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Larry's LogThe next day, we were going to do a hike with Steph and Dave to the top of the mountains on the Araya Peninsula, but they were leaving very early and Diane had a bad headache so we skipped it. Later on, I was glad we did. Steph took Clem, their Beagle, and Dave took Spike, their Shih Tzu, and went to shore to start their hike at around 6. Around 7:30 we heard Judy calling over the water to Tom but he couldn't hear as the generator was on. We spoke to her and it seemed that Clem had run off chasing a goat and Steph and Dave were worried. It had also been a tough climb up and was proving to be a tougher one going down. So we got in our dinghy, went to Mima, got Tom and brought him to the next cove west since that's where Steph said, over the radio, that Clem had gone. We dropped Tom off and he waded ashore through some really disgusting mud. We had a handheld radio and spoke to Steph and she said that maybe we should try to help Tom since his hearing wasn't too good and he might not hear Clem well enough to find her. So we went back to the boat, Diane got her shoes and we went back. She waded in through the mud while I waited in the dinghy, looking at the crabs. Finally, Diane came back and said that Steph had found Clem but now we were looking for Tom. Diane went back out to look for Tom now. Eventually, Tom and Diane came back but it was a little difficult to get the dinghy launched - and they were really muddy. They got in but we were stuck so Tom got out and pushed but then we got into deep water very fast and he couldn't get in fast enough and almost fell in. I got his arm, pulled him in, went back to the boats and waited for Steph and Dave to get back. Dave had put his dinghy at the little landing spot in our cove so we could easily see when they were back. When they didn't come back in an hour, Judy asked Tom to go look for them. I then got in my dinghy to help but by the time I got in, I saw Dave back at his boat. I went over and he said Steph walked down to the other anchorage to meet them since they had seen Tom and Judy go there. I then went back to Destiny, got my camera and took some pictures around the lagoon. As I was going heading back, I saw Steph on Survival and she invited me aboard, so since Diane was napping, I went. I stayed for about an hour, and Judy made pancakes for everyone. Since Diane doesn't make pancakes, it was a real treat for me. We also watched the video Dave made of the hike. It was really tough but he said there was another way to go from a cove at the beginning of the lagoon that was much easier. If we tried it, that's where we would go from. After a nice visit, I went back to Destiny and we had lunch. After such a strenuous morning, we just relaxed but went over to Mima for dinner and a sing-along. Yes, it sounds corny, but it was fun. Dave had brought his guitar and Steph had one. Tom made an effort on his Concertina. We all had a great time. We had to run the engine for a while since there was some overcast yesterday but then we went snorkeling at about 9 with Judy for a couple of hours. We saw lots of Christmas Tree Worms, a large Porcupine fish and got some nice shots but the camera's back opened accidentally coming back so don't know if they will come out. The camera itself was a little wet around the seals but seemed OK - I cleaned it up and we'll see what happens. After lunch, we did some odd jobs around the boat and I went to Mima for R&R while Diane stayed on Destiny - she still had a headache. Around 3, she called and I drove her to Survival and went back to Mima. We all then had dinner aboard Survival - with dessert a great Grand Marnier Chocolate Cake. Who says we don't eat well. The next day we snorkeled again in the same place. Again, it was very good and we saw a Burrfish, Jawfish and several Flying Gurnards, all new species for us. Of course, the Christmas Tree worms were still there and we picked up some nice shells. We also saw Mo (don't know her full name) again, who had a boat in the next anchorage west - we had first met her, an older woman singlehanding for about 10 years, in Bequia last year. After snorkeling we just relaxed, but everyone came over to Destiny for dinner tonight. We did though, have the leftover cake that Judy made and some 'ice cream' that Steph made for dessert. We figured that the view was too good to pass up so we went for a hike up the mountains early the next day with Dave. We took a different route than he and Steph took though and went by dinghy to the Lagoon's first anchorage, beached it in some disgusting mud and walked up. It was somewhat tough at first but got easier. It was a great view but unfortunately, it was very cloudy, although I got some good shots. At the top you could see across the Gulf of Cariaco and on the other side to Margarita. We found a better way down though and got back to the boat around 10, after a hike of about 3 hours. A fisherman visited later in the day and wanted to sell us some long, skinny, silvery fish but we didn't buy any. He then asked for 'arroz' or 'spageti' but Diane tried giving him some bread, which he didn't want (gave it back, but it was a little stale at that point). Since they were leaving tomorrow and had plenty, that afternoon I went to Mima to get some water and fill our tanks. I made a total of 4 trips with about 11 gallons each time split between 2 jugs (the first time we also had lots of soda bottles to fill). Mima holds 450 gallons, and Survival (took about 100 gallons) rafted up to fill their tanks. Tom and Steph were going to Puerto La Cruz into a marina, so they didn't need all their water. After that, I spent some time there and I picked up Mo and her 70 pound Black Lab, Honey, from her boat and brought them to Mima where we all had dinner. It rained a good deal that evening and it got hot in their cockpit since the dodger was down. After dinner, I brought Mo and Honey back around 8:30; we got a little lost but finally found her boat and got back OK. The trip back was nice with lots of phosphorescence in the water from the dinghy wake. I had left Diane on Mima so I went back there and wished Tom and Steph a safe trip to PLC and Survival a safe tip back to the Chesapeake. We got up early and saw both Mima and Survival leave and I wished them both a safe trip as they went past. It was a very still morning and I took some nice pictures of the boats and their reflections. I had to run the engine for about 2 hours that day since the batteries were very low - no sun from yesterday because of the rain and very little wind too. It was also very still that morning. Luckily, the alternator and regulator worked perfectly, showing no ill effects from leaving the regulator switch on. I worked on my logs for a while and then fixed the windlass switch. It was hard to start but I found just a little corrosion on the contacts that was easy to fix. Diane and I then went to visit a British couple, John and Dianne, on the boat, Sabaai, anchored near Motu. They were avid birders and shell collectors and said they would tell us where to go to see many Scarlet Ibis at the end of the Gulf of Cariaco. They also said we could see a large flock of Black Skimmers in a bay just a little before that. When we got there, they showed us a beautiful, large Murex shell just collected and told us where in the Lagoon they found it. We thanked them for the information and their hospitality and then went to visit with Mo for a bit. She was glad for the company and we stayed longer than we wanted, since we planned to leave the next day. We finally left, came back and raised the dinghy engine and got ready to leave. When we removed the gas tank from the dinghy, I noticed that we had used about 3 gallons so far; we would probably get more in Porlamar. I also found our little wireless motion detector and set it up on the companionway steps. The British couple said they always lock themselves in the boat - I didn't feel it was really necessary, as we both felt very safe here, but just in case... Friday we left early for Medregal Village, a small resort about 25 miles down the Gulf. I started taking up the anchor at 7am, but since it was a mangrove anchorage, the chain was very muddy and I didn't finish until 7:30, with washing the chain and anchor off before letting it go into the locker. The wind was very light from the southeast and we motored all the way in very light chop, with the wind eventually becoming East Southeast at about 5 knots. We arrived at Medregal Village at 11:15, found Picasso and 2 other boats, not occupied. I setup the boat's solar panels, Diane did the sun canvas and we relaxed a bit. After lunch, we got the dinghy ready and went into Medregal Village. After relaxing with a beer, we went back to the boat for our shower stuff and to bring in the garbage. After our very refreshing showers, we each had another drink and met Jean Marc, the owner. We made arrangements to have a nice lunch tomorrow, talked with him a bit and went back to the boat. Claude and Dianne from Picasso came over around 5 and we had a very nice time with them for a few hours. As often happens in this part of the Gulf, there were some thundershowers across on the south shore but they weren't on the north side, just 8 miles away. |