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Diane's DiaryOctober 27 Monday The Tropical wave seems to have passed us as we have returned to blue sunny skies but light wind. We both have aches in our neck and shoulders and I think it must be from snorkeling. We have been snorkeling in very shallow water so I think we are straining our necks. I had to take some aspirin it hurt so much. We did go snorkeling back to the same blue wall in the morning. In the afternoon, we tried snorkeling way in front of our boat right on the reef. We saw an octopus, which was just fantastic! This is the first time we had ever seen one while snorkeling. Anyway, we are both tired from all the days' activities but happy with all the wonderful snorkeling. October 28 Tuesday We snorkeled in the morning but my neck and shoulders are still bothering me. The water is actually turning green and becoming cloudy. We think it's because there has been such light wind that the reef is not being flushed out like it normally is. Anyway, Larry went snorkeling in the afternoon but my neck was still bothering me so I didn't go. Instead, I went into one of the long-term storage lockers to get some more yeast and Larry's Splenda sugar. We really need to run the engine to charge the batteries, as they are very low so we have just decided to leave for the Aves de Sotavento tomorrow. So, we spent the afternoon getting the boat ready to leave- taking down the canvas, taking off the dinghy engine and hauling the dinghy up on deck. We are only going 16 miles so don't have to worry about what time we leave here. We will probably won't leave till around 10am as we need good visibility with the reefs to leave so the sun needs to be up high. October 29 Wednesday We have absolutely zero wind. Not even a ripple of wind on the water so we probably could have towed the dinghy. We needed to run the engine to charge the batteries and run the water maker. We pulled up the anchor around 9:40am and arrived with the anchor down in front of the Saki Saki Island around 2pm. We had to motor the entire way. We did try to fish and actually caught something! Unfortunately, it was a small 2-3 foot barracuda. Larry was wondering how he was going to get him off the line without getting cut from his sharp teeth. However, he cut through the line with his teeth and took our good lure with him! The transit was uneventful but very hot with the sun beating down on us. We were both extremely warm and I think the heat got to me. It is extremely hot in the anchorage and we saw another boat with their awning up and think we may do this do tomorrow, as the heat is very intense with no wind. We had lunch and Larry dove on the anchor afterwards. The anchor was not secure so we had to re-anchor. We tried 2 more times before we finally found a sandy spot and the anchor dug in well. I tried to lie down on the settee as I was so hot but couldn't sleep. We had to both go swimming just to cool off. I made a quick dinner with some tacos. I noticed some of the cheese I bought in Los Roques going bad already so I will have to do some cooking tomorrow and use it up. October 30 Thursday It was extremely hot all night, as we are getting almost zero breeze. The dinghy was up on deck still and even though it was raised, we got very little wind. We couldn't even put up the wind scoop since the dinghy was there. So, we both didn't get a good night's sleep. In the morning, Larry put up the awning by himself while I did some cooking. The awning made a tremendous difference down below and we should have put it up in the other Aves. It is a pain to put up though but really does make a big difference in the interior. We did not put up the small forward awning because it would be in the way in case we need to get to the anchor suddenly. I baked a double batch of the crustless quiche recipe I got from Shirley on sv The Road. I also made a baked spaghetti pie. I used up all the cheese I got from Los Roques. Now the only cheese we have left is the Edam I bought in Margarita back in April. That cheese was wrapped in red wax and lasts a long time. I was cooking and cleaning for about 1.5 hours. We took a nice walk around the small island. Not much to it and just an OK beach. There is only 1 palm tree on the entire island. The island does have a lighthouse and we are anchored almost directly behind it. October 31 Friday- Happy Halloween! Still no wind yet and the boat is rolling a little but it's not too uncomfortable. I updated my logs until we went out snorkeling around 10:30am on the other side of Saki Saki Island where we are anchored. The snorkeling was OK but not terrific. We got back around 12:30. My limit on snorkeling is about 1.5- 2 hours and after that I get tired. We are not in a rush so can always come back out another day. In the afternoon, we went to the beach to get the conch out I got. It makes a mess on the boat and we are still not able to open the shell the "correct way"- we have to destroy the shell. The whole thing is a very messy operation! Plus, it takes a while to skin them also- that's my job. I also find them! There are definitely not a lot out here and we only take mature conch and only take what we can eat. We took showers on the beach and came back and raised the dinghy. We had leftover spaghetti pie for dinner. We had to run the engine for 1.5 hours since the battery was so low! |