We’ve been enjoying the clean pool at Medregal, the wonderful dinners Jean Marc prepared, the colorful sunsets and Heidi turning a normal color again without any bruisers, although she did manage to fall into the water while trying to get in to the dinghy, poor girl.
Saturday was the trip again to the local market in Cariaco and since I was out of salads and I wanted for Heidi to see a typical Venezuelan village we took the opportunity and joined the other cruisers for the trip into Cariaco. We had a good time at the market, bought lots of salad, fruits and veggies and some wonderful bread at the bakery, the only glitch was the liquor stores were closed as they had elections the next day, Sunday. Here it is against the law to sell or drink liquor the weekend of the election. So the guide took us to a supermarket, I didn’t even know existed. It’s by far the best store in this area but still only has the essentials. The boss managed to sneak two cases of beer out the door and into our van for the doubled price of course, but we all were happy to have a cold beer on our way back to Medregal. (The election was held on Sunday and El Presidente lost a few important seats to his opponents but still has the majority. What we found out too is that El Presidente promised to pay 400 Bolivares per person who voted in all the poor states so that they would vote for him. He is slowly loosing his image as more and more people realize that he really is not there for them. They had lots of protest before the election and the roads were still a chaos two days after the elections, schools in this area were closed as well. In the mean time he told his new elected people to take over any land and divide it with the poor, no mentioning to pay the owners any money. He is trying again to get the new constitution in to keep him in office for the rest of his life. I just listened to his three hour talks he has daily, he told his people that Jesus was a socialist, imagine that. Since about three months we cannot find Pepsi then when Pepsi is available again, although in limited amounts, Coke is off the shelf. 7Up and other beverages have been taken off the shelf completely and diet Coke or Pepsi you’re lucky if you find it once in two months. What I don’t understand is that these sodas are made in this country. There are still no toilette paper or paper towels available and if you see them on the shelf ones every months you’re lucky. For several months I couldn’t find decaf coffee, now all you see is decaf but no regular coffee. Rice comes and goes too. El Presidente is starting to ration foods again, just doesn’t make sense. His people are very angry at him that he is spending all the millions on his new satellite and not using it for his people. I think in the near future we’ll see some serious problems here. I think it’s time to leave).
Anyway, on the drive back we saw a wild cat, I’m still not sure if it was a Leopard or an Ocelot but I tell you when he ran across the street and the fur caught the sunlight the markings were just incredible, what a beautiful cat. We stopped immediately and tried to follow the cat into the jungle but the cat was long gone.
On Tuesday we took Heidi to the Laguna de Cariaco for the scarlet Ibis. After arrival we did a dinghy ride up the river into the mangroves and saw quite a few of them. We also found some scarlet feathers for Heidi to take home as a souvenir. As we came back to the boat a piñero (fishing boat) with two fishermen drove really close by
Back in Medregal I decided to take a swim to cool off and stood on the last step of the ladder looking dark green water with not much visibility thinking, I really don’t like to go into the water by myself not being able to see what’s below me. That moment something came out of the deep and came straight towards my feet. I shrieked “Shark” and stepped right back onto the deck. Sid and Heidi came running over and to proof them that I really saw a shark I climbed down the ladder again and as soon as my feet hit the water the shark came back, wow. The shark was about one foot long and brown and other fish were swimming under the boat, so I think he was rather curious then hungry but I decided to take a deck shower instead.
Sandial caught up with us and as Thanksgiving approached, they invited us over for Turkey Dinner. What a feast it was, there was so much food and we ate so much that we almost sank the dinghy on our way home.
Early at
bow. The dolphins were lit up with either red or green by the running lights depending on which side they surfaced, it was just beautiful:
CRUISING IS……..
………Sitting on deck sipping a cup of hot tea,
as we gently rock on thegentle sea
and dolphins play in the wake of the bow,
their spray lit up with a red and green glow.
Above the twinkling stars reflect in the sea.
I think I will have another cup of tea.
By daylight the dolphins turned around and started their daily routine of herding fish for their next feast. Heidi finally got up just as we left the Golfo de Cariaco, by now the wind was blowing with about 10 knots, not enough to sail so we kept motor sailing towards Puerto La Cruz. Coming into the Puerto La Cruz Bay the wind stopped co
mpletely and of course just as we turned the corner towards Maremares the wind started to blow like snot and made it a challenge to get into our slip.
Here we are again sitting safely at Maremares while Sid and Heidi started packing for their trip on Sunday.
Heidi is back in
In the mean time I found some more projects for the boat. I am going to tackle the bimini and try to sew a new one, wish me luck, it’s not going to be easy. I’m sure I
will find other odds and ends to sew so I will not be bored here alone.
You can follow our stories again after the 17th when we start heading tow
ards
Here are a few more Fotos of Heidi's vacation (click on photos to enlarge):
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1 comment:
Hi, interessanter Bericht. Viel Spass beim Pinseln...
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