Here We Wait Out The Hurricane Seasons

Where in the world are we, you might ask?

When we left Jamaica to sail west, we had a choice to make where to stay and keep the boat for the Atlantic/Caribbean and Pacific hurricane seasons.

Several factors were at play here. For example the climate, the safety and security of the boat, and us, and of course the money.

We knew enough about Panama, and were talking about where and what to do during the next 6-7 months while we wait out the hurricane season. So when fellow sailors mentioned Cartagena Colombia instead, we started checking into it and made the decision to stop there on our way to the Panama Canal.

The crossing from Jamaica to Colombia was a partial motor and sailing trip. That body of water is infamous for super strong winds and large waves, and we waited just enough to catch a break in all that "action" and found a calmer weather window for our crossing to avoid all that "action". We prefer to be rather safe than sorry.

We don't get to do THIS much at all 🥰

WHAT a treat to see these beautiful creatures!!! A pod of curious pilot whales came up to our Gem! 😍

We always take the opportunity to get celestial sights to make sure we know where we are not! 😇

Due South we continue!!

We LOVE our sunrises and sunsets at sea....

A sea of sargassum, a type of seaweed we had to go through!

A pretty uneventful and wonderful trip it turned out to be.

It took a bit longer than normal, as we slowed down on a couple of days to dodge thunderstorms with waterspouts, and to time our arrival into Cartagena, for an arrival during daylight hours.

We picked a Marina, and it's usually not our first choice. But versus that and staying at anchor for the safety of the boat for our stay here and the duration of the hurricane season, and knowing we could only stay in this country for up to 90days as tourists (the boat can stay up to a year), we knew we were going to leave it here, somewhat unattended for longer periods of time, and weather, waves, and wind, and the possibility of dragging anchor, the choice was made to pay for the safer option of staying here, in the Marina.

The check in process here had to be made by hiring an agent, a liaison between the government and us.

It was a pretty painless, and fast process. Within a couple hours we got our TIP (temporary import permit for the Gem, for up to a year) and our tourist visas stamps!

So now it was time to go explore! 👏🏻👍🏻🥰

Cartagena surprised us pleasantly, with kind people, it's beautiful architecture , bright colors, and the feeling of being safe. It is a beautiful city, and all this is making it a wonderful experience. A beautiful adventure!

Some neat things we get to see around here....

So here we stay, tucked away, in a Marina till we have to leave this country to satisfy our tourist visa requirements, and continue to enjoy this beautiful area, exploring and taking care of some boat chores. There are always chores to be had on a boat!