Christmas in Cartagena, Colombia 2009
We arrived in Panama, as planned, on December 10, where we met our friend, Tammy. We ran errands on Friday the 11th and then the three of us flew to Bocas del Toro on Saturday, the 12th, to ready Damiana for her voyage to Cartagena. Christmas in Cartagena was a theme we had thought about since Spring when we were talking with Jan and Rich from Slip Away in Honduras about where we would next meet. We had originally met them in Mexico on the Pacific side when we were cruising on Jellybean. As the months passed, and as Tammy had planned to join us for the first month of the season, we set our sights on Cartagena as a real goal. In the meantime, we learned that Rob and Linda on Cat’n About and Tom and Lilianna from Glorimaris would also be in Cartagena, and all of us were looking forward to a reunion.
Luckily, all the stuff we had ordered from Marine Warehouse and Doyle Sails had arrived in time, the new jib installed easily, as did the new batteries, and after Roy mounted the new single side band antenna, we headed out on Friday, December 18. Alas, the antenna wobbled while under motor, so we stopped at one of the Bocas islands, secured the antenna and decided to spend the night and get underway first thing in the morning.
We motor sailed for three and a half days with fairly calm seas, light winds (on the nose), and until one of our motors quit, all was going smoothly. It turns out that the accelerator cable broke on the starboard motor -- now that’s why catamarans are such a good idea -- our port motor did the job and got us safely to port where friends were waiting to help us dock.
Damiana was put right next door to Tom and Lilianna on Glorimaris, and on our first night in Cartagena they invited us over for a very delicious Happy Hour. Then, on Christmas eve, after a day of baking, the five of us went to an Argentine steak house in the walled “old city” and enjoyed the great food, the delicious wine, and the lively conversation with Tom and Lilianna.
Baking, you ask? Well, Roy made two pie shells, one for pumpkin (brought by Tammy), one for Chocolate (pudding by Marlene), and Roy made two Kringles for Christmas morning breakfast. Tom and Lilianna baked an apple pie on Christmas eve and brined the turkey which they roasted on Christmas Day.
Rob, LInda, Rich and Jan were all out at the boat yard where their boats were (and still are) undergoing major renovations. All four of them work every day all day, along with the yard workers to get their boats ready for many more years of sailing. Luckily, they took Christmas “off” to join us for the day, along with Brian and Marilyn from Icarian (also Pacific Mexico cruisers) for both breakfast and dinner.
We all ate heartily at breakfast; Roy’s Kringle was the best ever made on a boat! And again at dinner time we feasted on turkey, two types of stuffing, ratatouille, mashed potatoes with gravy, and, of course, three pies. Wine and rum punches poured freely and to top it off, we exchanged goofy gifts.
A few days later Rob, Linda, Rich, Jan, Tammy and we took a tour of Convento Santa Cruz de La Popa, the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas and the walled city, led by Alex Rocha, a well educated and interesting guide. Lots of photos of our Christmas gathering and the tour are on an album on the next page: 09-10 Albums
Traveling down the ICW and Key West 2007
Photo Albums, Guatemala & Honduras 2007