This weekend we took a getaway from our getaway by taking seven guests with us to the Rosarios, some tiny Caribbean islands just 20 miles south of Cartagena. The crew included fellow sailors Steve and Rachel, whom we met in Port Antonio and who also survived the trip south directly to Cartagena. We should all get some sort of patch you put on your swimsuit for that. We brought along their friends (and now our friends!) the Restrepos, which included fellow educator Tanya and her beautiful family, including Tanya’s mother, a retired architect.
We left Cartagena with the blessing of the Virgin’s feet, pictured above. Mel did her best to not think about lightning and the fact that all three toilets on board are electric.
We had to motor all the way down into the wind, but we had light winds and following seas and were able to use the forward cockpit while underway for the second time ever. After some adventures, we ended up anchoring in a nice bay off the Isla Caribaru, right next to Isla No Te Vende, the “Island I Will Not Sell To You.” Oh, Darn!
Allie quizzed Tanya at one point about Colombia. “Do you have earthquakes here?” “No.” “Do you have tornadoes here?” “No.” “Do you have hurricanes here?” “No.” “Well then, this is a paradise!”
This weekend consisted of a lot of Firsts for us and The Amazing Marvin. First time sleeping eleven on board. First time visually navigating through reefs and running aground (briefly – we learned paper charts are hard to use minute-by-minute!) First time breaking out our inflatable kayak. First time using the scuba hookah to clean the bottom. First time seeing cuttlefish in their natural environment.
Yep, we went snorkeling and saw what appeared to be one male cuttlefish and a “harem” of eleven women. We followed them for twenty minutes, watching them develop fake eyes on their backs and then blend in with the sand, before they left, single-file, for deeper waters. Why Marvin, I didn’t know you were such a ladies’ man!
So after sitting in a murky marina for a while, we were happy to have the ephemeral, clichéd cruisers’ experience that we had dreamed about, with a great weekend with great friends, fantastic food (cooked by our guests, no less!), sundowner drinks, tons of waterplay, and exhausted kids. Now that’s more like it!
Okay, time to go clean the boat and fix what broke! (Not much!)
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