|
E-Mails from Reylyn and "Tropical
Dance" November 2002 - March 2003 Curacao,
Bonaire, Venezuela, Eastern Caribbean North to St. Martin |
 Paria penninsula |
The headings below
are e-mails sent by Reylyn from September 2002 through January
2003. They are for all intents and purposes a journal of events
and experience along the Venezuelan coast and offshore islands
including Bonaire and Curacao then back again to Venezuela, the
passage Eastward to the Windward islands and North to St. Martin.
Click on any of the topics
and you will be taken there. These e-mails are on one continuous
page so you can also scroll down the page.
|
 Polimar Venezuela |
1. On the Move Again ( First entry after leaving Chagaruamas, Trinidad to move westward.)
2. The Wilds of Venezuela ( Westward from Ensa de Mejiilones located on the Paria Penninsula.)
3. Return to civilization ( First accounts of seeing Venezuelan citylife )
4. Exploring the Out-Islands of Venezuela ( Blanquilla, Tortuga, Las Aves )
5. Back to Bonaire ( Beginning our trek back to the east )
6. The Final Decision ( Plans to travel along the Venezuelan north coast)
7. Bugs and Sunglasses ( Adventures in Morrocoy National Park)
8. Anchor Stucka in Ensa Cata ( An overnight stop as we East along the Venezuelan coast )
9. Carabelleda and Carenero ( More overnight stops along the coast)
10. It's the Ice Cream ( Puerto La Cruz, the people, the malls, the marinas, the ice cream )
11. The last days of Venezuela ( Puerto La Cruz-Testigos, the strike, waiting for weather )
12. I'd rather be sailing ( the 36 hour motor sail to weather from Las Testigos )
13. The "Cutest Island" Award ( Le Saints off the Guadilupe coast )
14. Greetings from St Maarten, and St. Martin! ( A different kind of e-mail )
|
On the Move Again
Sent Aug 02 02
Hola, y buenos noches!
Nosotros estamos en Venezuela! We left CrewsInn this morning
around 10:30am and made it to our first anchorage in Venezuela
by 3:00 pm, in a bay called CABO SAN FRANSISCO. We are traveling
with two other cruising yachts . .Kiwa and Sol Dance, and plan
to move together towards Margarita over the next few days, stopping
in a few anchorages along the way. We're anchored tonight using
a bow AND stern anchor, with the bow facing out to sea.
This bay is gorgeous with emerald green waters and cliffs carpeted
with palms and other tall trees smothered in vines. The mountains
above have clouds dripping over the tops. That's daytime. This
evening, I witnessed the dark cliffs twinkle with fireflies, while
the water gently sparkles with phosphorescence with an occasional
flash of lightning in the sky.
So, now that we're out of the "black hole" and cruising
again, we'll be in the email swing again. Check our new position
at http://www.winlink.org/aprs . . . type in kg6ewq.
Hasta la luego
SV Tropical Dance
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TheWild of Venezuela Sent Aug 04 02
Greetings from Ensa de Mejiilones, Venezuela.
Northeast coast. We are anchored tonight about 8 miles
west of the last anchorage along with Sol Dance and Kiwa.
Another interesting day as we explore the "wild"
part of the Venezuelan coast between Margarita and Trinidad. Bays
interspersed with small fishing villages nestled along the coast
where the jungle cliffs meets the sea. Tall trees tower on steep
drops, palms splattered all about the ridges and wildlife lurking
within. The local people who live here are as remote as are Eskimos
in the arctic . .it seems anyway
Once again as we anchored, we were immediately approached by
a local fishing boat asking for anything. And understandably so.
We decided to oblige in a light way, only because it is sooo remote
here. And we somewhat prepared for this, (bringing items specifically
to give away)in order to keep the relations between us foreigners
and the local people, harmonious. Today, I gave out note booklets
(with Monsters Inc. on the front), along with a few pens, some
shavers for the men, a few Reeses peanut butter cups, and a liter
of shelvable milk to a family (for kids, 1 toddler, two mothers
and a father) on a skiff. Dan and I decided to only give out cigarettes
or liquor to the fishermen only if they could exchange for fish.
Well, ok, we get soft and give out cigarettes here and there,
and since we're the VISITORS, we feel that this establishes a
peaceful existence between two such diverse cultures.
We have read, been told by experienced cruisers, and warned
that this coast can be risky at times. At the same time we understand
(once again from veteran cruisers) that the level of risk is relative
to the level of ignorance, lack of common sense, and sloppy actions
that (other) cruisers sometimes may commit.
Anchoring where the fishermen regularly anchor should be avoided.
(Drunk captains, going ashore and messing with the women would
be another good example of plain stupidity. Or just being stand-offish
and shooing away the local boats without a friendly hello and
attempt to converse is just not the way to behave in these waters.
Dan once read a book called "The Peoples Guide to Mexico".
Well, there should be one for Venezuela too. It's just the way
it is.
At the same time, we are seeing some incredible scenery. It
really is beautiful here. While the water isn't quite like the
Exumas or Tabago Cays, it does have it's special emerald green
quality and clarity. The foliage is lush, and the mountains are
dramatic. The only place I can think of somewhat similar is the
Napali coast of Kauai as far as the terrain goes. And if you got
good eyes, you'll probably catch a giant blue butterfly flitting
about, or a monkey swinging in the treetops. Oddly enough, among
all this wild jungle around, there seem to be very few mosquitos
(if any) or flies that are near the water. However, on our beach
picnic yesterday, we did observe some very large ants, a few very
decorative cockroaches and some little tiny catipillars falling
from the trees. A minor nuisance. I do keep my eyes open for the
nasty centipedes that we are warned about in the cruising guide.
For those who have not ventured these waters yet, don't be
so afraid to. However, here are some recommendations we endorse:
Buddy cruise with two or three other boats. No more than that.
Anchoring space is limited. While two boats may go ashore to explore
the other(s) can stand watch. Smile and wave at the local fishing
boats as you enter the anchorage. They smile and wave back too!
Should a local skiff approach your boat, don't be afraid to try
to talk to them. They will ask for something, only cause they
probably need it. Of course, there's only so much we can give,
and they will try to get all they can from every boat. What ever
you do give, they won't ask for more. They seem to appreciate
whatever you can surrender. And if you don't have anything . .
.just send them away nicely. One thing we're discovering is they
need medical supplies . . . band aids, gauze, antibiotic cream,
perhaps a small bottle(an airline liquor bottle works well) of
hydrogen peroxide, or rubbing alcohol, maybe a few qtips, stuff
like that. Even just a little, probably helps alot. This morning
two guys came over and needed to borrow a dive mask to look under
their boat, (the one they had looked awful and leaked probably).
I lent them my really cool goggle-mask. They returned it when
they were finished. We asked if everything was ok and if they
needed anything else, and that was it!
Our next trek will start early tomorrow morning to Ensenada
Medina, approximately 58 miles or so. From there it's on to Margarita.
-Reylyn SV Tropical Dance
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Return to civilization Sent
Aug 10, 02
Our first hint of returning to civilization was anchoring in
Ensenada Medina, a small, but very pretty local beach resort on
the north coast of the mainland just east of Puerto Santos. As
we approached closer and closer to the sounds and sights of Sunday
beach-combers, an element of shock hit us after spending three
days in total remoteness. Interestingly enough, by sunset, families
dispearsed and left the beach lit up with bright orangish lights
near the cabanas, thankfully leaving us with a stunning view of
the starlit sky despite the brightly lit beach. The phosphorus
in the water here at night was making our anchor chain light up
to about 10 feet down!
By dawn, Sol Dance and Kiwa had both lifted anchor and moved
on out to head for Porlamar Margarita. We agreed that it was not
necessary for us to leave the anchorage so early and pulled out
by 7:30am. We would catch up to the others sometime before arriving
in Porlamar. When we did, the wind was showing up, and we decided
to fly the shoot the rest of the way in. Sol Dance was kind enough
to take digital photos of Tropical Dance, and now I have my desktop
background with a picture of TD and her shoot.
Margarita is a hustling bustling ocean side metropolis that
would remind you of Puerto Vallarta or even Waikiki, only smaller.
Yet, buildings 10-20 story high line up against the low mountains
in the background. Unfortunetly, some of these buildings are skelletons
and have been for some time. Built back in the hay day of the
80's when oil was making Venezuelens rich, hotels and condos sprouted
up, along with a few beachside resorts. Unfortunately today, occupancy
in most of the high end condominuims are around 10-15%! Some are
closed down completely. And others never finished construction!
Very sad to me.
The anchorage is large and sports a very nice dinghy dock,
a small internet cafe, with library for book trade, a customs
agent, and a small restuarant run by an ex-pat and his asian wife
Jak. Jak makes really really good food. Angel, the "dinghy
dock master" is a sweethart and stands watch all day for
the dinghies. He helps you tie up, load up, desposes trash and
does all of this with a warm smile and a little espaniol. Angel
makes his living from us cruisers on tips. At night, Angel is
not at the dock, but someone else usually is, and you can pay
him to watch your dinghy if you should go out late. Oh, and speaking
of money, the US dollar is VERY strong here - 1300 B's to one
dollar. A Polar Beer costs 300 B's. A great meal will run anywhere
from 3500 - 9500 B's. Taxi's into town cost 2500. And so and so
on. Marina Juan is the main man to check you into customs. He
also does runs to Sigo every Wednesday. Sigo is a membership store,
but not like Costco or PriceSmart. You don't need to buy in bulk,
its' normal shopping. Wines and liquiors are great bargins in
Margarita.
Security is important here, but as we learned, it is up to
the cruisers to do there part. We're warned that we must lift
our dinghy up EVERY night. Laziness results in a stolen dinghy
here. Never fails. Two were taken in the last week during the
night. Even though locked, thieves just clip the cable or chain
and off they go, while you're sleeping. . Like anywhere else,
walking around at night in the city is not recommended for tourists.
The most impressive store they have is in downtown Porlamar,
called Rattan. Rattan is a grocery and houseware store. And it
is the most beautiful store! Outside it looks like a another run
down market. When you walk inside, you've just entered the Nordstroms'
of supermarkets. It's one of the best markets I've ever been in
anywhere. Imported foods from all over - good quality produce,
a subperb deli and liquior department and atmostphere with good
prices that makes grocery shopping here so much fun. I didn't
want to leave.
Downtown, or "el centro" reminds me alot of something
I'd see in California. The streets here look and feel just like
the west coast to me. Normal curbs, storefronts, cars , everything.
The only difference here is the language and people. People are
very friendly, well groomed, and seem happy. You wouldn't know
that they're in a depressed economy, they don't show it.
After three days in Porlamar, we moved onto the north coast
of Margarita with Kiwa to a place called JuanGriego. A fairly
good size seaside fishing village with nice patio style restuarants,
and small boutiques or roadside vendors all along the waterfront.
Another place that reminds me of California, or Mexico for that
matter. Margot, Malcolm, Dan and myself went in for waterfront
seafood patio dining. Isn't that the way it should be?? It's the
last night of civilization before heading to the "outislands"
of Venezuela.
This morning, I'm up early (4am) to write this and send out.
We'll be leaving shortly for our 10 hour trek up to Blanquilla
with Kiwa. Until then, or Chiao Hasta la vista,
-Reylyn SV Tropical Dance
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Exploring the Out-Islands
of Venezuela Sent Sept. 02 02
After getting our fill of shopping and decent restaurant food,
it was time to venture out to the islands and head farther west.
Our first island stop would be La Blanquilla, which was our first
experience with an offshore island in Venezuela. Most cruisers
hit Los Testigos from Trinidad, however we opted to sail the mainland
coast and skip Testigos going west.
Blanquilla:
A little desert island that lies approximately 50 miles northwest
of Margarita. The most favored anchorage seems to be Playa Yaque
on the west side where there's a long sandy beach with some coral
reefs in selected spots. For a desert island, it's actually quite
nice. Only two palm trees in view from the anchorage. The water
seemed to be somewhat clear, with underwater reefs that were pretty
nice, nothing spactular, but good fun. We enjoyed two beach BBq's,
one in the middle of the day, and then the next evening with some
new folks anchored near us we've never met. The evening BBQ was
really nice. Dan even spotted a satellite moving from east to
west right above our heads just after the sunset.
We did trek up to Americano Bay with our dinghy and snorkeled
the entire bay where I would say was the most satisfying snorkel
yet in this territory. Caverns to play in, clear water with white
sand, and the most spectacular spot was under the archway on the
north side. I was in heaven there, since I like to free dive,
the depths were anywhere from 10-30 feet on the outer edge of
the bay with rock canyons, tall feathering corals, lots of fish
and beautiful deep agua blue light from the deeper water outside.
Good stuff, especially if you have dive tanks or like to free
dive.
Tortuga:
We sailed Southwest to Tortuga to a bay called Playa Caldera.
Once again, the terrain of the island was desert and low lying,
flat as a tortilla. That late afternoon shortly after anchoring,
we packed up the cooler with a bottle of wine, crakers and cheese
and headed for the beach for a sundowner. Oddly enough with all
the haze in the sky that late afternoon, this beach reminded me
alot of Oxnard shores, only without the houses behind us and of
course a lot warmer. Long long stretches of white sand beach with
dunes in some places, speckeled with low succelant like shrub.
There are two fishing camps in this bay, one that faces the bay
out near the end of a spit, and another that faces to the east
on the other side further towards the beginning of the spit.
Much of the fishing fleet seem to hang out here looking at
the village of "fish camps", though I understand that
small planes fly in weekend vacationers from the mainland and
beachcomb here for the day. Looking at the size of the camps,
it appeared to be a major post for these guys. We counted 8 of
the large Venezuelan boats in the anchorage that evening and the
next day, with dozens of the little guys checking in to thier
respective beachside villas (camp). One thing Dan and I like about
sitting at anchor in some places is the entertainment value the
place itself has to offer. Here, just observing the fishing operation
was quite intriquing. LIttle boats coming up to big boats, checking
in, or throwing in fish. We learned the bigger boats are the ones
that have the refridgeration and ship the fish back to the main
ports where restuarant or fish markets will buy them. Now, when
I say big boats, were talking about 50-60', large versions of
the African Queen. Very classic looking wood boats. The little
boats of course, are the usual 15-20' skiffs.
Our second evening in Caldera, the operation was in full swing
and Dan decided to take the dinghy and video camera around and
photographed two of the large boats anchored next to us. After
returning to TD and printing the images on photopaper, he went
back out to the boats to give the captains' a photoprint of thier
boat. Not expecting anything in return, Dan came back with 2 large
snappers for dinner!
Our next anchorage for Tortuga was Herredura. More entertainment
in store for us, only this time it was the Venezuelan vactaioners
on their go-fast slick power boats and sport fishers. Some of
course anchored stern too, with cabanas set up on the beach. Something
like portable resorts. Herradura is a favorate among Venezuelans
and cruisers alike. The water is beautiful aqua and bright white
sand stretching accross the small bay. Rumour has it, you can
visit Ricardo, the cook, over at the fish camp and he'll talk
your ears off and give you a tour of the operation. Just sit on
the beach in front of the camp, and he'll come by and whisk you
away with his spanish charm and show off his digs.
Las Aves - Fish and Cookies
Sent Aug 25 02
At present we're sitting in "las
Aves" , the western most out-islands off the Venezuelan coast.
Here in the "aves" there is a Venezuelan Coast Guard
outpost. With nothing else to do they make the rounds of boats
that enter the island area and do "safety" checks. Expectedly,
they were very nice and a pleasure to have aboard. At Dan's suggestion,
I made a batch of chocolate ship cookies soon after we dropped
anchor and before they came to check us in. It is common knowledge
that these guys like to recieve beer. Dan didn't feel it appropriate
to give the Coast Guard beer. We also pulled out a music CD of
Andrea Bocelli to donate to their sted for their listening pleasure.
About one hour after we anchored, they came by and boarded us.
With a checkoff list, one by one we checked off all the safety
equipment, handed them the freshly baked cookies and the CD. Friendly
and somewhat satisfied they went off with the goods, probably
wondering why we didn't surrender any cerveza.
The next morning around 10am, they returned
to thank us for the cookies and music. They were thrilled with
it. I guess sweets don't come by them that often, and they ended
up giving us a beautiful freshly caught red snapper that was at
least a couple of feet in length. They actually wanted more cookies.
I explained to them I was fresh out of Betty Crocker magic, but
ahppily hand them a box of Duncan Hines Brownie with Walnuts.
I asked in spanish, "Tiene horno(oven), hueves(eggs) y aciete(oil)???"
He nodded a big yes and I handed over the miracle box.
Later that morning we headed off to the
horseshoe reef to snorkle and explore the other sandy islets by
dinghy.
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Back to Bonaire Sent Oct 17 02
After returning to Spanish Waters (Santa Barbara Resort) Curacao
and getting back on-board Tropical Dance, all was well with her.
Oddly enough, the boat tied next to us was a Gulfstar 44 called
Antigone, which the owners came to visit while we were back in
California. They left right before we flew back to Curacao and
unfortunately missed meeting them. Two boats, Kiana and Sundowner,
were able to keep an eye on her during our absence. Lynn and Paul
of Kiana were good marina buddies back in Trinidad so seeing them
again was comforting to us. We spent a good couple of days getting
back in cruising shape while enjoying time in the afternoons to
explore and relax. The first two days we rented a car which helped
us do business with customs/immigration, food shopping, and running
to the hardware store and a small chandlery.
The week spent was lots of fun. We thoroughly enjoyed the area
of Spanish Waters and glad we made the few extra miles to sail
there from Bonaire back in September. Our last night we took to
the anchorage and found a plethura of cruisers. There's a bar
in the anchorage area called Serufundi's - a local yachty bar
that's over the water. We almost felt like staying another week
just to hang with all the good people we met just that one night.
Alas, we felt it was time to begin making the move east.
So, we sailed yesterday to Bonaire , this time we've tied to
a mooring outside the marina along the water front near town.
In Bonaire there is NO anchoring and you are limited to either
going the marina or tying up to a mooring. Upon our return we
discovered some acquaintances from a few months ago. For one,
we ran into our Yacht Club buddies (DWYC, Dana Point, CA) , Mike
and Joyce aboard About Time who we discovered back in the Aves.
We also found Marnel IV, Just Desert and Sylvia K, all past acquaintances
from some other port or island. This is a good thing and I'll
explain why.
Perhaps some of you had heard that Venezuela is a troubled
country these days. You heard right, it is. The country wasn't
so bad a few months ago, even during the first attempts to oust
Chavez. Unfortunately it's not getting any better. After the incident
with Miss P, and now another since, it's time to be very cautious.
Our new goal is to make it east to Trinidad as fast as possible,
but also as safely as possible. This is a challenge. Stopping
at anchorages by ourselves is NOT an option at this point. Traveling
east against the trades and swell is another big challenge. So,
we're happy to see others that we are acquainted with and who
are equally as concerned going the same way. It is our intention
to transit through Venezuela with a few other boats, and to travel
to only the known "safer" anchorages. We'll keep you
up to date of course.
In the meantime, we're in Bonaire! . .. We're going to go diving!
-Reylyn and Daniel /SV Tropical Dance
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The Final Descision
Sent Oct 21 2002
Hello all,
After gathering as much information as we could about going
"east" back to Trinidad or the Windwards, sailing down
to the Venezuelan mainland is preferred. That's the so so news.
The good news is, we're sailing with three other boats until somewhere
near Tortuga. Other good news is, one of the boats we've joined
up with are fellow yacht club members, Joyce and Mike on "About
Time"(Irwin 52), who generally want to go to the same places
we do, all the way to Los Testigos. The rest of the flotilla are
Passagio(Hylas 46) and Inner Voice(Oyster 48) Last night, the
four boats got together on About Time and lets say, had a good
time!
Our plan is to all leave Bonaire around sunset and head out
towards Chichirivichi/Morocoy area. If the winds end up light
then that might be our morning destination. If the winds have
some power in them then we carry on eastward near the shore of
Venezuela and make some mileage.
That's the scoop! We know of many other boats that are ahead
of us at this time since THIS IS the time of year to head back
east from the ABC's. Send good thoughts for all of us and we'll
keep you informed of our progress.
-Reylyn and Dan SV Tropical Dance
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Bugs and Sunglasses
Sent Oct 27 02
Hello from Venezuela!
We sailed off at sunset with three other boats and headed south
to the mainland of Venezuela and by first light three of us arrived
in Morocoy National Park. The fourth boat (inner Voice) headed
for a more eastern anchorage. Anchored behind the protection of
reefs and mangroves, it was rather pleasant. That afternoon, after
naps were taken, the group headed over to the beach to play "bachi
ball"?? Joyce from 'About Time' also took the oppurtunity
to bring her pet turtle "Terd" ashore for some temporary
freedom.
After the fun and games, we all sat around talking and snacking.
Two local fishing guys came up to us to ask(in spanish) for a
ride to somewhere that was 10 minutes away. While we were making
our way back to the dinghies, I decided to practice a little spanish
with them and learned their names and what they fished for. Now
I can't remember what the name of the darn delicacy they had two
full bags of. Anyway, the sun is setting, and guess what? We got
attacked. . . by millions of no-see-ums! Even the local guys were
freaking out. And we all forgot the BUG SPRAY! As were all trying
to untie the dinghys and get the hell out - these tiny carnivorous
creatures are eating us alive! Finally we dashed out of there,
Dan took the two guys along with guest Tom from 'Passagio'(with
radiom, for safety), and Mike and Joyce took me back to Tropical
Dance. That night we were most uncomfortable with bites, especially
me.
At night we each stood "boat watches" for two hours
each after ten. My watch from 12-2 was the most exciting. A big
ol thunder storm came through with bolts so big and bright I ended
up putting sun glasses on! I was getting blinded otherwise. The
good news is, there was enough rain to wash the boat clean and
top off one of the water tanks.
We spent two full nights in Morrocoy. The second day Dan and
I explored the area. We found a fuel dock and filled up our dinghy
gas for a buck! After that we went beach hoppin and found some
really nice "beach parks". Since it was during the week,
all was quiet, but our understanding is , on the weekends the
beaches really get busy with locals and tourists.
The next morning we moved on to a place called Ensa Cata a
50-mile trip beating to weather. More later. -Reylyn SV Tropical
Dance
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Anchor Stucka in Ensa Cata
Sent Oct 31 02
Hello all,
On Thursday morning( a week ago), our journey eastward we all
sailed off to a place called Ensa Cata, an area along the coast
midway to the Caracas region. Most of the time we had to motor
sail, doing a little sea bashing in 20 knots of wind and 4 foot
seas. The sky was overcast and weather to the west and east of
us was somewhat threatening. We were told to keep an eye out for
a clocking wind to the south and west, due to possible development
of tropical depressions all around us. We made it to Ensa Cata
around 3PM. The anchorage was marginal, with a slight roll(swell)
coming in, but tolerable. 'Passagio' decided to move on east to
Carenero overnight despite possible thunderstorms, in order to
get their guest to a city from where he could check in and fly
out. 'About Time' and 'Tropical Dance' wanted SLEEP! So, the two
of us stayed the night, and for the first time in a long time,
it got cold! It was very refreshing, since I had still been bothered
by bug bites for the last few days, and not sleeping very well,
this night I actually stopped itching and got some shut eye. Our
watch this evening was 10-12PM, and Dan took the first hour while
a I stood the second. It turned out there were no thunderstorms
and the tropical wave ended up passing well north of the coast.
The next morning we set off to leave at 6am, and almost did.
'About Time' pulled up her anchor and floated around in the bay
waiting for us to pull up ours. . . but we couldn't. We got stuck,
and stuck good. Backing up, backing down, forward, sideways, we
could not budge the hook. Dan got on the radio to Mike and explained
that we were pinned and would have to dive in to free it. Mike
dropped his dinghy down and came over, while Joyce kept the boat
floating in midbay. I pulled together the scuba gear and helped
Dan and gear into Mike's dingy.
While standing at the bow looking down, Dan descended down
the anchor chain in LESS THAT A FOOT of visibility! He went down
feet first with a trip line to tie to the fluke. 15 feet under
and Dan is in the dark wishing he could see the anchor. Tying
the trip line required feeling around and working blind. As he
reached bottom, a plant swayed in his face, and he felt a big
flat rock under him. Turns out the fluke was stuck under the "shelf"
of the rock. He tied the line, then wiggled the fluke some from
out of the shelf, and suddenly freed it, but then the trip line
came undone. He let it go figuring the anchor was free , no trip
was needed after all. When he surfaced, I started pulling up the
hook and we were good to go! I motored out into the bay further
to stay clear of the shoals, sat in neutral and helped Dan get
back on board, and off we went. We were both grateful we ad invested
in the used scuba gear back in Trinidad.
Our journey eastward to Carabelleda was absolutely wonderful.
No wind, glassy sea and stunning scenery of mountains and seaside
towns. As we approached the La Guaria area, Caracas' northern
seaside port, high rises, ships and ferry's, airplanes aloft were
in sight. That night we pulled into Carabellada, a fishing marina
east of La Guaria. More later. -Reylyn
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carabelleda and Carenero
Sent Nov 03 02
(Last Friday)Another fine day of motoring along the coast eastward
with little or no wind and a small swell. This was totally in
our favor, as the trade winds from the east can make it tough
going to get back east to Trinidad. Both About Time and Tropical
Dance pulled into the Fishing Marina of Carabelleda by 3PM. Anchoring
was rather tricky but finally we managed to get both of us to
fit behind the breakwater and outside the entrances to the actual
marinas.
'About Time' deployed the dinghy and grabbed us and off we
went to explore the marine inside. A fishing resort, but rather
depressed. With a restaurant at one end was closed down, several
boats sunk right in their slip, it looked like a ghost town. We
did find another Gulfstar 50 just like ours, and discovered it
to be hull #1! (of 17 total) It was Venezuelan registered and
in good shape, all plugged in and looking like someone was caring
for it and even living on it. Alas, no one was home when we saw
her.
We pulled into another channel and found where the action was.
A bunch of 50-60' Sport Fishers lined up stern-to on a dock next
to a resort that seemed to be alive, sort of. Since it was close
to sunset, the boats and dock fired up the flood lights, while
a few locals and tourists were hanging out doing the dockside
cleaning thing. We tied the dinghy up and went up to the bar/restaurant
and had ourselves an ok dinner. Honestly, for Venezuela, we paid
to much money for an ok dinner at this place, so I wasn't impressed
yet with cuisine or good prices, perhaps maybe because we ended
up at a small resort. It was very difficult to want to spend any
more time here, despite the fact that a bus ride to Caracas was
only an hour and Carabelleda supposedly was a great little marina
to hang out in. With no great dinghy dock, and sinking boats in
there slips, we opted to make it a very quick stop.
The next morning, we hauled up both bow and stern hook and
took off east once again to Carenero. We pulled into Carenero
around 3pm and were given permission to anchor in front of the
Yacht Club so that the lights from the docks would light up our
boat at night. (A month ago, another boat, in fact a Gulfstar,
was a victim of robbery, sending the captain to the hospital with
broken ribs). Security had been beefed up at the Marina, so guards
were at watch at night. 'About Time' and 'Tropical Dance' were
well lit at night from the flood lights so we just kept radios
on and locked our doors instead of standing watch.
We spent three days and four nights in Carenero. Two of the
days, we took a bus into Higuerote, a small town about 4 miles
down the road and managed to get some food shopping in, a quick
internet session, and a entertaining spanish-english exchange
with some 11-year old school kids. What a hoot that was!
In the evenings just before sunset we would take our dinghies
under a bridge and into the mangrove channel, float around and
watch the scarlet ibis, green parrots, and white herons come fly
in to roost for the night. The scarlet ibis are the main attraction.
Big red birds. I'm mean really red!. Once the flocks land in the
mangrove trees, it begins to look sort of like Christmas!
After spending several days in Carenero Dan and I became anxious
to move on to Tortuga so we could swim again. The waters along
the Venezuelan coast are not exactly appealing, and especially
when you anchor inside mangrove lagoons. We ran our generator/Air
Conditioner most of the time during the day it was so hot and
muggy, with no relief to go swimming anywhere. The yacht club
had a pool, but it was closed during the week. We scheduled our
leave around 4am and headed NE to Tortuga.
--Reylyn SV Tropical Dance
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It's the Ice Cream! Sent Nov 13 02
We spent five lovely realxing days in
Herradura, Tortuga, a samll sandy Cay on the northwest end of
Tortuga, an absolute favorite among the cruising community. Must
be the clear aqua water and white sandy beach. After our fill
of kite flying, lobster grilling, bottom cleaning, swimming, bachi
ball, and socializing with other boats, we were willingly ready
to head back or marina life and explore the popular port of Puerto
La Cruz. PLC is considered the "alternative to Trinidad"
when it comes to boat repairs, haul out, and various other boat
work neccesities, and with the dollar so strong in Venezuela it
seems to make good economic sense.
So here we site in a marina called Bahia
Redonda. We have a pool, a mini-market, restuarant/bar and plenty
of work and repairs to get out of the way. Actually, we are in
the midst of a major engine repair that has been looming for the
last year or so. We originally had planned to get the work done
in Trinidad, but dockage is soo affordable here and there is so
much to do and see anyway, we opted to stay and have the repairs
done in Puerto La Cruz. Dan is concentrating on engine work, and
I'm of course tending to the exterior varnish work. Meanwhile
our anchor and chain are geting re-galvanized, and we may have
some small canvas work done.
The good part about being in Puerto La
Cruz is that all our cruising buddies are hanging out here also.
Boats we knew back in Trinidad have seemed to transplanted themsleves
here in PLC.
Joyce (About Time) and I are tyring to
arranbge a trip to Angel Falls, known as the longest fall in the
world. A Bus ride to on city, an hour plane flight to another,
then a canoe ride up a river to a camp, a hike here and there
should make for a pretty cool adventure. For Dan and I, it will
be our first "inland" adventure.
Plitical unrest continues to plague Venezuela,
however most of the demonstrations occur over in Caracas. The
poeple here are very freindly, and the marina-boat community seems
to be thriving well. The area we are in is name "el Morro
Development" and looks very similar to parts of the ICW in
Ft Lauderdale. Large beautiful water front homes on the island
waterway, along with condos and aprtments with boat docks. There's
a hotel with a marina where some cruisers were lucky enough to
get a space (3 month wait list) that sports a large multi-level
pool with wave machine and swing bridge, spa, restuarants and
golf course. Once a week they host a cocktail party for ALL the
cruisers. Then there's a really nice mall at one corner of the
development that has tie ups for boats and dinghys, with a large
supermaket to boot! B ut the Ice Cream parlors . .oh my God! Ice
Cream like you've never tasted or SEEN before. They way they present
the ice cream put hagan Daaz, Ben and Jerry's or any other high
end ice cream in the states to shame. It's small, but boy do they
do it right. They present the ice cream in metal sheet pans (instead
of cardboard tubs) and dress it with some really delectible topping.
It's the most beautiful ice cream I've ever seen.
That's it for now. Got to get back to
the daily grind. -Reylyn SV Tropical Dance
Last Days in Venezuela Sent Dec 09 02
Hello everyone,
Last I wrote I said that we were planning on making a trip
inland to Angel Falls. Unfortunately that didn't happen, due to
several factors, one being our engine was out of commission and
we wanted to get it running before we left for anywhere. It was
a problem that had been looming somewhat since we bought the boat,
and which TIME finally forced us to get it fixed before it fixed
us in a bad situation. So, we hired a mechanic and machinist to
tackle the job ( took over a week) and got her running just a
few days before Thanksgiving. Relieved our engine was healthy
again, we managed to make a trip up to a small community up in
the mountains (Los Altos) the day before Thanksgiving, and then
we had a fantastic Feast on Thanksgiving Day with a bunch of other
(American Cruisers) over at the fancy MareMares Resort and Marina.
The day after we scooted out with two other boats and headed out
towards Margarita Island making one stop in an anchorage on the
mainland. By Saturday evening we arrived in Porlamar Margarita
and hung out for a few days getting grocery shopping done and
waiting for a good weather window to move east to Los Testigos
Venezuela is still in turmoil and everyday we read the Daily
Journal while in Puerto La Cruz to be reminded of it. The day
before our engine would be pulled together and working was the
day the news came out about another General Strike would commence
one week from that day. This time they were talking "open
ended" so I was very anxious to make sure our engine would
work AND we fueled up, not that we were in any danger, but why
be in a place where everythings closed and people are striking.
Our original plan was still in place . . to leave the day after
Thanksgiving and head for Margarita, then get the major provisioning
done the couple of days before the strike would start and head
out for Testigos, the most northeastern out-island of Venezuela.
The trip to Testigos seemed routine but pleasant even though
it "theoretically" was a beat to weather. The wind in
the morning never reached passed 12 knots, and by the time we
were 5 miles from the island it had heated up to 20 plus knots
but of course in flatter water, since we had reached the lee.
We screamed across the last 5 miles. It was a nice reminder of
how fast Tropical Dance can skate.
Our first two nights we anchored in a spot that was rather
exposed to fetch and wind. Well, we had a enough of that noise
and decided to move to a spot that required some work - a stern
tie to a tree on shore along with our bow anchor. We managed and
nestled ourselves in quite nicely. In fact, the difference was
astounding . . . the wind blew but we found ourselves in a nice
sheltered area that afforded us resort like conditions for the
next few days while the wind was whipping up something fierce
in the other anchorages. That night the fireflies danced on the
hillside while the phosphorus creatures sparkled under the boat.
An anchorage I'll never forget. I'm sooo glad we moved.
We heard on the SSB/HAM that the strike was still on . . a
week long so far. Violence had erupted in Caracas on Friday, and
in Puerto La Cruz, grocery stores were only open for a few hours
and the shelves were getting bare, the fuel dock was shut down,
and banks opened once in a awhile. One Ham station was reporting
that CNN was running a caption (as he was transmitting) at the
bottom of his television screen that Americans were advised to
leave Venezuela. But all was still peaceful for the foreign cruisers
in the marinas despite most everything had closed down. That was
the good news. The bad news was . .which is rumour . . . the oil
supply for the country had 5 more days. I'd rather be sailing
anyway, so we're outta here!
Tonight we're up on the north side of the main island, Testigos
Grande, staging ourselves for our great escape east in the morning.
Exposed again, and only leashed on with one line we'll free ourselves
around 6am and make our way east back to the infamous "island
chain" of the Caribbean and our final climb up before we
ship home to California. Our next stop: Bequia, Grenedines. Macs
Pizza is calling us. :) -Reylyn SV Tropical Dance
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I'd Rather Be Sailing? Sent Dec 16 2002
Hello Hello . . .
The weather held us back longer than we expected in Testigos
and we found ourselves moving back to our quiet peaceful anchorage
on the southeast end. The wind just didn't want to let up and
we ended up staying for a few more nights. If we were REALLY patient,
we would've waiting another week. But we wanted to spend Christmas
in Martinique, where a barage of other familiar cruisers would
be.
We finally made it out of Venezuela and sit in beautiful Bequia
(Beck-way) since yesterday afternoon. The passage from Los Testigos
to the islands, was . .well, lets put it this way- . . .we don't
ever recommend that route to anyone . . ever. It doesn't work.
Either motor along the coast to Trinidad, or head north to
ST. Martin or the VI. Forget trying to make anything in-between.
I mean it!
I'll tell you more, but first you need to get out your atlas's
and find Los Testigos Islands which is 35 miles or so east-north-east
of Margarita island. Then, draw an imaginary line to the island
of Bequia which is what we were originally shooting for.
After sitting in Testigos fora little over a week, waiting
for a good weather window to make the crossing, and checking weather
reports twice a day to find that window, the break was made on
Thursday 12/12. It didn't seem likely that the weather would get
an better than East winds, 15-20kts, seas 6-8'. Although promises
were made for calmer seas "in the near future", it never
seem to come to fruition. So we had to go for it before the weather
changed to Northeast 20kts and 8-10' or something worse. -6-8'
is doable, just not comfortable.
It's one thing to make a passage in those conditions for 50
miles or so. Its another when you take a 114 mile straight rumbline
and turn into a 170 intolerable slog to weather for 36 hours straight.
Blah! I kept thinking about a saying - "the worst day of
sailing is better than the best day of work". Who made that
one up? The only good part about this passage is that we did it
with one other boat and not alone. Two other boats made thier
way out of Testigos that morning, Passagio (to Martinique) and
"Force Five" was on it's way to make landful in St.
Martin. St. Martin is a 300 mile treck north, an easier but longer
trip - several nights involved. Kiana and Tropical Dance were
originally shooting for St. Lucia, but we decided that a stop
in Bequia was most necessary for mouth watering pizza at Mac's
Pizzaria.
So, we had us two, and the two others, Passagio and Force Five
making the break from Testigos and Venezuela to points north in
the islands
- and a much better point of sail. Everyone had radio contact
with everyone. We made radio appointments for both the morning
and afternoon on SSB in case we fell out of VHF range among any
of us for safety checks and progress made giving each other position
reports.
It's a cruiser thing.
The wind was constantly in our face, the current was swift
against us (2-3 knots moving west north west), and the swell was
confused. What a miserable ride. It wasn't scarry, or white knuckle,
but maybe a little on the edge. I was wishing Christmas was in
St. Martin at this point. But that meant missing all our favorate
places on our last journey through the chain.
The redemption; our engine was in good shape after our repair
in Puerto La Cruz. Which by the way, after her brilliant and admirable
performance on this particular passage, she was officially named
our "Windward Lady". Struggling to fight the North Equatorial
Current between Trinidad and Greneda westward into the Caribbean
Sea, and 20- 25 knots of wind on her nose, she didn't miss a beat.
She kept her cool, worked hard and ran like a champ. Thank you
Windward Lady.
It was decided on Friday morning (24 hours later at sea) that
we would end the torture earlier rather than later, and would
lay Carriacou, some 35 miles south of our original target. The
35 miles would have taken another full day and possibly full night.
I know, it doesn't make sense. Hell, being "out there"
didn't make sense. I kept thinking about being warm and cozy at
home in California. On the radio I heard yet another boat trying
to lay Martinique from Margarita island. He reported that he was
130 miles from is target, but some 6 or so hours later is was
138 miles from his target. How depressing is that?? In the meantime,
Force Five is reporting that she's doing fine, despite the fact
she suffered a rip in her main sail. Passagio was "flopping
around" 10 miles south of us trying to decide which way to
point to make better progress to windward. We sailed to a point
north of our target, and tacked back to the south to make the
layline that we wanted without fighting any longer to weather.
It worked, but it took all day to do it.
Now we're finally in Bequia, after a wonderful beam reach sail
from Carriacou yesterday. We did have our wonderful Pizza with
Kiana last night. Kiana pushed on to St. Lucia this morning with
a slight delay. We had to help free their anchor chain that was
wrapped around a giant tree trunk lying on the bottom. Dan and
I both got in the water and dove down to unravel the chain and
set them free before our first cup of coffee for the day. - Reylyn
SV Tropical Dance
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonjour from Martinique,
Presently in St. Anne, Martinique enjoying the festivities
of the season while struggling to learn a bit of french. What
a tough language! In in case, we're hanging out and taking it
easy.
Our Christmas was pleasant, thanks for asking. The day before
Christmas Eve, there was a gathering near the Club Med beach for
wine tasting and hor'duerves which began at 1630 hrs. A showing
of about 40 cruisers, with a bottle of red wine (easily found
here in town) and a tasty appetizer. I didn't bring an appetizer,
but did bring TWO bottles of some good cheap vin rouge. No wine
went to waste. . . every drop was consumed by sunset!
Christmas Eve we bbq'd 1/2 10lb. turkey we bought in St. Lucia.
(They don't sell turkey's in French islands). While
cooking, Dan decided to collect CD's of Christmas music for our
boat friends. We turned down the fire, and went off in the dinghy
(just before sunset) to pass out the CD's. We dropped off our
last CD to Passagio and they invited us over for a drink - though
we knew we had a turkey cooking we couldn't stay long.
Alas, we stayed to long.
As we approached Tropical Dance, a trail of smoke and the smell
of fresh charred turkey greeted us. We boarded, and sadly took
the blackened bird scrounging for some niblets that might have
been eatable. After the first couple bites we then ditched the
whole dinner, got in the dinghy and headed over to "Escapade",
a big trawler with a GOOD turkey dinner on board along with good
company.
Christmas Day we tried the other half of the bird again, only
this time I cooked in the oven, and earlier in the day. It came
out perfect, along with the dressing, mash potatoes, gravy, etc
.. and we stuffed ourselves to sleep that evening.
Our stay in St. Anne is actually quite nice and we're certainly
not alone . .. about another 150 boats are anchored here. Last
night we enjoyed a really nice fireworks show that was a celebration
for "St. Anne Day". Don't know what the festivities
are for the New Year here, but no doubt something is in the works.
Almost every night there's a concert in town and everyday there's
a craft fair. We took a day tour on Friday and covered almost
the entire island of Martinique. Our stops included a replica
of some church in France, a gorgeous botanical garden, the ruins
in St. Pierre, lunch at a plantation, and a Rhum distillery.
The weather is warm of course, but not like it is during the
summer months. The winds are dryer and a somewhat cooler which
is nice and comforatble. Some rain falls here and there, never
at the right time though - we always seem to be off the boat when
it does hit, hence I never seem to collect water for the tanks.
Enjoy the holidays! Send us an email and let us know how your
holiday is! We miss everyone very much and would love to hear
from you.
Au Revoiur - Reylyn SV Tropical Dance
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The "Cutest Island"
Award
Bon Jour me amigos and ciao;
Anchored in "The Saints", a group of small French
islands off the southern coast of Guadelupe. It appears that they
are going for the "Cutest Island" award. There is not
a speck of garbage or trash anywhere on the island. The entire
island makes their living on tourists that come over from Guadelupe
on the ferries, (much like LA-Orange to Avalon).
A typical block would go like this. Souvenir shop, bikini store,
bar, jewelry store, private house, restaurant, African art store,
bikini store, island fashions, private house, bar, scooter rental
place, private house, ice cream shop, bar, restaurant, bikini
store, market.
One street from the waterfront starts the private homes. Beautiful
cottages with little porches and balcony's overlooking the bay.
Everyone rides around on scooters. I have only seen one or two
cars on the island. I guess if you could make a living here it
would be a little bit of paradise. Kind of a Caribbean Carmel,
or a cleaned up Avalon, or perhaps a really cute "Martha's
Vineyards". We plan on staying till Monday and then continue
our way North.
Next stop Dashies, (pronounced "day-hay"),Guadalupe,
also French. Then on to Antigua and St. Martin.
Auto pilot quit. I have determined it's the electric motor
that drives the reversing hydraulic pump connected to the rudder.
Called a electronics place in Antigua on the satellite phone.
They feel they can repair it and to contact them when we arrive
on Wednesday. In the mean time we do something we almost never
do, "steer the boat ourselves". What a concept! I'm
sure it's good practice. We were getting lazy anyway. :)
Well,
Staring out the window of the boat at a 400 year old French
fort on the hill. It's late afternoon and I think it's time to
hike up the hill, explore the ruins and take a few pictures so
that's it for now.
Dan and Reylyn, SV "Tropical Dance"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Reports from the Palapa" Sent Feb 06, 2003
Greetings from St Maarten,
and St. Martin!
Rey;
Now in Marigot Bay, St. Martin (the French side) enjoying baguettes
and croissants along with window shopping and hanging out with
old and new friends. Boats we've met months or weeks ago are here.
Part of me wants to stay for awhile, but we're pushing on to BVI
and stick to our latest plan. Oddly enough, we're NOT shipping
the boat . . yet. The Chesapeake and Eastern Seaboard is calling
out to us, a part of our own country that I've never seen yet.
Yeap . .we're going to sail back up through the Bahamas and jump
up to the Chesapeake Bay in the spring and on up to perhaps as
far as New Jersey for Hurricane Season. But first, a trip back
home for a month or so.
Dan;
Some friends of ours on "Agape De Mer" lent us "The
Sopranos" HBO series about New Jersey Mafia with emotional
problems. Interesting series! We leave for the Virgin Islands
tonight (75 miles west)planning on leaving at 4:00 AM and should
arrive before sunset tomorrow night. All's well at the moment.
Looking forward to spending some time in California before heading
North to the East Coast in July.
Rey,
Two days ago we had the pleasure of meeting Dan's cousin and
friends that visit St. Martin for vacations or even sabaticals
(sp?). Dan and I sailed them around the island from the dutch
side to the french side with two stops on the way for lunch and
swimming. What a day! Pure fun from 8am till Midnight! The day
started with a trip through the opening bridge to exit out of
of the lagoon, checking the boat out of customs, a stop in Anse
Longue that has a fancy high end beach hotel, another stop in
Baie Rouge to stop and see "Gus" and his beach bar,
then into Marigot Bay and into town for dinner.
Dan;
A couple from Holland that are crew for a rich guy with a beautiful
80' classic cruising race boat. They sail around the world living
on the boat. The goal is to participate in classic yacht races
as they take place around the world. A couple we ran into by surprise
at the Palapa Marina who we met a few months ago in Venezuela.
They are here in St. Martin waiting for the Heineken Regatta next
month and The owner will arrive for the race, stays in a hotel
and leaves when it's over. What a life! Sailing around the world
on a beautiful yacht you might as well call your own, having someone
else pay the bills and getting paid at the same time.. They say
they only see him for a couple of months out of the year. Yeah,
what a life!
Rey;
They built a new Marina inside the lagoon on the dutch side
for Megayachts - 7.5 million$$. Took 5 months to build! That's
fast! They also expanded the opening bridge by 15 feet to allow
these monsters to come in. Rumour has it Bill Gates cames to visit
recently. One of the largest yachts "Limitless" - 318',
has a 10 year contract for her and crew to stay based here, which
is primarily why the marina was built so quickly.
Dan and Rey;
The Sunset Beach Bar , aka the 'runway bar' located on the
west end of the international airport is an out door bar with
picnic tables on a two level wood deck facing the beach and end
of the runway. Planes and jets fly in right in front of you. It
begins to get packed by 4PM for happy hour $1.00 beers and of
course the spectacle of the Air France flight(747 or other heavy)
take=off. After a few beers, the brave souls will walk accross
the road to the fence when AF begins it's taxi and prepare for
takeoff. When AF does begin take off, the guys hold on to the
fence as tight as possible while the rest of the body lifts off
the ground from the jet blast.
Rey;
We had planned on leaving this morning to sail to BVI. We changed
our minds. It's too soon to leave. There's still more to see here
as St. Martin is a fun place with lots of good restuarants, some
city life, lagoon life, beach life, good resorts and a few casinos,
and harbor life. I like it here. So, were staying for a few more
days.:)
That's it. We'll see you all soon!
Reylyn and Dan
SV Tropical Dance