Islas del Rosario, Colombia

Peter's brother Rob, his wife Susan, their younger daughter Immie and Immie's boyfriend, Miguel, arrived from Europe on Wednesday afternoon. They were jet lagged, so we just ate comida corriende at the local supermarket, which was not bad, and all had an early night.

Peter, Immie, Miguel, Susan and Rob behind a vegetable vendor's cart

One of the dozens of wonderful murals in Getsemani

Thursday and Friday were devoted to sightseeing with them. Peter joined us for some of the sights but still--continually--had jobs to do on the boat. (Happily, he was able to get the windlass and the one electric winch in good operating condition.) We separated after walking though Getsemani.  When we reached the Plaza de Los Coches by the Clock Tower, we stopped to enjoy some live local music, which had the local people dancing right away.

Entertainment in Plaza de Los Coches

The weather is the same as always here, so after walking for an hour or so, we found relief buying freshly squeezed limeade from a street vendor at the Plaza de Bolivar, and then we cooled off some more at the Colombian equivalent of Starbucks, Juan Valdez. The coffee is cheap and good, and the A/C is a godsend. On Thursday we had lunch at my favorite restaurant (of the limited number I have tried), Ceviche, Seviche in the Plaza de Los Coches. 

Susan and Rob with the limeade vendor

On Thursday evening it rained, so we ate dinner on the boat. The rain continued through Friday, but it was less than a drizzle, so it made walking around the Old City pleasant. We went there after stopping at the private Club de Pesca, where we plan to dock when we return in a few days to Cartagena. A manager was delighted to give us a tour and impress us with the high quality of the facilities. We were also happy to see at the dock the prototype of our boat, the original Sundeer designed by Steve Dashew in aluminum.

The original Sundeer

Club de Pesca's facilities are much more modern and posh than the basic amenities at the public Club Nautico--but I will miss the fruit woman on the docks at Club Nautico. Unlike the women dressed in the bright yellow, red and blue colors of Colombia' flag who carry small bowls of fruit on their heads around the Old City, eager to pose (for money) for photographs, this nice, hard-working woman actually sells fresh and delicious fruit--and she carries a metal shallow bowl more than two feet wide in diameter, heavily laden with bananas, pineapples, papayas, lemons, limes and mangos. It weighs so much she has to ask someone to help her lower it to the dock and place it back on her head.

On our second day exploring the Old City, we passed first past the Pegasus statues in front of the Convention Center. Walking to another monument, we came across the Iglesia de Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo in the San Diego barrio, which I had wanted to visit before. It had always been closed, but on Friday, it was open for noon mass, so we could see the lovely Baroque altar from the other end of the nave. We also walked around in the nextdoor cloister, which has been restored and is now used for commercial purposes. After that, we walked along the top of part of the defensive wall of the Old City and made our way to the statue of La India Catalina, who represents the consort/slave of the founder of Cartagena, Pedro de Heredia.

Immie, Miguel, Sherri, Susan and Rob

Iglesia de Santo Toribio

Restored cloister of San Toribio

Walking back into San Diego, we visited a new, large and elegant building, the Circo Teatro, which is an upscale shopping mall and dining destination (with a Juan Valdez cafe). In the center, a theater in the round with traditional seating and dark wooden balustrades and columns is being totally refurbished and updated. At this venue there used to be bullfights as well as plays. Apparently, there will be performances there again, but right now the marble floor has at its center lights and fountains (not on when we were there) to entertain the public.

Back in the heart of San Diego, at the Plaza de San Diego, we quickly chose a restaurant because we were all hungry. It wasn't until after we were seated that we realized the main food was hamburgers, but we were famished and a downpour had started, so we selected from the menu. Seredipitously, we had found a great burger place, and there was even a delicious vegetarian meal for me. 

The rain had abated when we were done, so we spent another hour or so exploring the Old City, peeking into doorways to get glipses of foreign lifestyles, and finding beautiful, large courtyards hidden beyond massive wooden doors. We stopped at the Iglesia de Santo Domingo and its adjoining cloister, and we admired the rotund bronze statue, Gertrudis, on the square in front of the church, created by Fernando Botero Angulo, the most famous Colombian figurative artist, before returning to collapse on the boat.

Restored cloister of Santa Domingo

Apse, Iglesia de Santo Domingo

Gertrudis in Plaza de Santo Domingo

That evening, we had dinner at a tiny local outdoor restaurant. Patrons order empanadas and other fried food, which are displayed in a metal and glass case facing the street, from the cashier and they are placed in plastic, paper napkins-lined baskets. You are expected to pay after you eat (in case you want to come back for more). The red-tiled patio slopes from the building which houses an orthodotist's office on the ground floor to the sidewalk. There are a half dozen small bistro tables. We jammed six chairs around one and enjoyed our meals, which consisted of two items each. As we finished, we decided to take turns guessing the total price. The range was 36,000 to 55,000 Colombian pesos (about $12-18 US dollars). Immie, who volunteered to pick up the tab, was delighted with the total:  $18,000 pesos.

The view from Club Nautico at twilight with the gleaming towers of the Old City churches

Saturday morning we got ourselves ready and left the dock to motor sail (unfortunately, not enough wind) to the Islas del Rosario for a few days.  After four hours, we reached our destination. We stopped at one anchorage for lunch and then moved to another because Peter did not like the bottom (too much coral for good holding).

Although we found it much cooler here than the city, it was still hot, and we were delighted to be able to jump into clean Caribbean water. It is incredibly warm. Yesterday, it was not very clear, with visibility well under 10 feet, perhaps because of the recent rains, but we woke up this morning, after a night of refreshing breezes, to find the water much clearer. After we moved from our anchoring spot to a nearby mooring ball (We had not realized yesterday that we were not supposed to drop an anchor.) and had breakfast, we got in the water again. Peter and I swam to the same rock outcroppings I had explored yesterday, where juvenile, colorful and ornately decorated sharpnose puffers swim around in the hundreds, willing to stop inside my outstretched hand. These one-inch babies have neon blue lines radiating from their striking yellow irises. Mangrove roots along the shore of a tiny island shelter thousands of fish of various species, and there are big stars, schools of pipefish, sea cucumbers and a resident baracuda. With better visibility than yesterday, there was even more to see today, including blue tang, stoplight parrotfish, banded butterflyfish, foureye butterflyfish, flameback angelfish, various grunts and damselfish, sergeant majors, cardinalfish, checkered puffers and a baloonfish. There is not a lot of coral, but there is a rainbow of colors.

As soon as I finish this post, I will be back in the water! There is no breeze, and it is hot, hot, hot! Meanwhile, poor Peter has a cold and is also having to deal with various issues. The larger of the two dinghy motors has seized up. The batteries are not charging when the engine is running. The generator is still tempermental although it works most of the time. And the refrigerator, which was just serviced a few days ago, seems to be losing its charge again!

Sunset, Islas de Rosario