Rushing “Home” — May 17-25, 2016

All winter long, we intended to stay in Bonaire until the “last minute”, returning to Curacao to leave the boat and then arriving in Bismarck, North Dakota just in time to celebrate July 4 (Independence Day) with friends and family.  But then we got a call from sister Zona saying that Mom was showing fatigue and shortness of breath.  Doctors were talking about excess fluid around the heart and lungs that was making it difficult to breathe and presumably putting strain on the heart.  Mom’s condition initially improved after getting an antibiotic for what was presumed to be pneumonia.  But then she relapsed, and saw more doctors.  There was talk of congestive heart failure.  She underwent a procedure to remove fluid from around her lungs:  a needle was inserted between her ribs to effect the extraction.  Slight improvement, but still a lot of fluid.  One doctor was advocating surgical installation of a “permanent gate” that could be used to periodically extract fluid.

We panicked, and left on May 17 for Curacao on the same day that Mom was to see a second batch of doctors.  When we arrived in Curacao we learned that the news was good:   a visit to a heart doctor revealed that the problem was not congestive heart failure — the heart is strong and healthy.  The diagnosis was that a virus had settled in around the heart and caused the inflammation that caused the fluid.  The malady is called pericardial edema, and it is not age-related.  A drug was prescribed to help flush the excess fluid, and the prognosis was that in two or three months she would be totally recovered.

So we took a week to get the boat ready to be put on the hard.  We flew out of Curacao on May 25 and arrived in Bismarck to find a chipper Mom regaining her strength and on the mend.

Here are a few pictures Barb took as we arrived at Willemstad.  (More text below pics.)

Getting the boat ready to be left on the hard is always intense, and this year was no exception.  But we found time to walk several times up over the hill to downtown Otrabanda and Punda, the west and east side of Willemstad.  We always enjoy the extensive and colorful fruit and vegetable market, and we had lunch one day with Kim and Doug (Gabrielle), who had proceeded us to Curacao.

In Trinidad TT2 is hauled with a lift, but in Curacao with a trailer.  This year, Pierre was driving the tractor while Rocky was in the water to watch that the lifting pads were correctly positioned.  Pierre either didn’t see Rocky’s signals, or ignored them, because one of the stabilizing fins was damaged by the trailer.  When we left Curacao it was still in the process of being repaired, and TT2 would be moved to the secure yard afterwards.

Granddaughter Kristen Visits — Bonaire, May 8 – 15, 2016

Granddaughter Kristen — daughter of Danielle — flew in to visit us from Georgia.  She was on a brief break between Spring and Summer sessions at Georgia Southern University, and was determined to get some quality down time, which primarily meant relaxing and reading to her, and meant “activity, activity, activity” to Barb.  They are both strong-willed women, and so it was interesting to watch the process of reaching an accommodation during the week.  We began with our traditional tour of the southern end of the island, supplemented with a preliminary stop to a vista northeast of Kralendijk:  Seru Grandi.  Then we followed our familiar counter-clockwise route through the south part of the island:  past the salt works and the kite surfing and white and red slave huts, and around to the east end where we expected to enjoy lunch at the marvelous Lac Baai restaurant.  Alas, they were closed, so we made do with a much less appealing snack at Jibe City, where there were surprisingly few wind surfers.  And then around the bend to the north side of the mangroves, where we have lately had great luck in getting guests close to flamingos.  Alas, not this time.

On another day, the girls disappeared for hours in town, including an extended visit to a beauty shop for a facial.

Barb did little diving while Kristen was here, opting instead to snorkel with her.  On one such venture, I dove beneath them and got pictures of one of Barb’s activities: cleaning the bottom of the dinghy.  Barb also got some nice pictures with her GoPro of Kristen snorkeling.  And of course we attended the Wednesday hamburger night at Zazu’s and Yhanni’s Friday arepa night.  We watched some movies and played dominoes enough times that each of us won at least once.  We enjoyed having Kristen with us, and hope she feels sufficiently recharged and ready for more studies.

Between Guests — Bonaire, April 18 – May 8, 2016

On April 23 we joined a Park-sponsored hike to the top of Brandaris Peak, the highest point in Bonaire (241 meters). We gathered at 4 pm at the Park headquarters, drove through the Park to the trailhead at 4:30, and were back to the vehicles in the dark before 8 pm. There were about 20 hikers, including Roberta & Mike, (Celilo) and Barbara & I.  (Bill & Colleen (Dolce Vita) had already gone on to Curacao.) The low part of the hike is an easy walk on a path; the high part is a use-your-hands-too scramble.  Beautiful view from the top — even on a cloudy /dusty day.  But it was a little dodgy getting down in the dark.

On April 25, Roberta and Michael, following in Bill & Colleen’s  wake, headed to Curacao too. Leaving us the last ones standing.

Bonaire: Audrey Visits — April 4 – April 17, 2016

Barb’s sister Audrey came to visit for two weeks in early April.  Rather than withdraw with her from our social circle, we simply included her in our activities.  We think that worked well since she enjoyed our friends and they enjoyed her.  She dove with us some, and she joined us at the Health Club for our morning exercise.  She was with us on our long post-exercise walks and especially for the hike up to the top of Seru Grandi.  We had burgers on Wednesday nights and arepas on Friday nights and had lion fish pizza at Pasa Bon.  We had ribs at Bobbejaan’s and splurged one night at the Mona Lisa restaurant.  And she was there for the dinghy float we organized for one afternoon/evening.  Some fourteen dinghies gathered behind Tusen Takk II.  Everyone had their own drinks, and nibblies to pass around and share.  After we had all gathered and gotten acquainted for a bit, we let loose from TT2 and the  assemblage drifted off toward Klein Bonaire.  There was a fairly good breeze, but the distance is considerable.  By the time we approached the shore of Klein, it was getting dark and time to break up.  Great fun and good company.  Which is also a fitting description of Audrey’s visit.

The Fun Continues — Bonaire, March 16-April 3, 2016

The fun just keeps happening for Tusen Takk II on Bonaire. It has been a special time this season. We have very much enjoyed the diving, of course. But beyond that, we have been more than busy socializing with good friends Bill & Colleen (Dolce Vita), Mike & Roberta (Celilo), for a time Jack & Jo (Bodacious), until they left, and new young friends Simon & Hadley (Ouma).  On a typical morning TT2, Dolce Vita & Celilo gather at the Bonaire Health and Fitness Club for about 90 minutes of aerobics and strength training, followed by a good long walk that takes us past either a hardware store (with free coffee) to the north or to an excellent grocery store to the south (with a surprisingly generous “breakfast” of coffee, juice, ham-and-cheese sandwich and a croissant).   Often a dive late morning or early afternoon. And then “hamburger night” on Wednesdays, “arepa night” on Fridays, and occasional dinners at one of the fine restaurants. Mexican Train fairly often on one or another of our vessels. And then there are the special events to attend, such as a kite contest or a “Voice” contest at a local nightclub, or rendering assistance to an intern doing night-time research along the shore on box jellyfish.

Bonaire: John & Ann Visit — March 8 – 15, 2016

On Tuesday, March 8, we were joined by John & Ann Taylor for a visit on Tusen Takk II.  We had met them originally in late 2006 on our way down to the Caribbean.  They were aboard their sailboat “Living the Dream”.  We shared a number of eastern and southern anchorages, including the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, the USVIs, Dominica, Grenada, Trinidad, Los Testigos, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, etc.  A few years ago they returned to their home in Punta Gorda, FL, and so they are officially CLODs (Cruisers Living on Dirt), although they have retained ownership of their boat and keep it in a canal in the their back yard.

They exemplify the kind of enduring friendships that occasionally occurs among cruisers, an aspect of cruising that can be deeply satisfying.

They had been to Bonaire on a previous occasion, but had not been able to visit the north end of the island due to muddy (!) conditions in Washington-Slagbaai Park.  So on one of the days of their visit they rented a pickup and headed north.  We stayed in Kralendijk, since we had just recently been to the park with Kari & Rasmus.

We did a fair amount of diving together — on the first day with rented and borrowed gear since that bag had unaccountably been sent to Aruba even though all their other luggage had arrived correctly.  An aside: when they went to the dive shop to settle their bill, they were not charged for that rental.  They were told that the policy of Dive Friends is to not charge if dive gear was misplaced by an airline — just one of the many reasons why we are so happy with the Yellow Submarine branch of Dive Friends.

John and Ann quickly became involved in the active social life of our Bonaire cruising friends:  Tuesday night Sundowners aboard s/v Flash, Wednesday cruiser’s burger night and Friday Arepa night and a fortuitously-scheduled wine tasting on Saturday night at the combination Ikea-and-wine shop located in several adjacent units of a storage facility.  Ten dollars gets each participant a glass (not just a taste) of six(!) different wines.  Transportation was provided by Ron & Nancy in two pickups.  The trip back to the dock was particularly interesting since there were 26 of us squeezed into the two vehicles.  Ron and Nancy are Americans who own property on the island and who divide their time between Bonaire and Illinois.  When they are on-island they often join in socializing with what they call the “boat people”.

We could not ask for better guests than John & Ann.  Of course, as former cruisers they could anticipate what and when something needed to be done and always offered help.  But beyond that, they were consistently low-key and relaxed and just plain fun to have around.  It was a good visit.

Bonaire; Kari & Rasmus Visit — February 18-March 4, 2016

After spending a few days in Curacao, Norwegian friends Kari & Rasmus joined us on Tusen Takk II in Bonaire. Rasmus had done some diving while in the Norwegian Armed Forces, but that was, um, a few years ago. So he decided to start afresh and get PADI certified so that he could dive during their visit. He finished the “book” portion of the process back in Norway by completing a computerized set of on line lessons, reserving the “wet” portion of the process for after he arrived in Bonaire. Our dive shop, the Yellow Submarine branch of Dive Friends, Bonaire, would conduct the lessons, but they were fully booked for a few days, so while we waited we rented a car and toured the south end of Bonaire.

Regular readers will recognize the list of our stops: the Salt Pier and the Salt Ponds and the massive Salt Piles, the White Slave Huts, the Red Slave Huts (now a pretty yellow), the Kite Beach kiteboarding area, the Willemstoren lighthouse, the multi-colored obelisk, the Lac Baai restaurant (always a delight), the Lac Baai windsurfing area, and the mangroves on the north end of Lac Baai where so often (including this time) flamingos can be seen.

On the eve of his scuba lessons, Rasmus mentioned that he had a sore throat and some chest congestion. He resolutely began the lessons anyway, but after a day and a half had to suspend them and visit a local doctor, who diagnosed the malady as a virus that only time could heal – no medicine to take other than lozenges for the throat and something to lesson his fever. In the course of time he returned to the doctor and was cleared to resume the diving lessons. We celebrated his certification with toasts of Prosecco.  Alas, Barb caught the bug and spent several days out of commission.  Kari and I somehow escaped.

Rasmus and I did a fair amount of diving (with Rasmus diving like a pro), and we all (after Barb recovered) did a fair amount of walking. We joined cruising friends for a number of dinners at local restaurants, and the four of us played a number of Mexican Train domino games in the evening. Both Kari and Rasmus caught on quickly and became ruthless players.

On their last full day with us, we rented a double-cab pickup truck and toured the north end of the island, including a long and bumpy drive through the Washington-Slagbaai National Park. On our last stop in the Park, Barb and Kari and Rasmus cooled off with a nice snorkel.

Rasmus and Kari were ideal guests: relaxed, cordial, helpful, and fun to be with. We look forward to our next time together.

 

Bonaire (Under the Sea) — January 11 – February 22, 2016

Some of my underwater photos taken during this time period.

 

Bonaire (On Land) – January 11 – February 22, 2016

Some of the events during this time frame:

Back to Bonaire — December 14, 2015 – January 10, 2016

A few days after arriving back to Bonaire I discovered while recommissioning my underwater photography equipment that disaster had struck:  there were several cracks in the underwater camera housing.  I had noticed no leaks on my last dive six months earlier, but now I dared not use the housing.  I knew that Ikelite had discontinued that particular housing because all of their enclosures are specifically built for specific brands and models of cameras, and my DSLR (Nikon D200) had just gotten too old and out-of-date.  It still took perfectly fine photos, of course, but Nikon had moved on to other models and Ikelite had followed.  So I was crushed.

Expecting the worst, I sent off a note to Ikelite, and to my overjoyed surprise learned that they will rebuild a cracked housing for a very reasonable price, at a fraction of the original cost.  So I made plans to send the old one in via returning guests (more about them below) who had not even arrived yet.  But that plan would leave me without a housing for months and months of our Bonaire stay, since the second set of guests coming in from the USA would not be until mid March.  Whimper.  And then a neighboring cruiser said that he had to return to the USA for a very brief time.  And so I sent off for a new Ikelite housing for my newer Nikon (D300s), a camera that has also been superseded, but sufficiently recently that a few new housings for that model are still available.  The cruiser returned with my new housing, and I have been taking pictures under water ever since.

But I have gotten far ahead of myself.  During the times covered in this post, I had no housings and so took no underwater pictures.

So what did we do?  Well, our good friends Bill & Colleen (Doce Vita) were already here, and so we socialized with them and we all joined a local gym.  We settled into a pattern of morning exercise often followed by a long walk through the neighborhoods and occasional afternoon dives.  We celebrated my birthday on Dec. 19 at a nice waterfront restaurant (It Rains Fishes).

On our former stay in Bonaire, we were often frustrated by the lack of attention paid to maintaining the moorings used by cruisers here at Kralendijk.  (Anchoring is forbidden, and we all pay $10/day for one of the 43-or-so moorings here.)   Harbour Village Marina had the contract, but maintenance was erratic and slow.  And so we were pleased to see that the maintenance has been taken over by the Park Service, which has been attentive and proactive.  (The waters out to a depth of 200′ encircling the entire island is a Marine Park.)

We celebrated Christmas Eve out for dinner with Bill & Colleen, and then had them over to the boat the next day for a late-afternoon full-fledged turkey dinner.   But before that, Kerstin & Staffan (Balance) had us over to their boat for a delightful sampling of many Swedish holiday dishes.  What a nice experience.

On New Years Eve day we went out for an extended walk through the village, and learned that the local businesses have a tradition of hosting a barbecue  for their employees, followed by a fireworks display.  We happened upon one such display hosted by the local phone company, and it was, um, memorable.

On New Years Eve evening we went out for dinner at Cuba Compagnie with Bill & Colleen.  Later we picked up Nancy & Ron (Americans who live on the island some months of the year) and the six of us retired to the upper deck of TT2 to watch the spectacular fireworks:  180 degrees of sustained explosions and brilliant bursts that lasted for HOURS.

January 3-10 Jon & Cathie Ringen joined us aboard TT2, and brought along bunches of things we had ordered from the States.  Jon took at Yellow Submarine a refresher course for diving while they were here; he and I did some dives together.  We did a car tour of  the south part of the island and also got as far north as Rincon.  The visit was relaxing and marked by long talks into the night while Jon and I solved most of the pressing problems facing civilization as we know it.  By the time they left, my new housing had arrived (via the cruiser) and so the shipping box was used to pack up the damaged one so they could get it to the States for mailing to Ikelite.  It was a good visit; we look forward to our next time together.