Day 10: Wet laundry

We had breakfast at our hotel in Cotacachi Ecuador and then checked to see our line-dried laundry was ready. It was still not dry so we walked around the town some more and checked internet. Then as it was nearing 11:30 we decided to pack up anyway even though our laundry was still damp.

It was fairly cool out and started to sprinkle just a bit but then stopped right away. At first, the roads were not that enticing and we hit a few rough spots. Then we started to climb in elevation and the road became very winding. We ascended to 6,200 metres (that's 20,000 feet!) into the clouds of the Andes Mountains and then descended onto the other side of the Continental Divide, following river canyons, past waterfalls that cascaded in the jungle, and finally dropping into the Amazonian Basin.

Ruby at 4,000 m

Coming out of the Andes on the east (the Amazon side), we were met with an expansive vista of flat low laying land. It was striking how abrupt the transition was from near vertical to horizontal. It was as though the flatness that came over the horizon from the east was a green sea and its shores were the steep slopes of
the Andes. It reminded me of the scene on the east side of the Rockies, around Calgary AB in Canada.

We ran a baseline road southward to an elevation of only 420 m where we stayed at the small, clean, town of Tena. This woman was thrilled to have her photo taken at her fruit stand, and as we walked away, we could hear her giggling with another at a neighbouring stand.

From Cotacachi to Tena, we traversed 268 km.

Day 9: Cotacachi

After the bizarre foul-up at the Ecuador border yesterday, we decided not to return back to the border to be entered into the computer until after breakfast, thereby hopefully allowing time for their computers to be fixed. As we wandered around Tulcán, we took a photo of this mass of wires - what a way to spoil a window view!

Yikes!

There were a lot of indigenous folks dressed in their traditional outfits with the women wrapping their babies or young ones onto their backs. It still surprises me when I see how short in stature they are.

Full-grown adult indigenous women standing by a teenager

Thankfully when we arrived back at the border crossing, all the computers were up and running and the line-up was very short. We were quickly entered into the computers and had permission to pass.

As we travelled along the highway, Jordan notice an adventure motorcyclist stopped on the side of the road. He was riding a KLR 650, like our bike back home. So we stopped to say hello. He was a young man, alone, from Brazil travelling Colombia and Ecuador. He showed us photos of serious flooding that he came through in Colombia. We exchanged our boat card with his business card and his invitation to visit him in a few years when we sail past his home port.

We came to a fairly small town called Cotacachi early in the day but decided to stay. We found a Bed & Breakfast hotel with laundry service. We were told that there are no public clothes dryers in Cotacachi - just line drying. But we decided to take a chance that our clothes would be dry by morning.

While walking around town, we saw leather stores everywhere. We never noticed any locals wearing leather coats or jackets, and only a few carrying leather purses or wearing leather footwear, so their tourist trade and imports must be very high. Cotacachi is also a hangout for expats and intrepid travellers.

It's still been fairly cold at 2,400 m elevation. We travelled 165 km today from the border to Cotacachi.

Day 8: Border closure

It was cold when we left Popayán Colombia this morning but as the day progressed it warmed up. The roads were not good and Jordan was constantly dodging potholes. We were held up several times by road construction crews (so the roads should be improved in the future). At one spot, the road work on a narrow mountainous section held up traffic for about 45 minutes. In the line-up and at the front (that's where motorcycles go to), we saw nervous military soldiers keeping a keen eye on things and casting apprehensive glances up in the jungles overhead.

Later, Jordan was reading in the Latin American section of the BBC news that there had been a surprise rebel attack on a military contingent not far from this point and where a dozen FARC guerrillas and 2 soldiers were killed.

Ruby's rear brakes pads were getting down to nothing and the front ones were also showing wear. Time for new ones but brake shoes for this brand of moto won't be available until we reach Ecuador. So Jordan was babying the rear brakes to preserve them.

Riding past steep cliffs on winding roads

We reached the border crossing and exited Colombia with no problem. And we also had a pleasant visit with 14 Chinese folks on an 80-day trip while we waited in line for our exit stamp. They were fascinated with the GoPro camera attached to Jordan's helmet and everyone wanted their picture taken with Jordan wearing his helmet. Cameras were clicking non-stop even though they had been told earlier to not take pictures in the Migration building!

We exited the Columbia Immigration, drove over the bridge, and were in Ecuador and at their Immigration. It was almost full! We were pointed to the end of the line. We noticed the line wasn't moving and the lone officer behind the window wasn't processing anyone. Shortly after we arrived, they were not letting anyone else inside. We were told that their computers were not working and it was the third time this month. Everything was at a standstill. No one could be processed either for exiting or entry to Ecuador.

Finally after about 4 hours, the officials stated if they were presented with photocopies of specific pages of passports, they could issue temporary entrance into or exit from Ecuador, and in which case people would have to return the next morning to be entered into the computer. So there was a mad dash for the door to get to nearby copiers!

With our required copies, we got our temporary stamp and in the dark headed up the road to a nearby motel. What a day after 321 km from Popayán Colombia to nearby Tulcán Ecuador!

Day 7: Headin' south

We left Jorge's finca in Colombia today under cloudy skies as we had decided it was time to start heading south and for hopefully less rain. Unfortunately, the weather never co-operated for us to swim in the backyard pool and we never worked up enough nerve to ride Jorge's beautiful horse.

On our way to Popayán, we passed by a couple of flooded fields. We also saw news reports of landslides and closed roads. Apparently October had 16 days of record rainfalls and we were leaving just in time!

We enjoyed a dry ride but it started to rain just after our arrival once again in Popayán Colombia. On our way through Popayán the first time, we missed the best part of it. This time, meandering the streets for a nice hotel, we came to Old Town, a quaint colonial section. Here we checked into Hotel Colonial and then did an evening stroll and fine dined at an Italian restaurant in the town's charming atmosphere.

Purchasing alcohol is a little different than in Canada. Here, it is behind locked gates. From outside, you pay through the locked gate and then they pass the alcohol through to you on the street. No wandering around looking at bottles and prices...

We covered 307 km today.

Day 6: Salento sortie

It had been recommended that we check out a not too distant town called Salento, so with cloudy skies and rain gear, we headed out from Jorge's finca. Unfortunately, shortly after arriving, it started to pour earlier than usual. It's the rainy season. Salento is off the main highway connected by a picturesque winding drive down a valley and back up the other side. The little town is perched on a ridge with views to the distant green rolling hills. But it was a quiet, relaxed, cool little town with its colonial style - but different from typical colonial towns in that many of its structures were a wood-framed type of architecture.

We stopped for coffee that was made using this coffee machine that's over 100 years old...

Because of the rain, we were not able to continue on to the hot springs with a waterfall that we had been told about and had really been looking forward to swimming there.

Back at the farm, we dried our clothes over the oven that was cooking macadamia nuts. We had been wearing rain gear but I guess travelling 80 to 90 km per hour in the pouring rain...

Day 5: The finca scene

We had time for a walk through some of Marta's property at Casa Jardin Zen (Armenia Colombia) before leaving. During the last 20 years, Marta has turned her sloping hillside below her home/guesthouse into a veritable jungle by planting virtually everything that we saw. It was like wandering along trails cut in a natural jungle. It was hard to believe that she had actually planted it all herself.

 Jordan hiking past hundreds of bamboo trees...

Santiago (Jorge's helper), came to escort us to our next destination of "Betica". Jorge, our Colombian friend, owns "Betica" which is a finca (farm). There Jorge grows macadamia nuts and coffee beans. He also rents land to another who grows papayas by the thousands. From the macadamia nuts, Jorge also creates a spread like peanut butter only it is crunchy macadamia butter and so delicious.

Macadamia nuts & coffee beans drying - roof is pulled overtop when it rains

The coffee from his beans is the best we've ever tasted, not surprising though as we were in the heart of the Colombian coffee country. They call this prime coffee growing area the Coffee Triangle as it sits between the major cities of Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín.

 Jordan raking coffee beans

We could walk outside and pick mandarin-type oranges to eat from his tree or fallen macadamia nuts from the ground. What a delightful treat. Jorge also processes honey that his bees make from the macadamia pollen.

As it was early in the day, we decided to check out the famous Parque Nacional del Café. This is not a cafe but a famous park area with amusement rides, museums, eco-areas, and of course coffee shops/restaurants with delicious Colombian coffee. I've even started to drink coffee again!

We were just entering the building to watch a performance when it started to rain. It was a great show with very colourful costumes but when the show ended, it was pouring and did not look like it was about to let up. We had not taken any rain gear with us so we had to ride back to the finca on Ruby and were soaked though and through upon arrival.

Day 4: Casa Jardin Zen

We travelled from Popayán Colombia to near Armenia, also in Colombia. We passed by a lot of places making bricks and noticed many of the numerous sugarcane fields being harvested. Upon stopping at a fruit and veggie stand, we purchased 4 sapote after sampling. This is a very stringy but mildly delicious fruit.

There are motorcycles travelling everywhere, most carrying all sorts of cargo. Chickens. Produce. Big milk cans. Sometimes as many as 4 or 5 people on 1 bike. We even saw a girl with her dog perched on her lap.

Ecuadorian panniers!

Once we arrived in Armenia, we were having a hard time finding Casa Jardin Zen (http://www.casajardinzen.com) which was highly recommended to us by a Colombian boater friend whose sister, Marta, owns it. We stopped and asked a parked motorcyclist is if he knew where a very popular disco was (which is very close to the Casa) and, as he did, he said "follow me" and away we went on his tail, through the late day's rush hour traffic. Upon arriving at the closed disco, he then called Marta on his cell for us. Without delay, she appeared from behind all the greenery which was hiding her fabulous property from the road. We thanked our escort and then followed Marta inside.

Casa Jardin Zen

We had a great visit with Marta as she showed us around her eclectic place. After being shown to our room, we watched the hummingbirds as they flitted around the beautiful red flowering tree beneath the window. Marta was busy preparing for a biker group arriving the next day for an event. She was hanging pictures of motorcycles, jerseys, helmets, and even an actual motorcycle parked inside. We retired early after an exhausting day, letting Marta finish with her preparations.

On our route, we passed through large and small towns including Palmira, Buga, Tuluá, and Bugalagrande. We made 291 km today through beautiful scenery.

Day 3: COLOMBIA

We left the outskirts of Tulcán Ecuador bright and early at 07:00 this morning. It was pretty cold out being on a motorcycle with an elevation was 2,950 m but we were dressed warm and we crossed into Colombia at Rumichaca with no problems. (Rumichaca is shared by both Ecuador and Colombia.) We would now be using Colombian pesos instead of the US dollar.

Welcome to Colombia

As we rode through Ipiales just over the border, we noticed a Colombian essence. Many were using a different type of horse cart to carry their wares, with 1 man sporting a bright and happy smile as he trotted along in his cart. Woollen ponchos were a very popular covering for warmth and have been used since pre-Hispanic times by peoples of the Andes.

From the high plateau of Ipiales, the Pan-American Highway soon dropped us into a verdant green gorge on a thrilling twisting and turning road. The lush hills and valleys seemed to be sectioned for farming and were quilted in greens and browns - grasses, crops? We also saw so many cascading waterfalls, with 1 falling from the high top of the mountain, flowing under the road that was cut in the steep slopes, and then continuing way down into the valley below us. It was the longest flowing waterfall we have every seen!

This is 1 very long waterfall!

Roadside security checks have been numerous. We were almost always waved through with a smile and a thumbs up. When we were stopped and checked, we were always dealt with in a friendly manner.

We've noticed mega motorcycles in Colombia - individuals as well as groups. We talked to a group of about 15 BMW adventure riders travelling from Alaska to the southern tip of South America. They were from all over - Europe, Canada, US. Tolls are free all throughout Colombia for motorcycle riders. But in some of the mountainous areas, the roads were pretty bad - full of potholes - particularly from Pasto to Popayán but the spectacular scenery more than made up for it, some of the most dramatic we have seen.

We travelled 316 km today and stayed in Popayán which is rich in colonial architecture and has a historic downtown. It is also known as Ciudad Blanco, the white city, as most of its buildings in the old section are white.

Day 2: Almost at the border

Early in the morning at 03:00 in our Santa Domingo hotel, we were awoken by loud knocks on our door by someone demanding "Documento". There was no peep hole in the hotel door and Jordan was feeling a little apprehensive, so he stashed our cash and then answered the door. The National Police were there wanting to see identification (passports) which he showed them. During the exchange and in their rapid Spanish they were asking for something. Jordan recognized enough to believe that they were asking for some kind of propina (meaning a tip) but Jordan just played dumb and responded "no comprendo" (meaning I do not understand). And then they continued from door to door, waking up everyone in the hotel.

Jordan later mentioned that he had been on the verge of telling them that this type of intrusion wasn't appreciated but after was glad that he bit his tongue. They were performing a just function. Jordan had recently read something that Ecuador, being between the Peruvian and Columbian drug producing areas, had evidence of the presence of the Mexican Sinaloa drug personnel, so figured the National Police were doing a standard door-to-door check in this crossroads city (and of course, as an afterthought, seeing gringos, decided to also ask for propina).

At a fruit and veggie store the next morning in another town called Otavalo, Jordan found this large papaya...

At one point it was getting to be lunch time when we noticed a few trucks stopped outside a little kitchen next to a small waterfall. Truckers usually know the good spots. It was mostly meat on the menu so we asked for fried rice mixed with tomatoes and onions. For 2 large servings and 2 fresh juices, it was only $2.60. Food is so inexpensive in Ecuador.

We have discovered that guinea pigs originated in the Andes Mountains and are commonly used for food in South America. We don't ever intend on tasting it (even if we weren't vegetarian) as we can't help thinking of them as pets as in North America.

We went through 4 road checks where we were asked for driver's licence and/or motorcycle papers. At one stop, our check was interrupted when the cop looked way up the road and quickly handed back our papers and jumped in his vehicle and rushed off after someone who had done a U-turn to avoid the check. They not only look for proper papers and registration, but no doubt are looking for illegals.

As we climbed the Andes Mountains, from high above on the highway, we were looking down upon a sea of bamboo groves with their beautiful lime green wispy foliage whispering in the light breeze.

We crossed through Pifo today and travelled 358 km, passing well clear of Quito and through colonial Otavalo, spending the night 7 km from the Colombian border on the outskirts of Tulcán.

Day 1: To Colombia by moto

We left Puerto Amistad at Bahía de Caráquez (Ecuador) on our motorcycle Ruby today with a northern destination of Armenia which is about half way up into Colombia. We decided to try a different route than when we headed to Quito Ecuador in August as the road was not very good for the first few kilometres. But what a mistake that was! The "road" we took this time was atrocious, if you could even call it a road.

It started out winding and good but then for about an hour we rode slowly over large rocks, through big ruts and over large humps, and past little pueblos that were on the banks of the river delta. We passed a man on a motorcycle whose passenger was holding, by their skinny legs, live turkeys in 1 hand and live chickens in the other hand as they lifted up their heads and gawked all around!

The houses were very destitute in this area and garbage was strewn in the ditches. And many residences had self-made topes (speed bumps). Why is a mystery as no one could travel fast on this road!

As we continued towards Flavio Alfaro, there were piles of oranges disposed in the ditches. I guess the locals just had too many and/or couldn't sell them - a shame to see such waste.

Meat for sale by this expressive gentleman on the street in Flavio - including a cow's head on the bottom shelf of his stand...

Other locals along our journey decided to use a length of the highway shoulder to dry their beans. What kind? Not sure. But with dirt yards, the highway makes a nice flat, hot area for drying. In some areas, the highway is built super close to some residences. One step out their door and they are literally on the highway - never in Canada!

There is so much bamboo in Ecuador. We've seen it used for decorative purposes, furniture, fences, structural components, and even the entire home. Some of the homes built by individuals for their own use are very sad looking with wide gaps between the bamboo pieces and no doors and/or windows other than perhaps a piece of cloth. Many of them are built on stilts high off the ground in case of flooding. In other areas, where trees were abundant, it seemed the custom to use wood planking for all parts of their structure. I noticed a house with a door (no stilts) but I can only imagine what would skulk in beneath the 4 to 6 inch gap between the bottom of the door and the floor.

We stayed overnight in Santa Domingo, at the base of the Andes and about two thirds the way to Quito, for a total of 191 km on our first day.

San Clemente

On a beautiful day, we decided to take a respite from boat jobs and take Ruby, our iron pony (motorcycle), out for a run. Jordan found a road that led down to the beach, and as the sand was firmly packed, we opened the throttle and blasted along the beach. We ended up going for miles enjoying the scenery with the cliffs on our left, emerald green sea with its crashing surf on our right, and flecks of skittering little crabs making haste to their protective sand holes.

We finally came upon the tiny village of San Clemente (Ecuador) that had a country road flanking behind it. The incoming tide prohibited us from making the return trip back up the beach, so we used the winding road to go all the way back to Puerto Amistad at Bahía de Caráquez, about 28 km away.

The beach ride had been so much more enjoyable and scenic than the highway ride.

Boat jobs

Time for boat jobs - repairs, installations, and cleaning. During our absence, poor Sea Turtle became coated with layers of grimy, dusty dirt all over her decks. Where did that come from? I think the winds and their dust accomplices know when we are away, and they (and the pelicans) take advantage of our absence by resting and  messing on our decks. It always seems so much cleaner while we are in and about the boat.

As we are moored, we had to use 20 L bottles of water, packed out in the dinghy, to clean her decks. The interior was a little dusty and had a small bit of mildew, but nothing like in Panama.

A neighbouring boat made arrangements to get anchor chain re-galvanized, but a minimum of 500 kilos was required, so Jordan included our chain as did 2 or 3 other boats to get the required weight for a discounted price. Of course, the arrangements fell through (common problem in Mexico and Central/South American countries) and new arrangements were made, with everyone's chain waiting on land. Still waiting but it looks promising!

So far, dinghy engine parts have been replaced and the motor now runs great. And the stainless steel has all been polished bright and shiny, new gaskets have been installed, and the water pump has been taken to a shop to be rebuilt. Still need to replace some port and hatch moldings, attach new sheets (sail lines), and attach new electronics to our depth sounder so the display will work properly. And finally, the repaired and installed autopilot needs to be tested.

A little early for Poinsettias back home, but apparently not here...

Time to go sailing - sitting still is so much work!

Back to the equator

After a tiring trip back to Quito Ecuador, we decided to spend a couple of days resting and touring around on the iron pony some more. We rode up to the celebrated monument of Mitad del Mundo where the equator lies and has been marked with a vivid yellow line. On this day of the Equinox, September 23rd, Quito is the nearest possible community to the sun.

Jordan straddling 2 hemispheres at Mitad del Mundo

The setting around the monument represents a small indigenous village that identified the line over a hundred years ago, before the Global Positioning System (GPS). However in more recent years, with the advent of the satellite generated GPS, it was determined that the real equator lies 240 m away, a 10-minute walk. But no one pays much attention to the latter.

Fully restored, we then rode Ruby, our trusty motorcycle, back to Puerto Amistad.

Too many places

The Huasi Hotel that we were staying at in Old Town Quito (Ecuador) allowed us to store our motorcycle in their lower level garage for $0.50 per day during our trip back home to Canada. We caught our flight on September 1st and after a brief layover in Miami FL USA, we landed in Los Angeles USA where we disembarked (our original plan was to fly to Seattle WA). Change of plans was due to Jordan finding his dream car online, a 1965 Ranchero, close to Los Angeles. It's a real beauty! We bunked in with close friends for a few days as Jordan did the required paperwork.

Then we drove his new/old car to Seattle. Our reason for stopping in Seattle was to drop off our 1-year old autopilot to get repaired. We then continued to Victoria BC Canada where we visited with friends and family. While there, Jordan jumped on his son's motorcycle and cruised up to Penticton BC to visit his Mom and Dad. And I flew to Calgary AB and from there went to Strathmore, Drumheller, Pine Lake, and Sylvan Lake - making a very busy hectic week of visiting family. Upon my return to Victoria, it was non-stop running around doing errands and filling "things to get" list for our home afloat down south.

Time flew by, leaving us with errands not yet done and friends not yet visited. But unfortunately it was time to go. Once again, sad to leave loved ones behind, but happy to be returning to Sea Turtle.

After picking up our repaired autopilot in Seattle, we flew from Seattle to Dallas Fort Worth to Miami and finally Quito. We had boarded a "red eye" so it was a very long and tiring trip. Too many places!

Old Town Quito

Quito lies in a valley oriented north to south. We entered from the south, labouring through stop and go traffic until we arrived in Old Town where Jordan found us a $20 hotel room with the prerequisite secure garage for motorcycle parking.

Jordan made exploring and navigating around and through the narrow streets of Old Town and beyond seem easy. I don't know how he does it all the time when we travel with no map through large cities. He seems to have a sixth sense for direction - me, I get lost right away! Quito is a very large city (population of over 2 million) and lacks any charm, in our opinion. But Old Town Quito is a totally different area full of the charm of old colonial architecture and lots of narrow 1-way streets.

Old Town Quito (Ecuador)

We did a lot of touring around Old Town Quito including a scary climb through spiral stairs and steep ladders to the top of the spires of an ornate church that was started in 1926 and is still not finished! The unnerving steep climb...

...compensated us with fabulous views to the town below.

The reversed transit seemed even more precipitous as we were now looking down and crossed a very long hanging bridge-like appendage. This is the largest Neogothic Basilica in the Americas.

Flavio Alfaro

On the road again...

With Ruby (Jordan named her) our little iron pony all saddled up, we started our inland journey today, riding from the marina at Puerto Amistad towards northeastern Quito Ecuador in the spine of the great Andes Mountain range. We had started out on rough and potholed roads, the callousness of which was matched by the somewhat barren landscape. You would think that the immediate coastal hills with the prevalent clouds would promote a more verdant terrain. But shortly afterward, we were rewarded better tarmac in the presence of a greener countryside full of beautiful trees and plantations.

As we had left late in the day, our first stop was at Flavio Alfaro after 2 hours of riding. Flavio is a small town and we found a nice little hotel for only $10 US, but as we were still in warm country, there was no hot water. No big deal - we very seldom had hot water during our motorcycle trip through Mexico in 2009.

Flavio Alfaro under threatening skies

The next day we were greeted to a light drizzle. We got an early start after purchasing a couple of cheap rain coats (2 for $5) as the skies looked like they would continue their threat. After riding for about an hour in light rain, our jeans got wet but they soon dried in the wind as we passed into drier climes. Whenever we approached a toll booth, we were waved through as motorcycles do not pay. Nice! As we got closer to Quito, we begin to ascend the Andes Mountains on cliff-clinging serpentine roads. The intoxicating scenery steepness was cloaked in emerald foliage punctuated with flowing waterfalls. The jagged mountain tops at times disappeared into the fluffy white clouds as we weaved past the precipices.

Serpentine asphalt ribbon of blacktop

So engrossed in nature's stage, we totally neglected the thirst of our irony pony. We had almost made it to the top of our elevation climb of 2,850 m when, without presage and acting more like a stubborn mule than a pony, she stopped completely and demanded a full drink! Thank goodness we could just coast downhill to a nearby gas station. This 200 cc motorcycle has a much smaller gas tank than what Jordan is used to with his larger 650 KLR. But what she lacks in fuel capacity, she more than makes up in dauntlessness.

Our lucky 7

Jordan and I celebrated our 7th anniversary in a unique way. Tripp of the Puerto Amistad Marina held a "crawfish bake" that we attended. We have never tasted crawfish before and I must say it was quite delicious. They are also called crayfish or crawdads and resemble lobsters to which they are related.

With everyone seated at tables lined with paper tablecloths, the food came on! It was served on a big tray set in the middle of the table filled with boiled crawfish, potatoes, onions, and corn. There was no silverware or plates. Finger-food only. Oh yeah, free beer and wine too! Everyone had a great time and left with full bellies and a smile on their face.

Looks like a small lobster to me!

When the party broke up, Jordan and I were invited to a "party after the party" at a friend's condo (Dave & Miriam) With Jordan's fiddle, Eduardo's guitar, and Tripp's canned music, there was lots of entertainment, dancing, and fun! (Click on the collage of photos to make larger.)

This turned out to be a very special day that we will remember for a long time to come!

Amistad

We are moored at Puerto Amistad Marina (Bahia de Caraquez) in Ecuador. The town of Amistad has all your basic needs covered, but to do a major provisioning, you will presently need to bus or taxi to Manta which is about an hour away. (A new mall is in the works here that will have a major grocery store but it is not yet built.) There is a simple fruit, veggie, and fish market which has great products and is CHEAP!

At the marina, we have access to hot showers, internet, same-day laundry service, and restaurant/bar.

On our passage, the dinghy was deflated but must have been leaning on something sharp. Upon arrival, Jordan found a few slow leaks and quickly fixed them.

Once our check-in was complete, we toured the town and found it to be appealing, but I think we are running out of things to do! We have visited the museum which was interesting. And one evening, we attended the circus which was in town for a few days. No animals, but they had the usual such as a contortionist, 3 trapeze artists, 2 clowns, and a guy performing in a circling gizmo thing. But for 5 bucks, it was a night out and something different to see.

Another day, we saw a great view of Amistad. At the top of a hill, there is a massive cross that you can walk up inside of and look across the town.

There is now a brand new bridge between the towns of Amistad and San Vicente which is across the Chone estuary. The bridge is lit up at night with green LED lights on the west side and blue LED lights on the east side. One day when Jordan and I were trying out a motorcycle we took a quick ride over the bridge.

Before the bridge, people transported to San Vicente aboard a small passenger ferry for 30 cents. People with cars were transported aboard a barge-type of ferry.



Many people get around via 3-wheeled bicycles that serve as taxis. (There are of course the regular yellow motorcar taxis.)

Slow easy taxi ride to enjoy the view

And many others get around via small motorcycles (200cc). In fact Jordan and I just purchased one of these 200cc motorcycles to do inland touring. The reason we purchased this motorcycle is because the paperwork is so expensive and complicated to import our KLR from Victoria. It's not expensive to ship the KLR here but the importation is impossibly convoluted and not worth the effort.

The weather here is about the same every day. Never hot, never cold. The skies are sometimes cloudy and sometimes sunny. It hardly ever rains and hasn't since we've been here.

Day 11: Bahia de Caraquez

Winds throughout the early hours were very light and changeable. Going was slow with a lot of tacking and a bit of back tracking.

Started the motor at 06:00 to get round the point at Cabo Passado. Only about 20 nautical miles to go in our 10.5 day passage from Panama City to Puerto Amistad at Bahia de Caraquez (Ecuador).

Once round the point, we continued to sail the rest of the way, arriving at 13:30 (ahead of schedule) at the "Waiting Room" where we set anchor until it was time to cross the bar. Jordan had a brief nap while I tidied up. The Waiting Room is, as the name suggests, where you wait to cross the bar.

Sea Turtle with Pilot panga (fishing panga at back) courtesy of Eduardo

To cross the bar at Bahia de Caraquez, which must be done at high tide, it is required that you be escorted in. At the pre-arranged time, our pilot Ariosto jumped from the panga onto Sea Turtle.

Good-natured Ariosto approaching in a panga

Ariosto pointed out the directions to go with a lot of zig-zagging and brought us safely to our mooring (S00°36'388" W080°25'278"). After tying up, the panga then brought us to Puerto Amistad Marina where we were met by Tripp, the owner and agent. He took care of all of our paperwork for checking into Ecuador. He also said that he would pre-arrange the required agent for us when we head to Galapagos next March. Galapagos is part of Ecuador and requires 60 days notice before you can go there by sailboat. It can get very complicated dealing with all the paperwork but Tripp said he could make it much easier.

It was so nice to set foot on shore and relax over a nice meal as we received many tips and information from Tripp.

Throughout our passage, via Ham radio, we have had daily contact with SV Passion (friends from Panama City) and eventually SV Encore in Ecuador. Passion has been recording our current position in case of emergency and also checking our blog for our midnight position reports. Then on August 13th, through the PanPacific Net, we were able to get information on waypoints, tide levels, and contact personnel from SV Encore for when we crossed the bar at Bahia de Caraquez. And Aaron, Jordan's son, has been sending us weather information too. Sure glad we spent the time to get our Ham license and radio equipment.

Sea Turtle's positions around midnight each night made our route look fairly straightforward (see "Our Position" link at right of blog page). But in actuality, it was full of reverse-direction tacks and zig-zagging tacks making our total nautical miles covered (868 NM) higher than the distance made good (around 565 NM). Distance made good basically means the distance travelled over ground or straight line(s).

Day 10: Equator crossing!

We had a visitor today - 1 lone dolphin. This is unusual as most dolphins travel in numbers in a pod.

We also had a wakeup call today. You see, at night, we get organized. We secure stuff on deck and maybe reduce sails a bit, we get out the timer for checks throughout the night and designate each other to watch times. Then during the day, we both are up and about, sometimes taking catch-up naps and the watch routine somehow didn't bear the same degree of vigilance. Jordan had put his head down on my lap for a power nap, but before drifting off (and usually that is about instantly), he thought he better go up and do a check as neither of us had probably done it for awhile. Well as he went up the companionway, I heard a loud "holy shit". I jumped up and all I saw was a wall of steel passing right beside us. We had just sailed right across the path of this large behemoth. Jordan said he almost crapped his shorts.

Shaken, we immediately called a safety meeting and implemented the rule of a continued vigilant watch routine throughout all 24 hours of the day.

We watched that freighter travel away and determined that it would take only 20 to 25 minutes before it would be out of noticeable sight.

Then not much later that day, with the new schedule working, Jordan again went up to do his 15-minute check and sure enough just up ahead was another freighter on a converging course. We mustered stations and tacked to avoid at best guess a direct hit. We re-tacked and passed behind.

Today is equator day! We finally reached and crossed the equator at 14:09 today - we're in the Southern Hemisphere, officially! This is a first for Sea Turtle (but Jordan & I did cross the equator last year as crew on another boat).

ALMOST at the equator

Snapped the camera 1 second too soon!! We celebrated this momentous occasion with a bottle of chilled Hungarian bubbly from good friends Lou & Angie of Victoria. They gave us this bottle 2 years ago and we saved it for this special day.

The occasion also called for getting dressed up, as sailors traditionally do something different, outrageous, and/or memorable (i.e. shave their heads, put on a costume, etc.) As Jordan recently had to shave his head when struck by a fan blade, and I most definitely did not want to shave mine, we decided to get fancy.

Captain Winston O'Vanely (Windvane for short)

and 1st Mate Castaway Coco

We posted a funny video on YouTube that we hope you will enjoy. You can click on Other Links, Equator party (yikes!) at the right of our blog, or simply click on the link below:

https://youtu.be/Zhf2TQuVUP0

We also gave the traditional toast and taste to Neptune to stay in his good grace. Ours went as follows:

To Nautical Neptune, here is our ocean offering for positive passages, merry moments, and sustained safety on our various voyages.

Then glug, glug, glug overboard. Needless to say, we had a lot of fun and will remember this day for a long time to come.

Today's position around midnight: S00°07'60" W080°29'45" (notice S00° - no longer N__°)