Back in Cartagena   Saturday, 26/11/2022

I’m back on the boat! It certainly felt strange to be afloat once more, but after four days is starting to become familiar again.

I’m very happy that I had a wonderfully successful trip to the UK. I got around – the New Forest, 3 days in the Brecon Beacons on my aunt’s farm and two days up in Yorkshire seeing my old friends Bert and Mary. Wales was looking as stunning as ever, and we were lucky with the weather – in fact one day was sunny and clear all day, suitable for doing some work on the farm and then a drive over to Hay-on-Wye, famous for its bookshops and literary festival. It’s an interesting small town, given that most of it is in Wales, but some of it in England. We walked with the dogs to Offa’s Dyke – something I’d heard of but never seen. It was great that there were several of us: Anna and Louisa both came and my sister and her husband Ari. So it was a bit of a family reunion, and I’m happy to report that my aunt Marilyn is doing well and still very actively involved in dog agility with her border collies. 

My final weekend was hectic. Anna and I met at Paddington and walked down across Hyde Park and then on past Buckingham Palace to Green Park, where we met my sister and Ari, and then we all walked on down to Chelsea Bridge and crossed to Battersea Power Station. Happily, the never-ending saga of the redevelopment of the power station is over – it finally opened in October. What a superb job has been done – the result is absolutely stunning, particularly when it’s all lit up after dark. London therefore has an outstanding new landmark – I think the first since the opening of the Tate Modern in 2000 (which of course is also an ex-power station: Bankside). 

My final day, Sunday, I spent with Anna – brunch at her flat in West Hampstead and then walking around the area and on to Hampstead Heath. A wonderful part of London – great atmosphere and interesting for its many roads of very pricey houses. 

After being away so long, and in a tropical environment, I wondered how I would find the UK being back. Would I think “this is not for me”? The answer is that I found it wonderful! I’m not sure that I’d want to live in Ealing – which is great if you’re working, but probably not so great if you’re not. But I love the country – living perhaps on the south coast somewhere, closer to nature, definitely appeals. Not a decision I have to take now, but in a few years’ time. 

It’s a great contrast to be back in Colombia – particularly in Cartagena, thanks to the heat. It’s actually a bit cooler than it was in the summer, but daytime temperatures are reaching 31 or 32, and feeling like 5 degrees more due to the humidity. As I write this, it’s 5:23pm and 29, feeling like 36. I struggled a bit on the first day back, not helped by hosing down and scrubbing the boat – there’s a lot of dust in the air here and it coats everything, including inside. 

I’ve had great luck sorting things out with the boat. On my return the fridge wouldn’t cool down, but fortunately I got a technician on the job straightaway. With an assistant he worked for 5 hours, taking the motor out and cleaning the system, replacing its filter and recharging with refrigerant. The great thing about Colombia is that the cost of work is very reasonable – for two men for 5 hours plus materials I paid 200 US dollars (about £165). In the UK it would likely have cost somewhere between 800 and 1,000 pounds! I also had the bottom of the boat cleaned by a diver – hopefully properly! I did don my goggles and go overboard to have a look (even though the water is far from clean), but the very murky water made it difficult to see much: I dived down a couple of times and felt the keel and it was clean. I have also got some chips in the gel coat on the bow fixed (the result of the anchor swinging into it a couple of times as it’s been lowered) – and a fabricated metal sheet attached to prevent damage in the future. One thing that I did discover having work done was that the Spanish I’ve learned came in very handy – it made it possible to discuss what was to be done and the cost – something I couldn’t have done before. Which is heartening – it suggests that I did not waste my time in Bogotá! The reality is that you don’t have to be fluent, you just need to be able to communicate effectively!

So all is looking pretty good. Within the next two weeks I will be leaving here, headed north – towards Jamaica and Cuba.