Update from Colombia

Cartagena proved to be a great destination and we had a great time. Christmas and new Years were filled with plenty of city wide celebrations and we had a great Christmas holiday with friends on Reach and Lions Paw. All three admirals cooked the meal and it was extraordinary. After all that food it's time to get back in the water and get some long needed exercise though. We have since moved on and are now in Cholone where we enjoyed a very nice happy Hour aboard M/V Manatee.

Cholone is a great anchorage as it is protected and fairly bug free. The wind comes up in the afternoon and cools things off very nicely. I spent time cleaning the hull of the boat yesterday and it was unbelievable the number of barnacles which have attached themselves in Cartagena. The paint is only a month old and instead of repelling growth it seemed to attract it. I think we may at some point soda blast these hulls and just use tin based paint. So long as we stay clear of the US EPA we'll be fine. Interestingly though, I was accompanied by catfish as I cleared the barnacles. Some of them are fairly good sized but I don't have high expectations of them tasting good. Tried to get on the reef yesterday but it was very choppy and surged profusely so called it quits after only a few minutes. Perhaps I better do that in the am.

We plan to be here for a week or two and then perhaps on to the Rosarios proper. Nice to finally be away from the noise and pollution of the city and just take it easy for a while

Sent via Radio E-Mail
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At 1/11/2011 10:53 PM (utc) our position was 10°09.67'N 075°39.70'W

Winter Wonderland

We left Aruba for Colombia and had to at least see this place people talk about. The Monjes are a small archipelago of islands north of the the entrance to the lake Maracaibo are and they are also very close to if not in Colombian waters which is why the Venezuelans have built an outpost here.  These islands are basically 5 rocks within a 10 mile area.  Two of the rocks to the south are known as Monjes Del Sur.  (Southern Monjes) The Venezuelans have built an outpost here manned by a small group of Coast Guardsmen.  There is a lighthouse and some living areas.  The island originally were divided by a small cut about 40 feet deep. They bulldozed a rock wall between the two islands and made a very safe little bay. A cable has been stretched from one island to the other for boats to hang off of.  Due to the fact the wind never stops blowing here you don't have to worry too much about hitting the wall.  The Venezuelans are as usual very accommodating and polite.  They don't charge you for staying but do require you to complete a safety inspection which is actually a good thing.  I have to say that every time we have dealt with the Guardia National in Venezuela we have been treated very politely and the guys are very professional and nice. We blew the head of our sail out and were very thankful such a place existed in order for us to make repairs out here in the middle of nowhere.  After Sunny finished here excellent sewing job we decided to take a dive and found masses of Barracuda and huge corals, which perhaps due to such warm ocean temps this year had bleached themselves.  The landscape looked like huge piles of snow with tropical fish swimming around and through them. It reminded us both of winter and made for an enjoyable dive.  Hopefully the coral will recover and life will go on here. 

This is the gps position if you want to get there by google earth, because United doesn't fly here.  12°21'42.96"N,   70°54'15.04"W