Goodbye Cartagena

Such a marvelous time these last 4 days. Our anchorage was, somewhat, bumpy I guess due to the hundreds of water taxis using the channel at peak hour. Well, we were anchored just on the channel, and when the wind blew, so did the anchor. On our fourth day we were due to replenish with water In the Club Nautico Marina, and managed to get a night berth. When the anchor came up, I swear it had a military poncho wrapped around it! No wonder we moved! Our last night was spent spending our accumulated Colombian pesos in the centre of the old city, at El Balcon.  Yes, you guessed correctly.  Overlooking Plaza del Annucional Santa Augusta (or something similar).  People watching is fascinating. Street stalls and buskers, loads of policemen, and horses and traps. An eclectic mix.  We have DONE the old city, at least twice.  Walking tour was excellent. Taxis are cheap as chips but traffic is horrendous. Midday sun takes its toll. Castillo del San Philipe de Bagedas (help me with the spelling, here) dominates the city and provides fantastic views. And for eating out, hard to beat a lovely local bar restaurant in the old town called, unoriginally,  El Bistro.  Such a fantastic experience,  Cartagena.  You must do it.
So, tomorrow we sail for the San Blas. Sounds a bit like Captain Jack and his  merry bunch!  The San Blas archipelago has 384 islands of which 49 are inhabited. We have 10 days to do them all justice. So, we're going to be selective, I guess! Then Colon (accent on the second syllable) and Shelter Bay Marina for a  month. Deb flying to Australia,  and J. sorting the generator, and shower pump, and ..... and.....  Maybe 5 days R&R in Florida with Sam and Jo (nb. take golf clubs).  Out of WiFi contact for the next week or so, I'm  afraid. You'll have to talk among yourselves.

Hello San Blas

What a crossing. We were tight on our schedule to get to Panama and flight on the 2nd, so we cast off to winds in the 25-30 knot range, yes and gusting 43 at times. But Laros is built for this and she took it 8n her stride. An interesting 200 miles passage, lively seas and an exhilarating experience. We could not believe the change of colour, blue to brown mud, in the water at the mouth of the Baranqullia river, so sudden we did not have time to take pics.
And on to one of the unspoilt locations of the Caribbean. The architypal desert island -you can almost imagine the discs piling up. The Kuna Indians are native to the San Blas Archipelago and travel around the islands and visiting yachts in dug out canoes, most but not all with the ubiquitous Yamaha Enduro outboard.  The anchorages are well sheltered and the sand is golden. Snorkeling on the many reefs is very good, almost the best in the Caribbean, and the water around the islands and reefs is a palette of vivid blues.  Swimming is just glorious. Needless to say the old girl got her bottom scrubbed (that's Laros, and wiped, actually, since the Copper Coat is working marvellously. Long may the days of hauling out to antifoul cease).  We met so many new faces we actually felt in a social whirl. A preponderance of Canadian, Aus and NZ boats beginning to gather.  I guess we are approaching peak hour for crossing Atlantic to Pacific. We spent Australia Day (26th) with Phil and Fay on Jigsaw - now that's an interesting cat (Oram 48c).  San Blas islands are blessed with little in the way of infrastructure,  save the inevitable mobile cell towers.  Our water supply (no water maker in operation yet - awaiting generator) lasted with flugal use, though our tonic supply became perilously low.  As we had entered Panama here, we had yet to buy a new SIM card. No tels,  no Internet.  How good is that? I guess mixed blessings nowadays. Especially when you are awaiting the call to the maternity unit! We survived, and no call. Our spontaneous itinerary took us to Porto Bello about 18 miles from the Canal north entrance where we anchored,  and enjoyed a well deserved restaurant cooked meal at Captain Jacks with Phil and Fay, well what other name could it be? Next up, Shelter Bay Marina at Colon, unfortunately on the west side of the channel and out in the wilds of the old US Fort SHERMAN,  back from the days of US control. A great base from which to sort ourselves out, and Deb to fly to Sydney.