November, 2007 - Once again the month has flown by, probably the fastest of any in recent memory!
Conejero Mercado: Another trip to the Rabbit Market was made in order to buy some new shorts and tee shirts for Roland and a few things for Kathleen. You can’t beat the prices there, and everything will cost more once we’re back in Grenada.
Empanadas: The empanadas at the Conejero are really good, and it’s easy to eat three or four. Our favorite stand advertised "Empanadas Viagra Margaritenas". It was necessary to look that up in the dictionary, but it wasn’t there. Must be slang for something else!
Extending Our Visas: On Nov. 5th we handed our visas over to Juan to get 90 day extensions before heading to the mainland. The next day when we got them back Juan showed us that we had flown to Frankfurt, Germany, on Oct. 27th and returned on Nov. 4th. The stamps were official from the airport office. Kathleen asked Juan if we enjoyed our trip, but he failed to see the humor in that question. We found out later that we could have easily taken care of this here in Carupano, but at least it was done.
Traveling Around: After lunch on the 5th, we pulled anchor and headed to the island of Coche which is the on the south side of Margarita. It was a pleasant sail to the anchorage off the beach of a resort hotel where there was only one other sailboat anchored. We left the dinghy on deck as we planned to leave early in the morning for Cubagua which is a short distance to the west of Coche, also on the south side of Margarita. Here we found another boat we know as well as a couple of others. Along the beach were several ramshackle houses belonging to fishermen. Cubagua is considered uninhabited except for a scientific research facility, and there are no utilities such as electricity and water. We stayed here for two nights thinking we would go ashore and explore a little, but the wind was quite strong, and we didn’t feel like putting the dinghy in the water. The second night there were perhaps four more boats in the anchorage, people moving north. It was a good thing we were on the boat when one French boat came in, dropped anchor in front of us and promptly backed down right on top of our anchor. Roland hollered at them, but they played dumb, as some Europeans have a tendency to do, so we pulled up our anchor and moved away from them. They just don’t get it.
Golfo de Cariaco: Another good sail on Friday, the 9th, got us across the Channel to the Golfo de Cariaco. Now we were heading east and had to motor to Laguna Grande to spend the night. From the point which is very low the landscape changes to reddish hills followed by mountains that look as if they have been sprayed with green flocking. It’s easy to see where the rain falls. Once inside Laguna Grande we anchored in a tiny cove that was barely big enough for our boat. We were pretty close to the mangroves on one side, but fortunately there was almost no wind so we didn’t worry about swinging around. On shore there was the framework of a fishing hut being built (see pictures),but no one was around except for the goats we saw early in the morning. We thought the goats were wild, but we were told that they do belong to someone in a nearby tiny fishing village. These villages dot the shoreline, and most are accessible only by boat where there are no roads.
Dolphins: It’s been a long time since we have seen dolphins. As we sailed from Laguna Grande to Medregal Village on the 10th we were treated to the antics of as many as three dozen dolphins swimming along with us. These dolphins are smaller than the ones we’re used to, but just as much fun. One little guy did a spectacular jump for which we awarded him a "10". Every time we tacked they stayed right with us, but they liked it better when we were going faster on a port tack.
Medregal Village: This is really a resort and boat yard, not very large by U.S. standards. It consists of hotel rooms, bar, restaurant, pool, lounge areas, and a boat yard which is bigger than the resort area. If you are interested in seeing what it is like, you can "Google" Medregal Village. We anchored out Saturday and Sunday, and had the boat hauled out the following Monday morning. Jean Marc, the proprietor, and his crew, drive the travel lift right into the water where one of the crew puts the straps under the hull. Then the boat is lifted out of the water before they drive back onto the concrete pad.
One of the buildings at the edge of the yard has separate private bathrooms with huge showers, toilets and sinks. We had our own and a key to lock the door so we could leave our things there. Showers everyday, sometimes two or three depending on how dirty we got while working. What luxury! There was also a laundry area where Kathleen could do our own washing, but still she had to hang it up on the boat to dry.
Jean Marc put on a nice BBQ every Saturday night, three great salads and a meat entree with vegetables, sometimes sausage, pork chops or steaks. The bar is self service where you keep track of your own purchases.
Medregal Village turned out to be a real bargain. Haulout and splash cost about $120 U.S. and $4.00 a day for electric and water. Beers aren’t as cheap as at Juan’s, but, hey , no problemo!
Black Town: Oddly enough this town is for blacks only. It is their choice that all residents must be 100% black. They usually marry within their own community, and they can move somewhere else if they like. Try this concept in the U.S.!
New Friends: The first day we were in the yard we were befriended by Denis and Marie from Montreal. Last week we celebrated Denis’ 60th birthday with a pot luck and barbecue at the restaurant. There were couples from 12 boats there, and six dishes of quiche. Needless to say there are many French here, and apparently they all make quiche for pot luck dinners. Strange! On the boat next door to us were Diana and John from the UK. They were great neighbors, too.
Work: Well, what can we say? We’re not used to working, but we crossed most of the items off our to-do list. Kathleen washed the mattress covers outside and got the bed all put together after cleaning the berth. Roland painted the white hull and the blue stripe which required sanding before and in between coats. That takes lots of time since you have to wait for the paint to dry! Sanding and getting the bottom ready was a dirty job as always, and it’s difficult to do much at one time when it’s as hot as it is from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Cartoon Bugs: As soon as Roland opened a can of bottom paint he was besieged by black flying ant-like, wasp-like insects. We’re told that they are some kind of fly. They came by the hundreds to feast on the anti-fouling paint, really! Some of them died happily, like drowning in a vat of chocolate in Hershey, PA. Some died stuck to the paint. After taking a close look at some while she was stirring the paint, Kathleen decided they look like cartoon bugs wearing red sneakers. There was so much paint on them it was a wonder they could still fly. One of the other cruisers who had painted his boat the day before stopped by to say that the flies were eating his bottom paint, too. This is normal according to everyone.
Play: Gee, we haven’t done much playing in the last three weeks except for playing dominoes one Sunday afternoon, and trying to watch a few movies. Roland found "The Panic Room" boring and promptly fell asleep. We borrow "French Kiss" from another cruiser. It wouldn’t play on our DVD player so we put it on the computer. The computer media player didn’t like the disc very much either. Suddenly in the middle of the movie we had Spanish subtitles while Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline were speaking French. We got that straightened out, but it was almost midnight, and this time Kathleen fell asleep before the movie was over. After that we said forget it, we’d rather read books!
Cool Nights: After all the hot days, it is great to have cooler nights. The fan that helps keep us cooler and drier while sleeping has been wonderful, but even better is how much cooler the nights are here. The last few nights we have pulled a light blanket over us around two in the morning. We know it must sound strange to those of you up north when you’re all trying to keep warm now with extra blankets on your beds.
Shopping Excursions: There are two places to go shopping in this area. Both are accessible only by car which is a pretty beat up Land Rover that holds eight passengers on the two benches in the rear and two up front, the driver and one other person. The closest is the town of Cariaco which is a 45 minute ride over a rutted dirt road that turns into a paved road barely two lanes wide with many pot holes that are larger than the ones where it snows. Jean Marc takes people to Cariaco on Saturday mornings, leaving at 8 a.m. and returning at 11:30. We can go to the fresh market for produce, chicken, beef and fish. Stops are made at the ferreteria, panaderia and licoria (hardware store, bakery and liquor store). There are also a few Chinese stores that sell some canned goods and paper goods. There has been no milk available in town for several weeks. With all the bags loaded in the back of Land Rover it can get pretty crowded and uncomfortable for the ride back to Medregal Village.
The city of Carupano is 45 minutes northeast of Cariaco. Jean Marc will take passengers with him on Thursdays as that is his regular provisioning day. Kathleen went one day and came home exhausted and aching. They left at 7 a.m. and returned at 5:15 p.m. Here there are three supermarkets, not big but sufficient. Again, there is no milk anywhere, not even canned evaporated milk. Thank you, President Chavez! The back was already loaded with huge coolers and lots of bags when Jean Marc stopped to get a 40 gallon drum of pool chemicals. Add to that a stack of boards that he picked up at a lumber yard which went on the floor. Kathleen and Marie had to put their legs up over the boards and their feet on the seats. It was a pretty uncomfortable ride even though the road from Carupano to Cariaco is very good. Kathleen asked where the goats and chickens were, to which Jean Marc replied that we were stopping for them next. Just kidding!
Thanksgiving: Not much of a holiday this year, but Kathleen did make a pumpkin pie to go with the homemade beef stew. We spent most of the day working, appreciating that we have lots to be thankful for even without turkey and all the trimmings.
All caught up! It’s actually December as we finish this November issue. Our bill is paid, and tomorrow we’re going to go up the mouth of the river for an overnight to see all the scarlet ibis and egrets flocking in at dusk. Then we will go back to Porlamar, spend the rest of our Bolivars, and head back to Grenada.
(November 30, 2007)
