Back in the USA

We are back for a short while.  Getting the boat painted in Florida and then back to Brunswick.
Maybe later in the summer we will do a short trip up to the Cheasapeak.

Back in Australia

After 8 months away, we are back in Australia till January 2014 to see friends and family.

Jamaica

Loved this country.  Friendly people and relaxed living.  Hey Mon!!  Tried the local Jamaican food and of course lots of rum and the well known Blue Mountain coffee.

Visited Bob Marley museum in Kingston after a torturous journey over the Blue Mountains but very scenic.  Too frightened to take my eyes off the road to take any photos.

In Montego Bay visited a ‘Great House’.  These were originally plantation houses whose wealth came from sugarcane and the labour provided by 2,000 slaves in the case of Rose Hill Great House.  Rose Hill is a private home that has been restored by a wealthy American couple who now open it to the public and for functions.  No one sleeps there as there is reputed to be ghosts.  The famous owner of the house ‘Annie Palmer’ had three husbands and killed them all along with killing and torturing the slaves before coming to the same end by the hand of one of her slaves.  It has been recently reported that this is not a altogether true story but it is entertaining and draws the tourists in.   Despite all of the above it is a very nice house with a spectacular view over the Carribean.

There were once 700 or so of these houses but now something like 16 are still there after the slave rebellion of 1831

Cuba

What a place to see. 

Near the Marina at Cienfuegos on the south coast is a Moorocan inspired building initially to be used as a Casino but now a restaurant.   One afternoon whilst strolling around we found this ‘masterpiece’ of architecture and for $2 each could go in see the building, listen to music and get a rum and coke.  This was a bargain as opposed to the thoroughly inedible meal we had in the centre of town for $30.  We even found a Mercury car for sale in the street for $15,000!! Gringo sucker price – the real one would most likely be half that.   We see lots of these old cars in the streets along with the more recent Russian branded Ladas and other makes.

Havana is a place with a lot going on.  They are very enthusiastic abut renovating buildings in the old town and upgrading infrastructure in the streets.  There are building works everywhere and some are completed such as a square that once had an ugly 50’s carpark in it and is now restored to its original along with all the buildings surrounding it.  There are still lots of buildings in various states of decrepepitude  and there is a special names for those buildings that just cant stand up any more and suddenly fall over.

 It is an easy town to get around and is not yet full of tourists.  Wait till the Americans come though and it will probably change to something worse.  The one gain with the Americans coming might be that the food will get better in the restaurants.  They are a happy lot of people and are quite stoic given the hardships that they have had to put up with over the last 50 years.

Trinidad another city that we visited is described as having gone into a somnolent and life threatening coma early in the 19^th century and thus has been saved in its original form.  It was the centre of the sugar growing area and was devasted by fire and fighting after the two Wars of Independence.  It is now a tourist centre but not in the awful overdone way these places can become.  In fact the whole of Cuba is still not overly done by tourism yet.

The cars must be mentioned.  Even though I am not interested in cars per se, I was blown over by the old Chevvies, Mercury Buicks and other makes that ply the streets with people hanging out of them – being used as private cars and as taxis.   The other form of transport in the towns is not an evil smelling oil polluting bus but a horse and cart with 6 or so people in the cart.  The buses do exist but not to any great number.   Also the streets couldn’t cope with the traffic.  On the country roads, me still get around by horse as well as the horse and cart.

San Blas Islands Panama

After being in Shelter Bay Marina at the end of the Canal for far too long, we finally left for the home of tyhe Kuna Indians in the San Blas Islands towards the eastern end of Panama nr the Columbian border.  This is almost an autonomous state within Panama and they live on a chain of islands off the coast.  Their main claim to fame are the Molas that they sew - a bit like quilting but much more details, finer hand stitching and many layers of cloth used.  As with all these local crafts they come in various qualities.  Mostly these that are sold in the islands are much better than the ones sold on the street in Panama City.

They live on tiny islands from about the size of two house blocks to some that would be equal to a few Melbourne streets.  They have their gardens on the mainland and sail by dugout (Ulu) each day to attend to their produce.  This can take up to a couple of hours depending on the distance and the direction of the wind.  Wonderful sailors in these small dugout treetrunks that are remarkable unbalanced.

CARTAGENA COLOMBIA

Cartagena Colombia situated on the Carribean coast of Colombia - a true walled city

surrounded by thick walls built of crushed coral and local stone in the 16^th century to protect it from the attacks of such persons as Sir Francis Drake – not a pirate but a privateer commissioned by Elizabeth 1 to go and plunder.  It took two centuries to complete due to repeated attacks from storms and pirates  before this the town was completely unprotected.

All the riches of Colombia came down the river from the interior and were collected at the Fort San Felipe before shipment back to Spain.  This fort was impregnable and was never breached.

The gold displayed in the Gold Museum is from the Sinu Indians who inhabitated the Bolivar region before the Spanish conquest.

PANAMA CANAL

Finally able to go through the Panama Canal.  Up first thing in the morning to collect our line handlers and our canal Advisor, Carlos who tells us what to do.  As there had been some misshap the day before when our name had slipped off the list of those wishing to go through, we were in a special lockage ie we didn’t have to go through with a large ship.  We had a tourist boat two tugs a power fish boat and us –  lots of room.  David was a nervous wreck with anticipation.  Anyway all went well and Carlos and the line handlers were great.  We saw the works for the new canal alongside where the Panamax ships will travel.  We did have a Panamax ahead of us in the lock ahead and he took up all the space both sideways and lengthwise.  The canal is 110’ wide and these ships are 106’ so there is only 2’ each side left.    They are guided by the mules which run a railway alongside the locks.

Interest along way was the jail that Norieaga is residing in , the crane that was built by the Germans for their submarine fleet during WW2 and ended up in Panama and used for the lifting of the gates on the locks.  Only four built and after the war this one was requisitioned and is the only one still being used.

We passed  under the Centenario Bridge which built by a consortium from Australia and Holland and the Bridge of the Americas at Panama City