|
Home Port Our Logs The Crew Calendar Favorite Links The Boat Photo Album Route and Charts Miscellaneous Stuff |
Diane's DiaryNov 8 Friday I had to bring some laundry in to get washed today since we will be out cruising another month and we already have a pile of it. Since we are just barely getting enough wind to run all the house electric, not to mention the water maker, hand washing clothes is out of the picture as it will use too much water. I only had a small load to bring in- 2.5 KG but when I got to Vemasca, they said there was a minimum of 3.5KG to wash clothes. So, we had to go back to the boat to get more laundry, as we would have had to pay for the extra 1KG anyway. Naturally, when I came back I had 6KG. But still, all this for wash, dry & folds including soap was only $5USD so it was actually pretty cheap. It probably was equivalent to about 3 loads of laundry. I'm sure it would cost a lot more in the US to do all that! Anyway, we decided to do some more shopping & went to the Sambil mall, less than 2 years old & just beautiful. We spent the day using the Internet, shopping, eating lunch & then decided to go to the movies. Unfortunately, the first show did not start until 4pm. Normally we are not thrilled about coming back to the boat too late since we know the dinghy dock is only watched until 7pm but we knew we would be back to the boat by then. Well, we saw K19 for $2PP & it was great. For those of you who haven't seen it, go, it was fantastic. The movie theatre was immaculate with wonderful seats. There were only 5 of us in the theatre! Nov 9 Sat I got a really bad night sleep last night. There is a disco that starts at 9pm & goes until 3am & keeps me awake. Between the disco & rolly anchorage, I am not sleeping much & am just about ready to leave Porlamar. Anyway, we also had lots of rain during the night & had to play tag opening & closing all the hatches, which was not fun. We went to pick up our laundry in the am & then spent the rest of the day on the boat. I had some fish that went bad as I guess I had it in the refrig to long. Who knows how old it really was when I bought it. So, at the last minute, I had to make chili instead. Nov 10 Sun We were both up early- before 6am as the boat was really rocking & rolling & I was very uncomfortable. I made some bacon & eggs. I also fried up 2KG of chicken cutlets so we can have chicken cutlet Parmesan. After that, I defrosted the freezer again- seems like it has to be done about every 2 weeks out here. I guess it's hotter down here than when we were up island last winter. There is almost no wind today so it is very hot. We went over to S/V Sweet Dreams for about an hour immediately after lunch, as they just came back from Merida & filled us in on where to go etc. Then I went to play dominoes but Larry stayed at the boat & drove me. I had a good time & am definitely getting addicted to it. S/V Maha 3 with Graham & Denise drove me back & came on the boat for drinks. They spent 3 months in Juangriego so filled us in on where to go. We will go back to the store tomorrow to get some last minute food, Larry will get gas & water & we will be on our way on Tuesday. Anyway, Maha 3 stayed until past 7pm so I was glad we had leftover chili that we could just heat up for dinner. Nov 11 Mon At 9:30, I went to supermarket CM. I was just fortunate to get a ride from the owner of Jak's restaurant. I bought some more perishables. Larry went to get dinghy gas, & had water delivered. We threw out the last minute garbage, got the dinghy engine off the dinghy & hauled the dinghy up on deck. We only have about a 25 mile sail tomorrow but we have to go about 5 miles directly into the wind so want to leave early in the am before the wind comes up. Nov 12 Tuesday I was up at 3am when the buzzing sound indicating low voltage went off. Unless someone turns it off, it continues to buzz. I couldn't get back to sleep after that. Larry got up at 5am & we got ready to leave. We could have left by 6am but I wanted to stay & listen to the 6:30am weather so we did. We left the anchorage at 7am bound for Juangriego. The first 5 miles were straight unto the wind but because the wind had not strengthened yet it wasn't too bad. Once we turned north at the end of the island I thought we would have a nice sail but the wind wasn't very strong & because we were close to shore where the water is shallower, the waves were more pronounced & we had waves up to 7'. I wasn't thrilled but at least I didn't get seasick though my stomach was a little unstable. Once we turned west at the end of the island we had a beautiful downwind sail for about an hour. I wish all our passages could be like this! Anyway, a cruiser had warned us we would get the "Bequia blast" coming down a steep mountain near Juangriego. This is where the wind accelerates down the mountain & causes a wind increase. This same thing happens in Bequia so everyone calls it the Bequia blast. Anyway, it was a good thing he told us about it because we rolled in the jib & then the wind went flat. We were just about to unfurl the jib again when the blast of wind hit us like a ton of bricks so it was a good thing the jib was in. We got safely into port & anchored behind 2 French boats. There were about 5 sailboats in the anchorage. The water was extremely filthy. We had heard a sewer pipe emptied into the harbor & by the looks of it, I'm sure this is true. We had lots & lots of fishing boats whizzing past us. I felt like I was in Grand Central Station! As long as we waved first, they all waved to us. We were a little tired from the passage so decided to stay on the boat today & go into town tomorrow. I cut up the meat & marinated it for some beef bourguignon for tomorrow. I also made some chocolate pudding so we can have it for my birthday. Nov 13 Wed- MY BIRTHDAY! Well, it certainly did not seem like my birthday- maybe because we didn't have anyone else to celebrate it with. Last year we were in Trini, & a bunch of us went to Joe's Pizza & I got a whole bunch of really neat stuff. This year I didn't get anything so it was a bit depressing. At home, my Mom always made our birthdays very special. We didn't have to do chores that day & she made us whatever we wanted for dinner & dessert. Thanks Mom - I always remember your making our birthdays something special! Anyway, it just seemed like another day. OK, I know those of you at home are thinking this is no big deal but it is difficult not being with your friends & family back home on holidays. Anyway, our friends on Mima remembered it was my birthday & called on the SSB to wish me a happy birthday. Thanks for remembering guys- it really made my day! We launched the dinghy & pulled it up on a beach a cruiser told us about. He had told us to leave our oars, fuel line & fuel tanks with the restaurant or that they would be stolen. The restaurant doesn't charge anything to watch the stuff or the dinghy but it's only polite to have a meal or just a few drinks. Anyway, we walked around the town exploring into all the stores. Rather, I went into the stores & Larry just took pictures. We went to a really nice French restaurant for lunch a cruiser told us about. Very good French food- I had calamari wonderfully prepared with vegetables & mashed potatoes. Larry had spaghetti carbonara- also very good. For dessert, we each had crepes- I had crepes Suzette & they were excellent, Larry had a fruit crepe. We had a few drinks & Larry had coffee. With the service charge the bill came to less than $20USD. Not bad- this same meal in the US would have been over $75. This price was high for Venezuelans but it was considered one of the best restaurants in town & the food was very good. Afterwards, we walked around town some more & had a few drinks at the restaurant that was watching our dinghy. I had a migraine headache that I just got that morning so I wasn't feeling too well. Plus, the wind was very light so it was very hot walking around. We went back to the boat & just relaxed. I had made the beef bourgnion, chocolate pudding plus I had bought a bottle of champagne for my birthday but since we had such a big lunch & I wasn't feeling well, we decided to hold off & have it another day. We just had a light dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches. In all, it wasn't a great birthday & I didn't get a cake or anything. Nov 14 Thursday We left the boat around 9:30am & drove the dinghy back to the same restaurant again to watch it. They do not open until 9am so we didn't want to get there any sooner. Anyway, they watched the dinghy & we took a walk up to the fort. Some kids approached us & asked for money. This is the first time we have encountered that in VZ. I guess this is very much a tourist town & they are used to getting it. We did not give them anything. The view from the fort was very impressive as we had a perfectly clear day. We walked around town some more & than had a nice pizza lunch at this restaurant on the beach this cruiser told us about. For about $8USD, we had a huge wonderful pizza with several drinks & tip right on the beach. I can't imagine a nicer setting & could never have this cheap a meal at a beachside restaurant in the US. It's a view we will long remember. Afterwards, we walked to the bakery & around the town some more. We had a really nice experience getting fuel. We went over to the docks to ask what time they open up again after the siesta. They didn't speak English at all but I got from them that the pump was broken so they couldn't give us any fuel. They told me to go into town to get some. I told them we were on a boat & didn't have a car to get us to the gas station. So, since we only needed around 10 liters, they gave it to me by siphoning it out of a boat that was on land. They were so nice it was unbelievable. I wanted to pay them but they wouldn't accept the money. Thankfully, I had brought some Hershey's kisses with me & gave this to them- I am pretty sure they really appreciated the thought. The whole incident & the way it was handled, truly represented the very positive experiences we have had with the Venezuelan people. We have not been treated this good in all the eastern Caribbean. Everyone talks about major problems with security here in VZ but so far we have had no problems whatsoever. Afterwards, I made some banana bread with some old bananas & made the beef bourgnion for dinner. We took off the dinghy engine & hauled the dinghy up on deck. We will leave early in the morning for the 60-mile trip to Blanquilla. |