We began our morning by listening to Lois the “Wonder Weather Woman from the Good Ship Lollypop” (really from Spice Island Lady). She had us in stitches. She reported the whole Caribbean was fogged in and all airports were closed. The winds were from every direction and blowing at force 7. The waves were 25 feet and building. The low temperature today was 95F. Meanwhile as usual it was a beautiful day with hardly any wind. I doubt that the locals on any of the islands have ever seen fog over the water.
Rick and I weren’t feeling the greatest today but I did get some more hand laundry done and Rick finished the Spartite project. I helped by playing ballast and balancing my weight against his at the mast so that the liquid would set level. I’m anxious to see how it works with no more wedges supporting the mast.
It was movie night but we had seen Captain Ron many times so skipped the movie but went for a dinner of Marie Elena’s Beer Basted Roasted Chicken. It was wonderful.
We still didn’t feel any better but we were going to the doctor’s office today to arrange for a physical. Carlo’s the GP is a very nice doctor and speaks almost perfect English.
He arranged for all of our lab tests and introduced us to the head of the lab who is a very petite lady who also speaks English. We said we would return on Monday for the lab tests (as we had toast and tea for breakfast this morning). Everything closes down as of this coming Wednesday for Holy Week so he gave us his cell phone number and asked us to call him on the 12th and he would make the appointment for us. He only does two physicals a day because they take so long. We’ve heard great things from other cruisers here who have had a physical with him and they said they have never had one so thorough in Canada or the Sates. So we’ll study hard for this exam and hope we both pass.
We had been boat bound for too many days and we were both feeling a little
better today so we decided to get away for a while. We left at 9AM with
Carlos (Charlie Alpha) and went for a tour to Los Altos. I had been to Los
Alto in December but Rick hadn’t come with Kelly and me. I noticed quite a
change from December to April. Three full months of no rain had certainly
affected the vegetation.
Our first stop was a pottery place that Kelly and I had visited. Then
we went on to Los Bucares Plantation where I had never been. They grow
many things at this plantation but their main crops are Arabian coffee and
cacao. Hector, the owner
showed us the coffee plants, cacao, bananas,
Venezuelan apple trees etc. He showed us where he was planting banana
stalks and Apple trees all along the fence lines so that when the workers got
hot or hungry while picking the coffee beans, they would eventually be able to
help themselves to fresh fruit. He pointed out the Bucare tree with its
beautiful orange coloured blossoms. These trees grow to be very large and
their root system is huge. They are essential for a good coffee
plantation. During the rainy season they soak up and store water.
This water is held in the trunk and branches until May. In May, before the
rainy season begins, the trees allow the water to seep out through the roots.
The coffee plants use this moisture and begin to blossom without rain giving
them a longer growing season. The leaves of the tree shade the coffee
plants during the dry season. As the rainy season nears the trees drop the
leaves to provide the coffee plants with more sun to start the growing process.
Hector said that the coffee plantain would not prosper without the Bucare tree
and that’s why his plantation is named after the tree.
We made many other stops during the morning to visit a woodworker, another pottery place, a metal worker, etc. We even visited a painter with a white goose running around her property. She breeds beautiful lovebirds that came from Madagascar, as well as local parrots and macaws. We had a wonderful lunch at Restaurante II Picolit, which was right across the street from where Carlos lives. Our final stop was at the Vista Montana where the monkey stole Rick’s hat. I told Rick not to worry, the monkey would drop it but he didn’t, he wedged it between a couple of branches on the tree. Only when I offered to trade hats did the monkey bring Rick’s hat back and throw it on the ground. No, I didn’t let him take mine.
It was a lovely day, not only because we got off the boat and out of the marina, but also up into the mountains. The view was beautiful and the temperature was at least 10 to 15 degrees cooler.
When we returned to the boat we found we had received quite a few emails regarding an article in the April edition of Cruising World Magazine that mentioned our web site address. It was kind of neat being identified in the article but it’s not fair that we don’t get to see it until a special copy is hand delivered by my niece who is coming to visit in a couple of weeks.
We took some of our Canadian maple syrup to the Ancla Restaurant and had Roberto make us some great pancakes for breakfast. Pancakes are eaten locally here but obviously not with real maple syrup. When we returned to the boat, Rick changed the sealant in the galley sink drain. He wasn’t pleased with the seal that he got by using plumbers putty. He concluded that the problem was the new strainer basket we purchased in Porlamar was metric and our sink was not, so the fit wasn’t quite right. He decided that “Boat Seal” would provide a more flexible and yet permanent seal. That was his morning project.
I meanwhile was about to form the Venezuelan Women’s Marine Organization against Dust. I would call it VW-Mod Squad for short. In Porlamar it was a full time job fighting mildew but in Puerto La Cruz we continually fight to keep down the dust. I’m not sure if it’s caused by a cement plant that is upwind quite a few miles from here or whether it’s just the miles of sand beaches that start outside the marina and run for miles upwind, to the end of Paseo Colon. One or the other is probably the culprit. Today I washed all the curtains and wiped down the walls again. Rick takes the fans and screens as his personal project and seems to be continually cleaning the dust from them. Oh well, one of the VW-Mod Squads objectives will be to let off steam once in a while (it will help keep the dust down).
We had a nice dinner at the Ancla and then returned to the boat to begin fasting for our blood tests tomorrow.
We were up and ready to go by 6:30 AM. Leo met us and took us to the medical clinic where we arrived a little early. At 7AM, Adriana, the head of the lab arrived and greeted us. She escorted us to the different areas we had to visit and by 8AM we had given all the blood necessary and we had our electrocardiograms. All of the results were available for us to pick up at 3PM. Since we weren’t going to see the doctor again until next week we told them we would pick them up tomorrow.
Both of us were anxious for a bite to eat. We walked over to Plaza Mayor but it was still a little too early for the restaurants. Before true starvation set in we agreed that the Italian bakery was a great place for breakfast. After breakfast we roamed the mall for a while but most stores had still not opened. We went into Unicasa and picked up some fresh fruit to make a salad for the Monday night pot luck.
We both had a siesta in the afternoon before I started cleaning and preparing the fruit. It was one of the best pot luck dinners. Everyone made very different and tasty dishes. When we finished dinner, I went to the Ancla to meet with Marie Elena to help plan some events for the Easter weekend.
We delivered our dirty laundry first thing in the morning and then began cleaning the boat. This was the second day of 98 degree temperatures so we weren’t moving very quickly. In the afternoon Rick went to pick up our test results from the medical clinic. When he returned we had a siesta. It was a little cooler around 5PM when I turned the oven on to roast Chicharron chicken for dinner. Chicharron is crisp smoked bacon rind and it is sold fresh as well as in snack bags similar to potato chips with a little added hot spice. I used the rolling pin and crushed a bag of the “chip like” Chicharrons to coat the chicken. I figured turned out pretty good because Rick totally pigged out.
Yesterday and today I gave a rundown on the Net of what events we have underway at the Ancla Restaurant this week. Just to let you know what’s happening here I’ll give you a synopsis but I’m sure you’ll read about it later:
Wednesday night (tonight) at Mare Mares: 10 different Venezuelan Easter dinners (fish) so that everyone can taste a little of each. (The Venezuelans don’t eat meat during Easter Week) Thursday night at the Ancla Restaurant: The Movie is Joan of Arc and the dinner special is a Venezuelan Easter dinner of fish. Friday night at the Ancla Restaurant: Brazil Night with a 10 piece live band and a special Brazilian menu. Saturday starting at the Ancla Restaurant: An adult Treasure Hunt Sunday at the Ancla Restaurant: An Easter Egg decorating contest. Dinner special is a North American Easter dinner of Baked Ham
The North Sails Rigger arrived this morning to look at the standing rigging. Everything is closed the rest of the week so he won’t be able to give us our estimate until next week. Rick cleaned the deck before coming below and vacuuming for me. I did a little hand laundry and worked on an update to the web site. The update will soon be posted on the web site. It identifies what we think has worked well and what equipment we have changed or added. It’s going out to the web master soon and hopefully it will be of use to others.
We had lunch at the Ancla and returned to the boat for a siesta. The pool and marina this Easter week have been busier than during the Christmas and New Years holidays so we’re just laying low until we have our own quiet paradise back again.
It was another hot one! The temperatures seem to be a constant 98F lately. I did some more hand laundry and started washing walls (bulkheads). We had time for a siesta in the afternoon before going to the restaurant. I had a meeting to discuss the Treasure Hunt with Marie Elena. We planned the map and clues to be placed. While we were talking, Yusmeli came out of the kitchen and gave both Rick and me a hug and a thank-you gift. We thanked her and told her it was extremely thoughtful but that she shouldn’t have done it. We each received a hand made bowl and mug of pottery from the Santa Fe area of Venezuela. Later, Alex told me that each morning when I have had a coffee at the restaurant and insisted on paying, the money went to Yusmeli to help her save for these gifts. What can I say…
We had a lovely Venezuelan Easter dinner. It was a fresh fish (tuna) casserole baked with raisins and potatoes and a few other things, Marie Elena has promised to give me the recipe. The movie “Helen of Troy” was good but as usual, violent.
Rick worked on refinishing the wood on another hatch screen. I as usual
lately found some more hand laundry to do. While it was soaking I spent
the rest of the morning making signs and notes for tomorrow's treasure hunt.
We had a siesta in the afternoon and got ready for the Brazilian night.
The band arrived at 6PM and went up and down the docks and around the pool
playing. Everyone was certainly aware that they were here. The band
was really a rhythm band of drums and maracas. The music and the dancing
seemed very African. The meal was wonderful. It was fresh fish,
yucca, rice and a wonderful salad that contained pineapple and coconut.
The desert was a chocolate cake with cherries on top and custard on the side.
When we
called it a night, the guys claimed total exhaustion. Their heads
had been shaking all evening while trying to keep an eye on the unbelievable hip
movement involved in the Brazilian dancing.
We spent the morning working on the boat but during the afternoon we prepared for the treasure hunt. We printed extra maps and prize tickets and then while I rolled and tied the maps Rick cut out the tickets. Roberto, Rick and I hid all the prizes and clues all around the marina. The people that did participate in the hunt had a fun time but it was a poor turn out. Most of the cruisers went to a bullfight in Barcelona that started the same time as the treasure hunt. Marie Elena prepared another Venezuelan Easter dinner for those of us who stayed. Roberto brought out the big screen TV and we watched a movie in the evening. When the gang returned from the bullring they said they enjoyed the event but that six bulls were killed.
We had a nice breakfast and then I began the day by decorating Easter Eggs.
Rick typed a recipe for Tres Leches into the computer and then I worked on
translating it. The computer does an ok job of translating many things but
not recipes. I had to get this particular one ready for Susan (Pipe Dream)
before Tuesday when they are leaving for Trinidad.
Later in the morning, Andres, one of our favourite drivers stopped by with his daughters to bring me a gift. Once, when he had taken us shopping I mentioned that I had not been able to find a pineapple cutter. He found a nice one and gave it to me as a gift today. He is such a sweetheart.
Rick refinished some more wood on the hatch screens before lunch. My eggs were finished by lunchtime as well so Rick and I played dominoes in the afternoon. After dominoes Marie Elena asked if I would prepare a Bon Voyage card for Pipe Dream to be presented at dinner. I did that and burned a picture CD for Dana (Moonrise’s daughter) who leaves early tomorrow morning.
We returned to the restaurant for the Egg Decorating Contest at 5PM.
The eggs were very impressive and the judges had a tough job. It took them
quite a while to determine the winner and in the end there was a tie for first
place. Some of the eggs were so good they were almost like Ukrainian
decorated eggs. Mine got quite a few comments but I didn’t win anything.
I submitted a couple of eggs painted like the Venezuelan flag and another
decorated as Nemo the fish.
Dinner of sweet potatoes, flat beans, ham and pineapple was wonderful. Roberto served us all a glass of champagne to toast Bob and Susan (Pipe Dream) on a safe trip. It was a wonderful evening.
Before returning to the boat, Roberto arranged for a meeting with a catamaran tour boat operator and myself. We discussed different island tours that might be of interest to the cruisers and I agreed to announce them on the net starting tomorrow. (I’m not sure how I get myself into these things).
As soon as the net was over I went to use the phone and made an appointment for the rest of our physical. The doctor said we could have it today or tomorrow. I chose tomorrow. We then had a meeting with Jaime (our tour guide) who confirmed our bookings for next week. There were a lot of cruisers waiting to see Jaime this morning. There were three different groups leaving this week for a trip to Peru and meanwhile a state of emergency had been declared in Peru because of the mudslides. The rainy season there is normally over by the beginning of April but not this year. Two of the groups decided to still go but the other group is considering whether they would prefer to delay their trip for a few weeks. When we left Jaime, we had breakfast at the Ancla and then made some more phone calls before returning to the boat. Ralph and Karen (KaraDream) returned from a month sailing in the Golfo de Cariaco. Their engine was overheating and they had ripped their headsail a couple of times.
I declared this to be the last day to work on boat projects. My niece Heather and her boyfriend Grant are arriving this Saturday and we have doctors’ appointments, shopping, laundry and cleaning to do between now and then. So Rick literally ran back and forth thru the boat most of the day. He applied a last coat of Cetol to some wood. He removed and cleaned corrosion from some of the hinges on cupboard doors and last but not least he removed the silicone from around the tub but didn’t have a chance to apply the new. A little carryover for a day or two is ok. I had some more hand laundry to do and then I typed up more recipes and mainly just tried to stay out of Rick’s (the tornado’s) way. In the afternoon I made a large bowl of coleslaw for the potluck dinner. We had a nice evening and shared a table with Carole, Tom (Moonrise), Joan and Dan (Mainly).
It was another early morning. We had another 7AM doctor’s appointment to continue with the complete physicals we’re having. The doctors are very thorough here, we still have one more appointment after this. The physical examination cost us $5 U.S. while the electrocardiogram cost us an additional $5. I’m glad we are not paying for health insurance.
We left the clinic and picked up a few things we had ordered from a nearby store before heading to Plaza Mayor. There is a large pharmacy in the plaza where we took our prescriptions to be refilled. There really is no such thing as a prescription in Venezuela. You just identify what pills you require and they give you the number you request. Pills that cost us 5 cents in Canada 3 years ago cost us 1 cent a pill here and others that cost us 14 cents now cost us 6 cents. We purchased enough pills to last us another year.
When we returned to the marina Celine and Marcel (Allie Cat) was just pulling into dock. They were in Tortuga for a couple of weeks and returned with engine problems and ripped sails similar to KaraDream. I hope this isn’t a new trend. We all met for a light lunch at the Ancla. In the afternoon I had a short siesta while Rick finished off the last little bit of his current boat projects. The rigger came by with an estimate for new standing rigging. Since it isn’t urgent that we replace the rigging yet we will probably get a few more quotes before making a decision.
We had dinner at the Ancla and finished just in time for the Trivia Contest. There was a great turnout. The contest was to raise money towards a new addition to be built on a local school. Our team came in a solid third tied with two other teams.
The marina has become very quiet. A group left for Peru yesterday and another group left today. Bob and Susan (Pipe Dream) left for Trinidad. Soon the only occupied boats on this dock will be Duchess, Side by Side and Wind-Borne III. I went to the marina office in the morning and extended our stay until mid May. We had planned to leave on May 1st but we won’t be ready. I was also able to get a park permit for cruising in Mochima National Park. All of the out islands near Puerto La Cruz are part of the park. There is an interesting story associated with this permit. The law was created in 1992 that all cruisers visiting Mochima National Park were required to purchase a park permit valid for one year. This law was never enforced until a couple of months ago. All of a sudden, cruisers anchored at any of the islands between here and Mochima were given citations. There was no way to avoid receiving a citation because the permits could not be purchased. A price had not even been established. It wasn’t really a problem because there was no one tracking the citations either. This week everything was straighten out and the permits are now available ($1U.S. per foot) and the Park Official was in the marina today so I got one while the getting was easy.
While I was off the boat, Rick washed the deck. In the afternoon I rearranged things and tidied for our company who arrives this weekend.
We had dinner onboard.
This was the last of my 7AM appointments associated with our complete check up. So far we have both passed with flying colours and we’re waiting for only a few more results. After spending most of the morning at the Women’s Clinic we went to Plaza Mayor for lunch and afterward picked up a few groceries. We returned to the boat and I finished off a little hand laundry before having an afternoon siesta. Ralph and KaraDream joined us for dinner and the movie at the Ancla Restaurant in the evening.
Wouldn’t you know it, company arrives tomorrow and our fridge started acting up today. First thing in the morning we dug everything out of the cockpit locker and started checking things over. No leak was found so we added a bit of Freon. With things cooling down we went on to bigger and better things. Rick vacuumed and I washed the floor. The boat was clean and tidy by noon but the fridge appears that it will need a little more Freon. We decided to leave it as is until tomorrow morning so we have something to do other than pace the floor waiting for our company to arrive. In the afternoon, Duchess called to ask if we would try and help get her Pactor III working. Both Rick and I tried for a couple of hours but neither of us was successful. In the evening we had dinner with Ken and Carol (Columbine) at the Ancla Restaurant.
Unbelievable!! It hasn’t rained for almost 5 months and at 12:01AM on the day Heather and Grant arrive in Puerto La Cruz, it poured rain. We got a little wet before we actually recognized that it really was raining then we both ran around inside the boat and closed all the hatches and ports. The day was very relaxing, I played on the computer, we watched TV, had lunch at the Ancla Restaurant. Other than that, we just watched the clock, waiting until it was time to leave for the airport. It rained again at 2PM. I had been wishing for rain in Canaima so Heather and Grant will be able to go by dugout canoe to Angel Falls. I just hope that it rained there as well as here.
On our way to the airport a lot of the roads were flooded but we made it in
time to be on the rooftop to wave when their plane arrived. It was a small
plane so they picked up their bags and were out in 5 minutes. We had our
Venezuelan limo waiting for them, a 1977 Chevrolet Caprice. We arrived at
the marina with two tired and hungry guests so Rick put the bags onboard and we
all headed for the Ancla Restaurant. Celine and Marcel (Allie Cat) joined
us. During dinner, Roberto came by and gave all of the guys in the
restaurant Brahma (beer) promotional headscarves.
This meant that we appeared to be sitting at a table with a bunch of pirates. When we returned to the boat we unpacked and enjoyed Christmas in April. Poor Heather and Grant had carried more in their bags for us than they had packed for themselves. It was still raining so we had to sleep with the boat totally closed up. It was a little warm.
Everyone slept well regardless of the boat being closed. We were up and
finished breakfast in time for Heather and Grant to have a swim. They got
ready and went to find the pool. I followed shortly afterward to get a
picture of them having their first swim in the tropics. No such luck!
The water in the pool had turned green. The swim was postponed until the
maintenance people could fix it up.
We left at 9AM in a full van for our day in Los Altos. Although Heather
enjoyed it, Grant was in ecstasy. He loved the tropical scenery and
vegetation. Just as we stopped at a lookout point high on the mountain for
a view of the out islands, a heavy cloud rolled in and there was
nothing visible
over the water. We continued on and stopped first at the Hacienda Los Bucares where Hector, the owner gave us a tour and showed us the coffee and
cacao plants. We saw the bird condo’s which were diminishing because as
the chicks learn to fly the parents cut the nests away and let them fall to the
ground so the chicks couldn’t return. We saw a 200 year old Bucare tree
and learned how essential they are to coffee plantations. Heather picked a
cacao pod before we left. Normally Hector would allow us to cut a stalk of
bananas to take back to the marina but there weren’t any ready to harvest this
day. Our next stop was a ceramic pottery place and we saw the artist
working on a huge mosaic piece.
We were all getting hungry, so our next was the Restaurante Il Picolit.
Their regular menu was not available as they were serving a special holiday
meal. Monday is a holiday to celebrate the signing of independence in
Venezuela. When we left the restaurant I think everyone was ready for a
siesta but we continued on to visit other artisans before stopping at the Vista
Montana where we enticed the monkeys with treats but had to shoo the parrots
away so they would nip our toes. The macaws stayed up on their branch
while the mongoose tried to escape from his doghouse. We petted a donkey
and watched the Ocelot. During our previous visits Rick and I thought the
Ocelot was a jaguar but Heather corrected that misunderstanding. Our final
stop
was a visit to Carlos’ house where his wife had some home-made Italian ice
cream for us. Sitting on his back patio, the view across the water had
improved and we were able to see many of the islands and even see the shades of
the mountains on Margarita Island about 60 miles away. When we returned to
the marina we had a light dinner before returning to the boat to help Heather
and Grant to pack for Angel Falls.
We were up at 5AM and had a quick breakfast before leaving a little after 6AM. Leo our driver was already waiting for us. He took us to the bus depot and we waited until the Expressos Caribe bus to Ciudad Bolivar arrived. Heather and Grant already had their tickets and seat assignments so once we had them aboard the correct bus we waved goodbye and returned to the marina.
When we returned to the boat Rick immediately started installing all of the
spare parts that Heather and Grant had lugged down to us. We watched the
clock during the day and envisioned them on their boat trip up the Orinoco
River, their walk through the Colonial part of Ciudad Bolivar and a nice dinner
at the Hotel. We didn’t even bother with dinner ourselves just went to bed
early.
Rick had another Doctor’s appointment this morning at 7AM but he was finished and back at the boat before 8AM. We thought of Heather and Grant first thing this morning, they would have taken a flight from Ciudad Bolivar to the Indian Village of Canaima. In the afternoon, if they followed the same schedule as us they would be going by dugout canoe to view the waterfalls in the lagoon and walking under one of the falls before going for a hike through the rainforest.
I spent the morning rearranging things and tidied the boat again while Rick got the outboard motor running. The poor thing had been sitting unused for well over a month and wasn’t anxious to start. Rick cleaned and petted it and it began purring as normal. Later he just happened to mention that he wanted to have some new antifouling paint applied on the hull before we leave here. We could purchase our normal “Petit Ultima SR” for well about $200 U.S. per gallon or we could buy a Venezuelan paint “Ameron” for $40 gallon. Rick ran around and ordered the paint and got quotes from a couple of the yards for haul out. Late in the afternoon we went over to Allie Cat, Marcel wanted me to have a look at his Pactor III to see if it was connecting as well as ours. It was, so we moved off their boat and on to ours where Celine checked out a small drop leaf counter we have in the galley and Rick showed Marcel the antenna set up we have for the Ham radio. While we were on board I heard our fresh water pump go off a few times. I turned the system off until Rick could have a look at it later.
When Celine and Marcel left we went to the Ancla and found Leo and Blanca (Promesa) who had just returned from shopping. We sat with them for a while and then joined Rod, Marci and Stephanie (Windmiller) for dinner. Later when we returned to the boat, Rick started his search for the leak in the fresh water system. He found it in one of the connectors under the floor in the main salon. In no time he had it fixed and assured me we would have sufficient fresh water and would not sink before morning.
We had no idea where Heather and Grant would be today. The destination
of their trip up river in the dugout canoe would be dependent upon the amount of
water in the river. If it were sufficient they would travel all the way to
the base of Angel Falls otherwise they would continue along the main river to
Orchid Island and have an alternative amazing adventure.
Meanwhile Rick went for his final doctor’s appointment and past all tests with flying colours.
When he returned to the marina, we joined up with Celine and Marcel (Allie Cat) and took a taxi first to Barcelona where I had to pick up the copies my medical tests. That took less than 2 minutes and then we went to a marine store in Lecheria (between Barcelona and Puerto La Cruz). Rick and Marcel picked up a few things and before leaving Marcel asked the owner of the store if he knew of a graphic art place where he could have some vinyl lettering made for his boat. He couldn’t have asked at a better place, there was a vinyl-lettering place about 100 yards down the road. We looked at the clock and realised it was noon so the place would probably be closed until 2PM but it seemed like a good idea to go and find exactly where it was anyway. We got there and although it appeared closed, the sign said Abierto (Open) and as we tried to peer through the tinted windows we heard the buzzer to allow us to open the door. It took less than 15 minutes and the perfect lettering was displayed on a computer screen and the blue vinyl laid out for approval. Their boat name would be ready to be picked up later in the afternoon but Marcel paid for it and agreed to pick it up manana. We had lunch in a small Mexican place nearby. It wasn’t great but it didn’t cost much either. We walked from there to Plaza Mayor where Rick, Celine and I had our hair cut. Rick and Marcel have a difficult time leaving the plaza without having an Italian ice cream so that was our next stop.
We returned to the marina and Rick received an estimate from the yard at
Bahia Redonda for the cost of haul out and painting the bottom of the boat.
It was higher than the other yard so he’ll negotiate with them tomorrow because
we would prefer to stay at Bahia Redonda.
Just before dinner the paint distributor arrived and took our paint order. We have to deposit the money into the bank and our paint should arrive next week from Caracas. Tomorrow will be our first time inside a Venezuelan Bank it could be an all day event or an adventure. We’ll find out.
We had Happy Hour at the Ancla and greeted Gary from Calico Clam who we haven’t seen since Grenada. Lois was not with him, as she had to return to the States to look after her mother. We also said goodbye to Ken and Carole (Columbine), they fly home early tomorrow morning for six months.
We had dinner on board and went to bed early.
Heather and Grant were due to return tonight and we just relaxed most of the
day so that we would be ready to entertain when they arrived. In the
afternoon we took a taxi to the bank for our big adventure but unlike everything
we’ve read, there were no long line-ups. We walked in, made a deposit and
we were outside within less than five minutes. We returned to the marina
and continued to wait. It was about 6PM when we went up to the Ancla to
arrange dinner for later in the evening. The restaurant normally closes at
9:30PM or 10PM but it was movie night. Marie Elena promised to put aside
four dinners until we returned with Heather and Grant. Meanwhile we sat
with Joan and Dan (Mainly) and when the movie began (Cheaper by the dozen), we
watched it for a while. At 8:15 we went to the gate and had the guard get
us a taxi to the bus terminal. This was easier said than done because we
had a problem communicating. We called it the autobus depot, autobus
station, the word “terminal” just never came up. Finally I wrote the word
autobus and the name of the Bus Company on a piece of paper and everything
clicked. He understood what we wanted. We arrived at 8:40PM and had
the taxi wait for us. By 9:30PM the taxi driver left his car and came
looking for us. The bus finally arrived shortly after that. Heather
and Grant disembarked smiling. They started telling us about their trip in
the taxi and continued all through dinner. They had an amazing time but
there
hadn’t been enough water to make it to the base of the falls. When
we returned to the boat everyone was anxious to see the pictures before going to
bed, so it was almost midnight before things finally settled down.
According to Grant, we get up awfully early in the morning. He crawls
out of bed when our conversations get to loud for him to sleep. We had
breakfast and put on our bathing suits. We had arranged to take a trip to
some of the out islands on a motorised catamaran today. Stephanie (Windmiller),
Fred and Mary (Shades of Blue), joined us. It was a little after 9:30AM
when the cat “San Salvador” arrived to pick us up. There were a few other
people on board but it was a pretty small group in all.
Our first stop was
at the Piscina, which is a good snorkelling place between the Arapos Islands.
This was both Heather’s and Grant’s first time snorkelling. They did very
well. I think it’s easier for beginners to enter the water from shore but
both Heather and Grant just jumped in from the stern of the boat. We saw a
variety of fish and coral. Even though the sky was overcast, the Christmas
tree coral and feather duster worms sparkled with all their colours.
Stephanie found a bright yellow trumpet fish and pointed it out. Rick dove
for a couple of sand dollars for Heather. We left the Piscina and went to
dock at the Arapos Island for lunch in a local restaurant. We had a choice
of fish or chicken for lunch. Rick and Heather chose the chicken, which
was deep-fried. Grant and I had Dorado. During the meal
we had small
bright yellow birds almost like finches gathering near our table looking for
crumbs. The large iguanas came down the hill partway through the meal
looking for handouts as well. We shared a little of our lunch with them
while we snapped a few pictures.
After lunch we swam or truthfully, the women floated around in the water on
our inflatable floaters. Grant donned his snorkel gear and continued to
search underwater. Rick lay down in the sand under a palm tree and had a
nap. We eventually left the Arapos Islands and headed to the Island of
Chimana Segunda. There Heather and I floated ashore on our floaters.
Rick and Grant snorkelled ashore but only Stephanie and Mary swam over to the
reefs for a true snorkel. They reported that there wasn’t much other
than
some pretty schools of squid. By this time however both Heather and Grant
were honing their engineering skills by erecting a poor excuse for a sand castle
on the beach. There were a few large iguanas roaming along this beach
looking for handouts as well but another couple shared their lunch. Our
last stop after leaving this beach was at the island of Chimana Grande where we
pulled into the Bay of Silence. It was a mangrove lined bay with pelicans
perched on top of the mangroves watching us as we invaded their sanctuary.
It was a very quiet and peaceful bay that would have been perfect to just doze
off for a nice siesta. Most of us resisted the urge but Heather and Grant
although they fought valiantly against it, dropped their heads and closed their
lids as we travelled the last little way back to the marina. We climbed
ashore and then checked out the pool. It was open and the water was once
again sparkling clean. We rinsed the salt
off under the shower by the pool
and had a short fresh water swim. Heather and Grant referred to the pool
water as bath temperature. After a short swim, we took the soap and
shampoo and showered at the pool before leaving for Fiorca Mall where we had
Chinese food for dinner.
This was Grant’s last day so we had to squeeze a few things into one day.
It was 10AM when we left the boat by dinghy to travel through the canals to
Plaza Mayor. Heather and Grant found the canal interesting and loved the
houses. After walking around Plaza Mayor for a while, Heather asked if we
could return next week to do some serious shopping. We had lunch there and
afterwards Rick suggested that Heather and I return to the boat by taxi which
would be faster than by dinghy. He and Grant arrived at the
boat about 3
minutes after us however Rick said that they couldn’t have travelled as fast
with four people in the dinghy as he and Grant travelled.
Ann, who has helped me before, picked us up and drove us to a Scout rally.
On the way we saw some of the young scouts and leaders by the side of the road
looking for a lift. Ann circled around and returned to pick them up.
They all piled into the back of the pickup truck and off we went to the rally.
Heather and I thought we were going to a Girl Guide Rally. It was really
the Venezuelan Scouts, which are closely related and very similar to the Girl
Guides but are for both boys and girls. There are actually only three Girl
Guide groups in all
of Venezuela. The Scouts were very excited when the
learned that Heather was from Canada. There were enough of them that spoke
English that they were able to ask questions about both the Guides and Canada.
The younger group of children didn’t know where Canada was and the only
description that clarified the location for them was that Canada was close to
where Santa Claus lives. The youngest children sang a welcome song and
cheer to Heather their friend. After the cheer many of the other groups
came over and badge trading began in earnest. Heather had presented all of
the young scouts with badges as well as the leaders but the older scouts didn’t
want to miss out on this opportunity. They began cutting badges off of
their
uniforms so that they would have a badge to offer as a trade to Heather.
The whole afternoon was very enjoyable and having Heather there (with badges to
give away) made the rally a little more special for the scouts.
When we returned to the boat, Grant was anxious to have a game of dominoes
since he wouldn’t be here on Sunday when all the cruisers play. We
appeased him by playing half a game of Mexican Train. By then it was 6PM
and we wanted to go to dinner on Paseo Colon. So everyone scrambled and
got ready. We took a taxi to the far end on Paseo Colon and walked back
looking in a couple of tourist shops on the way. We arrived at a French
Restaurant, Chic-y-Choc, and had an extremely good meal. When we left the
restaurant we crossed the street and walked the opposite
direction (back to
where we came from) on the shore side of the street looking at all of the small
booths of jewellery and art. Although it was getting late there were still
many families with young children having a wonderful time driving the small
electric cars in a special area. We finally hailed a taxi and returned to
the marina so that Grant could pack.
The alarm was set for 5AM. I got up easily enough but Heather and Grant
seemed to have a very difficult time. When I finally got them into the
main salon for a bit of breakfast, I found that as soon as they finished eating
they both sort of just tipped over on the settee and fell asleep again. At
6PM I chased them out of the boat with Grant’s bags. We didn’t have to
wait long for the taxi and we arrived at the airport in lots of time for his
7:30AM flight home. Once he had checked in and gone through security we
headed back to the marina to rest and wait a while before going to the Ancla for
a leisurely second breakfast. Heather and I had Arepas with ham and
cheese, which is a very traditional breakfast in Venezuela but Rick, had an
omelette. After breakfast we returned to the boat and sent some email.
It was about 10PM by the time we went to the pool. After spending a while
in the water we sat in the shade and ordered lunch (hamburgers) at the pool.
We finished lunch just in time to change for dominoes. We had a fun
game, I came third and won a free
drink so I shared a fresh fruit punch with
Heather who’s score was unmentionable, it was so bad. We returned to the
boat and tried to read for a while but everyone was falling asleep.
Instead we went for a walk to force ourselves to stay awake until dinner.
We ate at the Ancla Restaurant, returned to the boat and we were all asleep by
8PM.
There was no rush this morning so we slept until 6:30AM. As soon as the Cruisers Net was finished we had a few phone calls and errands to take care of before going downtown. It was a little after 10AM when we walked out to catch a local bus. The purpose of the bus ride was to let Heather experience a local bus. Usually there is very little upholstery remaining on the seats, the exterior is partially intact and the salsa music is so loud that conversations are difficult. Of course today we experienced a bus with absolutely no problems at all. There was still upholstery on every seat and we had no background music entertain us.
We arrived downtown and
wandered through a few fabric stores looking for a new shower curtain with a
tropical fish pattern. We found one and continued walking along the street
inspecting the wares of the street vendors. We stopped in at Xanadu Marine
store not because we needed something but because Rick is not able to walk by a
marine store without entering. When we left there we went for lunch at a
small local restaurant across the street. It was a great place! We had an
executive lunch which included a bottomless glass of fresh fruit juice (we had
mango), a bowl of soup (we chose minestrone), a full meal (Heather and Rick had
Pabellón Criollo, Venezuela’s
National Dish I had chicken and pasta).
Coffee was included in the price of $7000 Bs ($2.30) per person.
When we left the restaurant we walked out to Paseo Colon to catch a taxi and
return to the marina for a swim. We changed and went to the pool before
remembering that it was Monday which is the day the pool is closed for cleaning
each week. We sat in the shade under the palm trees for a while but
eventually decided to get in the dinghy and crash the pool at Maremares Hotel
and Marina. We did exactly that and had a lovely afternoon in their pool.
We left Maremares and walked to the
Caribbean Mall where Heather bought herself
a Venezuelan style bikini. Everyone was hungry by 6:30PM so we crossed the
street to go to a sports bar that all the other cruisers have been raving about.
It was closed. Next door was an Italian restaurant that Rick and I had
been to a few times and liked. We sat on the patio and had pasta for
dinner. Heather and I had both decided we wanted a coke float, something I
haven’t had for a few years. We had worked out how to explain it to the
waiter in Spanish but an English speaking waiter arrived at our table to ask
about desserts. He didn’t know what a coke float was but when we explained
how to make it, he hesitated and repeated the instructions and then said “sure”!
We watched him through the window and when he took the two glasses containing
ice cream to the bar for the coke, all the
waiters crowded around to watch.
We could tell they were discussing us because a couple of the waiters turned
around and looked back at us laughing. Before we left the restaurant we
made sure that one of the waiters mixed one for himself and tasted it. He
did and shared it with another as well. We returned to the dinghy and had
a pleasant ride back to the boat.
We didn’t get moving as early as we had hoped but it wasn’t bad. Tim
and Pauline (Nanou) took us for a tour of their four bedroom, four and a half
bath condo they purchased at the marina overlooking the pool. It was to
die for. When we left the condo we went by dinghy to Aqua-Vi and confirmed
our haulout next month. It was after 11:30 AM by the time we reached Plaza
Mayor and many of the stores close for siesta between 12PM and 2PM
so we had to
hurry. Heather made one purchase before the stores closed and we stopped
for lunch. Lunch was excellent, she had a crepe, I had a fruit salad and
Rick had a Chicken Caesar Salad. After lunch we looked around for open
stores and found one that carried exactly what she was looking for. Her
souvenir shopping was complete so we went to the grocery store. I picked
up some fresh fruit for a big salad to take to a special Canadian Potluck
dinner. When we returned to the marina, Heather and I went for a quick
swim before preparing the salad. The Potluck dinner was a last opportunity
for our small Canadian group to be together for a while. Tomorrow, Karen
and Ralph (KaraDream) are returning to Canada until September. Marcel and
Celine (Allie Cat) will leave next week until August. Blanca and Leo (Promesa)
plan to be in Colombia when everyone returns so it’s unlikely we’ll all be
together again next season. We had a wonderful evening, since we couldn’t
all sit together at one table, the guys sat at one table and the women sat at
another. There were hilarious stories told at both tables.
It was 9PM when we returned to the boat to pack for our two-day trip to the caves.
We were up and ready to leave by 8:15AM. Potter, one of the taxi
drivers agreed to be our tour guide for a couple of days. He picked us up
a little after 8:30AM and we headed east. Our first stop was a roadside
vendor who sold baskets and homemade Venezuelan dolls. There was some
fruit for sale as well and when we asked about it we learned that one of the
fruits was a cashew. When we looked up, standing right beside us was a
cashew tree loaded with ripe cashews. We left taking a small bag of
freshly roasted cashews with us as a snack. Our next stop was the city of
Cumana, which was the first city founded by the Spanish in South America.
We toured the San Antonio Fort and
stopped at the Museum of Contemporary Art
nearby. It was a long drive from Cumana to the Miraflores park. When
we finally arrived at the park we found it almost empty. During the
weekends it’s difficult to find a parking spot but today there were only two
other vehicles. We were starved but the lady at the one and only
restaurant that was open said it would take her a while to prepare our lunch and
suggested we go for our hike and we could eat when we returned. We took
her advice (since there wasn’t anywhere else to eat) and started walking.
We crossed the river a few times sometimes with ease and sometimes with a bit of difficulty but we made it to the canyon that the locals call the secret door.
The river flows through the canyon with spectacular high walls before winding
down
through the forest. We went a little ways past the secret door to a
pool at the bottom of a waterfall where were could swim. A swim didn’t
appeal to any of us, as we were really hungry so we started our return trek back
towards food. On the way back we found a small baby mouse shivering on a
rock in the middle of the river. Rick tried a few different ways to rescue
him without actually touching him or getting bitten. In the end he
borrowed one of Potter’s socks and picked it up by it’s tiny tail and delivered
him safely to shore. Whether or not it was the right shore we’ll never
know. The poor little mouse may have to begin his river crossing all over
again.
After a nice barbecued chicken lunch we raced to Caripe. We wanted to
arrive before dark so we could be at the Guacharo Cave to watch the 18,000 echo
sounding
birds leave the cave at sundown. We arrived in lots of time and
since we were the only people there (on a Wednesday night), the guard took us
just inside the entrance of the cave to hear and see the birds as they exited.
It was very spectacular watching them gather and fly out in large groups.
Watching from inside the cave was a special treat because normally when there
are a lot of people, everyone must watch from out side the cave and it’s
difficult to see them leave looking into the dark cave. When viewed from
the dark of the cave looking out to the moonlit sky the scene was amazing.
We left the caves well before all of the birds had exited and went to our hotel in Caripe. We checked in and dropped the bags in our rooms. We were hungry again! We walked a couple of blocks down the street and found a nice Italian restaurant where we had pizza. After dinner everyone returned to their room for the night.
Rick, Heather and I were up early and went foraging for breakfast at 7:30AM.
The hotel did not have a restaurant. We told our guide who liked to sleep
a little later than us, that we would return for him at 9AM. We walked a
couple of blocks to Plaza Bolivar and had our first breakfast in a small
cafeteria. Heather had a hot chocolate and shared a chicken empanada with
me. Rick had his own empanada. When we left the cafeteria, we walked
a couple more blocks and found a bakery. Our second breakfast was eaten at
the bakery. Rick and I had an American style donut while Heather had a
guava Danish. We left the bakery and started waking back toward hotel when
we noticed Potter in a small bakery having a breakfast. It was only 8:30AM
but he was ready to go. When he finished eating we walked together to the
hotel, checked out and headed back to the caves.
After touring the small museum, we entered the cave with three local men as
part of our group. Our cave guide Benito, had just started explaining some
of the things we would see in the cave when one of the local men changed his
mind and decided he didn’t like being in the cave and left. The others
followed so our group consisted of just the four of us. We had sloppy and
muddy hike through the cave and although this was the second time for Rick and
I, we totally enjoyed it again. I believe Heather was a little in awe of
the Guacharo birds, the stalactites, the stalagmites and the columns. It
took a couple of hours to complete the hike so of course by the time we
finished,
we were hungry again. We stopped for lunch before beginning the
long drive back to the marina. We made a few short stops on the way to
take pictures, pick up coco frio (cold coconuts) to drink and a cachapa (corn
pancake with cheese) to eat. It seemed like a very long drive but we made
it back in daylight.
The bags were dumped on the boat and Heather and I quickly changed into our bathing suits for a swim in the pool before dinner. It was quite windy so the water felt much warmer than the air. It was just a short swim and then we changed again to go for dinner. Mary and Fred (Shades of Blue) joined us at the Ancla Restaurant. Although it was movie night none of us wanted to watch the movie, we returned to the boat and went right to bed.
Heather decided we were going to get up early and go to the “Aquafit” water
exercises in the pool at 6:30AM. I hadn’t participated with the exercise
group since before Christmas when it was dark at 6:30 in the morning. Rick
didn’t join us but Heather and I had a good time. After exercising we
returned to the boat for breakfast before heading up to the barbecue area.
In Venezuela this was Education Week and the little pre-school just outside of
the marina was trying to do some special things for the children. Blanca
(Promesa) and Judy (Gonzo II) arranged a barbecue and entertainment for the
children. A lot of the cruisers (including Heather and me) volunteered to
help out.
At 9AM we started slicing the hot dog buns and preparing the
area for the first group of more than 60 children between the ages of 3 and 5
years who were to arrive at 10AM. We watched them walk single file in
small groups down the street toward the entrance of the marina. They were
a little shy when they saw us but it didn’t take long and the clowns that were
to entertain them had them singing and clapping their hands. Later the
clowns did face painting and balloons while we started to serve the food.
By this time the children had become very relaxed with us to the point that I
was getting trampled for “photo” requests. They all wanted their picture
taken so that they could see themselves on the display of the camera.
After a lunch of hot dogs, pop, chupa chupas
(freezies), cake and coke everyone
gathered in a circle. One of the local companies (Trans Pacific Travel)
donated some toys for the children. The cruisers had donated enough money
that there were large loot bags for each of them to take away. When the
children left they were all laughing and saying gracias and adios to us.
We returned to the boat where Rick was ready and waiting for us to go for a quick lunch. There was just enough time after lunch for Heather to have a quick swim while I dumped the pictures from the camera to get ready for the afternoon group.
The afternoon group was just as cute and precious as the morning group but
with fewer of the really tiny children. The menu, toys and loot
bags were
identical for the second group but instead of clowns an inflatable-jumping
castle had been delivered. The children loved the castle and it help burn
off some of their energy. Although there were no clowns in costume, the
face painting took place to the delight of the children. It was almost 5PM
when we returned to the boat a little exhausted from the day of fun. Since
this was Heather’s last day we decided to go to The Sourdough Restaurant near
the Caribbean Mall for dinner. It was definitely an American style
restaurant. Even the menus were printed in English. After dinner we
walked next door to the Italian Restaurant (The Ancora) where we had taught them
to make Coke Floats earlier in the week. They all remembered us and the
Coke Floats. They laughed as they prepared three of them for our
dessert.
We took a taxi back to the marina and prepared things for Heather’s departure in the morning.
