Farewell Panama, Hello Colombia!

We departed Bocas del Toro about 9 am and arrived at San Andrés – a Colombian island located off the coast of Nicaragua – at 11:30 pm the following night, the roughly 200-mile trip having been slowed by choppy seas and intermittent squalls. Fortunately, the entrance channel is extremely well marked with lighted buoys (yes, functioning navigation lights in the Caribbean!) and there’s an easy-access (and empty) anchorage just off the second red, so we pulled in and dropped anchor in the calm waters behind the reef, sparing ourselves an uncomfortable night heaving to and bouncing around until dawn. Yeah Chris for spotting that anchorage on one of our charts! Once morning arrived, we motored into the anchorage proper up by town, extremely glad that we hadn’t chanced weaving through the anchored boats here the previous night. In Colombia, check in must be done through an agent, and we used Julian Watson, whom Chris had contacted before we left Panama. We met him ashore at Nene’s Marina, and he already had all the paperwork completed. A few signatures, and we were done for now. We’ve never used an agent before, and I have to say, it was pretty painless save for the out-of-pocket expense. I’d heard that Colombia requires reams of paperwork and, since we planned to be in Colombian waters for more than five days, it was necessary for us to temporarily “import” Mr Mac, so there was that paperwork, too. Julian did a lot of running around, so I think he earned his money. One hundred dollars US covered Julian’s fee and any other associated port/cruising costs, and we paid an additional $41 per person for immigration. Not the cheapest country we’ve checked in to, but not the most expensive either. This granted us permission to stay for up to ninety days (a 90-day extension is available if desired). By the way, if you’re planning to cruise in Colombia, either the islands or the mainland, Caribbean or Pacific, the Colombian tourist bureau has put out an excellent “Cruising Guide to Colombia: Its Exotic Caribbean and Pacific Coasts”. It’s chock full of cruising-related information on all the coastal areas of Colombia – marinas, anchorages, services, history, places of interest, you name it. It also provides really nice nautical charts of selected areas like entrances and harbors. I think we picked our copy up at a Seven Seas Cruising Association gam a few years ago, and I’m told that there’s now an updated version. This is the first government-produced cruising guide that I’ve seen, and I’ve got to say, it’s been really useful. In addition, upon arrival in San Andrés, Julian also gave us a folder – “Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia"; Santa Catalina” – containing a booklet with information (in both Spanish and English and illustrated with beautiful photos) on these islands, as well as a small brochure with maps that you can stick in a pocket and carry around with you. What a great way to say “Welcome! Come cruise with us!”