We were up a little after 5AM. Rick made coffee and we all just had a
dish of yoghurt for breakfast. Rafael picked us up a 6:30AM for the drive
to the airport. We saw Pam in through security and then left to return to
the marina. When we returned to the boat, Rick and I had some toast and
listened to the cruisers net before going back to bed. It was 10AM when I
awoke and I had no idea how long Rick had been awake but he was already working
on the engine.
I could hear Rosetta from the next boat (Spice) calling me but I couldn’t get out of the boat because the stairs had been removed. She invited us over for coffee and a snack. While we were there the guys started talking about Rolph’s engine problem so the next thing we knew the guys were down below and had the engine pulled apart.
It was after lunch when we returned to our own boat. Rick replaced the alternator with the one that had finally been repaired. He wanted to make sure that it worked. After he did that he added some more coolant to the engine. Alex, one of the mechanics had told him how to bleed the system. While he was doing this I caught up on some of my emails which I had been ignoring for the last week.
We had originally planned to have dinner onboard but Ralph and Karen (KaraDream) returned to the marina today and stopped by to see if we were going to the Ancla for rib night. A little later David (Midnight) rattled our anchor to ask the same thing so…. we went for ribs and had a great time.
Today both Rick and I slept a little longer than usual and it was nice.
I’m not sure how we managed to sleep as late as we did because there was no wind and it was hot. The temperature today was 97 degrees and we had to wait until almost 4PM before there was even a little breeze.
Lenora (Midnight) and I went to the large municipal market downtown and the fish market with some other cruisers. We were there and back by 10AM. I bought lots of nice fresh veggies for a stir-fry and 2 kilos (about 4 pounds) of nice fresh jumbo shrimp. As soon as I returned to the boat I washed and prepared all of the vegetables and the shrimp.
When everything was nicely stored in the refrigerator I settled down for a short siesta. Rick meanwhile had been stripping the wood on the rub rails. He has decided that he would like to try leaving the rub rails bare (without Cetol) for a while. We’re not sure if we will like the bare wood effect but the rub rails need a lot of care to keep them finished.
At about 3:30PM Rolph and Rosetta (Spice) came over to join us for lunch/dinner. I served the nice fresh shrimps, stir fry and rice.
Rosetta who is vegetarian wanted to try shrimps and Rolph who is not vegetarian always enjoys an opportunity for some meat, fish, poultry or seafood.
When we had finished lunch and everyone went back to their chores, I quickly took our passports into Trans Pacific to be renewed. It’s almost unbelievable that we have been here three months already.
Things were a little hectic today. We took the dirty laundry in first thing in the morning. Rick worked on stripping some more of the wood on the rub rails. When I checked the email, I learned that we were invited as special guests to attend a gala event in Toronto. Not only were we invited but our previous employer, Bell Canada, had offered to pay for our flight and a couple of nights in a hotel. Now the last time Rick went home was in December 2001. The last time I went home was September 2002. The two of us had never made the trip home together. We were so excited that I had to call and email many of our family and friends.
Once we accepted the invitation I had to start planning what we would wear. This was going to be very difficult because it is to be a formal event and although we have clothes at home, we know nothing would fit.
Rick has lost weight and I have gained weight. All of a sudden, our schedule is tight! I had been planning a menu for the end of next week when Kelly arrives. She wants to go sailing for a couple weeks so I wanted to provision before she arrives. Now in addition to that we are planning to leave within days of her leaving after our sail. This was too much stress!!
We decided to go to the pool and relax for a while in order to reduce the stress level. When we returned to the boat, I continued phoning and emailing.
Dinner was a beef stir-fry that allowed me to use up the remaining fresh vegetables I purchased yesterday.
We awoke early and the excitement hadn’t died. I checked my email first thing in the morning to see if there were any replies to my messages. There were a few. I continued planning and making lists. In the afternoon, Marie Elena drove us over to her house so that Rick could try on a few of Roberto’s suits. It was amazing how well they fit. She provided him not only with the suit, shirt, tie, socks and shoes but also a handkerchief for his pocket. He is ready to go. Tomorrow we will try to see what we can find for me. I am not the perfect size so it may be a little more difficult.
Alex (a waiter at the Ancla Restaurant) invited Bill, Sharon, Susan, Rick and
I to his house for dinner. Really he invited us to his parents home.
They live very close together but he wanted his mother to make Pabellón Criollo
for us. Pabellón Criollo is the Venezuelan national dish and Alex said
that his mother makes it better than anyone.
He picked us up at 7PM and we drove to his parent’s home. They lived
reasonably close to the marina in house high up on a hill in Puerto La Cruz.
To get to their house we walked up some very uneven crumbling concrete steps and
then climbed the hill on rocks and dirt. The path changed back to steps
for a while and then just plain earth. After we had made our way up to the
house we were rewarded with an amazing view of Puerto La Cruz. The house is
built on such a steep hill that there are no windows in the back rooms as the
whole back of the house is built against the hill. Alex’s whole family was
there to greet us. He has four sisters, an Aunt with 3 young sons and his
parents. They are a
very close family as are most Venezuelan’s.
Everyone welcomed us into their home and although they didn’t speak English and
our Spanish words could all be listed on one piece of paper, we had a wonderful
time. We ate dinner in the dining room with Alex but the rest of the
family ate elsewhere. The dining room wasn’t large enough for everyone.
The Pabellón Criollo was some of the best we had tasted. After dinner,
Alex turned on the music and the dancing began. At first we were all into
Merengue but then his parents provided us with a great demonstration of Salsa.
Although everyone danced, Susan hung in there the longest with Alex. The
parents continued without a spec of perspiration long after we had collapsed.
Eventually the evening came to an end and we made our way carefully back down the hill. I have no idea how they get the babies and groceries up and down the hill everyday. It certainly explains how they remain nice and slim. Alex drove us back to the marina and we were extremely surprised to find that it was midnight. The only time we normally stay up so late is New Years Eve.
Rick and I headed downtown to find a formal dress for me. Well, it was an exercise in frustration, depression and exhaustion. The Venezuelan ladies are extremely beautiful and nicely shaped. Many come by this naturally but it is common practice for those who don’t come by it naturally to have their body re-sculpted. There are more plastic surgeons in Venezuela who are continually adding, removing and changing body parts on women here that diets are not required. Many of the cruisers have participated in this practice because it is so inexpensive here.
It was 98F and there was a light haze everywhere. The humidity was extremely high and there was no breeze at all. We went store to store and the ladies tried to squeeze me into so many dresses that didn’t fit I was ready to call it off. We gave up in downtown Puerto La Cruz and took a taxi to Plaza Mayor. I tried many stores there as well but most didn’t even have anything in stock for me to try on. It was lunchtime and the stores were closing. We had lunch at a Chinese Restaurant and then walked to Lecheria. There is a small plaza that has some nice stores there and I was hopeful that we might find something. No such luck! We returned to the marina and before getting on the boat I was telling Lenora (Midnight) my tale of woe. She looked at me and said, “Do you remember the dress I bought when we were together in Mayreau”? I remembered her buying a dress but that was two years ago so I couldn’t remember what it looked like. She thought it would be perfect and that it should fit. I thanked her and asked if I could try it tomorrow.
I had time for a quick nap and then we went with Mainly, Kismet and KaraDream to a restaurant in Lecheria called Pollo El Ray, for dinner. There were racks and racks of chicken on rotisseries over a wood fire. We ordered a whole chicken for Rick and I to share but half of it came home with us. We also had a mixed salad, which came with avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, beets, carrots, hearts of palm and lettuce. The other side dish we ordered was yucca and there was enough on the plate that we were able to share with KaraDream. They offer a special on soft drinks and we ended up with a 2 litre bottle of Chinotto (like 7UP) for just over $1. The whole meal (that we couldn’t finish) came to a total of about $10 and that included the tip.
We walked from the restaurant to Plaza Mayor where we headed straight for the 4D ice cream store. Rick and I passed on the ice cream but the others couldn’t resist. It was a short taxi ride back to the marina and an interesting one. We are not often out on a Saturday night and it was fun to see what we have been missing. It appears that everyone gets together either in the plaza, in homes or on the street. The streets were buzzing with activity.
We slept late this morning or rather I slept late. I’m not sure what time Rick woke up but he had already drank half the pot of coffee and sent a few emails by the time I rolled out.
We had breakfast onboard and we were just getting ready to start into the morning chores when the computer rang. It was Kelly calling from home with some questions about her upcoming visit. She arrives one week from today and wanted to check on a few things. At the same time that the PC was ringing, Lenora was rattling our chain on deck. She brought the dress for me to try on. As soon as I looked at the dress I was ecstatic. I knew that not only would it fit but that it was my colour and style as well. If I thought before that I was in her debt I know now that for sure I am.
I spent most of the morning on the computer but after lunch Rick and I went to the pool and played dominoes with David and Lenora (Midnight). David won by a mile. We went for a swim and then we all returned to our boats to shower and change for dinner. The four of us shared a taxi over to the Caribbean Mall. There we roamed the mall (without spending a cent) before crossing the street to L’Ancora Restaurant where we had dinner.
The count down is on and we’re both extremely (well maybe a little) busy. In the morning Rick went by dinghy to the fuel dock to top up the tanks using jerry cans. Then he pulled the boat apart to service the batteries. I meanwhile went with Sharon (Makai), Laura (Pyewacket), and Lenora (Midnight) to the Chinese food store. Everyone had something different they were looking for. I wanted the ingredients for California rolls and found everything I needed. It didn’t take us long, we were back in the marina within the hour. I then had some computer work I needed to do and Rick and I decided it was a good day to have lunch at the Ancla Restaurant.
In the afternoon, Lenora went with me to Plaza Mayor to look for some jewellery and shoes to go with my dress (it’s really her dress). The first pair of shoes I tried on fit perfectly. It’s been a while since I’ve worn anything but sandals but these felt comfortable and looked dressy. The necklace and earring’s I found were just costume jewellery but they went nicely with the dress and I didn’t think that Rick wanted me to buy diamonds so I went with what I liked.
Dinner was Monday night potluck barbecue and I didn’t feel like making anything. Since we were already in the mall, I stopped in the bakery. There I found a nice Pineapple cake that would be a perfect dessert for the potluck. Wouldn’t you know it! It is rare that anyone takes a dessert for the potluck and this time because I took one there were four of us who had the same idea. It didn’t seem to be a problem because there was nothing left at the end of the night.
It was 8:30 AM and the guys from North Sails were rattling our chain. They had finished with the sail repairs and before adding the UV protector they wanted to check the shape. It’s a good thing they did because they would have put the Sunbrella on the wrong side of the sail. They wanted us to furl the headsail in the opposite direction. Rick showed them that if we did that the furling line would rub and therefore chafe on the drum. We weren’t about to start taking the furler apart to change directions when we liked it the way it was so the Sunbrella will go on the other side.
When we finished with the sails Lenora and Sharon (Midnight and Makai) came with us to CM (a grocery supermercada). We are provisioning to go sailing for a couple of weeks and they just needed to pick up a few things. Today was dry good shopping and it went very well. There were only a couple of things I didn’t get and I still have a few more days to go.
We returned to the boat and while I put everything away Rick went and got the last of the fuel.
By the time we were finished, it was dinnertime. We joined Makai for pork chops at the Ancla Restaurant. Tuesday is normally Rib night but the road from Caracas is still closed and shipments of all kinds including ribs are delayed. Pork chops were Marie Elena’s substitute for ribs.
Originally I had asked Guillermo (a driver) to take me to the butcher in Lecheria. Rick wanted to go to a liquor store, David needed something at the hardware and Lenora was looking for a department store. So in the end we hired Guillermo for the whole morning. It was great he took us everywhere we needed to go and there was no rush. We accomplished everything before noon and even had time to stop for a coffee break. We had lunch together at an arepa place that Rick and I both like. Lenora and David seemed to enjoy it as well and Guillermo was right at home there.
We returned to the marina with about an hour to spare before Lenora and I were to meet Joan (Mainly) for a girls afternoon downtown. We took a taxi to 5 de Julio and walked along stopping in many of the stores. I found a new tank top in one of the stores and was able to buy some dried fruit in another. We stopped for a nice refreshing fresh fruit drink before returning to the marina. Although Lenora was looking for a new pair of shoes, I was the only one who came home with any purchases.
As soon as we finished breakfast Rick washed the stainless steel in and around the cockpit. I sat below decks surrounded by cockpit cushions, working on our menu and itinerary for next week. It was lunchtime before we knew it so we went up to the Ancla for a quick lunch. I think the plan was to continue working when we returned to the boat but with the midday heat we both just settled in for a siesta.
It was movie night at the Ancla and we joined Makai and Midnight to watch the movie "Hitch" with Will Smith. It was a fun movie and we all enjoyed it.
The count down continues to the arrival of our next guest.
North Sails came to the boat in the morning and wanted to take the sails again. The Sunbrella fabric that we are going to use for UV protection had arrived and they wanted to finish the job. Before I would let them take the sails, I made them promise that they would have them back to us by Sunday at the latest. Kelly arrives on Sunday and our plan is to leave the dock Monday morning.
This was cleaning day. I washed the ports, hatches and screens, changed the sheets and dusted. Rick vacuumed and finished a couple of small projects. There should have been more to do but the boat looked spic and span.
In the afternoon we went to Plaza Mayor with David and Lenora (Midnight). Our first stop was the juice stand where we all had a nice glass of fresh blended juice. The guys had wanted to go directly to the 4D Ice Cream store and after the juice they changed their mind and didn’t need an ice cream after all. In the future I think I will insist that we stop for juice more often.
We didn’t need to purchase much just some cheese and cold meets for next week.
Rick and I had dinner on board. I cooked some lovely smoked pork chops that I enjoyed but although Rick likes pork chops, he prefers that they be not smoked. Having said that, I didn’t notice any leftovers on his plate.
Normally we would never go to the market on Saturday when it is so extremely busy but I wanted everything as fresh as possible as we would not have access to stores for a while. We had arranged for Guillermo to pick us up at 8AM. Lenora and Joan wanted to come along as well. Our first stop was the fish market where we all got some jumbo shrimp and some nice róbolo (snook). We had brought a cooler with us and the fishermen give us some ice with the fish so that it would stay chilled while we were roaming the public market. I had a huge list of fresh fruit and vegetables to find and Guillermo was extremely helpful in asking the vendors to find some of the items a little under ripe.
When we returned to the marina I spent the rest of the morning cleaning vegetables and shrimp before storing everything. Our pineapples, papayas, onions, plantains and bananas are all stored in a hammock under the solar panels. This is new for us. We started storing the onions outside when we were in Bonaire and they seem to last forever that way so we’ll see how the fruit survives.
There was enough time for a siesta before joining everyone at the pool for an afternoon happy hour. The pool was almost empty when we first arrived but one by one cruisers with their drinks arrived. Even Roberto from the restaurant showed up and jumped in for a swim.
The day began at a leisurely pace. After breakfast I started cooking. I made a stew for either our first night at anchor or the first night when I didn’t feel like cooking. I also thawed and cooked our last lobster from Tortuga. I know that Kelly loves spiny lobster and there won’t be any available where we’re going. Although the lobster was large it wasn’t large enough to feed three people so after cooking it I made a lobster salad.
We had a siesta after lunch and we were about to spend the afternoon at the pool but Rick wanted to run the engine for a while first. He must have had a premonition because when he turned the key it just laughed at him. He immediately said that it sounded like no fuel. When he went below to loosen the bolt that he uses to bleed the engine, it broke off. Not one to give up he then bypassed the secondary filter and tried again. Still nothing! Now he figures that the broken bolt allowed air into the system and the only other way to bleed it is to crack the injectors. He has never done this but was willing to give it a try. Since the injectors have never been cracked, they didn’t want to budge and he certainly wasn’t going to start using force on them or we might never leave dock. Finally, one last try and low and behold, the engine coughed, started and ran like a dream. Now the decision was whether to leave without a secondary fuel filter for a couple of weeks.
Bill on Makai was walking by the boat and Rick took a chance and asked if he might have a 10mm bolt. He did. Plan "B" quickly went into action. Rick unbypassed the secondary fuel filter, used the new bolt and bled the system again. The good old Yanmar was humming like new.
The day went quickly and it was almost 6:30PM, the time that we had arranged
for Guillermo to take us to the airport to meet Kelly. I had checked and her
flight from Caracas to Barcelona had been changed and was a half hour later but
I hadn’t been able to reach Guillermo to let him know. Rick figured that a half
hour wait was nothing more than time for another beer. When we arrived at the
airport I first checked the monitors to ensure that the flight was on it’s way.
Surprise, surprise, the arrival had been delayed until 10:10 PM. It’s about a 20
minute drive from the marina to the airport so it was decision time. Rick and I
decided to stay and wait.
We asked Guillermo if he would be willing to leave us
and come back about 11PM but he said he would wait as well. We all went upstairs
to the restaurant for the wait and to have a bite to eat. Every so often I would
go downstairs and check the display for any changes. Finally at 9:30PM when I
went down, the monitors had all been turned off and all of the airline counters
and stores had closed. I quickly returned upstairs and told Rick he should ask
for the check while Guillermo and I went to find out what was happening. It was
a good thing we had Guillermo with us. "Don’t worry", he said. If they had
closed the airport, which I was certain they had, the runway lights would be
turned off. That made sense to me but I was still a little concerned so we went
down stairs where I could pace. There were three more flights that came in
before Kelly’s but finely at a little after 11:30PM she arrived.
It was after midnight when we returned to the boat and well after 1PM when we finished opening all of the parcels she brought for us while drinking a bottle of champagne before going to bed.
March 14, 2005, Puerto La Cruz to Caraca Del Este, Venezuela,We didn’t do too badly for being up so late last night. We were awake a little after 7AM but there was no way we were going to be ready to leave by 8AM. Our revised departure time was 9:30AM.
We left in light winds and had a nice motor sail into the wind. Kelly was extremely pleased when the dolphins came to greet us. They weren’t in one of their more playful moods but they swam along beside us long enough for Kelly’s many attempts at pictures. Dolphins are hard to capture in a still picture but Kelly switched to movie mode to resolve that.
It was 2PM when we arrived at our anchorage in Caracas Del Este. We
had a
sandwich and a siesta in that order. We all discussed jumping over for a nice
swim in the beautiful turquoise water but we were all just a little too tired.
It was a little after 4PM when we saw a mast on it’s way into the anchorage. As soon as the boat cleared the point we could see that it was Marci, Rod and their guests (Windmiller). They dropped anchor, put the dinghy in the water and Rod took the guests over to a reef to snorkel. I guess they got to bed a little earlier than we did last night.
We had a nice fish dinner in the cockpit and everyone was in bed asleep by 9PM.
None of us slept very well last night. Rick was concerned because the winds
although light were weird and would gust every so often and cause the boat to
swing 360 degrees around the anchor. Although we anchored in 25 ft of water as
we swung the shore was less than 50 feet away from our stern. The depth sounder
was still reading 15 feet but the fact that we were stern to the shore made Rick
nervous. In addition to that he was awakened a few times during the night with
bad leg cramps and for relief he paced through the main salon. Kelly was
thinking about pirates even though there were the two boats in the anchorage.
She woke off and on throughout the night.
The shackle on the anchor snubber was
giving a big loud band every time the boat swung which would wake me suddenly. I
think I could have fallen back to sleep except for the quiet sound of Rick
pacing in the other room. I heard Windmiller lift their anchor and leave at 3PM.
They wanted to arrive in Medrigal Village at the far end of the Gulfo before the
afternoon winds picked up.
We were all up by 6AM for a quick breakfast so that we could leave by 7AM. It was really almost 7:30AM by the time the anchor was up but we made good time, arriving at the entrance to the Golfo by 11AM. Our route was directly east but the winds were light and the sea was flat so although we couldn’t sail, it was very comfortable. We had lunch while underway. I served lobster salad and crackers hoping that it would provide the lobster fix that Kelly was craving. It didn’t.
O
ur waypoint was about 5 miles away when the afternoon winds picked up. All
of a sudden we were making only 3 knots. It took us until 2:30PM before we
finally arrived and dropped anchor in Laguna Grande. We saw another couple of
masts at the other end of the lagoon but Rick chose a spot where we could be on
our own.
We jumped in for a nice swim followed by a shower before happy hour. Dinner served indoors was apple stuffed chicken breasts, green beans and salad. Normally we would enjoy dinner under the stars in the cockpit but we were being inundated with flies. Rick killed at least 50 of them down below and there were many more lined up on the companionway step and screen to get in but no one was allowed to open the door.
Since we weren’t travelling today we had time for a nice leisurely breakfast. I made bacon and eggs and we ate in the cockpit. It might have been leisurely eating but I went crazy while cooking. Just as I was starting to cook Rick saw a boat leaving the lagoon. He thought it was Calico Clam so I turned the burners off and called Gary and Lois on the VHF. Sure enough, it was them they were sailing over to Cumana to use an internet café. Rick had arranged to call Makai on the SSB at 7:30AM but was having difficulty hearing. So I took over the SSB while in the middle of cooking. When breakfast was ready there was nothing left to do but sit down and eat.
We made a big mistake by eating in the cockpit with the companionway door
open. The flies took over again. When we went below they were swarming
everywhere. I ignored them as best I could hoping that as the wind picked up
later in the day they would disappear. Rick had a few engine chores to do and
then we went go exploring in the dinghy.
The winds had started to pick up as we headed up the lagoon and the small waves were splashing over the bow of the dinghy and hitting Kelly and I in the face. The scenery was spectacular and while exploring we found two other boats anchored at the end of the lagoon. We pulled ashore in a gap between the mangroves and watch a large herd of goats wander past us.
When we returned to our boat it was lunchtime but there was no way I could
bring out food with the invasion of flies. I had to close the hatches and ports
and bring on the Baygon. After spraying, we all sat in the cockpit and I was
pleased to see that the flies were covering the companionway screen in an
attempt to escape. I opened the door and they flew out in groups of at least one
hundred at a time. This was good because I wasn’t anxious to go below and have
to start vacuuming all the dead little fly bodies from the beds, floors, tables
and settees. As it was, we did have to clean up some but not near what I had
expected. From now on as long as we are in Laguna Grande the screen doors will
remain closed. Finally I prepared lunch and we had chicken quesadillas, which we
decided to eat indoors rather than share with the beasties that were now hanging
around in the cockpit.
We all rested and read for the rest of the afternoon until happy hour when everyone snapped to attention. Kelly and I had planned Sangria for tonight but Rick was serving rum punch. It was a tough decision but we decided on the rum punch.
Dinner was another trick. The winds were strong and gusting at times over 25 knots. It was the captain’s responsibility to first get the barbecue lit and then to barbecue the potatoes and steaks. He did an outstanding job.
In honour of St. Patrick’s Day, Kelly wore her green bathing suit. We were up
early because Rick wanted to leave at 6:30AM to avoid the strong late morning,
early afternoon winds that would be right on our nose. I planned a 7AM departure
for the very same reason. I’m not sure who planned the 7:30AM departure but
that’s when we left. It was a perfect day and the strong winds held off the
whole way (15 Miles). It’s not that there were no winds, there were and they
were directly on our nose but our speed over the ground held at 4 knots. We
followed close to the coast and commented continually on the spectacular land
formations and colours. Many fishermen were already returning to their camp and
waved as they passed by us.
Rick and Kelly read in the cockpit while I made some bread. The timing was
perfect. The bread came out of the oven 15 minutes after we dropped anchor in
Medregal. Irish stew seemed an appropriate lunch today. It had started out as
beef stew but went through a name change early in the day.
After lunch we joined Mystic Jade and Scrammin in the salt-water pool at the Medregal Village Resort. It was wonderful! During the week cruisers are about the only people around during the day so Jean Marc, the owner, operates the bar on an honour system. You help yourself and write it on your chit and run a tab.
After a nice time in the pool, we used the warm water showers before
returning to the boat. It was time to check email and prepare sundowners.
Tonight we were having sangria so I spent a while chopping up some fresh fruit.
When it came time to serve I spilt about as much as I poured but it looked good
and tasted even better.
Dinner was a beef stir fry which allowed me to use up some of our fresh vegetables. We had some fried plantain on the side because it was perfectly ripe (black) for sweet fried plantain.
We decided to stay and enjoy the resort atmosphere for another day. It was 8:30PM when everyone was prone, relaxed and reading.
This was to be a day in the sun. We planned it and talked about it but only Kelly saw the sun.
The day began innocently enough with a breakfast of toast and jam. Kelly then sat outside and read while I fiddled around with a few things down below and Rick rigged the spinnaker pole for a future anticipated down wind sail.
Lunch went well, we had nice Venezuelan Brie with grilled eggplant, sautéed onions, and roasted red peppers in a sandwich that was grilled until the cheese melted.
After lunch we started to gather things together for our planned swim in the pool with drinks served poolside, shower and dinner at the restaurant. Rick came out of the head with many expletives emitting from under his breath. The head was blocked! We had read about the cruisers nightmare of a blocked head but had not experienced it first hand. I don’t think that Rick was anxious for this new experience. Kelly was smart enough to remain on the foredeck sunbathing with her book. Rick got his nylon mallet out and started taking all of his frustrations out on the hose to the holding tank. He literally hammered for hours and finally after partially removing the hose and attacking it at different angles was he able to loosen up all the 4 years worth of calcium build up.
We reassembled the boat and scrubbed everything down with Pinesol and bleach.
By the time we finished it was 5PM and Kelly the very understanding guest
finally reappeared in the cockpit. We now gathered together our pool and shower
bags and climbed into the dinghy. As soon as we reached the shore and walked
into the resort it was obvious that it would have been a good day to remain in
bed. The pool was being cleaned and vacuumed therefore was closed to the guests.
There was nothing else to do, we found some comfortable seats at the bar and
enjoy a few beers while we watched a beautiful sunset. Once the sun set there
was just enough time for each of us to take a shower before dinner. This had to
be done one at a time because Rick and I both forgot to bring a towel so we were
all sharing Kelly’s.
Dinner was served at 7PM. Kelly and I had Calamari, which was a good choice. Rick ordered chicken and was sorry he hadn’t gone for the calamari as well.
We awoke with hope that this would be a better day than yesterday. At 7:30AM
we heard from Makai who were in Laguna Grande. They needed fuel but when they
learned that we might arrive tomorrow they decided to delay their trip across
the Gulfo to Cumana until after we arrived.
I made Arepas con Queso for breakfast and they were a hit. I think I finally have this arepa process down pat. It was about 8AM when we raised the anchor and headed to the tip of the gulf and past Muelle de Cariaco so that we could anchor near a bird habitat. We arrived at 11AM and dropped anchor almost in the middle of the river between two towns, one on either side of the river.
After lunch everyone read and rested until 3:30 PM when we climbed into the
dinghy and headed up river to see the birds. We went aground (in the dinghy) and
had to row for a while. By the time we found the spot that we felt would give us
the best view we tied the dinghy to a mangrove tree that was broken and lay
almost in the middle of the river. We waited a while and listened to the
mangroves all around us making popping sounds. There were some birds flying by
and since we are not normally bird watchers we had to guess at some of the
breeds. The one we recognised immediately was the Scarlet Ibis. They were a
brilliant red in the sunlight. There we many white birds that appeared to be
white herons. We saw some King Fishers as well as Cormorants. We had a little
time to kill while waiting for the sun to get a little lower when the flocks
of
birds would return home. I was certain that the popping of our champagne bottles
would blend in with the popping of the mangroves. I had also packed a few snacks
to nibble on with the champagne. When we popped the second bottle it was getting
close to sunset so we released the rope we had used to tie the dinghy and began
our drift down the river. We saw a few more flocks of different birds arrive.
Some we recognised as parrots, others looked like terns but the colour was wrong
so we weren’t really sure what they were. The sky was full of Scarlet Ibis and
the White Heron type birds but it was difficult to get a good picture as we
seemed to always be shooting into the sun. This bird watching seems to require a
bit of pre planning which of course we were unable to do since we had no idea
where they would come from or where they would roost for the night.
As we
drifted down the river the sun got lower and the number of birds started to
diminish. We arrived back at our boat with just enough daylight left in the sky
for us to be able to find it. The lights of the town sparkling ashore would have
made it difficult to see our light.
Dinner was pasta with large shrimp cooked in a nice garlic, onion and white wine sauce.
We had an early start and raised the anchor just after 6:30AM. It was to be a
downwind sail if we could find a bit of wind. Meanwhile it was a good
opportunity to run the watermaker and charge the batteries. Rick and
Kelly
munched on fresh pineapple and watermelon in the cockpit while down below, I
made some English muffins. It was 9AM before the muffins were ready which saved
me from having to prepare a midmorning snack.
We tried to contact Makai on the VHF but they either didn’t have the radio on or they had it on a different frequency. It’s tricky trying to keep the different calling frequencies straight. In Puerto La Cruz the cruisers must use 72 as the hailing frequency. In the Gulfo Channel 71 is used as both a hailing and talking frequency which makes life easy as one doesn’t have to switch channels to listen to conversations but they may not have been aware of this.
Finally when we were about 5 miles from the lagoon they answered. The minute
we signed off with them we had dolphins all around our boat. They were in a
playful mood and stayed with us criss-crossing our bow until
we reached the
entrance to Laguna Grande. Kelly stood at the bow and took picture after picture
with her head swivelling around almost 360 degrees as they approached us from
every direction.
Sharon and Bill were anchored in an area where the water was a little too murky to swim so we anchored a short dinghy ride away behind an island where we could swim. They came and joined us for a dip and some afternoon snacks. We sat out on the deck in good winds of 20 to 25 knots which kept us cool but didn’t discourage the flies from invading the cockpit and cabin again.
Dinner was sweet and sour chicken with rice.
Breakfast this morning was Wind-Borne McMuffins. As soon as we cleaned up after breakfast Rick did some tests on the regulator and alternator. We were using the alternator that was just rebuilt and it wasn’t putting out the amps it should. It appears that something is still wrong with the alternator so he replaced it with our spare and we’ll give it back to the mechanic when we return to Puerto La Cruz.
It was 11AM by the time Rick finished and put his things away. We were all suppose to have gone over to Makai for a visit this morning but I had also promised everyone an early afternoon turkey dinner so I let Rick and Kelly go while I stayed behind to prepare the meal. When the vegetables were all cleaned and ready to go I put the turkey in the oven and went for a nice shower. Rick and Kelly returned shortly afterwards and they lined up for the shower as well. My timing had been good.
Sharon and Bill arrived at 2:30PM for our late lunch or early dinner we weren’t sure which but this was the time of the day when the flies were not quite as vicious. We had turkey with cranberries and gravy, Broccoli and Cauliflower with cheese sauce, beets and mashed potatoes. Sharon brought a nice custard flan for dessert.
It was 5:30PM when Sharon and Bill headed back to their boat. We won’t see them for a while because they are going on to Trinidad from here and we are going back to Puerto La Cruz. After all of our goodbyes, we raised the dinghy and started to get ready for an early departure tomorrow.
I had been quite remiss at listening to the weather because it was so protected in the Gulfo. We had strong winds funnelling through the mountains gusting 25 knots and higher but where we were anchored there was no chop or roll so we hadn’t thought much of it.
I listened to the weather this evening and the forecast was for an increase in the wind and waves tomorrow. It appears that our south-east wind will mix with a north-east swell for the next couple of days. We are only going about 25 miles tomorrow so we’ll see how it is when we leave.
I was just about ready to get washed and changed for bed when Rick announced he wanted to change the regulator. He did and our spare regulator didn’t seem to work at all so we were better off with the existing. It didn’t take long and he had everything back together but then he wanted to run the engine for a while. If he was going to do that then we might as well run the watermaker at the same time. When we finished and actually went to bed it was 10PM.
Rick was up and had the coffee made for us shortly after 5:30AM. He wanted a head start before the winds built later in the day. We all had a quick bowl of cereal and were ready to start hoisting the anchor by 6:30AM. Just as the last portion of the anchor was raised and we turned to leave the bay, Makai pull out from the other side of the island and headed out the entrance as well. They were going to stop in Cumana for fuel before crossing to Cubagua and Margarita Islands.
We were just following the coast back to Puerto La Cruz.
Well so much for the wind and wave forecast. We pulled into an anchorage in El Oculto, which was only 25 miles from Laguna Grande but this was our planned destination for the day. We had motor sailed wing on wing in lovely 10 to 15 knot winds with seas that were 4 to 6 feet. This was no where near the forecast of 25 gusting to 30 knot winds, 6 to 8 foot seas from the south east and a north east swell on top of that.
We tucked into a quiet bay where we all read and relaxed for the afternoon. W
saw a catamaran arrive and anchor by a large island. A little later another
sailboat arrived and anchored near a small island. We had chosen not to anchor
at either of those spots because the guide book said that sometimes the
fishermen will ask you to move from the large island where they like to place
their nets. The swing area at the small island is limited so a stern anchor
would have been required. Just before dark the boat at the small island moved
out and anchored closer to the middle of the bay. I guess he didn’t want the
hassles of a second anchor either. There was a beach where we anchored with a
lot of goats. Late in the afternoon some locals arrived and spent the night in
the fishing hut.
Rick made his world famous spaghetti sauce (different every time) for dinner. We were able to eat in the cockpit again as we left the flies in Laguna Grande.
Rick was up again at 5:30AM making coffee. We had a little yoghurt and I cut
up our last pineapple as a breakfast appetiser until after we were underway. It
was just after 6:30 when we raised the anchor and headed out. The forecast was
still for very strong winds today so we thought that although we had been lucky
yesterday it was unlikely that the same would happen two days in a row. Well it
did, only more so this time. The morning started with the dolphins giving us a
quick greeting. They didn’t stay with us very long but it was a nice way to
begin a trip.
While underway I made scrambled eggs for breakfast and we ate as "Ray de
Pilot" looked after things for us. There were almost no winds at all and we
motored the whole way. It was only 20 miles so it wasn’t bad. When we were about
a mile from the marina,
Arnaldo the dockmaster called us. He must have been
upstairs in the marina office because he called to say that he could see us and
he would be at our slip to help us in. (How’s that for service!)
We had to wind our way through many powerboats that were lined up waiting for the fuel dock. As we passed the boats in their slips on our way to ours heads were popping out welcoming us back. Eventually we pulled into our slip, Edgar, the assistant dockmaster was in his dinghy to give us a helpful nudge if we needed it and Arnaldo was on the dock with our friend David (Midnight) waiting to take our lines. It didn’t take us long to get settled in again.
The first priority was to take our dirty laundry to the laundry lady because
we need it for next week and I think she may be closed for the Easter weekend.
Once that was done,
Kelly and I prepared to go to the pool after lunch and we
all went up to the restaurant where we joined Lenora and David for something to
eat. After lunch Rick wanted to get into the storage area under her bunk and
access the engine. Kelly and I stayed out of his way up at the pool. He finally
finished, brought drinks and joined us but meanwhile Mario one of the waiters
from the restaurant had been serving drinks at the pool and had looked after us.
By the time we returned to the boat it was really too late to go to the
Wednesday night barbecue which begins at 5:30PM. It was just after 5:30 and I
really wanted to go so late or not I quickly made a salad and took the meat out
of the freezer. Kelly rushed and had a quick shower and I followed right after
her. We were ready to leave when Rick finally
arrived back at the boat. He was
basically ready so we made our way to the barbecue about ¾ hour late but the
charcoal was perfect for the steaks, which were almost thawed. It was an
enjoyable evening. We sat with David, Lenora (Midnight) and Suzie (Wishful
Thinking). Sitting at the rowdy table next to us were Dan, Joan (Mainly),
Patrick, Kathy (Heather) with Ray and Kayla (Kismit).
Poor Kelly finally had a good night’s sleep. Tied safely to the dock she didn’t dream or worry about pirates or banditos last night.
We had breakfast and then Rick went to help Tom (Moonrise) install a new radio on his boat. He was back at our boat within the hour. It was 10AM when we left and took a taxi to Plaza Mayor. Haircuts were required for both Rick and I for our trip home next week. While we were having our hair done Kelly was going to have a manicure and pedicure. We arrived at the plaza and found that other than the grocery store and a few Internet cafes, most stores were closed for the holidays. We picked up some cold meat and cheese and returned to the marina.
We all went to see Karen in the Minimart to ask if she would cut our hair. She does many of the cruisers and they always seem pleased. She just returned from a couple of weeks in Trinidad yesterday so she was a little busy putting things back in order in the store. Sunday morning however she would have time to cut our hair. Kelly was out of luck for a manicure and pedicure.
We had the nice cold meats and cheese in a baguette for lunch and with nothing else for us (Kelly and I) to take care of we retired to the pool. Rick stayed onboard to run some more alternator and regulator tests. The pool was packed. This was one of the busier Easter weeks we’ve seen here. Many Venezuelans from Caracas own a holiday condo in our marina and they all seemed to be here this week. There were no umbrella tables or chairs available so Kelly and I laid our towels on the grass under a palm tree. It was really quite comfortable and cool in comparison to sitting in the chairs on the concrete. We spent quite a while in the pool just talking and people watching. Eventually Rick showed up with drinks for us. We stayed in the pool and had out drinks by the edge. Roberto from the restaurant walked around the pool and said hello to those he knew. It was about 3PM by this time and we mentioned to Roberto that there were a lot of hungry people out here and it would be a good time to send the waiters around. A little while later Mario came out with menus and a tray. No one took any notice of him but we ordered some chicken pastilitos and warm cheese twists to nibble on. When he returned with our food order many people then called him over and placed a similar order.
Just before 5PM we returned to the boat to shower and change for dinner.
David, Lenora (Midnight), Suzie (Wishful Thinking), Joan, Dan (Mainly), Ray,
Kayla (Kismit) Ken and Carol (Columbine) all joined us for dinner in downtown
Puerto La Cruz (Chic e Choc) and a stroll along Paseo Colon after dark. The food
was very good. It was a French restaurant so the servings were not large
allowing us all to splurge on some amazing desserts.
After dinner some of our gang returned to the marina while the rest of us went for a walk along Paseo Colon. Many vendors had set up their stands on the beach side of the street and the crowds were out enjoying all of it. I purchased a couple of small items as we strolled along. It was quite late when we finished checking out the last of the stands so we took a taxi back to the marina and went straight to bed.
We started the day slowly with bacon and pancakes for breakfast in the
cockpit. When breakfast was finished Kelly went to the pool, I followed shortly
after and Rick soon followed me. We spent the majority of the day lounging by
the pool.
At 2PM we returned to the boat to get ready to go to Pollo el Ray for an early dinner. We skipped lunch today. We went to Lecheria for our dinner to avoid the massive crowds that were involved with the parade and re-enactment of the crucifixion as part of the Holy Week celebrations in downtown Puerto La Cruz and it was wonderful. The roads were wide open.
David and Lenora came with us and we all shared a cab going there but it was
a little crowded as there were five of us plus the driver in a 1987 Buick
Century. Everyone enjoyed the wonderful chicken and salads at the restaurant and
when we left we all walked to Plaza Mayor. Dessert was a
dish of 4D ice cream.
The Plaza was extremely busy and it looked like many more stores were open
today. We walked up stairs to check if just maybe our hair salon was open. There
was no such luck. The manicure place right by it was open and busy but all of
the lights were off in the empty looking hair salon.
We returned to the marina in separate taxis and went straight to the restaurant. We certainly weren’t hungry but the restaurant had a typical Venezuelan band that was playing tonight. A typical Venezuelan band consists of a harp, a Quattro (four-string guitar) and maracas. The band was very good but we only stayed for one set. Back at the boat we could hear the band playing and the cheers from the crowd which continued long after we went to bed.
Today it was Rick’s turn to go to the pool with Kelly while I remained back at the boat to get some work done. I didn’t think it would take me as long as it did. I only wanted to burn a CD of pictures for Kelly and then burn a few backup CD’s of my pictures for her to take home. It was after 2PM when I was finally able to join them at the pool. At 4PM I returned to the boat to prepare some appetiser meatballs for a potluck barbecue tonight. Lenora and I are both trying to empty our freezers. She had some steaks left and offered to share with us while we both made different types of meatballs to share with everyone.
After the potluck we went up to the restaurant where Kelly ordered sangria.
We sipped on the sangria and listened to the Venezuelan band that was there
again tonight. She leaves for home early tomorrow morning and was prepared to
stay up all night. Rick and I couldn’t handle that and in the end she followed
us back to the boat a little after 9PM.
The alarm was set for 5AM at which time Rick got up to make the coffee.
I’m not sure what he put in the coffee but he set the propane solenoid alarm off which got the rest of us up as well. Kelly had done most of her packing last night so she was ready to leave. We had breakfast and walked to the gate where we found Guillermo already waiting for us. It was 6:30AM and since it was Easter Sunday the roads were pretty empty.
We made good time getting to the airport and said a quick goodbye to Kelly. Goodbyes are normally difficult but this time wasn’t bad since we’ll see her again in 4 days.
We went back to bed for a while when we returned to the marina. Joan on Mainly had suggested that everyone bring drinks and meet by the pool Easter morning. At 10AM that’s exactly what we did. I had to leave for a few minutes at 11AM while Karen (Minimart) cut my hair. It was Rick’s turn when she finished with mine after which we both went for a swim.
We had lunch with Roberto at the restaurant before returning to the boat for another siesta. Later in the afternoon I packed most of our things and laid out the warmest clothes we own for our trip home. We had dinner on board to use up the last of the meat in the freezer. In the evening we watched TV for a while before going to bed.
I thought we would be very busy today but things went very well. By the end of the morning I had packed the few remaining things and cleaned out the fridge. Rick had removed the wind scoops from the deck and flushed the bilge. We had lunch at the Ancla since our fridge was totally empty.
I had planned to spend the afternoon by the pool forgetting as I always do that the pool is closed for cleaning on Mondays so instead I stayed onboard and had a siesta. Rick went with David and Lenora to take their boat over to PMO Marina for to be hauled out. It was late afternoon when he returned but he timed it so that he was back in time to use the last of the ice cubes from the freezer for happy hour.
David and Lenora had rented one of the condos for the few days that their boat is on the hard before they fly home. Rick and I were invited up to the condo for appetisers and then we all had dinner at the Ancla Restaurant. While we were eating Rosetta and Rolph (Spice) joined us for drinks and a little while later Wendy and Lorne (Kamytoo) showed up as well. It was a fun evening and almost 9PM when we all said good night and returned to our boats.
Today we are going home! Rick returned home in 2001 from Brunswick Georgia and I flew back from Grenada in 2002 but this was the first time since we left Toronto in 2001 that we have returned home together.
We left the marina at 10AM to go to the airport in Barcelona. Our flight wasn’t until 12:30PM and I’m sure that if we left at 11AM we would have been there in plenty of time but we were a little anxious.
We flew from Barcelona to Caracas where we found our way from the national terminal to the international terminal. It was not a bad walk but when we reached the other terminal we had to find the Aeropostal desk which of course was at the far end. There was a security check we had to go through before reaching the check-in desk. The security guard informed us that our flight was delayed. When we spoke to the person at the check-in desk, they weren’t too concerned because they said if we missed our flight in Miami on American Airlines, Aeropostal would put us up in a hotel. The problem was that we already had reservations in the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Toronto, which I know is much nicer than any hotel they would put us up in for the night. Our flight was originally scheduled for 3:40 PM then delayed until 4:30 then 5:30. It was about 6:15 when we finally took off from Caracas to Miami. We landed in Miami at 8:30PM local time which was about 20 minutes after our American Airline flight had departed for Toronto.
After going through Customs and Immigration we found our way up to the 2nd floor of the airport where we found the one and only representative of Aeropostal Airlines. He was a terrible person to have in charge there. He kept telling everyone how lucky we all were because he didn’t have to put us up in a hotel just because Aeropostal was late and we had missed our next flight. It was my impression that luck would have got us there on time and we wouldn’t have had to stay in the hotel. He finally gave us a coupon for the Regency Airport hotel, which was nice but very basic, and under total renovation. There was a shuttle available at the airport and we just had to watch for it and wave it down. We stood outside and watched the different shuttles slow down as they passed us.
Finally the Regency Shuttle was coming towards us. Rick and I both waved our arms but he pulled into the passing lane with a full load of Aeropostal employees. We waited about a half-hour before we saw the shuttle headed our way again. We waved but again it passed us by with an already full load. We took strategic action and walked to the other end of the terminal building. This time when the shuttle came by we were one of the first on board and I felt sorry when we reached the point that he had to continue driving past others who were waving to a full van.
We finally arrived at the hotel and after checking in went to our room to call home. The phone in our room didn’t work so after looking at the line up of people (disgruntled Aeropostal passengers) at the reception desk I decided to use a pay phone. We had a light dinner in the restaurant then returned to our room.
I had originally planned that when we arrived in Toronto I would have the concierge arrange to have Rick’s suit and my dress pressed overnight. I would awake to a luxurious bath, we would take our time and be ready late in the afternoon for the cocktail party that was scheduled for 6PM.
This hotel did have a concierge desk but no concierge and the front desk said that it would be impossible for them to have our outfits pressed overnight. So in the room I used a pillowcase as a pressing cloth and did the best I could with the iron on our clothes before going to bed.
It was after midnight when my head it the pillow.
We slept with the balcony door open rather than use the noisy air conditioner. It was exactly 4AM when a garbage truck picked up and crashed a couple of the large garbage containers somewhere beneath our balcony. I dozed back off to sleep until I thought I heard the beeping of a large vehicle in reverse. When it didn’t stop I realised that it was the alarm clock on the other side of the room. I got up and shut it off but before I could get back to sleep air planes started taking off so close that I thought our balcony must be in their way. I got up again and this time closed the sliding glass door but there was no getting back to sleep. It was a little after 6AM so I went for a shower and dressed for breakfast.
We arrived at the airport at 8:30AM for the earliest flight available, which
would get us into Toronto by 4:50. The American Airlines flight was excellent.
We arrived in Toronto a little early and since we had not checked any of our
bags we made it through Customs and Immigration in less than 15 minutes. When we
exited to the arrivals lounge there was no one with a sign with our name on it
(they probably gave up waiting sometime last night) and we didn’t have time to
look around we just hurried outside and took a regular airline limo to the
hotel. Even with rush hour traffic he managed to get us there by 5:30PM. Check
in was quick and as soon as we arrived in our room I whipped out the ironing
board and gave our clothes a quick touch-up again. Cocktails were served at 6PM
and we somehow managed to be there on time.
It was a very special gala event in celebration of Bell Canada’s 125 year
anniversary. We saw many friends we had worked with over the years.
Many of the past and present executives for Bell Canada were also there.
The speeches and presentations were so enjoyable that Rick leaned over and asked if I wanted to get back into the work environment again. I thought about it for about ½ a second and said no! There was a very good band and some couples danced for a while. I thought I was doing very well just standing in high heels again. I didn’t want to go too far.
We received a specially made work of glass art with a copy of a letter that
was written by Alexander Graham Bell as an award. There were some lovely terry
robes (not that belonged to the hotel) for us to keep in our hotel room. The
organisers even provided each of us with a copy of the Globe and Mail newspaper
where our names had been listed. The whole evening was an event that was
extremely special and created what will be forever a wonderful memory to cherish
and look back on.
We returned to our room and fell into a luxurious bed just before midnight.
I slept very soundly but awoke at 5AM (6AM Venezuela time). After tossing and turning for a while it was evident that I wasn’t going to get back to sleep so I disturbed Rick a little and asked if he wanted a coffee. He grunted and sort of indicated yes so I called room service and had a large pot sent up.
We lay in bed with our coffee watching Canadian news on TV until 6:30 when we got ready to go for breakfast and then check out. A limo had been arranged to take us from the hotel to our house where we struggled with the key and alarm system but eventually made our way out of the cold.
Harry and Sylvia our next door neighbours and good friends invited us over for coffee. When we left their house we walked out to the corner of our street to visit our friend Ken the butcher at The Butcher Block Café. He was so surprised to see us that he yanked off his apron and came around the counter to give us a big hug. We had lunch there and purchased some nice steaks and vegetables for dinner. Walking back to the house we ran into another neighbour, Mike who owns one of our favourite Italian restaurants in the neighbourhood, Gamberoni’s Restaurant. We spoke with him for a while and then finally made our way home.
Rick had an errand to run in the afternoon and while he was gone I had a siesta. I started to prepare dinner when Rick noticed that our other neighbours Cathy, Greg and little Bridget were arriving home. We called out to them and while they were visiting, Kelly arrived home from work.
Eventually Rick put the steaks on to cook and we had a great dinner.
Kelly went dancing afterward and Rick and I went to bed.
