The first time we came to El Oculto with Dale and Sandy on Snow White, we didn't think that it was all that great according to other cruisers. The hills were dried out and the water was murky with a very dark bottom, some kind of algae covered the bottom of the bay. The second time here the hills were a bit greener but the water still very murky and dark. This time the hills are covered in green with occasional clay bottom showing. The water was crystal clear and the visibility must have been at
least 30 feet. We couldn't believe our eyes, how beautiful the underwater shoreline looked. It was covered with the most beautiful coral reef full with Christmas tree and feather duster worms, they cover all the coral and glow like precious stones. There was an abundance of reef fish, including a good size barracuda, lots of pufferfish, some so big the head was the size of a giant beach ball. They hid under the coral heads and it was spooky when you look under a coral head and two giant size eyes
are starring at you then you notice the giant head. As we were going around one coral head we almost encountered a head on collision with a beautiful green turtle, which was just as surprised as we were. At first it took off then turned around and circled us checking us out. Some cruisers even have seen little seahorses here. Across our anchorage is a steep wall which is fun to snorkel. Unfortunately the water was also inhabited by nasty string of pearls and other type of jelly fish which left instant
blisters on my skin. The other didn't seem to have that reaction. My right hand is covered with blisters and it itches like hell for day and days.
Five more boats joined us, we had met them all when we were in Bahia Redonda and it was a fun reunion with happy hour each evening on one of the boats. Unfortunately for us it was saying goodbye as they head into the Golfo de Cariaco and us back to Puerto La Cruz. We motored out of this beautiful area and noticed the huge change again in the greenery verses the first time we came through here. We rounded the corner and headed along the shore towards the Arapos Islands, the scenery revealed nothing
but lush, tropical beaches with towering mountains in the background. The Arapos islands are two beautiful little islands, populated with simple vacation homes and a few that live there year out. Between the two islands is a mini island with a house now in shambles. The once beautiful house used to belong to an attorney and when they turned this whole area into a national park they evicted him from his island. He donated his villa to the park and they promised to keep it the way it is, but unfortunately
that never happened, the house was stripped and only the walls remain. This little island is surrounded by a beautiful reef. The water wasn't as clear as in Oculto but I've never seen so many parrot fish and never in a group of at least 20 as here. We saw one of the funniest things ever, a guy with mask, snorkel and fins, was pushing an ice cream cart through the water to the anchored boat selling ice cream, what a great idea but too funny to see. The anchorage was a little crowded and not sure
how protected it would be at night we pulled anchor and headed across the basin to Isla Chimana Segunda and anchored on the western end of the south coast in a little bite called Playa el Faro. Soft multicolored cliffs surround the bay which have been sculpted by wind and rain and makes for quit a contrast with the emerald green water. And on the head is a broad beach and on one side above the cliffs is a beautiful red and white striped lighthouse. One sailboat was already in the anchorage and at
least 10 boats were anchored right onto the beach and the beach was crowded with people. We realized that the school was still out, the good news about this was they all leave before sunset and go home and leave this otherwise beautiful anchorage for us to enjoy. Unfortunately the anchorage is rather on the rolly side and little tiny gnats are persistently poking our eyes and land on any bare skin they can find, in other words VERY annoying.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
08/27/07 El Oculto in the Mochima National Park
The view from the anchorage at Medregal amazes me. The Peninsula side from here looks like the Hawaiian Islands, Kuai comes to my mind and the mainland side reminds me of Lake Geneva with the high mountains in the background. The other thing that amazes me is the air is always clear as it tends to get more hazy towards Puerto La Cruz. It's nice to be back in Medregal and of course the first night the cook had an off day as Sid spoiled me with dinner ashore. Jean Mark cooked us the most incredible
Argentinean New York Steak with a silky Roqueford sauce and an array of colorful vegetables cooked to the touch. The very next morning Linda and I were in the pool at 9 doing some noodeling aerobics. I discovered this type exercise in Redonda, it's really a good workout with pool noodles and no sweat so to say. The rest of the day we just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. This time a few more boats were anchored. Twice a week Jean Mark takes the cruisers shopping to either Cariaco or Corupano.
As the bus usually gets to crowded this time he only allowed 6 on the trip and so we were able to go. Sid staid behind to keep an eye on Paradise and Dreamtime, shopping is not his favorite. It is an almost two hour drive to Corupano which is located right between the Peninsula of Araya and Piraya along the water with high cliffs and occasional sandy beaches. The town is busy with lots of vendors on the streets and mucho traffic trying to go where they need to go. We did a few stops here and there
and I was amazed by especially one hardware store how much stuff he had for boaters that we could not even find in Puerto La Cruz. I think Sid would have enjoyed shopping here, well next time. The stores were the quality of Puerto La Cruz plus. You can find pretty much everything here, except for milk, el presidente put a cap on that to and I couldn't even find canned milk. Heard it's the same in Puerto La Cruz, guess we have to drink our coffee black from now on. CADA's meat section even had duck
breast, rabbit, turkey and goat. After all the shopping we all met at the St. Francis hotel for a wonderful lunch and on our drive home Jean Mark wanted to know if we were in a hurry. Of course not! So he took the mountain road back to Medregal. We were about 15 kilometers up the hill when the engine overheated. All of us got out and watched how Jean Mark and Dwight checked the engine. Dwight unscrewed the radiator lid which looked like a rocket taking off with a geyser following we all jumped back,
but most of as saw where the cap had landed, so we thought. Dwight filled the radiator full of water which still was spewing out for a while, then we looked for the cap, all of us, couldn't find it. Jean Mark got into the car drove a few feet and slammed the brakes, no cap fell out. He started driving up the hill trying to find potholes and bumps which really wasn't hard to do, with us following, but no cap. Walton had just finished his bear so he cut that one up and we used it as a cap which worked
as the hood pushed it down and held it in place. We all hopped back into the truck and off we took up the hill. About fife minutes later we had to fill more water into the radiator and Walton finished another beer for a new radiator cap, I think he enjoyed the drinking part as his wife couldn't deny him one. While we drove we all looked out of the back to eventually see the cap fall to the pavement but no such luck. One more fill of water just before we came to the top, a nicely painted Chevy stopped
and a guy staggering out of the car and swaggering towards us wanted to know if we needed help. Wow it was only 5 pm and he was drunk already driving the steep road with many dangerous curves, kind of scary. We started running out of water so Dwight used the melted ice water to refill the radiator but that ran out too, so now we were not looking to the rear anymore for the cap but rather to find more water. Then the back window of the camper shell fell out, I have no idea how Dwight did it but he
caught it before it landed on the pavement, he himself was amazed. As we finally started to descend we found an abandoned house with a water fountain and loaded up our ice chest full with water. The view up here was just spectacular and the smell of grass and flowers made it worth the car trouble we had. We all were impressed with the incredible view which now was playing with the setting sun. We all agreed that we have to come back some other day for a picnic on this very spot. We were overlooking
the tall mountains towering in the background, which by the way are the beginning of the Andes, between there a low lying flat valley was stretching to the foot of the hill we were on and beyond the valley we could see the Golfo the Cariaco twinkling like a diamond it was just breathtaking. After the engine was cooled again we started descending the hill but still had to stop now and then and fill some more water into the radiator. In Cariaco Jean Mark stopped at the liquor store and since the car
seemed to do fine and the beer cap was holding we filled the ice chest full of eyes. Twenty minutes down the road, just before Guacarapo the engine overheated again but now we had no water. No problem he pulled into the driveway of one of his employees who lived here. Way after 8 pm we finally arrived in Medregal, all glad to be back with a fun day behind us, well I think only Dwight and I did not stress over the ordeal we had too much fun with all that accrued. The funniest though was the following
day as his employee walked from his house, where we had stopped, he was about 500 yards from the Resort when he found the radiator cap.
The following day a tropical waves was underway and also right at noon the westerly started to blow again, which happens here every other day or so. When they blow waves up to three feet can roll through the anchorage and make it quite uncomfortable, this was one of the strong westerlies we received. Every boat started to rock and roll. Then we overheard a radio call of a boat dragging and Gabriel went for help. Jabulani who was asked to help were not able as they only had a 5 hrp dinghy engine so
Sid and I hopped in the dinghy and raced over to help the old English couple. With old I mean they were old they could not move as fast as they used to, not just that they had engine problems as well but managed to start it. The wife was on the bow bringing the anchor in while still dragging so we positioned the two dinghies on either side to aid them. Anchor was finally up but now dangerous dangling off the bow and starting to swing back and fourth. Now they wanted to go to the mooring they knew
was out there somewhere. Try to find a small white mooring ball in a seas full of white caps. Then came getting them onto the mooring, we yelled at them to throw us a line. Sid and I were astound by what kind of line he tossed us it was a rolled up discolored and rotten rusty looking dacron line of about 3/8 inch and handed it over to Gabriel who by now were holding the eye of the mooring line in their hand and gave a puzzled look too when they saw the line. The fiasco went on as Gabriel tried to
hand them the line which now was hooked on the mooring line but now were in harms way of the dangerously swinging anchor. Now the wife tried to pull the 3/8 inch line in while it took him about a minute to finally make it to the bow to aid her. The bow was dipping into the waves and then pulled way out of the water, impossible for the two to barely hold on to the line, while we pulled the boat forward to make it easyer. Finally Tim got on their boat to help them while we still pulled the boat forward
and finally they were hooked. Just as he got hold of the eye the little rope started parting. When we got back to our boat the poor little 30 foot boat behind us was just bouncing wildly and they finally tried to lift anchor but with the heavy pull against them every time the bow lifted they finally had to let go of the chain and give up as it was impossible to pull the chain in with just bare hands. Then the clouds of the wave started rolling in from the east and fought the winds out of the west.
For us that was good news as they would stop the high waves bouncing through the anchorage. Not just that the two huge thunderclouds approaching on either side of the Golfo started to fight with each other so the bows started to swing from one cloud to the other while the waves still were coming in from the west, it was a mess but interestingly to see what was going on. We turned the radar on to see where the rain was and started to notice that the rain was surrounding us but we still had not one
drop of rain. Eventually we got some and roaring thunder went along the Golfo on boat sides. A couple of hours later all was calm and quite again and most of us went ashore to have a sundowner.
The following day was our last day in Medregal, Linda and I enjoyed the pool again in the morning for our noodeling aerobics, then we relaxed for the rest of the day and went ashore around 6 pm for Jean Marks wonderful Saturday night dinner with appetizer, main dish and desert, paid up our bill and went home for a good night sleep. Early just as the sun blinked over the hills we pulled anchor and headed out of the Golfo. We had an easterly blowing and just as we arrived at the entrance to the Golf
the easterly gave up and within about thirty minutes the westerly started blowing again. It had paid off to leave early we were trying to prevent to be in the Golfo when the westerlies would start which they do around noon. From here it was only 18 miles to our destination El Oculto in the Mochima National Park. It was too funny as we neared the entrance to El Oculto a fishing boat filled with guys, having a fun Sunday mooned us all but did not expect to have Sid moon them back. You should have heard
the roar of laughter of the about 20 guys, it was too funny. We anchored just on time before another set of squalls rolled into our area with some rain. Dreamtime is anchored next to us and is just as amazed us we are how beautiful and quite this anchorage is. The water this time is 84 degrees two months back it was only 74 and is now crystal clear so we should get some good snorkeling in.
Argentinean New York Steak with a silky Roqueford sauce and an array of colorful vegetables cooked to the touch. The very next morning Linda and I were in the pool at 9 doing some noodeling aerobics. I discovered this type exercise in Redonda, it's really a good workout with pool noodles and no sweat so to say. The rest of the day we just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. This time a few more boats were anchored. Twice a week Jean Mark takes the cruisers shopping to either Cariaco or Corupano.
As the bus usually gets to crowded this time he only allowed 6 on the trip and so we were able to go. Sid staid behind to keep an eye on Paradise and Dreamtime, shopping is not his favorite. It is an almost two hour drive to Corupano which is located right between the Peninsula of Araya and Piraya along the water with high cliffs and occasional sandy beaches. The town is busy with lots of vendors on the streets and mucho traffic trying to go where they need to go. We did a few stops here and there
and I was amazed by especially one hardware store how much stuff he had for boaters that we could not even find in Puerto La Cruz. I think Sid would have enjoyed shopping here, well next time. The stores were the quality of Puerto La Cruz plus. You can find pretty much everything here, except for milk, el presidente put a cap on that to and I couldn't even find canned milk. Heard it's the same in Puerto La Cruz, guess we have to drink our coffee black from now on. CADA's meat section even had duck
breast, rabbit, turkey and goat. After all the shopping we all met at the St. Francis hotel for a wonderful lunch and on our drive home Jean Mark wanted to know if we were in a hurry. Of course not! So he took the mountain road back to Medregal. We were about 15 kilometers up the hill when the engine overheated. All of us got out and watched how Jean Mark and Dwight checked the engine. Dwight unscrewed the radiator lid which looked like a rocket taking off with a geyser following we all jumped back,
but most of as saw where the cap had landed, so we thought. Dwight filled the radiator full of water which still was spewing out for a while, then we looked for the cap, all of us, couldn't find it. Jean Mark got into the car drove a few feet and slammed the brakes, no cap fell out. He started driving up the hill trying to find potholes and bumps which really wasn't hard to do, with us following, but no cap. Walton had just finished his bear so he cut that one up and we used it as a cap which worked
as the hood pushed it down and held it in place. We all hopped back into the truck and off we took up the hill. About fife minutes later we had to fill more water into the radiator and Walton finished another beer for a new radiator cap, I think he enjoyed the drinking part as his wife couldn't deny him one. While we drove we all looked out of the back to eventually see the cap fall to the pavement but no such luck. One more fill of water just before we came to the top, a nicely painted Chevy stopped
and a guy staggering out of the car and swaggering towards us wanted to know if we needed help. Wow it was only 5 pm and he was drunk already driving the steep road with many dangerous curves, kind of scary. We started running out of water so Dwight used the melted ice water to refill the radiator but that ran out too, so now we were not looking to the rear anymore for the cap but rather to find more water. Then the back window of the camper shell fell out, I have no idea how Dwight did it but he
caught it before it landed on the pavement, he himself was amazed. As we finally started to descend we found an abandoned house with a water fountain and loaded up our ice chest full with water. The view up here was just spectacular and the smell of grass and flowers made it worth the car trouble we had. We all were impressed with the incredible view which now was playing with the setting sun. We all agreed that we have to come back some other day for a picnic on this very spot. We were overlooking
the tall mountains towering in the background, which by the way are the beginning of the Andes, between there a low lying flat valley was stretching to the foot of the hill we were on and beyond the valley we could see the Golfo the Cariaco twinkling like a diamond it was just breathtaking. After the engine was cooled again we started descending the hill but still had to stop now and then and fill some more water into the radiator. In Cariaco Jean Mark stopped at the liquor store and since the car
seemed to do fine and the beer cap was holding we filled the ice chest full of eyes. Twenty minutes down the road, just before Guacarapo the engine overheated again but now we had no water. No problem he pulled into the driveway of one of his employees who lived here. Way after 8 pm we finally arrived in Medregal, all glad to be back with a fun day behind us, well I think only Dwight and I did not stress over the ordeal we had too much fun with all that accrued. The funniest though was the following
day as his employee walked from his house, where we had stopped, he was about 500 yards from the Resort when he found the radiator cap.
The following day a tropical waves was underway and also right at noon the westerly started to blow again, which happens here every other day or so. When they blow waves up to three feet can roll through the anchorage and make it quite uncomfortable, this was one of the strong westerlies we received. Every boat started to rock and roll. Then we overheard a radio call of a boat dragging and Gabriel went for help. Jabulani who was asked to help were not able as they only had a 5 hrp dinghy engine so
Sid and I hopped in the dinghy and raced over to help the old English couple. With old I mean they were old they could not move as fast as they used to, not just that they had engine problems as well but managed to start it. The wife was on the bow bringing the anchor in while still dragging so we positioned the two dinghies on either side to aid them. Anchor was finally up but now dangerous dangling off the bow and starting to swing back and fourth. Now they wanted to go to the mooring they knew
was out there somewhere. Try to find a small white mooring ball in a seas full of white caps. Then came getting them onto the mooring, we yelled at them to throw us a line. Sid and I were astound by what kind of line he tossed us it was a rolled up discolored and rotten rusty looking dacron line of about 3/8 inch and handed it over to Gabriel who by now were holding the eye of the mooring line in their hand and gave a puzzled look too when they saw the line. The fiasco went on as Gabriel tried to
hand them the line which now was hooked on the mooring line but now were in harms way of the dangerously swinging anchor. Now the wife tried to pull the 3/8 inch line in while it took him about a minute to finally make it to the bow to aid her. The bow was dipping into the waves and then pulled way out of the water, impossible for the two to barely hold on to the line, while we pulled the boat forward to make it easyer. Finally Tim got on their boat to help them while we still pulled the boat forward
and finally they were hooked. Just as he got hold of the eye the little rope started parting. When we got back to our boat the poor little 30 foot boat behind us was just bouncing wildly and they finally tried to lift anchor but with the heavy pull against them every time the bow lifted they finally had to let go of the chain and give up as it was impossible to pull the chain in with just bare hands. Then the clouds of the wave started rolling in from the east and fought the winds out of the west.
For us that was good news as they would stop the high waves bouncing through the anchorage. Not just that the two huge thunderclouds approaching on either side of the Golfo started to fight with each other so the bows started to swing from one cloud to the other while the waves still were coming in from the west, it was a mess but interestingly to see what was going on. We turned the radar on to see where the rain was and started to notice that the rain was surrounding us but we still had not one
drop of rain. Eventually we got some and roaring thunder went along the Golfo on boat sides. A couple of hours later all was calm and quite again and most of us went ashore to have a sundowner.
The following day was our last day in Medregal, Linda and I enjoyed the pool again in the morning for our noodeling aerobics, then we relaxed for the rest of the day and went ashore around 6 pm for Jean Marks wonderful Saturday night dinner with appetizer, main dish and desert, paid up our bill and went home for a good night sleep. Early just as the sun blinked over the hills we pulled anchor and headed out of the Golfo. We had an easterly blowing and just as we arrived at the entrance to the Golf
the easterly gave up and within about thirty minutes the westerly started blowing again. It had paid off to leave early we were trying to prevent to be in the Golfo when the westerlies would start which they do around noon. From here it was only 18 miles to our destination El Oculto in the Mochima National Park. It was too funny as we neared the entrance to El Oculto a fishing boat filled with guys, having a fun Sunday mooned us all but did not expect to have Sid moon them back. You should have heard
the roar of laughter of the about 20 guys, it was too funny. We anchored just on time before another set of squalls rolled into our area with some rain. Dreamtime is anchored next to us and is just as amazed us we are how beautiful and quite this anchorage is. The water this time is 84 degrees two months back it was only 74 and is now crystal clear so we should get some good snorkeling in.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
08/21/07 Back in Medregal
We had a wonderful dinner on board Dreamtime, marinated and grilled pork tenderloin that melted in the mouth, white rice, wonderful black beans and for dessert vanilla pudding with caramelized plantanes. When it comes to cooking Linda doesn't fool around each time she cooked we had a gourmet meal, so you can see we're not going hungry. While the pork tenderloin was grilling we watched flock by flock of scarlet ibis fly to their near by roost and took probably another 100 photos of them. As the sun
set the birds all disappeared in the mangroves, now and then one would screech while another answered but then it got just absolutely quite again. Early the next morning the whole bay was fogged in an unusual sight and it was pleasant if not almost cool when we sat in the cockpit sipping our fresh brewed morning coffee. The scarlet ibis have long left their roost, just pelicans, terns and a few skimmers were busy catching breakfast. Around 9 we picked Linda and Ed up and headed back up into the river.
The whole bay from the rain two nights ago was muddy and the color of a capuccino and the river was still flowing. Again just as we headed into the river scarlet ibis were flying from tree to tree, this time even more of them. This time they also let us come closer to the trees they were roosting in before taking off, giving us a change to take some more photos. We were amazed to find the path we had walked on just about one month ago at some places completely overgrown, also the rain had washed
away a lot of some of the path and left deep crevasses. We hiked around the shrimp farm and Ed venturing off found a bush with a bee hive that was definitely not the path we would follow. We hiked for a couple of hours headed back towards the boat and to the area I had found the scarlet feathers where we found some more. Back on the boat we had lunch then pulled anchor and got underway for Medregal. Pretty much at the same time we left the wind started blowing right out of the west we were headed
too. Knowing that in westerlies the Medregal anchorage becomes uncomfortable we dropped anchor in front of Guacarapo where it was calm but breezy. Salacia never made it up the river and so we had them and Dreamtime over for cocktail on Paradise so that the two boats finally could meet. We had great time and found out some more good info about Venezuelan anchorages Salacia shared. Then it was saying goodbye as Salacia is spending hurricane season here, we have about 10 more days before we need to
be back in Puerto La Cruz. Today around 10 we pulled anchor once more and motored the 5 miles to Medregal. The sky had some light clouds which one was reflecting the sun with all the rainbow colors, just beautiful. The air was clear and we could see mountain tops we usually can't see including the far islands of Mochima National Park. We should be here for a couple of days enjoying the beautiful Resort with pool and wonderful dinners then head slowly back towards PLC.
set the birds all disappeared in the mangroves, now and then one would screech while another answered but then it got just absolutely quite again. Early the next morning the whole bay was fogged in an unusual sight and it was pleasant if not almost cool when we sat in the cockpit sipping our fresh brewed morning coffee. The scarlet ibis have long left their roost, just pelicans, terns and a few skimmers were busy catching breakfast. Around 9 we picked Linda and Ed up and headed back up into the river.
The whole bay from the rain two nights ago was muddy and the color of a capuccino and the river was still flowing. Again just as we headed into the river scarlet ibis were flying from tree to tree, this time even more of them. This time they also let us come closer to the trees they were roosting in before taking off, giving us a change to take some more photos. We were amazed to find the path we had walked on just about one month ago at some places completely overgrown, also the rain had washed
away a lot of some of the path and left deep crevasses. We hiked around the shrimp farm and Ed venturing off found a bush with a bee hive that was definitely not the path we would follow. We hiked for a couple of hours headed back towards the boat and to the area I had found the scarlet feathers where we found some more. Back on the boat we had lunch then pulled anchor and got underway for Medregal. Pretty much at the same time we left the wind started blowing right out of the west we were headed
too. Knowing that in westerlies the Medregal anchorage becomes uncomfortable we dropped anchor in front of Guacarapo where it was calm but breezy. Salacia never made it up the river and so we had them and Dreamtime over for cocktail on Paradise so that the two boats finally could meet. We had great time and found out some more good info about Venezuelan anchorages Salacia shared. Then it was saying goodbye as Salacia is spending hurricane season here, we have about 10 more days before we need to
be back in Puerto La Cruz. Today around 10 we pulled anchor once more and motored the 5 miles to Medregal. The sky had some light clouds which one was reflecting the sun with all the rainbow colors, just beautiful. The air was clear and we could see mountain tops we usually can't see including the far islands of Mochima National Park. We should be here for a couple of days enjoying the beautiful Resort with pool and wonderful dinners then head slowly back towards PLC.
Monday, August 20, 2007
08/19/07 Scarlet Ibis
The wind blew pretty much all day and sent a slight roll into even this little protected anchorage. Realizing it was the begin of the weekend we knew that we would be in for some loud music. Any village has loud parties going on on weekends. Sure enough music was blaring on every corner along the beach, the screaming and giggling of kids bathing in the water echoed through the whole anchorage and everybody mingled under the palm tree roofs along the beach, it was a happy atmosphere. By sunset the
whole town was out and about and music still blaring from different homes. Across the village behind the beach a house had music blasting all night long. As I got out of bed at 6 am some classical latino music hung over the bay. Sid said at least the music was nice all night long non of this annoying Raeggeton. Too funny, because the next song was Raeggeton. Later on we found out that the whole village thought that we cruisers had music on all night long as it was coming across the small bay, too
funny. Sid brought Dreamtime, Jabulani and me ashore at 7 am to catch the porpuesto into Cariaco for some provisioning, we were pretty much out of fresh produce and meats. In Puerto La Cruz porpuestos are all old big American cars, here they all are very old trucks with a covered a camper shell on the back with narrow benches around the inside, a spare tire in the middle and just enough headroom to not bump the roof except when he hits one of the numerous potholes. The porpuestos are usually packed
to the rim, canned sardines comes to my mind. My neighbor must have spent the night where the loud music was playing all night long, his eyes were just a little glazed over, his breath smelled like a brewery and he slurred heavily when he spoke. He tried the darndest to have a conversation with me but no matter how hard he tried I could not understand one word he said. Shopping was fun and this being my third time in Cariaco I could give Ed and Linda the grand tour. It was the busy hassle and bustle
of a Saturday filled with people and the vendors were topped with the freshest produce. The butcher had some very lean lomito (filet mignon). Here you have to buy the whole piece and since I don't have a freezer Linda offered to go half on it. The whole piece came to an amazing $ 6.45, then the butcher was so happy that I came back he threw two homemade sausages in the bag for free. Same at the fresh market, most of the vendors greeted me with a friendly smile and handshake, mumbling nice to see
you and after I paid they would throw something extra into the bag.
Back on the boat it seemed the whole town was partying, everybody was out and about, kids screaming in the water and boom boxes turned full blast. Dreamtime and Paradise pulled anchor and headed away from the fun music and turmoil and headed up to the quite river. A huge squall was looming towards us but as we got closer it had moved east and out of our way. Only a few raindrops made it, Sid said he counted 45. About five minutes after we had anchored a giant thunderstorm behind us let out it's fury
and headed over to Guacarapo where we came from. This system was strong enough to pulle the squall in front of us into it. We got a few more than just 45 raindrops out of that one. As sunset arrived and the sky cleared somewhat flock after flock of scarlet ibis came flying across the lagoon to their roost and flew right over us. It was amazing to see these incredibly red beautiful birds up close. Around us were at least 50 pelicans feeding, the most I've ever seen in one spot. It was a busy anchorage.
After sunset more thunderclouds got underway, one of it had bright pink lightning and was pretty noisy, the closest lightning bolt came about one mile from us. Then it rained almost all night long and Sid who likes to sleep in the cockpit was forced to sleep down below. Since we couldn't open the window due to the rain it got pretty warm so I moved into the salon which made it for both a bit cooler. Finally around 1.30 am the stars came out and we could open the hatches at last and Sid returned back
into the cool cockpit. At 8.30 this morning we picked up Ed and Linda and took them up the river. We couldn't believe our eyes as we entered the river when scarlet ibis flew out of the mangroves right in front of us but away from us. Due to the rain the river was flowing pretty strong so on our way back Sid turned the engine off and with the oars ready to steer we floated down the stream. Sid had to row hard on many occasions as the flow was so strong that it pushed us ashore right into the mangroves.
At one point we disturbed a whole bunch of fruit bats that were hanging under a hugs trunk that was overhanging the river. Almost out of the river a few more wood ibis fled from us as well as giant blue herons and as we headed back to the boat few more scarlet ibis flying along the mangroves. After we dropped Ed and Linda off Sid did a detour around the entrance to the lagoon to see how close we could get to the ibis from there when I found lots of scarlet feathers floating in the water, big time
score. Tonight we're invited aboard Dreamtime for dinner and instead of flowers we'll bring her a bouquet of scarlet ibis feathers, I think she'll like it.
She sure did and dinner was wonderful. We also watched all the flocks of scarlet ibis coming back. We're the only two boats in this big anchorage and it's just incredibly quite. Tomorrow we'll go hiking and maybe try to find some more red feathers but then it's off to Medregal for a few days before slowly returning to Puerto La Cruz.
whole town was out and about and music still blaring from different homes. Across the village behind the beach a house had music blasting all night long. As I got out of bed at 6 am some classical latino music hung over the bay. Sid said at least the music was nice all night long non of this annoying Raeggeton. Too funny, because the next song was Raeggeton. Later on we found out that the whole village thought that we cruisers had music on all night long as it was coming across the small bay, too
funny. Sid brought Dreamtime, Jabulani and me ashore at 7 am to catch the porpuesto into Cariaco for some provisioning, we were pretty much out of fresh produce and meats. In Puerto La Cruz porpuestos are all old big American cars, here they all are very old trucks with a covered a camper shell on the back with narrow benches around the inside, a spare tire in the middle and just enough headroom to not bump the roof except when he hits one of the numerous potholes. The porpuestos are usually packed
to the rim, canned sardines comes to my mind. My neighbor must have spent the night where the loud music was playing all night long, his eyes were just a little glazed over, his breath smelled like a brewery and he slurred heavily when he spoke. He tried the darndest to have a conversation with me but no matter how hard he tried I could not understand one word he said. Shopping was fun and this being my third time in Cariaco I could give Ed and Linda the grand tour. It was the busy hassle and bustle
of a Saturday filled with people and the vendors were topped with the freshest produce. The butcher had some very lean lomito (filet mignon). Here you have to buy the whole piece and since I don't have a freezer Linda offered to go half on it. The whole piece came to an amazing $ 6.45, then the butcher was so happy that I came back he threw two homemade sausages in the bag for free. Same at the fresh market, most of the vendors greeted me with a friendly smile and handshake, mumbling nice to see
you and after I paid they would throw something extra into the bag.
Back on the boat it seemed the whole town was partying, everybody was out and about, kids screaming in the water and boom boxes turned full blast. Dreamtime and Paradise pulled anchor and headed away from the fun music and turmoil and headed up to the quite river. A huge squall was looming towards us but as we got closer it had moved east and out of our way. Only a few raindrops made it, Sid said he counted 45. About five minutes after we had anchored a giant thunderstorm behind us let out it's fury
and headed over to Guacarapo where we came from. This system was strong enough to pulle the squall in front of us into it. We got a few more than just 45 raindrops out of that one. As sunset arrived and the sky cleared somewhat flock after flock of scarlet ibis came flying across the lagoon to their roost and flew right over us. It was amazing to see these incredibly red beautiful birds up close. Around us were at least 50 pelicans feeding, the most I've ever seen in one spot. It was a busy anchorage.
After sunset more thunderclouds got underway, one of it had bright pink lightning and was pretty noisy, the closest lightning bolt came about one mile from us. Then it rained almost all night long and Sid who likes to sleep in the cockpit was forced to sleep down below. Since we couldn't open the window due to the rain it got pretty warm so I moved into the salon which made it for both a bit cooler. Finally around 1.30 am the stars came out and we could open the hatches at last and Sid returned back
into the cool cockpit. At 8.30 this morning we picked up Ed and Linda and took them up the river. We couldn't believe our eyes as we entered the river when scarlet ibis flew out of the mangroves right in front of us but away from us. Due to the rain the river was flowing pretty strong so on our way back Sid turned the engine off and with the oars ready to steer we floated down the stream. Sid had to row hard on many occasions as the flow was so strong that it pushed us ashore right into the mangroves.
At one point we disturbed a whole bunch of fruit bats that were hanging under a hugs trunk that was overhanging the river. Almost out of the river a few more wood ibis fled from us as well as giant blue herons and as we headed back to the boat few more scarlet ibis flying along the mangroves. After we dropped Ed and Linda off Sid did a detour around the entrance to the lagoon to see how close we could get to the ibis from there when I found lots of scarlet feathers floating in the water, big time
score. Tonight we're invited aboard Dreamtime for dinner and instead of flowers we'll bring her a bouquet of scarlet ibis feathers, I think she'll like it.
She sure did and dinner was wonderful. We also watched all the flocks of scarlet ibis coming back. We're the only two boats in this big anchorage and it's just incredibly quite. Tomorrow we'll go hiking and maybe try to find some more red feathers but then it's off to Medregal for a few days before slowly returning to Puerto La Cruz.
Friday, August 17, 2007
08/17/08 Guacarapo
Dean turned into a hurricane and started heading north and took Trinidad/Tobago/Grenada and Venezuela off the hit list. For us that was good news unfortunately not for the folks up islands. Dean hit this morning and went right between Martinique and St. Vincent. As we still didn't feel well we decided to spend one more day in Laguna Grande and early this morning we pulled anchor and headed into the Golfo to Cariaco. The sky was overcast and the wind was coming out of the west a result of Dean. We
got the effects from Dean's tail which actually worked out pretty good as we were going east with it. Behind us we saw some rain coming and hoped it would not catch up with us which didn't. We had only 20 miles to go and the last 5 miles the wind picked up and white caps built up more and more. We can say we just arrived in Guacarapo on time before it got really rough. The highlight of the trip was for at least 10 miles Paradise was surrounded by playful dolphins.
got the effects from Dean's tail which actually worked out pretty good as we were going east with it. Behind us we saw some rain coming and hoped it would not catch up with us which didn't. We had only 20 miles to go and the last 5 miles the wind picked up and white caps built up more and more. We can say we just arrived in Guacarapo on time before it got really rough. The highlight of the trip was for at least 10 miles Paradise was surrounded by playful dolphins.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
08/14/07 Laguna Grande the most peaceful anchorage ever
Laguna Grande is by far the most peaceful anchorage we've ever been to, every afternoon after the now daily tropical rain showers it clears up, the wind dies down and it gets so quite that we catch ourselves whispering with each other. I don't even turn the fans on at night as they disturb the peace and quite. Two nights ago we had the meteor showers but unfortunately that was the only night the sky was not clear, it didn't clear until 3 am and we missed the peak of the shower, but still were able
to see some impressive shooting stars. This is probably the only anchorage too where pelicans fish at night as the water is full of phosphorescence and the old pelicans having problems catching fish during the day can see them now lid up at night and therefore feed at night.
Ross and Beverly on Raft joined us and two days ago we left early at 7 am to hike up the tall mountain. Linda stayed behind baking bread and keeping and eye on the boats. Ed, Sid and I are still not over the hump with our colds, so climbing up the very steep hill side was especially tough for me with my filled lungs. I was huffing, puffing and coughing up the hill and felt like 80 some years old. Sid and Ed did better but admitted that it was a tough climb. First we had to cut our way through some
shrubs and cactus to get to the ridge, that was Sid's job as he brought a machete. I think it only took us about 40 minutes to reach the top and it was worth the huffing, puffing and coughing as the reward was incredible. The view was just spectacular, we could see a huge portion of the mainland, both sides of the Araya Peninsula and over to Isla Margarita as it was crystal clear. Our boats in the anchorage looked like miniature toys and almost don't show up on the photos and we could see the entire
Laguna Grande with it's many rounded bays and islands. We rested for a while awing over the magnificent view then the guys had an idea to go down a different way, great. You have to know there are no paths here you make your own. So we hiked further and the guys were studying the down slope run and saw a ridge that went back to the landing we came from via a dry river bed. If you ever skied a black run this is how steep the climb was down 2/3 the hillside to the ridge with loose rocks and cactus.
Down we went following the boys until we reached the riverbed and they realized it was a 20 foot cliff to climb down. Ed and Ross went for it, Beverly and I stood there starring at the cliff and Sid chopped away on cactus and found us a pass through hundreds of cactus to a an area where we could just step down to the riverbed, what a guy. Then we followed a very narrow riverbed towards the water and on several occasions Sid had to hack cactus out of the way for us to pass. 2 1/2 hours later we arrived
exhausted at the starting point. Impressed and happy with our accomplishment everybody admitted next time we'll come back down the way we hiked up. We really had a great time. Sid exserted himself on the hike and was feeling really ill with a fever, I'm not over the hump yet either and neither is Ed so we'll be resting a couple extra days here.
In the meantime a tropical depression TD4 is on it's way to the Eastern Caribbean and prognosis are for it to turn into a major hurricane. So lots of boats are scrambling around and trying to get out of the path of the hurricane. Yesterday's prognosis were it was headed for Trinidad/Tobago and Grenada which places us on the map for some of the weather, although it has to cross a lot of landmass before making it here. Today we learned that TD4 is headed north from us so we are fine and out of harms
way but from Guadeloupe Islands up to the Virgin Islands boats need to get to safety. A lot of boats are heading this way now, we're just glad we are where we are.
Change again in the direction of now Tropical Storm Dean, he's heading more south again which places Trinidad/Tobago and the Testigos Islands which are just a bit NE of Isla Margarita. So we're staying put where we are as we are in a very well protected anchorage.
to see some impressive shooting stars. This is probably the only anchorage too where pelicans fish at night as the water is full of phosphorescence and the old pelicans having problems catching fish during the day can see them now lid up at night and therefore feed at night.
Ross and Beverly on Raft joined us and two days ago we left early at 7 am to hike up the tall mountain. Linda stayed behind baking bread and keeping and eye on the boats. Ed, Sid and I are still not over the hump with our colds, so climbing up the very steep hill side was especially tough for me with my filled lungs. I was huffing, puffing and coughing up the hill and felt like 80 some years old. Sid and Ed did better but admitted that it was a tough climb. First we had to cut our way through some
shrubs and cactus to get to the ridge, that was Sid's job as he brought a machete. I think it only took us about 40 minutes to reach the top and it was worth the huffing, puffing and coughing as the reward was incredible. The view was just spectacular, we could see a huge portion of the mainland, both sides of the Araya Peninsula and over to Isla Margarita as it was crystal clear. Our boats in the anchorage looked like miniature toys and almost don't show up on the photos and we could see the entire
Laguna Grande with it's many rounded bays and islands. We rested for a while awing over the magnificent view then the guys had an idea to go down a different way, great. You have to know there are no paths here you make your own. So we hiked further and the guys were studying the down slope run and saw a ridge that went back to the landing we came from via a dry river bed. If you ever skied a black run this is how steep the climb was down 2/3 the hillside to the ridge with loose rocks and cactus.
Down we went following the boys until we reached the riverbed and they realized it was a 20 foot cliff to climb down. Ed and Ross went for it, Beverly and I stood there starring at the cliff and Sid chopped away on cactus and found us a pass through hundreds of cactus to a an area where we could just step down to the riverbed, what a guy. Then we followed a very narrow riverbed towards the water and on several occasions Sid had to hack cactus out of the way for us to pass. 2 1/2 hours later we arrived
exhausted at the starting point. Impressed and happy with our accomplishment everybody admitted next time we'll come back down the way we hiked up. We really had a great time. Sid exserted himself on the hike and was feeling really ill with a fever, I'm not over the hump yet either and neither is Ed so we'll be resting a couple extra days here.
In the meantime a tropical depression TD4 is on it's way to the Eastern Caribbean and prognosis are for it to turn into a major hurricane. So lots of boats are scrambling around and trying to get out of the path of the hurricane. Yesterday's prognosis were it was headed for Trinidad/Tobago and Grenada which places us on the map for some of the weather, although it has to cross a lot of landmass before making it here. Today we learned that TD4 is headed north from us so we are fine and out of harms
way but from Guadeloupe Islands up to the Virgin Islands boats need to get to safety. A lot of boats are heading this way now, we're just glad we are where we are.
Change again in the direction of now Tropical Storm Dean, he's heading more south again which places Trinidad/Tobago and the Testigos Islands which are just a bit NE of Isla Margarita. So we're staying put where we are as we are in a very well protected anchorage.
Friday, August 10, 2007
10/08/07 Laguna Grande again
Ed got sick before I did, he thinks we got it on the ferry as there was a guy behind us in line, coughing and sneezing and spreading his germs. Early in the morning instead of lifting anchor, Sid ordered us all to go back to bed, it was his turn to be sick. Three out of four calls for a day of rest. The 6 or 7 other boats in the anchorage must have heard us on the radio as they lifted anchor and left us alone like we had the plaque. Neither one of us felt good but we tried to go ashore later in the
afternoon after Linda, the only one feeling good, was done baking. That got spoiled by huge thunderclouds rolling in and heaven's water faucet opened up, so the whole day was spent on the boat. The wind usually comes out of the east but after the rain had passed we were pointing west and thunderclouds were still towering in that direction. A couple of hours later a soft swell came rolling into the anchorage. By sundown the soft swell increased to a good size roll and by 8 pm it was pretty uncomfortable
and waves of 4 feet surged through the anchorage tossing us around and as waves started to break behind us we pulled anchor as we were sitting in only 10 feet of water which by the bobbing now was reduced to 8 feet. We decided to drop anchor in deeper water and started inching out of the shallow anchorage. We did the Caribbean two step, two forward and one back and barley moved through the water as each time slamming in to the waves they would bring us to an almost dead stop. So decision was made
to keep going 8 miles to the backside of Isla Cubagua, Dreamtime in hot pursuit. I was thinking about what our friends in general say or ask about cruising and two came to my mind: "What do you do out there?" and "You have such a romantic life!" I smirked about these two thinking: "Oh, yes it's sooooooooo romantic doing a midnight cruise with a firework show all around us!" Bobbing up and down and the bow digging in and under the water for 4 hours and thunderstorms all around us. So what do we do
out here, that really is a very good question LOL. About three miles before the island as we were getting into the lee, the seas lightened up and at one o'clock warmed by a hot cup of tea we hit the sack in a calm anchorage.
A soft clank, clank, clank, clank brought me out of my deep sleep and a smile came to my face as my nostrils filled with the pleasant smell of fresh brewed coffee. I'm sooooooo spoiled, Sid wakes me up with a fresh cup of coffee every morning and the clank, clank I hear is him clanking the spoon onto the cup to announce it was time for coffee, usually it's 8 bells, no matter what time it is. Five minutes later we pulled anchor and headed our way towards Laguna Grande. Last time we left Isla Cubagua
with Welsh Rover a beautiful red sunset greeted us and as the riddle states "red sky in the morning, sailor takes warning" we got some nasty weather. Well.......... this morning the sky was a bit read too, not us much and we had a breeze already so I hope we'll be having a good day. After I finished writing this I made us some breakfast, well if you call cornflakes with milk that and had just about time for one bite when BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ the fishing lure hissed, announcing we had dinner on the
hook. Sid reeled an about 10 pound nice Dorado in but as he lifted dinner out of the water, dinner disappeared and all there was to see was a lonely lure dangling off the pool and our long faces with disappointment. But that didn't encourage us and we dropped the lure back into the water. I tell you I'd rather be fishing on a powerboat then on a sailboat. A sailboat has too many obstructions, before we can reel the fish in we have to pull the jib in, then fold the bimini back and them comes the fish,
not an easy thing, but still rewarding if we land a nice fish, not today.
We had to motor the whole entire trip with a very light breeze blowing. About 8 miles before Laguna Grande the wind died completely and it turned into a sauna, very uncomfortably hot. But then our minds got distracted as the water started to get busy around us as dolphins jumped out of the water and towards us. We had them for at least an hour around us and we watched as they playfully swam as close to the hull of Paradise and then did a circle and repeated the whole thing. We even could hear them
talk to each other. They followed us all the way to the entrance of Laguna Grande.
Just as we reached the entrance the normal breeze started to blow and we were glad to have missed the swells that would follow. We headed into the very calm bay and dropped the anchor in the anchorage of our first visit. Earlier we had noticed a huge thundercloud inching it's way across the bay and just as the anchor hooked up the rain started. It was a good hour and a half of heavy rain, the boat got a good wash and we filled up two five gallon buckets of water. Laguna Grande is a desert area, not
much grows here but it was fascinating to watch all the rivers of muddy clay colored water rush down the hill and into the bay. In now time the boat was surrounded with this clay colored mud. We also watched some twenty little birds taking a bath in the rain while flying, they sure had a great time. The rain washed everything clean and after the last drop of rain fell it was so quite you could here a pin drop. It took a few minutes and then the birds started chirping. Are we in and on Paradise or
what.
afternoon after Linda, the only one feeling good, was done baking. That got spoiled by huge thunderclouds rolling in and heaven's water faucet opened up, so the whole day was spent on the boat. The wind usually comes out of the east but after the rain had passed we were pointing west and thunderclouds were still towering in that direction. A couple of hours later a soft swell came rolling into the anchorage. By sundown the soft swell increased to a good size roll and by 8 pm it was pretty uncomfortable
and waves of 4 feet surged through the anchorage tossing us around and as waves started to break behind us we pulled anchor as we were sitting in only 10 feet of water which by the bobbing now was reduced to 8 feet. We decided to drop anchor in deeper water and started inching out of the shallow anchorage. We did the Caribbean two step, two forward and one back and barley moved through the water as each time slamming in to the waves they would bring us to an almost dead stop. So decision was made
to keep going 8 miles to the backside of Isla Cubagua, Dreamtime in hot pursuit. I was thinking about what our friends in general say or ask about cruising and two came to my mind: "What do you do out there?" and "You have such a romantic life!" I smirked about these two thinking: "Oh, yes it's sooooooooo romantic doing a midnight cruise with a firework show all around us!" Bobbing up and down and the bow digging in and under the water for 4 hours and thunderstorms all around us. So what do we do
out here, that really is a very good question LOL. About three miles before the island as we were getting into the lee, the seas lightened up and at one o'clock warmed by a hot cup of tea we hit the sack in a calm anchorage.
A soft clank, clank, clank, clank brought me out of my deep sleep and a smile came to my face as my nostrils filled with the pleasant smell of fresh brewed coffee. I'm sooooooo spoiled, Sid wakes me up with a fresh cup of coffee every morning and the clank, clank I hear is him clanking the spoon onto the cup to announce it was time for coffee, usually it's 8 bells, no matter what time it is. Five minutes later we pulled anchor and headed our way towards Laguna Grande. Last time we left Isla Cubagua
with Welsh Rover a beautiful red sunset greeted us and as the riddle states "red sky in the morning, sailor takes warning" we got some nasty weather. Well.......... this morning the sky was a bit read too, not us much and we had a breeze already so I hope we'll be having a good day. After I finished writing this I made us some breakfast, well if you call cornflakes with milk that and had just about time for one bite when BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ the fishing lure hissed, announcing we had dinner on the
hook. Sid reeled an about 10 pound nice Dorado in but as he lifted dinner out of the water, dinner disappeared and all there was to see was a lonely lure dangling off the pool and our long faces with disappointment. But that didn't encourage us and we dropped the lure back into the water. I tell you I'd rather be fishing on a powerboat then on a sailboat. A sailboat has too many obstructions, before we can reel the fish in we have to pull the jib in, then fold the bimini back and them comes the fish,
not an easy thing, but still rewarding if we land a nice fish, not today.
We had to motor the whole entire trip with a very light breeze blowing. About 8 miles before Laguna Grande the wind died completely and it turned into a sauna, very uncomfortably hot. But then our minds got distracted as the water started to get busy around us as dolphins jumped out of the water and towards us. We had them for at least an hour around us and we watched as they playfully swam as close to the hull of Paradise and then did a circle and repeated the whole thing. We even could hear them
talk to each other. They followed us all the way to the entrance of Laguna Grande.
Just as we reached the entrance the normal breeze started to blow and we were glad to have missed the swells that would follow. We headed into the very calm bay and dropped the anchor in the anchorage of our first visit. Earlier we had noticed a huge thundercloud inching it's way across the bay and just as the anchor hooked up the rain started. It was a good hour and a half of heavy rain, the boat got a good wash and we filled up two five gallon buckets of water. Laguna Grande is a desert area, not
much grows here but it was fascinating to watch all the rivers of muddy clay colored water rush down the hill and into the bay. In now time the boat was surrounded with this clay colored mud. We also watched some twenty little birds taking a bath in the rain while flying, they sure had a great time. The rain washed everything clean and after the last drop of rain fell it was so quite you could here a pin drop. It took a few minutes and then the birds started chirping. Are we in and on Paradise or
what.
10/08/07 Laguna Grande again
Ed got sick before I did, he thinks we got it on the ferry as there was a guy behind us in line, coughing and sneezing and spreading his germs. Early in the morning instead of lifting anchor, Sid ordered us all to go back to bed, it was his turn to be sick. Three out of four calls for a day of rest. The 6 or 7 other boats in the anchorage must have heard us on the radio as they lifted anchor and left us alone like we had the plaque. Neither one of us felt good but we tried to go ashore later in the
afternoon after Linda, the only one feeling good, was done baking. That got spoiled by huge thunderclouds rolling in and heaven's water faucet opened up, so the whole day was spent on the boat. The wind usually comes out of the east but after the rain had passed we were pointing west and thunderclouds were still towering in that direction. A couple of hours later a soft swell came rolling into the anchorage. By sundown the soft swell increased to a good size roll and by 8 pm it was pretty uncomfortable
and waves of 4 feet surged through the anchorage tossing us around and as waves started to break behind us we pulled anchor as we were sitting in only 10 feet of water which by the bobbing now was reduced to 8 feet. We decided to drop anchor in deeper water and started inching out of the shallow anchorage. We did the Caribbean two step, two forward and one back and barley moved through the water as each time slamming in to the waves they would bring us to an almost dead stop. So decision was made
to keep going 8 miles to the backside of Isla Cubagua, Dreamtime in hot pursuit. I was thinking about what our friends in general say or ask about cruising and two came to my mind: "What do you do out there?" and "You have such a romantic life!" I smirked about these two thinking: "Oh, yes it's sooooooooo romantic doing a midnight cruise with a firework show all around us!" Bobbing up and down and the bow digging in and under the water for 4 hours and thunderstorms all around us. So what do we do
out here, that really is a very good question LOL. About three miles before the island as we were getting into the lee, the seas lightened up and at one o'clock warmed by a hot cup of tea we hit the sack in a calm anchorage.
A soft clank, clank, clank, clank brought me out of my deep sleep and a smile came to my face as my nostrils filled with the pleasant smell of fresh brewed coffee. I'm sooooooo spoiled, Sid wakes me up with a fresh cup of coffee every morning and the clank, clank I hear is him clanking the spoon onto the cup to announce it was time for coffee, usually it's 8 bells, no matter what time it is. Five minutes later we pulled anchor and headed our way towards Laguna Grande. Last time we left Isla Cubagua
with Welsh Rover a beautiful red sunset greeted us and as the riddle states "red sky in the morning, sailor takes warning" we got some nasty weather. Well.......... this morning the sky was a bit read too, not us much and we had a breeze already so I hope we'll be having a good day. After I finished writing this I made us some breakfast, well if you call cornflakes with milk that and had just about time for one bite when BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ the fishing lure hissed, announcing we had dinner on the
hook. Sid reeled an about 10 pound nice Dorado in but as he lifted dinner out of the water, dinner disappeared and all there was to see was a lonely lure dangling off the pool and our long faces with disappointment. But that didn't encourage us and we dropped the lure back into the water. I tell you I'd rather be fishing on a powerboat then on a sailboat. A sailboat has too many obstructions, before we can reel the fish in we have to pull the jib in, then fold the bimini back and them comes the fish,
not an easy thing, but still rewarding if we land a nice fish, not today.
We had to motor the whole entire trip with a very light breeze blowing. About 8 miles before Laguna Grande the wind died completely and it turned into a sauna, very uncomfortably hot. But then our minds got distracted as the water started to get busy around us as dolphins jumped out of the water and towards us. We had them for at least an hour around us and we watched as they playfully swam as close to the hull of Paradise and then did a circle and repeated the whole thing. We even could hear them
talk to each other. They followed us all the way to the entrance of Laguna Grande.
Just as we reached the entrance the normal breeze started to blow and we were glad to have missed the swells that would follow. We headed into the very calm bay and dropped the anchor in the anchorage of our first visit. Earlier we had noticed a huge thundercloud inching it's way across the bay and just as the anchor hooked up the rain started. It was a good hour and a half of heavy rain, the boat got a good wash and we filled up two five gallon buckets of water. Laguna Grande is a desert area, not
much grows here but it was fascinating to watch all the rivers of muddy clay colored water rush down the hill and into the bay. In now time the boat was surrounded with this clay colored mud. We also watched some twenty little birds taking a bath in the rain while flying, they sure had a great time. The rain washed everything clean and after the last drop of rain fell it was so quite you could here a pin drop. It took a few minutes and then the birds started chirping. Are we in and on Paradise or
what.
afternoon after Linda, the only one feeling good, was done baking. That got spoiled by huge thunderclouds rolling in and heaven's water faucet opened up, so the whole day was spent on the boat. The wind usually comes out of the east but after the rain had passed we were pointing west and thunderclouds were still towering in that direction. A couple of hours later a soft swell came rolling into the anchorage. By sundown the soft swell increased to a good size roll and by 8 pm it was pretty uncomfortable
and waves of 4 feet surged through the anchorage tossing us around and as waves started to break behind us we pulled anchor as we were sitting in only 10 feet of water which by the bobbing now was reduced to 8 feet. We decided to drop anchor in deeper water and started inching out of the shallow anchorage. We did the Caribbean two step, two forward and one back and barley moved through the water as each time slamming in to the waves they would bring us to an almost dead stop. So decision was made
to keep going 8 miles to the backside of Isla Cubagua, Dreamtime in hot pursuit. I was thinking about what our friends in general say or ask about cruising and two came to my mind: "What do you do out there?" and "You have such a romantic life!" I smirked about these two thinking: "Oh, yes it's sooooooooo romantic doing a midnight cruise with a firework show all around us!" Bobbing up and down and the bow digging in and under the water for 4 hours and thunderstorms all around us. So what do we do
out here, that really is a very good question LOL. About three miles before the island as we were getting into the lee, the seas lightened up and at one o'clock warmed by a hot cup of tea we hit the sack in a calm anchorage.
A soft clank, clank, clank, clank brought me out of my deep sleep and a smile came to my face as my nostrils filled with the pleasant smell of fresh brewed coffee. I'm sooooooo spoiled, Sid wakes me up with a fresh cup of coffee every morning and the clank, clank I hear is him clanking the spoon onto the cup to announce it was time for coffee, usually it's 8 bells, no matter what time it is. Five minutes later we pulled anchor and headed our way towards Laguna Grande. Last time we left Isla Cubagua
with Welsh Rover a beautiful red sunset greeted us and as the riddle states "red sky in the morning, sailor takes warning" we got some nasty weather. Well.......... this morning the sky was a bit read too, not us much and we had a breeze already so I hope we'll be having a good day. After I finished writing this I made us some breakfast, well if you call cornflakes with milk that and had just about time for one bite when BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ the fishing lure hissed, announcing we had dinner on the
hook. Sid reeled an about 10 pound nice Dorado in but as he lifted dinner out of the water, dinner disappeared and all there was to see was a lonely lure dangling off the pool and our long faces with disappointment. But that didn't encourage us and we dropped the lure back into the water. I tell you I'd rather be fishing on a powerboat then on a sailboat. A sailboat has too many obstructions, before we can reel the fish in we have to pull the jib in, then fold the bimini back and them comes the fish,
not an easy thing, but still rewarding if we land a nice fish, not today.
We had to motor the whole entire trip with a very light breeze blowing. About 8 miles before Laguna Grande the wind died completely and it turned into a sauna, very uncomfortably hot. But then our minds got distracted as the water started to get busy around us as dolphins jumped out of the water and towards us. We had them for at least an hour around us and we watched as they playfully swam as close to the hull of Paradise and then did a circle and repeated the whole thing. We even could hear them
talk to each other. They followed us all the way to the entrance of Laguna Grande.
Just as we reached the entrance the normal breeze started to blow and we were glad to have missed the swells that would follow. We headed into the very calm bay and dropped the anchor in the anchorage of our first visit. Earlier we had noticed a huge thundercloud inching it's way across the bay and just as the anchor hooked up the rain started. It was a good hour and a half of heavy rain, the boat got a good wash and we filled up two five gallon buckets of water. Laguna Grande is a desert area, not
much grows here but it was fascinating to watch all the rivers of muddy clay colored water rush down the hill and into the bay. In now time the boat was surrounded with this clay colored mud. We also watched some twenty little birds taking a bath in the rain while flying, they sure had a great time. The rain washed everything clean and after the last drop of rain fell it was so quite you could here a pin drop. It took a few minutes and then the birds started chirping. Are we in and on Paradise or
what.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
08/08/07 Back in Coche Island
The wind was blowing all night long making the anchorage a bit lumpy and I woke up with a huge frog in my throat and a fever. Right after the radio nets were over, (there are several in the morning, first at am we listen to Chris Parker, he gives the best weather for us cruisers, at am is a new net the Coconut Telegraph some cruisers started and both are run on Single Side Band radio), Sid pulled the flopper-stoppers up, had to clean the slimy stinky film off it, then we took the sun awning down
and got the boat ready to sail. Just before 10 we pulled anchor which after the two weeks stay had been overgrown with a underwater science project, another stinky but furry mess Sid scrubbed off the chain. The wind was blowing nicely and for once from the right direction to pull the spinnaker up. We were flying in colors and Sid even let the staysail out, we were looking good. The highest speed was at 7.6 knots that's very rare for our small boat. It was a beautiful sail all the way to Coche and
we estimate we sailed 20 miles. Dreamtime followed us and took some photos of us, can't wait to see them. We're anchored again in 10 feet of water of the beautiful sandy beach in Isla Coche and are relaxing with a good book in a nice breeze. Originally we wanted to visit the Blanquilla Island as well, but the tropical waves are more frequent now and since Blanquilla is a bit out in nowhere and has not much protection we decided to safe it for later when we head west towards the Panama Canal again
in a few months. Took another aspirin to get the fever down, Sid took another Cuba Libre and in one hour we'll lower the dinghy and head over to Dreamtime for a yummy dinner. Tomorrow it will be up early to make the long 49 mile run to Laguna Grande. The reason to leaver oh dark thirty is to escape the strong wind and current that will blow against us in the Golfo and usually starts just before noon.
and got the boat ready to sail. Just before 10 we pulled anchor which after the two weeks stay had been overgrown with a underwater science project, another stinky but furry mess Sid scrubbed off the chain. The wind was blowing nicely and for once from the right direction to pull the spinnaker up. We were flying in colors and Sid even let the staysail out, we were looking good. The highest speed was at 7.6 knots that's very rare for our small boat. It was a beautiful sail all the way to Coche and
we estimate we sailed 20 miles. Dreamtime followed us and took some photos of us, can't wait to see them. We're anchored again in 10 feet of water of the beautiful sandy beach in Isla Coche and are relaxing with a good book in a nice breeze. Originally we wanted to visit the Blanquilla Island as well, but the tropical waves are more frequent now and since Blanquilla is a bit out in nowhere and has not much protection we decided to safe it for later when we head west towards the Panama Canal again
in a few months. Took another aspirin to get the fever down, Sid took another Cuba Libre and in one hour we'll lower the dinghy and head over to Dreamtime for a yummy dinner. Tomorrow it will be up early to make the long 49 mile run to Laguna Grande. The reason to leaver oh dark thirty is to escape the strong wind and current that will blow against us in the Golfo and usually starts just before noon.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
08/07/07 One more shopping day in Isla Margarita
Didn't realize that almost two weeks have past since our last entry. Our minds were occupied with shopping, shopping and nothing but shopping and of course some socializing. Two days after we arrived in Isla Margarita Ed and Linda on Dreamtime arrived and the following evening had them over for dinner. We had met them originally in Jacksonville, then last year in Grenada and now finally here. They are planning to spend a couple of months at Maremares as our neighbors. After a fun evening they went
back to their boat and for the first time decided not to hoist the dinghy but just lock it to the boat, unfortunately the next morning they had a rude awakening as the cable was cut through, dangling in the water and the dinghy was gone (another cruiser lost his 4hp engine but since it was not locked to the dinghy the owner still has the dinghy). This is one of the worst thing that can happen to us cruiser, the dinghy is our car and therefore transportation to get ashore. Even though all the thieves
want is the motor, chances of recovering the dinghy is slim to none, you can pretty much write it off. Ed put a very high finders fee out with no luck. I knew that Leo the taxi driver in Puerto La Cruz had a used dinghy for sale, so I called him and the following day Ed, Linda and I took the ferry to PLC for one day. No luck with the dinghy as Leo proofed to be unreliable. This is not a huge problem as we offered to share our dinghy for the next few weeks as we are buddy boating together anyway.
Other then that we've been having a wonderful time in Margarita, especially Linda and I, we've been shopping pretty much every day. The Sigo bus comes twice a week to the marina and picks us up for a five hour shopping spree. Although on my first shopping trip I had a slight problem. What happens at Sigo is when you're done shopping you pay then there is a guy that packs the grocery into boxes which then are loaded into a van and driven back to the marina, so when we arrive at the marina our stuff
is already there, great service. I was the last in line and waited over one hour for my turn and told the couple in front of me to make sure the bus would waited for me, no problem they said, so I had 10 minutes to spare when all was wrapped and decided to get a soda which I did and I still had three minutes to spare before the bus left. I walk out the door and NO bus was in sight, he took off without me. The friendly couple in front of me did not let the driver know, neither did my buddy Beno who
came with me, but it was nice of him to safe a seat for me. So I had to take a cab back, arriving at the marina I see Sid and Beno getting into the dinghy, I waved and whistled as loud as I could and they took off on me once more, it was really funny ditched twice in one day. Well, heck it just makes for another funny story to tell.
The shopping here is really cool. Next to Sigo I like Rattan with lots of gourmet items, but is quite a bit more expensive. Sigo in Sumbill mall is my favorite, besides the mall it has a great movie theater where we watched the new Harry Potter movie for the low matinee price of 1.50 US. CM is the lowest priced store where all the Venezuelan's shop so long lines at the register are expected. Another fun place to go shopping is Conejero and open air market with all kind of tourist stuff, to see each
stand can take an easy 3 hours. Downtown by Plaza Bolivar is a fabric store called El Castillo, the store is enormous (the size of a department store) and the prices are incredible (there is one also in Puerto La Cruz but here everything is duty free).
The weather has been great, only a few occasions we had rain, of course in the middle of the night which makes us scramble all over the boat to close hatches. We had only one good squall with 30 knots of wind that tangled up a couple of boats and a few dragged. The weather in the last week has changed quite a bit, the tropical waves are more frequent now and thunderstorm activity has increased daily, it's just a matter of time now for the first hurricane to form. We're out of the hurricane belt but
still have to keep a close eye on the weather. The water was for most of the time crystal clear and the view over to the mainland is spectacular especially when the thunderclouds build up and later explode into a show of fireworks.
The anchorage here is also a bit on the rolly side our flopper-stopper once again came in handy.
We are loaded up with cheap wine and rum both of good quality and store enough food for at least two weeks to come, so tomorrow we'll be on our way back to the Golfo of Cariaco to show Dreamtime the best spots.
You will not believe when I tell you that Sid bought 12 gallons of gasoline today and paid an incredible 75 cents for it. Makes you wonder why it is so expensive anywhere else.
For those who in the future will drop the anchor here in Margarita we found some interesting info. The dinghy thefts happen around a full moon, not necessarily on full moon, but around that time when they have enough light to see the dinghies left in the water better, so lock it or loose it.
back to their boat and for the first time decided not to hoist the dinghy but just lock it to the boat, unfortunately the next morning they had a rude awakening as the cable was cut through, dangling in the water and the dinghy was gone (another cruiser lost his 4hp engine but since it was not locked to the dinghy the owner still has the dinghy). This is one of the worst thing that can happen to us cruiser, the dinghy is our car and therefore transportation to get ashore. Even though all the thieves
want is the motor, chances of recovering the dinghy is slim to none, you can pretty much write it off. Ed put a very high finders fee out with no luck. I knew that Leo the taxi driver in Puerto La Cruz had a used dinghy for sale, so I called him and the following day Ed, Linda and I took the ferry to PLC for one day. No luck with the dinghy as Leo proofed to be unreliable. This is not a huge problem as we offered to share our dinghy for the next few weeks as we are buddy boating together anyway.
Other then that we've been having a wonderful time in Margarita, especially Linda and I, we've been shopping pretty much every day. The Sigo bus comes twice a week to the marina and picks us up for a five hour shopping spree. Although on my first shopping trip I had a slight problem. What happens at Sigo is when you're done shopping you pay then there is a guy that packs the grocery into boxes which then are loaded into a van and driven back to the marina, so when we arrive at the marina our stuff
is already there, great service. I was the last in line and waited over one hour for my turn and told the couple in front of me to make sure the bus would waited for me, no problem they said, so I had 10 minutes to spare when all was wrapped and decided to get a soda which I did and I still had three minutes to spare before the bus left. I walk out the door and NO bus was in sight, he took off without me. The friendly couple in front of me did not let the driver know, neither did my buddy Beno who
came with me, but it was nice of him to safe a seat for me. So I had to take a cab back, arriving at the marina I see Sid and Beno getting into the dinghy, I waved and whistled as loud as I could and they took off on me once more, it was really funny ditched twice in one day. Well, heck it just makes for another funny story to tell.
The shopping here is really cool. Next to Sigo I like Rattan with lots of gourmet items, but is quite a bit more expensive. Sigo in Sumbill mall is my favorite, besides the mall it has a great movie theater where we watched the new Harry Potter movie for the low matinee price of 1.50 US. CM is the lowest priced store where all the Venezuelan's shop so long lines at the register are expected. Another fun place to go shopping is Conejero and open air market with all kind of tourist stuff, to see each
stand can take an easy 3 hours. Downtown by Plaza Bolivar is a fabric store called El Castillo, the store is enormous (the size of a department store) and the prices are incredible (there is one also in Puerto La Cruz but here everything is duty free).
The weather has been great, only a few occasions we had rain, of course in the middle of the night which makes us scramble all over the boat to close hatches. We had only one good squall with 30 knots of wind that tangled up a couple of boats and a few dragged. The weather in the last week has changed quite a bit, the tropical waves are more frequent now and thunderstorm activity has increased daily, it's just a matter of time now for the first hurricane to form. We're out of the hurricane belt but
still have to keep a close eye on the weather. The water was for most of the time crystal clear and the view over to the mainland is spectacular especially when the thunderclouds build up and later explode into a show of fireworks.
The anchorage here is also a bit on the rolly side our flopper-stopper once again came in handy.
We are loaded up with cheap wine and rum both of good quality and store enough food for at least two weeks to come, so tomorrow we'll be on our way back to the Golfo of Cariaco to show Dreamtime the best spots.
You will not believe when I tell you that Sid bought 12 gallons of gasoline today and paid an incredible 75 cents for it. Makes you wonder why it is so expensive anywhere else.
For those who in the future will drop the anchor here in Margarita we found some interesting info. The dinghy thefts happen around a full moon, not necessarily on full moon, but around that time when they have enough light to see the dinghies left in the water better, so lock it or loose it.
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