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Do dreams take up a lot of Space?  All that you'll give them.

April 1, 2007    San Andreas, Columbia

Okay, we are giving up cruising and heading back to the states, to sell the boat and resume a work a day lifestyle, driving a truck for 24/7 for 3 weeks at a time, averaging 1200 miles a day, with only 5-7 days off a month,  dealing with the stress of rush hour traffic and construction zones and bad directions and bad weather, buying stuff we don't need, with the added bonus of buying a piece of shit car bought for less than $500, a real bargain! We love our POS car stories!    NOT!  It's April Fool's Day,   did we pull your leg?

Pop the champagne...We celebrated our one year anniversary of cruising on the 15th!

April 8, 2007  Happy Easter!

Tired with the city life of San Andreas, the traffic, the booming music at night, the almost daily ritual of Aaron helping a helpless windsurfer dude who was too tired to make it back to the dock or didn't possess the skill or the know how, it was time for some peace and quiet.  We checked out with Rene Cardona with Serrana agency on Thursday, and didn't realize it, but it was a holiday, the day before Good Friday, but he was very gracious and accommodated us with no extra charge. On Friday, the day we planned to leave, we learned from a fellow cruiser who was trying to file his income taxes, that we were not exempt from filing even though we had no income last year. This put me into a panic.  We had asked this question of the lady who did our taxes the previous year if we had to file, and she said no since the limit on filing is $16,700 in income.  Being Good Friday, (it was not panning out to be a good one for us), everything was closed.  Even the phones were not working.  Columbians celebrate Santa Semana (Easter) seriously. So, not being able to confirm whether we needed to file or not, we didn't leave.  So, I sent emails to family/friends that nite asking them if they knew or if they could find out the answer to our dilemma.  On Saturday, we found an internet cafe open and decided to go about filing electronically to be on the safe side. (that was the consensus from our emails).  Over 3 hours later, with phone calls made to my Dad & Mom and the IRS, (a man who sounded just like Mister Rogers answered my call and I had to control a laugh, not easy for me to do!), we managed to file online.  I hope the IRS is happy now that we have reported in.   We also managed to get our propane tanks filled before leaving as we hear it is quite a process to have them filled in Bocas del Toro, Panama.

On our way back into town, for last minute provisions, we passed by a megayacht that had just anchored and did the royal wave.  Upon returning from town, the megayacht, named High Tides, was so impressed with the royal wave and the standing form of us while riding our dinghy that the Captain waved us over,  and we met Captain Dan and his crew of five guys all from either Huntsville, AL or Texas. With southern hospitality reknowned, drinks were fixed, conversation ensued, backgrounds swapped, and before we knew it, we were invited to stay for dinner and given the tour of this magnificent yacht.  It is 124ft long, 25ft wide, with 3 different floors, a jacuzzi on the top deck,  so many staterooms I lost count, a dishwasher and an ice machine, a much bigger one than ours, of course and a laundry room.  The interior wood is from South Africa, a light wood that is absolutely gorgeous.  The engine room was spotless, with 2 huge engines, 2 generators and the ability to stand up and walk thru.  We were in awe and had an unforgettable evening with these southern gentlemen. 

So with everything in order, we finally left San Andreas on Easter Sunday, headed for Cayos Albuquerque, a pair of islands just 25 miles south.  With little wind to aid us, we motored the entire way in calm seas.  We didn't have any waypoints to go by or any information as to where to anchor, so we did our best with the information we had, the GPS and our brains, which the salty air and saltwater have had no affect on as of yet!  These cays are surrounded by a reef and we managed to make our way thru and with me on the bow giving Aaron directions on how to dodge the coral heads, we made our way slowly to a patch of sand a 1/4 mi distant from the reef in 15 ft. of water.   After that stress, we dove into the water to cool off and it was like being in a fish bowl, the water was so clear.

April 10, 2007  Cayos Albuquerque, Columbia

Where we are anchored, there is a rocking motion caused by the swell of the ocean, it is so gentle that it is like being in a cradle and rocks you right to sleep. Doesn't matter if you just woke up, sitting in the cockpit having coffee, before you know it you are asleep.  This sleeping disease is hard to overcome.  Yesterday, getting out of our cradle, we explored the reef, snorkeling in a couple of places, but not seeing very many fish.  We also, visited the island where the Columbian Navy has a base camp.  As we approached the island, we were greeted by two of the nine guys stationed here, and they took us on a tour. The island is heavily wooded with coconut palm trees and the walkways are all lined on each side with conch shells. It is very clean,  and no sand fleas, noseeums, or mosquitos.  There is a wooden structure, which serves as their kitchen, radio room and sleeping quarters complete with bunk beds. It's all pretty primitive and simple. We were showed a map that had their boundaries marked on it.  Columbia covers quite a lot of ocean area with 10 islands to their credit. These men were young, 18-25 yrs, in shape, wearing shorts and spoke very little English, and since we speak very little Spanish, the conversation was  a challenge.  From what we could gather, they are stationed here for a month, then they go elsewhere for a month (San Andreas), then return for another month of duty and so on. Their duty changes from island to island.  They do have a TV, solar panels for electricity, and a refrigerator.  Their VHF radio stands by on Ch. 16, but this navy base possesses no boat.   (a bit ironic, don't you think?)

April 11, 2007 

Last night was one of the worst nights on Blow Me Away records.  Before we went to bed, off in the distance we could see lightning, so Aaron put out another 30 ft of scope.  Now, we have a coral area to our starboard about 50 yards away and more behind us further out.  When the storm hit at 1030pm, the winds increased to gusts of 30knots or more and rain.  It was pitch black out and the only thing we could see was the flashing light tower on the navy base island that flashed every 2 seconds with 15 second intervals off our starboard beam.  The anchor drag alarm we had set earlier went off.  Oh, how dreadful that is!  We had dove on the anchor and it was well dug in to the sand earlier in the day, so this was not good news.  According to the GPS we were dragging, so far 150 ft. and still going backwards.  With the motor on, we inched our way forward, using the compass heading of due east.  Since we were going so slow the GPS couldn't give us an accurate position.  Scared to death that we were going to hit coral, the stress level was on red alert.  We kept at it slowly with Aaron on the bow in the rain and me behind the wheel,  then Aaron, on my command, dropped our second anchor on the spot marked on the GPS as to where we had been before dragging.   We stayed up then watching the flashing light, still on our starboard beam, and the GPS.  The storm passed us, the winds decreased and the rain quit and according to the GPS we were not moving, so at midnite, we went to bed for the second time.  Amazingly, we both went right to sleep, but I woke up at 3am by hearing a grating noise and a bump.  Oh no, I thought we hit coral, and woke Aaron up in a panic (I panic easily, if you haven't noticed).  Up to the cockpit we went, and the moon gave us a little bit of light thru the clouds.  Hovered around the GPS, it showed us not moving, and I told Aaron that I knew I had heard something go bump.  About 5 minutes later, we both heard the sound and this time Aaron knew what it was.  The second anchor chain was not holding and slipping out, so Aaron put the chain around the cleat to stop it.  So back to bed we went for the third time.  When we awoke around 7am and checked as to what our position was, we were in the same spot before the storm and according to the main anchor, we didn't drag but 2 feet.  Don't know why the GPS gave us false information, but we are just happy knowing that our boat is safe and so are we, so we went back to bed, for the fourth time! 

 At noon, even though it is cloudy, the sun is trying to come out from behind the clouds, we decide to move and get out of this roll that rocks us to sleep. We call this anchorage, "Sleepy Hollow".  We had talked earlier to the Navy guys about where to anchor and now the fishermen were back from their Santa Semana holiday, so we asked them where a good spot was to anchor.  The black fisherman spoke very good English and explained that the best spot was in between the islands in the sand, mon. That confirms what the Navy guys said too.  So, with me at the bow directing Aaron around coral heads, (as if last nites stress wasn't enough, let's add dodging coral heads to it!) we made our way slowly  and anchored in the sand, mon.  Wow, it is an awesome setting.  One beautiful tropical island on one side and take a look on the other side but another gorgeous palm tree laden island.  And the water is so clear, different shades of blue and turquoise, surround our floating moveable island. 

April 13, 2007   Friday the 13th

We definitely are not going anywhere today.  We learned our lesson about leaving on a passage on this ominous day! Last time we tried it, back in 2002, with my brother Biff aboard, we left Madeira Beach marina headed for Ft. Meyers, an overnite sail.  Two hours into our journey, off Egmont Cay pass the shipping channel that heads into Tampa Bay, we were hit by 15 ft rogue wave that hit us on the beam and knocked our sails into the water.  A full knockdown!  Luckily, the boat righted itself, no one was hurt although Biff was down below in the galley and thrown on top of the stove.  That shook us up enough to change our plans of heading to Ft. Meyers and headed instead to a safe place to anchor inside of Tampa Bay, the Harborage Marina.

April 15, 2007   1 yr Anniversary of Cruising

Yep!  One year ago today it was that we dropped our docklines at Madeira Beach, FL  Marina and headed out to sea fulfilling a dream we both had worked so hard towards and made a reality. It really has gone by fast and it's unbelievable to us to realize just where we are and how far we have come.  In the past year, we have visited five countries, sailed over 2000 miles, and during this journey we have learned new things about ourselves, our boat, the people we meet, and the electronical devices that make our life easier when they work or frustrates your world when they don't.

Some other insights/highlights from the past year are:

 Traveled inland in Guatemala for a month and tried to learned Spanish, not fluently, but enough to get by. Making sure that you are on the correct bus and going to the destination you desire is a whole day adventure.  Chicken buses are just that, animals will be riding with you.  Ordering a meal in remote places in Guatemala can be an eye opening experience.  For example, a sausage and cheese omelet will be served to you as a hotdog chopped up in eggs.  (there is no such thing as sausage we are used to in the states.) Pancakes served with no butter, or syrup or jelly, or honey: just pancakes.  An enchilada will be a tostada with chopped beets and cabbage served on top.  The best tortillas are in Mexico, and enjoy them to the fullest for you will not find them the further south you travel.  Tortillas in Columbia are Doritos.  If you order fish off the menu, say a red snapper, you will receive a fish, it most likely is not a red snapper,  that in third world countries fish is fish.  When eating chicken tamales out, be careful,  there will be bones in it.  (only in gringo land will you find chicken with no bones)

  We mastered spearfishing, the names of the fish we see and eat,  learned about websites and viruses in computers and parasites in our bodies, more knowledge about the electronic devices onboard, that an ice machine is a must on a boat, and buying rum by the case is always cheaper.  Saw our first waterspout!  Beware of Norwegians that say Aquavit is good for you!  When making port, always find out when the boats come in with supplies so you know what day to do your provisioning,  discard all cardboard before bringing it onboard ( where cockroaches and bugs lay their eggs), and wash all fruit and veggies, every time.  Be sure to stow extra cigarettes and beer onboard for trading with the local fishermen. Learning how to cut each other's hair.  Finally found a bread recipe that makes a great loaf of bread everytime.  The best way to clean conch, and prepare it for dinner, beat the hell out of it! Ceviche, conch fritters and cracked conch.  Sewing still sucks.  Seeing the Southern Cross constellation for the first time.  Watermakers are a life saver.  The bigger the better, it's nice to take showers whenever you want.  Having more patience that you ever thought you had.

And of course, when you go out sailing, the wind will always be on your nose.

Today we celebrated our anniversary by a round of snorkeling.  Beautiful day for it: sunny, 85 degrees.  The area right in front of our anchorage begged us to check it out.  Lots of fish in this area probably due to the close proximity to the fishermen's camp, where each evening the fish are cleaned and put on ice. 

It was my day to use the speargun and with it in hand, I searched for my fish.  Swimming around the coral head, I saw a nice size gray snapper and dove down below the water, and took aim on my prize.  I speared him thru the gut, and tried to lift the spear and fish out of the water, as I was making my way back to the dinghy.  Aaron came swimming toward me in a fast manner, faster than usual, and took the spear with the fish.  I watched him take the fish off the spear and  I headed back to the dinghy, where Aaron joined me several minutes later.  As we both sat in the dinghy, Aaron asked me if I saw the shark.  I replied, what shark?  He said that after I speared the fish a shark twice the size of me came up behind me, about 20 ft. away and that is why he came swimming fast towards me and took the fish.  The shark then was scared away by Aaron, and pissed off dove down towards the bottom of the coral head, and thrashed around then swam at high speed back toward Aaron but turned 15 ft from him then sped off to the deep. I was oblivious to the whole ordeal.  Kinda of a good thing, in that, I don't have that shark picture in my head, because if I did I probably wouldn't get back in the water.  Lesson learned though, I must always be aware of my surroundings and keep a sharp eye out and around.

The local fishermen came by and dropped off a stone crab for us as they have been doing for the last 4 days.  In return for their kindness, cold beers are served up, and a bottle of cheap rum we didn't care for was given up for a good trade.

Our anniversary dinner cooked up by chef Aaron consisted of a couple of filet mignons with a garlic and crab sauce on top, served with a baked potato.  To add to this fine meal in such a beautiful spot in the world, we popped the cork on the bottle of Dom Perignon given to us by our good friends, Marc and Dr Craig, a year ago before leaving Florida.  This was the perfect ending to a perfect day and just confirms the reasons of why we have chosen this lifestyle of cruising.

April 17, 2007 Still here in Cayos Albuquerque

This place is hard to leave, but our supplies are dwindling down. We have been here now 10 days.  Still have flour so  I baked bread today and it turned out the best loaf yet.  I think I finally have mastered it,  finding the right recipe for me. (See Recipe section for recipe.)

 We visit the navy boys periodically, sharing a 12 pack of beer and any fish we have speared that we don't need.  They are very gracious and friendly. The communication barrier is helped by  our electronic English/Spanish dictionary in hand, and we try again to communicate, sharing laughs and drawing pictures in the sand.  One of the boys wrote in the dictionary "soldiers on vacation" which they are in a sense.  They are happy that they are here instead of on the mainland!  Where banditos are comonplace.

We also have learned that the fishermen that stay on the other island are from San Andreas.  They come here and fish for a week, then on the eighth day, with a boatload of seafood return to San Andreas and sell their wares.  Staying for 5 maybe 6 days to see family and friends, they return to their island laden with fuel, ice and food for their week long stay.  Living in tents and shacks, these guys are up at 7am and out fishing for the entire day.  Upon their return, everyone has their duties to perform, cleaning fish, refueling, icing down the fish, and preparing for tomorrow's run.  They have to travel far, out past the reefs, in the swell of the ocean to find the fish.  Some use spearguns, while others use hand lines.  We know after watching them the past week, that these guys work hard.  And we have befriended a boat of friendly fishermen who knowing how we love crab, drop off one on their return.  We love this crab delivery service!

One of our boat projects was making a harness for the dinghy so as to lift it totally out of the water, engine and all.  This is done nightly now for two reasons, to deter theft and to deter underwater growth on the bottom of the dinghy and motor.  Aaron did a great job on designing it and it works great. With the added bonus of  a great arm workout!  Using the main halyard and the preventer as a pulley, we hoist the dinghy on the side of our boat.  For added stability, the dinghy painter is hoisted up by the spinnaker halyard.

April 19, 2007  Cayos Albuquerque still

It's so hot.  The calmest weather we have experienced in quite awhile.  No wind, the water so calm that you can see schools of fish swimming around the boat.  Drop a line in though and you might catch the smallest one of the bunch.  That's just how it goes!  Yellowtail snappers, good to eat if you can catch one with some meat on him.

We put up the boat awning that covers the boat from main mast to mizzen.  It gives us some added shade and it is a bit cooler under the bimini. 

We ran out of eggs a week ago, so we are trying out recipes that don't require the basic egg. Ran out of flour also, but I found some Bisquick so it's pizza dough time, I am so ready for some pizza.  But the oven makes it like a sauna down below.  Aaron is baking empanadas.  That is the spanish word for....meat pies.  One of his favorites.  Did you know that he holds the record for the most meat pies eaten in a single weekend at the New Orleans Jazzfest? 21 of them!

Boat projects have included:

polishing the stainless steel, lubricating the rubber seals and gaskets around each hatch and port, waterproofing the bimini and the little boat storage cover.  Scraping off the barnacles and sponges on the bottom of the mainship and dinghy.  Cleaning the perma glass windows on the dodger with 303.  Great stuff that helps protect them from UV rays of which we are having a lot of lately.

Our daily session of snorkeling happens in the afternoon after 2pm.  We have found that any earlier than this time the fish are still having their siesta.  One of the joys of snorkeling is the awe in seeing something new, like a huge loggerhead turtle came up to our dinghy and checked us out and we couldn't get in the water fast enough before he swam away, or a spotted eagle ray or for Aaron it was a hammerhead shark!  I was in the dinghy already and Aaron was still having a go with trying to find a fish spearworthy, got an upclose look at a hammerhead and decided it was time to go back to the mainship and have a cocktail or two.

We are waiting on Kaija's Song to meet up with us.  They are in San Andreas right now and plan on coming here on Saturday.  The last time we saw them was in Jonesville, Roatan back in January, when we surprised Gary on his birthday and the whole anchorage with our presence.  We have been in communication with them by emails and have given them quite a list for a care package, a careful selection of provisions that is a must, eggs and rum top the list.

April 21, 2007   Resupply ship arrives

Yippee! Kaija's Song, good friends, Gary and Kaija and their faithful dog, Doc have arrived with goodies for us. We spotted them 6 miles away and talked to them over the VHF and greeted them as they entered the cut in our dinghy.  Since we know where the coral heads are, we got onboard and guided them to the anchorage.  So good to see them and lots of catching up to do, the rum is flowing and so are the stories..........

April 30, 2007  still here in Albuquerque

Days just slip by and we are enjoying the company of Gary and Kaija.  Our social calender has been busy these last 9 days with snorkeling, dinner and drinks onboard each others boats, and games are played such as PIGS, (Gary's favorite game!) or Squelch (Lyla knows the secret of how to roll snake eyes or a straight), or for a more intellectual challenge the game, Taboo.  To confirm their helpful hint of putting a can of peas into spaghetti sauce to combat acid indigestion, we were invited over for a wonderful dinner complete with wine and dessert.  And yes, no acid indigestion! 

 The local fishermen needed water so we filled up a 10 gallon jug for them and they gave us a deep water red snapper, which has the biggest eyes I have ever seen. Gary and Kaija received a fish just like ours, so we invited them over and to bring their fish and we'll have a big ole fish fry.  Oh, and bring the mayo too. (tartar sauce)   Mmmmm it was good.  As Gary loves to say, "It's all good!"

 Our supplies are once again dwindling down, and even with the help of Kaija's Song, it is getting sparse.  There is only so much fish we can eat!   So, over Bloody Mary's, we discuss travel plans.  A full moon is arising on May 1st, a moonlight sail sounds good and the weather window is right, so it's off to Panama!