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Diane's DiaryMay 24 Saturday A lot of planes coming and going for the day including one helicopter. We are still rolling very badly and I am not sleeping well since we are rolling so much. We took a long walk on the beach from 10-12 and it was very enjoyable. There is no shade at all on this island so it's very warm - I should have brought some water with us. The wind is still blowing about 20-25 from the NE and we had a real hard time hauling the dinghy up along side the boat with the lifting bridle due to the wind. The cowling on the engine even cracked when it banged against the side of the boat. I really wanted to leave as I wasn't comfortable at all but Larry wanted to stay 1 more day so we did. I think he just wanted to get a good picture of Destiny from shore and we didn't go in that direction on our walk yesterday. We just spent the afternoon reading. I am reading another book by David Poyer called "The Circle" which is just terrific - I can't put it down! All his books have been that way. Anyway, it's nice having some relaxing days as when we get back into PLC, I know we will be very busy with boat chores and touring. It was even difficult cooking as we were rolling so much! May 25 Sunday We were going to take another walk on the beach before we left this morning but the wind was blowing so hard and we were rolling so much we just decided to leave and go to Cayo Herradura instead. I was glad to leave, as I wasn't sleeping well due to all that rolling. Everyone has told us they liked this other anchorage better anyway. We took the engine and gas tank off the dinghy but decided to tow it since we are only going 10 miles. We took all the canvas down. I decided to put our plastic windows back in the dodger even though we were going downwind. At anchor, we have textilene windows, which allow wind in, and not much sun - these are very helpful! Anyway, we rocked and rolled so much to the other anchorage that we did take water on the dodger so I'm glad I did. We left around 10 and arrived around 12:30. We didn't sail at all as Larry didn't want to take the dinghy hoist down and we needed to run the watermaker to fill the tanks. It was a very lumpy rolly sail and I was glad we didn't have to far to go. We decided to come in on the north side of the island as the water is deeper over there and we can see the water better. There are only 3 other cruising boats here- 2 of which we had seen in the other anchorage. We had lunch, put up all the canvas, and put the dinghy engine back on. We went to the beach in the late afternoon and walked around some. We didn't bring our beach shoes with us and we really needed them so we'll walk some more tomorrow. I made a huge Mexican lasagna casserole from my favorite "Of Tide and Thyme" cookbook and we really enjoyed it. The anchorage is just beautiful here and not rolly at all. We are on a little spit of land not more than ¼ mile wide yet it protects us from all that rolling. It's a very beautiful place and we can see why so many cruisers love it here. However, I definitely like Blanquilla over here because there's not much snorkeling here and it's definitely more crowded. Blanquilla is more off the beaten path. May 26 Monday Most of the weekend boats from PLC have left so it's only 2 other cruising boats and 2 local sport-fishing boats beside us. We took our beach shoes and went for a long walk on the beach. The water is crystal clear with beautiful colors. We traded with some of the fisherman - 6 small cokes valued about $1.50 for a big snapper- doesn't know what it was but it was definitely not a red snapper. It was very good anyway. Larry is getting sick of eating so much fish! We do wonder if any of the fish has ciguatera poisoning and asked our friend Giulio about it but he told us we really don't need to worry about it to much as it's not really prevalent down here. Hope this is true, as we have been eating a lot of fish! Anyway, it's nice having some relaxing days and we are very content not to do much. May 27 Tuesday I got my period today along with my usual migraine headache that I get every so often so I wasn't feeling very well. I took a nap in the afternoon and we went for another walk and swim on the beach. Other than that, we are not doing much but are very content and happy. The anchorage is rolling a little but it's not too bad. It's nice that there aren't too many boats around. But there are lots of fishermen! We are still raising the dinghy every night- not sure if it's really necessary but we feel safer that way. We do sleep with the companionway open though- I doubt the fisherman will come on the boat. Usually they want things like masks and stuff so we try not to keep this in the cockpit. May 28 Wednesday We went snorkeling in the AM. The water was crystal clear but we just didn't see many fish. Blanquilla is far better than here for good snorkeling. I still have a migraine headache so I took a nap and felt a little better. I am almost out of Imitrex so need to get some more when we go into PLC. Hope I'll be able to get it there! Anyway, we traded with the fishermen again- 2 bottles of cheap Pompero rum worth about $3USD for a huge 6 lb hogfish. We had never had this fish before and it was quite good, we both enjoyed it and would definitely eat it again! May 29 Thursday We went to the beach from about 11-1 walking around, swimming and taking showers. We met a very nice large VE family- some were living in the US, some in Taiwan. They invited us over for a paella lunch but we felt funny so they said come for drinks and we said OK. They said come at 5pm but when we did they had left! They probably took the boat out diving and didn't return till after dark. Anyway, we went back to the boat and I took another nap to try and get rid of this migraine. Larry is reading the D. Poyer books and he likes them also! I need to get the 1 back I gave to Spice Island Lady! We should see them in PLC. Anyway, I finally had a drink tonight after not drinking for several days. We had the rest of the hogfish for dinner and it was very good. May 30 Friday Another very quiet day just spent walking on the beach, swimming, reading and relaxing. I also caught up with my logs. It's very nice to just have some quiet relaxing days not doing much. We know things will be more hectic when we return to PLC so we are just enjoying things for now. May 31 Saturday Another quiet day spent on the beach just swimming, reading and relaxing. We will leave tomorrow to return to Playa Caldera so the distance will be shorter when we leave for PLC on Monday. June 1 Sunday We left Cayo Herradura under motor for Playa Caldera around 9am. It took us about 3 hours with winds directly on the nose out of the East at 10-12knots with about 3-4 foot swells. I'm glad we did not have to do this all the way back to Margarita as it would not have been a very comfortable trip. We towed the dinghy but took the engine off. We thought we might use it when we got to Playa Caldera but just decided to stay on the boat as Larry didn't want to bother putting the engine and everything back on the boat again. It really is a pain and I wish we had davits- life would be much easier! We decided to put the dinghy up on deck around 3pm and it was good we did as the wind started to come up around 4pm which would have made putting the dinghy up on deck more difficult. We counted 9 planes at the airport and it was fun watching them all take off in the late afternoon. I went swimming and noticed a lot of oil on the starboard side of our hull so I removed it all. We think it was from a fishing boat near us at Cayo Herradura that was getting supplied. June 2 Monday I had a very restless night and did not get a good night's sleep. Maybe this was due to being a little nervous about the trip. Would we encounter any pirates? Rough weather? Anyway, I had a hard time getting to sleep so couldn't get out of bed when the alarm clock rang at 4:30am. We finally left the harbor with sails up around 6:15am. We had to motor east for about a half hour to avoid the shoals before we could finally head south. The wind picked up to around 18knots, and we were close hauled with the boat really screaming along. We were moving fast even with a reef in the main and heeled so far that the TV broke free from its mount. Luckily, I happened to be going downstairs so saw it. I also got slammed very hard against the doorknob of the head door. Later, I had an enormous bruise on my rear end. However, the wind only lasted around a half hour and then died. We tried to sail and it was actually a very nice sail as there were no waves however, we were only going 3 knots and at that rate we would not be arriving into the PLC area till after dark so we had to turn on the iron jenny. We tried to fish but didn't catch anything. We arrived in La Borracha around 3pm and went into the anchorage. There was no wind when we arrived but then it picked up so we were glad we got settled before it did as the anchorage was very small and reefs surrounded us. We were only about 20 feet away from the starboard reef. I was a little nervous we would be boarded during the night, as there are all sorts of reports of pirates along the coast. But luckily, we spent a quiet, uneventful night. Our guidebook did say this anchorage had bats so we put our screens up. We locked ourselves into the boat for precaution. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon both just reading and relaxing. We didn't want to bother to take the dinghy down. We had bacon wrapped in lomito for dinner. We went to bed around 9pm but I couldn't fall asleep. The wind howled until about midnight and then calmed down completely. June 3 Tuesday I woke up around 4:30am when I heard something that I think were bats. Larry said he thought it wasn't. Anyway, there was no wind at all so it's completely calm out which makes the heat seem very intense. Oh well, as soon as we get into the marina we will plug in the good old AC again. Anyway, I went back to sleep and finally got up around 7:30. We had bacon and eggs for breakfast and listened to the security net on the SSB. Once we get into the marina we don't listen to it, as the reception is very bad. We pulled up the anchor around 8:30 and motored into PLC. It was about 10 miles so took us about 1.5 hours. We arrived at our slip in Bahia Redonda, where we stayed last year, around 10:30am. We have a med mooring again but hope to get a side too slip as soon as one opens up. We saw Tom from Mima as he came over to meet us. Steph was home in the US for a visit. We also saw our friends on S/V Plenum. Larry went for drinks with Tom (at 10:30 in the morning?) and I went to see Janice. I came back earlier than Larry as we wanted to get the boat rinsed down well before we put up the AC. We took the mainsail down and washed the boat down. We noticed a lot of rust on the stanchions. Unfortunately, we don't get to hose the boat down to frequently so things accumulate salt on them and make things rusty. But we just don't have enough fresh water for ourselves let alone rinse the boat down. Weedie from Plenum helped Larry get the AC onto the deck. It's very awkward and just a little heavy for me to carry. We are out of all kinds of fresh fruit and vegetables so Janice and I split a cab and went to the supermarket in the afternoon. I took a quick jump in the pool before we went shopping, as I was hot from washing the boat down in all that heat. It was late when I got back so we had a quick dinner at the marina and went to bed at 9pm. We were both tired from working in all that heat. June 4 Wednesday Well, we have lots of laundry, as I had not done the wash in almost a month. Lots of clothes have stains on them so I started soaking them in Oxiclean. Larry started washing down all the canvas on the boat, as we can't remember the last time we did it. We certainly have never done the bimini in a long time and it had a lot of red color from the African dust in the air. You should have seen all the dirt coming off the canvas. We really had to soak it to get it all clean. Anyway, I also spent the morning reorganizing the food and putting everything away. I stored all the rum bottles and reorganized the 2 shelves under the dish drain. I also called the eye clinic in Caracas to schedule Larry's eye surgery. We got the appointment for July 7 for the consultation, July 8 for the surgery, and July 9 for the follow-up. We also called our friend Giulio in Caracas. We quit working on the boat around 4pm, as we were both tired and we also weren't used to all that heat again. It was very nice in the out islands with a nice wind blowing but here when there's no wind and it gets very hot. We launched the dinghy, as tonight was the cocktail party at Maremares. They have wonderful FREE food and drinks for one hour so we always try to go if possible. After the cocktail party, we went to this Arab place near Aqua Vi marina via dinghy with Plenum and Tom from Mima. June 5 Thursday I tried soaking more stained clothes in Oxiclean. We have a lot of stains so it's taking a long time to get the stains out. We were both tired today and didn't get up until after 8am as we didn't get home last night until around 10:30. We are usually in bed by 9pm also! But it was nice to go out and socialize for a change. We went to a dinner with all the other cruisers usually held on Thursday nights. They either have it at the restaurant here in BR or the cheap seafood restaurant outside BR. All the cruisers are invited. We went but don't think we will go again. We enjoyed being with all the other cruisers but the shrimp we had was fried and not very good. The meal we had the other night also wasn't great so I don't think we will be eating there too often. Anyway, I didn't think the meal was worth the almost $18USD. |