Our apologies for not replying to anyone who may have been trying to contact us. We have not had wifi since Aruba and our mobile phones do not work in the San Blas. There are one or two telephone boxes, but you cannot call Europe.
As it turned out, Jeremy was not really well enough to travel and should have seen a doctor. There was no return of the fever, thank goodness, but the urinary infection gave him “urgency” and “frequency”! He chose to prescribe himself a course of antibiotics, which had previously been for me and expired in 2007. The sea shows no mercy and even though we checked the weather before we left and saw no indication of strong winds or storms, we had both, which lasted one whole day and night. We had more water in the cockpit than we did crossing to the west of the Bay of Biscay. The day began flat calm with us motoring. We rejoiced when the wind turned north, a direction last encountered in Madeira, and we had full sails up on a beam reach, our fastest point of sail. A few hours later, we had two reefs in the main and if you stepped out of the cabin to check the instruments, you were wet through in seconds. As we approached Panama, we had to motor again in light winds.
We used our “new” electronic charts to steer between the reefs to the island of Porvenir. We tried to check in with Immigration but the officer was having a beer in the “hotel” or “restaurant” and managed to avoid us. Porvenir has an airstrip and small planes come in to land lower than the height of the mast so you have to be careful where you anchor. It was bizarre to be strolling across the airstrip at our leisure. The next day we met the Immigration Officer in his office. His desk was very old, several castors were missing from his chair and ants were crawling over his paperwork. We paid $20 and went a few strides to the Port Captain’s office for a cruising permit. He had brand new office furniture with packaging still wrapped around the chair legs. We were soon relieved of a further $69.
The next day we went to Nesta’s island, Nalunega. He showed us round his massive hut, which had a dirt floor, cane walls and a thatched roof. There were beds with mattresses at each end of the hut, but there was also a hammock. All the family’s clothes were hanging in the rafters. Outside there was a cooking hut and a small enclosure for his pig and two piglets. His “ulu” or dugout canoe was pulled up on his beach. His wife and all the island women wore traditional blouses embroidered with “molas”, which they spend hours cutting and sewing to sell to visiting tourists. Every hut we passed would bring out a woman with molas or jewellery to sell. In contrast, Nesta and the men wore western style shorts and t-shirts. He had sunglasses and a mobile phone but no television. A water pipe had just been connected to the village. When it didn’t work, water had to be fetched from rivers by sailing to the mainland in ulus or in one of the larger wooden boats powered by Yamaha outboards.
Unlike many other islands in the San Blas, Nalunega had a store and a visiting Colombian fruit boat, so we were able to buy bread and some fruit and veg. Nesta spoke English and showed us around for an hour. We bought him a beer and bought his daughter (one of 5) a drink and paid him the $5 he asked for as we left.
It is quite difficult navigating in these islands. We were suspecting our charts were not accurate and finding our cruising guide hard to follow, when we ran aground the next day. We now know Sal Darago floats when the depth sounder says 0.8m but not when it reads 0.7m. I thought we were well and truly stuck but Jeremy managed to get us off the reef in reverse. We felt a bit better when we met up with Frans and Lucia the next day and learned that they had been aground as well and a local fishing boat had helped to pull them off. We have become better at eyeball navigation but you still have your heart in your mouth when you cross a reef to get into a lagoon to anchor.
We have had some peaceful days and nights anchored off uninhabited islands but sooner or later an ulu arrives with molas to sell. One family of 7 in an ulu, including a baby being breast fed, were just about out of petrol when they reached us. We gave them some of ours otherwise they would have faced a long paddle to their distant island. We have been able to buy fruit and veg from a boat and half a chicken! We bought two fish and two coconuts from a family on an island and we’ve made our own bread three times. Today, we were moved on as we had anchored in the path of courtesy boats from a nearby cruise ship! The winds were gusting to 27 knots but we had to move, so we’re now anchored off Acuadup in a very sheltered place and it’s started to rain, at last. We have not had rain since we were in Bonaire.
As we’re in Spanish speaking territory, adios amigos, until next time.
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
End of Curacao then Aruba
Kathy decided to air the bedding one windy day. The quilt remained on the line, but the quilt cover went flying, which she discovered later. We snorkelled and Jeremy dived. After an hour the quilt was discovered by Jeremy in 7.2 metres. Our friends, Frans and Lucia on “Dalwhinnie” left for Cartegena. We walked to the deserted, but impessive fever hospital, the fort; went by bus to the Vergdenhill supermarket and nearby laundrette (to wash the salty quilt cover); and most nights fought a battle with increasingly swift footed cockroaches (Where the H do they live?).
On St Valentine’s Day we arranged to pick up a special bus to take us to the CARNIVAL. We waited at 1050. We continued to wait until 1130. We decided we would go with the 1200 special bus. We waited until 1215. The organiser (once removed… don’t ask) phoned the bus man and he said he would come straight away. By 1300 we were milling with the friendly, dense crowds along the Carnival route. The magnificent Carnival came through. It was intensely colourful, joyous and at times ear splittingly deafening – the sort of sound that gives you a pain in the chest. After an hour it ground to a halt and, as Kathy and I had to catch the bus back at 1600, we walked towards the tail end of the procession. We did not get anywhere near it after 15 mins so turned back for the bus which was only 25 mins late.
On Tuesday 16 February(Happy Birthday DoDo), we caught the bus to Willemstad to clear Customs, Immigration and to obtain a pass to anchor the night in Santa Cruz Bay, making the passage to Aruba a day’s sail. All went well. We popped into St Martha Lagoon, where we had previously received excellent WiFi reception, but the holiday makers had left their rented accommodation and WiFi was off the menu. At Santa Cruz, in 25 to 30 knots of wind we went ashore twice to get 37 gallons of water free from the shower there! On our crossing, the next morning, we were joined by a crowd of dolphins all keen to show off under Sal Darago’s bow wave. After rocking and rolling for 11 hours we anchored in the delightful St Nicholas Bay. This was slightly illegal as you are always supposed to clear Customs and Immigration, before anchoring. Our excuse was that we did not want to arrive in Oranjestad in the dark. We became a little nervous when the Coastguard Helicopter flew over us; however, nothing was ever said. At one end of the bay was the enormous Valero oil refinery, but it was downwind and very quiet – perhaps not in use any more.
The following morning in strong winds from behind, we quickly sailed on genoa only to Oranjestad. The Harbour Authority told us to go back to Barcadera, where all yachts now clear Customs etc. Turning round and returning the two and a half miles was hard work, reminiscent of crossing to the Isle of Man. All cleared, we went to the Oranjestad anchorage which is directly under the flight path for the international airport. Aren’t planes noisy when they land and take off?
Aruba is a holiday island. The planes come in on Friday, Saturday and Sunday every few minutes. Fortunately most of these Adventure seeking beings go to The High Rise resort, several miles north of Oranjestad. The cruise liners, three on average per day, come to Oranjestad. It really does not seem to rain on Aruba and the dust and sand get everywhere. We have tried to swim every day, but the two foot waves in the anchorage make it less than peasant. Dinghy rides ashore are wet. Everyone we have spoken to has been very pleasant indeed. We are allowed to use the local Dive Shop jetty for free and they sell us their water at a modest price. Unfortunately, Jeremy had to have a tooth removed almost as soon as we arrived. Later he picked up something akin to flu and this interfered with the two days on which we hired a car to tour the island. There are surprisingly few places of interest on the island and finding them is difficult for two reasons. First they are not signposted. Second the beautiful, tarmac road suddenly changes into a dirt track version of the test-track at MIRA which is designed to shake cars to pieces (Please email Ritchie for further explanation). We plan to leave Aruba on Friday 5 March, if Jeremy is well enough. Our next anchorage will be in another kind of “Paradise” (hopefully no aeroplanes), 579 miles away in the San Blas Islands of Panama. If we get decent WiFi, we hope to post some photos!
On St Valentine’s Day we arranged to pick up a special bus to take us to the CARNIVAL. We waited at 1050. We continued to wait until 1130. We decided we would go with the 1200 special bus. We waited until 1215. The organiser (once removed… don’t ask) phoned the bus man and he said he would come straight away. By 1300 we were milling with the friendly, dense crowds along the Carnival route. The magnificent Carnival came through. It was intensely colourful, joyous and at times ear splittingly deafening – the sort of sound that gives you a pain in the chest. After an hour it ground to a halt and, as Kathy and I had to catch the bus back at 1600, we walked towards the tail end of the procession. We did not get anywhere near it after 15 mins so turned back for the bus which was only 25 mins late.
On Tuesday 16 February(Happy Birthday DoDo), we caught the bus to Willemstad to clear Customs, Immigration and to obtain a pass to anchor the night in Santa Cruz Bay, making the passage to Aruba a day’s sail. All went well. We popped into St Martha Lagoon, where we had previously received excellent WiFi reception, but the holiday makers had left their rented accommodation and WiFi was off the menu. At Santa Cruz, in 25 to 30 knots of wind we went ashore twice to get 37 gallons of water free from the shower there! On our crossing, the next morning, we were joined by a crowd of dolphins all keen to show off under Sal Darago’s bow wave. After rocking and rolling for 11 hours we anchored in the delightful St Nicholas Bay. This was slightly illegal as you are always supposed to clear Customs and Immigration, before anchoring. Our excuse was that we did not want to arrive in Oranjestad in the dark. We became a little nervous when the Coastguard Helicopter flew over us; however, nothing was ever said. At one end of the bay was the enormous Valero oil refinery, but it was downwind and very quiet – perhaps not in use any more.
The following morning in strong winds from behind, we quickly sailed on genoa only to Oranjestad. The Harbour Authority told us to go back to Barcadera, where all yachts now clear Customs etc. Turning round and returning the two and a half miles was hard work, reminiscent of crossing to the Isle of Man. All cleared, we went to the Oranjestad anchorage which is directly under the flight path for the international airport. Aren’t planes noisy when they land and take off?
Aruba is a holiday island. The planes come in on Friday, Saturday and Sunday every few minutes. Fortunately most of these Adventure seeking beings go to The High Rise resort, several miles north of Oranjestad. The cruise liners, three on average per day, come to Oranjestad. It really does not seem to rain on Aruba and the dust and sand get everywhere. We have tried to swim every day, but the two foot waves in the anchorage make it less than peasant. Dinghy rides ashore are wet. Everyone we have spoken to has been very pleasant indeed. We are allowed to use the local Dive Shop jetty for free and they sell us their water at a modest price. Unfortunately, Jeremy had to have a tooth removed almost as soon as we arrived. Later he picked up something akin to flu and this interfered with the two days on which we hired a car to tour the island. There are surprisingly few places of interest on the island and finding them is difficult for two reasons. First they are not signposted. Second the beautiful, tarmac road suddenly changes into a dirt track version of the test-track at MIRA which is designed to shake cars to pieces (Please email Ritchie for further explanation). We plan to leave Aruba on Friday 5 March, if Jeremy is well enough. Our next anchorage will be in another kind of “Paradise” (hopefully no aeroplanes), 579 miles away in the San Blas Islands of Panama. If we get decent WiFi, we hope to post some photos!
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Hopefully Photos from Curacao
Kathy down a mine in Curacao
J and K at Kurla Holanda Museum, Willemstad
Kathy at Landhuis Jeremi
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Bonaire and Curacao
Bonaire and Curacao
We’ve sprayed them and poisoned them but we still have not got rid of our cockroaches. We haven’t found any eggs but with 52 lockers to choose from, plus the bilges, this is not really surprising. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Jeremy continues to amaze me. Our toilet stopped working out in the remote Islas Aves. We were on our way to Bonaire and I’m sure most people would have waited until they were tied up or anchored in a sheltered bay before taking the toilet to bits. Not Jeremy! He had his head down there, with the boat rocking and rolling with a following wind, for several hours and he didn’t give up until he’d fixed it. So no need to “bucket and chuck it”.
Our son-in-law, Ben is doing very well. He has a reconnection operation on 23rd February and expects to be in hospital for 5 days. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
In Bonaire, we met Frans and Lucia again from the yacht, Dalwhinnie (named after the town and the Scottish malt whisky). They were also heading for Curacao and gave us some good advice about the trip there. Meanwhile, we hired a jeep style car for a day to see the sights of Bonaire. Simon and Erin would have loved the “affordable” accommodation on the kitesurfing beach – rough shacks made of driftwood and other natural materials. Further on the small slave huts were a stark reminder of the island’s past. I could just stand up inside – all 5ft 3ins of me! The south of the island is a huge salt pan except for a unique shallow bay ideal for windsurfing. Around 65 dive sites are marked around the coast and, as long as you’re qualified and have the inexpensive permit, you can drive there or go by boat and dive. We tried a few for snorkelling but found our mooring to be one of the best places! The north of Bonaire is quite hilly and there is evidence of water, but what they describe as fertile land means an absence of cacti, I think. We got some great photos of flamingos in the north and south.
Now I couldn’t leave Bonaire without a visit to the donkey sanctuary. When the Spaniards left 300 years ago, they left their donkeys behind. It’s quite common to see wild donkeys but they often get hit by motor vehicles and end up at the sanctuary. They have 400 donkeys at present. We went on their donkey safari our hire car. It was quite scary at first when 50 or more donkeys surrounded our little car. When we were able to move some of them galloped alongside. There were little feeding areas with walls and a gate, where I enjoyed feeding the donkeys and talking to them until two of them jumped over the wall. We did have to make a run for it to get back to the car.
After a week, we set off to Klein (Little) Curacao, a reef with a lighthouse, a sandy beach and knee high scrubland. We anchored in strong winds but had time for a snorkel in crystal clear water. One French yacht was anchored there and a local fishing boat. The next day we rocked and rolled the 15 miles to Spaanse Water in Curacao. It took us one and a half hours to anchor in winds of 30+ knots and this was in an almost landlocked lake! This meant we missed the first bus to Willemstad, the capital, where we had to go to clear in. We just made it to Customs before they closed for lunch. Then we had to go across the water to Immigration and the Harbour Office. Security at the cruise ship dock would not let us continue without a pass, which they issued. Immigration was just closing as we arrived but they let us sit in their outer office on a park bench seat, while they went for lunch. We ate our sandwiches and waited. At least it was air conditioned but we were quite chilly after a while. Anyway, we cleared in and then went next door to get our anchoring permits. We had to state which bays we wanted to visit and the dates and we were only allowed 3 nights in 3 bays other than Spaanse Water. At last, armed with all the paperwork, we handed in our stamped pass to security and caught the bus back to Spaanse Water, once we’d discovered which bus and where to stand to wait for it.
Our trips to the three bays were good fun. We enjoyed exploring old mines and quarry works near Fuick Bay in the south. Santa Martha Bay had a safe lagoon to anchor in but we were near “badlands” territory and the nearby, recently closed, Sunset Waters Resort had been wrecked by thieves and vandals. We witnessed some thieving going on but as one of the men had a rifle, we turned and walked the other way. Santa Cruz, the third bay, was further north and very windy. It was the week-end and lots of families were having picnics and BBQ’s on the beach. Let’s Go Watersports catered for every need and even had a restaurant. We booked for Saturday night and ate fresh fish/king prawns sitting on their balcony overlooking the bay. We were their only evening visitors, although the place had been heaving earlier. On Monday, when it was quiet, we filled all our containers with fresh water from the beach shower. There was no visible tap and no fee to pay.
Back in Spaanse Water, we had dinner with Frans and Lucia. We returned their kindness by inviting them to Sal Darago on the evening of Jeremy’s birthday. I made Lancashire Hotpot which we had with red cabbage followed by chocolate cake. Naturally, we had candles and all sang “Happy Birthday”. Jeremy was delighted with their present – a small bottle of Dalwhinnie whisky.
We’re staying here to see the Carnival Procession on Sunday, but think we’ll be off to Aruba later next week.
We’ve sprayed them and poisoned them but we still have not got rid of our cockroaches. We haven’t found any eggs but with 52 lockers to choose from, plus the bilges, this is not really surprising. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Jeremy continues to amaze me. Our toilet stopped working out in the remote Islas Aves. We were on our way to Bonaire and I’m sure most people would have waited until they were tied up or anchored in a sheltered bay before taking the toilet to bits. Not Jeremy! He had his head down there, with the boat rocking and rolling with a following wind, for several hours and he didn’t give up until he’d fixed it. So no need to “bucket and chuck it”.
Our son-in-law, Ben is doing very well. He has a reconnection operation on 23rd February and expects to be in hospital for 5 days. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
In Bonaire, we met Frans and Lucia again from the yacht, Dalwhinnie (named after the town and the Scottish malt whisky). They were also heading for Curacao and gave us some good advice about the trip there. Meanwhile, we hired a jeep style car for a day to see the sights of Bonaire. Simon and Erin would have loved the “affordable” accommodation on the kitesurfing beach – rough shacks made of driftwood and other natural materials. Further on the small slave huts were a stark reminder of the island’s past. I could just stand up inside – all 5ft 3ins of me! The south of the island is a huge salt pan except for a unique shallow bay ideal for windsurfing. Around 65 dive sites are marked around the coast and, as long as you’re qualified and have the inexpensive permit, you can drive there or go by boat and dive. We tried a few for snorkelling but found our mooring to be one of the best places! The north of Bonaire is quite hilly and there is evidence of water, but what they describe as fertile land means an absence of cacti, I think. We got some great photos of flamingos in the north and south.
Now I couldn’t leave Bonaire without a visit to the donkey sanctuary. When the Spaniards left 300 years ago, they left their donkeys behind. It’s quite common to see wild donkeys but they often get hit by motor vehicles and end up at the sanctuary. They have 400 donkeys at present. We went on their donkey safari our hire car. It was quite scary at first when 50 or more donkeys surrounded our little car. When we were able to move some of them galloped alongside. There were little feeding areas with walls and a gate, where I enjoyed feeding the donkeys and talking to them until two of them jumped over the wall. We did have to make a run for it to get back to the car.
After a week, we set off to Klein (Little) Curacao, a reef with a lighthouse, a sandy beach and knee high scrubland. We anchored in strong winds but had time for a snorkel in crystal clear water. One French yacht was anchored there and a local fishing boat. The next day we rocked and rolled the 15 miles to Spaanse Water in Curacao. It took us one and a half hours to anchor in winds of 30+ knots and this was in an almost landlocked lake! This meant we missed the first bus to Willemstad, the capital, where we had to go to clear in. We just made it to Customs before they closed for lunch. Then we had to go across the water to Immigration and the Harbour Office. Security at the cruise ship dock would not let us continue without a pass, which they issued. Immigration was just closing as we arrived but they let us sit in their outer office on a park bench seat, while they went for lunch. We ate our sandwiches and waited. At least it was air conditioned but we were quite chilly after a while. Anyway, we cleared in and then went next door to get our anchoring permits. We had to state which bays we wanted to visit and the dates and we were only allowed 3 nights in 3 bays other than Spaanse Water. At last, armed with all the paperwork, we handed in our stamped pass to security and caught the bus back to Spaanse Water, once we’d discovered which bus and where to stand to wait for it.
Our trips to the three bays were good fun. We enjoyed exploring old mines and quarry works near Fuick Bay in the south. Santa Martha Bay had a safe lagoon to anchor in but we were near “badlands” territory and the nearby, recently closed, Sunset Waters Resort had been wrecked by thieves and vandals. We witnessed some thieving going on but as one of the men had a rifle, we turned and walked the other way. Santa Cruz, the third bay, was further north and very windy. It was the week-end and lots of families were having picnics and BBQ’s on the beach. Let’s Go Watersports catered for every need and even had a restaurant. We booked for Saturday night and ate fresh fish/king prawns sitting on their balcony overlooking the bay. We were their only evening visitors, although the place had been heaving earlier. On Monday, when it was quiet, we filled all our containers with fresh water from the beach shower. There was no visible tap and no fee to pay.
Back in Spaanse Water, we had dinner with Frans and Lucia. We returned their kindness by inviting them to Sal Darago on the evening of Jeremy’s birthday. I made Lancashire Hotpot which we had with red cabbage followed by chocolate cake. Naturally, we had candles and all sang “Happy Birthday”. Jeremy was delighted with their present – a small bottle of Dalwhinnie whisky.
We’re staying here to see the Carnival Procession on Sunday, but think we’ll be off to Aruba later next week.
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