Saturday, August 19, 1995 - Curaco

Finally got the rest of the laundry done. This time, I went over at ten in the morning and was through by two. While the clothes were washing, I took a shower and washed my hair. Roy came over with me to dispose of the trash. We didn't bring the ship's papers, because we didn't think Customs would be working on a weekend. Guess what -- there they were. No one had called us on the VHF. They agreed to wait while Roy paddled all the way back to the boat for the papers. Took him nearly an hour. It's a relief to be all cleared in. Now we can relax and enjoy. The wind was blowing fairly strong this morning, but by afternoon it was calm again. Just another tropical wave passing by. We've had one tropical wave after another. They're not water waves; they're waves of air pressure. Usually they're quite mild, maybe 15 to 20 knots of wind, but once in a while a tropical wave develops into a tropical depression, and occasionally a tropical depression develops into a tropical storm, and sometimes a tropical storm develops into a hurricane. All that from a gentle little tropical wave! After lunch, I paddled around while Roy dove. He found that the bottom is soft mud; anything falling on it would immediately disappear from sight. The anchor tines were straight up; only the chain was holding us. After adjusting the tines, Roy put out a second anchor. He also set a buoy with two lead belts, so we'll know if the boat changes location. When he was through, he paddled over to where I was, and we went for a pleasant paddle out the channel past Santa Barbara Beach. Saw some guys paddling -- ugh -- Ocean Kayaks. They're cheap, imitation Royaks, but they're very popular; we see them all over the place.

Friday, August 18, 1995 - Curaco

An old Dutch skipper who's familiar with Cura‡ao told me about a very large supermarket that has everything under the sun, so I decided to check it out. Roy was still expecting a call from Customs, so he stayed on the boat. I took the bus into town, went to the Post Office to mail my postcards, went to an ATM to augment my moolah supply, picked up some free newspapers at the Tourist Information Office, and then returned to the bus terminal to take a minibus to the market. Saw a minibus with a sign, "Schottegat Rond," which is what I'd been instructed to take, but before getting in, I showed the slip of paper with the store's name to the driver and asked her if she went there. Cura‡ao isn't as totally dedicated to tourism as Aruba is, so fewer people speak English. Apparently, the bus driver didn't. She said something to me in Papiamento. I couldn't understand what she was saying, but I gathered from her tone and expression that she either didn't go to the supermarket or she didn't have the remotest idea where it was. It's a good thing I had endeavored to learn a few words of Papiamento. Feeling very stupid, I managed to come up with, "No ta bai?", which isn't even a real sentence. It just means, "No go?" Yet my feeble little attempt to speak Papiamento made all the difference. The driver's eyes lit up, she smiled and said, "Si," so I got in the bus. She took me right to the market for 1.75 florins. As I'd been told, it was a very large, well-stocked market. I even found our favorite cereal, that I hadn't been able to find since leaving Aruba, so I stocked up on it. Filled two shopping bags with groceries, found a bushalte, and caught a minibus back to Punda. On the way, I saw a large, nice-looking Kentucky Fried Chicken, a Burger King, and a more attractive McDonald's than the one downtown. Also saw a billboard saying there was a Denny's next to the Holiday Inn. As in any other large city, you have to get out of the downtown area to find the nice stuff. Ate lunch at McDonald's, bought some insect repellent at a drugstore, and returned to the boat. Customs still hadn't called.

Thursday, August 17, 1995 - Curaco

Very light, variable breeze today. Kept shifting from South to East to North and back again. I had intended to do another load of wash today, but the calm water was too inviting. I paddled around, exploring some of the little islands and coves. When I returned to the boat, I updated the log, wrote postcards, and then went paddling again. Roy spent most of the day on the boat, reading, relaxing, and waiting for a call from Customs, which never came, so finally he went paddling, too.

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.

Tuesday, August 15, 1995 - Curaco

Woke up to a beautiful world. Now that we're out of that ughy Willemstad, we can enjoy Cura‡ao. We set the date for the annual stockholders' meeting of Jofian, Inc., for September 8. We have to give ten days' notice, and it takes a couple of weeks for mail to reach the U.S., so that was about the earliest we could schedule it. It was supposed to be held June 1st, so we're very late. I spent most of the morning printing the notices and getting them ready to mail. We paddled to the isthmus just in time to catch a bus to town. It was one of those fancy trolley buses that are used in resort areas to take tourists sightseeing, but it was being used as a regular bus. Went to the post office and mailed the notices. Then we ate lunch at McDonald's. Stopped at the Tourist Information Office to get a copy of Cura‡ao Today, but they only had old ones. Got a bunch of brochures. Walked two or three miles to the Pita Supermarket that had been recommended. Passed a lot of old, abandoned, tumble-down houses, even though this was right on the waterfront and should have been prime property. It's a shame. The supermarket wasn't much, but it was better than the one downtown. When we came out, we didn't see a bus stop ("bushalte"), but there were a couple of women standing on a corner, so I asked them in Papiamento if that was a bus stop and they said, "Si," but apparently they meant an autobus stop. Several autobuses stopped there and the women left in one, but the autobuses don't go to Caracas Bay, where we need to go. When a big bus came along, we waved frantically, but it didn't stop, so we walked a couple of blocks until we saw a yellow bushalte sign. We had to wait nearly an hour for the next bus, so it was pretty late when we got back to the boat.

Monday, August 14, 1995 - Curaco

I walked up to Fort Nassau in the cool of morning. It's on top of an even higher hill than the one I climbed yesterday, so I had another great view of the harbor. Then I went into town to try to find a decent grocery store, but the only one I found had absolutely nothing I wanted. The Tourist Information Office was open by then, so I got a map and found out where there's a super market and a laundromat. The area we're in is called Scharloo. It's the "old residential district," with emphasis on the "old". There are nice areas in Willemstad, too, of course, but I don't like it as well as Oranjestad. Willemstad is much larger. The island of Cura‡ao is more than twice the size of Aruba both in area and population. It lacks the charm of Aruba and the cheerful, happy people. There is ugliness here and destitution, which didn't seem to exist on Aruba. Between town and our boat is a dock where Venezuelan boats bring vegetables and fruit and other wares that they sell in open-air stalls. I was walking through it when I saw Roy coming towards me! That was lucky. We went to McDonald's for breakfast. On the way back to the boat, we bought a few potatoes, oranges, and bananas in a circular market. I'm glad I've learned a few words of Papiamento; the grocer didn't speak English. He told me the amount to pay in Papiamento, and I actually understood what he said! We took our papers to the Port Captain's office. She filled out a little form and said we didn't have to go to Customs. Only took a couple of minutes. Easiest place we've ever cleared into. A French sailboat tied up in front of us. Its skipper came back from the Harbor Master's office and told Roy the Harbor Master wanted to see him, so Roy went over there. No problem. He just said we had to leave here by two o'clock, which we were planning on doing anyway. Had no problem motoring to Spanish Water. Lovely sunny day and light wind. The engine didn't overheat. The entrance to Spanish Water is very narrow and hard to locate, as it is unmarked, but when we finally saw it, it was easy to enter and the water was plenty deep. Most sailboats anchor in front of the yacht club, which is just to the left of the entrance. We went to the right and had a huge area of the bay all to ourselves. This bay is nearly as large as Schottegat, much prettier, and just as well protected. We anchored in 31 feet of clean water, surrounded by green hills. There is a phosphate stripmine nearby, but it doesn't look too bad. There are a number of attractive houses on our windward side, but to leeward is open country. We can easily paddle to the isthmus where the bus stops. As soon as we'd eaten lunch, we got in our Royaks. Roy paddled to the yacht club, but I went in the opposite direction, followed the shoreline for quite a ways, and also explored some tiny islands. Just as I was about to return to the boat, here came Roy, so we returned together. I went for a little swim, and then we rinsed ourselves off with fresh water. Yesterday evening when we were Royaking, the latch broke off the hatch cover on my Royak. Roy said he could put it back on, so as soon as I got my Royak on the boat this evening, I handed it to him. A few minutes later, he stood up, carefully holding the latch in his hand. He tripped or slipped, reached out to steady himself, and plunk, there went the latch in 31 feet of water. It's a good thing my Royak will function without it. This is such a lovely place to be! It's quiet and peaceful, we have complete privacy, we don't have to worry about bumping into other boats or their bumping into us, the air is exactly the right temperature, the water is delightful. We sat on deck after supper and appreciated.

Sunday, August 13, 1995 - Curaco

While Roy slept, I took a little walk around. Went up a high hill and had a great view of the area. Then I walked to an ATM. Was happy to discover it not only accessed U.S. banks, it even offered me a choice of U.S. dollars or Dutch guilders. The ATM in Aruba only gave me Aruban florins. After breakfast, we rode the 11:30 bus to Spanish Water, which is a large bay. Unfortunately, we found ourselves on the wrong side of it. We could see a lot of large sailboats anchored out, but where we were there were only small, shallow-draft boats. Roy didn't feel like walking, so he sat on a bench in the shade while I tried to walk to the yacht club and marina to get information. The road didn't follow the perimeter of the bay but went out into the country. I walked about three miles and didn't find either the yacht club or the marina, although I could see the water and sailboats. I came to some sort of beach club and talked with a Dutch girl, but she had no idea where the yacht club or marina were. I would have kept going, but my stomach started yelling that if I didn't put some food in it right away, it would tell my teeth to bite a big chunk out of my arm, so I turned around and headed back towards Roy and the bus stop. I was almost there when I saw the bus coming, so I flagged it down and got on. There sat Roy. He had eaten a delicious but expensive bowl of fish soup at a little restaurant, so his tummy was happy. We got back to Punda at five past two and immediately headed to McDonald's. It was closed for siesta! First time I ever heard of a McDonald's taking a siesta. The one in Aruba didn't. Went to the boat and ate some lunch. After three, we walked to Baskin-Robbins. Roy ate two scoops of ice cream and a scoop of sherbet, and I had a super luscious banana split with three scoops of ice cream, strawberry and pineapple toppings, whipped cream, nuts, and maraschino cherries. Haven't had anything like that in years. It was delicious! So now my poor tummy is happy again. We spent the rest of the evening Royaking around the Schottegat, which is the name of this huge commercial harbor. I think it's at least as large as San Francisco Bay. It took us several hours to explore one little corner of it. It's very active, too; freighters, tankers, container ships, and automobile carriers from all over the world keep going in and out. Also barges. We saw a Dutch naval vessel, a lot of small boats, and even some nice sailboats. Saw a large old sailboat from St. Thomas that had once been a beautiful, expensive boat but is now sinking. It still has thousands of dollars' worth of equipment on it that no one seems to be interested in salvaging. There were also some rusting old ships and barges.