Well, we have done the Caribbean, and with the notable exception of St Barts at New Year, I thought it was all a bit hyped, and not a patch on the Pacific. except for the rum. Every island has a couple of rum distilleries, and their product ranges from brilliant to aluminium caravan cleaner- I know, I tried lots. There is no doubt that Capt. Morgan and Mount Gay are the better ones, but we found a rum called "1919" which was very good indeed. I have to say that extensive testing inclines me to the opinion that Bundaberg tends towards the "Caravan Cleaner" end of the spectrum. We have just left Cartagena Columbia- not to be confused with Cartagena Spain. What a surprise packet! I was a bit uncomfortable going there, given the reputation of Columbia, but we were pleasantly surprised. The political powers that be there are somewhat recent and seem determined to stabilize the place.. the Coast Guard is very prominent, and proactive with cruisers. I went to a briefing at the local Coast Guard Base, where we were shown their determination to keep us all safe..they want tourists of all types, including the cruising fraternity. Whilst we were there we were shown some of the vessels they had confiscated from drug runners. They we either severe black speed machines- one even had an attempt at stealth technology- or submersibles- home made submarines no less. They were designed to chuff along at night and to stay submerged during the day or when their radar picked up anything at night. Very ingenious!! Not however sufficiently ingenious not to be bagged! Cartagena is fascinating. It has been described as the most beautiful city in South America, and I can believe it. It was for several hundred years a centre of Spanish activity in Central America and the port where many of the treasure galleons were loaded with gold and silver and emeralds from Central America, bound for Spain. It thus has as very colourful history. The old town is stunning. wonderful classic Spanish architecture- more Spanish than Spain. In the old town, large studded wooden doors in a wall open to reveal the former 17th and 18th Century homes of the wealthy Spanish elite.large palm and bougainvillea filled open air courtyards with bubbling water features, and several stories of balconies leading to the various rooms- almost Arabic, and continue the Moorish influence so prominent in traditional Spanish architecture. These old homes now seem principally to be boutique hotels or restaurants, though a number evidently are still used as private homes. We spent a whole day wandering about looking at things and at the people.I have never seen such an ethnically diverse population. there seems to be every colour from jet black through various grades of coffee to brunette and blonde.. and as you would expect, the diversity has resulted in people are physically very attractive. Cartagena would have to be on my top five places I have been recently, where I would like to return. We are now in the San Blas Islands, on the Caribbean coast of Panama. They are special. They are owned by the Kuna Yala people, a traditional Amerindian society who jealously preserve their traditional way of life and have successfully avoided any modern development. Hundreds of small white sand islands- many about the size of a rugby field and all covered with coconut palms- are scattered along the coast. Most are uninhabited, and the snorkelling is great- if it would stop raining!!!

Whilst we loved Cartagena it was good to get away and be able to jump over the back of Songline for a swim. The Islas del Rosarios are a lovely group of islands just 20 miles south west of Cartagena and a popular weekend get away with local Cartagenians. We're glad we picked up a chart of the area from John at Club Nautico. It would be tricky without it. There is some elementary tourist activity including an aquarium and some rather interesting private dwellings on what appear to be private islands, but at night the islands are mainly unlit except for the odd kerosene lamp. We've been visited by the usual locals offering fish and lobster for sale or requesting assistance and as always the dilemma on the level of social responsibility you're prepared to accept is in your face. Just how much does one pay for fish or fruit you don't really want or give for stories you don't really believe? We gave a small Spanish story book to a supposedly sick child and it didn't seem to go down well as the father wanted candy for his son. Sometimes it's a great pleasure to do business with locals other times I'm not so sure. The snorkelling here wasn't Bonaire, but still enjoyable and there was plenty of reefs to snorkel within easy reach of our back deck anchored off Marina Isla. Then after a lazy day we upped anchor to head to the San Blas.

We motored through the Boca Grande channel into Cartagena, Gabriel Garcia Marquez country, to anchor at dawn on Wednesday. What a busy city! 1.2m people. A skyline of high rise apartments surrounds the big Cartagena harbour and the beachfront; traditional fishermen in dugout canoes cast their nets; the [...]