The crossing to Colombia and Puerto Velero

After clearance from Aruba, we set sail for Colombia. We had an average wind of 18-20 knots almost the whole way and depending on the wind direction we alternated between genoa and downwind sail during the leg. The mainsail was never hoisted during the two and a half days we sailed. Our planning, for once, also matched really well with how the trip developed. We noted that the waves became extremely strange when wind, waves and currents meet from different directions, but nothing worse than what we experienced on other legs. We stayed far from land and could see how the thunderstorms succeeded each other at a reasonable distance. As usual, we had four-hour watch shifts at night. The first morning when I (Malin) slept my four hours and was about to release Christer from his shift, I felt an aching headache and thought I hadn’t drunk enough water. A pint of water later, however, there was no improvement and we began to speculate whether it could be the start of a migraine? The appetite did not show up as it used to either and, in the afternoon, I began to feel cold. A bit strange because it was over 30 degrees and the sun was blazing... Could I have caught the flu? We had visited several places with a lot of people, so it couldn't be ruled out. Christer took pity on me and offered me an Ibuprofen tablet and hoped for a speedy recovery. The tablet was swallowed but after 5 minutes it decided that the stomach was definitely not a suitable environment to stay in. It went out with great speed. Now I had a headache, chills AND was nauseous. Could it be Covid? The last vaccination was in November, but new mutations appear all the time, we reasoned. Dengue fever perhaps? We weren't vaccinated against it and I had been bitten by mosquitoes many times... Yes, we kept speculating like that and now I was absolutely sure that I was seriously ill.

That same evening Christer arranged some supper but had to eat it himself. Then it hit me! I had become seasick! How could we have missed this! Relieved that I wasn't terminally ill, but at the same time pissed off that my body had deceived me like that, I could continue my watches, sometimes looking out at the sea and sometimes hugging a bucket, which suddenly became my faithful friend who stood by me without asking unnecessary questions... Christer arranged hand-made and very lovingly mixed liquid replacement for his poor wife... The last 10 nautical miles towards Puerto Velero we had no wind at all and the waves had subsided so we had to motor. In 30 minutes, the sickness disappeared and I felt great, and no one was happier than Christer! 😁 A pod of dolphins also suddenly appeared and followed the boat for a bit, to our great joy. It had been many months since we saw dolphins!

On August 1st we arrived at Puerto Velero where we were well received by four marina guys who took over the mooring of Anastacia. Here we really got full service and we stood awkwardly on deck and felt we were in the way on our own boat as they ran around fixing the fenders and mooring lines so the boat was properly stretched towards the jetty.

The harbor belongs to a facility with a large hotel building including a pool area and many cottages around. The facility also has several service buildings with shower/toilet and a small restaurant/bar. The clearance to Colombia for boat and crew was arranged fairly soon after arrival with the help of an agent. She belongs to the staff at the hotel and managed the communication between us and the authorities whose representatives came to the hotel only for our sake. We got to meet the harbor master of all the region's ports, as well as representatives from the authorities for migration, health department and agriculture department.  Anastacia's and our documents were reviewed. stamped. signed and finally El Capitano himself (i.e. Christer) had to sign everything. Then followed the usual inspection of Anastacia and questions about what was on board such as alcohol, weapons, food and cold goods, medicines, possibly plants and animals etc. All in a very friendly and pleasant tone. Once everyone was satisfied, we got our papers and the agent got to take care of our passports that were going to the immigration headquarters in Barranquilla for further checks and stamps. 5 days later we got them back.

Puerto Velero is located in a sheltered bay just west of the city of Barranquilla in the Atlantico region. Storms rarely find their way here, but we often see the light from thunders in the evenings at the adjacent mountains. The entire facility is located on a large flat sandbar with grey-black sand. A guard patrols the area at night. We are free to use of the facilities and the staff are very helpful and friendly. Even though few of them know English, communication still works well with the little Spanish we know + sign language and a lot of good will... I'm practicing Spanish via a language app so it's all over the phone and my brain and I hope it will pay off in the long run. We are incredibly pleased to be able to have the boat here for a longer period of time for a reasonable price. However, there are very few other guests at the place. Probably due to its remote location. To get to Barranquilla, you must first book a moto- taxi to the road 4.5 km from here. From there you take the bus to get to the city. The whole trip takes about three hours. The alternative is to rent a car but it is quite expensive. Moving around here therefore requires planning. Our idea is to have the boat in Puerto Valero during August and September and make excursions to other places in Colombia.

The first week or so here has been spent preparing the boat and moorings so that it can stay at the harbor for a longer time. We took the opportunity to wash the boat and other things like fenders and mooring lines and stow away as much as possible below deck. We have been used to the northeast wind bringing dust from the Sahara that settles like a thin red-brown film on the boat when we sailed in the Caribbean. Here, instead, it is fine-grained black sand that sticks to the deck, lines and possibly laundry that we hang up 😊

We are also trying to adapt to the warmer and more humid climate. Here the average temperature is around 35 degrees and the humidity rarely goes below 70% - which also has the not so funny effect where many things in the boat mold more easily. A leather belt in a pair of jeans in the closet, for example, had suddenly grown into something fluffy that seemed to come from outer space. We have had to sanitize and wash all clothes and wipe all areas with vinegar mixture to keep Anastacia in good condition.

We have also had an uneven battle with bugs that we got into the boat but now hope that we have emerged victorious from that battle. We started seeing more and more small millimeter-sized beetles in the evenings. They flew around us and were drawn to the light in the boat. At first, we thought they were somewhat cute but then we realized that there was WAY too many to be healthy. After diligent Googling, we found that we got either Drugstore beetles or Cigarette beetles in the boat. Both are common in storage areas and like to eat flour, grain etc. We unpacked all the dry goods we had in our drawers the stowage areas and found beetles/larvae in some of the wheat flour bags as well as in a bag of pasta and in a packet of rice cakes. Unfortunately, everything had to be thrown away. Then we wiped off all the areas (vinegar is good here too! 😊) put all the other goods in sealed plastic bags and started counting how many beetles we saw each night. Happily, the number dropped steadily. However, they did not disappear completely. A new tracing of possible areas showed that the electric whisk we stowed away with other kitchen equipment was full of small bugs. Inside the electric beater, flour dust had been sucked in and the little creatures thrived there! Another cleaning and encapsulation of the electric beater (we didn't want to throw it away) followed and now it is wrapped in plastic in one of our windows where we can keep an eye on if anything more crawls out of it...

A few days ago, we visited Barranquilla, but we will tell you about that in the next post!

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