Bonaire

03/04/03

We have now done several dives, mostly right off the back of our boat. It is great & so easy to just jump in & go. The dive shop (Green Submarine, soon to be Yellow Submarine) is right on the water so we just dinghy up & exchange our tanks right there. We have started playing dominoes with Hans & Suzanne (NautiBear) every afternoon until sunset on their boat. It's good that we have to quit due to darkness, thus putting an end to the wine consumption!

We have discovered a new, very good restaurant, Cappriccio (wonderful pumpkin ravioli with cream sauce, great seafood & pizza). Another discovery is the warehouses that are a pretty long walk from downtown. They have some items not available at the grocery & pretty good selection of vegetables & cheese.

03/09/03

We did a clean up dive with a large group (40) at the town pier. Lots of rubble was picked up but I feel we are fighting a loosing battle. There are boats constantly coming in here & debris gets over the side. We spent most of our time picking up fishing line that probably got snagged on something & broke. That dive only reinforced my feelings about diving in a group. I don't like it. That is really one of the best things about Bonaire. We can dive alone so I do not have to watch others loose control & bang into coral (or me).

We went to dinner with Hans & Suzanne at Rondevous Sports Bar mostly to see the Formula One races that began at 10:00. They are very into these races as Hans was involved in overseeing the funding that Seimens contributes ($30 million) while he was working there. The McClaren/Mercedes team came in 1st & 3rd so it was a good night except for the Fararri supporters who left quietly after giving our table a few nasty glares! I think it might have had something to do with Hans shouting "Kimi, Kimi, Kimi" (Raikkonen) throughout the night.

I am alone on the boat as Allen has gone over to NautiBear to help them fix a leak on their watermaker. He made a bet on a domino game & Hans won so now he has to help Suzanne with the leak. This is his second foray into their watermaker. He should never let anyone know he has mechanical skills. He works hard enough on this boat. I guess he cannot help himself, offering assistance to others in need, especially when they are as attractive as Suzanne!

03/17/03

We are still enjoying the diving nearly every day. Our life here has settled into a routine. About every other day we go to the Lost Pelican diner for breakfast (shared omelet & Belgian Waffles) & read the Miami Herald. Then we walk over to the Budget Marine store to see if our order has arrived, NO! Then back to the boat for a relaxing dive. After that we have a quick shower, fix some snacks, grab a bottle of wine & head over to NautiBear for dominoes. On the "off" days we have a bit of tea to start the day then read, work on the varnish, dive & maybe play a game of Scrabble or Backgammon. Not a very exciting life but it is so pleasant we are in no hurry to leave. We are still waiting to hear when Barb & Colleen are coming to visit.

Sean (First Command) showed up here a few days ago with Valarie. They wanted to do a test sail to see how she liked a real passage. Apparently she did not enjoy it. As we did, they bashed the whole way & she was seasick. It also did not help matters that all of her clothes got soaked. I feel sorry for her (and him). I know how hard that first big passage can be (and how tense it can get when one person is not having a good time)! They are still planning to leave here in a few days as soon as the weather calms down a little. I guess I will get that dinner from our bet if we can ever catch up with Sean again.

Allen (Nomad) made it to the DR but had a very nasty trip from what we heard (knockdowns, breakdowns etc.) He was in a hurry to get going & apparently did not want to wait for the weather to calm down any longer. I can stay here, very comfortably, until we get a good weather window.

Bush has apparently whipped the US into a war frenzy. It sounds like we are going to go to war against the wishes of the UN & whole world (except lap dog Tony Blair). Invading a country in opposition to the UN, sounds like what we punished Iraq for a few years back. I hate to see the United States turning into the aggressor, what a major change from what we pretend to stand for. Mostly I hate to see dedicated young men die for George Bush's personal vendetta.

03/29/03

Sean & Lynne (Tarifa) came in last week & we have helped them get oriented. We have been looking forward to their arrival, as we have been "leap-frogging" each other for months. They got here just in time for me to get a cold that has pretty much had me down for the week. Allen went on a bike ride around the lower half of the island & on to Lac Bay with Hans & Suzanne. He thought it was great, they thought it was a bit too much work. We are heavy into March Madness & getting most of the games on Armed Forces radio.

We are, of course, also getting constant up-dates on the war in Iraq. I am surprised that they are broadcasting the NCAA tournament on AFR. It does seem a little disrespectful. I guess the armed forces deserve some distraction when they get a chance to rest. It is, after all, for their entertainment so it should be their choice.

04/10/03

Barb finally came to visit. Colleen could not make it. We had a very nice time. We rented bikes & rode around the South of the island to lac bay. As we were leaving we asked Hans & Suzanne if they were still coming along & he responded "Are you kidding, in this wind, I don't want to die"! I think he was right, it was a pretty rough ride. Barb & I actually had to get off & walk when we had to ride directly into the wind. It was a pretty good way to see the island but maybe a bit too ambitious for me. I am still weak from the cold, I guess, or just a wimp.

We got to visit all of our favorite restaurants (It Rains Fishes, Cappricco, & The Lighthouse) & enjoyed them all for one last time. Otherwise we just hung around the boat & snorkeled. Lynne reported finding the elusive frog fish under their boat. We snorkeled over & I think Barb & I saw it on top of some coral!

We went back to immigration today & tried to get an extension (our 3 months are up on the fifteenth). The "grumpy guy" was there in fine form & told us that we were here illegally (and had been for nearly the whole time). He said he had told us that we needed an extension after two weeks & since we had not done that we could not get an extension under any circumstances! He also inferred that we snuck out of Bonaire to Curacao trying to avoid him. That made us very mad since we had been in HIS office two weeks after arrival, as required, & gotten HIS clearance to Curacao (also a part of the Netherland Antilles). At Curacao they did not require an extension to check in, although they did say we needed one when we checked out. Again, when we checked into Bonaire, they said we were fine without the extension. I guess what really got to me was that we had all of these forms clearing us in & out of each island (& all the miles of walking to try to get it all done legally) & then to be accused of trying to sneak around! We just decided to leave by Tuesday & skip the whole mess (not that we have much choice).

04/14/03

We finally saw the frog fish! He is just as ugly as the pictures & I took the camera along twice & got some good pictures of him. One time he was actually swimming around. Well, swimming may not be the right word. He kind of loped through the water looking much like the immigration man. I guess he did not appreciate having his picture taken. At one point he slowly raised up his rear end & worked up a poop. As long as it took we thought it was a she laying an egg! Maybe it was his way of telling us to move on. We were both giggling so hard I almost lost my regulator.

We will really miss Bonaire. It is so hard to leave friends but that's just a part of this life. We have gotten very close to Hans & Suzanne but they are heading West to Panama & we are heading North. Sean & Lynne will be heading up right behind us so we will see them when we get to the Dominican Republic. They are delayed waiting for their mail & Lynne is getting some decompression treatments due to a diving accident (six hours each at $450/hour-ouch!). We have had a great diving experience here seeing many different life forms in over twenty dives. Other than Belize it is the best diving we have seen.

The trip North to Puerto Rico

04/18/03

This was not our best passage. We left Tuesday morning & before we even got out of sight of Bonaire the auto-pilot quit working. We probably should have turned back at that time but when Allen reminded me about the immigration situation, I agreed that we should go on. (I REFUSE to go to that jerk & beg for more time. Also, NautiBear has been waiting for Budget Marine to receive a steering pump for 8 weeks so we do not have much faith in them.) This meant we had to hand steer, something we have rarely done. It is exhausting & we were only able to keep three-hour shifts. That means only three hours of sleep & I do not do well with sleep deprivation! Allen finally got the auto-pilot to work on the second day, to our relief. Then later that day the engine died! It was too late in the day to start repairs so we just sailed all night. We probably shouldn't have even had the engine on at that point since we were able to make 6 knots without it. The wind was perfect at 15-20 knots from the Southeast. We only had the engine on because we both agreed that with the auto-pilot problems we needed to get to land ASAP & it did give us an extra knot of speed.

Allen got the engine to work the next day. It was a good thing because at at that point we started getting into squalls that turned the wind North, Northeast & sometimes completely calm. We were close to Puerto Rico by then but still Southwest of our destination of Ponce. (We had originally planned for the East Coast & the Spanish Virgin Islands but with our problems decided on Ponce as it was closer & had good availability of parts & mechanics.) We motored straight into the wind for about 6 hours and just as we reached the entrance buoy to Ponce the engine died not to restart. We were faced with the decision of aborting & drifting (probably far West) until daylight or entering an unknown harbor under sail, with no engine back-up, dodging squalls at 1:00 AM. We chose to go for it as it looked like a very wide-open entrance although to get into the Yacht harbor we had to sail straight up-wind. After a couple of attempts we finally got inside the reef, near the Yacht club & dropped the anchor. What a relief!

During the sail we also re-discovered some forgotten leaks so the V-berth, most of Allen's clothes, a fair amount of storage under the settee & the carpet were soaked. The carpet was beginning to smell like something died in it so as soon as we got in I threw it outside to get rained on for 24 hours. We both crashed & slept like logs. When the rain stops we will dry off, see if we can find the problem with the engine & ENJOY Puerto Rico!

04/20/03

Ponce, Puerto Rico

We had a whole day of torrential rain yesterday so we just slept & recovered from the difficult, breakdown plagued, crossing from Bonaire. John (Silky) came by during a short break in the rain & mentioned that we could not check in at Customs as it was closed for Good Friday. Storms were forecast by the Coast Guard with wind up to 45kn so we decided to stay on the boat as we were not in the best location, very near a reef if the wind blew from the North.

Saturday morning we got up & went to check in with the Immigration officer who conveniently came down to the Yacht Club dock. What a nice welcome! He could not have been more friendly & the paperwork was nothing but a short sign in sheet. He pointed out the Customs House, which we could reach by dinghy & a short walk so we headed directly there.

I should have known, after the ease of Immigration, that we would have a tough time at Customs. It seems that every country we visit one or the other of the offices has to be rude just to prove their power over us! We were chastised & threatened with a $5000 fine for not checking in immediately upon arrival. Apparently at 1:00 AM in the middle of a storm & uncertain of our anchorage we were supposed to blow up the dinghy, attach the motor & go search out a phone in a strange location! Sometimes I think officials & those who write the laws have no idea of reality. I am not sure but I believe that international marine law gives any vessel right to anchor for at least 24 hours as long as they fly the "Q" flag & do not go ashore. Anyway, after venting his wrath & proving is power we proceeded to fill out papers for the "Decal" which allows us to cruise in & out of the US waters with only a phone call to check in from now on ($25). I cannot believe that the countries cannot get together & devise a standard procedure for entering & clearing out of a country. Each has it's own rules, which change frequently. Often one port in a country follows different procedures from another in the same country (as in Bonaire). It only causes confusion &, unlike others, we really TRY to follow all of the rules!

The USA does take one prize for the stupidest rule. When checking in with Agriculture we were informed that we could not bring any "international" trash ashore. We were informed that we would have to keep any trash from another country aboard until we went to another country & dump it there. That's good foreign policy. Just dump your trash on any other country, not here. We must remember to dump all of our trash in the ocean before we return to the mainland! What ARE they thinking?

04/24/03

Allen got everything working on the boat (we think). The engine problem was difficult to troubleshoot but relatively easy to fix. Everything electrical seemed to short out. Allen finally found that the main connector from the instrument panel was positioned right under the exhaust hose connection which had a slight drip & the saltwater had slowly seeped into the connector & corroded all of the pins. When he cleaned all of the connections everything functioned perfectly. As of now the Auto-pilot seems to be working so we are back in action.

We rented a car Monday afternoon & drove around Ponce. It is a nice town, the second largest in Puerto Rico. We visited the Ponce Art museum & were pleasantly surprised at the collection. Along with a nice collection of international art from the 1500's to present they had one exhibit that was a modern Puerto Rican painter's tribute to Van Gogh that was spectacular.

Tuesday morning we headed for San Juan. The drive took us up and over the Central Mountain range from dry lowlands past rain forest storms & back down to the sunny North Coast on a good four-lane highway. We went directly to Old San Juan, parked the car, & stopped at the first café, (a Starbucks) & got caffinated for the stroll to El Morro, the famous Spanish fort protecting the harbor. It is really beautiful & pretty much intact. We wandered the grounds for a while then went back to stroll through the city. Old San Juan is quaint & much refurbishing is going on. It has the feel of New Orleans French Quarter, old restored buildings & small cafes. Unfortunately it also has the cheap tourist shops of New Orleans, but that is the price you pay for keeping it intact, I suppose. We had lunch in a small French café (Quiche & Nicoise salad with seared-nearly raw- tuna that ruined Allen's taste for mine). After lunch we strolled along the bay side where the Cruise ships dock & back to the car. Old San Juan is definitely worth the visit.

We drove from San Juan to Fajardo in the afternoon, just in time for rush hour traffic. It was stop & go most of the way so it was not so pleasant for Allen since he drove all of the way. Fajardo is a small town on the East Coast with many marinas & one BIG draw, A West Marine store. I was like a kid in a candy store, so amazed at all the things! Fortunately, we need very little at this point but there were times during this cruise I would have sold my soul for a store this well stocked. I think I could have just stayed there but Allen insisted we find a hotel for the night. We stayed at the Fajardo Inn. It was nice & clean & had cable TV so I was happy. It's still amazing to me that there can be so many channels & still nothing I want to watch but in spite of that we had it on nearly every second we were in the room & not asleep.

The next morning we slowly headed back to Ponce down the East Coast then across the South Coast. It was a beautiful drive with mountains on one side & ocean on the other, winding through small towns. We got back to Ponce in time to drop off our laundry, visit Walmart & have dinner before returning to the boat.

Thursday morning we got our laundry & returned the car. We really enjoyed the trip & found Pureto Rico much nicer than expected. The variations in terrain are spectacular & the people very friendly with about ½ speaking English in addition to Spanish. They do not appear to be very poor. We have read that a large percentage of the population is on the dole from the USA but there seems to be a thriving middle class. It is definitely a place we would consider to live with the near-perfect climate & beauty. It seems a blight that this beautiful island has become so Americanized with fast food chains on every corner & the huge Sams & Walmart type stores. I must admit, however, we DID head straight to West Marine & Walmart to shop & ate at Chili's four times!

04/28/03

Gilligan's Island

We had a lovely sail & are anchored behind "Gilligan's Island", totally enclosed by mangrove islands & reefs with the wind blowing unobstructed & very calm waters. The National Park is called Gilligan's Island because someone thought it looked like the island on the show & one of the local fishermen looked like Bob Denver. It really doesn't look like it but who cares? Saturday & Sunday the place is packed with local families having a great day at the beach. There is shallow water for the kids to play in, channels through the mangroves to snorkel & many cute little gazebos for family picnics. This is a well-used park & a great family getaway!

We escaped the crowds & walked to the city of Punta Jacinto Saturday. We stoped at the Copa Marina Resort for lunch. It is a beautiful hotel & looked like a nice place to stay for a vacation. There is a ferry over to Gilligan's Island right from the dock. When we got back to the boat Kees & Hester (Nenya) came by & we invited them aboard for a drink. They have been out for four years sailing from the Netherlands & down the East Coast of the USA during the winter. We sat & watched the Coast Guard stopping every boat they could see for inspection. It's funny, I grew up with the inspections & thought nothing of them except that they were a pain but now they seem incredibly invasive! I can't believe that they have the right to stop anyone at anytime & search their boat with no cause. It's such a shock to see, I forget that in the USA a person has no right to go out in a boat unless they carry everything proscribed by the government to "protect themselves".

Monday we went to the park which was deserted because, we found out later, it was closed. We never went ashore so I guess that's why they didn't send us away like they did Kees & Hester. We snorkeled up & down the mangrove channels fighting the current one way & floating back. It was beautiful, very different from the coral reefs we had been used to. We could see deep into the mangrove roots & saw all kinds of juvenile fish of all the species we had observed on the reefs from baby eels to French Angelfish. We even saw a sea cucumber molting in the current. I wish I had thought to take my camera, as there were some beautiful photo ops. Hester & Kees came over & gave us a book on the intercostal anchorages along the East Coast (Skipper Bob). It was good to hear that we would not be forced to go into marinas all the way along as they had found many beautiful spots to anchor. Funny, we get our best information on the East Coast of the USA from a Dutch couple!

(updated 6/9/03)