Meghan On Amelie-December 2014

Hello everyone or should I say: Olla amigos! since Amelie IV is no longer in English speaking countries or even in North America anymore! We are still in the Northern Hemisphere but have set foot in the two other Americas by now!

Cartagena, Colombia (South America)

I have to say for my first South American adventure, it was pretty spectacular to have it in Cartagena! It was also pretty close to what I was expecting but a bit different in that it was better than I expected! First of all, there were skyscrapers, malls, movie theatres and highways! I have seen the odd mall or movie theatre in other islands but I have not seen a big highway or skyscrapers since we left Canada! It felt a bit weird sailing into the bay next to waterfront towers and stadiums instead of sandy white beaches or palm trees or little huts like all our other destinations. 

Although the modern city was a treat for us, the old city was the most fascinating part of Cartagena. Like Quebec city, the older part of Cartagena is surrounded by walls built a long, long time ago. We can actually today walk on the wall just like the Wall of China (but much smaller than the Wall of China). Here are some pictures of the walled city.

Cartagena Art school

Fortress Castillo San Felipe (means Saint Phillip Castle)

Antique shop

Traditional Colombian hats that are sold EVERYWHERE!

Also, one night in the city park, there happened to be some dancing show going on so we went and checked it out. The outfits were beautiful and one of the dresses reminded me of a Spanish castanet dancer’s dress. The men dancers were dressed in traditional Colombian clothes which is: all white. Most of the dances seemed African but it was obvious which ones were definitely South American.

San Blast Islands, Panama (Central America)

After Colombia, we sailed over to the beautiful, native islands known as San Blast the natives prefer it being called the Kuna Yala Islands.

My mom had read all about the Kuna people (the only people who live on these islands which happen to be the natives) and had told us about how amazing these people were. First of all, they are all 100% Kuna. It is illegal to cross-marry or date with other cultures unless you leave. Since they are that way, they are the second shortest population in the world (Pygmies in Africa are the shortest) and they also have some albinos (people with no colour pigment in their eyes, skin or hair making them look almost caucasian). 

They have also made it illegal to all tourists (including us cruisers) to pick up any coconuts they see on beaches, in towns or even in the water since up until just recently, the Kunas used coconuts as their currency and they find it disrespectful for people to keep any. Most Kunas (especially the women) still wear the traditional clothing, most villages’ houses are almost all made of wood and palm tree leaves and almost everyone sleeps in hammocks. Also, the traditional villages have a main hut where they have their daily Congreso which is where they sit and discuss any events or decisions that are important and just to make sure there are no sleepers in the crowd, one person is in charge of screaming every 10 minutes or so! When Kunas die, they bury them under little huts and put all their belongings with them next to their grave which I think is the smartest and most respectful thing to do. 

I was immediately fascinated by these people and I was thinking, “Wow! It would be a miracle to meet these people,” thinking it was rare to meet them but apparently not because we have met them about 10 times by now! 

When we got to the first island, one of the Kuna men said he would take us to his village and show us around so us and a couple of our other cruising friends agreed. I had had no idea what kind of an experience it would be even getting out of our dinghy into Kuna land. Normally, when we get to islands, we get onto the dinghy dock and walk past people as they walk past us but this time, when we got out of the dinghy, to the Kunas, it was as if they were watching unicorns get out of the dinghy. They were so fascinated by us as we were of them. As we would walk through the streets (which had no cars for once), kids would peer out of their windows or sometimes “sneakily” follow us in groups pointing, whispering and giggling when we waved or said “Olla!”.

I think my favourite village was the first one we went to and my favourite part of that village was meeting our “tour guide’s” family. His wife and four daughters were all so welcoming and wanted to know all about us. I had taken some of my Rainbow Loom bracelets I had made that I didn’t want to the village just in case some kids in the village wanted them and turns out I was right because the daughters wouldn’t stop talking about them afterwards! Here are some pictures of these amazing people who taught me a whole different perspective of life. 

Their handmade tree dug out traditional canoes

Sacred dolls said to carry spirits in them

The creative crafts they make called Molas

Kuna children!

Buddy Boat Life

In cruising, sometimes boats enjoy cruising to the same destinations together and the scientific name for that is Buddy Boating! 

At first, I thought that buddy boating sounded tiring, always having to wait for the other boats if they had to turn back or something but then when we started it, I found it really fun hailing each other on the radio and saying for example, “Hey! Put a fishing line out because we just caught two mahi-mahis!,” or, “Pack of 30 dolphins coming your way!”. What made it even better is that all 4 of us are kid boats! SV Perry and us have buddy boated together since Bonaire (late November). Then, we met SV Kazaio in Colombia and we recently met SV Mandala V in San Blast a few weeks ago. We have all basically hung out together everyday whether it’s at the beach, on one of our boats or on a walk around town. 

From left to right: Amelie IV (us), SV Perry, SV Kazaio and SV Mandala V

Here are some random pictures to finish it off! Happy Belated New Year to everyone!

 Dutch Caribbean island Bonaire that we visited in November.
You can read about it in my mom's blog: Week 35: Having a BLAST in BONAIRE!

In Cartagena, one of those men that birds follow
everywhere, let me try out his secret:
pigeon food!

These knife jugglers stood in the Cartagena streets
everyday and at the red light, would entertain the
traffic!

Sawfish at the Rosario Islands
(Islands just off the coast of Cartagena)
Aquarium

Caiman at the Rosario Islands Aquarium