Dec 19 0730hrs
We put Second Star in a marina so we could be plugged in to shore power while we were away. The trip with Don and Rita was sooo much fun. We took the water taxi across first thing Fri morning. The rental car was delivered (late of course) and we set out. The drive across the mountains was beautiful but a bit rainy. I think it was challenging driving for Don, but the rest of us got to sit back and enjoy the scenery. We had a quick lunch on the road and got into Volcan in the early afternoon. Don and Rita had planned the trip to share places they had gone 15 years ago. We stopped to look at a trout farm they had visited back then and then for some awesome strawberries and cream. The cabin we were headed for, to spend the first night, is just a little north of Cerro Punto. It’s at about 7500 ft. You have to do some serious four wheel driving to get to it and it doesn’t have electricity except one car battery that runs a power strip with a wi-fi router plugged into it. It has a wood stove for heat (and it was cold up there), a gas stove for cooking and propane lamps for light. We were surrounded by stunning rain forest with a big stream running just the other side of the “road” in front of the cabin. The water falling over the boulders was a wonderful sound. It rained over night, which was very loud on the roof, and between that, the altitude and a cocktail and wine with dinner (no, we really didn’t drink that much), Don, Rita and I had fierce headaches that made it difficult to sleep. But, in the morning, the sun came out, we had really good coffee, courtesy of Capt Johne, and some Advil, and we got to hike though the fresh, wet, shining forest. Rita had brought her fly rod and she was very excited when she actually caught a little trout.
1400hrs
I took a break from writing to clean, put up the holiday decorations, and make, eat and clean up after lunch. Now back to the trip.
We left the cabin, drove back down the mountain, and headed for Boquete. On the way we stopped in Volcan, at an archeological site. The lady who gave the tour was very interesting and very knowledgeable (although, Johne did some research later and some of what she told us was myth not fact). It was an amazing site both for the archeological history and the botany. The variety of plants was awesome and we got quite an education on them.
After that we had lunch and then hit the road again. When we got into Boquete we started looking for hotel having not made reservations in advance there. We drove though town and then back up into the mountains on the other side. We happened across the most interesting rock formation. It was a place where the lava had flowed and cool quickly in layers and then an earthquake had shifted the wall, so it looked like 6x6 lumber made of rock and not laid quite right. It was really cool looking.
We went back into town, found a room, had dinner and made plans for the morning. ZIPLINING!!!
Okay, let me just start by saying, if you’re not afraid of heights, and you have the opportunity, DO IT! We had sooo much fun. There was a miss communication about which office we were supposed to be at so we ended up waiting for an hour for them to show up in the morning. But that only put a small and temporary damper on the experience. We were the only ones signed up that morning so we got their undivided attention once they showed up. The ride up to the first platform in the truck was cool by it self. Don road up with us even though he didn’t want to do the zipline. He had a very nice walk back down while we did the ride. Rita and I giggled almost none stop until we got back to the lodge and probably for a while after that. It’s exhilarating and the view (though it went by fast) was amazing. This site was over a gorge with a stream and water falls. The lines go in and out of the jungle canopy. We did 12 lines and it took about half an hour. What a great experience.
After that we had another strawberry fix then headed back down to David to do some shopping. That part of the trip was a little stressful but, after going to 4 big stores, 2 of them twice, it was time to get a room, have dinner, and get a little sleep before heading back to Bocas at 0-dark-30 the next morning.
The drive back was even better than the drive over (no rain) and we made good time. But when we got back to Almirante the rental car place said they didn’t have anyone to come pick up the car, so Don and Rita drop us, with most of the stuff, off at the water taxi and drove the car back to Changuinola.
We got the groceries and luggage back to the boats and spent the rest of the day putting stuff away and taking care of the needy cat.
Yesterday and today we’ve been working on the new A/C project and getting the boat ready for the solstice party on Friday. We’ll be going back out on the anchor tomorrow…
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Dec 3-12
Dec 3 2000hrs
From Dolphin bay.
We came here this morning just to pass through on our way back to anchor by town. But we were invited to dinner on Meow, a sailing cat, anchored out here, that was anchored next to us in town a couple of weeks ago. We’re not on a schedule, and in no hurry to get back, so we decided to stay out here for the day and over night tonight and head back in tomorrow.
This is another beautiful location. I’ve only seen one dolphin so far, but the water, the mangroves and the surrounding mountains are stunning. We went to BEN (Bocas Emergency Network, part of the VHF net here in Bocas) 63’s house this afternoon. We met them at Rana Azul yesterday and they’d invited us to stop by. A very nice family from the UK that winter down here. It’s just on the other side of the mangroves and an easy dinghy ride from where we are currently anchored.
In the morning, Gino and Mel from Meow will be coming over for coffee and orange pinwheels. Then we’ll be heading back up to the anchorage off Bocas (probably).
Dec 12 1030hrs
Wow, I haven’t written anything in over a week. Gotta catch up.
It’s been a good week (for the most part). Lot of sun. Almost no rain. More good socializing. A swap meet (we sold a couple of things-less stuff, more money, woo hoo). The not-so-good part was the R/O springing another O-ring leak. We’d gotten complacent about checking on it very often because it’s been doing so well for quite a while. So we didn’t catch it right away. This was a bad one, filling the tool drawers with salt water, so we had to remove, clean and reorganize all of our large supply of tools before dealing with the water maker, which has now been moved to the engine room so when it leaks again it will go to the bilge and not ruin anything. It’s good to have that job done.
In the socializing category; We went to a BBQ at BEN 7’s house last Thursday. It was an interesting group of people, good conversation, good food and fun to get to know more of the community. We’ve spent more time with Don and Rita, and we have plans to go on a road trip with them this weekend. And today we’re going to a B-day party for Moe of BEN 63.
The only snorkeling I’ve been doing is in the mangroves right by the anchorage but there’s a little coral and some pretty fish here and I saw a small spotted eagle ray the last time I was in. Also, the mangrove roots are interesting to look at under the water and they house many very small fish.
I’ll try to stay on top of writing about the trip this weekend and keeping more up to date…
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Next Bocas update
Nov 22 2000hrs
It’s Thanksgiving evening. As is usual for the day, I’m sitting on the couch, feeling a little fuller than is most comfortable, enjoying the after glow of a nice day with good friends. I spent the morning baking, pies, bread and rolls. Don and Rita came for dinner at about 1300hrs and for the next four hours we all talked and ate and laughed and ate and drank and ate and laughed some more. As I was finishing up the prep work an setting the table (tablecloth, 2 knifes, 2 forks, a spoon, a napkin and a wine glass at each place) I thought; this really feels like a holiday. Sometimes, with our lifestyle, holidays we use to celebrate get lost in the shuffle. Sometimes you get extra holidays you never knew about before. Just a few days ago was Bocas day. There were marching bands, and fireworks and miss Bocas was crowned. But this felt like Thanksgiving. Even though we didn’t have turkey, it felt right and we are very thankful.
Nov 24 1500hrs
Yesterday we took Second Star to Almirante, about 10 miles across the bay, to get fuel, which is $0.46 a gallon cheaper than here. Don and Rita came along for the ride and we had a very pleasant trip over and back. We put about 550 gallons aboard, which should last us about six months, if we don’t go very far. While living on anchor, our expenses are just fuel for the generator, food and play. We have a good supply of dry goods (rice, flour, sugar…) and now we’re well stocked on fuel, so we should be able to live very frugally for quite a while.
While we were on the mainland I was able to get an internet modem so we, once again, have internet onboard. It was a very productive day.
Today’s been pretty quiet. Capt. Johne’s a bit under the weather and it’s been raining most of the day. I just went for a swim to check that the anchor had set well after yesterdays trip. They’re predicting strong winds tomorrow and we don’t want to be playing bumper boats in the anchorage.
Nov 26 0730hrs
Yesterday, in spite of the fact that we put the snake back in the mangroves, I was thinking we should be going out and collecting all the animals 2 by 2, and bring them aboard the boat. But it stopped raining last night, and this morning the sun is peeking through the clouds. The good news about all the rain is we’ve gotten lots of reading and baking time. Hopefully we’ll be able to get out today, without getting soaked.
Dec 2 0745hrs
We’ve had a couple of sunny days now. But they say Dec is just as rainy as Nov, so I don’t know how long it will last. This morning has dawned bright and beautiful. Today we’re planning to take an overnight trip to one of the outlying bays. This area of archipelagos is very spread out, with parts of the community on outlying islands, so there will be lots of over night adventures as we explore the area.
19145hrs
Well, we’ve gotten to know a few more people in the community now. There is a restaurant at the very end of a bay on the south-west side of Isla San Cristobal called Rana Azul (blue frog). They’re only accessible by boat and only open Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. Definitely a destination restaurant. You can’t just stumble across it. We’d heard about it on the VHF morning cruisers net, and our friend Capt Ray was going to be there today, so we made the 8 mile, hour-and-a-half trip in Second Star to anchor down here, see some new sights and meet some new people. Now, some of the people we met were people we were somewhat familiar with from the net. It was interesting to put faces with the voices from the radio. We’ve had invitations to come and anchor by some of their homes in other parts of the archipelago. We’re really looking forward to Dolphin Bay. Apparently the dolphins breed there and there are always families of them around. Anyway, today was lots of mojitos, beer, food and fun with very interesting people…
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Bocas Del Toro
Nov 13 0930
Yesterday we had sun in the afternoon and took full advantage of it to go for a snorkel. As rough and stormy as it’s been, the visibility wasn’t great but if you swam down so you were close to the coral and fish it was really cool. There was a wall, which we want to go back and do with tanks, that had loads off fun things to see. It goes from about 6ft to 30 or more almost straight down. It’s my first wall and I’m looking forward to exploring it more. It’s close to the anchorage and has a mooring ball so it’s easy to get there and you don’t have to worry about hurting the coral with your anchor. It’ll be amazing when it’s calmer.
We’re working on getting settled in here since we expect to be here for a bit. We’ll be getting a modem for internet but the store was out of them and won’t get more in until mid week (tropical time, so which week I don‘t know). We’ve walk around town enough to have a good since of the stores (grocery, hardware, etc) and the restaurants. The cruiser community here is large and very active. We’ve seen people we’d met in Isla and have made some new acquaintances, some of whom, I’m sure, will become good friends.
1600 hrs
We’ve have a little sun today and got another snorkel in. The spot we went today has old concrete pilings with quite a variety of coral and anemones growing on them. The fish swimming around the pilings were small, but varied and colorful. This spot is inside the bay, so it’s a bit calmer than where we went yesterday. The clarity of the water was much better and it was shallow, so the colors were vivid especially when the sun came out.
Nov 15 1830hrs
It rained all day yesterday, but today the sun has been out and, again, we took full advantage. After lunch, we took a long ride in Hook, around to the far end of Isla Bastimentos, one of the five main islands in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago. We ran through the cut and out to a beautiful spot of reef to snorkel. One of the really nice things they have done here is put in mooring balls in the reef areas that anyone can tie up to, so it’s very easy to find a ball in a nice spot, tie off, and go in with no anchor stress.
This section of reef was very colorful and vibrant. There weren’t many big fish, but lots and lots of little, beautiful, tropical fish. I can’t stress the colors enough. Both the fish and the coral had various shades of reds, blues, yellows, greens, oranges, purples, tans, browns, black, white and silver. There wasn’t a lot of current so you could float over one area and just watch what came and went. There are so many different forms of life interacting, it’s just amazing to watch.
Nov 16 1030hrs
Bob and Johne have gone fishing this morning. I’ve just been doing the usual morning boat chores. Tomorrow is Bob’s last day here. He’ll fly to Panama City, then on home from there. His time here flew by and we’ll be sorry to see him go.
Nov 21 1240hrs
I’m sitting on the couch in the saloon. It’s raining again. We still don’t have internet onboard. The people at the store where we’ve been trying to get the modem have switched from saying they‘ll be in “manana”, to “next week”. We’ll need to go into town in a bit (hopefully when it stops raining) to take care of some things online.
We had Capt Ray, an x-pat cruiser who’s been here for several years, aboard this morning to pass along some of his recommendations of fun things to do and places to snorkel and dive around the area. We had met him in Isla Mujeres and he’s been very welcoming and helpful since we arrived here.
We also had another guest aboard this morning. When Capt Johne went out on the aft deck to have his breakfast this morning, there was a baby red tailed boa on the rail of the wet deck. He came in to get the camera and told me to look out the port. What a treat! We decided that if we just left it there either a bird would get it or it would find it’s way into the boat, hide, and probably starve to death. So, I picked it up snuggled it warm, and it’s now asleep inside my shirt. We’ll take it out to the mangroves this afternoon and put it back in the wild where it belongs. It’s very small. Only about 20” long and no bigger around at the neck than my finger. It’s a very pretty little thing. It will be hard for me to release it but the boat is not a good place for a snake and it won’t stay small. The one I had, that now lives with my sister, is now 7 ½ or 8 feet long and weighs 35-40lbs (I think). But it’s been fun having this one visiting, even if I can‘t keep it...
Yesterday we had sun in the afternoon and took full advantage of it to go for a snorkel. As rough and stormy as it’s been, the visibility wasn’t great but if you swam down so you were close to the coral and fish it was really cool. There was a wall, which we want to go back and do with tanks, that had loads off fun things to see. It goes from about 6ft to 30 or more almost straight down. It’s my first wall and I’m looking forward to exploring it more. It’s close to the anchorage and has a mooring ball so it’s easy to get there and you don’t have to worry about hurting the coral with your anchor. It’ll be amazing when it’s calmer.
We’re working on getting settled in here since we expect to be here for a bit. We’ll be getting a modem for internet but the store was out of them and won’t get more in until mid week (tropical time, so which week I don‘t know). We’ve walk around town enough to have a good since of the stores (grocery, hardware, etc) and the restaurants. The cruiser community here is large and very active. We’ve seen people we’d met in Isla and have made some new acquaintances, some of whom, I’m sure, will become good friends.
1600 hrs
We’ve have a little sun today and got another snorkel in. The spot we went today has old concrete pilings with quite a variety of coral and anemones growing on them. The fish swimming around the pilings were small, but varied and colorful. This spot is inside the bay, so it’s a bit calmer than where we went yesterday. The clarity of the water was much better and it was shallow, so the colors were vivid especially when the sun came out.
Nov 15 1830hrs
It rained all day yesterday, but today the sun has been out and, again, we took full advantage. After lunch, we took a long ride in Hook, around to the far end of Isla Bastimentos, one of the five main islands in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago. We ran through the cut and out to a beautiful spot of reef to snorkel. One of the really nice things they have done here is put in mooring balls in the reef areas that anyone can tie up to, so it’s very easy to find a ball in a nice spot, tie off, and go in with no anchor stress.
This section of reef was very colorful and vibrant. There weren’t many big fish, but lots and lots of little, beautiful, tropical fish. I can’t stress the colors enough. Both the fish and the coral had various shades of reds, blues, yellows, greens, oranges, purples, tans, browns, black, white and silver. There wasn’t a lot of current so you could float over one area and just watch what came and went. There are so many different forms of life interacting, it’s just amazing to watch.
Nov 16 1030hrs
Bob and Johne have gone fishing this morning. I’ve just been doing the usual morning boat chores. Tomorrow is Bob’s last day here. He’ll fly to Panama City, then on home from there. His time here flew by and we’ll be sorry to see him go.
Nov 21 1240hrs
I’m sitting on the couch in the saloon. It’s raining again. We still don’t have internet onboard. The people at the store where we’ve been trying to get the modem have switched from saying they‘ll be in “manana”, to “next week”. We’ll need to go into town in a bit (hopefully when it stops raining) to take care of some things online.
We had Capt Ray, an x-pat cruiser who’s been here for several years, aboard this morning to pass along some of his recommendations of fun things to do and places to snorkel and dive around the area. We had met him in Isla Mujeres and he’s been very welcoming and helpful since we arrived here.
We also had another guest aboard this morning. When Capt Johne went out on the aft deck to have his breakfast this morning, there was a baby red tailed boa on the rail of the wet deck. He came in to get the camera and told me to look out the port. What a treat! We decided that if we just left it there either a bird would get it or it would find it’s way into the boat, hide, and probably starve to death. So, I picked it up snuggled it warm, and it’s now asleep inside my shirt. We’ll take it out to the mangroves this afternoon and put it back in the wild where it belongs. It’s very small. Only about 20” long and no bigger around at the neck than my finger. It’s a very pretty little thing. It will be hard for me to release it but the boat is not a good place for a snake and it won’t stay small. The one I had, that now lives with my sister, is now 7 ½ or 8 feet long and weighs 35-40lbs (I think). But it’s been fun having this one visiting, even if I can‘t keep it...
Saturday, November 17, 2012
San Andres
Nov 1 0900hrs
We’ve been in San Andres for a couple of days now. Our trip from Providencia to San Andres was fine. Following seas, a little bigger than ideal, but if that was the worst we ever dealt with, I’d be thrilled. We had a visit from the Columbian Coast Guard on the way down. They pull up along side us and ask where we were coming from, where were we going, and did we have a hall pass (Zarpe) from the Port Captain. We answered all the questions right, and they wished us a good day and went on their way. No big deal, but still a little nerve racking when heavily armed officials come up to you.
San Andres is not as pretty an island as Providencia. Not as much topography but the water is beautiful and looks like there’s great snorkeling. There is much more infrastructure here (we have wi-fi onboard again) and lots of hotels, restaurants and upscale retail. Capt. Johne called it the Key West of Columbia.
Brother “Burro” Bob will be here on Sunday. He’ll be with us for a couple of weeks. We’ll play here until we get a good weather window, then head south to Bocas del Toro Panama.
Providencia was a new furthest-south-latitude for me, as is San Andres. And each trip for this next bit will continue to bring me closer to the equator and getting my “shellback” status.
Nov 11 1500hrs
Sometimes the logs are easy to write. There are so many things to share I have to pick and choose which things to talk about so as not to get too wordy. But then there are times (like now) when it rains for days and I don’t feel there’s that much to tell.
We have made the trip from San Andres to Bocas. It was a bit rougher passage then the last one. Still following seas but 4-6 ft, instead of 1-3 ft.
Before we left San Andres, we (Capt. Johne, “Burro” Bob, Don, Rita and myself) rented another golf cart to do the drive-around-the-whole-island sight seeing thing. We had lunch at the southern tip of the island. Got to see all the coves and beaches. Got caught in a down pour. And laughed a lot.
Johne and Bob did get to fish on the way down here and caught a very tasty Mahi-Mahi. We got to Bocas on the 9th and it’s been raining on and off since then. We’re hoping for some better weather before Bob has to head back…
We’ve been in San Andres for a couple of days now. Our trip from Providencia to San Andres was fine. Following seas, a little bigger than ideal, but if that was the worst we ever dealt with, I’d be thrilled. We had a visit from the Columbian Coast Guard on the way down. They pull up along side us and ask where we were coming from, where were we going, and did we have a hall pass (Zarpe) from the Port Captain. We answered all the questions right, and they wished us a good day and went on their way. No big deal, but still a little nerve racking when heavily armed officials come up to you.
San Andres is not as pretty an island as Providencia. Not as much topography but the water is beautiful and looks like there’s great snorkeling. There is much more infrastructure here (we have wi-fi onboard again) and lots of hotels, restaurants and upscale retail. Capt. Johne called it the Key West of Columbia.
Brother “Burro” Bob will be here on Sunday. He’ll be with us for a couple of weeks. We’ll play here until we get a good weather window, then head south to Bocas del Toro Panama.
Providencia was a new furthest-south-latitude for me, as is San Andres. And each trip for this next bit will continue to bring me closer to the equator and getting my “shellback” status.
Nov 11 1500hrs
Sometimes the logs are easy to write. There are so many things to share I have to pick and choose which things to talk about so as not to get too wordy. But then there are times (like now) when it rains for days and I don’t feel there’s that much to tell.
We have made the trip from San Andres to Bocas. It was a bit rougher passage then the last one. Still following seas but 4-6 ft, instead of 1-3 ft.
Before we left San Andres, we (Capt. Johne, “Burro” Bob, Don, Rita and myself) rented another golf cart to do the drive-around-the-whole-island sight seeing thing. We had lunch at the southern tip of the island. Got to see all the coves and beaches. Got caught in a down pour. And laughed a lot.
Johne and Bob did get to fish on the way down here and caught a very tasty Mahi-Mahi. We got to Bocas on the 9th and it’s been raining on and off since then. We’re hoping for some better weather before Bob has to head back…
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Providencia
Oct. 19 1930hrs
Greetings,
As we’d hoped, the trip from Grand Cayman down to Providencia was a calm and lovely passage. The nights were clear with a gazillion stars and the first night I saw one of the best shooting stars I’ve ever seen. We had a pod of dolphin come play in the bow wake the second evening just before sunset which, by the way, was magnificent, with the crescent moon and the shapes and colors of the clouds, WOW. This was what we hope every passage will be. Unfortunately, the weather just doesn’t care, and it’s difficult to find times when it’s this calm, especially when and where you want to be going.
We got into Providencia and had the anchor set by 1530 this afternoon. It’s a beautiful island with lovely, green mountains, that curves around at the north end to make a bay which is where we are anchored. A smaller island called Santa Catalina sits just to the west of the north tip of Providencia and is linked to it by a foot bridge. Santa Catalina protects the north-west side of the bay so it’s only open to the WSW. It’s well protected with a good bottom for the anchor to hold. I think we’ll be able to sleep well here. I’ll report on the rest of the island and the diving when we have a chance to partake.
Oct 21 2010hrs
This afternoon we walked across the bridge to Santa Catalina and around the path to the “fort” (one cannon and an old well) and on around to Morgan’s head, a big rock at the mouth of the bay that was, at some point, used for navigation coming in. It was a fairly substantial hike with some great views along the way. It rained on us for part of the hike but it didn’t dampen our spirits (only our clothes, a little).
Oct 25 0810hrs
With hurricane Sandy moving up through the Caribbean we’ve had some less fabulous weather for the last few days. Winds are out of the west which is the open side of the bay, so it’s been a little bumpy in the anchorage, but, so far, we’re holding. We’ve had showers passing through (it doesn’t rain for very long but it doesn’t not rain for very long either) for about three days. It looks like things will calm again tomorrow. In the meantime we’ve had some good reading and baking time.
We did go for a ride around the island, night before last, in the local “bus” mini van, with the other cruising couple (Don and Rita) that are anchored close by. We went to a very fun reggae bar/restaurant that had rope and log swings out over the water and local rum drinks in fresh coconuts. The service was very slow but we had fun anyway.
Oct 27 1900hrs
Today was lots of fun. The weather here has come back to tropical fabulous with Hurricane Sandy up by FL and headed north. With Don and Rita, we rented one of those four wheel drive, golf cart things and spent the morning driving all the way around the island stopping at any points of interest we came across. There were some amazing views of the Caribbean and the little cays on the NE side. We went back to the reggae place and I played a little more on their swings. We made a turn on a rough dirt road that ended up leading to the dam for the islands fresh water supply. A lovely little lake with rock hills rising all around it. We went through the neighborhoods and all the children smiled and waved. It was a great way to see the island.
Oct 28
Capt Johne spent much of the day working on getting the new A/C system working. Don has a vacuum pump and Johne was hoping to get all the lines in place and soldered so he could use Dons pump. But, as boat projects go, they didn’t have quite the right parts and this isn’t someplace you can just run out and get them. So, it will have to wait for Panama.
We heading out tomorrow, first thing, for San Andreas, the next island south. Both Providencia and San Andreas are part of Columbia. But we found that the culture here is much more West Indies Island than Latin American. Looking forward to the next stop…
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Cuba part 5
Oct 13 1715hrs
Greetings,
We are in Cienfuegos for the end of our time in Cuba. The passage from Cayo Ingles was okay. A bit rough for about four hours in the middle but the last few hours, running along the coast, were calm and beautiful. We’ll be looking for a good weather window between now and the 18th to head to the Caymans.
So, this morning, (wait, your going to love this) Capt Johne replaced an O-ring in the water maker. No, not just for fun, or because he hadn’t taken it apart in over a week. It was leaking again. It’s working for the moment. Until the next o-ring goes.
Oct 14 0800hrs
Last night, when we checked the weather for the next passage, it was showing very calm for mid next week. Yea!!! After that we had a lovely dinner in a great old colonial building with one of those central court yards. There was a very good pianist and singer adding to the atmosphere. The food wasn’t outstanding but very enjoyable (which is high praise from my experience eating out in Cuba). After dinner, walking back through town, we walked passed an art gallery that was having a little concert. The front doors were open and there was a small crowd watching from outside. We joined the crowd and listened to the six flautist group play a couple of very fun pieces. Then a guitarist and singer came on and did a couple of songs. It was very fun and exciting to just happen across that kind of local cultural experience.
Oct 16 1940hrs
There’s a restaurant near the marina that’s an old, elaborate, Moorish style palace. Its has a terrace roof bar that has a great view of the river and harbor. We enjoyed a drink on the terrace Sunday evening followed by dinner down stairs. The building is beautiful but way over done. But I’m glad we got to see it.
Yesterday morning we walked to the old cemetery which has a lot of wonderful marble sculptures. After we got back to the marina and took care of checking out we left Cuba yesterday afternoon. We had less than 2ft waves all the way to Grand Cayman which is where we are right now. We got here early this afternoon. The check in process here was about the easiest I’ve run across. The officials were all very pleasant, helpful, and laid back. We’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon to catch the continued calm seas down to Providencia. I would like to spend a little more time here but I far prefer calm cruising. I’m looking forward to spending the morning ashore before we head out, and I’ll look forward to coming back sometime.
Greetings,
We are in Cienfuegos for the end of our time in Cuba. The passage from Cayo Ingles was okay. A bit rough for about four hours in the middle but the last few hours, running along the coast, were calm and beautiful. We’ll be looking for a good weather window between now and the 18th to head to the Caymans.
So, this morning, (wait, your going to love this) Capt Johne replaced an O-ring in the water maker. No, not just for fun, or because he hadn’t taken it apart in over a week. It was leaking again. It’s working for the moment. Until the next o-ring goes.
Oct 14 0800hrs
Last night, when we checked the weather for the next passage, it was showing very calm for mid next week. Yea!!! After that we had a lovely dinner in a great old colonial building with one of those central court yards. There was a very good pianist and singer adding to the atmosphere. The food wasn’t outstanding but very enjoyable (which is high praise from my experience eating out in Cuba). After dinner, walking back through town, we walked passed an art gallery that was having a little concert. The front doors were open and there was a small crowd watching from outside. We joined the crowd and listened to the six flautist group play a couple of very fun pieces. Then a guitarist and singer came on and did a couple of songs. It was very fun and exciting to just happen across that kind of local cultural experience.
Oct 16 1940hrs
There’s a restaurant near the marina that’s an old, elaborate, Moorish style palace. Its has a terrace roof bar that has a great view of the river and harbor. We enjoyed a drink on the terrace Sunday evening followed by dinner down stairs. The building is beautiful but way over done. But I’m glad we got to see it.
Yesterday morning we walked to the old cemetery which has a lot of wonderful marble sculptures. After we got back to the marina and took care of checking out we left Cuba yesterday afternoon. We had less than 2ft waves all the way to Grand Cayman which is where we are right now. We got here early this afternoon. The check in process here was about the easiest I’ve run across. The officials were all very pleasant, helpful, and laid back. We’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon to catch the continued calm seas down to Providencia. I would like to spend a little more time here but I far prefer calm cruising. I’m looking forward to spending the morning ashore before we head out, and I’ll look forward to coming back sometime.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Cuba part 4
Oct 3 1940hrs
We’ve arrived and anchored at Cayo Ingles. We plan to stay here for a few days.
Danny has gone back to Isla. The rest of his visit was very nice although the weather didn’t cooperate for doing any snorkeling. Our time at Cayo Blanco was very relaxing.
After we dropped Danny off in Casilda to catch the bus back to Havana, we headed for Cayos Machos de Furera, which is one we hadn’t been to before. It has a grounds keeper who indicated where we should anchor and then rowed out in his kayak to greet us. (I think he gets lonely in the off seasons with no tourists). He visited on Second Star for a bit and we told him we launch Hook and come in to see him later in the afternoon. The island has a little house/shack for the care takers who have a 15 day rotation on the Cayo. There was a palapa with tables and benches for the tourists, but the most interesting thing was the iguanas and large rodents (I think he called them Jutoba or something like that) that all came to eat fresh coconut pieces out of our hands. They were quite aggressive and almost intimidating. But it was very neat to be able to have that experience.
That night, when the wind shifted and increased, we had dragging issues again. So we had to decided whether to try to reset the anchor there, in the middle off the night, in a bottom we’d already had trouble with or just head down here; a 10 hour run that we were going to start first thing in the morning. We decided on the latter and set out at 0230. The good part of that is we were here with the anchor down before 1300. We had lunch and a good long nap. And we should be able to get a good night sleep. This is a very protected anchorage with a good bottom. This is one of the places we came lat time. The snorkeling is awesome here. I’m looking forward to be here for a bit.
Oct 5 1700hrs
We went for a walk on the beach this afternoon. In this beautiful, pristine place, where barely any people come, the beach has a very disturbing amount of trash. Mostly plastic bottles and a surprising number of shoes (mostly flip-flops and sneakers). I guess they’ve blown off boats and docks and washed up here. On a brighter note, there was a family (family=2 bigger and 1 smaller) of rays feeding right at the shore line. It was fun to watch them working the sand and the small one was really cute.
Oct 6 2020hrs
Today was awesome. The way cruising should be. We did chores in the morning, just boat projects. We had lunch, had an afternoon nap and then went to see if we could get some more lobsters. Last time we were here our fisherman friends showed Johne where they harvest the lobsters so we were pretty confident that we would be able to get some. The first couple of places we tried the “lids” were steel and too heavy to lift without better leverage then we had. So we decided to just go out to the reef for a snorkel. Last Feb we snorkeled four spots along this reef, all different from each other, and all fabulous. Well, this was no exception. The reef is so healthy, the colors are so vibrant, the fish so abundant and the variety of both fish and coral is amazing. The conditions were also extraordinary. The water was so clear, great visibility, almost no current and no at all cold (even to me). On the way back to Second Star we saw more “lobster lids” so we decided to try again. Johne went in to check and gave me the thumbs up. This was the kind he could lift and one of them had two lobsters under it. So I went in to help. He was going to lift the lid and all I had to do was hold it while he grabbed the lobsters. Well, easier said than done. He lifted the lid, but past vertical so it wanted to go the other way. While I was trying to get it to go back where it was supposed to be he chased the lobsters out. Then he came to help me get the lid back in place. I followed one lobster while he tried to catch the other. I have to say, I’ve never seen a lobster swim, in an unconfined area, while feeling threatened. They move fast! The first one evaded Johne and went back under the lid. In the meantime the other one was just sitting in the grass trying to look inconspicuous. I show Johne where it was and he tried to sneak up on it from behind, but it was also way too fast, so we came home with big smiles but no lobsters.
The evening has topped it off with fruit and cheese on the aft deck, a lovely rain storm passing though (which freshened things up nicely) and a great sunset.
Occasionally “living the dream” has some nightmare-ish qualities, but we are living the dream, and it’s great!
Oct 7 2000hrs
Today we dove with tanks. I was a bit frustrated at first because it took me a bit to realize there was air leaking into my BCD and I couldn’t figure out why when we first went in I wasn’t having a hard time getting down and after a little while I was popping up to the surface and couldn’t seam to get myself back down. When I figured it out the dive suddenly got much better. We went to a cut where we could swim through to the outside of the reef. The visibility wasn’t quite as great as yesterday but if it hadn’t been for yesterdays experience I would have said great visibility. I can’t begin to list all the beautiful fish and coral we saw. I took my new underwater camera but I’m just starting to learn how it works so I didn’t get many good pictures. But it was another great day.
Oct 8 0800hrs
We hadn’t seen another person for four day which was lovely. But last night two small fishing boats pulled into the lagoon where we’re anchored. (ah oh, people, run and put on cloths.) The R/O has been working so well (knock wood) that we have an abundance of fresh water. So Johne went over to ask if they needed/wanted any and just to say hi. These were, maybe, 26ft boats with hard tops but no enclosures. One had three guys the other four. They said they were okay then but would appreciate some water when they get back from fishing today. We’re happy to share for nothing, but I suspect we’ll have fresh fish tonight.
0945hrs
Sure enough, five live lobsters were just delivered to our aft deck. One of the tails weighed in at 210zs. They’ve invited us to come over for dinner tonight.
Oct 10 0715hrs
We have now given the fisherman water twice, beer, vodka and coke, and Capt Johne gave their Capt his old fins since he just got two new pairs and they were admiring the ones he’d been diving with. So far they’ve brought us 16 lobster tails and a very tasty little grouper. They said they’d bring more tonight. We didn’t end up going for dinner. They get back in from fishing to late. But they stop by here, on their way in, to get the water, give us the fresh catch and visit.
Diving yesterday was fabulous. We took the tanks again and went to the outside. None of it is deep, we didn’t go below 20ft. There are plenty of sand areas that you can just stop and kneel in and watch what my brother calls “reef TV” It’s so incredible, if you stay still, what happens around you. I got some better pictures but the camera just doesn’t do justice to what we see.
1835hrs
Well, diving today was good but not the best. There was a bit of surge and not as good clarity. (Okay, I’m spoiled.) Although I did see an octopus hiding in a rocky area. If it hadn’t moved just when I was looking I never would have seen it. Their camouflage is amazing. It looked just like the rocks around it.
Well, gotta go make some fresh grouper for dinner. Yup, spoiled, that‘s me.
Oct 11 1540hrs
No good diving today. We went out but with the wind up to 15-20 knots, and the visibility down to about 30ft, and lots more jellies out, and a thunder cloud building…we decided to call it a day. We were going to come back and scrub the bottom of Second Star but the current was strong enough that we just cleaned the dive gear, had showers and have moved on to cocktail hour (it’s 5:00 somewhere, right?)
The fishing boats have headed back to town. We’ll be heading out in the morning. We’re going to Cienfuegos and from there we will watch for the best weather to head down to the Caymans; the next stop on our ongoing adventure…
We’ve arrived and anchored at Cayo Ingles. We plan to stay here for a few days.
Danny has gone back to Isla. The rest of his visit was very nice although the weather didn’t cooperate for doing any snorkeling. Our time at Cayo Blanco was very relaxing.
After we dropped Danny off in Casilda to catch the bus back to Havana, we headed for Cayos Machos de Furera, which is one we hadn’t been to before. It has a grounds keeper who indicated where we should anchor and then rowed out in his kayak to greet us. (I think he gets lonely in the off seasons with no tourists). He visited on Second Star for a bit and we told him we launch Hook and come in to see him later in the afternoon. The island has a little house/shack for the care takers who have a 15 day rotation on the Cayo. There was a palapa with tables and benches for the tourists, but the most interesting thing was the iguanas and large rodents (I think he called them Jutoba or something like that) that all came to eat fresh coconut pieces out of our hands. They were quite aggressive and almost intimidating. But it was very neat to be able to have that experience.
That night, when the wind shifted and increased, we had dragging issues again. So we had to decided whether to try to reset the anchor there, in the middle off the night, in a bottom we’d already had trouble with or just head down here; a 10 hour run that we were going to start first thing in the morning. We decided on the latter and set out at 0230. The good part of that is we were here with the anchor down before 1300. We had lunch and a good long nap. And we should be able to get a good night sleep. This is a very protected anchorage with a good bottom. This is one of the places we came lat time. The snorkeling is awesome here. I’m looking forward to be here for a bit.
Oct 5 1700hrs
We went for a walk on the beach this afternoon. In this beautiful, pristine place, where barely any people come, the beach has a very disturbing amount of trash. Mostly plastic bottles and a surprising number of shoes (mostly flip-flops and sneakers). I guess they’ve blown off boats and docks and washed up here. On a brighter note, there was a family (family=2 bigger and 1 smaller) of rays feeding right at the shore line. It was fun to watch them working the sand and the small one was really cute.
Oct 6 2020hrs
Today was awesome. The way cruising should be. We did chores in the morning, just boat projects. We had lunch, had an afternoon nap and then went to see if we could get some more lobsters. Last time we were here our fisherman friends showed Johne where they harvest the lobsters so we were pretty confident that we would be able to get some. The first couple of places we tried the “lids” were steel and too heavy to lift without better leverage then we had. So we decided to just go out to the reef for a snorkel. Last Feb we snorkeled four spots along this reef, all different from each other, and all fabulous. Well, this was no exception. The reef is so healthy, the colors are so vibrant, the fish so abundant and the variety of both fish and coral is amazing. The conditions were also extraordinary. The water was so clear, great visibility, almost no current and no at all cold (even to me). On the way back to Second Star we saw more “lobster lids” so we decided to try again. Johne went in to check and gave me the thumbs up. This was the kind he could lift and one of them had two lobsters under it. So I went in to help. He was going to lift the lid and all I had to do was hold it while he grabbed the lobsters. Well, easier said than done. He lifted the lid, but past vertical so it wanted to go the other way. While I was trying to get it to go back where it was supposed to be he chased the lobsters out. Then he came to help me get the lid back in place. I followed one lobster while he tried to catch the other. I have to say, I’ve never seen a lobster swim, in an unconfined area, while feeling threatened. They move fast! The first one evaded Johne and went back under the lid. In the meantime the other one was just sitting in the grass trying to look inconspicuous. I show Johne where it was and he tried to sneak up on it from behind, but it was also way too fast, so we came home with big smiles but no lobsters.
The evening has topped it off with fruit and cheese on the aft deck, a lovely rain storm passing though (which freshened things up nicely) and a great sunset.
Occasionally “living the dream” has some nightmare-ish qualities, but we are living the dream, and it’s great!
Oct 7 2000hrs
Today we dove with tanks. I was a bit frustrated at first because it took me a bit to realize there was air leaking into my BCD and I couldn’t figure out why when we first went in I wasn’t having a hard time getting down and after a little while I was popping up to the surface and couldn’t seam to get myself back down. When I figured it out the dive suddenly got much better. We went to a cut where we could swim through to the outside of the reef. The visibility wasn’t quite as great as yesterday but if it hadn’t been for yesterdays experience I would have said great visibility. I can’t begin to list all the beautiful fish and coral we saw. I took my new underwater camera but I’m just starting to learn how it works so I didn’t get many good pictures. But it was another great day.
Oct 8 0800hrs
We hadn’t seen another person for four day which was lovely. But last night two small fishing boats pulled into the lagoon where we’re anchored. (ah oh, people, run and put on cloths.) The R/O has been working so well (knock wood) that we have an abundance of fresh water. So Johne went over to ask if they needed/wanted any and just to say hi. These were, maybe, 26ft boats with hard tops but no enclosures. One had three guys the other four. They said they were okay then but would appreciate some water when they get back from fishing today. We’re happy to share for nothing, but I suspect we’ll have fresh fish tonight.
0945hrs
Sure enough, five live lobsters were just delivered to our aft deck. One of the tails weighed in at 210zs. They’ve invited us to come over for dinner tonight.
Oct 10 0715hrs
We have now given the fisherman water twice, beer, vodka and coke, and Capt Johne gave their Capt his old fins since he just got two new pairs and they were admiring the ones he’d been diving with. So far they’ve brought us 16 lobster tails and a very tasty little grouper. They said they’d bring more tonight. We didn’t end up going for dinner. They get back in from fishing to late. But they stop by here, on their way in, to get the water, give us the fresh catch and visit.
Diving yesterday was fabulous. We took the tanks again and went to the outside. None of it is deep, we didn’t go below 20ft. There are plenty of sand areas that you can just stop and kneel in and watch what my brother calls “reef TV” It’s so incredible, if you stay still, what happens around you. I got some better pictures but the camera just doesn’t do justice to what we see.
1835hrs
Well, diving today was good but not the best. There was a bit of surge and not as good clarity. (Okay, I’m spoiled.) Although I did see an octopus hiding in a rocky area. If it hadn’t moved just when I was looking I never would have seen it. Their camouflage is amazing. It looked just like the rocks around it.
Well, gotta go make some fresh grouper for dinner. Yup, spoiled, that‘s me.
Oct 11 1540hrs
No good diving today. We went out but with the wind up to 15-20 knots, and the visibility down to about 30ft, and lots more jellies out, and a thunder cloud building…we decided to call it a day. We were going to come back and scrub the bottom of Second Star but the current was strong enough that we just cleaned the dive gear, had showers and have moved on to cocktail hour (it’s 5:00 somewhere, right?)
The fishing boats have headed back to town. We’ll be heading out in the morning. We’re going to Cienfuegos and from there we will watch for the best weather to head down to the Caymans; the next stop on our ongoing adventure…
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Cuba part 3
Sept 28 1745hrs
Greetings,
Last night we went into Trinidad. The hotel by the marina in Casilda no longer has internet so we couldn’t check on the outside world until we got up to Trinidad where there’s an internet store. After we checked in online we went to our favorite bar where the band we got to know the last time we were here plays. They were there and we got to visit with them for quite a while and listen to a set. We were the only ones there for a lot of the time and they just sat around the table with us and played a little just for us. It’s times like these that are what this life is all about. Priceless!
Sept 30 1015hrs
While I was writing the last entry, our friend Danny from Bahia Tortuga on Isla Mujeres, who had been planning to come see us here with his wife Ronda, walked up to the boat. Ronda has been under the weather so we weren’t sure if they were coming. As it turns out, Danny came alone (he really needed a break from work). We’ve come out to Cayo Blanco and anchored. The weather has been a bit rainy, not great for snorkeling, but fresh and cool.
Right now Johne and Danny are in the process of replacing an O-ring in the water maker (because you can’t go too many days in a row without taking the water maker apart. You might get out of practice). It started leaking again last night, at the other end this time, even running at lower pressure. It should be back together and running again in no time.
Hopefully the weather will clear and we’ll be able to get in some snorkeling before Danny has to go back. But I don’t know, today’s looking pretty blustery.
1400hrs
The fishing boat we meet here in Feb just stopped by. They brought us more lobsters and told us they would see us at Cayo Ingles in a few days. Fun to see them again.
Greetings,
Last night we went into Trinidad. The hotel by the marina in Casilda no longer has internet so we couldn’t check on the outside world until we got up to Trinidad where there’s an internet store. After we checked in online we went to our favorite bar where the band we got to know the last time we were here plays. They were there and we got to visit with them for quite a while and listen to a set. We were the only ones there for a lot of the time and they just sat around the table with us and played a little just for us. It’s times like these that are what this life is all about. Priceless!
Sept 30 1015hrs
While I was writing the last entry, our friend Danny from Bahia Tortuga on Isla Mujeres, who had been planning to come see us here with his wife Ronda, walked up to the boat. Ronda has been under the weather so we weren’t sure if they were coming. As it turns out, Danny came alone (he really needed a break from work). We’ve come out to Cayo Blanco and anchored. The weather has been a bit rainy, not great for snorkeling, but fresh and cool.
Right now Johne and Danny are in the process of replacing an O-ring in the water maker (because you can’t go too many days in a row without taking the water maker apart. You might get out of practice). It started leaking again last night, at the other end this time, even running at lower pressure. It should be back together and running again in no time.
Hopefully the weather will clear and we’ll be able to get in some snorkeling before Danny has to go back. But I don’t know, today’s looking pretty blustery.
1400hrs
The fishing boat we meet here in Feb just stopped by. They brought us more lobsters and told us they would see us at Cayo Ingles in a few days. Fun to see them again.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Cuba part 2
Sept. 23 0900hrs
Greetings,
The sun has risen on what looks to be another beautiful day. No rain on the horizon this morning.
We’ve enjoyed our coffee on the aft deck and now it’s time to start morning chores. The water maker got caught up on production so this morning we’ll be getting the rest of the salt from the trip off.
Ooh, dolphins off the starboard side. That makes me smile.
1720hrs
We went to Playa Serena this afternoon. It’s a bar/restaurant on the beach where they take the day-trip-snorkelers. They have two dolphins in a pen there and, while it was exciting to them that close, it made me sad for them. I’m pretty sure they’re not born in captivity and shouldn’t be held for the tourists to gawk at. It was much better to see the ones swimming beside Second Star this morning.
Sept 24 1620hrs
I went for a swim around the boat this afternoon. It felt good to be in the water. The temp was great for me. I didn’t get cold but it was refreshing in the heat of the day. There were lots of sea stars, a huge conch shell (I didn’t pick it up to see if there was anything living in it), and what looked to me like the biggest hermit crab ever.
Other than that I’ve spent a good bit of the day reading. Aahh, this is the life.
Sept 25 1550hrs
We’re getting ready to leave Cayo largo and head for Casilda. We’ve checked the weather online and it looks good (not great, but good). We’re planning on leaving at about 0400 to get in there in the afternoon. Early to bed tonight.
Sept 27 Noon
We’re in Casilda now. We arrived later than we’d hope yesterday after fighting the current all the way here. We got in right at sunset and got anchored just before it got dark. We came into the marina this morning and are still wait to be checked in.
We had a little adventure getting Hook aboard to head out. After having lifted her about half way the relay switch on the davit failed so Capt Johne had to bi-pass the switch so we could finish bringing her up. Then, when he’d gotten it going again, the outer covering (Not the strength part) on the line that she was hanging from ripped and started to jam up in the pulleys so, while I held the dinghy to keep it from swinging, Johne cut the covering off the line being very careful not to cut the core. Anyway, we got her aboard and we have new line to replace the damaged one. We’ll have to go with the bi-passed wiring until a new (although this one was new) relay switch can be acquired.
We’ll be here for a couple of days, then we’re planning on heading into the Jardines de la Reina. More to come…
Greetings,
The sun has risen on what looks to be another beautiful day. No rain on the horizon this morning.
We’ve enjoyed our coffee on the aft deck and now it’s time to start morning chores. The water maker got caught up on production so this morning we’ll be getting the rest of the salt from the trip off.
Ooh, dolphins off the starboard side. That makes me smile.
1720hrs
We went to Playa Serena this afternoon. It’s a bar/restaurant on the beach where they take the day-trip-snorkelers. They have two dolphins in a pen there and, while it was exciting to them that close, it made me sad for them. I’m pretty sure they’re not born in captivity and shouldn’t be held for the tourists to gawk at. It was much better to see the ones swimming beside Second Star this morning.
Sept 24 1620hrs
I went for a swim around the boat this afternoon. It felt good to be in the water. The temp was great for me. I didn’t get cold but it was refreshing in the heat of the day. There were lots of sea stars, a huge conch shell (I didn’t pick it up to see if there was anything living in it), and what looked to me like the biggest hermit crab ever.
Other than that I’ve spent a good bit of the day reading. Aahh, this is the life.
Sept 25 1550hrs
We’re getting ready to leave Cayo largo and head for Casilda. We’ve checked the weather online and it looks good (not great, but good). We’re planning on leaving at about 0400 to get in there in the afternoon. Early to bed tonight.
Sept 27 Noon
We’re in Casilda now. We arrived later than we’d hope yesterday after fighting the current all the way here. We got in right at sunset and got anchored just before it got dark. We came into the marina this morning and are still wait to be checked in.
We had a little adventure getting Hook aboard to head out. After having lifted her about half way the relay switch on the davit failed so Capt Johne had to bi-pass the switch so we could finish bringing her up. Then, when he’d gotten it going again, the outer covering (Not the strength part) on the line that she was hanging from ripped and started to jam up in the pulleys so, while I held the dinghy to keep it from swinging, Johne cut the covering off the line being very careful not to cut the core. Anyway, we got her aboard and we have new line to replace the damaged one. We’ll have to go with the bi-passed wiring until a new (although this one was new) relay switch can be acquired.
We’ll be here for a couple of days, then we’re planning on heading into the Jardines de la Reina. More to come…
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Cuba part 1
Sept. 19 2100hrs
Greetings,
The passage from Isla Mujeres to Cayo Largo was relatively smooth and uneventful, which is how we like it. The first day the waves were a bit choppy, but not big, and nothing we couldn’t handle. The last several hours were quite calm, the way I wish all passage making was.
We arrived at Cayo Largo at about 1230 local time. The check in process took longer than we expected and we didn’t even get done. We’ll have to go back in to finish paying the last two fees in the morning because the officials weren’t all in when we got here.
So, after about three hours of paper work and running around trying to see all the officials we came out to get set on anchor. Once we had set the anchor, we started the generator and the water maker and lay down to rest. After having worked fine, running almost everyday, for over a month in Isla Mujeres, the water maker decided this was a good time to spring another leak. So, once again, Capt Johne got to take it apart and replace more O-Rings. When we fired it back up no leaks (knock wood) so extremely frustrating, but not the end of the world. Then…after having dinner, when Johne set the anchor alarm on the radar, he thought we might be drifting. I went up to the bridge to check the GPS coordinates and just after I did, the wind picked up. Sure enough, we were dragging and headed for the beach. So now, in the dark, with occasional lightning to give slight help, we had to re-anchor.
Sept. 20 2000hrs
Another long day but thing are looking up. The water maker has been apart twice more since last night. It just ran for 3 and a half hours, at 600psi (instead of the usual 750) without a problem.
The new anchorage spot is much better. Held well through the night and check the anchor today. It’s well down into the sand.
I got one of the two fees paid today. The port Capt. still wasn’t in his office the three times I checked. So we still have to see him to complete the check in process.
I got a couple loads of laundry done and Johne got most of the salt from the passage washed off the boat. Now, maybe, we can start relaxing…after I do the dinner dishes. J
Sept. 21 1000hrs
It’s been a good morning. The bilges are dried of the little bit of water we take underway. The water maker is running, with no grief at the moment. Laundry is drying. We just had a lovely, if brief, rain pass through. Right now life seems pretty good. (Life is always better when the water maker is working).
Sept.22 1530hrs
Well, now we’re starting to get into a cruising routine. Yesterday and today we did some chores in the morning. Yesterday Johne ran in to finish the check in process. We’ve napped in the afternoons and we’re enjoying the beauty of our surroundings.
Right now I’m sitting on the aft deck, listening to the water lapping gently against the hull. Every now and then there’s a splash near by as the fish play or feed. The water is totally clear and when the breeze dies, and there are no ripples on the surface, you can see the paths in the sand on the bottom, and every detail of the sea life going on around the boat. We had more rain this morning so, even though it’s hot, it’s kind of fresh, and not stifling.
The rain showers have come with some stronger gusts of wind, give the anchor little tests. We’re holding strong and the anchor is completely buried in the sand. All you can see is the chain.
We’ve taken the water maker back up to 650psi and it still seems to be coping. So we’re getting caught up on water production.
I’m looking forward to some snorkeling here, over the next few days, before we move on to Casilda and the Jardines. Even with frustrations, life is good…
Greetings,
The passage from Isla Mujeres to Cayo Largo was relatively smooth and uneventful, which is how we like it. The first day the waves were a bit choppy, but not big, and nothing we couldn’t handle. The last several hours were quite calm, the way I wish all passage making was.
We arrived at Cayo Largo at about 1230 local time. The check in process took longer than we expected and we didn’t even get done. We’ll have to go back in to finish paying the last two fees in the morning because the officials weren’t all in when we got here.
So, after about three hours of paper work and running around trying to see all the officials we came out to get set on anchor. Once we had set the anchor, we started the generator and the water maker and lay down to rest. After having worked fine, running almost everyday, for over a month in Isla Mujeres, the water maker decided this was a good time to spring another leak. So, once again, Capt Johne got to take it apart and replace more O-Rings. When we fired it back up no leaks (knock wood) so extremely frustrating, but not the end of the world. Then…after having dinner, when Johne set the anchor alarm on the radar, he thought we might be drifting. I went up to the bridge to check the GPS coordinates and just after I did, the wind picked up. Sure enough, we were dragging and headed for the beach. So now, in the dark, with occasional lightning to give slight help, we had to re-anchor.
Sept. 20 2000hrs
Another long day but thing are looking up. The water maker has been apart twice more since last night. It just ran for 3 and a half hours, at 600psi (instead of the usual 750) without a problem.
The new anchorage spot is much better. Held well through the night and check the anchor today. It’s well down into the sand.
I got one of the two fees paid today. The port Capt. still wasn’t in his office the three times I checked. So we still have to see him to complete the check in process.
I got a couple loads of laundry done and Johne got most of the salt from the passage washed off the boat. Now, maybe, we can start relaxing…after I do the dinner dishes. J
Sept. 21 1000hrs
It’s been a good morning. The bilges are dried of the little bit of water we take underway. The water maker is running, with no grief at the moment. Laundry is drying. We just had a lovely, if brief, rain pass through. Right now life seems pretty good. (Life is always better when the water maker is working).
Sept.22 1530hrs
Well, now we’re starting to get into a cruising routine. Yesterday and today we did some chores in the morning. Yesterday Johne ran in to finish the check in process. We’ve napped in the afternoons and we’re enjoying the beauty of our surroundings.
Right now I’m sitting on the aft deck, listening to the water lapping gently against the hull. Every now and then there’s a splash near by as the fish play or feed. The water is totally clear and when the breeze dies, and there are no ripples on the surface, you can see the paths in the sand on the bottom, and every detail of the sea life going on around the boat. We had more rain this morning so, even though it’s hot, it’s kind of fresh, and not stifling.
The rain showers have come with some stronger gusts of wind, give the anchor little tests. We’re holding strong and the anchor is completely buried in the sand. All you can see is the chain.
We’ve taken the water maker back up to 650psi and it still seems to be coping. So we’re getting caught up on water production.
I’m looking forward to some snorkeling here, over the next few days, before we move on to Casilda and the Jardines. Even with frustrations, life is good…
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Sept. Update
Sept. 12 2012
Greetings,
I’ve just reread the last update from July 20 and I have to laugh because I can almost recycle it. Much of what I wrote then is true today.
The clear coat sealer went on the new decks yesterday so that project is finally done. Capt. Johne has been unable to say no when people come and ask for help, so he has continued working on several other boats while trying to get things done on Second Star.
I have been to, and returned from, my family “Beach week”. Now we are getting ready to leave Isla Mujeres (no, for real this time). The plan is much the same as it was in July. Cuba, Grand Cayman, Providencia, San Andreas and then Panama. We expect to be in Panama in a couple of months, and to stay there until it seems like it’s time to move on again.
I’m looking forward to the Captain taking a much needed break from working so hard. The time in Cuba should be pretty quiet. Lots of rest. Some snorkeling, fishing, diving, etc. A little time for small projects (always some work to be done). But mostly down time.
I will keep logs as we go and post when we get to a good internet connection. The blog will get more exciting again now that we’ll be traveling.
Stay well and, as always, live your dreams,
Susie aeon
Greetings,
I’ve just reread the last update from July 20 and I have to laugh because I can almost recycle it. Much of what I wrote then is true today.
The clear coat sealer went on the new decks yesterday so that project is finally done. Capt. Johne has been unable to say no when people come and ask for help, so he has continued working on several other boats while trying to get things done on Second Star.
I have been to, and returned from, my family “Beach week”. Now we are getting ready to leave Isla Mujeres (no, for real this time). The plan is much the same as it was in July. Cuba, Grand Cayman, Providencia, San Andreas and then Panama. We expect to be in Panama in a couple of months, and to stay there until it seems like it’s time to move on again.
I’m looking forward to the Captain taking a much needed break from working so hard. The time in Cuba should be pretty quiet. Lots of rest. Some snorkeling, fishing, diving, etc. A little time for small projects (always some work to be done). But mostly down time.
I will keep logs as we go and post when we get to a good internet connection. The blog will get more exciting again now that we’ll be traveling.
Stay well and, as always, live your dreams,
Susie aeon
Friday, July 20, 2012
Latest Update from Second Star
July 20 2012
Greetings,
I’ve been planning to write an update for some time now but every time I’ve been about to start there’s a change in plans and what I was about to write is no longer the case. I’m going to write this now but it may not be true tomorrow.
Since the last update Capt. Johne has finished the work he was doing for everyone else and has gotten back on to Second Star projects. The water maker (which has given us grief on and off since we first started this adventure) had issues before we left for Cuba the last time. We had tried to have parts machined in Cancun but the machine shop had not done a good job and one of the parts they had made was still having leaks. After many times of taking it apart and putting it back together, replacing this o-ring, fixing that leak with a little epoxy, and many hours of frustration, it has now run for over 4 hours with a problem. Knock wood and fingers crossed that it keeps on working without any more issues.
With the water maker working, the Captain has turned his attention to putting down the new wood on the aft deck. We’d had some damage to the first wood decking and it had to be ripped off. The aft deck has been bare fiber glass waiting for it’s new pretty wood for a while, but now the new wood is going down and, in a week or so, it will be a wood deck once again.
At this point, if all goes well, we are planning on heading to Cuba again at the end of July. We’ll stay there, mostly in the Jardines de la Reina, snorkeling, fishing and diving, until the end of Aug. After that we’ll go to the Cayman Islands from which I will fly up to my family’s “Beach week” get together. When I get back we’re planning to continue south to Providencia, San Andreas and Panama. (All plans subject to weather and life changes).
I’ll update again before we leave Isla Mujeres, after that it may be a while before I can post again. I hope all is well with all our friends and family and, as always, I look forward to receiving your updates.
Keep living you dreams.
Susie aeon
Greetings,
I’ve been planning to write an update for some time now but every time I’ve been about to start there’s a change in plans and what I was about to write is no longer the case. I’m going to write this now but it may not be true tomorrow.
Since the last update Capt. Johne has finished the work he was doing for everyone else and has gotten back on to Second Star projects. The water maker (which has given us grief on and off since we first started this adventure) had issues before we left for Cuba the last time. We had tried to have parts machined in Cancun but the machine shop had not done a good job and one of the parts they had made was still having leaks. After many times of taking it apart and putting it back together, replacing this o-ring, fixing that leak with a little epoxy, and many hours of frustration, it has now run for over 4 hours with a problem. Knock wood and fingers crossed that it keeps on working without any more issues.
With the water maker working, the Captain has turned his attention to putting down the new wood on the aft deck. We’d had some damage to the first wood decking and it had to be ripped off. The aft deck has been bare fiber glass waiting for it’s new pretty wood for a while, but now the new wood is going down and, in a week or so, it will be a wood deck once again.
At this point, if all goes well, we are planning on heading to Cuba again at the end of July. We’ll stay there, mostly in the Jardines de la Reina, snorkeling, fishing and diving, until the end of Aug. After that we’ll go to the Cayman Islands from which I will fly up to my family’s “Beach week” get together. When I get back we’re planning to continue south to Providencia, San Andreas and Panama. (All plans subject to weather and life changes).
I’ll update again before we leave Isla Mujeres, after that it may be a while before I can post again. I hope all is well with all our friends and family and, as always, I look forward to receiving your updates.
Keep living you dreams.
Susie aeon
Monday, June 4, 2012
Healing
June 4 2012
Greetings,
This will be a pretty quick update. Not a whole lot to report.
Capt. Johne’s foot is healing well. Fortunately, he’s always been a quick healer. At the follow up visit, the Doctor was very impressed how well the broken bones had knitted and said Johne could stop wearing the boot and start working on rehab. There is still a lot of swelling but the Dr said that’s normal. He recommended soaking it and massage as well as working on range of motion. So in the evening, after he’s been on it all day, I try to massage down some of the swelling and gently stretch it.
Johne still has lots of work. We’re talking about heading back over to Cuba for another break at the end of June or early July. We’ll decided from there if we’re coming back here or going on to Panama by way of the Cayman Islands and Providencia. We’re kind of leaning toward the latter, but it depends partly on whether or not one, potential, big job here develops. We’ll just have to wait and see.
I’m just keeping house, baking and working on a few little projects on Second Star. I’m looking forward to whatever’s coming next and eager to see what life will bring.
Until the next report, keep living your dreams…
Susie aeon
Greetings,
This will be a pretty quick update. Not a whole lot to report.
Capt. Johne’s foot is healing well. Fortunately, he’s always been a quick healer. At the follow up visit, the Doctor was very impressed how well the broken bones had knitted and said Johne could stop wearing the boot and start working on rehab. There is still a lot of swelling but the Dr said that’s normal. He recommended soaking it and massage as well as working on range of motion. So in the evening, after he’s been on it all day, I try to massage down some of the swelling and gently stretch it.
Johne still has lots of work. We’re talking about heading back over to Cuba for another break at the end of June or early July. We’ll decided from there if we’re coming back here or going on to Panama by way of the Cayman Islands and Providencia. We’re kind of leaning toward the latter, but it depends partly on whether or not one, potential, big job here develops. We’ll just have to wait and see.
I’m just keeping house, baking and working on a few little projects on Second Star. I’m looking forward to whatever’s coming next and eager to see what life will bring.
Until the next report, keep living your dreams…
Susie aeon
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
May 14 2012
Greetings,
Sorry it has been so long since my last update. I’ll try to stay more on top of getting them written.
Since Feb, when we got back for Cuba thing have stayed busy. When we got back to Isla Mujeres Capt. Johne started getting repair and installation jobs on other boats. He did some work for Marina Paraiso including building a hard top for, and repainting, their dive boat. Once his reputation for competence got around he’s had more work than he can do.
About a month after our return we started having company. First Joey (our devil son. He already had God parents when we met and became close to his family) came for spring break from his sophomore year of collage. He broke his wrist right before he came so it wasn’t as much of a vacation as one would hope (no swimming) but overall it was a very good visit.
Next my sister Danile and brother Darrin came down to do some diving with me. We did some wreck dives and went a little deeper than I’d been before. We saw some awesome marine life and had a great time together.
The last set of visitors was Johne’s daughter Jeni and her new boyfriend Bill. It was good to meet Bill and it’s always wonderful to get to see and spend time with Jen.
On the same day they headed home, I left to go up to FL for three weeks to take care of a few things, work a little, and see some friends. Less than a week after I left, while Johne was wielding, his assistant pulled the argon bottle over on his foot, crushing three metatarsals and cracking four other bones in his left foot. So, for the past four weeks, he’s been hobbling along on an immobilization boot. It’s only slowed him down a little but it’s frustrated him a lot. He goes in for more x-rays, to see how it’s doing, and how much longer he has to wear the boot, around the 1st of June.
Since I’ve been back from FL I’ve been making new friends and starting to get a bit more involved with things here on Isla. Like donating to, and meeting the lady who started the school lunch program for the kids who can’t afford to buy or bring their lunch. If we are here much longer I’ll probably start doing some volunteering.
We’re in the process of trying to figure out what we are doing next. There is a possibility we will stay here for an extended time so Johne can continue to work and we can build our reserves up. Or, we may be moving on to points south and continuing the adventure. Either way life is good (except for a broken foot). We are enjoying our world, the people we meet, the things we get to do and the places we get to see.
I’ll report on healing and what’s next as I have more info. Until then, live your dreams…
Susie aeon
Greetings,
Sorry it has been so long since my last update. I’ll try to stay more on top of getting them written.
Since Feb, when we got back for Cuba thing have stayed busy. When we got back to Isla Mujeres Capt. Johne started getting repair and installation jobs on other boats. He did some work for Marina Paraiso including building a hard top for, and repainting, their dive boat. Once his reputation for competence got around he’s had more work than he can do.
About a month after our return we started having company. First Joey (our devil son. He already had God parents when we met and became close to his family) came for spring break from his sophomore year of collage. He broke his wrist right before he came so it wasn’t as much of a vacation as one would hope (no swimming) but overall it was a very good visit.
Next my sister Danile and brother Darrin came down to do some diving with me. We did some wreck dives and went a little deeper than I’d been before. We saw some awesome marine life and had a great time together.
The last set of visitors was Johne’s daughter Jeni and her new boyfriend Bill. It was good to meet Bill and it’s always wonderful to get to see and spend time with Jen.
On the same day they headed home, I left to go up to FL for three weeks to take care of a few things, work a little, and see some friends. Less than a week after I left, while Johne was wielding, his assistant pulled the argon bottle over on his foot, crushing three metatarsals and cracking four other bones in his left foot. So, for the past four weeks, he’s been hobbling along on an immobilization boot. It’s only slowed him down a little but it’s frustrated him a lot. He goes in for more x-rays, to see how it’s doing, and how much longer he has to wear the boot, around the 1st of June.
Since I’ve been back from FL I’ve been making new friends and starting to get a bit more involved with things here on Isla. Like donating to, and meeting the lady who started the school lunch program for the kids who can’t afford to buy or bring their lunch. If we are here much longer I’ll probably start doing some volunteering.
We’re in the process of trying to figure out what we are doing next. There is a possibility we will stay here for an extended time so Johne can continue to work and we can build our reserves up. Or, we may be moving on to points south and continuing the adventure. Either way life is good (except for a broken foot). We are enjoying our world, the people we meet, the things we get to do and the places we get to see.
I’ll report on healing and what’s next as I have more info. Until then, live your dreams…
Susie aeon
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Cuba; Part Three
Jan 31 2012
We’re in the marina in Casilda and, over all it was a good day. We got up at about 0530hrs, got the last little things done, and as soon as it started to get light we set out. The first couple of hours the sea was a bit beamy but not too bad and the later part of the trip was a following sea that made for a very comfortable ride. It was a long day and the hard part was getting into the marina. They’ve got us in a slip that is way too short and there was a substantial cross wind coming in. It took a long time and some creativity to get secured. They also only have one available 30amp plug and we need two so we’re running the generator. We won’t be staying here long. After we get the boat washed and the laundry caught up tomorrow we’ll probably move out on anchor. If we have to run the generator anyway, there’s no reason not to. I’m looking forward to going back to Trinidad and seeing the guys in the band again.
Feb 1 2012
Today was a work day. We had a bunch of cleaning and laundry to catch up on. I spent all morning on the interior cleaning while Capt Johne gave the exterior a good scrub. After lunch we walked in to the hotel to get online, check email and send out some quick “we’re okay” messages. When we got back to the boat, we moved to a slip better suited to Second Star’s size and needs. We now have shore power, we’re about to refill the water (we used a lot today cleaning). I have a fruity rum cocktail in front of me. I just have to decided what to make for dinner.
Feb 2 2012
We ended up going into town for dinner last night. It had been a long day so we were going to walk up to the hotel and get a bite, but he hotel is all inclusive, you can’t just come buy dinner, if you’re not staying there you can’t eat there. But a guy who was just getting off work had a sister with a restaurant and a cabbie friend who could take us there. So that’s what we did. It wasn’t a great meal, but not bad at all, and the arbor we ate in was lovely. It had trellises with flowering vines all over them and a parrot in a cage off to one side. It was a very enjoyable evening.
Today we took on a major fixing-a-leak project that has been in need for some time but has been getting much worse lately. The starboard front corner of the house, where it joins the deck, the sealant had cracked and, as the boat flexed underway, the crack grew. So this morning we started by cutting the old sealant out of that section, cleaned the area as well as possible, then, after lunch, we re-caulked it and now we have to wait and see if, when it’s all cured, the leak is fixed. After that I went for a little swim because, when we were trying to dock in the slip that was too small we tried bow in first. When it was clear that wasn’t going to work, we pulled out to try a stern to approach. But when I was pulling out one of the line didn’t get pulled aboard and the port prop wrapped it. So it had to be unwrapped. Fortunately, it wasn’t tight. It was easy to unwind and hadn’t done any damage to the prop, shaft or bearings. So it’s been quite a productive day. Now it’s cocktail time. Tomorrow we’re off to Trinidad.
Feb 4 2012
Morning: Yesterday was a great day. We got the taxi to come to take us to Trinidad at 0900. We’d met the taxi driver (Yunielky) in front of the hotel and we picked him because he has an almost-original 1929 model a ford, the same as Johne’s first car except his was a ‘28. It was my first ride in a rumble seat.
First we went to the marcado to get some more produce, which is pretty limited in variety, but very good quality. Then we went to Casa de la Trova, the bar where we’d met the band. We found out that they weren’t playing until 1600hrs so we came back to the boat for lunch. We had Yunielky come back for us at 1400 and went back up to Trinidad. We did some more wandering-exploring the town before heading back to Casa de la Trova. We got there at about 1515 hoping to get a chance to visit with the guys before they had to start. The band that was on before them was technically very good but they seemed bored. At 1600 we still hadn’t seen any of the guys we knew and, by 10 after, we were getting ready to ask the bartender if we’d misunderstood, when they started coming in. As each of the guys came in and saw us, he recognized us and came up to greet us and ask where Bob was. By 1630 the horn player still wasn’t there and, after making a phone call (as it turns out, he is sick) they started (at about 1645) without him. A friend of the guitar player was there and she sat in on the scratcher for the first set. After the first set they all come over to have a drink and visit. They wanted to come down here to see the boat and we told them we‘d love to have them, but we thought it would be a problem because Cubans can’t get on boats. We left it that we’d ask the officials and call them if it was a problem.
There was a table of locals by the bar that were having a great time. One of the guys had gotten up to sing with the first band and had a really good voice. Another guy had a guitar and, between the bands sets, he was playing, and they were both sing. Some of them were getting up to dance and one of the guy asked me to dance several times. He was a good lead and it was a lot of fun to dance with him.
At the next break the guitar player (Leonardo) told Johne he was playing at a restaurant at 1900 and, when we talked about getting some dinner after they were done, he said it was a good restaurant and we should come with him and eat there. As it turns out it was a great restaurant. It’s called Museo 1514, which we believe was the year it was built. The tables were set with cut crystal glasses and fine china. The atmosphere was wonderful. We had a table on a little terrace just a few steps up from the main floor. It was partially enclosed giving a bit of privacy, but we could still see the whole place and enjoy the entertainment. There was a couple salsa dancing as well as the music. Every so often they would go around and ask if the customers wanted to dance. So I did some more dancing there. After several tries the girl finally got Johne to dance which was un for me too. The food and wine were very good and we enjoyed the whole evening immensely.
Afternoon: When we ask about the guys coming to the boat for lunch of course he answer was not possible. So we went back up to Trinidad to spend time with them. Leonardo had said he might be able to fix Johne’s guitar so we brought it along. We all ended up going out for a long lunch, practice/jam session. It was a very cool and unique, if expensive, experience. They are fun and interesting people. We are going up to see them play again tomorrow night and get Johne’s (hopefully fixed) guitar back, before we start back for Cayo largo and Mexico.
Feb 6 2012
Yesterday was a lazy, rainy day. We put the panels, insulation and stuff back up that we’d taken down to repair the leak forward. After the rain we found that the windows in the VIP cabin and the pantry, which had leaked a little in the past, were leaking more and that they needed to be dealt with also. We let them dry out over night and set to fixing them today.
Last night we went into Trinidad to see the band one more time and to pick up Johne’s guitar. The repair on the guitar looks great but it needs a week or so to cure so we won’t know for a bit how it sounds. It was another fun evening. There was an older, local couple there dancing and it was cool to see the generational difference from the young, salsa style dancing we’d been seeing. It was also fun to watch their spunk and love of life.
This morning we set right to taking the windows and frames out, cleaning them up and re-bedding them in “life seal”. They were back in by lunch time. Since then we’ve gone to the hotel to check email and the weather. It’s looking good for the trip back to Cayo Largo and from there on to Mexico. Were looking to be back there on Sun morning.
Feb 9 2012
On the 7th we finished getting the boat ready for sea. We’d been doing a little here and there so there wasn’t too much that needed to be done. We discovered yet another leak that we’ll need to deal with when we get back to Mexico. There’s always something that needs fixing on a boat.
We left Casilda at about 1530hrs for a quiet, uneventful run to Cayo Largo. We arrived here early the next morning and, after finding a place to anchor and calling in on the radio, we were told we had to bring Second Star into the marina to check in. Coming in in the launch wouldn’t do. So we pulled up the anchor and went to do the paper work, came back out to anchor up again, had some food, had a shower, had a nap and felt much better. Then we took Hook and went back in to check the weather and visit with Pire a bit more. After that we did a little exploring in Hook and found a French Canadian boat we knew from Isla Mujeres in the anchorage. We visited with them for bit and shared travel stories both ways. We invited them to by for cocktails later and continued in Hook. It was beautifully calm and we ran around to the outside of the reef to see the 380 foot mega yacht, Luna, that had just arrived.
In the evening our friends from the Canadian boat came over and we had a lovely visit with them. Then we had a little dinner and a good nights sleep.
We’re going to move back into the marina this afternoon because we have to go back in to check out and we wanted to have Pire over for dinner. Even though he has the license to be aboard boats, he can’t come to the boat on anchor. But it okay if we’re in the marina. (Silly rules).
Feb 19 2012
We‘ve been back in Isla Mujeres Mexico for just over a week now. The next day, after my last entry, we did go back to the dock but when we checked the weather forecast it had changed and the front that we were trying to beat into Isla was looking like it was going to come n a little soon than had been predicted. So we checked out late in the afternoon and went back out on the anchor so we could pull out at 0430 (the officials said we could stay on the anchor so our weather timing was right, if we DID NOT come ashore again once we were checked out. In the dinghy or anything!).
We got up and underway dark-and-early and everything was very smooth. The weather was just perfect for the first about 26 hours. When we got to the Yucatan cannel it got a bit less calm but that is to be expected with the current etc, but it still wasn’t too bad, but…The front came in even earlier than the last report we had seen and the last few hours of the trip in were pretty rough. The wind pick up to a full gale and was against the current turning the seas all crazy and confused. The waves weren’t very big (mostly 3-5 ft) but steep, close together and from every which way. It was unpleasant and we were very glad to get back in to the marina and tied securely at the dock.
Since we’ve been back we’ve been doing maintenance and repair projects. It’s good to be back in communication with family and friends, to be able to just go to the store and get what I want and to see friends here on the island. I really enjoyed the time in Cuba and we may go back when we are ready to do more traveling.
That’s all for now. I’ll post more when something post-worthy happens. Until then, live your dreams…
Susie aeon
We’re in the marina in Casilda and, over all it was a good day. We got up at about 0530hrs, got the last little things done, and as soon as it started to get light we set out. The first couple of hours the sea was a bit beamy but not too bad and the later part of the trip was a following sea that made for a very comfortable ride. It was a long day and the hard part was getting into the marina. They’ve got us in a slip that is way too short and there was a substantial cross wind coming in. It took a long time and some creativity to get secured. They also only have one available 30amp plug and we need two so we’re running the generator. We won’t be staying here long. After we get the boat washed and the laundry caught up tomorrow we’ll probably move out on anchor. If we have to run the generator anyway, there’s no reason not to. I’m looking forward to going back to Trinidad and seeing the guys in the band again.
Feb 1 2012
Today was a work day. We had a bunch of cleaning and laundry to catch up on. I spent all morning on the interior cleaning while Capt Johne gave the exterior a good scrub. After lunch we walked in to the hotel to get online, check email and send out some quick “we’re okay” messages. When we got back to the boat, we moved to a slip better suited to Second Star’s size and needs. We now have shore power, we’re about to refill the water (we used a lot today cleaning). I have a fruity rum cocktail in front of me. I just have to decided what to make for dinner.
Feb 2 2012
We ended up going into town for dinner last night. It had been a long day so we were going to walk up to the hotel and get a bite, but he hotel is all inclusive, you can’t just come buy dinner, if you’re not staying there you can’t eat there. But a guy who was just getting off work had a sister with a restaurant and a cabbie friend who could take us there. So that’s what we did. It wasn’t a great meal, but not bad at all, and the arbor we ate in was lovely. It had trellises with flowering vines all over them and a parrot in a cage off to one side. It was a very enjoyable evening.
Today we took on a major fixing-a-leak project that has been in need for some time but has been getting much worse lately. The starboard front corner of the house, where it joins the deck, the sealant had cracked and, as the boat flexed underway, the crack grew. So this morning we started by cutting the old sealant out of that section, cleaned the area as well as possible, then, after lunch, we re-caulked it and now we have to wait and see if, when it’s all cured, the leak is fixed. After that I went for a little swim because, when we were trying to dock in the slip that was too small we tried bow in first. When it was clear that wasn’t going to work, we pulled out to try a stern to approach. But when I was pulling out one of the line didn’t get pulled aboard and the port prop wrapped it. So it had to be unwrapped. Fortunately, it wasn’t tight. It was easy to unwind and hadn’t done any damage to the prop, shaft or bearings. So it’s been quite a productive day. Now it’s cocktail time. Tomorrow we’re off to Trinidad.
Feb 4 2012
Morning: Yesterday was a great day. We got the taxi to come to take us to Trinidad at 0900. We’d met the taxi driver (Yunielky) in front of the hotel and we picked him because he has an almost-original 1929 model a ford, the same as Johne’s first car except his was a ‘28. It was my first ride in a rumble seat.
First we went to the marcado to get some more produce, which is pretty limited in variety, but very good quality. Then we went to Casa de la Trova, the bar where we’d met the band. We found out that they weren’t playing until 1600hrs so we came back to the boat for lunch. We had Yunielky come back for us at 1400 and went back up to Trinidad. We did some more wandering-exploring the town before heading back to Casa de la Trova. We got there at about 1515 hoping to get a chance to visit with the guys before they had to start. The band that was on before them was technically very good but they seemed bored. At 1600 we still hadn’t seen any of the guys we knew and, by 10 after, we were getting ready to ask the bartender if we’d misunderstood, when they started coming in. As each of the guys came in and saw us, he recognized us and came up to greet us and ask where Bob was. By 1630 the horn player still wasn’t there and, after making a phone call (as it turns out, he is sick) they started (at about 1645) without him. A friend of the guitar player was there and she sat in on the scratcher for the first set. After the first set they all come over to have a drink and visit. They wanted to come down here to see the boat and we told them we‘d love to have them, but we thought it would be a problem because Cubans can’t get on boats. We left it that we’d ask the officials and call them if it was a problem.
There was a table of locals by the bar that were having a great time. One of the guys had gotten up to sing with the first band and had a really good voice. Another guy had a guitar and, between the bands sets, he was playing, and they were both sing. Some of them were getting up to dance and one of the guy asked me to dance several times. He was a good lead and it was a lot of fun to dance with him.
At the next break the guitar player (Leonardo) told Johne he was playing at a restaurant at 1900 and, when we talked about getting some dinner after they were done, he said it was a good restaurant and we should come with him and eat there. As it turns out it was a great restaurant. It’s called Museo 1514, which we believe was the year it was built. The tables were set with cut crystal glasses and fine china. The atmosphere was wonderful. We had a table on a little terrace just a few steps up from the main floor. It was partially enclosed giving a bit of privacy, but we could still see the whole place and enjoy the entertainment. There was a couple salsa dancing as well as the music. Every so often they would go around and ask if the customers wanted to dance. So I did some more dancing there. After several tries the girl finally got Johne to dance which was un for me too. The food and wine were very good and we enjoyed the whole evening immensely.
Afternoon: When we ask about the guys coming to the boat for lunch of course he answer was not possible. So we went back up to Trinidad to spend time with them. Leonardo had said he might be able to fix Johne’s guitar so we brought it along. We all ended up going out for a long lunch, practice/jam session. It was a very cool and unique, if expensive, experience. They are fun and interesting people. We are going up to see them play again tomorrow night and get Johne’s (hopefully fixed) guitar back, before we start back for Cayo largo and Mexico.
Feb 6 2012
Yesterday was a lazy, rainy day. We put the panels, insulation and stuff back up that we’d taken down to repair the leak forward. After the rain we found that the windows in the VIP cabin and the pantry, which had leaked a little in the past, were leaking more and that they needed to be dealt with also. We let them dry out over night and set to fixing them today.
Last night we went into Trinidad to see the band one more time and to pick up Johne’s guitar. The repair on the guitar looks great but it needs a week or so to cure so we won’t know for a bit how it sounds. It was another fun evening. There was an older, local couple there dancing and it was cool to see the generational difference from the young, salsa style dancing we’d been seeing. It was also fun to watch their spunk and love of life.
This morning we set right to taking the windows and frames out, cleaning them up and re-bedding them in “life seal”. They were back in by lunch time. Since then we’ve gone to the hotel to check email and the weather. It’s looking good for the trip back to Cayo Largo and from there on to Mexico. Were looking to be back there on Sun morning.
Feb 9 2012
On the 7th we finished getting the boat ready for sea. We’d been doing a little here and there so there wasn’t too much that needed to be done. We discovered yet another leak that we’ll need to deal with when we get back to Mexico. There’s always something that needs fixing on a boat.
We left Casilda at about 1530hrs for a quiet, uneventful run to Cayo Largo. We arrived here early the next morning and, after finding a place to anchor and calling in on the radio, we were told we had to bring Second Star into the marina to check in. Coming in in the launch wouldn’t do. So we pulled up the anchor and went to do the paper work, came back out to anchor up again, had some food, had a shower, had a nap and felt much better. Then we took Hook and went back in to check the weather and visit with Pire a bit more. After that we did a little exploring in Hook and found a French Canadian boat we knew from Isla Mujeres in the anchorage. We visited with them for bit and shared travel stories both ways. We invited them to by for cocktails later and continued in Hook. It was beautifully calm and we ran around to the outside of the reef to see the 380 foot mega yacht, Luna, that had just arrived.
In the evening our friends from the Canadian boat came over and we had a lovely visit with them. Then we had a little dinner and a good nights sleep.
We’re going to move back into the marina this afternoon because we have to go back in to check out and we wanted to have Pire over for dinner. Even though he has the license to be aboard boats, he can’t come to the boat on anchor. But it okay if we’re in the marina. (Silly rules).
Feb 19 2012
We‘ve been back in Isla Mujeres Mexico for just over a week now. The next day, after my last entry, we did go back to the dock but when we checked the weather forecast it had changed and the front that we were trying to beat into Isla was looking like it was going to come n a little soon than had been predicted. So we checked out late in the afternoon and went back out on the anchor so we could pull out at 0430 (the officials said we could stay on the anchor so our weather timing was right, if we DID NOT come ashore again once we were checked out. In the dinghy or anything!).
We got up and underway dark-and-early and everything was very smooth. The weather was just perfect for the first about 26 hours. When we got to the Yucatan cannel it got a bit less calm but that is to be expected with the current etc, but it still wasn’t too bad, but…The front came in even earlier than the last report we had seen and the last few hours of the trip in were pretty rough. The wind pick up to a full gale and was against the current turning the seas all crazy and confused. The waves weren’t very big (mostly 3-5 ft) but steep, close together and from every which way. It was unpleasant and we were very glad to get back in to the marina and tied securely at the dock.
Since we’ve been back we’ve been doing maintenance and repair projects. It’s good to be back in communication with family and friends, to be able to just go to the store and get what I want and to see friends here on the island. I really enjoyed the time in Cuba and we may go back when we are ready to do more traveling.
That’s all for now. I’ll post more when something post-worthy happens. Until then, live your dreams…
Susie aeon
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Cuba; Part Two
Jan 23 2012
We got up early this morning and left Cienfuegos for the cayos. We’ve anchored at Cayo Blanco, had lunch and a nap, and it’s about time for cocktails. The trip was only a little choppy and the south coast along which we were running is just beautiful. We could see the road we took to Trinidad and it was fun to have seen this part of the trip from land first. The mountains are lovely and, from where we are anchored, it’s a beautiful backdrop. Tomorrow we will make the run to the north end of the Jardines de la Reina which is supposed to be some of the best fishing and diving in the world.
Jan 24 2012
It’s been an uneventful day. We are now anchored at Cayo Breton, the northern most cay of the Jardines de le Reina. It was a nice day for cruising and we did some trolling on the way down. Had a couple of fish on, but lost both, one with the lure. When we got here and anchored, we had a bite to eat, launched Hook and went for a spin around the cay. The mangroves have taken a beating in the last few hurricane seasons but the water is amazingly clear and I’m really looking forward to snorkeling and diving here.
Jan 25 2012
Today we moved a little further south to Cayo Ingles at the south end of the Cayos Cinco Balas. It only took a couple of hours to get down here. The wind had picked up over night so it was a little rougher than I prefer but not too bad. When we got to the first, and easiest anchorage to get into, we decided to try it. We got in and got the anchor set on the second try but it’s not a very well protected anchorage and with the wind direction it was a bit bouncy. We decided to try to come around the cay to the lagoon which is a much more protected anchorage but is a bit difficult to get into with a small and barely marked channel. That kind of navigating is always a bit nerve racking but we got in with no trouble and got the anchor set right away. It is beautiful and very well protected and it’s closer to the good diving. We’re glad we moved.
After lunch we launched Hook again and did more sight seeing. The mangroves here are in much better shape than the ones to the north and there are beaches here. We went for a walk on the beach, checked out the reef for where we want to dive tomorrow and then went for a swim to pick up some conch. I think we ended up with five nice sized ones and we’re looking forward to dinner tomorrow. We’ve just had cocktails and a beautiful sunset. Life is good.
Jan 26 2012
This morning we were sitting having our coffee, when another boat pulled into the lagoon. We looked though the binoculars and it appeared to be a local fishing boat, which it turn out to be. Their mooring is about 250 yards from where we’re anchored and as they came up we call our greetings. Two of them rowed over in their dingy and, after introductions and a little conversation at the transom we invited them aboard for coffee. An hour or so later, after some gifts of rum and fin, mask and snorkel sets, as well as some fishing magazines, Capt Johne had a fishing and lobstering guide for this afternoon (which is where he is right now) and we’re going to be having dinner (fresh lobster & fish of course) with them, and they have promised me filets to go. So I’m spending my afternoon baking bread which I needed to get done. Diving has been put off until tomorrow. It’s good to take the opportunities that are dropped on your doorstep.
2200hrs
Well, dinner was great. The guys got back from fishing a little after 1700hrs. They brought 30 Gal. of water over to give us a boost since the water maker is out. Then they went back to their boat to prepare the catch for dinner. I showered and started a rice pilaf and by 1805 they were rowing up with a big bucket of lobster and a tub of grouper and snapper filets. They also brought a beautiful, big, spiral shell, similar to a conch, but different, as a gift for me. The cook came to the galley with me and I directed him to each thing he needed as he asked for it. He was very concerned about the mess he was making and I had to keep telling him I’d clean it up and it wasn’t a problem. It got to be quite a joke between us.
Their Captain and my Captain sat down with the charts and our guide book and he gave Capt Johne a bunch of helpful, local navigational tips. By the way, none of them speak English so all of our interaction today has been in Spanish, broken and limited as ours is. What an awesome opportunity. Nights like this can’t be planned, they just happen and I feel so fortunate that they happen to me.
Jan 27 2012
This morning the fishing boat left about 0700hrs. We had a little relaxing time over coffee then set to portioning, vacuum sealing and freezing all our wonderful Grouper and Cubera Snapper that they left with us. We ended up with 8 bags, from 20 to 40ozs each, of beautiful filets and 22 lobster tail a couple of which are over a pound.
At about 1030hrs, with the incoming tide, we got our snorkeling gear and went out to the reef. It was still blowing 10 to 15 mph so we couldn’t get to the outside of the reef today but the two spots we snorkeled on the inside were awesome. The coral was healthy and teaming with all the beautiful tropical fish. Most note worthy were some of the biggest French Angels I’ve ever seen, big Queen triggers and big Hog fish. The wind has died down now and if it stays calm and the seas settle we’ll try to get to the outside of the reef tomorrow.
The afternoon brought a couple of rental catamarans into the lagoon, but after anchoring and going for a swim they moved on so we have it to ourselves again. We’ve just watched a wonderful sun set and are getting ready to eat a chipotle, lobster, potato, corn chowder.
Jan 28 2012
Today was a little frustrating but it turned out very well. It was calm enough that we thought we could get to the outside of the reef so, at about 0930, we started to get all the scuba gear together to to go out. The first frustration was, of the 7 tanks we have onboard, all of which were filled when we were in Ft Myers, one had 2400psi of air, two had about 1500psi, an the rest had less than 1000. Then one of the octoes was leaking air so Capt Johne spent quite a while fixing that but by about 1030 Hook was loaded and we were off to the reef. The first place we anchored was too deep to get a good bite. The next was okay but where we thought we could get through to the outside it was still too shallow for the amount of wave there was, but it was a great snorkeling spot, so we swam back to Hook, ditched the scuba stuff, and enjoyed a great snorkel. After that we tried one more place we thought we could get through to the outside. It was a great spot for both the things we saw and the cut to get to the outside but, neither one of us had enough weight (even though I had the same as I usual do) and we were having a heck of a time getting negatively buoyant. So, again, we enjoyed the snorkel and headed in. I’m amazed how different the 4 spots that we’ve snorkeled, within a mile stretch, have been. From which type of coral is most prevalent, to what fish we have and haven’t seen at each location. If it’s still not too rough, we’re going to try the last place again tomorrow, with lots of extra weight. You can always add air to the BC.
We got back and got the gear cleaned up, showered and had leftover grouper tacos for lunch. Then nap time. We were just heading out for a little late afternoon fishing when our fisherman friends pulled back into the lagoon. After we got back from fishing and were just sitting down for wine & cheese and a movie, the guys pulled up with more lobsters for us. We invited them to join us for the movie so we all just sat here and watched Avatar together. Now it’s time to shut down for the night.
Jan 29 2012
It was blowing too hard this morning for us to think it was a good idea to try the diving again. The wind had pick up in the evening while we were watching the movie and didn’t calm down enough for diving to make sense. When the guys rowed over to get their lobster tub they took our water jugs back to fill again. Later they brought them back and their Captain came along. He told us there was a front coming and that by tomorrow afternoon it would be here with 30+ knot winds. So we decided that, if we were going to see Cayo Cuervo, and get back to Casilda before the front came in, we should get going. With Hook in tow, we got underway by 1030 and arrived at Cayo Cuervo just after 1300. This is where the shrimpers anchor and, after some lunch, we jumped in Hook and took a little spin around to look at the flats and mangroves. The water is so clear it’s like riding around a huge aquarium. We saw some interesting, lacy, snowflake looking things on the bottom that I’ve never seen before. I don’t even know if they were plant or animal but they were very cool.
We stopped by one of the shrimp boats to ask some more local navigation questions for a more protected passage. They confirmed that the route Capt Johne was looking at was not a problem for us to get though and that it would be calmer in a north wind than the outer passage. They also said the front was stationary and not coming in tomorrow. They told us if we come by tomorrow morning at 0800 they’ll have shrimp to share. So for now we’re staying here and see what the morning brings. The sun is setting. The margarita is cold and it almost time to cook the lobster.
Jan 30 2012
The shrimp boat didn’t get back until almost 0830 but when we went over to ask if the front was still stationary, they said it was and they gave us not only a bucket of shrimp but also three lobsters and a pile of squid. Oh, they’d also given us two nice mutton snappers yesterday. We are super seafood rich now.
We spent the rest of the morning cleaning and freezing all that great stuff. After lunch (a shrimp and lobster salad) we debated our options for heading back to the main land. There are a few different routes, one shorter, one closer to land and more protected if the wind does pick up. We decided on the one in the middle and waiting until tomorrow morning to go. So we had the rest of the afternoon to finish getting ready and play. We decided to go out and see if there was a good spot for a snorkel. So we grabbed the gear, jumped in Hook and ran out around the spit to the closest place there was supposed to be coral. There wasn’t much there and we did some more scouting. The next place we tried seemed much more promising so we anchored and went in. We were at a beach and had to wade a bit and then swim over some very shallow area to get to the reef. There was coral in the shallow part and I felt like I couldn’t breath out or I might sink just a little and be brushing against it. But ones we got out past that part, WOW! It was about the healthiest, most diverse coral I’ve ever seen. And it was teeming with amazing fish. I saw a huge lobster, some really big parrot fish, a good sized grouper and lots more. I’m so glad we decided to go after waffling for a while. When we got back to Second Star, we got Hook cleaned up and put her aboard. I got the waypoints in the GPS for tomorrow. We’ve had dinner (grouper enchiladas). I just have a couple more things to put up to be ready to be underway. Tomorrow will be an early morning. Hopefully not too rough.
We got up early this morning and left Cienfuegos for the cayos. We’ve anchored at Cayo Blanco, had lunch and a nap, and it’s about time for cocktails. The trip was only a little choppy and the south coast along which we were running is just beautiful. We could see the road we took to Trinidad and it was fun to have seen this part of the trip from land first. The mountains are lovely and, from where we are anchored, it’s a beautiful backdrop. Tomorrow we will make the run to the north end of the Jardines de la Reina which is supposed to be some of the best fishing and diving in the world.
Jan 24 2012
It’s been an uneventful day. We are now anchored at Cayo Breton, the northern most cay of the Jardines de le Reina. It was a nice day for cruising and we did some trolling on the way down. Had a couple of fish on, but lost both, one with the lure. When we got here and anchored, we had a bite to eat, launched Hook and went for a spin around the cay. The mangroves have taken a beating in the last few hurricane seasons but the water is amazingly clear and I’m really looking forward to snorkeling and diving here.
Jan 25 2012
Today we moved a little further south to Cayo Ingles at the south end of the Cayos Cinco Balas. It only took a couple of hours to get down here. The wind had picked up over night so it was a little rougher than I prefer but not too bad. When we got to the first, and easiest anchorage to get into, we decided to try it. We got in and got the anchor set on the second try but it’s not a very well protected anchorage and with the wind direction it was a bit bouncy. We decided to try to come around the cay to the lagoon which is a much more protected anchorage but is a bit difficult to get into with a small and barely marked channel. That kind of navigating is always a bit nerve racking but we got in with no trouble and got the anchor set right away. It is beautiful and very well protected and it’s closer to the good diving. We’re glad we moved.
After lunch we launched Hook again and did more sight seeing. The mangroves here are in much better shape than the ones to the north and there are beaches here. We went for a walk on the beach, checked out the reef for where we want to dive tomorrow and then went for a swim to pick up some conch. I think we ended up with five nice sized ones and we’re looking forward to dinner tomorrow. We’ve just had cocktails and a beautiful sunset. Life is good.
Jan 26 2012
This morning we were sitting having our coffee, when another boat pulled into the lagoon. We looked though the binoculars and it appeared to be a local fishing boat, which it turn out to be. Their mooring is about 250 yards from where we’re anchored and as they came up we call our greetings. Two of them rowed over in their dingy and, after introductions and a little conversation at the transom we invited them aboard for coffee. An hour or so later, after some gifts of rum and fin, mask and snorkel sets, as well as some fishing magazines, Capt Johne had a fishing and lobstering guide for this afternoon (which is where he is right now) and we’re going to be having dinner (fresh lobster & fish of course) with them, and they have promised me filets to go. So I’m spending my afternoon baking bread which I needed to get done. Diving has been put off until tomorrow. It’s good to take the opportunities that are dropped on your doorstep.
2200hrs
Well, dinner was great. The guys got back from fishing a little after 1700hrs. They brought 30 Gal. of water over to give us a boost since the water maker is out. Then they went back to their boat to prepare the catch for dinner. I showered and started a rice pilaf and by 1805 they were rowing up with a big bucket of lobster and a tub of grouper and snapper filets. They also brought a beautiful, big, spiral shell, similar to a conch, but different, as a gift for me. The cook came to the galley with me and I directed him to each thing he needed as he asked for it. He was very concerned about the mess he was making and I had to keep telling him I’d clean it up and it wasn’t a problem. It got to be quite a joke between us.
Their Captain and my Captain sat down with the charts and our guide book and he gave Capt Johne a bunch of helpful, local navigational tips. By the way, none of them speak English so all of our interaction today has been in Spanish, broken and limited as ours is. What an awesome opportunity. Nights like this can’t be planned, they just happen and I feel so fortunate that they happen to me.
Jan 27 2012
This morning the fishing boat left about 0700hrs. We had a little relaxing time over coffee then set to portioning, vacuum sealing and freezing all our wonderful Grouper and Cubera Snapper that they left with us. We ended up with 8 bags, from 20 to 40ozs each, of beautiful filets and 22 lobster tail a couple of which are over a pound.
At about 1030hrs, with the incoming tide, we got our snorkeling gear and went out to the reef. It was still blowing 10 to 15 mph so we couldn’t get to the outside of the reef today but the two spots we snorkeled on the inside were awesome. The coral was healthy and teaming with all the beautiful tropical fish. Most note worthy were some of the biggest French Angels I’ve ever seen, big Queen triggers and big Hog fish. The wind has died down now and if it stays calm and the seas settle we’ll try to get to the outside of the reef tomorrow.
The afternoon brought a couple of rental catamarans into the lagoon, but after anchoring and going for a swim they moved on so we have it to ourselves again. We’ve just watched a wonderful sun set and are getting ready to eat a chipotle, lobster, potato, corn chowder.
Jan 28 2012
Today was a little frustrating but it turned out very well. It was calm enough that we thought we could get to the outside of the reef so, at about 0930, we started to get all the scuba gear together to to go out. The first frustration was, of the 7 tanks we have onboard, all of which were filled when we were in Ft Myers, one had 2400psi of air, two had about 1500psi, an the rest had less than 1000. Then one of the octoes was leaking air so Capt Johne spent quite a while fixing that but by about 1030 Hook was loaded and we were off to the reef. The first place we anchored was too deep to get a good bite. The next was okay but where we thought we could get through to the outside it was still too shallow for the amount of wave there was, but it was a great snorkeling spot, so we swam back to Hook, ditched the scuba stuff, and enjoyed a great snorkel. After that we tried one more place we thought we could get through to the outside. It was a great spot for both the things we saw and the cut to get to the outside but, neither one of us had enough weight (even though I had the same as I usual do) and we were having a heck of a time getting negatively buoyant. So, again, we enjoyed the snorkel and headed in. I’m amazed how different the 4 spots that we’ve snorkeled, within a mile stretch, have been. From which type of coral is most prevalent, to what fish we have and haven’t seen at each location. If it’s still not too rough, we’re going to try the last place again tomorrow, with lots of extra weight. You can always add air to the BC.
We got back and got the gear cleaned up, showered and had leftover grouper tacos for lunch. Then nap time. We were just heading out for a little late afternoon fishing when our fisherman friends pulled back into the lagoon. After we got back from fishing and were just sitting down for wine & cheese and a movie, the guys pulled up with more lobsters for us. We invited them to join us for the movie so we all just sat here and watched Avatar together. Now it’s time to shut down for the night.
Jan 29 2012
It was blowing too hard this morning for us to think it was a good idea to try the diving again. The wind had pick up in the evening while we were watching the movie and didn’t calm down enough for diving to make sense. When the guys rowed over to get their lobster tub they took our water jugs back to fill again. Later they brought them back and their Captain came along. He told us there was a front coming and that by tomorrow afternoon it would be here with 30+ knot winds. So we decided that, if we were going to see Cayo Cuervo, and get back to Casilda before the front came in, we should get going. With Hook in tow, we got underway by 1030 and arrived at Cayo Cuervo just after 1300. This is where the shrimpers anchor and, after some lunch, we jumped in Hook and took a little spin around to look at the flats and mangroves. The water is so clear it’s like riding around a huge aquarium. We saw some interesting, lacy, snowflake looking things on the bottom that I’ve never seen before. I don’t even know if they were plant or animal but they were very cool.
We stopped by one of the shrimp boats to ask some more local navigation questions for a more protected passage. They confirmed that the route Capt Johne was looking at was not a problem for us to get though and that it would be calmer in a north wind than the outer passage. They also said the front was stationary and not coming in tomorrow. They told us if we come by tomorrow morning at 0800 they’ll have shrimp to share. So for now we’re staying here and see what the morning brings. The sun is setting. The margarita is cold and it almost time to cook the lobster.
Jan 30 2012
The shrimp boat didn’t get back until almost 0830 but when we went over to ask if the front was still stationary, they said it was and they gave us not only a bucket of shrimp but also three lobsters and a pile of squid. Oh, they’d also given us two nice mutton snappers yesterday. We are super seafood rich now.
We spent the rest of the morning cleaning and freezing all that great stuff. After lunch (a shrimp and lobster salad) we debated our options for heading back to the main land. There are a few different routes, one shorter, one closer to land and more protected if the wind does pick up. We decided on the one in the middle and waiting until tomorrow morning to go. So we had the rest of the afternoon to finish getting ready and play. We decided to go out and see if there was a good spot for a snorkel. So we grabbed the gear, jumped in Hook and ran out around the spit to the closest place there was supposed to be coral. There wasn’t much there and we did some more scouting. The next place we tried seemed much more promising so we anchored and went in. We were at a beach and had to wade a bit and then swim over some very shallow area to get to the reef. There was coral in the shallow part and I felt like I couldn’t breath out or I might sink just a little and be brushing against it. But ones we got out past that part, WOW! It was about the healthiest, most diverse coral I’ve ever seen. And it was teeming with amazing fish. I saw a huge lobster, some really big parrot fish, a good sized grouper and lots more. I’m so glad we decided to go after waffling for a while. When we got back to Second Star, we got Hook cleaned up and put her aboard. I got the waypoints in the GPS for tomorrow. We’ve had dinner (grouper enchiladas). I just have a couple more things to put up to be ready to be underway. Tomorrow will be an early morning. Hopefully not too rough.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Cuba; Part one
Jan 22 2012
Greetings,
We’ve been in Cuba for a week and a half now and I haven’t had a chance to keep up the log. So I’m going to try to remember all that we’ve done so far (which has been a lot), and after this I’ll try to keep a daily account.
First of all, the machine shop in Isla Mujeres didn’t get the water maker parts back on time and when they did come one part wasn’t right, so we are without a water maker for the time being. We decided to go ahead and leave for Cuba while we had the weather window since Bob’s (now Burro Bob because of all the stuff we have him bring when he comes) visiting time was short.
We headed out on Wed the 11th. The trip across the Yucatan channel was good. Not too rough with helpful currents. We tried to go to Isla Juventud first but it’s not an international check in point ( they told us on the radio “Not Possible!”) so it was on to Cayo Largo. Checking in there was easy because of Pire, the marina representative there that coordinates all the officials (thanks Abi for the contact). Pire was very helpful with everything we needed and made the whole process painless. We also met Nelson there, who has worked for our friend Tim. He loaned us his charts for the Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen) and gave us his brother Lamar’s (who also works for Tim sometimes) contact info in Havana.
After rinsing the boat, a few other chores and a little rest we had a huge lobster, shrimp and fish dinner (lots of leftover lobster) to celebrate our first night here.
In the morning we went to the hotel to get online, check the weather and send out a quick message to let everyone know we’re okay. There was a front come in with strong north winds but, being on the south side of the land we hoped it wouldn’t be too bad. We headed out to Cayo Dios with the plan to anchor there and do some fishing and diving, but the anchorage is on the north side of the cay and it was clear when we got there that it would be rough and not easy holding. So we went to plan B, which was to go on to Cienfuegos. Unfortunately the wind and waves continued to increase. The wave period was very short and we had to slow down to decrease the pounding of the head sea. Slowing down makes it a bit less rough but the trade off is it’s rough for longer. So for about 10 hours it was the kind of ride we keep saying we aren’t going to do anymore. The good news is, the new bulbous bow did a great job through the bumpy night and is holding on strong.
We pulled into the bay by Cienfuegos about 0500hrs and, on the radio, they told us to anchor and come in by dinghy to check in (in Cuba you have to check in everywhere you stop. They want to know where you are at all times). So we anchored, had a nap and then got Tink in the water so Capt. Johne and Bob could go in and do the paperwork and find out if there was a slip available. We moved into the marina in the afternoon and, after washing all the salt off the boat again, walked into town.
It was interesting to see all the 1950’s American car bodies although none with original engines. Most of them have been converted to diesel. The young people were out along the Malicon (the sea or bay side walk) in couples and groups as youth do all over the world. We observed that the Cubans, over all, seem to be a genetically slender people. Not that there aren’t fat Cubans but there are a lot more, taller, slimmer people here than in most of Latin America.
We had an enjoyable dinner out where I discovered that even in “nice” restaurants, seats on the toilets are rare here. After dinner we went in search of night life but we were a bit early. Night life doesn’t start until around 2200hrs and we were all still tired from the rough trip in, so we were off to bed.
The next day we took one of the horse drawn carts (taxis in Cienfuegos come in 3 forms; cars, tricycles with two seats behind the driver and horse drawn carts) to go in to town and explore. The driver put me up front with him and handed me the reins which made for lots of commentary from the back as Bob and Johne expressed that they were taking their lives in their hands going for this ride.
We walked around the parque central which, as with most Latin American cities, has an old cathedral, a big government building, shops and restaurants. The art gallery was very interesting and the architecture is beautiful although it’s not being maintained and is starting to deteriorate badly. It was fun sight seeing and for lunch we had our first of many ham and cheese sandwiches here. We have since come to find that in most quick-food places here you can get ham and/or cheese on your sandwich or “pizza”. It will be a while before we’ll be wanting ham and cheese again.
That night we stayed up to go to the disco and experience the night life. Very interesting people watching and some really good salsa dancing.
On the 17th we hired a car for the day to take us to Trinidad, a beautiful old Spanish colonial city about 80 kilometers east of Cienfuegos. It was a beautiful drive, part of which went right along the south coast and made me excited for some of the cruising to come.
The town has lots of bars and restaurants all of which seemed to have live music. There was really good, traditional Cuban music everywhere we went. The place we had lunch had a father and son with a guitar that were delightful. Later we had drinks at a place with a seven piece band and they were wonderful. On their break, we bought them a round of drinks and they all came to join us at the table and signed the CD’s we’d gotten. It was so much fun we’re planning on going back there with the boat on our way back from the Gardens of the Queen.
On the 18th we hired another car for the trip to Havana. It was almost as inexpensive as the three of us taking the bus and much better with the driver, Roberto’s, personality. Johne had gotten a hold of Lamar before we left and he’d arranged for rooms in a nice, very clean(but no toilet seats), private home for us. Tim had arrived in Havana the night before so we spent the afternoon visiting with him and some friends of his. That evening we all (Tim, a couple of his friends, his wife, Lamar, Bob, Johne and I) went out for dinner.
The next day was our exploring-Havana-day. It’s a very interesting city with lots of great history, and again, great but deteriorating architecture (you can‘t walk on some sidewalks because of the danger from pieces falling off the buildings). We started by having the taxi drop us off at the grand national theater, where the Cuban national ballet performs. As luck would have it, they were scheduled to be performing that weekend so we got tickets for the performance the next night. After that we started to wonder in search of breakfast. We found a little place with a great coffee menu that had sandwiches (ham and/or cheese). After breakfast we decided that the horse drawn carriages with a guide would be a good way to start seeing the city. The first carriage driver to accost us with his sales pitch was Leonardo, who turned out to be a jewel. He spoke very good English and knew the history of the city very well and he, and his horse Picasso, gave us a fantastic tour. After a couple of hours we invited him to have a drink with us by the end of which he had invited us to his house for dinner. He called his wife to check with her and she said, just bring the beer. We continued our tour which ended with Leonardo taking us to the bus station so Capt Johne and I could get our tickets back to Cienfuegos, then we went back to the house to rest and get cleaned up before dinner.
Dinner at Leonardo’s, with his wife Milagro and their daughter Briana, was one of the best things we’ve had the opportunity to do in Cuba. They opened their home to us with such warmth, and everything, from the food, to the conversation, to the Cubano café, to the dancing in the living room, was awesome.
The next morning Bob’s had to fly out, so after breakfast (omelets. Would you like ham and cheese, or cheese and ham?) we sent him off to the airportL. Johne and I did some exploring around Marina Hemingway and met an interesting Canadian guy and had a nice visit aboard his boat. We also spent some time after lunch visiting with Lamar. He gave us some good insight on “gift” giving with the local fisherman we might meet while cruising. Then we had a little rest before it was time to get ready to go into town for the ballet. We had eaten lunch late and we were just planning to have coffee and dessert before the show. When we got to the restaurant by the theater that had been recommended to us, there was a 40 minute wait, but the maitre’d, after starting to give us directions and realizing it wasn’t going to work, walked us about three blocks to another restaurant (now that’s service) that had very good coffee and something like a tiramisu.
We returned to the theater with great excitement to be getting to see a world class ballet company (Capt Johne’s first) perform. When we got the program we found that they were doing excerpts from Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Coppelia, Don Quixote, Swan lake and an original piece choreographed by Alicia Alonso (the director of the company and a legend in the ballet world) for Cuban National Ballet. For those of you not familiar with ballet, that’s a lot of good stuff. Before the lights dimmed, the audience started to clap and, looking around to see why, we saw Ms Alonso herself ( now over 90 and blind) making her entrance to “watch“ the show. I was surprise by what a thrill it was just to see her. The performance was absolutely phenomenal. All the pieces were wonderful. The corps work was excellent, and the couple that did the Don Quixote pas de deux were as good as any dancers I’ve ever seen anywhere. (There were, however, no seats on the toilets in the Grand National theater.)
We got up early to catch the bus the next morning. Not a bad trip back. The seats on the bus weren‘t uncomfortable and reclined so it made napping easy and the bus did have a toilet seat.
When we got back to Cienfuegos we started doing prep to get underway. The rest of yesterday afternoon and most of today were spent getting all the laundry done, going to the mercado for produce, topping up the water tank and re-securing things. We’ve moved out to the anchor and are ready to do some cruising.
Greetings,
We’ve been in Cuba for a week and a half now and I haven’t had a chance to keep up the log. So I’m going to try to remember all that we’ve done so far (which has been a lot), and after this I’ll try to keep a daily account.
First of all, the machine shop in Isla Mujeres didn’t get the water maker parts back on time and when they did come one part wasn’t right, so we are without a water maker for the time being. We decided to go ahead and leave for Cuba while we had the weather window since Bob’s (now Burro Bob because of all the stuff we have him bring when he comes) visiting time was short.
We headed out on Wed the 11th. The trip across the Yucatan channel was good. Not too rough with helpful currents. We tried to go to Isla Juventud first but it’s not an international check in point ( they told us on the radio “Not Possible!”) so it was on to Cayo Largo. Checking in there was easy because of Pire, the marina representative there that coordinates all the officials (thanks Abi for the contact). Pire was very helpful with everything we needed and made the whole process painless. We also met Nelson there, who has worked for our friend Tim. He loaned us his charts for the Jardines de la Reina (Gardens of the Queen) and gave us his brother Lamar’s (who also works for Tim sometimes) contact info in Havana.
After rinsing the boat, a few other chores and a little rest we had a huge lobster, shrimp and fish dinner (lots of leftover lobster) to celebrate our first night here.
In the morning we went to the hotel to get online, check the weather and send out a quick message to let everyone know we’re okay. There was a front come in with strong north winds but, being on the south side of the land we hoped it wouldn’t be too bad. We headed out to Cayo Dios with the plan to anchor there and do some fishing and diving, but the anchorage is on the north side of the cay and it was clear when we got there that it would be rough and not easy holding. So we went to plan B, which was to go on to Cienfuegos. Unfortunately the wind and waves continued to increase. The wave period was very short and we had to slow down to decrease the pounding of the head sea. Slowing down makes it a bit less rough but the trade off is it’s rough for longer. So for about 10 hours it was the kind of ride we keep saying we aren’t going to do anymore. The good news is, the new bulbous bow did a great job through the bumpy night and is holding on strong.
We pulled into the bay by Cienfuegos about 0500hrs and, on the radio, they told us to anchor and come in by dinghy to check in (in Cuba you have to check in everywhere you stop. They want to know where you are at all times). So we anchored, had a nap and then got Tink in the water so Capt. Johne and Bob could go in and do the paperwork and find out if there was a slip available. We moved into the marina in the afternoon and, after washing all the salt off the boat again, walked into town.
It was interesting to see all the 1950’s American car bodies although none with original engines. Most of them have been converted to diesel. The young people were out along the Malicon (the sea or bay side walk) in couples and groups as youth do all over the world. We observed that the Cubans, over all, seem to be a genetically slender people. Not that there aren’t fat Cubans but there are a lot more, taller, slimmer people here than in most of Latin America.
We had an enjoyable dinner out where I discovered that even in “nice” restaurants, seats on the toilets are rare here. After dinner we went in search of night life but we were a bit early. Night life doesn’t start until around 2200hrs and we were all still tired from the rough trip in, so we were off to bed.
The next day we took one of the horse drawn carts (taxis in Cienfuegos come in 3 forms; cars, tricycles with two seats behind the driver and horse drawn carts) to go in to town and explore. The driver put me up front with him and handed me the reins which made for lots of commentary from the back as Bob and Johne expressed that they were taking their lives in their hands going for this ride.
We walked around the parque central which, as with most Latin American cities, has an old cathedral, a big government building, shops and restaurants. The art gallery was very interesting and the architecture is beautiful although it’s not being maintained and is starting to deteriorate badly. It was fun sight seeing and for lunch we had our first of many ham and cheese sandwiches here. We have since come to find that in most quick-food places here you can get ham and/or cheese on your sandwich or “pizza”. It will be a while before we’ll be wanting ham and cheese again.
That night we stayed up to go to the disco and experience the night life. Very interesting people watching and some really good salsa dancing.
On the 17th we hired a car for the day to take us to Trinidad, a beautiful old Spanish colonial city about 80 kilometers east of Cienfuegos. It was a beautiful drive, part of which went right along the south coast and made me excited for some of the cruising to come.
The town has lots of bars and restaurants all of which seemed to have live music. There was really good, traditional Cuban music everywhere we went. The place we had lunch had a father and son with a guitar that were delightful. Later we had drinks at a place with a seven piece band and they were wonderful. On their break, we bought them a round of drinks and they all came to join us at the table and signed the CD’s we’d gotten. It was so much fun we’re planning on going back there with the boat on our way back from the Gardens of the Queen.
On the 18th we hired another car for the trip to Havana. It was almost as inexpensive as the three of us taking the bus and much better with the driver, Roberto’s, personality. Johne had gotten a hold of Lamar before we left and he’d arranged for rooms in a nice, very clean(but no toilet seats), private home for us. Tim had arrived in Havana the night before so we spent the afternoon visiting with him and some friends of his. That evening we all (Tim, a couple of his friends, his wife, Lamar, Bob, Johne and I) went out for dinner.
The next day was our exploring-Havana-day. It’s a very interesting city with lots of great history, and again, great but deteriorating architecture (you can‘t walk on some sidewalks because of the danger from pieces falling off the buildings). We started by having the taxi drop us off at the grand national theater, where the Cuban national ballet performs. As luck would have it, they were scheduled to be performing that weekend so we got tickets for the performance the next night. After that we started to wonder in search of breakfast. We found a little place with a great coffee menu that had sandwiches (ham and/or cheese). After breakfast we decided that the horse drawn carriages with a guide would be a good way to start seeing the city. The first carriage driver to accost us with his sales pitch was Leonardo, who turned out to be a jewel. He spoke very good English and knew the history of the city very well and he, and his horse Picasso, gave us a fantastic tour. After a couple of hours we invited him to have a drink with us by the end of which he had invited us to his house for dinner. He called his wife to check with her and she said, just bring the beer. We continued our tour which ended with Leonardo taking us to the bus station so Capt Johne and I could get our tickets back to Cienfuegos, then we went back to the house to rest and get cleaned up before dinner.
Dinner at Leonardo’s, with his wife Milagro and their daughter Briana, was one of the best things we’ve had the opportunity to do in Cuba. They opened their home to us with such warmth, and everything, from the food, to the conversation, to the Cubano café, to the dancing in the living room, was awesome.
The next morning Bob’s had to fly out, so after breakfast (omelets. Would you like ham and cheese, or cheese and ham?) we sent him off to the airportL. Johne and I did some exploring around Marina Hemingway and met an interesting Canadian guy and had a nice visit aboard his boat. We also spent some time after lunch visiting with Lamar. He gave us some good insight on “gift” giving with the local fisherman we might meet while cruising. Then we had a little rest before it was time to get ready to go into town for the ballet. We had eaten lunch late and we were just planning to have coffee and dessert before the show. When we got to the restaurant by the theater that had been recommended to us, there was a 40 minute wait, but the maitre’d, after starting to give us directions and realizing it wasn’t going to work, walked us about three blocks to another restaurant (now that’s service) that had very good coffee and something like a tiramisu.
We returned to the theater with great excitement to be getting to see a world class ballet company (Capt Johne’s first) perform. When we got the program we found that they were doing excerpts from Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Coppelia, Don Quixote, Swan lake and an original piece choreographed by Alicia Alonso (the director of the company and a legend in the ballet world) for Cuban National Ballet. For those of you not familiar with ballet, that’s a lot of good stuff. Before the lights dimmed, the audience started to clap and, looking around to see why, we saw Ms Alonso herself ( now over 90 and blind) making her entrance to “watch“ the show. I was surprise by what a thrill it was just to see her. The performance was absolutely phenomenal. All the pieces were wonderful. The corps work was excellent, and the couple that did the Don Quixote pas de deux were as good as any dancers I’ve ever seen anywhere. (There were, however, no seats on the toilets in the Grand National theater.)
We got up early to catch the bus the next morning. Not a bad trip back. The seats on the bus weren‘t uncomfortable and reclined so it made napping easy and the bus did have a toilet seat.
When we got back to Cienfuegos we started doing prep to get underway. The rest of yesterday afternoon and most of today were spent getting all the laundry done, going to the mercado for produce, topping up the water tank and re-securing things. We’ve moved out to the anchor and are ready to do some cruising.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Jan. 6 2012
Greetings,
Second Star is floating again. We splashed on Tues the 3rd and the new bulbous bow is doing its job. She’s floating back up where she should be on the water line. We’ll be doing a short sea trial today to see how it does underway.
This weekend we’ll be heading out for more adventures. Internet access will be iffy for a while but I’ll be reporting on all our fun when we get back to technology. There should be lots of good fishing, snorkeling and diving, as well as some fun sight-seeing.
Be well and live your dreams,
Susie aeon
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