We left Bonaire early on Tuesday morning and sailed to Cartagena in Columbia, a chance to try out my Spanish again. The trip took three days arriving at noon on Friday. We used some of the meals we had prepared and frozen, which made the cooking easier. The weather was good on the whole, with 20 knot winds most of the way, except for Friday morning when it picked up to 30 knots, gusting as high as 39 knots and the sea became rough with steep choppy waves. I managed to avoid sea sickness using a combination of the relief band watch, (which stimulates electrically the nerve in the wrist which prevents sickness) and tablets. About twenty miles from Aruba we saw a strange orange glow ahead of us, like two orange lights. We passed Aruba at about midnight on Wednesday and saw that the glow was a huge oil refinery with many platforms offshore all with flames blazing. There were tankers all over and cruise ships waiting to go into Aruba, all of which we had to avoid. The next night we saw three seismic survey ships dragging cables six miles behind them. They called us on the radio and requested that we change course, which we did. On approaching Cartagena we went around a large island called Isla Terra Bomba, with a large fort at the entrance to the channel. There was no room at Club Nautico marina, where we had hoped to moor, so we dropped the anchor just outside. We employed an agent at the marina to check us in through customs (no choice in Colombia). This weekend and Monday are holidays, celebrating the start of the Christmas season, so there have been fireworks in the city which we watched from the boat.

We hired a guide and a taxi with a lady driver, on Saturday and toured the old city. It is a very well preserved walled Spanish city, with narrow streets, many churches and a Cathedral. There were street traders all over selling everything imaginable from cold drinks and fruit to Rolex watches Ray Band sunglasses and silver jewelery (all fake but we knew that). They were very persistent and a bit of a nuisance but I suppose they have to make a living. We visited a huge ancient Spanish fort in the city, (Castillo San Felipe De Barajos) dating back to the 15th century, complete with cannons. For lunch our guide took us to a pleasant restaurant where we ate in a pretty courtyard where the tables were in individual gazebos. We were serenaded by a couple of elderly men playing guitars, they sang very well to my surprise and played Nancy's request for Spanish Eyes. Unfortunately the food was not as good, I had steak or was it shoe leather. Nancy had red snapper, which she said was delicious, better stick to the fish in future. No visit to Columbia could be complete without a visit to an emerald factory, where we watched beautiful, expensive, jewelery being made.

Jim and Nancy went to church today, Sunday, the Roman Catholic church of San Pedro De Claver, the service was all in Spanish of course but they enjoyed it. On display in the church, in a gilded gold glass casket is the skeleton of San Pedro in his robes, very creepy. Tonight we are going to a pot luck supper and barbecue at the marina.