This morning was my last visit to the dentist for this season. I think
I might return and have some major work done next year. When we finished
at the dentist, we took a taxi from the Rattan Depot to Plaza Bolivar. We
walked along the pedestrian streets and went back to the same jewelry store
where Rick bought his earring. He bought me a nice pair of gold earrings
similar to his but the hoop was a size larger. We walked from there to
Santiago Marino and picked up Rick’s Tevas. On the way, we had one of the street
venders squeeze some nice fresh orange juice for us. We then headed for
our bakery to pick up a loaf of bread. Across the street from the bakery
is an Italian ice cream store. We had passed this store many times but had
never gone in. Rick was craving ice cream today so we weren’t able to walk
on by. The place was
amazing. In fact, the ice cream was a work of art. It was all
made
on the premises and in no way looked like plain old ice cream. Rick had
Oreo cookie ice cream and don’t even think about the Oreo stuff in Canada.
It doesn’t compare. His second choice was a dark red cherry ice cream.
I chose Toblerone and Cream Caramel. The first tasted just like the
chocolate bar and the second had the caramel drizzled over the top. This
place was to die for. Our future tours will definitely include the ice
cream store. We returned to the anchorage and Jak’s in time for our
afternoon meal. Promesa, Alley Cat, Windmiller and Moonrise joined us.
I think Tom (Moonrise) had difficulty with so many Canadians at one table.
More and more Canadians seem to be arriving each day. Our boats now
outnumber all other
nationalities anchored here. When we were finished and
just about to leave Edgar’s girlfriend came by. Edgar is one of the two
dock boys (young men). Edgar and Juan help us out of our dinghy, carry our
laundry bags and groceries for us. They take care of our garbage and get
this, they provide foot baths for us to wash our feet before stepping from the
dock into our dinghy. Anyway, Edgar’s girlfriend has a friend who works
with pearls. Everyone works with pearls on this island but the problem is
we don’t know the very cheap quality pearls from the very expensive ones.
We would like something in between. She has arranged a Ladies Pearl Day
for us next Tuesday and she agreed to drive us to her friend’s place.
We picked up our dinghy from Orient Canvas and took it and the new and improved cover for a test run. It appeared perfect. They put a couple of little tie-downs on the outside of the tubes because no matter what they did the water would come up under the cover and into the dinghy. This was the same problem I encountered with the cover I made but they resolved the problem much better.
I had a bunch of things to return and/or deliver to different boats. Books for Lady M III, Video for Odetta, CD for Mainly and a map for Diva. Of course, we had to stop and talk a while at each boat. By the time we returned to our boat it was after 4PM so we raised the dinghy and settled in for the night.
It was a hot one today! It’s always about 95 degrees here but today there were no clouds and not even a little breeze.
We decided to do almost nothing. Rick however did check the batteries and our exterior speaker for the VHF that suddenly stopped working. We need a new terminal for one of the batteries. It was a little corroded. The outdoor speaker is toast so the next time we’re in Radio shack we’ll pick up another. Tom (Moonrise) called and asked if Rick could help him with an electrical problem on his windlass. While Rick was gone, I was able to do some hand laundry, make water, run the engine and read a book.
Our lunch hour get together is growing. Ralph and Karen (Kara Dream) arrived late yesterday so they joined us (Promesa, Windmiller, Alley Cat and Wind-Borne III) for lunch. Tom and Carol (Moonrise) arrived as the token Americans. We all decided to meet tomorrow morning and go to the Rabbit Market together.
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First, I must mention that it was 95 degrees again today. The reason I
mention this is that during our weather report this morning they mentioned that
upper New York State had snow flurries yesterday. We had to assume that
this meant it might be a little chilly back home in Canada. It’s times
like this that we really do love it here. I don’t ever like to complain
about the heat because there is only one alternative (cold), and I don’t like
it.
We met the gang, Promesa, Windmiller and Alley Cat at 9AM to go the Rabbit
Market. Leo and Marcel decided they would remain on their boats and either
work or drink beer. The rest of us climbed into two taxis and headed off.
The Rabbit
Market was quite large and had row after row of tiny stalls selling
mainly clothes but some electronics, luggage and kitchen items. Rick
bought a few new short sleeved sport shirts, a new backpack and fanny pack.
We walked the row after row in the clothing section and it became very
repetitive after a while. We moved on to another section that sells fish,
poultry and produce. It was noon by the time we reached this area and the
smell of the fish and seafood had gotten quite strong. I think you would
have to arrive early to purchase the fish etc. because it is not kept on ice.
Now the poultry were a different story. The chickens were all in cages and
not killed until you bought them. They were definitely fresh.
When we tired of the market and became hungry we got into a couple of taxis
and went to a Chinese restaurant called Lucky’s (pronounced Looky’s). It
was good Chinese food and very reasonable. We separated after lunch and
Celine, Rick and I went to the Internet Café. Celine called home and we
surfed for a while. When we finally returned to the anchorage, Celine
invited us aboard for a beer. Marcel had drunk all of the cold ones and
had only “almost cold ones” to offer us (we’re tough). After a while Marci
and Rod came by in their dinghy so they came aboard as well. The beer they
got was warmer still. It was a fun day and eventually we returned to
Wind-Borne III for the evening.
I called Blanca this morning to see if she needed anything as we were going to the grocery store. She said they were going to call and ask us the same thing. So off, we went together. Since it was only 8:30AM we decided a walk would be nice before the sun got too hot. We took the road that followed the shore and we were at the grocery store in less than an hour. When we arrived we had to stop and sit in the shade to dry off a little and have a drink before going into the air conditioned building. Our shirts and hats were dripping with perspiration.
The grocery store was packed but we got everything we wanted and then returned to the anchorage by taxi. Blanca and Leo bought a cooked chicken that was still hot so they had lunch on board. We joined Wendy, Lorne (Kamytoo), Ralph and Karen (KaraDream) at Jak’s for lunch. My body was definitely craving fruit today. I had already had 2 glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice in the morning and I then had a fruit salad for lunch (papaya, pineapple, melon and bananas). If that wasn’t enough I had a frozen strawberry desert.
The afternoon was too hot for anything other than a siesta. While I was having my siesta Rick worked on the outboard motor handle extension.
It was another day without wind so no one moved very quickly or did very
much. In the morning, I prepared some vegetables and dips for Happy Hour.
In the afternoon, we played dominos at Jak’s. Afterward Allie Cat,
Windmiller and Promesa joined us onboard Wind-Borne III for Happy Hour. It
was the last get together with the whole gang for a while as Allie Cat is
sailing to Chacachacare tomorrow to be hauled out for a week.
Soon we will have to move on, if for no other reason but to slow down. There is too much to do here on Margarita Island and we seem to be running around every day. Today we took the free bus to the Sigo Market with Promesa. Rick and I each bought a new straw hat. We looked in Radio Shack for a waterproof speaker to replace the one we use for the VHF radio in the cockpit but they didn’t carry them. While we were at the grocery store, we stocked up on some rum and paté. The four of us had lunch and then took a taxi to another shopping centre that I wanted to roam. The La Roma Shopping Centre we learned closes between 12PM and 3PM for siesta every day. We did some window shopping and then walked across the street and down the road to a Modern Language School. I have some papers I need translated (an official translation) and this place was recommended. When we arrived, we found a note on the door stating that they were only open in the mornings during October. We gave up and returned to the shopping centre to drink beer until 3PM. When the stores opened all I purchased were some CD labels and then we left. There was a McDonald’s Restaurant near the street that we had to pass on our way out. We almost made it but Blanca was craving a McDonald’s milk shake so we had to go in. They don’t sell milk shakes in Venezuela but they did have soft ice cream. It wasn’t quite what Blanca was looking for but it sufficed. Finally we caught a taxi back to the anchorage and stopped at Jak’s for happy hour. We didn’t stay long because for some reason people were either late or just weren’t showing up for Happy Hour today. We returned to the boat and collapsed for the rest of the evening.
This was ladies day for Blanca and me. We left the guys behind to work on the boats and went with Lorraine (Edgar’s girlfriend) to visit a friend of hers that makes jewelry. We were looking for pearls in particular. We found exactly what we wanted and bought ourselves some unique items at reasonable prices. It was lunchtime when we returned to the anchorage so we called the guys and they joined us at Jak’s for lunch. After our siesta in the afternoon we had a visit from Joan and Dan (Mainly). They brought us information of the Rio Macareo (a tributary of the Orinoco). We have discussed taking a trip up the river early next year. Normally there are only about a dozen boats that do this each year. It’s very rustic, no swimming do to piranha and alligators but the birds and plant life are amazing. There are logistics to be worked out but it is on our “places to see and things to do” list. We went ashore with Promesa and joined a multitude of other people for Happy Hour tonight. I guess everyone was making up for not showing up last night.
We relaxed onboard for most of the day but went ashore for lunch/dinner at Jak’s with Windmiller and KaraDream. Happy Hour was onboard Promesa. There were only the four of us and we discussed everything under the sun including politics and religion. We talked about our friends back home who would soon be hauling out their boats for the season. Meanwhile down here it is so warm that our biggest problem other than mildew, is how to keep our crackers crisp. It’s difficult when we can find good cheese, not so good paté and crackers that have lost their crispness. We also have to put up with the fact that a bottle of liquor costs a lot less than a bottle of wine. We all agreed that it was a tough lifestyle but we would endure it for a few more years.
During breakfast this morning, Rick suggested we go to the show and see a movie in the afternoon. I thought it sounded like a great idea until Blanca came over in her dinghy to suggest that we all go to Mediterraneo for lunch and walk around the pedestrian streets in the afternoon. We had a wonderful lunch and then walked to the Italian Ice Cream store for desert. We couldn’t walk by my bakery without stopping in to say hello to everyone and as soon as they saw me come into the store, they had my round Italian loaf of bread ready for me. I hadn’t intended to buy any but they seemed so pleased that they knew exactly what I wanted that I had to buy it.
We walked all over the place. Blanca was looking for some fabric, Rick was looking for a new speaker and Leo wanted a CD changer that handled MP3 as well as CDs. After going into many different stores, only Rick found what he was looking for. We returned to Jak’s restaurant after 5PM totally exhausted and found a gang there already enjoying happy hour.
Wendy (Kamytoo) stopped by early in the morning to invite us to their boat for a “Full Moon” party in the evening. We left the boat shortly after Wendy and took our dirty laundry ashore. We took a taxi to the hospital where we previously had our Yellow Fever shots. We wanted to get our immunization record stamped. We hadn’t known to request the stamp when we were there a couple of weeks ago. When we left the hospital we took another taxi to the Modern Language School to see about the translation I require. What we learned was that there is no official translator on the Island.
We returned to the anchorage and then dinghied over to Orient Canvas. I wanted a couple of corners reinforced on the dinghy cover. Joe took the cover off and said “no problem” he would have it done this weekend. We then walked down the beach a little way to visit a sail and canvas cleaning shop. I wanted to have our bimini and dodger cleaned again. It would be a two day process for the cleaning and waterproofing. Rick didn’t want to be without the bimini for two days so we decided to wait until Puerto La Cruz.
Back at the boat, we both read for a while and had a siesta. Blanca knocking on the hull awakened me. She wanted our new straw hats. She took them away and put a couple of grommets and strings in them to prevent them from flying off our heads. Yesterday as I was walking down the dock, mine flew off into the water and I thought that Leo was going to dive in after it. He was so fast but what he actually did was jump into the dinghy and reached out for it before it could drift away. He was declared a hero! Blanca returned our hats in less than a half-hour and she did a great job.
We all went ashore and had lunch together. While we were eating, one of the venders came by with CD’s for sale. We each bought a few at $1.50 each. Before buying hers, Blanca had Arturo (our regular waiter and good buddy) play them on the restaurant music system.
We left in time to pick up our laundry and return to the boat to make snacks for the party. There were Promesa, Windmiller, KaraDream and Wind-Borne III all onboard Kamytoo for the Full Moon party. We had a wonderful evening and eventually returned to our boats in the light of the moon.
It must have been Saturday night because the music from shore (live band and singers) didn’t stop until 6AM. It was good music but it continued a little too long and loud for our liking. We were up and finished breakfast in time for Rick to go ashore and pick up Edgar at 8AM. Edgar agreed to clean the bottom of our hull today. He came with nothing so we let him use our snorkel, mask and fins. Rick’s fins were a little too large and mine were too small. We called over and borrowed a pair from Promesa. He had just started cleaning when Windmiller came over with a Hooka. This was the greatest little device. It was a little compressor that we plugged into one of our 12V outlets and it provided air through a hose. Edgar was then able to stay under the water and work away much easier. It took him until 1PM to finish and we could tell he was really tired but he did a good job. When he left Rick and I had lunch onboard (a unique concept lately) and then watched a video.
We then had a quick shower and got ready to go over to Windmiller for Happy Hour. Blanca wasn’t feeling well so she and Leo didn’t join us but Moonrise and KaraDream were also invited. It was an enjoyable evening.
This was Sunday and we didn’t even play dominos. Rick washed and waxed one side of the hull. He also installed our new speaker for the VHF in the cockpit. I spent the whole day on the computer. I was so far behind in answering emails that it took me most of the morning. I then took some time to work on sorting some of my pictures. Later, we watched a lovely sunset during dinner and when I went below to wash dishes I found the galley sink was leaking again. The new drain basket that Rick had put in had somehow come loose. A half hour later he had that five minute job fixed. We did dishes and relaxed.
Blanca picked me up in the morning and we went ashore to call Globitou and
Allie Cat at the marina in Chacachacare to make sure they got her message about
joining us for Thanksgiving dinner today. Globitou hadn’t gotten the
message but they just happened to have taken a taxi into Porlamar to buy some
things at Vamesca (the marine store) and were trying to reach us on the radio
while we were trying to contact them.
Allie Cat was launched first thing in the morning and they were on their way
sailing to Porlamar. We took the dinghies up the river a little way to
Vamesca and picked up Globitou. It took a little arm
twisting to get Ruedi
to stay for dinner. He wanted to get back and work on the boat.
Afterward he was glad his arm had been twisted.
I had asked Jackie of Jak’s Restaurant if she would prepare a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner for us. She agreed and prepared a wonderful dinner for 23 of us. Blanca and I stopped by in the morning to take my hanging turkey windsock and some balloons with Canadian flags printed on them.
Blanca had a huge Canadian flag to hang from the ceiling. While we were
there, Jackie asked if we had rolling pins and pie dishes that she could borrow.
She made five homemade pumpkin pies. That was not an easy feat down here.
Good
pastry is difficult to make because of the heat. Her pastry turned
out perfect. The turkey (imported from somewhere) was extremely moist and flavourful. She
made dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy and mixed vegetables. She was even
able to round up some cranberry sauce. The meal was so good we decided to
make Jackie an Honorary Canadian.
We had just finished our coffee and decided to leave when the sky turned
quite nasty. Within the next five minutes all of the boats swung 180
degrees. We just made it back to our boat as the wind picked up. It
went from dead calm to 25 knots in less than five minutes. We got on board
and kept a close watch. A few recent arrivals were dragging but none were
near us and all seemed to be under control. Rick put a pail on
deck to
catch some water for his plant (mine had a burial at sea last week). We
looked over and Leo and Blanca were both out in the rain making use of the fresh
water by swabbing their deck. The storm didn’t last long. It was
over in less than an hour and the air felt fresher afterwards. The winds
settled down and we had a lovely evening.
Today was a dinghy day. We dinghied over to Promesa and spoke with Blanca and Leo for a while. While we were there, KaraDream came by and tied up beside us. We left and stopped to visit with Allie Cat for a few minutes. We were then on our way to Jak’s for breakfast (I hadn’t bought or baked any bread, we were out of eggs and I hadn’t put any milk in the fridge) when Windmiller came by in their dinghy. We tie the two dinghies together and drifted with Marci and Rod while we gabbed. Eventually we made our way to Jak’s. By the time we finished breakfast, dinghied over to Vemasca and returned to the boat it was almost 11AM. It was too hot for me but Rick wanted to finish waxing the other side of the hull. I went below and read and it wasn’t long before Rick finished and came below as well. It was almost 2PM when Blanca called and said they were ready for lunch/dinner. We dinghied to the Pescador on the beach for a nice fresh fish lunch. The tables are under the palm trees and there always seems to be a nice breeze there. After lunch Rick and I dinghied to the other side of the bay to Orient Canvas. Joe had added some reinforcements on a couple of corners of the dinghy cover for me. Finally we returned to the boat and raised the dinghy for the night.
It was another beautiful day but because there was a new Tropical Storm (Nicholas) in the Atlantic, we were left with no wind again. I took it slow and easy, relaxed and read in the morning. Rick however, braved the elements and stripped the wood on the top portion of the port rub rail. We met Promesa for lunch and then took a taxi downtown to use the Internet and cheap phones. I tried sending a fax home and reached Rick’s voice on our answering machine. He said we were out sailing! Next I tried to call Kelly at work and when I reached voice mail there I tried her cell phone. I got voice mail on both tries. I also tried to call my Aunt. Voice mail struck again. I gave up and moved on to the Internet where I had a little better luck in sending emails.
When we returned to the anchorage, we stopped at Jak’s for Happy Hour. Promesa had just returned as well. It wasn’t long and Miss P, Manana, Mainly and Interlude came ashore and joined us.
We went to Vemasca again today and picked up a couple of strainers that Rick had ordered. We spent time with Allie Cat and Promesa but didn’t do much because of the heat. Lunch was at Jak’s.
I thought today I would describe the cars on Margarita Island. The majority of vehicles are from the late 60’s to mid 80’s. There are always a lot of “Wow’s!” as we walk along the street. I think every used old Volkswagen bug that was ever sold has ended up on Margarita. This would be interesting but meaningless to most people but within our family, we play “Punch Buggy”. This is a dumb game that permits the first person to see a Volkswagen bug to identify it and it’s colour as they lightly punch a person’s arm. There are so many bugs here on Margarita that Rick frequently gets carried away, which has resulted in a nice dark bruise on my upper left arm.
We went downtown today. I was able to phone, fax and send email successfully. Afterward we walked a few blocks to a place we noticed last week called “American Donuts”. We each had a donut. It was a good thing we didn’t want to buy a dozen donuts because I think there was only about one dozen in total in the store. They were however, very fresh, tasty and even comparable with “Tim Hortons” so needless to say, we savored each bite.
When we returned to the anchorage, we had lunch with KaraDream before doing our dinghy rounds. We had to drop off a pattern (the squall proof windscoop) and pick up some basil sprouts from Kamytoo. Then we stopped to pick up our DVDs and some new books from Lady M III. We delivered a pair of shoes and a CD to Allie Cat and checked out the pearls that Celine bought today. Our last stop was at Promesa to catch up on the days news. We eventually made it back to our own boat and then Windmiller called. They came by to return some videos that we had loaned them and picked up a fresh supply.
There was a nice breeze as we sat in the cockpit watching the sunset and hopefully it will last all night.
We decided to stay onboard today because on Saturdays most places are crowded. That was plan “A”. Windmiller came by early and asked if we wanted to go with them and Allie Cat to the Pedestrian Streets. They hadn’t been there yet. We agreed to meet them at 10:30AM but just before then all the excitement started. A truck had arrived on the ferry and was at Vemasca with a whole load of new dinghies. Kamytoo has been waiting more than 6 weeks for theirs. Windmiller, Allie Cat and Promesa had all ordered one as well. Allie Cat and Kamytoo got theirs today so we all waited while Marcel launched and almost sank his new dinghy. There was no plug in it! The problem was quickly rectified and after a lot of oohs and aahs he locked it to the dock and we all left to go window shopping.
It was a worthwhile trip for us. I found some nice wooden spoons and flower pots in a “Dolar” store. Kamytoo gave me some of her basil and I have some seeds for other herbs I want to plant. The next trick will be to find some planting soil.
After roaming the pedestrian streets, we walked over to a chicken restaurant we had noticed last week. The place was packed but we were able to get a table and didn’t wait too long to be served. The chicken was good and the price was right. We left there and went to the Internet Café. While there, we met Leo and Blanca who were just on their way to the Pedestrian Streets. When we left we walked to the Italian ice cream store where everyone else had an ice cream and I had a nice Café con Leché. We made it back to Jak’s just in time for Happy Hour.
Porlamar has been renamed Rollamar this week. Two nights in a row we went to bed with the boat rocking and rolling so much it was difficult to get to sleep. Sometime during the night, it calmed down and we slept well.
This morning we confirmed that our refrigeration system has a problem. We’re not sure if there is a blockage in the system or a leak but we have lost some coolant. Tom from Moonrise gave us a bottle of the 134A coolant, which is what we need, but we don’t have the tool to test for a leak, and if it’s a blockage then the system should be cleaned (evacuated) first. Tomorrow we’ll find a refrigeration repairman.
Meanwhile it was a good time to defrost and clean the fridge so that was my first and only task of the day. I then went for a nice swim and read for a while. I didn’t feel like playing dominoes and Rick wanted to make some bread (manually) so we played with dough during the afternoon.
Our quest for the day was to see about getting the refrigeration system repaired. We’d like to leave here next week but I can’t imagine being anchored off one of the little out islands with no ability to make ice cubes!
We went ashore at 9AM to meet with Don, of Jak’s Restaurant. Don is a wonderful resource who can tell us where to find anything. We asked him for a referral for a refrigeration company. We explained that we thought the coolant was low but that we wanted to have someone test for a leak before we pumped more coolant into the system. Don then offered us the loan of his sniffer. It seemed that many boats in the anchorage carry the gauges needed to add the coolant. So, we decided it would be a do-it-yourself project. We didn’t get started until after 3PM because by the time we returned to the boat and did a few things it was almost lunchtime. Lunch at Jak’s very often stretches because we get gabbing with all the other cruisers that come to eat and meet.
When we finally did get to our task, Rick was very careful to only add a little coolant at a time and watch the gauges. He would call and question Tom on Moonrise every so often to make sure we were doing things correctly. We weren’t making much headway so eventually I took over and although I still only added a little at a time, I was adding a lot more than Rick. I released the high pressure and added to the low pressure until the readings looked better and the evaporator plate was frosting all around. It was dark by the time we finished. Rick left the gauges attached so he could monitor the readings until morning.
We raised the dinghy and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
We checked the gauges in the morning and everything seemed to be stable. I added a little more coolant and the evaporator plate frosted all around. Ice cubes were forming. Problem solved but we continued to leave the gauges in place for the rest of the day just to make sure.
We went for lunch at 1:30PM with Blanca. I lost track of everyone that joined us but we ended up pulling about 6 tables together. When lunch was finished, KaraDream invited us back to their boat for happy hour at 4:30PM. We were all ready to go when we realized that it was already 4:15PM so we all decided to stay at Jak’s for Happy Hour. By the time we finally returned to the boat it was almost 8PM.
It was only 8:15AM and we were already on the go. We stopped to talk with Promesa before picking up Dorothy from Prism. Dorothy and I dropped off our dirty laundry and then Rick and I delivered Dorothy to the Dinghy Dock. She was going on the free bus to Sigo. Meanwhile Rick and Blanca and I were going to Rattan Depot. This was the beginning of a major provisioning for next week. We want to leave and spend a week or more at La Blanquilla, which is an uninhabited island, that has wonderful sand beaches and crystal clear water. We’ve been told that we can trade things like Rum and cigarettes with the fishermen for fresh fish and lobster. So, we wanted to be well prepared for that. We finished our shopping and returned to the boat by 2PM. Our next mission was to buy some coolant and gauges for refrigeration repairs. We accomplished that and found a plumbing store where we bought a couple of spare drain baskets for the galley sink. The store also had a water filter canister that we had been looking for. When we are at dock and using marina water, we would like to filter it (for sediment) before putting it into our water tank.
It was 4PM when we got a taxi to take us back to the anchorage and we were suppose to meet a gang at Casa Blanca Restaurant at 4PM for dinner. Since we were a little late, we went directly to the restaurant. There were 16 at our table and there wasn’t a quiet moment between 4:30PM and 8PM when we finally left. The meal was disappointing as it wasn’t up to the same standards of our previous visits.
Rick disconnected Tom’s gauges from our refrigerator compressor and returned them to him in the morning as they were leaving for Puerto La Cruz today. As he disconnected them, we could hear a hissing coming from the high-pressure side of the compressor. We don’t know if the valve needs replacing or servicing but either way it appears that our refrigeration problems are not resolved. Luckily, we now have our own gauges and coolant so we just connected and topped up the system again. We’ll leave the gauges in place until we get to Puerto La Cruz where we should be able to find a professional repairman.
Meanwhile I picked up yesterday’s laundry and dropped of some more. Rick changed the oil and I went on another mildew hunt. I attacked any that was just starting to form. I put the first batch of laundry away and picked up the rest just before we went ashore to Jak’s for lunch at 2PM. When we returned to the boat we raised the dinghy and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
Today was a Sigo grocery shopping day. The free bus left the anchorage totally packed. There were at least a dozen people that had to stand in the bus. When shopping we bought so much that I was worried that I may not have brought enough cash. As it turned out we had enough and Blanca ran short. The amount that she ran short was the same amount that we had left. So, it worked out well. Afterwards however, we were counting our Bolivars to come up with enough change between us to take a taxi back to the anchorage. We didn’t want to wait around for the free bus because we had other things we wanted to do.
When we returned to the boat we put the refrigerated items away and left the rest for later. Rick and I took another taxi downtown. I went to a salon and had my hair cut as well as a manicure and pedicure (it might be a while before I have another opportunity). Rick sat in a little outdoor café on the corner and had a couple of beers while he waited for me. When I was finished we stopped at Rattan and checked for a few items that we hadn’t found at Sigo. We were having amazing luck. A container had arrived the day before and there was cheddar cheese on the shelves. Not much of it because the Venezuelans don’t eat it but it is very unusual to find any. When we were in the canned fruit section, I was also able to replace the cranberries that I used at Thanksgiving. This was another product that is not normally found here. We were having such great luck that we almost ran out of cash again. Rick had suggested we would have pizza for dinner downtown but we had to go back to the anchorage for cash so we went to Jak’s and ate with the gang. Arturo (our waiter) filled our propane tank for us so that’s another task done. When we finally returned to the boat, the sun was setting and we had stacks of groceries to inventory and put away. With both of us working at it, it didn’t take too long.
Rick was a crazy man today. After making poached eggs on toast, he worked non-stop. Every strainer and filter on board was cleaned. To do this, the whole boat had to be pulled apart. While everything was in chaos, he decided to empty a couple of jerry cans of diesel so that we could have them refilled today. Not wanting to waste a moment of chaos, he also serviced the pump on the water maker as well as the head. What was I doing while all of this excitement was going on? I was staying out of his way! I did do a little gardening in the cockpit. I repotted his plant from Grenada and I potted some basil that Wendy (Kamytoo) gave me. While I was at it, I had another pot so I planted some oregano seeds. I think I forgot to mention it but my Desert Rose was buried at sea a couple of weeks ago. After gardening, I read for a while.
We went ashore for lunch at 2PM with Promesa and watched every taxi that stopped at Jak’s. Ruedi & Jocelyne (Globitou) who are still on the hard said that they might visit Jak’s today. Sure enough, just as we finished eating they arrived. We gabbed with them until it was almost dark and then returned to our boat.
Today I played crazy woman! I tidied and then pulled apart almost every cupboard on the boat. I was at war with mildew again. I washed the interior of all the cupboards with my bleach solution. I washed walls and anywhere else that mildew might think about visiting. When I had finished and had allowed every cupboard to air dry. I replaced everything back into the cupboards and on book shelves. I re-hung pictures and other hanging things. It was about 12:30PM when I put on my bathing suit and jumped in for a swim. Meanwhile Rick had been polishing his stainless steel and washing the cockpit. When he saw me jump in he did the same. After a nice swim I helped Rick clean the anchor chain. He scrubbed while I stood onboard and raised the chain when requested. Although I thought I was acting like a crazy woman today, when I had showered and dressed to go for dinner, Blanca was still cleaning. She told us to go on alone they had to keep working. Chuck (a single hander and totally nice guy) from Manana joined us and we went down town for pizza and ice cream. We had a good time and brought a pizza back for the two crazy people on Promesa.
This morning was my last chance to drop off laundry for a while so we dinghied to shore at 8AM with the dirty laundry. We then went straight to CM (Central Margarita), which is the grocery store that Blanca and I like best for fresh produce and meats. This was the first time I have bought meats since we’ve been here. It was nice having Blanca with me to tell the butcher to trim the meat and make the ground beef very lean. I think I would have had to take what ever he wanted to give me.
When we finished shopping I did some last minute Internet stuff and then we returned to the boat. I repackaged and froze all of the meat and cleaned and stored all of the fruit and vegetables. Lunch was one of the precooked whole chickens that are available in the grocery stores now. After lunch we picked up the clean laundry and went back to the boat for a siesta. When the laundry was put away and the canvas was removed from the deck we went ashore for our last Happy Hour in Porlamar. When we returned to the boat again after raising the dinghy we had a nice cup of tea and relaxed for the evening.
We had a great nights sleep. The alarm clock was set for 5AM to allow time for Rick to make the coffee and for me to drink the coffee before we started to lift anchor. Actually, I made breakfast and we had a relaxing no-rush start to the day. The anchor was up and we were on our way by 7AM.
Chacachacare is not very far (25 miles) but we wanted to arrive early. It was a beautiful downwind sail. There wasn’t a lot of wind but we also had current pushing us as well. It was so smooth that if we weren’t watching the shore we would not know the boat was even moving. The highlight of our trip was seeing a pod of whales. They were floating just below the surface near Chacachacare.
We arrived and had the anchor set by 12:30PM. Promesa left at least an hour or two after us and arrived within minutes of us. They had trouble getting the anchor to set and since we were tucked up on a lee shore, no one wanted to make any anchoring mistakes.
We all had a siesta in the afternoon and then went ashore to have happy hour and dinner with Globitou. It was a lot of fun. Globitou is on the hard in the Chacachacare yard. The guys (Rick, Reudi and Leo rounded up whatever could be used as a table and chairs. We sat on Garbage cans, cold drink crates etc. and our table was wooden pallet that was set upon a large wooden spool. We began happy hour with a local drink that consists of fresh lime juice, rum, brown sugar and ice. We continued with these drinks until dinner was served. Jocelyne and Ruedi have a local man who is a trained cook and he prepares their meal each night. He delivers the meals to the boat for $2 per person. Our dinner this night consisted of filet of fish, rice and a salad. He also provided the plates and cutlery. It was a great evening and it was after 10PM by the time we returned to the boat.
We lifted anchor and raised the sails at 8AM this morning. We were going less than 20 miles. Promesa left about a half hour later and passed us before we even got to the half way point. We arrived and anchored just south of Robledal, which is on the west end of Margarita Island. We had some stunning views as we traveled along the south shore. The sandy shores stretched back towards the high peaked mountains. The colour of the soil continuously changed from the sandy beige to light orange and brilliant reds. The mountains were shaded in multi shades of gray from the clouds.
After the anchor was set Rick went for a swim to check the anchor but the visibility was so poor, he couldn’t see the bottom in only 12 feet of water. I swam ashore and a few minutes later everyone else followed in the dinghy. It was a great shelling beach, which we hadn’t expected, so Blanca and I walked up and down the shore collecting our treasures while the guys just walked and talked.
When we returned to the boat, we went for a salt-water bath and a fresh water rinse. This is something we haven’t done in the past but since everyone else does it, we decided to give it a try. We’ve been toting a Solar Shower Bag around with us for a couple of years. Rick hung it in the cockpit and it worked great. While in La Blanquilla it will be our daily routine. Rick made a nice Italian dinner (spaghetti) and we went to bed early with the alarm set for 3AM.
Rick and I were both up before the alarm at 3AM. I made the coffee
while he put the jack lines on deck. We had both forgotten the jack lines
when we went to bed last night thinking that absolutely everything was ready.
We raised the main sail and lifted the anchor by 4AM. It was a black as
could be out side as we called to Promesa to make sure they were up. When
I first opened my eyes earlier in the morning, I could see Orion looking down at
me through the forward hatch. He was as bright as could be but he and all
his other starry friends had disappeared. The little bit of a moon there
was, had already set and we were sailing into pure blackness. Every few
seconds a great flash of lightening would light up the horizon so we could see
that we were not about to fall off the edge of the earth. It was only an
hour and a half until the beginning of daybreak so we just relied upon our radar
until then. The lightening always dissipates from the mainland at daybreak
but today as it did, we looked at a very ominous sky. It appeared that we
would sail directly into a trough or squall line that stretched right across the
horizon. The good news was that the waves were only 4 to 6 feet with a bit
of a swell and a wind wave. The winds were 10 to 15 knots and we were
making at least 5 ½ knots over the bottom with a reefed main, genoa, stay sail
and the engine running at 1500 RPMs to charge everything up while we topped off
the water tank. It was a comfortable ride but there was enough of a roll
to put my automatic washer to work. It’s been a while since I had to do my
own laundry and when the boat rolls like this I put the soap, water and dirty
clothes in the bathtub. The boat does all the work by providing a
great
agitator and when we arrive, I just have to rinse and hang the nice clean
cloths. I was enjoying the overcast sky because it was much cooler than
the hot sun beating down through the bimini. I was however prepared for it
to rain at any moment. It never did. The sky just opened up and
cleared areas as we sailed on through. When we were exactly 17 miles from
our destination of Blanquilla, I woke Rick and called Promesa to tell them we
had a beautiful school of dolphins escorting us in. They were swimming in
pairs on each side of
the boat and a few were crisscrossing the bow. It was a beautiful sight
but one I don’t even attempt to get on camera anymore. It’s impossible
when the boat is rolling and the dolphins are jumping to swing from a shroud and
capture the action. I always end up with a picture of a fin in the water,
as I’m too early or late in snapping the perfect shot. We arrived at the
anchorage a little after Promesa (2PM) and once we were set, I rinsed and hung
the laundry. Rick and I then sat down for some meat, cheese, crackers and
pickles with a nice drink before we both fell into a deep siesta for the
afternoon. Blanquilla is a beautiful island with no stores, restaurants or
taxis! Yes we have to eat on board!
Last night the wind died about 11pm and off and on through the night the boat was doing a 15 to 20 degree roll. We found cupboards that needed a few more items packed into them. They were noisily tossing their interiors around all night.
I made pancakes for breakfast and then we finally put on the sail cover and
splashed the dink. We put up the sun awning and got things set up to stay
for a couple of weeks. I first tidied and then decorated the boat for
Halloween. I put up our Halloween pennants and set the artificial jack o
lantern in the cockpit. It was then time to go for a swim. The water
here is amazing. It is the colour of cool mint mouthwash. The deeper
water reminds me of a watered down Welch’s grape juice with a sparkle to it.
When I jumped in although the water we are anchored in is 25 feet deep, it is
crystal clear. There were multicoloured fish swimming everywhere.
Our anchor was in a nice sandy patch on the bottom and there was beautiful coral
all around us. Rick and I both commented afterward that this is the type
of place where mooring balls should be placed for the boaters to protect the
coral. When the anchor chain swings it can easily damage the coral.
When we climbed back aboard I made a quick lunch and we were just about to read
and have a siesta when a fishing boat came by. They had fresh langosta
(lobster) for sale. We bought a six pounder for less than $20. We
allowed Leonard the Lobster to run around in the cockpit for a while as Rick
gathered his lobster tools. We have found that the Spiny Lobsters are
nicest barbecued and to do this you remove the tail and a few meaty legs
immediately, put the tail etc. on ice until the barbecue is ready and then
smother it with butter as they cook.
Windmiller and KaraDream arrived in the late afternoon. When they were well settled it was almost time for the sun to set. Rick and I put on our domino costumes, we each picked up a glass and got into the dinghy to go trick or treating. We started with Windmiller where KaraDream was visiting as well and ended with Promesa where we spent at least a couple of hours. When we returned to the boat, Rick started the barbecue for the lobster while I prepared the garlic butter, sweet plantains and rice. It’s roughing it a little with no restaurants on the island but I think we’ll manage.
