After a couple
of brilliant dives at Bonaire we left for Curacao on 4 March, in order to
pick up Dennis, Heidi and Stefan and to say good-bye to Heine.
After a small confusion of how to get to Willemstad, which
is the capital on Curacao, we found out that we had to deal with the
biggest motorized floating bridge in the world. The bridge had to be
sailed ashore before we could pass and make an inward clearance at
Curacao. Now it was time for Heine to take a taxi and hit for the airport.
Heine we hope that the last 10-12 dives compensate a little for our motor
troubles at Trinidad. The motor problems were rather annoying for Heine
because he only could stay 2 months and 1½ month was spent in the engine
room at Trinidad. But Heine it was great fun to have you here and you are
welcome at any time- that is if the canteen at Varde barracks will give
their permission. Thank you for a great sauce!!
The last three on board, René, Rikke and Sennels saw the
carnival at Curacao- but it is told (by two of the onlookers) that too
many of the participating girls wore too many clothes. But in all it was a
very nice show, which lasted from 3 pm to 9 pm, the whole town was
rejoicing.
Willemstad is nothing but industry and cruise tourism so we
moved the boat further south to Spanish Water- a large and well protected
lake.
On 8 Marts in the middle of the night Dennis and Heidi
arrived at Curacao airport where René had been waiting for them the whole
evening. The two carried more than 110 kilo luggage and gear for the boat.
Heidi is our new hand who was keen on the idea of crossing the Pacific as
soon as Dennis called her when he was back in Denmark.
We waited at Spanish Water for two days more because
Stefan, also our new hand, arrived on the tenth and then we were ready to
go further west.
We spent the time on diving, coziness and visiting ruins.
During one of our dives at a steep coral wall we saw a huge green moray,
130 cm long and a head at the size of a football. Dennis was watching
Stefan and saw that he suddenly started fluttering with his arms. Stefan
had just caught sight of the moray only a few cm from his vital parts. We
were all called in order to get the sight of this formidable snakefish.
On 13 Marts we could celebrate a hand’s birthday for the
first time. It was Heidi and we celebrated with newly baked buns and hot
chocolate. The editorial staff sends the best wishes.
From Spanish Water Curacao was explored in laps from bay to
bay and then finally go to Aruba, the most western of the Dutch Antilles.
The trip to Aruba was terrible, big waves and heavy current. But
nevertheless we arrived safely at Oranjestad early in the morning on 19
Marts. Here we were offered to stay at the free port as long as we wanted
without paying. We were given a hearty welcome by the administration and
we start repairing the stay- Dennis had climbed the mast and seen that a
couple of the strands in the wire were broken. It took about a whole
working day with 8-10 siestas to fix because...it is so hot!!
The next day we took a local bus to the northern point,
California Lighthouse and tramped a little. It was too hot so we went to
one of the splendid beaches to rest and swim. It was great to leave the
capital, which was invaded by tourists- mainly American cruise tourists.
On our way back we shopped in an extremely well assorted
supermarket. We filled two shopping carts and afterwards a taxi to bring
it to the boat. Back on the boat “Technique Team 1” started a complete
overhaul of our mobile generator. Strangely enough “The Dream Time”
once again succeeded. After this repair the generator worked as new.
We were cleared on 21 Marts and arrived at a wreck on the
northwest point at 4.30 pm and quickly we cast anchor. A little later two
diving teams and a snorkel team were in the water. The wreck, a German
cargo boat (Antilla) from the Second World War with a length of 120 m, was
lying from 1m above water till 16m under water.
On the 22 Marts in the morning we celebrated Stefan’s
birthday with a lot of well-prepared pancakes with syrup, Nutella and jam
and warm chocolate and then we jumped into the water again with all our
gear on our backs. This time the wreck was examined thoroughly. On our
Aqua- top-10 list this wreck got a 10. It was fascinating to see the big
coaster down there almost intact, and not to forget the life around it. At
times it was so filled with fish that the solar rays did not reach the
wreck.
After our second dive it was time to leave Aruba and hit
for Isla Grande on the east coast of Panama. At first our plan was to go
to the San Blas islands but because the Cl2PO3
resistant mosquito lives there we changed our plans. We did not wish to
lie on the Pacific trembling with malaria.
Nothing much happens here so far from land. But on the 25th
we saw very close to the boat a helicopter with an open side door and
inside a camouflaged soldier with a machinegun. After we have waved in a
funny way it disappeared again. A little later 3 navy vessels appeared in
the horizon. One of them came real close as if it wanted to check who we
were. We saw the American flag and we were a little relieved. We had on
purpose made a good distance to the coast of Columbia in order to avoid
impertinent ships- read pirates!!
Sport is left out this time but we shall return next time!
With seaman greetings, Dennis