Monday, December 22, 2008

Bonaire, December 15-23, 2008

After a 6 a.m. start, we arrived in Bonaire at about 2:30 p.m. On our way we celebrated leaving Venezuelan waters and an unusual time zone, ½ hour off of Atlantic Standard time--a Chavez thing.
Tom and Rose from Sojourn greeted us as we pulled up to the dreaded mooring buoy. It’s always a challenge to catch the loop on a mooring buoy with the boathook before the boat drifts over the buoy or away from it. But Tom and Rose held the loops (two in this case) for us making simple work of it! It’s nice to have friends!!
Though a tourist haven for scuba divers, Bonaire is a cute little Dutch island with the same crystal clear water we’ve been finding along the Venezuelan coast. Yes, this island is only 50 miles from the Venezuelan coast, but has ever so much more to offer. We are finding grocery stores that have the food we need. (In Venezuela, they were frequently out of cereal, coke, eggs, you name it!) Not so here. Because it’s small and touristy, prices are on the high side. So we will wait for Curacao, our next island, to do the badly needed stocking up.
We have enjoyed meeting our sailing buddies and, of course, snorkeling. Friday, we rented a car and toured the island which is very arid and sprouts cactus everywhere. There is a donkey sanctuary where old, hurt or orphaned donkeys are cared for. Donkeys were used greatly in the 1800s when workers carried loads of salt to and from the town. Bonaire produces great amounts


of salt and great mounds of salt are seen as one



drives around the southern part of the island. In the 1800s, slaves were brought over from Africa to work in the salt pans. They lived in the tiny huts pictured here and led a hard life until they were freed in 1863. (I am sitting in the tiny entryway of one of the huts that was often inhabited by 4 people!)


There were also beautiful pink flamingoes grazing in the shallow waters.
A highlight of our trip was a visit with s/v Pizazz, a couple from California, who, after sailing for 14 years, built their dream home in Bonaire. They had a lot of information to share on sailing to Colombia, our goal in January.

Las Aves--December 7-15












The next islands we visited, approximately 30 miles west of Los Roques, was Las Aves. These are two islands, Barlovento and Sotavento, that are beautiful with crystal clear water, great white sand beaches, and wonderful reefs to snorkel. We traveled not only with YOLO, but with some new friends, Tom and Rose on s/v Sojourn from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their refrigeration had gone out so they divvied up their food between YOLO and us until we could reach Bonaire where hopefully they would be able to repair or replace their refrigerator.
We had been advised by some long-term sailors we met in Barlovento, Barry and Candy on s/v Syrius from Cape Town, South Africa, that the coast guard would check us in by radio in the Aves. Sure enough, as we rounded the corner into the Aves waters, we got a call asking us our name and our intentions. They were very nice and that was that, we thought. However, the next day we all got in our dinghies and went to a tiny island about a mile away where we were planning to snorkel. As we strolled around the island, we noticed a boat coming our way with six uniformed men aboard. They motioned to us. Sure enough, it was the coast guard and they wanted to do an inspection on each of our boats then. We quickly understood that we couldn’t do it later when we got back, so off we went back to our boats. It turned out that they indeed were very nice, but went through a long list checking off what we had aboard such as medical kit, flares, weapons (of course, none) etc. They went away happy.
Later that day we all got together on our boat for dinner and games! Tom is a big gamer so we played Sequence and Dominoes--Mexican Train, a very popular game with sailors. Though not our thing, we really did have a nice evening although the dinghy ride to and from was a wet one for YOLO and Sojourn.

Sojourn left a day ahead of us in order to get to Bonaire on a Saturday instead of a Sunday. The other four of us spent our time on Saturday, snorkeling looking for lobster and fish. Voila! Indeed we found them--i.e. Jason and Karen. Jason stalked a lobster and managed to spear it with his trident.


Karen speared a flounder and a grunt. That night we added our fresh catch to our dinner. Yum!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Los Roques, November 13-December 7, 2008







































Another night sail with YOLO and Riga II whom we met in Tortuga, and we were on to Los Roques….a gorgeous group of islands about 80 miles off the coast of Venezuela. This is a whole different Venezuela. Our friends from YOLO (Karen and Jason Trautz) are pictured above in the one beach bar we discovered on Francisquis, an island in Los Roques. The town on the island of Gran Roque is a charming village with streets of sand. Lots of Venezuelans come to relax and enjoy the beaches so there are many party boats--large catamarans that carry pleasure-seeking tourists to and from the various islands. People on Gran Roque seemed laid back and friendly. We met a restaurant owner, Pedro, who spoke excellent English and gave us a lot of valuable information, such as when the “fruit boat” would be in. We were looking to supplement our provisions, but found there were not a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables to be had. Also, Venezuela has the cheapest diesel around so we wanted to fill our boats before leaving.
There were weather predictions for squally conditions so we moved to better holding, Francisquis, a nearby island. There we found a little beach bar which served delicious barracuda, snapper and tuna for lunch--and beer! The lobsters were huge, but expensive so we held out for a local lobsterman’s catch another day. While in Los Roques we sailed to several areas, Sebastopol, Noronsquis, Crasqui and Sarqui to name a few. Snorkeling at Sebastopol was a thrill with huge midnight blue parrotfish, triggerfish --even a barracuda lurking in the reef. In other places, there was large brain coral harboring colorful snappers and goatfish darting in and out of their little caves. We often found our anchor chain surrounded by a school of small squid. When approached, as expected, they sprayed us with ink.
Watching the brown pelicans dive-bomb their dinner was amazing. They perch on the water or on boats in groups then on some signal unbeknownst to us, they fly off in a formation and do a nose-dive one after the other into the waters close by! Usually they sit afterward gulping a fish down the hatch. The scene repeats itself time after time, especially at day’s end. Very entertaining.

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Angel Falls, Canaima National Park, Venezuela, October 21-24, 2008

A four-day trip to a remote area of Venezuela was an adventure not to be missed. It started with a four-hour bus trip from Puerto La Cruz to Ciudad Bolivar. There we saw a different Venezuela--cleaner, brighter and nicer. Instead of the hacienda on a 26-acre cattle ranch as promised in the tour literature, however, we stayed at a hotel near the airport. Not bad, but not great. We were to go to the Canaima National Park in a small plane. These planes only go in the morning, so we had to wait for the next morning.


Our plane ride the next morning provided thrilling views of the countryside--few roads, few communities, lots of green fields, and huge, rocky mesas and cliffs interspersed with rivers. Spectacular views of the several different falls indicated we were almost there. We arrived in time to do a little exploring in the camp before lunch. A stroll through the village revealed the Pemon Indians sitting outside their small concrete homes, preparing food and watching their young children. Older children, dressed in navy pants or skirts and white shirts or blouses, were in the school nearby. The village was attractive and for the most part well-maintained. There were several different clusters of different housing for visitors, obviously an important business. Residents were also busy at work building what we later learned was a high school auditorium.


After a walk on the beach , we returned to the dining area where we were served a grilled chicken lunch. Very tasty. We were introduced to our guide, Pedro, and then shown to our rooms, simple but adequate. At 2:30 we met Pedro for a short canoe ride and then a hike to Sapo Falls. The waterfall was beautiful. We were able to walk underneath the falls as well. Then back to the camp for dinner.

Sapo Falls


Thursday morning after a hearty breakfast of pancakes, eggs, meat and cheese, we met Pedro for the four-hour canoe trip up the Carrao river to Angel Falls. Pedro explained how the Indians make the wooden canoes by felling a tree, then burning the interior and spreading it while hot to make it wider. This process is repeated until the proper width is reached. With just six in our group, our canoe was capable of more speed and than some of the other groups’ and better able to “climb the rocks“, that is, cross the many rapids we encountered.

Our captain, a young Indian man, handled the canoe expertly with a 48-horsepower Yamaha engine. He took extra propellers as travel through the rapids in the shallow water cause lots of wear and tear on the props. And, in fact, midway, he changed the propeller. He also had a helper who rode on the bow of the canoe advising the captain with hand signals and, from time to time, helping steer the canoe with a large wooden paddle.

After arriving at our camp, we started on the hike to Angel Falls.



Pedro told us that although the thick jungle was difficult walking because of the tangle of exposed roots, we should take time to notice the forest. That was hard to do as we had to watch our footing closely. Halfway into the hike, it started to rain. With the rain and the heat, we were soaking wet inside and out. Two hours after trekking up some very steep, rocky paths, we were at the falls. We took only a few moments to enjoy the vista from our high perch in the clearing, then headed back down hoping to beat nightfall which comes early here. However, we didn’t make it and found ourselves trudging through the forest trying hard not to trip and fall or step in the muddy muck caused by the afternoon rain.


Thoroughly exhausted and ravenous, we arrived back at the camp at 6 p.m. eagerly awaiting our meal which we had seen cooking by the fire. Our local Indian hosts, were roasting chickens on a spit over a roaring fire. Served with some delicious rice and cole slaw, the meal was a welcome end to our day’s adventure. We happily collapsed into our hammocks equipped with extra blankets for the cold that descends in the wee hours.



In the morning, after a breakfast of fried eggs, arepas (a round, flat bread similar to a biscuit), ham and cheese and tang, we climbed into our canoe for the ride home. A stop at Happiness Falls was a welcome respite from the canoe. The water was cool and refreshing. In the afternoon, we flew back to Ciudad Bolivar, boarded the bus for the four-hour trip back to Puerto La Cruz. Definitely an exciting adventure for the six of us: Greg Heloskie (S/V VAMOOSE), Shellee Lister (S/V PREFERRED STOCK), Mike, Sue, Mike & Kim Buller S/V CHILD'S PLAY).

Side trip to Mendoza and the Andes Mountains

The ski area in the Andes Mountains

View of the Andes

A parilla (restaurant) at the ski area


Vineyards at Familial ZucchardiWinery



The Stovers enjoy a fabulous multi-course meal at the Familial Zucchardi winery restaurant.









Lou and Mike enjoy coffee at the vineyard

Buenos Aires, More....


Wooden lancha on the El Tigre delta.

A day trip to the El Tigre delta started with riding the train from Buenos Aires for about an hour.  El Tigre is a resort town north of Buenos Aires.  The river is full of wooden boats just like the one pictured above.  Houses line the river that extends for miles.  The residents use these boats as transportation to and from the mainland.  Tourists can catch a ride as well.  

Dog walker in Palermo

Is this the real Mike????

Evita's mausoleum in the Recoleta Cemetery

One of the many elaborate mausoleums in Recoleta Cemetery

Dog walkers

Haberdasher assesses Mike as he tries a hat at Plaza Dorrego.

Tango dancers in the square at Plaza Dorrego.

Busker performs in Palermo.



Lots of beautiful buildings line Buenos Aires streets.