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Diane's DiarySeptember 25 Thursday We left at 9:30am and motored directly to Nordisqui Cay- a short hop away. Unfortunately, it was to windward so we had to motor the entire distance but it only took us about an hour. Reflections came also as they want to get fuel and food tomorrow. We had the anchor set and went snorkeling around 11am. The snorkeling was not very good and we were not impressed. We also cleaned the waterline, as it was filthy from being in the marina for so long. We need to clean the bottom also as it's really filthy but that will have to wait until another day. At 3pm, we took a dinghy ride and walk around the island and were not impressed- lots of coral on the beach so it wasn't a real swimmers beach. Also, we couldn't walk around the island due to all the coral. Reflections later told us he saw scorpion fish around so we have to be very careful- they are poisonous and people wading usually just step on them and get stung. We understand their sting is extremely painful. OK, so we won't walk near the water's edge of the water anymore! Anyway, I was disappointed with this island and don't think I would recommend it unless cruisers have lots of time and want to see it all. We had Reflections over for drinks last night and all had a good time. September 26 Friday We left around 9:30am and sailed with jib only to Gran Roque. We had a lovely sail and I wish they all could be like this with low winds and calm seas! Then more people would probably like sailing! Anyway, it took about an hour to sail over there. Nice anchorage with pretty water but too many local speed boats passing by so we didn't even want to go into the water. Last year a girl was seriously hurt when hit by a speeding boat, which belonged to the Guardia Coasta! We anchored and jerry jugged 2 containers of diesel or about 15 gallons. Larry didn't think we needed any more dinghy gas but I would have gotten a few gallons to be on the safe side. I made some homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs. Reflections sailed over also. We didn't want to walk around the town when we arrived, as it was too hot in the middle of the day so we thought we would just go later. We saw sv Nausica - just Jose as his wife and daughter had gone back to Spain. We had not seen him since Christmas day in Trinidad so he promised to stop over later for a drink. We went into town around 3, walked around (I was interested in finding the grocery stores!) and hiked up the mountain towards the old lighthouse. We had a fantastic view from the top and of course Larry was taking lots of pictures! I enjoyed walking around the town, as it was very pretty though there was no wind so it was very hot. We went back to the boat and had a nice pasta dinner. Jose came over around 7:30 and stayed till 9pm. It was nice seeing him again and catching up on everything. In the middle of the night, the wind came up and blew about 25 knots from the east-southeast. The anchorage is exposed to that direction and we were really rolling, as there was a lot of fetch. We both didn't sleep very well. Reflections later told us this anchorage is often rolly so I would definitely not recommend cruisers stay over night here! Just do your shopping, get fuel, hike and clear out- this can be done in a few hours or at the most half a day! September 27 Saturday Well, I started the water maker this morning and forgot to put the hose in the sink so salt water went in the cabinet and in all of Larry's tools so he was very mad. Sorry, it was an error! Anyway, we both did not get a get night's sleep with all the wind, which was still up this morning - from the east about 25 knots. Larry wanted to go to Noronsquis Cay but didn't want to sail so we just motored. It took an hour to get there but another half hour to enter and get anchored, as it's a little tricky to enter. But we heard to follow Doyle's Cruising Guide which we did and had no problems. There was a big charter day catamaran and another chartered Venezuelan sailboat already in the anchorage so it was a little tough for us to anchor, as we couldn't get on the shelf since they were already there. We had to anchor in about 25 feet. There were also a lot of day speedboats zooming in and out. Again, this island, like the 2 others we have visited, is close to Gran Roque so get all the day-trippers. Anyway, we put up the canvas to shade us from the sun, had lunch and went snorkeling. The snorkeling was better in Blanquilla. So, far I have not been impressed with the Roques- plus, the water clarity is not good and the water is mostly green! Anyway, the wind was up so much the high voltage alarm woke me up twice so I did not get a good night's sleep. We have decided to stay here another day since the wind is blowing so much and it's supposed to calm down in another day. It also rained slightly during the night- just enough to wake us up and have to get up and close the hatches and wake us up from a sound sleep! September 28 Sunday Lots of day tourists today since it's the weekend. I slept until 9am, which is very late for me, but we were up several times during the night. I made bacon and eggs this morning, filled the water jugs and jerry jugs, did dishes, and did 2 loads of laundry. If we have enough electric to fill the jerry jugs I will use that water to do some hand laundry. If we wait to do it until Bonaire, laundry is expensive there and the clothes will really smell by then. So, it's best if I can just do a little at a time if we have enough water. Anyway, I finished around 11am and we went snorkeling till 1pm. The snorkeling was OK but so far I am not impressed by it. We had lunch and I worked on my Excel spending worksheet. We had a flood in the bathroom in the afternoon as I forgot to put the handle in place. Don't know why I am forgetting these things. When the water initially comes out of the water maker, it's salty still so you really have to make sure you clean up all the salt water! Larry cleaned his tools from the flood near the water maker. All in all, it was not a very good day. Also, I am not impressed with this island either- the view is pretty but that's about it. Again, I would only recommend it to cruisers who have a lot of time to spare and want to see all the islands. September 29 Monday We waited until 9:30am to leave, as we needed the sun high enough in the sky to see the reefs in order to leave. We had no problems getting out of the anchorage. We had a wonderful sail to Sarqui with wind from the East about 12-15 knots with just the jib up as we were going dead downwind. Since the anchorages are so close here, you really don't want to spend the time putting the main up for just an hour or so. Anyway, it took us about 1.5 hours to sail so we arrived around 11am. There was only 1 other big powerboat in the anchorage and later a French catamaran came in but the cat only stayed the night. What a beautiful anchorage with lots of birds swooping around. We really enjoyed watching them. We snorkeled off the little reef near our boat - much better than we have seen already. This is the best anchorage we have been in yet. Not too many day-trippers come here because it's further to get to from Gran Roque. I made chicken Italiano for dinner and we enjoyed taking it easy and reading after dinner in such a quiet anchorage. September 30 Tuesday It was cloudy and overcast today so was not a good day to go snorkeling - you really need the sun out and it's better to go midday when the sun is the highest for the best visibility. It looks like it's going to rain out and there's not much wind. Wonder if it's a Tropical wave going by? Anyway, Larry finally got a chance to look at the water maker - he thinks the connections may just have been corroded so he cleaned them all out. Hope that was the problem as this is the easiest solution! I made bacon and cheese omelets and brownies from scratch. I also did a few emails and updated my logs. We took a long walk on the beach in the afternoon but there was a group of day-trippers on the beach plus the people from the big powerboat so we felt funny taking showers in the water while they were there. For me, I use a lot less water washing my hair in the salt and than just rinsing off in fresh water when we get back to the boat. Also, I never use conditioner on my hair when I take a cockpit shower as it uses too much water trying to get the conditioner out. But if I can wash in the salt water, I can use conditioner so I prefer to wash that way. October 1 Wednesday There is still little wind and it's cloudy and overcast. The big powerboat left so we are all by ourselves. The water is a bit green and cloudy - don't know why. Doyle's Cruising Guide says you can't pass between Sarqui and Espenqui but we saw some local sailboats do it so thought we would check it out with our depth sounder. There was no problem at all and we could definitely do it. This saves about a half mile also and is much prettier. The shallowest water is on the west side with about 16 feet of water. Anyway, we tried to snorkel near our boat but the visibility was horrible and the water green. We snorkeled in the cut between Sarqui and Espenqui and it was our best snorkel yet. The water was crystal clear and the water was an amazing color blue. We saw lots of parrotfish including some midnight ones. We also saw a French angelfish. All in all, it was our best snorkel yet and even equals Blanquilla. I don't think this pass would be very good if the wind was blowing as the water would be very rough. Anyway, my knee has been hurting lately and the motion of snorkeling seems to aggravate it. So, I didn't want to snorkel in the afternoon so I could let it rest. Larry went to shore to take some pictures. I stayed at the boat and made 2 trays of turkey enchiladas so we could have it for a few dinners. Just as we were going to do some nude swimming in the afternoon, another boat- a local charter boat- came into the anchorage. No nude swimming with people this close! I finished my Dean Koontz book "The Face"- I really didn't care for it that much. October 2 Thursday Very little wind and sun so we'll have to motor in moving over to Carenero as we need to charge the batteries and run the water maker. It took about an hour for us to motor over here. There were 2 other boats when we arrived but they left within an hour of our arrival so we are all by ourselves. It's a beautiful little anchorage and we both liked it a lot. Mangroves surround us so it's definitely one of the most protected anchorages. But since the mangroves surround us, it also makes it very hot since there's little wind. We saw a bunch of garbage bags on the beach and our cruising guides say they pick up the garbage here so we left a bunch of bags. We hope they do indeed pick up the garbage here, as we don't want to just see it stay on the beach. We are very conscious about separating our garbage - anything edible goes overboard, plastic, and cans and bottles are separated. We throw the metal cans and bottles overboard when we are offshore and try to burn the plastic wherever we can. I updated our logs. We did some snorkeling in the afternoon but it wasn't that great. Snorkeling the cut between Sarqui and Espenqui was definitely better but this wasn't too bad. I guess I was expecting fabulous snorkeling in Los Roques after all we had been hearing about it for the past 2 years but so far it hasn't lived up to its expectations. Oh, well, we did hear the last anchorage Cayo de Agua was best so we'll have to see. It was nice having the anchorage all to ourselves so in the afternoon we went to the beach and did some nude swimming and took a shower. It was definitely nice to swim in the nude and I now know why so many people like it so much. |