One of our goals for stay in Cartagena was to have some engine maintenance done. A friend with an identical engine to ours highly recommended a local Volvo Penta mechanic, so we scheduled the work, ordered parts in advance to be waiting when we arrived, and arrived in Cartagena a bit before our scheduled work date.
All went well until we needed some additional parts to solve a small wobble in the shaft of the pump that circulates coolant throughout the engine. It turns out that it was easiest just to replace the entire pump, and of course the new pump needed to come from Europe. One thing led to another, and our planned 2-3 week stay had ballooned to more than 9 weeks.
So as soon as the engine purred smoothly again, we checked out with the authorities and pointed the bow to Panama. Cartagena was a nice stop, but we’d suggest to anyone that 9 weeks is a bit long for a stop.
For westbound boats, the entrance to the Panama Canal is located next to the city of Colòn, about 300nm due west of Cartagena. A bit more than a day and a half after leaving, we radioed Cristobal signal station for permission to enter the breakwater a to join what seems like hundreds of freighters and container ships.
We enjoyed Colombia, and it feels great to be onto the next stage of our journey!
