The last time I wrote we were trying to get out of Grenada but our anchor was fouled. Well, it turned out that we had unsuspectingly dropped anchor on top of a sunken, 8 ft wreck, now occupied by several large fish and a six ft. shark. It probably went down during hurricane Ivan and the locals never bothered to raise it or mark it. At first light (6:00AM), O dived down to survey the damage and began the arduous task of slowly untangling us, it was quite a process. He would free dive down, about 30 ft.,checkout how the chain was wrapped, figure out which way we had to move, swim back to the boat, move her, get back in the water and repeat the process. It took a good hour and a half to get Indy free. FINALLY we left Grenada, ironically, just as the cruisers net was ramping up.
In true J & O form, not without a few hiccups...novice, STUPID stuff, which I am embarrassed to even write about. There was some miscommunication regarding hatches, which is pathetic considering we were held up leaving Grenada because of the last open hatch episode. The short of it being, all the hatches above the beds port/starboard were not properly dogged down and the beds got soaked when we took some waves over the bow. It was even more frustrating because I had just changed the sheets in both cabins the day before!!! ....lesson learned...for the hundredth time. Going forward all hatches will be my responsibility.
Because I was pouting about the hatch debacle, it took me a good ten minutes to appreciate the fact that we were having a fantastic broad reach sail, humming along at about 9/9.5 kts. WOOHOOO.... The trip turned out to be a beautiful sail the entire way. We had about 15/20 kts breeze, calm seas, sunshine and fish! Yes, you read correctly..... we caught two Mahi mahi!! I hardly recognized them. When they were on the line, it took me a minute to figure out that I had to come up into the wind and slow the old girl down to reel them in(as opposed to backing off the motors). This may seem obvious but it had been quite a while since we have had a fish while under full sail. It was a great trip. We were all excited to be on the move, beginning the next leg of our journey. The Eastern Caribbean was finally behind us.
We arrived in the Testigos at night and it was dead, black dark. I would have been nervous pulling in, but O was fine. He really does keep his cool in those situations. Our friends on Zen were anchored already so they gave us the run down via the radio(anchor holding conditions, how many boats etc) and turned on some of their cabin lights so we could identify the anchorage. We were anchored up at 8:00, lights out 9:00 with sky full of stars and a wonderful breeze blowing throughout the boat.
We woke on Friday to a bit of a roll. Tom from Zen and O cleared in with the coast guard while I did the vinegar and water "after trip" wipe down. It is aways exciting when you wake up in a new place, make a coffee and go up on deck to survey the new land.
The Testigos are hilly, arid islands known for fishing and LARGE sand dunes. There are little shacks that dot the shore, people don't seem to live in the village we were anchored off. It looked more like a fishing station. The fishermen go there to repair their boats, make traps, dry fish etc, I think the majority live on neighboring islands.
That afternoon, after settling back in and getting things in order, we joined Zen on a hike to the dunes which were on the other side of the island. The precarious and often non existent goat path that we were attempting to follow was a little much for Sam, so poor O carried him the entire way on his shoulders which took it's toll on O's aging back. In yet another one of our 'not the smartest thing' we all were hiking in flip flops! Duh....
After some wrong turns and many thorns in our soles, we finally came to the sandy opening where we met up with Zen, climbed over the crest and took a step back...it was awe inspiring. We were standing three hundred feet above the sea on the biggest sand dune I have ever seen. It was stunning. The only noise was nature... ocean, wind and birds. All I could think was 'yeah, this is why we are cruising'. The kids went running full force down the dune while O and I stood there in awe. The beach was littered with shells, sea glass and all the other little odds and ends the sea deposits on its shores. There was not another house, power line or sign of civilization for miles around. It was serene and peaceful, just what we were looking for after too much time in the over populated/built-up Eastern Caribbean islands.
After about an hour of exploring, it was getting dark and time to head back. Because the path back was a bit dodgy, Tom suggested we swim the coastline to our dinghies. Monique spotted a large piece of styrofoam that had washed ashore, which we used as a float for my backpack and Sam at times. We arrived back safe and sound, had dinner and fell into bed. A great day was had by all.
The following day Monique, Cammi and I swam ashore to check out the village while the guys took the kids in the dinghy. There were about three people in the little fishing post, but there were plenty of boat things..outboards, little boats up on the hard, fish traps, chicken wire for the traps etc., there was even someone's pet monkey tied up to a tree. It was pretty cool. A primitive, fully functional fishing village....all fishing, all the time.
After swimming back , the kids from Zen came over, the boys played legos while Cammi and I chatted. After lunch Cammi and I swam (in what I now refer to as the aqua-expressway) to Zen to round up Tom and Monique for a snorkel. As we were swimming to Zen we swam past a French catamaran, we exchanged pleasantries and the conversation turned to fish/catching/cooking etc. I asked how they cook their fish etc. He and his two sons were just sitting down for lunch and he invited us on board to try some of the fish they were having. We thanked but declined and kept swimming. As we were hanging in the water waiting for Tom and Monique, the French guy came up in his dinghy with a plate of fresh fish, complete with toothpicks for easy eating. He put them on the swim step and told us they were "just an aperitif". Delicious..the fish was uncooked but marinated in olive oil, lemon and spices..yumm. As we swam back we thanked him for his generosity and I told him that that was the first time I have ever been served an aperitif while swimming. I just kept thinking.....this is cruising.
The snorkeling was ok. The coral was colorful but there were not a lot fish. O and Tom think it was because the French guys had fished the reef dry..but that's another story.
The following day Cammi and Cole joined us on an excursion back to the sand dunes. On the beach a makeshift shack had been put together by others that had come before us. We all scoured the beach looking for odds and ends to add our touch. We made a bottle tree, a coconut sailboat, table and other little decorative touches which will hopefully be enjoyed by the next group to stumble upon this little slice of heaven. We named it Casa Del Mar.
In our quest to cozy up the casa, we didn't think about the time or temperature of the beach. The walk back was one for the books. The sand was hot..I mean on fire hot(and we were all barefoot, naturally), further exacerbated for me by the fact that I had to carry Sam on my shoulders (O's back was tapped out). Yikes. It brought tears to your eyes. We all ran from tuft of grass to tuft of grass. At one point Cole ran ahead and jumped onto a rock declaring it "A little slice of heaven" (funny hearing it from a nine year old) but he was right on target. After a very quick run back up the dune and down the other side we dove into the water and soaked our fried feet. You cannot imagine how hot that sand was.
That afternoon the same crew went to the island across the bay to check out the other larger village. It was extremely primitive. There were a few people working on the school(for little kids) which begins in October and the other people were just kind of hanging out. There was a little playground, courtesy of Chavez and new building materials for the school...courtesy of the government. I noticed that there was no church on the island which is unusual in a catholic country. However, I don't know how many people live there full time. The people were all quick with a smile and wave. I felt totally comfortable and welcome.
Seeing these primitive towns and villages reminds me of a conversation my grandmother and I often have regarding circumstance of birth. We do create our own destiny given the right tools, however much of it does come down to circumstance of birth. If you were born on an island in the middle of nowhere, in the bush in Africa or any third world poverty with little education available the chance of making it out are pretty bleak. O and I are able to live the life we have because we given the opportunities/tools that allowed us to chose our path. We are fortunate. Education opens doors and creates opportunities we take for granted in our culture. The fact that there is a library in almost every town in the US! Anyway, I could go on and on, but imagine how different the world would be if everyone had access to education and healthcare....hmmm...so much is circumstance of birth.
Anyway, it feels wonderful to be back out cruising again. I was in a rut in Grenada. There were too many cruisers, it felt like a floating condominium complex. I kind of withdrew and really questioned whether I wanted to continue cruising. The cultures of the Caribbean, with the exception of the French Islands, are all very similar and each anchorage is full of charter boats or other cruisers doing the same milk run. I was just burned out. However, pulling out of Grenada and leaving the lifers behind felt liberating. It was exhilarating going to a new part of the world with a new culture, language, landscape, currency and set of expectations. I am LOVING cruising again. These little villages, the pristine landscape without a hotel or car in sight are why we went cruising. Hanging out, exploring, using our stores, going to bed early, excited for the next day..what is around the corner. I feel rejuvenated and happy.
It has been great fun cruising with the Burgess family on Zen. Tom, Monique and their two kids Cammi(11) and Cole(9) are very similar to us. They are easy going, laid back and always game for a new experience. It has been a joy traveling with them and sharing our adventures. They will also be crossing the Pacific so you will most likely be hearing about them quite a bit.
Next stop: Las Blanquillas...I can't wait!