We had yet another fantastic sail from Cartagena
to Isla de Providencia (400 nautical miles). The winds were
light, between 10 and 15 knots, mostly on the beam. My
only complaint if I may, is that it was extremely damp, especially when the sun started
to set and all during the night. Every
part of my body, cushions, bed sheets were clammy. I really despise this feeling!!!
Around 8:30pm on my first watch of the passage, a
boat hailed us. I had already seen on AIS
(Automated Identification System) that there were three ships to starboard
which seemed like they were all following each other in a distance of 1 and 6
miles. I didn’t check any of them
because I assumed they were cargo ships which typically go faster than
Alpenglow and they were far away. I just
kept an eye on them. The conversation on
VHF went like this;
HAILING SHIP:
Alpenglow, Alpenglow, Alpenglow, this is the ship ‘RAMFORM ATLAS’
ALPENGLOW: This is Alpenglow,
how may I help you ?
RAMFORM ATLAS: Let’s go
to Channel 72
ALPENGLOW: 72
RAMFORM ATLAS: I am a
Seismic ship. I have a pilot ship at my
stern. I am pulling a 6 mile long cable
and at the end is my trailing ship. I
need you to take my trailing ship’s stern.
In 5 hours I will be going to port at 180 degrees.
ALPENGLOW: What is your current speed ?
RAMFORM ATLAS: 5 knots
Note: Alpenglow was
going 6.5 knots
ALPENGLOW: How much
radius to you need to go to port at 180 degrees ?
RAMFORM ATLAS: 6 miles
Note: Tim & I discussed if we could keep going west or if we truly had to take his stern
because taking his stern would have meant going against the wind and
waves. We figured out that we had no
choice in the matter.
ALPENGLOW: OK, we will
take your stern. Thank you for advising
us.
RAMFORM ATLAS: We still
stand by on channel 16 and 72.
ALPENGLOW: Alpenglow
clear and standing by on channel 16.
Truth is, I should have checked these ships out on AIS and I
would have seen that it was pulling a cable.
I’m getting a little too comfortable at sea. The bash against wind and sea wasn’t too bad
and only lasted for about 6 miles. Tim actually saw lights on the cable.
Seismic vessels are ships that are
solely used for the purpose of seismic survey in the high seas and oceans. A
seismic vessel is used as a survey vessel for the purpose of pinpointing and
locating the best possible area for oil drilling in the middle of the oceans.
For the purpose of seismic survey, seismic waves are the main
components that are analyzed. The process involves a seismic detector that
shoots such seismic waves to a selected underwater point. The time taken for
the waves to refract back to their origin point determines whether that
particular subsea area is feasible for the oil drilling purpose.
The next day, a large school of dolphins once again kept us
entertained. We saw numerous dorsal fins
from a distance and flying thru the air in unison going hard towards Alpenglow.
We even spotted a mother and small baby jump together.
Isla De Providencia is a
Caribbean island which is part of the San Andres and Providencia Archipelago
and politically part of Columbia but is geographically closer to
Nicaragua. The island is remote and approximately 400 miles from the
Colombian mainland. Most supplies including
produce have to be shipped or flown to the island. The population of Isla De Providencia is
approximately 5,000.
Providencia is heavily protected by Colombian legislation - no
non-native of the island is allowed to own property there, or operate a business.
Thus, while many developers want to "build up" Providencia, it
seems unlikely that this will happen in the near future. It is quite unique in
its status as an undeveloped and unexploited Caribbean island. Some say Providencia means heaven. I couldn’t find it on google but I guess some
may think this is heaven.
The Lover’s Bridge, a colorful floating bridge brings you to
the little island of Santa Catalina, population, approximately 100. There are no roads on this island, just walkways;
a few homes and a couple of make shift bars where you may also purchase local,
cheap food. When we arrived at
one of the bars, they were out of beer.
I guess being a Sunday that could happen easily. We
also took a walk on the bridge at night and watched the numerous black spotted
rays swimming back and forth.
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| LOVER'S BRIDGE CONNECTING PROVIDENCIA WITH CATALINA ISLANDS |
Cruisers Marilyn & Dave invited us over for happy hour on their s/v Argonaut. They introduced us to their 24 year cat named Tigger. Tigger could hear and see and honestly, didn’t look her age at all. She was very affectionate and stayed on my lap as long as I let her. They will be at our marina in the Rio Dulce this summer 2016.
Providencia Island sits atop the
Third-largest barrier reef in the world.
We went snorkeling near Morgan’s head (as in Captain Morgan). There are several corals, the
reef is healthy and the water is over 90 degrees !!!! No need for wet suits here, in fact, I find the water too warm as it doesn’t cool me off as much as I would like.
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| MORGAN'S HEAD |
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| SEA DREADLOCKS |
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| THE WATER IS WAY TOO HOT |
It’s easy to dinghy all around Isla
Catalina. Along the way we saw several
spotted eagle rays jump out of the water.
So, we jumped in the water in search of some rays. Holly crap !
What do you do when a large spotted eagle ray comes directly towards you
? We’re still here aren’t we… What a
beautiful animal.
One day, a cruiser called Mr.Bush (the local maritime agent) to get the coastguard to help them get off a rock. It only took 10 minutes or less for the
coastguard to get to them. That’s FAST! This rock btw, is on the chart, oops !
There’s a cut on the hillside called “Morgan’s Ass, named after
Sir Henry Morgan (1635 –1688). He was a Welsh privateer, buccaneer, and admiral of the Royal Navy. He
made himself famous during activities in the Caribbean, primarily raiding
Spanish settlements. He earned a reputation as one
of the most notorious and successful privateers in history and one of the most
ruthless among those active along the Spanish Main.
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| MORGAN'S ASS |
On our sail from Cartagena to Providencia, we caught a small tuna,
here is my recipe I found using Mr. Google (I didn’t have any Mirin and it still tasted heavenly).
TUNA ASIAN STYLE
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INGREDIENTS
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PROCESS
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1/4 cup tamari (soy sauce)
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Whisk tamarin, sesame oil,
mirin, honey, vinegar,
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1/4 cup sesame oil
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ginger, green onions and garlic
together in a
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2 Tblsp. Mirin (Japanese sweet
wine)
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bowl until marinade is evenly
mixed. Place tuna
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2 Tblsp. Honey
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steaks in the marinade and
refrigerate for at
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2 Tblsp. Rice wine vinegar
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least 1 hour (I marinated for 3
hours).
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2 Tblsp. Grated fresh ginger
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Spread sesame seeds onto a
plate. Remove tuna
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2 green onions, minced, or more
to taste
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from marinade and discard
marinade. Press tuna
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4 (6 ounce) tuna steaks
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into sesame seeds until evenly
coated.
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2 Tblsp. Sesame seeds, or more
to taste
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Heat olive oil in a cast iron
skillet over high heat
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1 Tblsp. Olive Oil
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until very hot; cook tuna in
the hot oil until cooked
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to desired doneness, 30 seconds
to 5 minutes
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per side.
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2 minutes = medium rare (DO NOT
overcook)
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| YELLOW FIN TUNA |
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| BEST WAY TO GET AROUND THIS SMALL ISLAND |
So, off we went on our scooter and visited all the bays and
beaches on the island. Remember, this
island is only about 5 X 3 miles so it only takes about 45 minutes to
drive around the whole island. We
stopped at South West beach and had a long leisurely lunch. We watched the fishermen come in with our
lunch. You don’t really have a
choice in which type of fish, whatever they caught is what you get. I think mine was a parrot fish which isn’t a
fish I would typically eat since it’s so beautiful and furthermore, I found out
later that it is a protected fish…crap.
It was still good.
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| THE KITCHEN AT SEASIDE RESTAURANTS AT SOUTH BEACH |
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| FISH AND LOBSTER FOR LUNCH, RIGHT OFF THE FISHERMAN'S BOAT |
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| THE WAITER TOLD ME THIS WAS A RED FISH. IT'S PROBABLY A RED SNAPPER |
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| THIS IS HOW I FOUND OUT THAT PARROT FISH ARE PROTECTED, RIGHT ON THE NAPKIN HOLDER, DUH. THEY STILL SERVE PARROT FISH. |
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| THERE ARE SEVERAL STATUES SUCH AS THIS ONE ALL AROUND THE ISLAND |
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| "ALMOND BEACH", BECAUSE OF ALL THE ALMOND TREES ON THE BEACH |
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| INGENIOUS WAY TO USE OLD TIRES |
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| SOME KIND OF COTTON TREE |
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| HUGE AMOUNTS OF COTTON WAS FLYING EVERYWHERE |
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| SOUTH WEST BEACH |
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| CHICKEN CAGES |
There is an annual Black Crab migration that occurs every
April to July. The adult crabs live on
land, mostly in the mountains. Once mature, females migrate annually to the sea to
breed. Near the sea they lay their eggs, incubate them for about two
weeks, and then enter the sea briefly for the larvae to hatch. The larvae
released into the sea must drift and develop for about twenty days, and if the
currents have been favorable, those that are lucky to survive come back to
shore to migrate inland to continue their life cycle. When they come down from the
mountains, they must cross a road before getting to the sea. The local coast guard now closes that part of
the road during the migration to protect them.
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| MILLIONS OF BLACK CRABS MIGRATING |
On most Saturday, there are horse races on Southwest
Bay which local youths ride speeding horses
bareback down the white sand beach, while seemingly half the island’s
population places friendly wagers and cheers the riders on. The first Saturday we were here, there was no race because one of the horses was not quite right, we were told. Mr. Livingston told us to come back next week. Well, we went back and still, there was no horse race. Mr. Livingston said this time that one of the horses was sick. He told us to come back next week and they'll be 2 races.
Roland’s restaurant & bar on Manchineel Bay
has live Reggae bands every Friday night for a mere 10,000cop pp. It’s a much laid back bar right on the
beach.
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| ROLAND'S BEACH BAR & RESTAURANT |
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| MANCHINEEL BEACH
The
highest point on Providencia is El Pico at 360 meters. It has outstanding 360 degree views of the waters surrounding Providencia which has been named the Sea of Seven Colors by
Bart Beeson.
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We dinghied to Crab Cay, a small rock just a couple miles away. A dock and roof was built so that tourists can hang out and drink coconut milk they had for sale. This area is part of a national park so a fee of $5 each is charged to land on the cay. We hiked up to the top, about 3 minute hike and WOW, The view was absolutely one of the nicest views I've seen of reefs and crystal clear blue water. After some gazing time, we snorkeled to find more rays and turtles, mooray eels and the usual variety of reef fish. A few days later we went back and anchored to snorkel and didn't pay the entry fee.
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| VIEW FROM THE TOP OF CRAB CAY |
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| CRAB CAY |
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| A VERY SMALL RAY |
On most Fridays, they have some kind of festival. Our first week here, it was KID'S DAY, then it was OLD PEOPLE'S DAY.
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| KID'S DAY. THEY ALSO LIKED TO THROW FLOUR ON EACH OTHER |
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| A PARTICIPANT IN THE OLD PEOPLE'S PARADE |
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| ONE OF THE FLOATS |
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| A FLOAT WITH A ROCKING CHAIR |
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| THERE ARE HARDLY ANY CARS ON THE ISLAND. |
INFORMATION
FOR CRUISERS:
Beware of
rock: Not all charts have
this rock marked. As you are coming in
the channel it’s to the left of the last green buoy. Someone got stuck on it. So, just make sure you follow all the buoys.
Immigration/customs:
We arrived from Cartagena, Columbia.
We were only staying about a week in Providencia. They charged us $160us. Yikes.
Especially after it costing us $120us for a week in Cartagena (we got
off not having to pay temporary importation but that was discretionary we were
told).
Provisioning
boat: Arrives on Tuesdays or Wednesdays from Panama or San Andres.
Anchorage: Very calm and extremely comfortable. Shallow. Extremely loud music at times.
Excursions: We met Timoteo “Bambi” at Almond Bay. He was a delightful chap that spoke very well
English. He does excursions. For a picture, I told him I'd put his boat card in my blog, so here it is....
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| TIMOTEO SAID HE HAD NEVER MET ANOTHER MAN NAMED TIM BEFORE..HMMMM |
This sounds like a wonderful place to visit, and the pictures are beautiful.
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