Klein Curacao, Bonaire and back to Curacao

Off to Klein Curacao

Finally a weather window (a period of days with less wind and lower sea heights), arrived, which enabled us to set off for Bonaire.

We motored out of Spanish Waters and with the main sail up we ploughed into the seas and winds heading to Klein Curacao. This trip really wasn’t as bad as we had anticipated we found that instead of a current against us we had one behind us, plus we had enough of a wind angle that the main was able to help as well. So we managed between 4 – 5 knots most of the 13 miles.

Klein Curacao

Klein Curacao is a very small, barren, island that is totally flat, with an ancient, lighthouse in the centre and the wreck of the oil tanker, Maria Bianca Guidesman. Along the anchorage side of the island there is lovely beach.

The lighthouse

We went ashore in the dingy and walked along the beach and then to the lighthouse. At the lighthouse we climbed the tower to the top. Unfortunately the old, lighthouse is in need of repairs, it is literally falling apart, however the lighthouse is actually quite scenic in its neglected state. At the top you can look out across the island and see quite how desolate an island it is.

We had a lovely swim at the beach and returned to Aeeshah for the evening.

Hike around the whole island

The following day we decided to hike around the whole island. Ethan, John and I set off following the coast. Once we had left the sheltered beach side – western side – we encountered mounds of plastic trash that the sea had regurgitated onto the rocky shore. Seeing the mounds of plastic trash was quite depressing, you realize quite how much trouble the earth’s environment is in. You have to wonder if maybe it is too late for man to save the planet from himself. Anyway we continued our shoreline walk enjoying the beach and rocky west coast shoreline. Along the way we also saw many wrecked boats, sailboats and fishing boats, which were in pieces bearing witness to the powerful winds and seas in this region. I guess we are about a third of the way around, nearly at the shipwreck when we could see squall approaching from the west. John and Ethan, who were, naturally ahead of me, started going across the land towards the lighthouse. I continued on a ways, caught up to where they had been when the rain started. It was quite refreshing getting showered off. When we met up a little while later it was decided to return to Aeeshah for lunch and continue with the circumnavigation after lunch.

That afternoon John and I left Ethan and Rhianna on the beach while we continued the round the island trek. We continued past the shipwreck along the eastern shore. There is really nothing there but mounds of debris of all types that has been washed ashore. There are small beach areas, huge piles of ancient corals; it is rocky and quite difficult to travel over. Plus the nesting seabirds really didn’t like John, they followed him the whole way kicking up a fuss. It was a long but enjoyable scramble over the shoreline of Klein Bonaire. We returned late afternoon, the kids were back on the boat, showered and asking for snacks, having spent the afternoon swimming at the beach.

Bonaire

The next day we set off to Bonaire. The day was quite lovely, but there were large clouds in the distance. As we sailed the wind became quite fluky changing direction and force, a sure sign of weather ahead. Sure enough as the clouds loomed ahead the wind rose and all hell broke loose on the water

–a squall.

Before we knew it the wind was blowing consistently hard, the top gust being 42.2knots, the seas were way up and the rain was pelting down. Oh and just to keep it really exciting there was thunder booming nearby. We had reefed the jib, the main already being reefed, but we had to head into the wind, bring in the jib and ride it out facing the storm. The radar showed that the squall was about six miles across and we just had to ride it out. Ethan and Rhianna were naturally quite scared/worried, Chico was freaking out, Rhianna hugged Chico and both she and Ethan just hung on. The weather did pass, we didn’t suffer any damage, all was well and we gratefully sailed into Bonaire. A passage to remember.

We had 2 weeks in Bonaire, Ethan and Rhianna were signed up for the open water diving at Yellow Submarine for the 28th – 31st. We started our explorations in Bonaire by snorkeling along the shoreline. The water clarity is amazing, the fish of every type are by the 1,000s, it really is beautiful underwater in Bonaire.

Touring Bonaire

We hired a truck for a few days to be able to tour and enter the National Park, the Washington Slagbaai. Our first day was spent checking out the salt ponds and solar salt production area. As John and I had previously visited this was for the kids benefit, but was still enjoyable. We also visited the kite surfing bay, Lac Bay again. This time around it was sunnier and so very much more scenic.

Donkey Sanctuary

Then we went to the Donkey Sanctuary, a first for us all. This sanctuary has approximately 600 donkeys that. It cares for. They roam the 400 acres, are fed and well cared for. The males are castrated to control the population. However there are mothers and nursing foals, so I’m guessing there must still be some males roaming around. Rhianna and Ethan enjoyed petting the donkeys, especially the foals. Ethan also spent time petting iguanas! We then drove around the sanctuary. You follow a one way trail so once started you have to finish. The donkeys must be well used to visitors as they crowded around the car sticking their heads in the windows. They must have been very disappointed that we didn’t have any carrots. At times we had a dozen or more crowding the windows. It took quite a while to get around the sanctuary and its 600 donkeys.

Washington Slagbaai National Park

Our second day out we drove to the Washington Slagbaai National Park. We were there to hike to the highest peak in Bonaire

– Brandaris a mere 784 feet,

which meant we had to take the short route around the park missing most of the scenic highlights as it is again a one way system. No matter, we drove to the trailhead and set off. It took us a good hour, that felt like hours to me, to climb to the top and it was not easy. The trail starts off through the thorny, rocky dry terrain, and then it winds uphill over rougher ground with loose rocks and sand. Up over boulders, up cliffs of huge tumbled boulders and on. It is more of a rock climb or a scramble over rocks where you really have to be careful not to slip and fall. The wind was blowing so hard at points on the way up you really had to be careful not to be blown off balance on the narrow shelves. In fact I found myself crawling at certain stages. The scenery was stunning! We relaxed at the top for half and hour, checking the view while being blown by a very strong wind.

The decent was a lot quicker at 50 minutes, but quite tough as the loose rocks threatened to give way under our feet. Ethan rated the climb as a 9, Rhianna an 8 for difficulty. From there we drove to the closest bay,

Playa Funchi to eat our picnic lunch.

While we were eating we saw many lizards and iguanas begging for food and being fed by the few other visitors there. We all ended up feeding them some of the rice snacks I had brought along. The kids really got into feeding them; Ethan was petting the iguanas quite easily.

From there we followed the one-way system stopping at the different scenic outlooks, salt ponds with flamingoes, and beaches along the way back. There is a good reason for the one-way system; the “roads” are dirt, rocky tracks through the brush. They are narrow with drop offs and steep up hills and down hills. As we missed over half of the park we hope to visit when John’s brother and niece visit. It certainly is a beautiful area, which is full of surprises.

Ethan and Rhianna had their three and a half day diving school. They would be dropped off at 8:15 and picked up at 5:00 each day. During this time John and I dove off of Klein Bonaire each day. We would leave the dingy attached to our mooring and head off to dive. It would have been nice to have the dingy with us but we didn’t want to loose our mooring next to Aphrodite. We had been asked by the owners Jean and Barbara, a French couple to watch Aphrodite while they were away. They had to fly out, as Barbara’s Mama had died, very sad for her. Anyway we managed without the dingy. I was just about able to get down the ladder with all the gear on.

Underwater in Bonaire

Underwater in Bonaire is amazing! It is alive with countless varieties of fish and corals. We dove the first day at a site called Mi Dushi the deepest we went was 52ft, and we were down for 40mins, it was very lovely, beautiful, reef that was alive with fish.

Our second dive was Sharon’s Serenity; the deepest we went was 52ft, for 40 mins, a beautiful dive, which we both would repeat.

The third dive was my favorite. Maybe because I was feeling more comfortable or maybe because the area had trenches with sand making it brighter. It was called Carl’s Hill and our deepest was 52ft, for 45 minutes, very lovely, I rated it at 5/5.

Ethan and Rhianna passed their PADI open water diving!!

So we went out for a congratulatory dinner. With only a few days to go we went to Klein Bonaire for a dive. Well Ethan and John dove while Re and I snorkeled and explored the shoreline.

Back to Curacao

PHOTOS HERE —–>> Curacao with Gavin, Katie and the teens

Time had flown we had to set off to Curacao as Gavin and Katie were arriving. The day we sailed was just about perfect for the downwind journey. We had a pleasant sail; I was even able to read! We were visited by dolphins along the way, which is always a happy occasion.

Once again we anchored in Spanish Waters section B. Katie and Gavin arrived and were staying at la Maya Beach just down the road from the fisherman’s dock where we dock the dingy. We had hired a car for their 1^st few days.

Willemstad

Our first outing with them was a visit to Willemstad. There we walked around, visited the market, bought fruit and

had a dreadful lunch at a place alone the waterfront. However while having lunch we were able to watch a massive container ship pass along the waterway, the floating dock swing open and the ship head out to sea. It is quite fascinating to watch.

Westpunt to West Point Divers

The next day we set off for Westpunt to West Point Divers. Previously on our explorations we had seen a great beach facility where one could dive the Alice in Wonderland dive site. We had a lovely lunch at the little restaurant there. Gavin rented a couple of sets of gear, (we already have 2 sets), and they suited up. The kids/teens were very competent getting at their gear sorted, with Rhianna being so small a number of people were looking impressed with her competency. They jumped off the dock and down they went while I kept Katie company on the beach off We had rented a lovely set of deck chairs which Katie and I relaxed in and then we snorkeled. The divers returned after having a wonderful dive. We all chilled for an hour and then they dove again, Katie and I swam and relaxed until their second dive was finished, the gear stowed and it was time to go.

One evening we had a very nice evening at the cruisers dinner held at The Pier. Gavin and Katie met a number of our fellow cruisers and friends.

Another day was spent having a snorkel at Tugboat Bay and then at Directors bay. Both places are great snorkeling sites with many fish and excellent coral.

The second dive was planned for the Sunday. Gavin hired gear from Curious to Dive. We loaded up the car with 4 tanks, all the dive gear, wet suits, masts, towels, clothes and us 6 and headed to Director’s Bay which is close by. There they all geared up and waded out before disappearing below the surface. Katie and I drove back to Tugboat Bay to meet them, as the plan was a drift dive along the wall. Apparently it was a great dive and the underwater caves and topography were really cool. It was at 75-foot dive, which lasted 40 minutes. Katie and I swam, met them, helped them sort out the gear and such.

Ostrich Farm Rhianna rides an ostrich!

We visited the Ostrich Farm, had a tour and Rhianna rode an ostrich. The tour was interesting. This is the largest ostrich farm outside of South Africa. They kill one ostrich per week, which is only for the food served in their restaurant. They also collect the eggs, the fertilized ones are hatched under heat lamps and the others are served as food. Ostriches live to over 70 in the wild. The ostrich is really not a very clever bird. Rhianna wanted to ride one so we went off with 2 fellows who got one of the ride-able birds. They put a sock over its head and led it to the truck where they assisted Rhianna to jump onto its back. She had to hold the wings and cling on while they ran the bird off down the track. They then all ran back again. It really was hilarious to watch. Re was thrilled!

That evening Gavin and Katie came to the boat for a swim and dinner. It was a very nice last evening. The following day they all went off as a family to the beach for the day and then flew out early the next morning. Another summer with the Grandkids over.