With Elsies departure we began a rapid provisioning of things we had been told you could not get in Cartagena, and of course anything you might want in the San Blas as almost nothing is available there. Three days and a couple of thousand dollars later we were ready to depart. It looked as though the wx was once again going to smile on us with a decent window for the crossing to Aruba. We departed Spanish Waters right after 1st light and went NW up the coast to Santa Cruz Bay, our jump off spot. It is 25 miles closer and so cuts the trip by 3-4 hrs. Upon arrival we found our friends on Katana already anchored there. They too were headed for Aruba. Santa Cruz is a small but quite pretty bay enclosed by coral and rock walls. There is a very nice beach on the east shore and clear water if you're up for snorkeling. We did not do any exploring as we were going to depart at about 4am so as to arrive by noon. We had thought to get some sleep, but we had forgotten it was New Years Eve. Even here in this remote location the locals were up setting off fireworks all night long. So much for sleep! We pulled the hook at 4am somewhat bleary eyed, but ready to go none the less. It was very dark under a star filled sky as we eased carefully out of the bay and made it to open water without incident. Lights from nearby towns twinkled to the left and right as we got further out to sea. With the coming of the light we set sails and settled in for the trip.

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After David and Nikkie headed for Ca we had about 3 weeks to hang out and prepare for a visit from Linda's mom. She arived on the 16th 0f Dec at about 8pm. we rented a car and went to meet her at the airport. She arrived tired, hungry and happy to be there. We drove back to the fishermans marina at Spanish Waters and loaded her into the dinghy and puttered out to the boat. There was time for a little conversation before the snooze monster attacked and sent us off to bed. Since we still had the rental car we decided that the first order of business would be to show Elsie the island and Willemstad. After playing tourist we decided to head out to Klien Curacao for a night on the way to Bonaire. Once again the wx cooperated nicely and we had a very pleasant run out o Klien. We anchored in the same sandy spot as last time and were soon snorkeling in the clear waters above the coral. Next, Linda took Elsie ashore to visit the lighthouse and the wrecks on the windard side. They had a long walk on the beach and then called for the taxi (me) to pick them up. The next morning we pulled the hook and raised the main sail and heahed off to Bonaire. We had a very nice sail about 3/4's of the way and then had to motor in the final couple of miles. We picked up a mooring at the end away from the bars and then went ashore to show Elsie the town. As is usually the case she liked Bonaire far better that Curacao. It has a quaint relaxed atmosphere that is very soothing. Elsie spent some time sitting on the sugar scoop feeding the sargent major fish that tend to swarm around the boats looking for a handout. After 2 days and nights it was time to head back to Curacao so Elsie could catch her flight home. This time it was a downwind run all the way so we shook out the spinnaker and took off. About 6 hrs later were were entering Spanish Waters once again. It was a good trip and every one enjoyed themselves, and Elsie can truly say she's done a spinnaker run in open water.

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We are headed up to Santa Cruz Bay on the NW corner of Curacao to position ourselves for the crossing to Aruba. It is a small pretty bay just made for short stays. We tried to anchor outside twice, but too much coral so we headed in to shallow water and a sand bottom. Ok, that's better and also prettier. We will be leaving at o'dark thirty so I'm taking a close look at our position and the route out of here. It looks like all I need to do is aim for Mermaids' anchor light and then go around her as we clear the bay and all will be well. It was New Years eve and the fireworks went on all night, even here. At 4:30am we pulled the hook and hauled ass to Aruba. It was a good downwind sail and the seas were moderate as promised. We made good time and arrived in Barcadero to check in at about 12:30. We eased her up to the dock with lots of fenders out to keep us off the big ugly black tires. A couple of Venezuelan crewmen from one of the vegetable boats came over and caught lines for us. The wind was off shore so it helped to hold us off the dock and the tires. Check in was smooth and easy and took all of about 30 minutes, as we had to wait for immigration to return from another job. We then headed up to the anchorage just north of the airport. There were about 5 other boats there and we slid past them to the shallow water closer in and dropped the hook. She bit on the first try and we were in Aruba. Good sand bottom that held us well, even when it blew hard. Aruba reminds me of Ft Lauderdale. High rise hotels, IGA supermarkets and US restuarant chains to include Hooters. The best part for us was the supermarkets where we could get things we hadn't seen in four years. Of course we paid a commensurate price, but hell, no one put a gun to our heads. Our sole purpose here was to be 55 miles closer to Columbia when a window opened for the trip. In the meantime we did some sightseeing with our new friends on Conari, Mike and Ineka. It doesn't take long to see the whole island and we did. Then we did some more provisioning as we intended to be out in the San Blas for several months and there are things you can't get in Cartagena. There is almost nothing available in the San blas. Therefor we spent a small fortune trying to get it all before we left Aruba. Ah well, we'll eat good while we're out there. Now all we need is a wx window!

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