Written February 14thI never get tired of looking at mountains, rain forests and waterfalls. Travelling by bus along the flat plains, passing rice fields and banana plantations add to the appeal of the mountain back drop. Unfortunately we missed getting a photo. I quess I never get tired of the variety nature bestows on us. We are back in Venezuela!
But let me backtrack a little here. We arrived in Curaçao, January 27th and anchored amongst a hundred other boats in Spaanse Waters aka Spanish Waters. The main city is Willhemstad and the downtown waterfront has been restored and is apparently just like Amsterdam. The Dutch influence is obvious.
There’s a unique Pedestrian Pontoon Bridge that spans the river entrance to Santa Ana Baai and the main harbour in Willhemstad. It opens on demand to allow ship traffic through (even with people on it)
Queen Emma Bridge
The beginning of February brought the celebration of Carnival. Each island in the Caribbean have their own unique version of this festival.
On February 7th we had an excellent 25nm downwind sail to Santa Marta Baai, a protected little inlet along the NW coast. The next day we rented scuba gear and did 2 shore dives off Sunset Waters Beach. It was really neat, complete with a small plane wreck in 25 feet of water. Then we continued along the “wall of coral” in 70 – 80 ft. Erin found a huge lobster @ 90 ft. It had to be at least 10 lbs. Along with the usual reef fish, we saw a 4 foot Tarpon and Erin saw a frogfish. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the seahorses that were supposed to be in the soft coral. It was difficult to see as the coral wavered back & forth with the surge of water. We are definitely HOOKED on Scuba Diving.
Sailing back to Spanish Waters we had to make 15 tacks in order to sail the 25 nm. Then we rented a car & did a mini land tour. Geographically and culturally, Curaçao and Bonaire are very similar. Curaçao has a population of about 150,000 people in contrast to Bonaire’s 14,000. Curaçao has more bays & inlets along the lee shore, so there is more opportunity to explore by boat.
On February 7th we had an excellent 25nm downwind sail to Santa Marta Baai, a protected little inlet along the NW coast. The next day we rented scuba gear and did 2 shore dives off Sunset Waters Beach. It was really neat, complete with a small plane wreck in 25 feet of water. Then we continued along the “wall of coral” in 70 – 80 ft. Erin found a huge lobster @ 90 ft. It had to be at least 10 lbs. Along with the usual reef fish, we saw a 4 foot Tarpon and Erin saw a frogfish. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the seahorses that were supposed to be in the soft coral. It was difficult to see as the coral wavered back & forth with the surge of water. We are definitely HOOKED on Scuba Diving.
Sailing back to Spanish Waters we had to make 15 tacks in order to sail the 25 nm. Then we rented a car & did a mini land tour. Geographically and culturally, Curaçao and Bonaire are very similar. Curaçao has a population of about 150,000 people in contrast to Bonaire’s 14,000. Curaçao has more bays & inlets along the lee shore, so there is more opportunity to explore by boat.
View from inside the cave at Boca Tabla, Shete Boka National Park, North Coast of Curacao.
Yet again, it was time to move on. The 20-25 knot east winds with frequent gusts to 35 & 8-12 ft waves were not going to allow us to sail to Venezuela anytime soon, so we tied Rhiannon up in a marina and hopped on a plane to Valencia, Venezuela, an hour’s flight. From the airport we took a cab to the bus station and jumped onto a luxury bus for a 6 hr drive to Barinas, were we took a hotel for the night and enjoyed a BarBQ Chicken dinner for Valentines Day. Our plan was to break up the bus ride to Merida so that we could travel the 5 hrs through the Andes Mountainsin the daylight.
Yet again, it was time to move on. The 20-25 knot east winds with frequent gusts to 35 & 8-12 ft waves were not going to allow us to sail to Venezuela anytime soon, so we tied Rhiannon up in a marina and hopped on a plane to Valencia, Venezuela, an hour’s flight. From the airport we took a cab to the bus station and jumped onto a luxury bus for a 6 hr drive to Barinas, were we took a hotel for the night and enjoyed a BarBQ Chicken dinner for Valentines Day. Our plan was to break up the bus ride to Merida so that we could travel the 5 hrs through the Andes Mountainsin the daylight.
I never get tired of looking at mountains, rain forests and waterfalls. Till next time,
Miriam.
Pat & Erin say Hi!
Miriam.
Pat & Erin say Hi!
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