Linda and Tom in Venezuela

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Hola, Kim's sister Linda and her husband Tom made it safe and sound to Venezuela. They stopped overnight in Caracas then headed to Barcelona. When they got off the plane, they were looking a little pale....but we fixed that!! They both left tan and/or red :)

We didn't stay in the Marina long, just long enough to get provisions, then headed out to Isla Tortuga. We didn't have much wind but were able to sail part of the way. We ended up motor sailing the rest of the way. Linda and Tom were great crew and we arrived in one piece. We stopped at the first anchorage to overnight and then we planned to head out to Los Tortuguillas. The first night there, however, we had some unexpected flying guests. They covered the boat right about dinner time. Captain Mike had a hard time trying to keep them off the steaks that were barbequeing. Kim was glad to be a vegetarian that night :)

It was very hot out there this time of year and it was hard to keep Linda and Tom inside the boat. Unlike the Marina where there is air conditioning, when we are on the hook we spend most of our time in our outside living room - the cockpit.

Linda and Tom quickly adapted to boat life. Linda spent most of the time in the water, it was very HOT!! Tom on the other hand found it very relaxing and took the time to nap a bit. After breakfast we usually relaxed a bit, explored, played Bocci Ball on the beach, then finished the evening with Dominoes. Mexican Train Dominoes was our game of choice. Tom did catch a huge tuna of some sort on the way to Los Tortuguillas. It was enough for a couple of steaks and Kim had a good dinner :). He had a very rough time hauling this one in.....it took quite a bit of effort.




Los Tortuguillas was very nice and we had the anchorage to ourselves most of the time. The fisherman would come in the day then head out at night. The anchorage had many mosquitos so we ended up anchoring as far from shore as possible. We did a lot of snorkeling and Bocci Ball playing here. Tom had quite a technic and quickly dominated the game. Linda enjoyed steering the boat at anchor and Tom and Mike had far too many tequilas. We did buy a lobster tail here from one of the fishing boats and it was enough for the four of us.

We spent the majority of the time at Los Tortuguillas then headed back to the first anchorage to overnight before coming back to Bahia Redonda. As we were exploring the island we found a little posada and restaurant on the other side of the island. (Their website is www.ranchoyemaya.com). We were sooo excited to get a very cold cervaza and a fish lunch. They are located right next to the airport but we did not find this place when we were here with Kristopher. It seems that they tried to advertise once on the other side of the island where the boats are, but someone came and cut there sign down. I guess there is another place at the end of the island that has a restuarant too, and didn't like the competition. We never found that place. Anyway they don't advertise anymore, just hope for word of mouth. There are other bungaloes located in the area where people stay. We waited in the lounge while the chef Joaney, prepared a Pescado lunch. Whole red snapper, breaded and deep fried with papa fritas (french fries) and ensalada (salad). For desert we had peaches and cream and then some coffee for Tom. It was a great lunch with a great atmosphere and fantastic service and company.


It was expensive because they have to fly everything in, but it was delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The cervazas were cold and the service was excellant. The manager Nelson shared much about the business and the island with us.


Captain Mike was very happy after the meal. Here is a picture of Nelson, Kim, Joaney and Linda. They had quite a few dogs and a really cute cat on the island. The dog that looks like he is growling is actually smiling. Nelson tells him to smile and he does. The dogs eat lizards and fish, and snack on dog food. The cat also eats fish and whatever else she can find on the island. They seem very happy and well cared for. Ciao, Mike and Kim on Ka'imi

Kristopher, Isla Los Tortuga and Venezuela

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Hola from Venezuela. We are still here in Bahia Redonda Marina. Kristopher arrived tired but happy.









The first thing he did is exchange some money...he is now a millionare..in Bolivars that is, the exchange rate is 2,500 B's per $1.00 US dollar from the black market, which we use. The regular rate is currently 2,100 B's. But everybody uses the black market, it's just another business here. It is very hard to carry around all that cash, but you really shouldn't use your credit or debit cards here and forget about travellers checks - nobody accepts them. He is now safely on a plane home. We had a great visit and a wonderful trip to Isla Los Tortugas. Kim's sister and her husband come in about two weeks, when we will set out again for Los Tortugas. Until then we plan on taking it easy and doing just a few simple boat projects.

We left the Marina at 12:00 midnight heading for Los Tortugas. We passed through the pirate islands very quietly. When we set our sails, we had the pleasure of seeing dolphins at our bow and under our boat, they were luminiscent in the dark sea. We couldn't capture it on film, or the wild thunderstorms that were directly in front of us.

At the first sign of light Kim and Kristopher threw their fishing lines in and we caught a huge Mahi Mahi (Dorado) about 30 lbs were guessing. Kristopher fileted it and we had Mahi Mahi for 2 dinners and lots of sandwiches - it was FANTASTIC. The Mahi Mahi is such a beautiful fish. Before we pulled it in it was bright yellow in color, then it turned white with blue dots and lastly green.

We arrived at Isla Los Tortugas about 10:30 am, and were very happy to jump into the crystal clear water. Los Tortugas is basically deserted. It does have seasonal fisherman that stay on the island and an airstrip that brings visitors for the day. It also has a few National Guardia on the island and for the first time we had them actually come on our boat. Everything went well, they just wrote our names down on a piece of paper and said welcome. Our first anchorage was Playa Caldera and the water was clear but not much coral, so the snorkeling was not that great. We saw a catamaran that had gone aground on the reef. We don't know what happened yet, but we did hear distress calls on the radio a few weeks earlier. They were trying to get someone from the mainland to come out and help. The boat was stripped, but we do not know the complete story of what happened. The beaches at Playa Caldera were long, white and hot. They were great for walking. We had to stay an extra day and night in Playa Caldera because a Tropical Wave came through with some high winds. We had a long, somewhat sleepless night, because the wind shifted and our boat would have headed right into the reef if our anchor had not held. By morning the winds were still high, but in the light of day, handling any situation is much easier. We had a kick back day and headed out for Las Tortuguillas the next morning.

Las Tortuguillas (The Little Turtles) are two deserted islands with great beaches and GREAT snorkeling. We did run into some bugs on one of the beaches that made us run back to the dinghy and head out to sea. We only spent a day here because we had to get back, but are looking forward to returning to this anchorage when Kim's sister comes to visit.

When we came back to the mainland, we took Kristopher to see a little of the city. We had an incredible lunch where Raul (taxi driver), Mike and Kristopher pulled a fast one on Kim and hide when she went to the restroom. When she came out all the waiters and manager were standing there asking her to pay the bill - and they didn't speak much english.....They stood laughing behind the wall......aye ya ya.....

Ciao Kim and Mike on Ka'imi

Bahia Redonda, Venezuela

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Hola everyone, we are here in Bahia Redonda Marina in Venezuela.

We have been doing projects on the boat and getting ready for our company coming to visit. Kristopher, Kim's son, is coming to visit August 18th and he will be here until the end of August. Then Linda and Tom, Kim's sister and her husband are coming to visit the last two weeks in September. We are going to go to Los Tortugas, an island about 62 miles off the coast of Venezuela, with both of them so we can share some photos of that island and the visit. We are very excited to get out and sail, we are missing the traveling life :)

For now we thought we would show you some pictures of the Marina and the area we are in, Bahia Redonda Marina. There are several Marinas in the area, Bahia Redonda is the first one, right on the other side of the breakwater. It's the largest facility and has a capacity for 150 boats up to 100 ft. long. We have a swimming pool, a restaurant and bar, a little store, a laundry, marine stores and sail makers all on-site. Just outside the gate are local eating places where you can get fish and chicken.

The canals were man made and are lined with big houses and townhome complexes. We take the dinghy through these canals to get to the mall and grocery store.

The bad news here, is that we are not able to buy fuel for 25 cents a gallon. In order for us to get fuel we have to use american dollars and pay about $1.90 dollar a gallon and drive the boat to Puerto La Cruz. This is crazy because we have a fuel dock about 200 yards from the boat. This is supposedly because big foreign flagged ships were coming in and filling up with fuel then leaving and selling it. Somehow the little pleasure cruisers are getting caught up in it. We're not sure though, someone is making money on the american dollar. Anyway, we have managed to get some fuel through a different source ...it's all about bribery in this country, from the Policia, National Guardia and well, everybody!!

Better news - Kristopher has arrived. Here is a picture of him at the airport with our taxi driver Raul. He will be here for a couple weeks. We are heading out tomorrow night to Los Tortugas where will spend some time snorkeling and exploring the different anchorages. The beaches are supposed to be white sand and really beautiful. The only people living there are seasonal fisherman, we will get fish from them if we don't catch any on our own.

Here's a picture of Kristopher with his girlfriend Amber and her dog Pu Pu.




Ciao, Mike and Kim