more travels

to panama and back...

we sailed again to san blas in panama. some 240 miles west of cartagena to one of the best and most beautiful places we saw in our voyage.

we stayed in san blas several weeks with family. it was awesome, except for the weather which brought many bad storms… we had some nasty squall every other day. but still it was as beautiful as we remembered it from our first visit back in 2009 before we crossed the canal. we ate a lot of lobster, although substantially more expensive than a few years ago. the fishing was not so abundant this time; in fact the kunas were not selling fish anymore. we met other boaters but the place now seems to be packed with sailors that bring backpackers from colombia rather than families cruising around. definitely a different atmosphere from what we remembered. maybe this is common when you visit the same places a second time around. or maybe the place has really changed. the fact is we did not feel so welcomed anymore by the locals. they expected money but not in exchange for much. I guess they are and feel entitled to charge for people cruising in their paradise…   

 

after panama, we sailed back to colombia and are still here in cartagena enjoying land life.

new crew!!!!

the best news ever...

we are celebrating the news of a new crew member!!! he will join later this year, in december to be exact. he does not know how to sail or even swim. we do not know if he will like the water or if he will get sea sick…we do not even know his name yet, only that it is a boy and that he will join us and sail and do everything with us… and we are so happy about it!!!

what have we been up to??

traveling, living, and enjoying colombia…

after finishing our circumnavigation on february 2012 we decided to stay in cartagena, at least esteban and the boat. I travel back and forth from home in the US and esteban stays on board puerto seguro. because the boat is in the marina we enjoy the ac and fresh running water all the time and internet (when it works) and electricity! its like a little house with all the luxuries of land. we also take trips now without worrying that the boat will drag or not be safe. some weekends or even weeks we travel to other cities. we have gone several times to visit family in barranquilla and bogota. we went to the beautiful town of villa de leyva which was a pleasant contrast of mountain and cold!

sometimes we go to the nearby bay of cholon near the islas del rosario and stay for a couple of nights, some others we stay in the city and enjoy the city life of cartagena and its many and delicious restaurants, or take the dingui to the beaches of tierra bomba (we actually have done this only once). we move around and enjoy the family the food, and amazing sites of colombia.

hey gringo...!

esteban had a very memorable experience in the san felipe castle. when we were coming in, there was a school trip coming out. the students must have been around 13 years average. when they saw us, (or my very blond blue eyed husband I should say) they started screaming at us: “hello, hello, hello… !!” even after we replied in our native spanish many times.. they started taking pictures with esteban. It seemed they were having a blast, specially the girls!! he turned red but decided to give the girls what they were asking for.. so he posed for them and in front of lots of little cameras and cell phones (I am sure much more sophisticated than ours). we were also having fun. what would they do with the pictures I wonder… ? it is funny when this happens.. for us a second time after a paparazzi session where we were nothing short of being celebrities in borneo sometime ago.