South American Tour: Buenaventura, Columbia (1965)

Sunday, January 3rd, 1965 Enroute to Buenaventura

Sea moderately rough but not enough to cause the ship to roll. Quite warm and humid. It took about 24 hours to make the run into the Bay of Buenaventura, 348 miles from Panama. We entered and dropped anchor about 7 PM. A tug came out finally to escort us across the bay, and the ten miles to Buenaventura on the Island of Valle de Cauca. This is the port for all Western Columbia and little else. Population 50,000, 350 inches of rain annually - it rains every day. Our Captain refused to go because the tide was going out and the chance of running aground was too good. So the Pilot left.

Monday, January 4th, 1965 Bueaventura, Columbia

Guide books are not optimistic about this town. They do not say very much which can be interpreted that there was little in favor to be said. Frantz, Shief Steward told the passengers not to wear wrist watches or jewelry, not to take camera and not to carry money or wallets in back pockets. The ship was in dock when we arose. After breakfast, 9 of the passengers went ashore. The town is right close after the docks with the Hotel Estacion close. The population is at least 95% black or mulatto. We picked up a young mestizo (Spanish-Indian) who could speak understandable English and who offered to be our guide. He was employed in the local office of the Grace Line.We covered quite a bit of the City. Our guide always pointed out the areas which he said was not safe for tourists to go on foot and of these there were many.

One of our group had a portion of a colored picture postcard sticking out of her pocket and a passerbyer thinking it was money pointed out to her it was dangerous to expose money in that manner. On the whole it was a disreputable place. There was not a decent clean restaurant in the city so we returned to ship for lunch. We were to sail at six so we hired cars for three hours. Eduardo, our guide arranged for the cars at $200 per car per hour and he rode with us and the Finnertys. The driver had very limited English vocabulary. Now we drove thru some of the areas we couldn't walk in. It was pretty bad. Soon Finnerty was taking pictures from the front seat when a native made a grab for his camera. He missed. Eduardo told us not to wear watches on our wrist which were next to the window side of the car. Anyway it was something different, real different.

Then we rode out on the road to Cali which is about 100 miles southeast of Buenaventura. This is on the only paved road leaving town. Did I say paved? Well it was paved once. Now it is full of chuck holes and in many places the surface is completely gone for long stretches here the natives actually have some pride in the "paved" road while one steers a zigzagging course while dodging the holes and picking the way expertly across rough sections where the surface seem to have departed long ago. The road after we left the suburbs took off thru the jungle. It wasn't wild or fearful. It was clean. Real clean, peaceful, beautiful and luxuriant. Grasses, ferns, flowers, trees. The day was cloudy, humid, but not too warm no dry Earth to be seen, foliage everywhere. We drove off the main road to look at an African Palm Tree plantation of 80,000 trees. It produces the point where the fronds take off nuts encased in a porcupine-skin like pouch. The end result is an oil used in lacquers. We also looked in the plant where the nuts are processed. It was a Holiday so we didn't get to see the operation. Back in town at five, learned sailing time postponed to 8:30 PM. Then the tide conditions didn't suit the Capt. so departure will be 2:30 AM. don't imagine either of us will be around. One more comment before we leave le grande Buenaventura! There is a medium size ship moving slowly up and down the ship channel all day long. at first we thought it was a patrol craft. Then we learned it was scooping up the mud from the channel. It had two scoopers on each side and a tremendous tank a midships for the ooze. The water is drained off and dumped to the harbor. An a certain point a barge meets the ship and the mud is pumped into it while the scooper keeps the job going. It would appear that sufficient water depth is quite a problem for ships. The Porsanger needs a minimum of 27 feet the entrance to the harbor has only 25 feet at low tide but high tide gives it an additional 13 feet. Average annual rainfall is 350 inches.

Tuesday, January 5th, 1965 Buenaventura, Columbia 

Awoke at seven the ship was still at the dock. A night the steward appeared and more loading took place. The real lowdown is we sail at 3 PM and we did. I worked on my log all morning and most of PM. Capt. called passengers to lounge after dinner to ascertain each was "Shellbacks" (had had their initiations for crossing the equator) and who were "Pollywags" (no previous experience). Even tho Millie and I had sailed around the world last year we didn't cross the equator. The closest we came was 6 degrees north latitude at Singapore. Only two others besides ourselves, Hazel Lewis and Margaret Ruhock took certificates from King Neptune.

The next hour was spent informing us of all the horrible and wild things that were going to happen to us tomorrow when we "crossed the line." Then we were excluded from the room while plans were drawn. Millie and Hazel decided to get up a show by the pollywags,