Wednesday, August 16, 1995 - Curaco

Paddled in to Sarifundy's Marina and signed up for their services. It isn't a marina in the usual sense of the word. They don't have slips, but they have restrooms, showers, and a laundromat. They only charge 4 guilders (about $2.25) a week to use their facilities. The laundromat is expensive: 7 guilders to wash, 3 guilders to use the dryer for half an hour. Showers are 2 guilders. Drinking water is .02 guilders a liter, about 5 cents a gallon. They have snacks, beverages, and supper. Mail can be sent to and from there, and they sell postage stamps. There's a phone, a fax, a copier, and a tiny quantity of marine supplies. Four mornings a week, minibuses come by to take people to supermarkets. There's no charge for the bus! We rode the minibus this morning to a supermarket that was much better than the one we went to yesterday. It was better lighted and had a number of items we couldn't get at the other store. Still nothing to compare with the stores on Aruba, though. After we returned to the boat and ate lunch, Sarifundy's called us on VHF to tell us Customs was there, so Roy paddled in with the ship's papers, but it took him about 15 minutes to get there, and they had already left! I gathered up a load of wash and took it in. That turned out to be a mistake. Both washers were in use, but one was nearly done, so I thought I'd just have a small wait, but it turned out someone else was ahead of me. At that point, I should have returned to the boat, and if I'd known it would take an hour to wash and an hour-and-a-half to dry, I would have, but I thought I could get through by six, so I waited. Struck up a conversation with a very talkative woman named Barbara. It was "It's-a-Small-World" day. Turned out we had both been born in New York City, we had both lived most of our lives in California, we had both lived for several years in Santa Clara County, we were both computer programmers, and we were both ham radio operators with the same prefix, KC6. We had even taken our exams at the same place! It was well past four when I finally got started on the wash, and long after five when I got the stuff in the dryer. It took three go-rounds of half an hour each to get everything dry. By the time I'd folded the clothes and gotten them in my Royak, the sun had set. The night was pitch black, and I was wearing my dark glasses. Had a lot of fun trying to find my way back to the boat. Kept bumping into things that I couldn't see until I was right on top of them. It's a very easy trip in daylight, but at night it's confusing. Luckily, there wasn't much wind. Once I located the fuel dock, I was oriented and could see a tiny light in the distance that had to be the Jofian, so I paddled towards it, kicking myself for being so dumb as to start the laundry so late. It would be after eight o'clock by the time I reached the boat, and then I'd have supper to cook. When I was almost to the boat, a tiny fish jumped into my Royak, but I soon scooped him up and tossed him out. What a pleasant surprise when I reached the boat -- Roy had already cooked supper! I didn't have to do anything but eat and relax.