Our boat was once again Grand Central Station. It seemed every time we turned around someone was knocking on the hull. I would probably be upset if no one ever came to see us but it would be easier if they didn’t all come on the same morning.
I was finally able to get a little sewing done. Rick went into the yard to check on our hot water heater. It was coming along nicely but not quite finished. We went up to the North Sails office and paid a deposit on the sail repairs that need to be done ($1200 US). When we returned to the boat, Orient Canvas arrived and presented their quote on a new dodger, bimini, sail cover and 4 winch covers ($1600 US). The price was right and our existing canvas isn’t going to last much longer so we gave them a deposit as well. I think we just might go broke saving money in Venezuela.
We had happy hour onboard but then went up to the Ancla Restaurant to join everyone for rib night.
There was no rush this morning. Rick had a doctor’s appointment (dermatologist) downtown and the other Rick (Second Lady) wanted to come with us. We left the marina together at 11AM. The biopsy was ready at the lab and of course I tried to read it before we gave it to the doctor. It looked good to me but I couldn’t read anything other than the word “sin” (without). Sure enough when the doctor reviewed it with us he said that there was no Basal Cell cancer left. They had removed all of it. Rick still has to return on Friday to have the stitches removed but that’s not a big deal.
We left Rick (second Lady) at the doctor’s office and went for lunch.
After lunch Rick and I walked quite a distance to pick up a service manual he
had left to be photocopied last week. We had to kill time for an hour
because it wasn’t anywhere near 2PM when we arrived so the store was still
closed. After picking up his copies we continued walking along the same
street to “CM” a grocery store. We didn’t need a lot of groceries but
somehow left with enough to fill the trunk of a taxi.
As soon as we arrived back at the boat, Rick helped me get the groceries
aboard then went to the yard to get our hot water heater. It looked great!
It was completely rebuilt and they even acid washed it and all of the plumbing
so it
sparkled. He attached the hose and turned it on full force.
There were no leaks at all. He wants to rewrap all of the plumbing
fixtures but it looks like we might be back in business. I meanwhile,
quickly started preparing Chili con Queso dip for 2 parties we were going to.
The first was a party thrown by Norma and Bob. Their boat is on the hard
and they are staying in the penthouse apartment in the marina complex.
Staying in an apartment was excuse enough for having a party. The second
party was at the Ancla Restaurant for Roberto’s birthday. It was huge and
a lot of fun. By 9:30PM we had attended both parties and we were fading quickly.
We said our good byes and returned to the boat.
Rick spent the morning re taping all of the brass fittings on the hot water tank and then prepared it to be painted. He was about to apply the rust proofing paint when the wind picked up. It had to be put aside until the next morning. Meanwhile I had a chance to get some more sewing done. I seem to be able to get only one cushion completed each day. I’m not sure if I’ve become very slow in the heat or if there have been too many interruptions.
In the afternoon, Rick went downtown with Diane (Destiny) to pay for a big order of antifouling paint. If we ordered it and paid for it today we got a great discount, so although we don’t plan to haul out for quite a few months yet. We have already ordered the paint.
We had dinner in the Ancla Restaurant as Marie Elena was serving her beer basted, roasted chicken, which I really enjoy. We stayed for the movie, which was “Meet the Fockers”.
I was able to finish sewing another cushion before we had to leave for Rick’s appointment to have his stitches removed. We were in and out of the doctor’s office by noon. We went for lunch before going to see another doctor whose hours were 2PM to 5PM and his office was within steps of where we were. It was great timing, he arrived at exactly 2PM.
Rick was able to get in and see him right away. He booked a check-up (colonoscopy) for next Wednesday.
It was 2:30 when we returned to the boat. The plan was to have a siesta
before going out this evening. Rick opened the fridge and found that it
had defrosted itself. The meat in the freezer was still frozen so we
rushed it up to Karen in the
Mini Mart. She let us put in her freezer
until we could determine the problem. It didn’t take Rick long. The
thermostat had been doing funny things yesterday and sure enough that’s all it
was. He adjusted the spring and we were back in business temporarily until
a new thermostat could be purchased. I left the food in Karen’s freezer
however because I didn’t have time to clean the fridge today.
It was 5:30PM so we went up to the restaurant for a snack before meeting Andres (our favourite driver) at 6:30PM for a special trip to the Carnival Queen Show. We have been in Venezuela long enough that we should know the difference between scheduled start time and actual start time of special events. The show was supposed to begin at 8PM. Andres had 3 vanloads of people to take to and from the baseball stadium where the show was held. We were in the first trip and it was our responsibility to save seats for the people in the next 2 trips.
Everyone arrived in plenty of time because the show didn’t start until a
little after 9:30PM. I was a little disappointed because I thought that
the judging would be for the best queen costume. It was really a beauty
pageant for Miss Carnival. The show itself was fun and there was some good
entertainment but we only got to see the very beginning. We left just
before 11PM and the first contestant (there were 12 contestants) was just
beginning the talent portion of the contest. We couldn’t stay later as
poor Andres still had 2 more return trips to make after ours.
It was the first Saturday of the month so the swap meet was held in front of the mini mart. Rick went downtown to pick up a new thermostat for the fridge while I went to the swap meet. No matter how hard I try, I always seem to find things I need at these events. Sure enough, someone was selling a Canon scanner. It was still in its original box, the price was right and it was just what I needed.
Rick returned with his purchase just as I was counting out the money to pay for my purchase. We returned to the boat and I helped (a little) installing the new thermostat. It really didn’t take very long. It was up and running again before lunch. It was then my turn to empty and clean the fridge. We were lucky that Rick made it to the store when he did. The stores close at noon today for carnival and most won’t open until Wednesday.
After lunch I was again able to sew one cushion cover before I called it a day and had a little siesta. We had dinner on board Rick cooked and made his favourite pasta dish.
Plan “A” was for me to sew all day. That changed when I borrowed a CD burner from Bill on Makai. Our internal CD burner is not working and before I hand the laptop over to anyone to fix I wanted to backup all my files. I did get some sewing done but not a lot.
Rick, reassembled the hot water tank in it’s stainless steel box. He sprayed insulating foam in the box but ran out. He can’t buy any until after Carnival when the stores open. It will give him something to do next week because he his still not supposed to be doing anything strenuous therefore even if he had enough foam to finish the job he couldn’t have installed the tank yet. It is definitely a strenuous job.
We went up to the restaurant for dinner but Roberto wouldn’t let us order our meal from the menu. He wanted to make us something special. He did! Our dinner was a large plate of wonderfully prepared huge shrimp.
Our computer is the cleanest it has ever been. I cleaned up the registry, broken shortcuts, cookies and anything else I could fine to clean. I ran a scan disk and defragged the hard drive. I am now ready for anyone to look at it, it’s so nice and clean.
I also got serious about sewing. I had a great production line going and finished 3 covers today. There was a carnival party at the restaurant in the evening, which we went to (without costume). There was a disc jockey, and a good crowd and dinner. It was a little loud or we were a little tired I’m not sure which but we didn’t stay long after eating.
The end is almost near. I thought I could finish with all this sewing today but I will need 1 more day. Rick polished stainless steel and socialised most of the day. He has been trying to stay out of my way and has been doing well at it. I know that as soon as I’m finished he is claiming the main salon and I will have to stay out of his way. He wants to apply some Cetol.
The weather forecast said that we might have some thunderstorms today. That would be unusual and difficult. I have been perspiring (I know women glow) like crazy while working down below in temperatures of 92+ degrees. If I had to close all of the ports and hatches it would be like a steam bath.
Well we didn’t get even a sprinkle of rain but there was an announcement on the VHF radio telling us that the airport in Caracas had closed due to weather conditions. I turned on one of the local TV stations to see if there was anything on the news. There sure was. A national emergency had been declared! It was all in Spanish so I could only get bits and pieces of the stories but I saw the pictures of flooding, mud slides, collapsed houses etc. It was terrible. We are only a 5 hour drive from Caracas and had no idea this was happening.
We had dinner onboard and while I was doing dishes, Roberto (from El Ancla) arrived and banged on the bow of the boat. Rick went to see what he wanted and here he had brought us a large container of ribs. It was rib night at the restaurant and we weren’t there so he brought the ribs to us.
All sewing is finished and I am almost ready to get out and enjoy the sun again.
Meanwhile as I was celebrating Rick was preparing for his colonoscopy that was scheduled for 5PM. He moaned and groaned every time that he had to drink the lemon flavoured Fleet. Eventually it was time to head into Barcelona to the clinic. We were in and out by 6:30PM and Rick received a totally clean bill of health. He had been given a muscle relaxant and wasn’t too energetic but he was starving after not eating all day. We returned to the marina and headed straight for the restaurant where he ordered lomito (filet mignon) with chocolate cake for dessert.
I cleaned and oiled the sewing machine before storing it away and then putting some order back into the boat. I tidied and Rick vacuumed. The place was starting to look liveable again. We stopped for lunch and then we both had a siesta.
During the afternoon we went over to Plaza Mayor and picked up a few things we needed. It was happy hour when we returned to the marina. We were on our way up to the restaurant when we bumped into Bill (Makai).
He and Sharon were looking for us so we joined them for dinner. None of us stayed for the movie we just returned to our boats for the evening.
I finished off cleaning inside the boat while Rick worked in the cockpit and topped up the foam insulation around the hot water heater.
We had the rest of the day available to do whatever we wanted but…. Rick is still taking antibiotics and has to stay out of the sun. We therefore just relaxed, read and watched TV for the rest of the day.
Joan (Mainly), Irene (Distant Drummer) and I went downtown to the Chinese store that Mary Elena had taken me to a few weeks ago. Rick came along so that we could have the taxi drop him off on the way but we talked him in to coming along with us. Joan was extremely pleased with items available in the store. I bought a couple of large bags of dried shitakie mushrooms. Joan bought mushrooms, rice vinegar and a huge jar of Skippy super crunch peanut butter. We all spent much more money than we had expected.
We all made our way through town, stopping at a hardware store so Irene could purchase a new wood chisel. It’s difficult to try and translate things like wood chisel into Spanish and most hardware stores have their entire inventory behind locked doors. It took a few tries and we were brought sanders and planers. Eventually after Irene drew a picture, they brought out the wood chisels.
We walked a little further and then separated and went our own ways.
Rick went to a refrigeration store and we went to the fabric stores. The plan was to meet up with Rick at a restaurant when we were finished shopping. He was just picking up spare parts and was so fast that we were in the first fabric store on the 4th floor when he found us. He patiently tagged along as we went store to store. We also needed some notions (thread and zippers) which are sold in notion stores not fabric stores. So we raced from store to store to beat the 12PM deadline when all stores close for the day on Saturday. We finished in good time. I came away with more fabric (after just storing away the sewing machine) to make some throw cushions to blend with our new settee covers.
We all had lunch at a local restaurant, El Gran Caney Porteño before returning to the marina. When we arrived back at the boat it was perfect timing for an afternoon siesta.
Dinner was on board and we spent the evening reading.
We spent most of the morning in the restaurant with the majority of everyone else in the marina having Marie Elena’s famous eggs benedict for brunch.
The afternoon was spent onboard the boat with George from Pyewacket who is a computer guru. He came to help us trouble shoot a problem with our internal CD burner. We checked software and hardware and it appeared to be a hardware problem but we are going to borrow one of Makai’s laptops later this week and swap the burners to find out for sure.
We had a nice fish dinner on board.
Normally we would have pancakes or bacon and eggs for breakfast on Valentines Day but we’re trying to improve our eating habits so I made rolled oats with raisins instead. Although it sounds pretty boring it wasn’t bad.
Rick went to the marine store with Bill (Makai) while I took the sewing machine back out of storage. I never got to use it as I spent most of the morning onboard Wombat of Sydney gabbing with Mike and Lynn.
In the afternoon I took a few minutes to cut out the fabric I purchased for new throw cushions. That’s all I got done because it was siesta time.
After our siesta we got ready to go to a Valentines Day party at the Ancla Restaurant. It’s a good thing we went early as they ran out of tables. There was a live band, special Valentine cocktails, beef or chicken stroganoff with cake for dessert.
It was a beautiful day, hot but with a lovely breeze. Rick pulled the mattress out of the aft cabin and tackled the job of re-installing the hot water tank. I set up all of my sewing mess and made three new throw cushions. We both finished both projects with time enough for an afternoon siesta.
It was rib night so we went to El Ancla for dinner. The ribs were not up to par tonight and we could tell Marie Elena was upset because of it.
She explained that the place where she normally buys the ribs didn’t have any, as they haven’t been able to receive their shipments. The main highway between Puerto La Cruz and Caracas has been closed due to the flooding and mudslides last week. We enjoyed the evening anyway.
After dinner, George (Pyewacket) came over to swap the CD burner from Makai’s computer into ours to test his theory of a hardware problem. We didn’t have the right screwdriver to get the burner out of Makai’s laptop so we gave up. I’ll take ours into a repair shop later this week.
Rick was anxious to get the computer fixed so we took it into a repair shop not far from the marina. They checked a few things and then tried a different brand of CD. Although I had tried 2 different makes of CD’s and the burner wouldn’t work when they tried their brand of CD it worked fine. The repairman told me that our laptop was just very particular as to which type of CD’s it liked.
We left the computer place and went to the Fiorca Shopping Centre.
Although we don’t normally buy our groceries in this plaza I thought they might have a few hard to find items that I was looking for. They ended up having those items and more. We found whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, whole-wheat flour, and a lot of natural fibre products. Rick even found a bottle of Soft Scrub, which is almost impossible to find in Puerto La Cruz. When we were leaving the store, the boy who bagged our groceries remembered us, even though we don’t shop there often. He took our groceries outside in front of the store and ran out of the shopping centre parking lot to the street where he waved down a taxi. When the taxi pulled up in front of us by the store, he also remembered and told the taxi to take us to Bahia Redonda Marina. I guess once in a while it pays to look like a gringo.
Back at the marina, we were pushing our groceries in the cart towards our boat when our friends David and Lenora (Midnight) pulled up in their dinghy. They arrived yesterday but there were no slips available at Bahia Redonda so they went into Maremares. I had a call from Don on Texas Reb who is looking after a slip on our dock that is available for a couple of weeks. He offered it to Midnight. Then we went to see Mike on Wombat of Sidney who is in a private slip and leaving within a couple of weeks. He was willing to let Midnight use his slip while he was away.
That worked out perfect! They will move their boat over to our dock tomorrow. Meanwhile, I put the perishable items in the refrigerator and we all went for lunch at the restaurant.
In the afternoon Rick put the dinghy in the water and I had just enough time to put the remaining groceries away, have a NICE WARM shower, and change for the evening. We went by dinghy over to Maremares to visit with David and Lenora. We also attended the manager’s cocktail party and then walked with David and Lenora to the Ancora restaurant across from the Caribbean Mall. We weren’t there very long when Cliff and Orma (Skylark) arrived with their guests. Cliff’s sister and her son had been visiting and this was their last night. We had the waiter move another table next to ours so that we could all sit together. It was a very enjoyable evening and quite late when we finally climbed into our dinghy for the return trip home.
Our friends Lenora and David (Midnight) moved from Maremares to Bahia Redonda this morning. Tom (Moonrise) and Rick were in their dinghies to help Arnaldo (Dockmaster). Dan (Mainly), Don (Texas Reb) and I were standing on the dock to help with the lines. They docked easily and then settled in to make themselves at home.
Lenora loaned us a big stack of DVDs so rather than have an afternoon siesta today we just relaxed and watched a movie.
At 6PM we met at the security gate with Sharon, Bill (Makai), Lila, Rick (Second Lady) to go downtown for a going away party for Susan, Don and little Evan. Don’s job is finished with the oil company and they are going to be leaving this weekend. Susan picked the restaurant and it was perfect. It was a small family-run Arabic Restaurant. They served us a mixed platter of many different things that we all loved but have no idea what many were in English or Spanish. While we were eating the waiters/ family/owners all entertained and played with Evan so that we could all enjoy the meal undisturbed. I could see why Susan likes coming to this restaurant.
I took things slow and easy this morning. Rick however ran around like a crazy person working on multiple jobs all at the same time. His most frustrating was the fresh water cooling system. He drained all of the antifreeze and flushed the system when he removed the hot water tank. He measured all of the liquid that he took out but now when he is trying to replace the liquid he has only been able to pour just over half the same amount. He has run the engine and left it to sit for a few days but still the level indicates full. I had a few suggestions but being from a member of the “Pink group” they weren’t taken seriously.
In the afternoon we went to Plaza Mayor by dinghy and took a taxi from there to La Cava (a butcher) in Lecheria. I bought some chicken and we grabbed another taxi back to Plaza Mayor. There were a few groceries that I hadn’t been able to get the other day so we stopped in Unicasa to pick them up.
When we returned to the boat, I had all of the ingredients (finally) to put together a recipe I received from Lenora (Midnight) for Lemon Spiced Olives. We won’t know if I got it right until tomorrow, as it has to sit overnight.
We joined David and Lenora for Dinner at the Ancla. Irene and Frank (Distant Drummer) were sitting at a small table by themselves so we had them join us as well.
Late in the day I received a note that a favourite Aunt of mine passed away. I had always called Aunt Dot my second mother so it was a very sad time for me but I believe she was ready.
I made a recipe this morning that we had never tried before, “Minnesota Wild Rice”. It contained wild rice, onions, celery and mushrooms. The wild rice took quite a while to cook but it took even longer when the stove ran out of propane. I was still able to have it finished in plenty of time for lunch.
Now that he is feeling so much better, Rick is again running around like a crazy person. He spent the morning cleaning and polishing the hull.
After lunch we went by dinghy to Maremares to meet Barbara and John Abbott. Barbara and John are Americans that have been living in Venezuela for almost a year. John works for one of the large oil companies in El Tigre. El Tigre is inland, half way between here and Ciudad Bolivar. Every couple of weeks they come to Puerto La Cruz and spend a weekend at a resort. Barbara found our web site and contacted me so that we could get together.
We immediately recognised John and Barbara sitting by the pool. Barbara had sent us a photo for just that purpose. We relaxed and talked with them for a while and then the four of us climbed into our dinghy for the trip through the canal back to Bahia Redonda. Cliff and Orma (Skylark) saw our dinghy getting a little low in the water and knowing that it’s usually a wet ride back, offered us the use of their dinghy. It was certainly a nice offer but we decided to brave the elements. John and I were sitting forward in the dinghy so of course we got wet while protecting Barbara and Rick from the splashes. It wasn’t really all that bad. We arrived at Bahia Redonda and went to El Ancla for a drink before giving them a quick tour of Wind-Borne III.
Eventually we set out in a taxi and went downtown and walked around for a while. There really wasn’t anything that anyone wanted to buy but it is always fun roaming around the vendor’s stalls just to see what they are selling. We finished our walk just across the street from El Moroco Restaurant. We had a lovely meal there and time for more conversation.
It was dark but not late when we left the restaurant so we took a taxi the few blocks to Paseo Colon. It was Saturday night so the vendors had their tables set up on the shore side of the street and hundreds of families with their young children had already arrived for their Saturday evening out on Paseo Colon. When we were ready to leave we hailed two taxis. John and Barbara returned to Maremares and we returned to Bahia Redonda. It had been a nice day and we hope to keep in touch.
Back at the marina there was a Saturday night party going on. There was a good crowd and a lot of noise that continued long after we were asleep.
We skipped the Eggs Benedict at the Ancla this morning because they are not normally served until 10AM. We left the marina shortly after 10AM in the dinghy. The Anzoátegui Symphony Orchestra was giving another free concert at Maremares and it started at 11AM. We arrived a little early and looked around for Barbara and John. They had said they might visit Los Altos this day and I guess they did because we didn’t see them. The concert was very good. The Rotary Club of Barcelona presented the concert in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Barcelona club and Centennial anniversary for the Rotary Clubs around the world.
We left Maremares to head back to Bahia Redonda but on our way we met up with Rod and Marci (Windmiller) who were accompanying Tom (Scrammin) who was having problems with his outboard. We hung in with them as well in case Tom needed a tow. The outboard stalled on him many times but he was able to make it back to his boat without assistance.
In the afternoon, Rick worked a little longer, this time on the rub rails before taking some time off to go to the pool. We had happy our in the pool and later went for dinner with Sharon, Bill (Makia), Susan, Don and little Evan. This was our final chance for dinner together before Susan and family leaves for Chicago tomorrow.
On the weekend we learned of a little orphan boy who needs some help. Jeffrey (our Trivia MC) is leaving at the end of the month and we have company arriving on Wednesday. So if we were going to do something we had to do it fast. I announced on the net in the morning that we would have a Trivia contest to raise money for Nelsor (the little boy) who needs eye surgery and some help in paying for a special school he must go to. His eyes are badly crossed affecting his sight and learning abilities but the doctors believe they can correct the problem with surgery.
Next I had to prepare some posters to put up around the marina to notify those who don’t listen to the net.
Then it was time to start cleaning the boat. We have company arriving in a couple of days and I wanted to wash walls and louver doors etc. I got quite a bit done but then had to stop to make lunch. I’m into cooking this week so for lunch I made Ratatouille.
In the afternoon rather than having a siesta, I worked on updating some pictures. Rick went downtown to look for a new bulb for the gas line to the outboard motor. The sun has just about destroyed the rubber on ourexisting one.
It was Monday night and although the winds had been howling at almost 30 knots we decided to go to the potluck dinner. It is held in the barbecue area that is up a flight of stairs on a patio overlooking the sea so we knew we would be blown away. I made Flemish cabbage to share and stuffed some chicken breasts with apple and cinnamon. Instead of gravy, the recipe called for apple cider heated and thickened with cornstarch. It was a nice change and a perfect barbecue dish.
We, along with everyone else, started to get chilled by the wind at about 7:30PM so returned to the boat for the evening.
We finished cleaning the boat in the morning. Everything is as clean as it’s going get for our company.
In the afternoon, Rick and I took a taxi to Plaza Mayor where we both had our haircut. While we were there, I also took time out for a manicure and pedicure. It was 6PM when we arrived back at the marina so we quickly dumped our things and raced up to the restaurant. David (Midnight) was already there, reserving a table for the gang from Surprise and us. Just before the Trivia contest started Sharon and Bill (Makai) arrived and joined us. It was so crowded that there were no tables or chairs left in the restaurant. People were sitting on the wall of the flowerbed and standing. The Trivia contest was a great success and we raised more money than we expected and already had just about enough for the eye surgery. Winner of the Trivia contest and trophy was Karen’s team called “The Mini Mart Team”. This is about the fifth straight win for them. They are definitely the unbeatable champions in Puerto La Cruz.
In the morning I went to La Cava and picked up some nice lomito for the
upcoming Monday night potluck dinner. While I was gone Rick washed the
deck. In the afternoon, I had a short siesta but before long it was time
to head to the airport to pick up our friend Pam who was arriving at 6:40PM from
Canada.
Rafael drove us and we sat in the upstairs restaurant and had a beer while we waited for the flight to arrive. She was a few minutes late, but for Venezuelan standards, she was on time.
The highlight of the day was dinner at the Ancla. I had asked in
advance that Mary Elena and Roberto prepare paella for 8PM. We arrived
back at the marina just before 8PM and went directly to
the restaurant.
Roberto and Alex were there and they presented the wine and the meal
beautifully. Then as Alex was just about to serve, Roberto came over to
our table with a little musical flute-like recorder to entertain us. We
had some good laughs but Rick told him not to give up his daytime job.
The paella was one of the best we have ever had. As we were still eating, David and Lenora (Midnight) arrived with Rod, Rod junior and Curt (Surprise). They pulled over another table and joined us. Although it was a very enjoyable evening we left them and returned to the boat.
Pam who was supposed to be very tired by this time was wired. We talked and looked at pictures until midnight when everyone finally admitted that it was time to call it a day.
Rick and I were up at our normal 6AM but the door to Pam’s room was still
closed and no noise was coming from there. At 6:45AM I knocked to see if
she wanted to join me for a run to the market as we had discussed the night
before. There was no reply so I left without her. Rafael met me at
the security gate and took me to the fish market on Paseo Colon so I could buy
some nice fresh huge shrimp for lunch today. The little vegetable stand
wasn’t open yet so we then made a quick stop at the vegetable market where I
picked up a couple of avocados to go with them.
I was back at the boat by 7:30AM and Pam had just woken up. Rick
prepared his wonderful poached eggs and bacon for breakfast. After
breakfast, I kicked the two of them off the boat and they went to the pool while
I cleaned and prepared the shrimp. It didn’t take me long and then I
joined them at the pool.
Lunch was a shrimp salad served in individual avocado halves. We all enjoyed it and Pam thought it was quite decadent.
After lunch, we all jumped into the dinghy and went for a canal tour that took us to Plaza Mayor. The first stop in Plaza Mayor was the 4D Ice Cream shop. The dish of ice cream was justified, as we hadn’t had dessert with lunch. We walked around the mall and finished up in Unicasa where we picked up a few groceries. The trip back to the boat was not bad. Sometimes the afternoon wind whips up the waves and it can be a wet ride back but not today.
It was Happy hour when we returned so we sat in the cockpit having snacks and
talking to everyone as they walked by our boat.
Dinner was chicken breasts stuffed with apple, basmati rice and fried sweet plantains. We had fresh strawberries and bananas for dessert. It was quite late by the time we finished eating and since everyone’s eyelids were drooping we were all in bed and asleep by 10PM.
There was no rush this morning. We relaxed over a breakfast of pancakes before heading for the pool. Alex the waiter from the restaurant brought us some mixed fruit frappes to sip while we cooled off in the water.
After lunch the three of us went downtown. The first stop was a
souvenir shop where Pam bought herself a T-shirt. We roamed through town
and met a couple of people we knew. It was eventually time for a rest stop
so we went to El Gran Caney Porteno Restaurant for a beer. Our timing was
perfect as we had no sooner arrived and sat down when a small typical Venezuelan
band began to play. The band consisted of two men with guitars and great
voices. Even the waiters we enjoying the music and quietly singing along.
When they had finished their set we moved on and went to my favourite bulk food
store for some dried fruit. Although it was still a little early we went
to El Morocco where we were to meet Sharon, Bill and Susan for dinner.
Rick ordered a pitcher of sangria, which we drank while waiting for our friends
to arrive.
When they arrived and before ordering our meal we asked the waiter to bring
us only cassava, no bread in the breadbasket. He seemed extremely pleased
that we would ask for the local food rather than bread and brought us a huge
stack. When we finished the first stack he brought us another. This
time he brought a bowl of heavy cream and showed us how to enjoyed the two
together.
When dinner was finished we walked back to Paseo Colon and joined the locals who were all strolling along the sidewalk checking out the wares of the vendors who had set up their stalls side by side along the street.
We were finished long before Makai so hailed a taxi and returned to the marina.
Breakfast was just cold cereal this morning. We were up early and at
the security gate by 9AM for a tour of Los Altos. Sharon, Bill, Susan (Makai),
Steve (Nonesuch), Lenora and David (Midnight), joined us. Candy the driver
picked us up right on time and we headed through Puerto La Cruz and up the
mountain into Los Altos. Our first stop was Los Bucares Hacienda where
Carlos (Charlie Alpha) our guide was waiting for us. He filled in for
Hector who was away and took us on a tour through the Coffee and Cocoa
plantation. He let Bill cut a whole bunch of bananas from the plant to
take back to the marina with us.
When we left Los Bucares we stopped at a small pottery place that creates
tiles and mosaics. We looked around but the artist was not in today.
The next stop was Carlos’s house where we took pictures of the amazing view
overlooking some of the Mochima Park out islands. When it was time for
lunch we walked across the street and down the road a little way to the Picolet
Restaurant. This is one of my favourite restaurants and Pam seemed to fall
in love with it as well. We had a lovely lunch and then walked back down
the road to Tai Pottery. There the artist demonstrated the use of the
wheel and explained the firing process before he let us purchase some souvenirs.
Just across the road was Chepina, the restaurant, nursery and doll maker.
Chepina was very busy in the restaurant today so her mother
demonstrated how to
make cornhusk and banana leaf dolls. We also took a stroll through her
gardens and photographed many of her beautiful plants. Our next stop was
not within walking distance and was up a road that really needed a four wheel
drive vehicle rather than the Mercedes Van that we were in. It was tough manoeuvring and although Lenora thought that we were all about to die, we made
it safely up to the Neblina studio. The artist there worked with wood
making very interesting tropical fish.
Last but not least was a stop at a small outdoor shop that sells a sample of work from many of the local artists in the area.
It was a reasonably quick trip down the mountain. We arrived back at the marina just in time for dinner. Lenora and David joined us for a relaxing dinner at El Ancla after a busy day playing tourist.
I had asked Marie Elena for an early Sunday morning eggs Benedict breakfast. Normally Sunday brunch is served between 10AM and 11AM but we wanted to eat before then as there was a charter boat coming to pick us up at 10AM. We were served at about 20 minutes before 10AM and the boat had already arrived and was waiting for us. Breakfast was good and we were all impressed with how fast Pam (a very slow eater) was able to down it all.
When we got aboard the boat there was a nice fruit buffet waiting for us.
We had chartered this boat before and had a great time. The boat is a
power catamaran named San Salvador. The sea was beautiful and flat and
there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Sharon, Bill and Susan (Makai) joined
us for the trip. We all sat on the bow where both the spray and wind
helped cool us from the heat of the sun. After about 20 minutes into the
trip both guests covered their bodies to keep from frying in the sun. Our
first stop was at a new beach called Punta de la Cruz. The tables and
umbrellas had only been added to this beach within the last five months.
It didn’t look very impressive as we approached but we decided to see if there
was much on the reef.
I’m so glad we did! It was one of the better
reefs in the area. The captain normally would have taken us to Chimana
Segunda but it is always so crowded on the weekend that he recommended we try
this place. There was a good variety of beautiful coral. The fish
were small but plentiful and again there was a good variety. We snorkelled
for about 45 minutes and the climbed back aboard and headed to Isla Arapos where
the catamaran pulled right up to shore in front of the restaurant to place our
order. Once we had ordered our lunch, the captain backed the boat out and
went around the corner to the Piscina. The Piscina has beautiful clear
turquoise water with a lot of Christmas tree and feather duster worms, which
cover all the coral and glow, like little gems. After snorkelling there
for a while we were all extremely hungry. The boat dropped us off and we made
our way up to the restaurant who were ready for us. Lunch was very good.
Rick and Pam had chicken while I had the calamari. Salad, sweet plantains
and drinks were included with the meal.
After lunch we went to the beach where some chose to lounge under a palm tree
and others went in for another swim.
It was 3PM when we climbed aboard for our trip back to Puerto La Cruz. We again all sat up front to watch for dolphins but they didn’t want to be found this time.
When we arrived at the marina Pam and I went for a swim in the pool while Rick opened up the boat.
We didn’t have a lot of time to shower, change and throw something together for sundowners aboard Midnight at 5:30PM. When we arrived and climbed onboard Midnight we learned that Lenora had prepared a wonderful dinner for us. David and Lenora are wonderful hosts and although it was long past our bedtime none of us was anxious to leave. It was well after 10PM when we returned to our own boat.
While walking back along the dock we ran into a lot of the cruisers dress in their glad rags for the Oscar night party. The Ancla had provided a special dinner and shown Million Dollar Baby on the large screen TV prior to the Oscar presentations. A lot of the cruisers stayed for the movie but left when the presentations were about to start at 10PM (our time). Back on board we could hear the cheering and laughing from the crowd that stayed.
February 28, 2005, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela,This was Pam’s last full day. I had planned a day of relaxation by the pool and forgotten that it was Monday. The pool is always closed for cleaning on Mondays. I suggested going to the pool at Maremares but both Pam and Rick chose to sit and read in the cockpit. We did stroll around the marina a little but that was about it until dinnertime. I made a bean salad for the potluck dinner in the barbecue area. There was a good crowd at the barbecue and therefore a nice selection of dishes to try. We left the barbecue around the 8PM but it was 11PM before Pam and I finally went to bed.
