5 bays, Columbia

This has got to be one of the most magnificent anchorages we have been in and no other cruisers. The bay we anchored in is Ancon Nenguange. We had intended on joining Serene on more bay over but we encountered a series of problems, one the wind continuing the build on the nose ,two, water in the fuel, again. We had a very easy sail the first day and had to motor sail through the night then by morning the wind started to shift and build. We kept going slower and slower. We were running out of daylight so we decided to tuck in one bay early. Wow, what a sight with the mountains coming right down to the water. Serene joined us here while i drained more water from the fuel tank again. We found out this is a day park that the Colombians travel to from the city for the day to hang out at the beaches and snorkel and lay in the sun. Even with these people here we hardly noticed they were there.

84NM to Cabo De La Vela 22 hours sailed, 125NM 30 hours the last 5 were painfully slow, sailed 12.

Monjes Del Sur, Venezuela

We had heard about this little island and thought it would be interesting to see it ourselves. It has no vegetation and the only people on it are around 20 guys from the Venezuelan navy. It was once 2 islands that they joined together with rock and gravel then they ran a rope from one shore to the other in the small bay where visiting boats tie up to. We arrived at dusk on a Saturday and thought we would clear in in the morning. The navy wanted to do it then so we had to go ashore to get them as they did not have a boat to come out to us. Yep, a navy with no boat,something for Hugo Chavez to work on. They were very friendly and we got through the paperwork in a short time. In the morning i got the radar down and installed the new motor and belt that Trudy brought back from home. We were hailed from shore and invited to join the guys for breakfast drinks and then lunch. The guys had been up all night playing cards and drinking, (ya, service men, the same all over) and wanted to show us around there rock. They are stationed on the island for 45 days at a time and it has to be extremely boring as not many boats come through here. We got to go up in the lighthouse and get some great aerial shots of the island. They served us lunch and we played a quick game of domino's before saying so long and heading for Columbia.

55NM sailed in 13 hours

Oranjestad,Aruba

This was more of a necessary stop as there were people flying in and out. Serene's crew, Tony was going home and Trudy had to go home to visit to see her sister Bertha who was very ill with cancer for some time who passed  away during her visit. Her return was hard as she continued to morn her loss. 

Aruba's clearance procedure is rather difficult as there is a different place for yachts than there is for cruise ships. The island has no real culture, its just a island dourest destination for Americans. While Trudy was away i pretty much just sat on the boat and took care of things on board. When she returned i was more than ready to get going. Unless its casinos and bars there's not much to do here.

84NM sailed in 15 hours

Spaanse Water,Curacao

We had not even dropped our anchor before the coast guard boarded us to begin clearing us in. Seems to be the practice here as we seen them doing it to each boat that came in the harbor. This is not the same clearance procedure to clear us into the country just coast guard clearance. We still needed to go across the island to the port captain, immigration, and customs, all in different locations spread out all over town. Town is very cool, very Dutch in the architecture. We stocked up on some great cheeses here and in general restocked the groceries.

36NM sailed in 6 hours