entrance. We had a very gray journey along the coast and stopped in a large bay after dark thinking there would be no problem as there were no hazards according to Eric’s guide. Unfortunately the marina in the corner of the bay had put unlit entry buoys since the guide was published! The gods were smiling on us as we narrowly missed them and had a quiet night at anchor. A dawn start to get to the marina in daylight and  we approached the Panama canal entrance marked by two huge breakwaters and lots of anchored vessels by late morning. We had a great sail to finish the journey and very exciting to have reached so close to the Pacific ocean.

approaching Colon, entrance of Panama canal

breakwater at canal entrance – NB: RRR

We settled into Shelter bay marina thankfully the other side of the bay from Colon which is essentially a no go area. Jeremy left for Panama city and his journey home and we spent the next few days doing the necessary jobs for the canal transit. Luckily there is a shop, a swimming pool and a restaurant to ease the pain ! Our transit is booked for the 24^th September so we have time for some local exploration until then ….so for that see the next episode!

We had a pleasantly uneventful sail from Aruba to Santa Marta, Colombia. The usual   downwind passage with a combination  of the  big jenny poled out ,twin headsails and the main alone  and occasionally the iron sail .We tried to arrange the speed for a dawn arrival and were just a couple of hours early .We waited outside the harbour and as dawn lit the sky a huge mountain range appeared towering over us .This is the highest coastal mountain range in the world a fact that did not surprise us when we read it later .We tied up in the Santa Marta marina in the morning light with luxurious alongside pontoons ..no stern to med.style mooring in Colombia so a good start .The marina is 2 years old and managed by IGY the same company who run the Rodney bay marina in St Lucia and where we heard about this one when we finished the ARC and decided it would be a good place to stop and explore Colombia .  Indeed it proved to be so.

We needed an agent for the formalities and luckily had been recommended one on the cruisers grape vine, so Dino arranged everything including  our bus tickets to Bucaramanga to start our land travels .We took this overnight bus which was very comfortable with reclining seats , cinematic and musical entertainment but rather fierce air conditioning requiring hats and rugs to stay warm .We arrived at dawn and caught another bus immediately to San Gil and  easily from there in another bus to Barichara through amazing mountain scenery. Barichara  is an old Spanish town in the hills quite unspoilt and with very few tourists .Our hotel was a beautiful old Spanish house with a courtyard overlooking the church .We walked to Guane along the camino real an ancient Indian stone path through scenery on a grand scale and had the path to ourselves apart from a few goats and cows.

Barichara view from hotel

Barichara view like Tuscany

Guane village

countryside around Barichara

We returned by Giron another traditional town near Bucaramanga and found the local fiesta in process so lots of music ,people and horses thronging the square providing us almost 24 hour entertainment.

Giron fiesta

Then is was back to Santa Marta to meet  Jeremy Vevers a medical school friend of John’s ,our next guest on the voyage .

We then set off for Cartagena this time by taxi arranged by Dino and we stayed in a boutique hotel in an old house which was very satisfactory in the centre of the old town. Again there was a beautiful courtyard but also  a rooftop pool so refreshing after a hot day sightseeing .The old city is full of history with so many naval battles, the heart of the South American slave trade  and the Spanish inquisition all happening here.The city walls are well preserved and we cycled around them as well as exploring the small streets of the old city.

city walls of Cartegena

Cartegena street

cycling in cartegena

haircut in Cartegena

another cartegena haircut for Jeremy

Museum entrance Cartegena style

We returned by taxi again and in the process had a tour of Barranquilla a large seemingly wealthy commercial port city picking up extra passengers from different parts of the city.

Once back on board  it was on to the next trip to the Tayrona national park westward along the coast towards Venezuela but only about 45 minutes from Santa Marta. We stayed in a rather extraordinary hotel Borlaventa (windward in Spanish) perched over the sea. The rough sea was just separated by a sand bar from a flat lagoon where the river entered the sea making a rather bizarre contrast depending which way you looked .The noise of the breakers was continuous but  we could not swim in the sea because of currents and the sheer power of the breakers.  However,  the lagoon was a warm bath which  we shared  happily with many birds. We hiked in the national park and found some beaches where it was safe to swim after trekking through jungle and mangrove roots . It is  a truly dramatic coastline strewn with extraordinary rocks which fell into the sea millennia ago and are still there.

Barlovento hotel

Dramatic Barlovento hotel

view from our room Barlovento

Lagoon at other side of Barlovento

boulder strewn beach Tayrona

Panama hats in Columbia; Tayrona Park beach

Then back to the boat and preparations for departure once again done by Dino although we had to do the shopping! We tried to find a post office which is normally quite easy but not in Santa Marta we were first taken to the next door village by taxi but no post office there, then we walked around Santa Marta but despite the help of a maps and several directions from the locals the skippers usual remarkable navigations skills failed and we never found it! Time was passing and we had to give up to get away before dark.

We slipped the warps at 4.00 pm and headed into rather a dark and stormy sky towards the San Blas islands off the coast of Panama .

We sailed at dawn from Santa Cruz Bay Curacao. Sadly we had discovered that the generator did not work the night before so here was  our first  problem to be solved in Aruba .We thought it was probably a blocked filter as we had used the generator  a lot while at anchor in Spanish Water and the water was not crystal clear .It was a calm morning  so easy to charge the batteries as we had to motor for the first 1.5 hours . Then the wind came from behind as always so we sailed with twin headsails  all the way to Aruba , about 60 nm.

twin headsails out on crossing

We had to check in at Barcadera the commercial harbour ,always tricky in a yacht but we managed to get alongside a small steel cargo boat with some help from the expert rope catching crew and completed the necessary bureaucracy in the usual bleak offices .We then motored  north west up the coast to Oranjestad the main town. We opted for the  Renaissance marina for convenience ,rather than anchoring   c as it is right in the centre of Oranjestad . We were  greeted by a very helpful Dutchman who helped us in stern to ,as there was a 30 knot crosswind by then, the usual strong afternoon wind ,we were very glad of his assistance.

view of part of town from marina

We found that  the marina was part of the Renaissance Hotel and we could enjoy all the hotel facilities of swimming pools ,beaches ,restaurants ,gym and of course the internet although the latter was the least pleasurable of them all as it was frustratingly intermittent .There were sea water  lagoons which were excellent for swimming and less crowded than the pools .There was even a private island about 10 minutes away in a small speed boat with two sea swimming lagoons, turquoise water, fine white sand and resident pink flamingoes .Bliss!!

Renaissance island lagoon

First though the generator was waiting for attention and sadly it was not the filter so it was a call and several e- mails to Cummins Onan and eventually a engineer flew in from Puerto Rico and discovered the impeller had cracked after only 160hours . We think this all dated back to the poor work done in Turkey  and we decided that they had tested the engine dry while on the hard …no proof of course but Carlos the engineer from Puerto Rico was excellent and very efficient so it was all fixed eventually.

While waiting for him to arrive we had a good look around Aruba for a couple of days in a hired car going to the North end to the California lighthouse .We vetted many beautiful beaches on the way up .The north west coast starts with the low rise hotels and then come the high rise hotels all self contained resorts with all facilities and always a casino . Gambling seemed to be a very popular holiday entertainment all day long .The beaches were truly spectacular with clear turquoise water and white coral sand, if that is your holiday choice Aruba is certainly the place to come .We found some curious rock drawings in caves dating from the original Indian population and some interesting rock formations, reminiscent of Nigerian inselbergs , that we could climb and get good views over the rest of the island which is largely flat .

beach on low rise coast

southern beach left side

southern beach right side- industrial nightmare! (defunct refinery)

Sarah on beach

arikok national park

cave drawings

We explored the south and east coast as well where the Arikok national park is ,amazing dry rocky landscape with a really harsh and perilous eastern coastline .More caves and more drawings as well and then the beach to cool off .

Sighseeing completed we spent the rest of the days enjoying the island and the lagoon and sampling the local restaurants   which  were many and varied but all very enjoyable , often eating  outside in the warm evening air .

swimming lagoon renaissance island

flamingos renaissance island

island shuttle appropriately named

wild west coast

ubiquitous iguanas

Sarah left on 1^st August we could see her plane take off easily from the resort island which was almost at the end of the runway which made it rather noisy but this seemed a minor drawback when we were relaxing over there .

We then  began to prepare for our departure to Colombia ,we had to wait for the wind to reduce a little,any excuse to have a few more days with the flamingoes and the fishing pelican who came every evening for supper .

Wednesday  7th August was departure  day  so provisioning and refueling completed it was back to Barcardera the entry port to check out ..there was no alternative. This time we tied up against another larger blue steel boat manoevering again in a strong wind in a tight space as there is shallow water all around the docking area. We had a near miss with the bow roller tying up and with the wind vane on leaving !! This was shades of Sultan Qaboos in Muscat when we lifted out all our port forward stanchions in the commercial port !

Finally on our way to Colombia downwind again but not too rough and we watched the loom of Aruba  from dusk until well into the early hours of the morning, clearly the popularity of the casinos still ruled .

We set sail for Curacao the next island on our route westward through the Dutch Antilles, famed for the blue liqueur sold all over the world. The only name in these three islands with which we were at all familiar the others were all previously unheard of until we looked at this route.

We left early on Sunday 14 th June to  ensure a daylight arrival and had a good sail over on a very broad reach with the main reefed and the big jenny poled out .The wind was strong as it consistently seems to be over these islands and once out of the shelter of the island the sea built up but this did not last very long as the journey was only 40 miles .We went to Spanish water a large natural lagoon with a narrow entrance which meant it was well protected from the sea but certainly not from the wind which blew relentlessly all the time .There are several anchoring areas within the lagoon and we decided to anchor  as the marina we had contacted from Bonaire did not reliably have enough depth for us to enter .The new Rocna was christened and performed well on the first trial as we did not move for the duration of our stay and had enough confidence to leave the boat for day trips .Spanish water is on the SE tip of Curacao so we had to hire a car to get to Willemstad the capital to check.

Spanish water anchorage

Luckily a hotel near our anchorage had cars for hire and were very helpful with directions as Curacao is so much larger than Bonaire it took some getting to know .The capital city Willemstadt is further up the west coast and built around a larger version of Spanish water but with a wider entrance allowing very large vessels to enter .The entrance, St Annabai canal is guarded by an interesting pedestrian  swing bridge , the Queen Emma bridge which swings open like a giant arm when required to allow vessels in and out .If it remains open for long the pedestrians are transported across the water by ferry .A larger very high Juliana bridge caters for cars and is certainly high enough for the largest vessel to go underneath .

Handelskade Willemstad

Queen Juliana bridge

Queen Emma swing bridge

Dutch toy town

The waterfront” Handelskade” is truly Dutch toy town and in fact a world heritage site. We had a welcome lunch break from the checking in bureaucracy in a restaurant in the old governor’s house overlooking this fine colonial architecture ,watching the moving bridge open for the first vessel we saw which was leaving on its way to Hong Kong flying the Bauhinia.

We settled into Spanish water life dinghying back and forth to the hotel where we left the car helped by our pleasant friendly Dutch neighbours who were  living on a concrete boat which they had sailed from Holland .Sarah arrived on the evening of 16^th July and we managed to get everyone and everything back on board in the dinghy. We spent the next few days exploring the island up to the northern tip visiting the beaches but missing the national park as we arrived at midday and it was too hot and without any  prospect of any animals being visible at that time of day .

Beach at northern end of island

Plantation house

We saw the Curacao distillery , a plantation house grand in its day but faded now, the Hura Kurlanda museum about the slave history of the island .We  sampled some local restaurants in the evening usually stumbled upon by chance but we were lucky. The island is quite industrial with a large oil refinery in the Willemstad and a busy port. Tourism definitely takes a back seat, it was a distinct change from the relaxed island life of Bonaire and certainly on a much larger scale.

We decided to leave in stages sailing up the west coast, we  had one night  in Pescadara bay  which was very much quieter than Spanish water which is an understandably popular hurricane hideout. The next and last stop was Santa Kruz bay in the north west perfect for a dawn departure for Aruba which we did on 23^rd July .

We left Grenada on Monday 1^st July later in the day than intended as the immigration was not on seat on Monday morning .This actually proved to be to our advantage as we arrived in Bonaire at dawn and if we had left earlier we would have arrived in the dark .The voyage is about 380 nm and once out of the lee of Grenada the wind was behind us at around 25 kts .The waves were small compared to the Atlantic but I think most would be …I would certainly not like to see any larger ones . We had already rigged the spinnaker pole to sail downwind with the big jenny which had been repaired in St Lucia and had been out of action for most of the Atlantic crossing .We tried goosewinging it with the small jenny but it did not work so for the first 36 hours we sailed with the big jenny alone making good speeds most of the time .The sunsets and dawns were disappointingly drab and colourless  but conditions remained steady .

We had to make a more northerly course to avoid Venezuela and its outlying islands so on Wednesday when the wind was slightly more form the south east we hoisted the main and had a day of pleasant reaching rather than the downwind roll .The wind direction and our course changed again and we managed to goosewing the main and the big jenny successfully for a pleasant and surprisingly stable downwind run . This sadly all ended that  night when the wind picked up and we had to go on jenny alone again but we could see the loom of Bonaire now and rounded the south east corner of the island at dawn with dolphins playing around the bow to greet us . The less appreciated  welcome was a squall as we were rounding the SE tip but luckily it was only short lived .

The south east of Bonaire is very flat and so the protection form wind and waves is slow to start but we entered the large bay in front of the town and picked up a mooring in flat sea but strong wind .

We have  stayed in Bonaire for 10 days and found it very interesting and varied .There are very few tourists and the islanders are an interesting mixture of European mainly Dutch ,Carribean and South American . With  Baringo safely on a mooring in front of the town we felt free to roam .

To start our island exploration we hired a motor bike and headed south to the salt flats which brought to mind lake Magadi in Kenya with the same smell and pink colour in the evaporating salt pans .There were relics of the old slave workers days of the early salt trading industry .We visited the donkey sanctuary which cares for nearly 500 donkeys .The donkeys were brought here by the Spaniards as workers but were made redundant by the combustion engine and  are now wild and roam the island  unfortunately getting hit by cars and sometimes illtreated so the sanctuary is a real necessity .All  the males in the sanctuary are castrated so the population there is only increased by newcomers .There is an intensive care unit  for those that need special attention .

We then hired a jeep and went north to the Washington Slagbaai national park which used to be a plantation for charcoal ,salt and lime but the land was given to the island when the plantation closed and is now pretty wild on land and on the coast . Swimming snorkeling and diving are possible in the places where nature allows access but luckily it is largely  unspoilt and untouched and you need to be self sufficient for the trip .

We also hired bicycles for completeness sake and it is a dutch island so with these we explored the industrial estate in search of a boatyard and a carpenter and found these plus an isolated outpost of Ikea ! We also discovered the Sorobon beach resort on an amazing turquoise lagoon with  a quiet beach , restaurant and bar and most important a good internet connection !

So to conclude a very enjoyable sojourn here so  lets hope there are a few more in store on this leg .

The next stop is Curacao about 40 nm away and Sarah Shelton is coming to join us there for some R&R from London .

Bonaire view of main town from a beach

Dutch architecture

Sorobon- nice resort on a lagoon

national park

park road with tall cacti

Flamingos

More flamingos

beach in park with great snokeling

Donkey sanctuary

Donkey sanctuary ICU

Slave huts on the coast

Inquisitive Gull

Cute tiny bird- name?