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Diane's DiarySept 19 Thursday We had an extremely hectic last day in the US. We left the house we lived in for over 15 years never to return. We left our cat Cinnamon with my parents. We do not know if he will be alive next year. Needless to say, it was an extremely stressful day. I definitely was very upset about leaving my house I loved so much. In addition, the cab to the airport came 30 minutes late & he had another passenger already in it. I had told the cab company we had a lot of luggage & the correct town but they got it wrong. The cab had to take the tire out of the trunk in order to fit our entire luggage in! To top it all off, we were over weight in 2 of our bags & American wanted to charge us $100 extra per bag! But I got the smart idea to get another box & just put things in that so we would only have to pay $100 instead of $200. I had 2 large carryons also so we put that stuff also in the box. We had to do this at the check in counter. By the time we got to the airport, waited on line, & transferred our stuff to the box, & waited to go through security, we got on the plane 20 minutes before departure. We were both stressed to the max! Luckily, our plane was nonstop so we didn't have to change planes in Miami like the last time. We were very fortunate our friend Giulio picked us up at the airport & let us stay at his rental apartment. We had no problems with customs & they didn't even open up our luggage at all thank God! We had brought some gifts back from the US for Guilio's family. In addition, we brought a new GPS for him & a car part he needed. We were glad our belongings weren't searched as we would never have been able to pack them up again. We probably got to Giulios' rental apartment around 11pm. Our flight had actually been about 45 minutes early. Now that is a first! We were both so exhausted we slept very soundly. We were both glad to be back in VZ. Sept 20 Friday Giulio picked us up around 9:30 am & we did some errands with him. We were able to give him US cash & he got Bolivar's (I will call them B's from now on as everyone else does) for us. The B is now about 1450 to the USD. When we left in July the B was around 1313 so the USD is worth more, which is very good for us but not good for VZ. There is a lot of political upheaval right now as their President Chavez is becoming extremely unpopular with the people. We like VZ so far & hope this all will be resolved peacefully. Anyway, we treated Guilio for lunch, as it was the least we could do for everything he has done for us. My parents had gone to Front St Bakery in my hometown & got a cheese Danish & crumb cake for us & we brought it back to VZ with us. We knew we had no food on the boat & there was no food in Guilio's apartment. Anyway, Guilio was going to PLC to see his boat so we were lucky to get a lift with him. We didn't leave Caracas until 2:30 & it was almost 7:30 by the time we finally got back to Destiny. She was fine & Larry was glad to see his baby again. Our friends Weedie & Janice kept a good eye on it. The only problem was I left non-refrigerated yogurt in the dish drain & the intense heat in the boat made it split & went all over. UGH! I also discovered I had left onions in one of the cabinets that rotted. The stench was unbelievable! Anyway, thankfully Giulio helped us with our luggage. Our bags were extremely heavy & we needed his help to get them on the boat. Welcome back to Destiny! We are glad to be back to our only home left! Anyway, I had a migraine headache the whole day - don't know if it's from the car pollution (there are no catalytic converters here in VZ), heat or stress from leaving the US. Sept 21 Sat Well, it is extremely hot out & we are both feeling the effects of the intense heat. It was cold in NY & we had gotten used to the hot temperatures. Now, our bodies had to adjust to this heat. Our boat is not pointed into the wind here at the marina, which makes it even hotter on the boat. We get almost no wind into the boat. If we do decide to stay in VZ we need to get an AC. I am definitely having a hard time with the heat & am definitely crabby from its' effects. We spent the whole day unpacking & the boat is a wreck with everything scattered everywhere. There is actually no place to sit! We offered to go out sailing with Guilio but he said he didn't want to go. I think he knew we had lots to do. He actually took Janice & me to the supermarket late in the afternoon, as he knew we didn't have any food on the boat. What a terrific guy! We treated him to a nice dinner out this evening for being so nice to us. He suggested a restaurant in America Vespecio marina so that's where we went. We even brought some gifts back for the US for his family. In addition, we brought a new GPS & a car part he needed. I still had my migraine headache the whole day- I couldn't seem to shake it. Sept 22 Sun We spent the entire day cleaning the boat & putting everything away. It is still extremely hot out & we definitely are not adapting to the heat well. We went over to the Dinghy Hospital- yes, our new dinghy was there awaiting us. They only have to put the lifting straps on it for us. Larry needs to tell them where he wants them. We were very lucky to have ordered it in July. The price was set in B's at the time we purchased it so we are actually paying less for it now. We paid about $1340USD for it- far less than anyone we know. Last year we know some cruisers paid about $1650 for the same model. We checked the price at the Newport Boat show & the boat show special price was $2800 & tax. The normal price was $3300 & tax. Now, beginning in Sept the price here in PLC is fixed in USD & the price went up to about $1850! So, we definitely got a good price on it. We know we hopefully will never have to buy another dinghy again! This dinghy should last us a really long time. I also went to pay our marina bill. The bill was almost $900 for 77 days - over 2 months so it wasn't too bad. They did not charge us for electric while we were gone. We felt safe with the boat in a marina while we were gone - especially as we had friends to look after it. Anyway, I also cleaned out all our food drawers- I found little bugs- not weevils or cockroaches- but I thought it was best to clean out all the drawers. I still need to do a food inventory & provision before we leave here. It's still extremely hot out. I went to the pool in the late afternoon to cool off- it's just too hot to use the pool during the day. Sept 23 Mon We got an estimate for a dinghy cover- $250USD. $30 more expensive than the guy in Margarita but this looks like a better cover so we will get one made here. Unfortunately, he can't get the colors we want- gray for the top & navy for the vinyl, until next week. It's a lot of money to spend on a cover but we know it's very important to protect the dinghy. The intense sun & UV damage really does a number on the dinghies. Since we spent so much money on it, we might as well protect it. Sept 24 Tuesday I made a big pot of chili in the am. In the afternoon, it got cloudy. Since it was not as hot, I washed down the entire boat. It is amazing how filthy it got while we were gone. I know the bottom must have a lot of growth also. I went for my regular afternoon swim. Sept 25 Wed Our good friends on S/V Mima came in for a few days. They needed to use a phone as Tom's Mom is sick & he needs to go home. They will be back at the end of October to PLC so he can fly home. Since they didn't check in, they only wanted to stay a few days. We were really glad to see them both again! We helped them get back into their slip & sat around & talked for a while. We went over to the Dinghy Hospital - our dinghy will be ready on Friday. We really are in no rush to get it since we are in the marina. Also, we would rather get the dinghy cover ASAP so the less time it sits out in the sun the better. Tom wanted to go to a restaurant they used to go to in downtown PLC so we all went there for dinner. We took a taxi there & back since it's really not safe at night. We got out right in front of the restaurant & had no problems what so ever. We have been talking about buying an AC. This is something I had wanted to do in Trinidad as we spent so much money in rental fees we could have bought the AC twice! But Larry didn't want to buy one as it takes up so much storage. However, rental prices in PLC we more expensive than Trini so we decided to buy one. We have decided to stay the winter in VZ so buying one definitely makes sense. Also, we will need an AC immediately upon arrival in Fl. So, we have to look about where to get one. Sept 26 Thursday I called around to get some AC prices. Then, we split a taxi with Mima to the Plaza Mayor shopping center. Very nice mall - but not as nice as the new Sambil mall in Margarita. They have a big grocery store & lots of shopping & movie theaters. Fortunately, the movies are in English with Spanish subtitles. It was very cloudy with lots of rain. This is rainy season after all! We ate lunch & went food shopping. Mima was also buying groceries for their friends on S/V Survival. Anyway, we got back about 3:45pm & had to put all the groceries away. We went back over to Mima for a while for drinks since they have AC & we don't. Mima went to a party at CMO- they invited us to come with them but we felt funny about going since we didn't wind up hauling there at all. So, we went back to the boat instead & had dinner ourselves. Sept 27 Friday We went into downtown PLC this morning to buy the AC. We checked the prices at several stores but they were all about the same so we went to this store where another cruiser bought theirs & had no problems. So, $270 later we had our AC! It was difficult getting a taxi to take the AC for some reason but we finally got one. Larry & one of the marina guys carried it back to the boat. Larry had to fashion a "house" for the AC to fit into the hatch. He was cursing at the thing so I told Tom & he came over & helped him. Then, we all went to eat lunch in the restaurant in the marina. Tom & Steph were going to leave for Tortuga at 3pm. They left & we were sad to see them go though we know we will definitely be seeing them again. Afterwards, we picked up our new dinghy. So, today was a very expensive day for us! We spent more today than we normally spend in a whole month! We were so tired from all the day's activities that I didn't even get a chance to prepare dinner so we just ate in the marina. Dinner of pizza, 4 beers, 2 bottles of water with the tip was $8USD- can't beat those prices! Sept 28 Sat I spent the morning cooking- I made biscuit mix & turkey enchiladas. I also did 16 emails. It feels so great to have the AC. We are both finally getting a good night's sleep. Before we had the AC, I would wake up drenched with sweat because there's no breeze. Wish we had bought this before we left for the US as we could have left it on the entire time we were home. It would have been better for the boat that way. We did get some mildew in the boat but thankfully I had bought some Damp Rid containers in Trini so it wasn't as bad as it might have been. Anyway, I also updated my financial logs on our spending. Larry worked on our new dinghy. He has to make new lines so we can lift it out of the water. The water here is filthy so we don't want to leave it in the water at night. It's not a question of lifting it for security purposes like Margarita though. Here it's just the polluted water. Sept 29 Sun I updated my Excel spreadsheet on the trip expenses this morning from 9:30-12. Larry put the stuff away that we brought back. I went to play dominoes in the afternoon at our marina. When I got back to the boat, I found we had no electricity. We lost it around 3pm & it was questionable as to whether we would get it back that day. The boat gets hot really fast without the AC on. Fortunately, we got it back at 6pm. Since we had no electric, I went to the pool from 4-6pm & swam & read. I made good old spaghetti & meatballs for dinner. |