July - September 2007

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Out to sea again we are at last

but we're not going very fast,

as a gentle breeze is sweeping the bay,

once more we are on our way.

On our way to find new exciting places

and to meet new friendly faces.

Through the rigging the wind is softly whispering a song,

lightly heeling Paradise as we sail along.

By Manuela Olshefski 07/08/07

We left Puerto La Cruz around eleven and motor sailed pretty much all the way to the Arapo Islands. Plan was to anchor in front of Emir's house, but the beach was so steep too it was impossible to anchor, so we pulled the sails up again and motor sailed 15 miles to El Oculto in the Mochima National Park. We could turn the engine off for about 5 minutes and as we closed in on the park the wind started blowing a steady 20 knots with some 25 gusts of course right on the nose, but no big deal as we were protected from the islands the water stayed relatively calm.

By Sunset I brought the cold bottle of Moet Chandon out and we celebrated the hard work we did on Paradise to make her look so pretty again and also to be out here again doing what we're doing best "cruising".

The night was so peacefully quite, the only sound we could hear was the high pitched chirp of bats and an occasional fish jump out of the water and along the shore fire flies were glowing; it could not have been any more romantic.

As peaceful this anchorage was we left El Oculto the following morning and motored the whole 24 miles to Laguna Grande in the Golfo de Cariaco, There was not a breath of air until three miles before our destination, then the wind started to kick up and finally blew a steady 20 knots and of course right on the nose again.

Sid detected a leak in the bilge and tightened up the stuffing box. The leak persisted and first thing in the anchorage he checked the engine. The seal on the raw water pump was leaking and when he took it off he found that the bearing had self-destructed. He found some water in the oil, not good. After further investigation he was happy to see that he caught the water on time, none had gone into the engine yet. But we still had a leak somewhere so he's still tried to find it.

The Golfo de Cariaco is 25 miles long so when the wind blows hard it can build a 3 foot chop and that's what we had. It wasn't too bad but in any case we reefed the main. Laguna Grande is a huge and breathtakingly beautiful bay with an endless variety of contrasting hills in whites, beiges and glowing reds. Small islands are surrounded with dense green mangroves so is the bay and above in the hills are cactus in all shapes and sizes. It's a total desert landscape with the most incredible colors. The wind kept howling all day long, we think it's a local condition. Right at sunset a dark cloud closed in and dumped rain on us for a couple of hours. For as dry as it looks here rain must not happen all too often. The Sunrise was spectacular as it was so calm everything reflected in the water like a mirror image.

The second day we took a dinghy tour around the whole bay not is it just huge it has the most incredible colors. We also hiked up a hill above our anchorage and what awaited us was just a spectacular view. We also saw the wild goats that roam the area and an occasional gun shut told us that somebody was having goat stew for dinner. We were amazed about the temperature as the wind was blowing a cool breeze, we had 82 degrees during the day and the nights were pleasantly cool if not almost chilly. The sky was covered with millions of twinkling stars which reflected in the calm water. The phosphorescent in the water was so thick that when you spit into it or moved a line it was glowing. Yes, we had a little spitting contest. The pelicans even feed at night as they can see the fish surrounded by phosphorescent. Tika is so happy; she does not have to be locked in at night but can freely roam the deck all night long and walked around with a constant purr. We could tell a huge difference in her, she was a happy kitty again and staid up all night chasing bats. There are plenty of them and we think that they were vampire bats as they dove for her. Her favorite new thing was to lick puddles of water off the deck.

When we left we left early in the morning to avoid the daily strong winds and headed to Medregal Village, which is a little resort between Cachicotas and Guacarapo. It is owned by Jean Marc from Belgium and his Venezuelan wife. He lets cruisers use the facility which includes a nice pool, email, showers, game room, TV and best an honor bar, help yourself and just write it on a piece of paper. We had a wonderful steak dinner and that also went on the bill we wrote. The view from the anchorage is stunning. It's a peaceful area with a thin strip of beach miles long, behind them flat lands overgrown with lush bushes and end on the foot of lush tropical mountains. This area gives you the feeling that you’re on a big lake. At night you can see the twinkling lights of the villages across the bay. We decided to enjoy this little Paradise for a few days.

We enjoyed Medregal and more so enjoyed the long deserved relaxing in a beautiful anchorage. Jean Marc spoiled us rotten as he is a first class chef and cooks nothing but gourmet meals. The resort also has a haul out facility with a travel lift Jean Marc had built that can pick up a boat right from the beach as the lift can drive into the water, it's an easy haul out and just incredible.

What still amazed us most here in the Golfo was the cool temperature and low humidity (66%), we have an average of 82 degrees and at night around 72 and a blanket is most welcome. The mornings are crystal clear, the water as flat as a mirror, along the shore you hear roosters crow and skimmers are soaring across the water. We've been having so much fun watching them skimming alongside the boat. A skimmer is a bird that eats plankton as he soars across the water top and with his huge bill scoops the plankton up and an occasional fish may end up in his stomach as well, quite an interesting bird to watch.

On Saturdays Jean Marc drives us cruisers into the town of Cariaco to the fresh market, a bakery and the liquor store. We went with him, there was 10 of us and had a great time and returned with all kinds of fresh veggies and fruits, not to mention the wonderful French bread.

As every morning we enjoyed watching the skimmers while sipping on fresh coffee while a gentle breeze is blowing. We decided it was time to venture to other nice anchorages went ashore and paid our bill at the resort. I couldn't believe the price, we had two wonderful dinners, one included appetizers and dessert had several rum, beer, glasses of wine plus a bottle and including the trip into town the total came to 57 dollars, wow. We had a great time and will return.

We pulled anchor and motored, yes it was a noserly again, along a 5 mile stretch of lonely beach with only a few occasional houses built right on the beach, a very peaceful area. The beach ends at a point where the small village of Guacarapo is. Around the point is a much protected anchorage and we dropped anchor in eight feet of water. The village is very simple and the people in this area live by fishing and cattle ranching. What amazes us too is the difference of the mountain range from the entrance of the gulf to here. It starts as a dried out colorful mountain range and slowly turns green and then more lush and when you get here the vegetation is really thick. The way the mountain range looks it reminds us of the mountains in Hawaii.

We caught up with Doug and Diane on Salacia we had met in Bahia Redonda, they know the ins and outs of Guacarapo and made friends with one of the home owners who lives in Caracas. She gave them the key to her vacation house and they take care of it whenever they are in this anchorage, so we sat with them many hours in the shade of the patio chatting away and learning more about this little place. She also loaded us up with fresh guava and limes from the trees.

Guacarapo is a quite little village and it seems at first there are no stores until you walk through town you realize that every other house has something to sell, although it's mainly just the basics. For fruits, vegetables and meats you have to take a porpuesto (truck with a bench around the truck bed and room to load as many people in the back as possible) into Cariaco which I enjoyed more so than the trip from Medregal as we traveled with the locals. Two houses down from theirs is a Bodega (liquor store and also used as the local bar), there are always several guys hanging out for hours and drink 37 cent beer, some all day long. Miscellaneous items like soda crackers, pasta and sodas are also available and ice but every time we tried to buy some we were told "manana" (tomorrow). Yes, we're definitely in the land of manana. Manana means definitely not today but not necessarily tomorrow either. So he referred me to the next store, from there to the next and next, this is how I found out that they actually do have stores in this village. In one she would either come out with frozen ice in coke bottles, the other in plastic bags and the only one that usually sells cubes said "manana, so Sid for now was drinking his rum and coke at room temperature.

The weather was still pleasantly cool and the water temperature a refreshing 77. We especially enjoyed sitting on deck in our beach chairs when the cool gentle night breeze was blowing and watched just as the sun disappeared on the horizon how every local in town came out the doors and mingled in the streets, well most of them in front of the Bodega. A chit-chatter started everywhere as the town came to life. When you see and hear this it doesn't seem that there is any political problems in this country, all you hear is happy laughter, kids play and dogs bark, a very cozy atmosphere. This lasted for about one and a half to two hours and then it got quite for the night. It was so quite you could hear a mouse fart. There is no haze lingering either, every day the view was crystal clear and we could see for miles and miles, very picturesque.

We finally had the water leak under control, the pump from the water maker broke and Sid fixed it. After an hour of running the water maker we pumped many gallons of water out of the bilge again, even more so than before and when Sid checked the pump the water came out of the pump like out of a hose. He replaced it with a new pump and bilge was dry again. After that little episode we pulled anchor and followed Salacia up the bay passed Muelle de Cariaco into the Laguna de Cariaco where the river flows into the Gulf. The river is on the eastern end of the Golfo de Cariaco and an incredible place to explore by dinghy for this is the home of plenty of herons, cormorants, pelicans, parrots, scarlet ibis and we even heard pink flamingos and storks. The Laguna has an open view into the Golfo de Cariaco with lush mountains in the background but the rest is surrounded by tall mangroves and brackish water.

First thing the following morning we picked up Doug and Diane and ventured into the river in our dinghy. The river trip was fun and we saw a lot of herons, king fisher and even fish eating bats. I guess not all bats fly at night, but then where we saw them the mangroves grew like a tunnel over the now narrow river and it was a bit dark. We drove as far as we could go, turned around and pulled of by a clearing and went for a walk. This area used to be a shrimp farm, but an earthquake put it out of business and now it's overgrown with all kinds of desert looking plants. We found a cactus that had bright pink fruits that looked like 1 1/4 inch jalapeno peppers. Diane told us that they tasted good in salads, well I tasted one right there and it tasted more like some sort of berry, the inside is whitish with little black seeds like a kiwi. The second day Diane and Doug went for a hike by themselves and returned with a bag full of them, so we had a salad with the little pink fruits in them; it was tasty and is now on our menu whenever we find them again. We had a great time with Salacia exploring the river but the most memorable thing was around sunset scarlet ibis returned from their day long feeding trip and landed on top of the near by tall mangrove trees. The second evening Sid and I snuck ashore and hid in the mangroves, but non showed up in the tree they were the previous night, so we rowed closer to where they were and rowed into the mangroves. They now were almost above us, but something scared them and they all took off and all we could hear was the sound of their wings and the sky through the mangrove leaves turned scarlet read. They settled down again and something again scared them and they did that circle above us once more. It was incredible and we returned with yet another wonderful adventure.

A very good weather window opened up and we took the opportunity and headed back to Laguna Grande where we spent one night before heading around the Araya Peninsula to Isla Coche.

If we had wings our trip would have taken 18 miles as the crow flies, but with our sails it took us 48 miles as we had to head out of the Golfo de Cariaco and around the Araya Peninsula. We got up before the birds started singing, the sun was just coming up as we left and since there was not a breath of air, everything reflected in the water like a mirror image it was just beautiful. As soon as we headed into the Golfo the water was a bit churned up, but we figured out pretty soon that a current was running as the wind wasn't blowing yet. We motored all the way out the Golfo where we bypassed some dozen small fishing boats, all having spent the night out fishing. It was very calm as we headed north along the western side of the Araya Peninsula, but as soon as we turned the corner due east the wind started picking up. As usual it was right on the nose, so Sid pulled the staysail out and into the wind we plowed. It was pretty comfortable for most of it until the last 14 miles as the wind now was blowing at 20 plus knots. It still wasn't bad but now and then a wave would slow us down.

We tucked in in the north western anchorage of Isla Coche called Saphire Bay in 10 feet of water and were facing a beach that was filled with outdoor restaurants, the beach covered with sunshades, a tourist trap, but the beach after the restaurants end goes for a couple of miles and ends in a small sand spit surrounded by just water, just breathtaking. Isla Coche is an unusual island for dry hills with pastel colors of red, yellow and brown, the only greenery are the palm trees by the restaurants. I'm sure there are cactus and dry scrub to be found on the island. This island was originally inhabited by Indians and the name in their language meant deer. Coche was colonized in the 16th century by Europeans when the pearls were found in abundance. They also produced salt here which is still produced today. It inhabits 4500 people and the capital San Pedro is a town of mainly fisher folk which is to compare with Mexico in the 40s. We were just going to spend the night here but did not expect such a cute place we spent an extra day.

The first morning early we went for a walk along the beautiful beach all the way to the sand spit, how peaceful. We then headed around to the other side but it was littered with Sargasso grass and lots and lots of trash, what a pity. We headed back and explored the hotel on the beach, of course we had to as the name was "Paradise", really nice place with two incredible inviting pools (for BS 25 000 a day we could have used the hotel facility, maybe next time). On the hotel grounds we saw several macaws wandering around. One kept attacking me and tried to bite my toes. In one of the trees was a beautiful Cockatoo, incredible. After we indulged in the beautiful scenery at the hotel we had lunch in a small beach restaurant, pargo pan fried crispy with home made fries and a cabbage and carrot slaw with each two beers. Since it was Simone Bolivar's BD a holiday the beach and anchorage was packed, so we headed back to the lonely boat and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon, other than dinghy into San Pedro to get ice for our cocktails and found our usual rum for just 1.45 a bottle, coke or water costs more then the rum.

The wind never died down, not even during the night but at least by morning it wasn't howling anymore, so we pulled the main up, the anchor up and headed out of Coche and motor sailed to Porlamar in Isla Margarita. The wind again was right on the nose and very light so we motor sailed into it. The last 5 miles into the anchorage was finally sailable with 2.9 knots, but then the sea picked up as a tropical wave was underway, so we turned the iron jib back on and motored the last mile into the anchorage. We pretty much anchored at the same spot as we did almost a year ago. The anchorage was a bit on the rolly side so we hooked up the flopper stoppers and we were nice and calm compared to all the other boats rolling from side to side.

Porlamar is the largest and busiest town in Margarita. It is very modern with lots of high rise buildings and incredible shopping. This is a shopper’s paradise and I got my shopping fix every day. Sid and I took a taxi to the Sambill Mall which is an incrediblly big mal with pretty much anything in it. First store we went to we spent almost all the money in our pockets but were set again with some cool Colombia shorts. Sigo the grocery store was still as incredible as I remembered it, it has anything gourmet you can imagine.

Two days after we arrived in Isla Margarita Ed and Linda on Dreamtime arrived and the following evening had them over for dinner. We had met them originally in Jacksonville, then last year in Grenada and now finally here. They are planning to spend a couple of months at Maremares as our neighbors. After a fun evening they went back to their boat and for the first time decided not to hoist the dinghy but just lock it to the boat, unfortunately the next morning they had a rude awakening as the cable was cut through, dangling in the water and the dinghy was gone (another cruiser lost his 4hp engine but since it was not locked to the dinghy the owner still has the dinghy). This is one of the worst things that can happen to us cruiser; the dinghy is our car and therefore transportation to get ashore. Even though all the thieves want is the motor, chances of recovering the dinghy is slim to none, you can pretty much write it off. Ed put a very high finder’s fee out with no luck. I knew that Leo the taxi driver in Puerto La Cruz had a used dinghy for sale, so I called him and the following day Ed, Linda and I took the ferry to PLC for one day. No luck with the dinghy as Leo proved to be unreliable. This is not a huge problem as we offered to share our dinghy for the next month as we are buddy boating together anyway.

With all the fun and shopping we had we didn't realize that almost two weeks had past. A lot of shopping we did which reminds me of my first shopping trips. The Sigo bus comes twice a week to the marina and picks us up for a five hour shopping spree. So I went. What happens at Sigo is when you're done shopping you pay then there is a guy that packs the grocery into boxes which are sealed then are loaded into a van and driven back to the marina, so when we arrive at the marina our stuff is already there, great service. I was the last in line and waited over one hour for my turn and told the couple in front of me to make sure the bus would waited for me, no problem they said, so I had 10 minutes to spare when all was wrapped and decided to get a soda which I did and I still had three minutes to spare before the bus left. I walk out the door and NO bus was in sight, he took off without me. The friendly couple in front of me did not let the driver know, neither did my buddy Beno who came with me, but it was nice of him to save a seat for me. So I had to take a cab back, arriving at the marina I see Sid and Beno getting into the dinghy, I waved and whistled as loud as I could and they took off on me once more, it was really funny ditched twice in one day. Well, heck it just makes for another funny story to tell.

The shopping here is really cool. Next to Sigo I like Rattan with lots of gourmet items, but is quite a bit more expensive. Sigo in Sambill mall is my favorite, besides the mall it has a great movie theater where we watched the new Harry Potter movie for the low matinee price of 1.50 US. CM is the lowest priced store where all the Venezuelan's shop so long lines at the register are expected. Another fun place to go shopping is Conejero and open air market with all kinds of tourist stuff, to see each stand can take an easy 3 hours. Downtown by Plaza Bolivar is a fabric store called El Castillo, the store is enormous (the size of a department store) and the prices are incredible (there is one also in Puerto La Cruz but here everything is duty free).

The weather had been great, only on a few occasions we had rain, of course in the middle of the night which makes us scramble all over the boat to close hatches and hide cushions under the cover. We had only one good squall with 30 knots of wind that tangled up a couple of boats and a few dragged. The weather in the last week had changed quite a bit, the tropical waves were more frequent now and thunderstorm activity had increased daily, it was just a matter of time now before the first hurricane would form. We are out of the hurricane belt but still have to keep a close eye on the weather. The water was for most of the time crystal clear and the view over to the mainland spectacular especially when the thunderclouds built up and later exploded into a show of fireworks.

We were loaded up with cheap wine and rum both of good quality and stored enough food for at least two weeks to come and you will not believe when I tell you that Sid bought 12 gallons of gasoline and paid an incredible 75 cents for all of it. Makes you wonder why it is so expensive anywhere else.

For those who in the future will drop the anchor here in Margarita we found some interesting info. The dinghy thefts happen around a full moon, not necessarily on full moon, but around that time when they have enough light to see the dinghies left in the water better, so lock it and lift it or loose it.

Our last night the wind was blowing all night long making the anchorage a bit lumpy and I woke up with a huge frog in my throat and a fever. Right after the radio nets were over, (there are several in the morning, first at 7 am we listen to Chris Parker, he gives the best weather for us cruisers, at 8 am is a new net the Coconut Telegraph some cruisers started and both are run on Single Side Band radio), Sid pulled the flopper-stoppers up, had to clean the slimy stinky film off it, then we took the sun awning down and got the boat ready to sail. Just before 10 we pulled anchor which after the two weeks stay had been overgrown with an underwater science project, another stinky and furry mess Sid scrubbed off the chain. The wind was blowing nicely and for once from the right direction to pull the spinnaker up. We were flying in colors and Sid even let the staysail out, we were looking good. The highest speed was at 7.6 knots that's very rare for our small boat. It was a beautiful sail all the way to Coche and we estimate we sailed 20 miles. Dreamtime followed us and took some good photos of us. We anchored in 10 feet of water of the beautiful sandy beach in Isla Coche and relaxed with a good book in a nice breeze. Originally we wanted to visit the Blanquilla Islands as well, but the tropical waves were more frequent now and since Blanquilla is a bit out in nowhere and has not much protection we decided to save it for later when we head west towards the Panama Canal again in a few months. I took another aspirin to get the fever down, Sid took another Cuba Libre and then we headed over to Dreamtime for a yummy dinner.

Ed got sick before I did, he thinks we got it on the ferry as there was a guy behind us in line, coughing and sneezing and spreading his germs. Early in the morning instead of lifting anchor, Sid ordered us all to go back to bed; it was his turn to be sick. Three out of four calls for a day of rest. The 6 or 7 other boats in the anchorage must have heard us on the radio as they lifted anchor and left us alone like we had the plague. Neither one of us felt good but we tried to go ashore later in the afternoon after Linda, the only one feeling good, was done baking. That got spoiled by huge thunderclouds rolling in and heaven's water faucet opened up, so the whole day was spent on the boat. The wind usually comes out of the east but after the rain had passed we were pointing west and thunderclouds were still towering in that direction. A couple of hours later a soft swell came rolling into the anchorage. By sundown the soft swell increased to a good size roll and by 8 pm it was pretty uncomfortable and waves of 4 feet surged through the anchorage tossing us around and as waves started to break behind us we pulled anchor as we were sitting in only 10 feet of water which by the bobbing now was reduced to 8 feet. We decided to drop anchor in deeper water and started inching out of the shallow anchorage. We did the Caribbean two step, two forward and one back and barley moved through the water as each time slamming in to the waves they would bring us to an almost dead stop. So decision was made to keep going 8 miles to the backside of Isla Cubagua, Dreamtime in hot pursuit. I was thinking about what our friends in general say or ask about cruising and two came to my mind: "What do you do out there?" and "You have such a romantic life!" I smirked about these two thinking: "Oh, yes it's sooooooooo romantic doing a midnight cruise with a firework show all around us!" Bobbing up and down and the bow digging in and under the water for 4 hours and thunderstorms all around us. So what do we do out here, that really is a very good question LOL. About three miles before the island as we were getting into the lee the seas lightened up and at one o'clock warmed by a hot cup of tea we hit the sack in a calm anchorage. The next day Sid noticed that the anchor was bent.

A soft clank, clank, clank, clank brought me out of my deep sleep and a smile came to my face as my nostrils filled with the pleasant aroma of fresh brewed coffee. I'm sooooooo spoiled, Sid wakes me up with a fresh cup of coffee every morning and the clank, clank I hear is him clanking the spoon onto the cup to announce it was time for coffee; usually it's 8 bells, no matter what time it is. Five minutes later we pulled anchor and headed our way towards Laguna Grande. Last time we left Isla Cubagua with Welsh Rover a beautiful red sunset greeted us and as the riddle states "red sky in the morning, sailor takes warning" we got some nasty weather. Well.......... that morning the sky was a bit red too, not us much and we had a breeze already so we hoped for a good day. Just as we started eating out cereal I had just about time for one bite when BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ the fishing lure hissed, announcing we had dinner on the hook. Sid reeled in about a 10 pound Dorado but as he lifted dinner out of the water, dinner disappeared and all there was to see was a lonely lure dangling off the pole and our long faces with disappointment. But that didn't discourage us and we dropped the lure back into the water. I tell you I'd rather be fishing on a powerboat then on a sailboat. A sailboat has too many obstructions, before we can reel the fish in we have to pull the jib in, fold the bimini back and then comes the fish, not an easy thing, but still rewarding if we land a nice fish, not on that day.

We had to motor the whole entire trip while a very light breeze was blowing. About 8 miles before Laguna Grande the wind died completely and it turned into a sauna, very uncomfortably hot. But then our minds got distracted as the water started to get busy around us as dolphins jumped out of the water and towards us. We had them for at least an hour around us and we watched as they playfully swam as close to the hull of Paradise as they could and then did a circle and repeated the whole thing. We even could hear them talk to each other. They followed us all the way to the entrance of Laguna Grande.

Just as we reached the entrance the normal breeze started to blow and we were glad to have missed the swells that would follow. We headed into the very calm bay and dropped the anchor in the anchorage of our first visit. Earlier we had noticed a huge thundercloud inching its way across the bay and just as the anchor hooked up the rain started. It was a good hour and a half of heavy rain, the boat got a good wash and we filled up two five gallon buckets of water. Laguna Grande is a desert area, not much grows here but it was fascinating to watch all the rivers of muddy clay colored water rush down the hill and into the bay. In no time the boat was surrounded with this clay colored water. We also watched some twenty little birds taking a bath in the rain while flying they sure had a great time. The rain washed everything clean and after the last drop of rain fell it was so quite you could here a pin drop. It took a few minutes and then the birds started chirping. Are we in and on Paradise or what?

Laguna Grande is by far the most peaceful anchorage we've ever been to, every afternoon after the now daily tropical rain showers it clears up, the wind dies down and it gets so quite that we catch ourselves whispering with each other. I don't even turn the fans on at night as they disturb the peace and quite. Two nights ago we had meteor showers but unfortunately that was the only night the sky was not clear, it didn't clear until 3 am and we missed the peak of the shower, but still were able to see some impressive shooting stars. This is probably the only anchorage too where pelicans fish at night as the water is full of phosphorescence and the old pelicans having problems catching fish during the day can see them now lit up at night and therefore feed at night.

Ross and Beverly on Raft joined us and joined us to hike up the tall mountain. Linda stayed behind baking bread and keeping and eye on the boats. Ed, Sid and I were still not over the hump with our colds, so climbing up the very steep hill side was especially tough for me with my filled lungs. I was huffing, puffing and coughing up the hill and felt like 80 some years old. Sid and Ed did better but admitted that it was a tough climb. First we had to cut our way through some shrubs and cactus to get to the ridge which was Sid's job as he brought a machete. I think it only took us about 40 minutes to reach the top and it was worth the huffing, puffing and coughing as the reward was incredible. The view was just spectacular we could see a huge portion of the mainland, both sides of the Araya Peninsula and over to Isla Margarita as it was crystal clear. Our boats in the anchorage looked like miniature toys and almost don't show up on the photos and we could see the entire Laguna Grande with its many rounded bays and islands. We rested for a while awing over the magnificent view then the guys had an idea to go down a different way, great. You have to know there are no paths; here you make your own. So we hiked further and the guys were studying the down slope run and saw a ridge that went back to the landing we came from via a dry river bed. If you ever skied a double black diamond run this is how steep the climb was down 2/3 the hillside to the ridge with loose rocks and cactus. Down we went following the boys until we reached the riverbed and they realized it was a 20 foot cliff to climb down. Ed and Ross went for it, Beverly and I stood there starring at the cliff and Sid chopped away on cactus and found us a pass through hundreds of cactus to an area where we could just step down to the riverbed, what a guy. Then we followed the very narrow riverbed towards the water and on several occasions Sid had to hack cactus out of the way for us to pass. 2 1/2 hours later we arrived exhausted at the starting point. Impressed and happy with our accomplishment and everybody admitted next time we'll come back down the way we hiked up. We really had a great time. Sid exerted himself on the hike and was feeling really ill with a fever; I was not over the hump yet either and neither was Ed so we rested a couple extra days.

In the meantime a tropical depression TD4 was on its way to the Eastern Caribbean and prognosis were for it to turn into a major hurricane. So lots of boats were scrambling around and trying to get out of the path of the hurricane. Next day’s prognosis was it was headed for Trinidad/Tobago and Grenada which placed us on the map for some of the weather, although it has to cross a lot of landmass before making it here. Another day later we learned that TD4 was headed north from us so we were fine and out of harms way but from Guadeloupe Islands up to the Virgin Islands boats needed to get to safety. A lot of boats were heading this way now, we were just glad we were where we were. Then change again in the direction of now Tropical Storm Dean, he was heading more south again which places Trinidad/Tobago and the Testigos Islands which are just a bit NE of Isla Margarita. So we stayed put where we were as this is a very protected anchorage.

Finally Dean turned into a hurricane and started heading north and took Trinidad/Tobago/Grenada and Venezuela off the hit list. For us that was good news unfortunately not for the folks up islands. Dean hit the following morning and went right between Martinique and St. Vincent.

As we still didn't feel well we decided to spend one more day in Laguna Grande then pulled anchor and headed into the Golfo to Cariaco. The sky was overcast and the wind was coming out of the west a result of Dean. We got the effects from Dean's tail which actually worked out pretty good as we were going east with it. Behind us we saw some rain coming and hoped it would not catch up with us which it didn't. We had only 20 miles to go and the last 5 miles the wind picked up and white caps built up more and more. We can say we just arrived in Guacarapo on time before it got really rough. The highlight of the trip was for at least 10 miles Paradise was surrounded by playful dolphins.

We were now tucked into the anchorage but the wind blew pretty much all day and sent a slight roll into even this little protected anchorage. Realizing it was the beginning of the weekend we knew that we would be in for some loud music. Any village has loud parties going on on weekends. Sure enough music was blaring on every corner along the beach. The screaming and giggling of kids bathing in the water echoed through the whole anchorage and everybody mingled under the palm tree roofs along the beach, it was a happy atmosphere. By sunset the whole town was out and about and music was still blaring from different homes. Across the village behind the beach a house had music blasting all night long. I got out of bed at 6 am some classical Latino music hung over the bay. Sid said at least the music was nice all night long none of this annoying Raeggeton. Too funny because the next song was Raeggeton. Later on we found out that the whole village thought that we cruisers had music on all night long as it was coming across the small bay, too funny. Sid brought Dreamtime, Jabulani and me ashore at 7 am to catch the porpuesto into Cariaco for some provisioning we were pretty much out of fresh produce and meats. In Puerto La Cruz porpuestos are all old big American cars, here they all are very old trucks with a covered camper shell on the back with narrow benches around the inside, a spare tire in the middle and just enough headroom to not bump the roof except when he hits one of the numerous potholes. The porpuestos are usually packed to the rim, canned sardines comes to my mind. My neighbor must have spent the night where the loud music was playing all night long, his eyes were just a “little” glazed over, his breath smelled like a brewery and he slurred heavily when he spoke. He tried the darndest to have a conversation with me but no matter how hard he tried I could not understand one word he said. Luckily he got off half way into town as I started to feel nauseated by his beer breath. Shopping was fun and this being my third time in Cariaco I could give Ed and Linda the grand tour. It was the busy hussle and bustle of a Saturday filled with people and the vendors were topped with the freshest produce. The butcher had some very lean lomito (filet mignon). Here you have to buy the whole piece and since I don't have a freezer Linda offered to go half on it. The whole piece came to an amazing $ 6.45, then the butcher was so happy that I came back he threw two homemade sausages in the bag for free. Same at the fresh market, most of the vendors greeted me with a friendly smile and handshake mumbling nice to see you and after I paid they would throw something extra into the bag.

Back on the boat it seemed the whole town was partying, everybody was out and about, kids screaming in the water and boom boxes blaring full blast. Dreamtime and Paradise pulled anchor and headed away from the fun music and turmoil and headed up to the quite river. A huge squall was looming towards us but as we got closer it had moved east and out of our way. Only a few raindrops made it, Sid said he counted 45. About five minutes after we had anchored a giant thunderstorm behind us let out its fury and headed over to Guacarapo where we came from. This system was strong enough to pull the squall in front of us into it. We got a few more than just 45 raindrops out of that one. As sunset arrived and the sky cleared and flock after flock of scarlet ibis came flying across the lagoon to their roost and flew right over us. It was amazing to see these incredibly red beautiful birds up close. Around us were at least 50 pelicans feeding, the most I've ever seen in one spot. It was a busy anchorage. After sunset more thunderclouds got underway, one had bright pink lightning and was pretty noisy, the closest lightning bolt came about one mile from us. Then it rained almost all night long and Sid who likes to sleep in the cockpit was forced to sleep down below. Since we couldn't open the window due to the rain it got pretty warm so I moved into the salon which made it for both a bit cooler. Finally around 1.30 am the stars came out and we could open the hatches at last and Sid returned back into the cool cockpit. Early the next morning we picked up Ed and Linda and took them up the river. We couldn't believe our eyes as we entered the river when scarlet ibis flew out of the mangroves right in front of us and away from us. Due to the rain the river was flowing pretty strong so on our way back Sid turned the engine off and with the oars ready to steer we floated down the stream. Sid had to row hard on many occasions as the flow was so strong that it pushed us ashore right into the mangroves. At one point we disturbed a whole bunch of fish eating bats that were hanging under a huge trunk overhanging the river. Almost out of the river again a few more wood ibis fled from us as well as giant blue herons and as we headed back to the boat few more scarlet ibis flew along the mangroves. After we dropped Ed and Linda off Sid did a detour around the entrance to the lagoon to see how close we could get to the ibis from there when I found lots of scarlet feathers floating on top of the water, big time score. As we were invited aboard Dreamtime for dinner instead of flowers we brought Linda a bouquet of scarlet ibis feathers and she just loved it. We had a wonderful dinner marinated and grilled pork tenderloin that melted in the mouth, white rice, wonderful black beans and for dessert vanilla pudding with caramelized plantains. When it comes to cooking Linda doesn't fool around each time she cooked we had a gourmet meal, food wise we were not hurting. While the pork tenderloin was grilling we watched flock by flock of scarlet ibis fly to their near by roost and took probably another 100 photos of them. As the sun set the birds all disappeared in the mangroves, now and then one would screech while another answered but then it got just absolutely quite again. Early the next morning the whole bay was fogged in an unusual sight and it was pleasant if not almost cold when we sat in the cockpit sipping our fresh brewed morning coffee. The scarlet ibis have long left their roost and just pelicans, terns and a few skimmers were busy catching breakfast. Around 9 we picked Linda and Ed up and headed back up into the river. The whole bay from the rain two nights ago was muddy and the color of a cappuccino and the river was still flowing. Again just as we headed into the river scarlet ibis were flying from tree to tree, this time even more of them. This time they also let us come closer to the trees before taking off, giving us a chance to take some more photos. We were amazed to find the path we had walked on just about one month ago, at some places it was completely overgrown, also the rain had washed away some of the path and left deep crevasses. We hiked around the shrimp farm and Ed venturing off found a bush with a bee hive that was definitely not the path we would follow. We hiked for a couple of hours headed back towards the boat and to the area I had found the scarlet feathers where we found some more. Back on the boat we had lunch then pulled anchor and got underway for Medregal. Pretty much at the same time we left the wind started blowing right out of the west we were headed too. Knowing that in westerlies the Medregal anchorage becomes uncomfortable we dropped anchor in front of Guacarapo where it was calm but breezy. Salacia never made it up the river and so we had them and Dreamtime over for cocktail on Paradise so that the two boats finally could meet. We had great time and found out some more good info about Venezuelan anchorages Salacia shared. Then it was saying goodbye as Salacia was spending hurricane season in the Golfo, we had about 10 more days before we need to be back in Puerto La Cruz. We pulled anchor once more and motored the 5 miles to Medregal. The sky had some light clouds which one was reflecting the sun with all the rainbow colors, just beautiful. The air was clear and we could see mountain tops we usually can't see including the far islands of Mochima National Park.

The view from the anchorage at Medregal just amazed me. The Peninsula side from here looked like the Hawaiian Islands, Kuai comes to my mind and the mainland side reminded me of Lake Geneva with the high mountains in the background. The other thing that amazed me was the air was always clear as it tends to get more hazy towards Puerto La Cruz. It was nice to be back in Medregal and of course the first night the cook had an off day as Sid spoiled me with dinner ashore. Jean Marc cooked us the most incredible Argentinean New York Steak with a silky Roquefort sauce and an array of colorful vegetables cooked to the touch. The very next morning Linda and I were in the pool at 9 doing some noodeling aerobics. I discovered this type exercise in Redonda, it's really a good workout with pool noodles and no sweat so to say. The rest of the day we just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. This time a few more boats were anchored. Twice a week Jean Marc takes the cruisers shopping to either Cariaco or Corupano. As the bus usually gets too crowded this time he only allowed 6 on the trip and so we were able to go. Sid stayed behind to keep an eye on Paradise and Dreamtime, shopping is not his favorite. It is an almost two hour drive to Corupano which is located right between the Peninsula of Araya and Piraya along the water with high cliffs and occasional sandy beaches. The town is busy with lots of vendors on the streets and mucho traffic trying to go where they need to go. We did a few stops here and there and I was amazed by especially one hardware store how much stuff he had for boaters that we could not even find in Puerto La Cruz. I think Sid would have enjoyed shopping here, well next time. The stores were the quality of Puerto La Cruz plus. You can find pretty much everything here, except for milk, el Presidente put a cap on that too and I couldn't even find canned milk. Heard it was the same in Puerto La Cruz, so we have to drink our coffee black for a while. CADA's meat section even had duck breast, rabbit, turkey and goat. After all the shopping we all met at the St. Francis hotel for a wonderful lunch and on our drive home Jean Marc wanted to know if we were in a hurry. Of course not! So he took the mountain road back to Medregal. We were about 15 kilometers up the hill when the engine overheated. All of us got out and watched how Jean Marc and Dwight checked the engine. Dwight unscrewed the radiator lid which looked like a rocket taking off with a geyser following, we all jumped back, but most of saw where the cap had landed, so we thought. Dwight filled the radiator full of water which still was spewing out for a while then we looked for the cap, all of us, couldn't find it. Jean Marc got into the car drove a few feet and slammed the brakes, no cap fell out. He started driving up the hill trying to find potholes and bumps which really wasn't hard to do, with us following, but no cap. Walton had just finished his beer so he cut that one up and we used it as a cap which worked as the hood pushed it down and held it in place. We all hopped back into the truck and off we went up the hill. About five minutes later we had to fill more water into the radiator and Walton finished another beer for a new radiator cap, I think he enjoyed the drinking part as his wife couldn't deny him one. While we drove we all looked out of the back I in hopes of eventually seeing the cap fall to the pavement but no such luck. One more fill of water just before we came to the top, a nicely painted Chevy stopped and a guy staggering out of the car and swaggering towards us wanted to know if we needed help. Wow it was only 5 pm and he was drunk as a skunk and driving the steep road with many dangerous curves, kind of scary. We started running out of water so Dwight used the melted ice water to refill the radiator but that ran out too, so now we were not looking to the rear anymore for the cap but rather to find more water. Then the back window of the camper shell fell out, I have no idea how Dwight did it but he caught it before it landed on the pavement, he himself was amazed. As we finally started to descend we found an abandoned house with a water fountain and loaded up our ice chest full with water. The view up here was just spectacular and the smell of grass and flowers made it worth the car trouble we had. We all were impressed with the incredible view which now was playing with the setting sun. We all agreed that we have to come back some other day for a picnic on this very spot. We were overlooking the tall mountains towering in the background, which by the way are the beginning of the Andes, between there a low lying flat valley was stretching to the foot of the hill we were on and beyond the valley we could see the Golfo the Cariaco sparkling like a diamond it was just breathtaking. After the engine was cooled again we started descending the hill but still had to stop now and then and fill some more water into the radiator. In Cariaco Jean Marc stopped at the liquor store and since the car seemed to do fine and the beer cap was holding we filled the ice chest full of ice. Twenty minutes down the road, just before Guacarapo, the engine overheated again but now we had no water. No problem he pulled into the driveway of one of his employees who lived there. Way after 8 pm we finally arrived in Medregal, all glad to be back with a fun day behind us, well I think only Dwight and I did not stress over the ordeal we had too much fun with all that happened. The funniest though was the following day as his employee walked from his house, where we had stopped he was about 500 yards from the Resort when he found the radiator cap.

The following day a tropical waves was underway and also right at noon the westerly started to blow again, which happens here every other day or so. When they blow waves up to three feet can roll through the anchorage and make it quite uncomfortable, this was one of the strong westerlies we received. Every boat started to rock and roll. Then we overheard a radio call of a boat dragging and Gabriel went to help. Jabulani who was asked to help were not able as they only had a 5 hp dinghy engine so Sid and I hopped in the dinghy and raced over to help the old English couple. With old I mean they were old they could barley move, not just that they had engine problems as well but managed to start it. The wife was on the bow bringing the anchor in while still dragging so we positioned the two dinghies on either side to aid them. Anchor was finally up but now dangerous dangling off the bow and starting to swing back and fourth. Now they wanted to go to the mooring they knew was out there somewhere. Try to find a small white mooring ball in seas full of white caps. Then came getting them onto the mooring, we asked them to throw us a line. Sid and I were astound by what kind of line he tossed us, it was a rolled up discolored and rotten rusty looking dacron line of about 3/8 inch and handed it over to Gabriel who by now was holding the eye of the mooring line and gave a puzzled look too when they saw the line. The fiasco went on as Gabriel tried to hand them the line which now was hooked on the mooring line but now were in harms way of the dangerously swinging anchor. Now the wife tried to pull the 3/8 inch line in while it took him about a minute to finally make it to the bow to aid her. The bow was dipping into the waves and then pulled way out of the water, impossible for the two to barely hold on to the line, while we pulled the boat forward to make it easier. Finally Tim got on their boat to help them while we still pulled the boat forward and finally they were hooked. Just as he got hold of the eye the little rope started parting. When we got back to our boat the poor little 30 foot boat behind us was just bouncing wildly and they finally tried to lift anchor but with the heavy pull against them every time the bow lifted they finally had to let go of the chain and give up as it was impossible to pull the chain in with just bare hands. Then the clouds of the wave started rolling in from the east and fought the winds out of the west. For us that was good news as they would stop the high waves bouncing through the anchorage. Not just that the two huge thunderclouds approaching on either side of the Golfo started to fight with each other so the bows started to swing from one cloud to the other while the waves still were coming in from the west, it was a mess but interestingly to see what was going on. We turned the radar on to see where the rain was and started to notice that the rain was surrounding us but we still had not one drop of rain. Eventually we got some and roaring thunder went along the Golfo on boat sides. A couple of hours later all was calm and quite again and most of us went ashore to have a sundowner.

The following day was our last day in Medregal, Linda and I enjoyed the pool again in the morning for our noodeling aerobics, then we relaxed for the rest of the day and went ashore around 6 pm for Jean Marcs wonderful Saturday night dinner with appetizer, main dish and dessert, paid up our bill and went home for a good night sleep. Early just as the sun blinked over the hills we pulled anchor and headed out of the Golfo. We had an easterly blowing and just as we arrived at the entrance to the Golf the easterly gave up and within about thirty minutes the westerly started blowing again. It had paid off to leave early we were trying not to be in the Golfo when the westerlies would start which they do around noon. From here it was only 18 miles to our destination El Oculto in the Mochima National Park. It was too funny as we neared the entrance to El Oculto a fishing boat filled with guys having a fun Sunday mooned us but did not expect to have Sid moon them back. You should have heard the roar of laughter of the about 20 guys, it was too funny. We anchored just on time before another set of squalls rolled into our area with some rain. Dreamtime was anchored next to us and was just as amazed us we were in how beautiful and quite this anchorage is. The water this time was 84 degrees two months back it was only 74 and was now crystal clear, perfect for some good snorkeling.

The first time we came to El Oculto with Dale and Sandy on Snow White, we didn't think that it was all that great according to other cruisers. The hills were dried out and the water was murky with a very dark bottom, some kind of algae covered the bottom of the bay. The second time here the hills were a bit greener but the water still very murky and dark. This time the hills were covered in green with occasional clay bottom showing. The water was crystal clear and the visibility must have been at least 40 feet. We couldn't believe our eyes, how beautiful the underwater shoreline looked. It was covered with the beautiful coral reef full of Christmas tree and feather duster worms which cover all the coral and glow like precious stones. There was an abundance of reef fish, including a good size barracuda, lots of puffer fish, some so big the head was the size of a giant beach ball. They hid under the coral heads and it was spooky when you look under a coral head and two giant size eyes starring at you then you notice the giant head. As we were going around one coral head we almost encountered a head on collision with a beautiful green turtle, which was just as surprised as we were. At first it took off then turned around and circled us checking us out. Some cruisers even have seen little seahorses here. Across our anchorage was a steep wall which is fun to snorkel. Unfortunately the water was also inhabited by nasty string of pearls and other type of jelly fish which left instant blisters on my skin. The others didn't seem to have that reaction. My right hand was covered with blisters and it itches like hell for days and days.

Five more boats joined us, we had met them all when we were in Bahia Redonda and it was a fun reunion with happy hour each evening on one of the boats. Unfortunately for us it was saying goodbye as they head into the Golfo de Cariaco and us back to Puerto La Cruz. We motored out of this beautiful area and noticed the huge change again in the greenery verses the first time we came through here. We rounded the corner and headed along the shore towards the Arapos Islands, the scenery revealed nothing but lush, tropical beaches with towering mountains in the background. The Arapos islands are two beautiful little islands, populated with simple vacation homes and a few that live there year round. Between the two islands is a mini island with a house now in shambles. The once beautiful house used to belong to an attorney and when they turned this whole area into a national park they evicted him from his island. He donated his villa to the park and they promised to keep it the way it was, but unfortunately that never happened, the house was stripped and only the walls remain. This little island is surrounded by a beautiful reef. The water wasn't as clear as in Oculto but I've never seen so many parrot fish and never in a group of at least 20 as here. We saw one of the funniest things ever, a guy with mask, snorkel and fins, was pushing an ice cream cart through the water to the anchored boats selling ice cream, what a great idea but too funny to see. The anchorage was a little crowded and not sure how protected it would be at night we pulled anchor and headed across the basin to Isla Chimana Segunda and anchored on the western end of the south coast in a little bite called Playa el Faro. Soft multicolored cliffs surround the bay, which have been sculpted by wind and rain making for quit a contrast with the emerald green water. And on the head is a broad beach and on one side above the cliffs a beautiful red and white striped lighthouse. One sailboat was already in the anchorage and at least 10 boats were anchored right onto the beach and the beach was crowded with people. We realized that school was still out, the good news about this was they all leave before sunset and go home and leave this otherwise beautiful anchorage for us to enjoy. Unfortunately the anchorage was rather on the rolly side and little tiny gnats were persistently poking our eyes and landed on any bare skin they could find, in other words VERY annoying.

We stayed three days in El Faro and showed Linda and Ed the cave on the other side of he island, the cave where "Las Velas de Manuela" are, the two lights I found flickering through the top of the cave. Just as we drove into the cave we were surrounded by dozens of dolphins how cool is that. We also hiked up to the top where the lighthouse is which offers a beautiful view of the beautiful anchorage and the surrounding islands. Then we hiked to the fossil cemetery which is on the other side of the small island where you clearly can find imbedded fossil shells. As every morning we listened to the weather and a tropical low was forming and we knew we would get some of the rain. So Sid and I took the dinghy to the next island Chimana Grande which is 3 miles away and checked out the anchorages there. On our way I saw a beautiful piece of driftwood floating in the water and thought of looking at it closer but we were going to fast and so I forgot about it. We looked at all the possible anchorages and returned to El Faro. The weather was declining and just about an hour after we got back it started raining and after several hours we had a break in the weather. I went on the bow and noticed something bobbing on the water and couldn't believe my eyes when I recognized the same piece of drift wood floating slowly towards our bow. I kept an eye on it and within 10 minutes it arrived on the bow. Amazing as this piece was around the corner and in front of the other island. So I picked it out of the water. It looks like a snake and is now the Maremares snake and in front of our slip. In the mean time the tropical system turned into tropical storm Felix and brought 65 mph winds to Grenada. We knew we would get the tail end and moved to Chimana Grande to a more protected anchorage. We left early but the wind was picking up already, at least it was only a three mile trip between the islands and so not all too much of a problem. A few hours later the wind laid down and we enjoyed a beautiful day in our new surroundings. We tried to explore the mangrove that has a passage to the next anchorage but not too many use it or not at all anymore as it was pretty overgrown and we could only go a few feet into it and had to back up. In the mean time Felix turned into a very dangerous hurricane. Normally it takes 3 to 5 days for a tropical storm to turn into a force 1 hurricane Felix made the record of all hurricanes ever and developed into a force 5 hurricane within only 51 hours. Luckily we had the tail end already and were out of the path. Felix even created waves of 50 plus feet.

In the mean time we're back in a slip at the Maremares Marina, had just about enough time to get the boat all washed down and settle in when the main waterline broke and left not just Barcelona, Lecheria and Puerto La Cruz without water but almost most to this State, Millions of people had no water. The newspaper announced no water for 3 days and 7 days later we still had no water. Most of the hotels and condo buildings have huge tanks below the building as the water gets turned off a lot; we had that problem at the house almost daily. This time it was more serious. The hotel shut down the water to the marina complete and only gave us about one hour a day to fill up the tanks, if that long. We haven't been able to take showers as they were turned off too; just good there was a pool. The hotel rooms although had water. Since Isla Margarita we haven't done any laundry and were waiting for the water to come back on. Since I was flying to Switzerland on Thursday I hope I didn’t have to bring dirty cloths with me, guess customs would have a surprise if they search my luggage, LOL. Day 8 we got the water back so my family does not have to wear gas masks greeting me at the airport. Anyway, we're settled in Puerto La Cruz and will be here until the end of the year. We promised Jim and Jenny on Three Keys to baby sit their boat and feed the cats while they are in the States. Also after my return from Switzerland we're planning to explore this beautiful country a bit more and will do inland trips especially to the Angel Falls. Sid will stay here as one of us always stays with the boat.

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