Return to Porlamar: Friday the 7^th, we headed for Isla de Margarita. It was a long day having left Laguna Grande in the Golfo at 6:30 a.m., again sailing with Honah Lee II. The sailing was good to the west end of the Golfo and around the west end of the peninsula. The clean freshly painted bottom probably helped with our speed as we saw 7.8 knots at one point. Of course, the wind blowing at 20 knots helped. After having a good sail part way, we now had to motor into the wind and the seas the rest of the way, arriving at 8:30 p.m. We just missed a good soaking rain and dropped anchor between the raindrops. On Saturday morning we moved closer to shore, and spent a good two hours cleaning and washing the boat. When we went to change more money, the black market rate had dropped from 5000-to-1 to 4500-to-1 as a result of the referendum vote on Dec. 2nd. We hope for the sake of the Venezuelan people that their economy will improve, even if it means that we don’t get as much of a deal on the exchange rate.

Permanent Daylight Savings Time: Well, as permanent as anything might be in Venezuela! Beginning the morning of December 9^th, Venezuelans and cruisers alike turned their clocks back one half hour by order of President Chavez. Why half an hour and not a full hour like everyone else does? When we asked, we were told that it is so the children do not have to go to school in the dark, and because Chavez can do whatever he wants. The Sunday afternoon Mexican Train dominoes game started at the usual 2 p.m., but in the future it will have to start earlier as some players weren’t able to finish their game before it was too dark to play. And life goes on!

The never ending cycle: On the way to Porlamar when the wind came up pretty strong, we had a small tear in the genoa, nothing serious. There was also a little damage to the edge which needed to have a strip of sailcloth stitched to it..This, of course, necessitated taking the sail down when the wind in the anchorage was calm, and doing repairs with the Pfaff sewing machine, the one Kathleen calls the spare anchor because it weighs about fifty pounds. That chore took most of the afternoon, not bad by boat standards.

We’ve said it before and we have to say it again. On December 10^th there was no milk in the stores, nor rice, flour, or sugar. It’s a good thing that Kathleen was able to buy sugar and flour in Carupano, or there wouldn’t be any home baked cinnamon raisin rolls or key lime Danish pastries at our "house". We heard that the government had dropped the price restrictions on the long-life boxed (UHT) milk, and shortly thereafter it appeared on the supermarket shelves. But then we heard that we should stock up on toilet paper because there was going to be a shortage. Well, we already did that last month so no worries in that department!

FedEx: Dear, dependable FedEx is not available in Isla de Margarita, Venezuela. We should have checked the web site before traipsing all over Porlamar in search of a FedEx office from which to ship Christmas packages. What we did find out is that the only FedEx Office is in Caracas, but DHL is the company to use here. So that was where we went. After over an hour of filling out shipping paperwork in triplicate, and five sets of three pages each of export forms (whew), the packages were on their way to the States.

Weather window for travel: Right now, December 17^th, we are looking for a few days of cooperative weather to go back to Grenada/Carriacou. Perhaps over the weekend. Fast forward, Wednesday, the 19^th, we checked out today, bought some fresh veggies at the market and more zippers for the bimini work, and gave all of our remaining Bolivars (10,800) to Alvi to share with Pedro, wishing them "Feliz Navidad and Prospero Ano Nuevo!" That sum, by the way, is little more than two dollars U.S. on the black market and about four dollars at the official rate. So we talked to Chris Parker in the morning over the single sideband radio and learned that our hoped for Thursday departure did not sound like a good idea, too much wind and wave action. But if we could wait until Saturday, the seas would be down and the winds would have "relaxed". Unusual word for a weather forecast, "relaxed" winds. Denis and Marie are planning to go as far as Los Testigos with us so we are all marking time.

Canvas Work: Well, actually it’s Sunbrella work. Kathleen has been making an extension that covers the rear portion of the cockpit. This means sewing lots of separating zippers to various pieces to make for easy installation. The first step was to slice the three pieces that hold the bimini to the frame, and sew in the zippers. Now we don’t have to take the frame down and apart to allow access for sewing repairs or removal in case of a hurricane. The same was done to the dodger in the front of the cockpit. Some minor alterations and additions will be done on the dodger, and eventually we will replace the plastic (windows) on the dodger that has become rather cloudy. Kathleen also used a brush to apply waterproofing to the Sunbrella to keep us drier when it rains. We won’t know how well it covered the fabric until we get some rain. Unfortunately, having someone build a brand new roof above our heads is cost prohibitive at this time. Maybe someday!

And more work: Gosh, didn’t we do enough when we were on the hard? Roland put a couple of fresh coats of GOOD varnish (we like Epifanes gloss on externals, and less expensive spar varnish on the interior) on part of the cockpit where it had deteriorated in the sun since the last varnishing more than a year ago in Trinidad. If you remember, that was something like eleven coats of varnish. He also did some painting of the companion-way. Next it will be the whole cockpit. Incidentally, we learned a few things about painting the cockpit and deck areas. Originally we used Toplac, which is an excellent paint. However, one day Roland used some left over Rust Oleum for touching up several areas (the color matched!). This paint, in the cockpit eventually changed color (seemed to mildew) and even turned soft so it could be scratched with a fingernail. However, where it was used on the toe-rails, and constantly exposed to wind and weather, it seems unchanged and still hard. So, now for the cockpit it will always be Toplac, Brightsides, or Easy Poxy, all single part lacquer, polyurethane, Or epoxy. Awl Grip would be great but the two-part paint is difficult to work with.

Up go the sails: The repaired head sail went back up late one afternoon. The following morning we took a look at the old torn one that has been in a sail bag on the deck since last April. Deciding that the sail cloth was pretty old and not worth repairing, we cut it up for patch material. We also saved most of the Sunbrella material for future projects. Having finally tossed the two long cockpit cushions which were in pretty sad shape, we saved enough of the decent foam to make a few smaller cushions covered with, you guessed it, Sunbrella.

Weather Window Update: There’s something to be said for waiting for a weather window. Lots of sailors won’t leave for on a trip on a Friday (it’s a long-standing superstition among sailors), but Friday wasn’t any good anyway. In the meantime, Kathleen made four cushions from the foam and Sunbrella, and finished the extension for the rear of the cockpit. Side panels still have to be made, too. Kathleen says some day she’ll get some good pictures of all this and put them on the equipment page back at the beginning of our pages.

Last Remarks about Speaking Spanish: After four months in a Spanish-speaking country where we had to learn enough to get by, we appreciate the experience. It is just amazing, to us anyway, that many cruisers have no interest whatsoever in learning just the least they need to get by. We spent time looking up words and phrases in our dictionary so we could at least have something on paper if we needed it. As an example, our friend, Harm, who is currently in Carriacou, asked us by email if we could get him some bearings for his wind generator. Our books tell us four or five words for bearings, none of which is the word that is used in Porlamar. But we did manage to get what he needs and will take them up to Carriacou for him. That’s more in keeping with the spirit of adventure and quest for the new and different. Others agree with us - if you don’t want to take part in all of this, just stay home at the marina dock!

Saturday, on to Los Testigos: Up at 4:30 a.m., everything stowed the night before, we pulled anchor at 5 a.m., before the sun came up. That half hour of daylight savings time in Venezuela has been confusing so we’ll be happy to be back in AST (Atlantic Standard Time) which is one hour ahead of EDT. We were on the move exactly twelve hours heading pretty much into the wind so it was great to get to the northern anchorage of Playa Real, Royal Beach, where several other boats were anchored. It’s actually quite a small beach by most standards, but very pretty and photogenic. Just before we got there we were on the VHF radio with Honah Lee II, and as soon as we finished our conversation, we were hailed by Harry and Elaine on S/V Zydeco, who we had met in Tyrrel Bay back in May or June. On Sunday afternoon we met them on the beach, and invited them back to the boat for a quick visit. They had just come in from Trinidad a couple of days before and were leaving later that evening for Porlamar. Kathleen was happy to pass on maps and lots of local knowledge about shopping. We went over to Honah Lee II for happy hour and a last visit with Denis and Marie as we planned on leaving in the morning for the 24+ hour trip to Grenada. Denis and Marie had gone to the beach early in the day and asked a fisherman about buying lobsters. Two hours later, after the man had gone "fishing", Denis bought 5 small lobsters, a squid, a good sized fish and a huge crab, all for 50,000 B’s or roughly $10 US. That’s one of the many things we’ll miss about Venezuela!

The Trip to Grenada: We left at 9 a.m., VDT, 9:30 AST, on Christmas Eve, expecting to get to St. George’s, Grenada, hopefully before noon on Christmas Day. The day started out pleasantly enough, small swells, not much wind chop, winds in the 12-15 knot range, lots of sunshine, too. All of a sudden about 6 p.m., a voice on the VHF radio proclaimed, "Merry Christmas to you all." There was a freighter a few miles off to the south so it must have been the captain. After supper, we started our two-hour watches, watching the full moon come up, big and bright. The clouds started to build, and we had to dodge what looked like rain under one of them. We tried to dodge a second one, but caught a few sprinkles at the end of it. There were several ship going by as well. One cruise ship looked awfully close so we slowed down to let it pass in front of us, thankful when it headed toward Trinidad. The other ships were far enough away not to pose a problem. Sometimes the waves were rough, sometimes they smoothed out, but it was never very windy. We’ve been using the small stay sail/storm sail that Roland had made before we left from a large sail purchased on e-Bay. That worked pretty well for us going to Los Testigos, and now to Grenada. It was great to see the sun come up with about 30 miles to go, but the clouds were beginning to gather into larger stormy looking masses. Lucky for us they were heading slightly south of us. It was even greater to see the outline of Grenada in the distance knowing that we hadn’t much farther to go. We got better speed over water by sailing a little off the rhumb line, and it was a little more comfortable taking the waves at an angle. The familiar anchorage in Martin’s Bay outside the Lagoon was soon in sight, and we dropped the anchor shortly after noon. A different sort of Christmas this year. There was lots of cleaning up to do, yet another bout of maintenance on the water maker, and a quick sandwich for lunch, before we were able to take a nap before dinner time.

Not Turkey or Lobster, But Just as Good: Kathleen’s nap was shorter than Roland’s so she had plenty of time to arrange some decorations, putting up a new string of lights with some on the little tree while listening to a CD of Christmas carols and happy songs by the International Children’s Choir. On the menu for Christmas dinner were chicken breast with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with gravy, and fresh cauliflower, all served with candlelight and twinkling lights. We listened to another CD of Reggae Christmas favorites that were not the usual songs we know. That was okay with us because so many of the usual songs (not Christmas Carols) are so melancholy. After dinner we sat in the cockpit, under the stars and not quite full moon, enjoying the warm wind, and wishing that all of you could be enjoying it with us.

Boxing Day: This is a holiday here because of the British heritage of the island. Government offices are closed, but stores are probably opened for part of the day. We’re taking it easy today, making water, doing laundry, writing this text, and downloading pictures from the camera.

Our New Boat: You would not believe the choice of new boats we had during the last few days. There was a catamaran style cruise ship at the cruise ship dock outside the Lagoon, a cruise ship at the inside dock, then another cruise ship on the outside dock. That was all in the space of two days as the ships routinely come in at dawn and leave at dusk the same day. Then the Queen Mary I arrived, followed the next day by the Queen Elizabeth II which is so large it had to anchor outside in deep water. But the piece de resistance was the Maltese Falcon. It is for sale for only $100 million USD. Can you imagine? It came into the new Port Louis Marina where there were also some mega sailing yachts tied up for a few days. What a lifestyle! What an amazing sight!

Meeting Up with Old Friends: Sea Cycle, Encantada, and Waternark I are all in Clark’s Court Bay where we spent last New Year’s Eve. We all got together at the Fish Friday in Guave on the 28^th. You may remember that we went there almost a year ago. It’s about a 45 minute ride up and down hills and around lots of little bays to one of the oldest towns on Grenada. Lots of fish cakes, fish kabobs and drinks later, we were thoroughly sated and ready to head back home at 9 p.m. Sam and Margie are very interested in what we can tell them about Venezuela as they are now thinking about going there. Sea Cycle, with whom we spent lots of time in Tyrrel Bay, is moving over to the Lagoon in a couple of days so we will have plenty of time to visit with them.

Kudos to HSBC: After we got back to Grenada and had used the bank card several times, Kathleen got an email from the bank fraud alert department questioning the recent activity. Of course, that was the one time we used the card in Venezuela, and the bank is only trying to protect everyone’s interests. After an email and a phone call, all was copaesthtic. Good thing, too, because we still had to go to an ATM and get cash! It’s amazing how much provisioning we need to do to replenish supplies of mozzarella cheese, tuna in water, milk, etc. Too bad the prices here aren’t as good as in Venezuela, but it’s a trade-off.

New Year’s Eve: It will probably be a quiet one for us although the music from shore will probably be as loud as it was for Carnival. We hope 2008 brings everyone all they hope for.

Happy New Year to All!