We're back!

OK fans, we are back in the tropical Caribbean after a month away in the UK and Switzerland visiting friends and family.

A month really wasn't long enough as we were constantly running around, sourcing spares we couldn't get locally, catching up with people we hadn't seen for 18 months, and organising all those little bits of business that it is impossible to arrange from afar.

In the Marina 'Laid up'

Curacao Marine was a good place to leave the boat while we were away. On arrival at Curacao the entrance to Willemstad is very picture postcard as the floating bridge is opened to allow boat traffic in.

Under the high level bridge and we turn right then right again and head for the little marina and boatyard missing the reef that extends 50m or so from the shore. Fortunately the reef is marked with a line of floats so we easily spot it.

 As a working boatyard in the corner of a very commercial port and a branch of Budget Marine on site, everyone is either hauling out or working on their boats prior to the start of the new sailing season here. We are the only Brits, mainly Dutch and German flagged boats with a couple of Swiss. The talk is of where we are going next, some are heading West for Columbia and Panama others North to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica or the Virgin islands. There is little distraction with regard to social life as there are no cafes bars etc surrounding the boatyard so no distractions with 'Happy hours', Mexican train Dominoes, Jazz sessions, or diving!

Our harbour views!

 

 

In spite of the very industrial surroundings we have seen iguanas, an osprey fishing, 3 kinds of heron, green parakeets, toupials, several different doves, mockingbirds and a raptor flies high overhead from time to time. There are also many fry in the water, we see bigger fish occasionally and the pontoons piles are covered in sponges and tube worms and we hear snapping shrimps when down below.

We wonder what has grown on our bottom after 2 months here!

Our list of jobs seems to be getting shorter although we keep finding things to do. Before we went away we 'laid up' in the water, now we are doing all the 'going afloat' and deferred jobs ready to go sailing.

On left of the photo below is our original jobs list. With all the crossings out of jobs done and new ones added it was looking a bit of a mess. One morning we decided to write a neat short list - the one on the right!

This could only happen on a boat!

Our plans are to hire a car and tour the island so we see some of it before we depart. We will probably go back to Bonaire next week before heading North.